ICT in the Classroom - PDST Technology in Education (formerly NCTE)

The Internet – focus on literacy & numeracy (Primary) Ref: 13-19

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Introduction

The purpose of this document is to provide an overview of the benefits of using the Internet in the

classroom, some ideas for classroom use to support literacy and some further resources to enable you to

effectively integrate the use of this technology in your classroom.

Benefits

The benefits of using the Internet in the classroom include:

Allowing pupils to experience places individually and in small groups or as a whole class that

would not otherwise be accessible.

Giving pupils and teachers access to dynamic, interactive resources instantly.

Providing access to a vast amount of resources that are otherwise not available in any one

geographical location.

Allowing pupils to develop skills related to critical thinking, problem solving and group work.

Enabling pupils to access school related resources outside of school hours.

Assisting pupils to become more globally aware.

Enabling teachers to instantly access information and present it to pupils in an engaging manner.

Providing differentiation within the classroom.

Presenting information to the pupils using a variety of teaching methodologies.

Appealing to the learning styles of the pupils.

Helping to overcome the isolation of a classroom by having access to colleagues in other parts of

the world.

Providing the ability to step outside the classroom with the click of a mouse.

Providing educational opportunities for pupils based on abilities and interest.

Linking with other schools on collaborative projects.

Classroom Application

Ideas for classroom application of this technology to support literacy and/or numeracy include:

Explore the NCTE Useful Links document to find resources suitable for your class for literacy and

numeracy.

Look at ‘The Week in Pictures’ on http://www.rte.ie/news/galleries.html. Working in pairs or

groups pupils can create stories to accompany these images or create a summary of the news of

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the week. Pupils can use word processing to present their news or can deliver it orally to the

class.

Explore http://www.readwritethink.org and identify a resource which you could use to support

literacy in your classroom.

Start or join an Internet project with your pupils.

Assessment

These examples outline ways in the Internet can be used to assess literacy:

The Internet gives you access to millions of lesson plans and assessments, interactive quizzes

and rubrics. Check out http://www.thatquiz.org for sample for senior classes.

Pupils can research projects online.

Create a web scavenger hunt on a specific topic and ask the pupils to find all the clues and

answer a series of questions.

Have pupils review a website to assess their critical analysis.

Show pupils two different sites with different perspectives on the same topic. Ask them to

debate the topic.

Special Educational Needs

These examples outline ways in the Internet can be used to support pupils with SEN:

Gives access to resources appropriate to the pupil ’s learning needs.

Allows exceptionally able pupils to challenge their skills and to communicate via web

conferencing with peers of similar ability.

Allows pupils to dictate the pace of their learning.

Visually impaired pupils can access information alongside their sighted peers

Some things to consider:

Some children with complex needs struggle with social roles and friendships. They may not

know how to make judgments about what is safe information to share on the Internet. They may

also not be aware of how their own behaviour may be viewed on the Internet.

Some children may interpret content literally and struggle to respond in an appropriate manner

to online material. Zac Browser (http://www.zacbrowser.com} is designed specifically for

children on the autistic spectrum.

Useful Tips

Evaluate websites before using them

o Accuracy: the website must be reliable, valid and produced by a trusted source;

information should be impartially presented, the resource must not contain biases,

mistakes or omissions.

o Appropriateness: the website should contain information for the intended learners’

level, the resource should use an appropriate and suitable vocabulary, language or

concepts, avoid mistakes or stereotypes

o Authority: it should be clear who is responsible for the site, are contact details

provided?

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o Clarity: information should provide a clear tie between the purpose and the content

provided. The information on the website should be accurate and up to date

o Currency: It should be clear on the website when it was last updated. A test of links

provided on the site can give some clue as to the currency of a website.

o Site design: Is the site easy to navigate? Are graphics appropriate and helpful?

o Advertising: Does the site contain commercial links which may be inappropriate for

classroom use?

o Access: Is the information presented in multiple formats (text, audio, graphics)? Is the

website accessible? Are text alternatives available for pictures and graphics?

It’s a good idea to keep your browser up to date. Updates are free and offer you best protection

against viruses or software bugs.

Placing a phrase i.e. ‘Primary Schools in Dublin’ inside inverted commas will narrow a search in

Google. This can be a helpful tip for pupils especially those who have attention difficulty and

get frustrated with large amounts of data handling.

When searching using Google, you can search pages from Ireland, over a specific time period

and sorted by relevance. This advanced search option allows you to be more specific in your

search and ensures that there are fewer results returned.

Video Tutorials

Video tutorials on using Scoilnet and Imagebank are located at the following links:

Finding resources on Scoilnet

http://www.ncte.ie/ICTTraining/VideoTutorials/#21928

Using Imagebank

http://www.ncte.ie/ICTTraining/VideoTutorials/#21926

Useful Links

See the NCTE Useful Links document for links to a wide range of literacy and numeracy resources.

Copyright

Fun copyright interactive

http://www.cyberbee.com/cb_copyright.swf

Copyright for kids

http://www.copyrightkids.org

Creative Commons

http://creativecommons.org

Citing Sources

Simple layouts from 6 years on

http://kathyschrock.net/research/works.htm

Avoid Plagiarism

http://kathyschrock.net/research/plagiarism.htm

Fair Use Guidelines for teachers

http://www.halldavidson.net/chartshort.html

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