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©YaseminAllsop,DavidAndrews,JamesBird,HelenCaldwell,ChrisDyer,ClareFenwickandSwayGrantham2015

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ContentsTheauthors

Acknowledgements

Introduction

1ManipulatingmediaHelenCaldwell

2DigitalstorytellingHelenCaldwellandChristopherDyer

3VisiblelearningSwayGrantham

4TalkandcollaborationJamesBirdandDavidAndrews

5iPadsintheEarlyYearsJamesBird

6TechnologyoutdoorsHelenCaldwell

7ChildrenasresearchersSwayGrantham

8ComputingYaseminAllsop

9CreatingyourownappsClareFenwick

Index

TheauthorsHelenCaldwellisthecurriculumleadforPrimaryComputinginTeacherEducationattheUniversity of Northampton. Her teaching covers the use of technology across primarysubjects,implementingthecomputingcurriculumandassistivetechnologiesforSEN.Sheprovides CPD (Continuing Professional Development) for teachers and Initial TeacherTrainees across these areas, and her research focuses on the effective use of mobiledevicesinprimaryclassrooms.

JamesBird works within the School of Education at Oxford Brookes University. Hisresearch, CPD and consultancy work includes a focus on learning, pedagogy andtechnology.He combineswork as a primary teacher trainer alongsidework as a schoolimprovement professional within a multi-academy trust, which also includes use oftechnologytoenhanceandsupportlearning.

YaseminAllsopworkedasanICTCoordinatorinprimaryschoolsinLondonforalmosttenyears.SheiscurrentlyemployedasSeniorLecturerinPrimaryComputingandICTatManchesterMetropolitanUniversity.ShehasanMAICTinEducationfromtheLondonKnowledgeLab,UniversityofLondon.SheisalsoanMPhil/PhDstudentatGoldsmiths,UniversityofLondon,focusingonchildren’sthinking,learningandmetacognitionwhendesigningdigital games.She is the editorof anonlinemagazine called ICTinPracticewhere educators from around theworld share their experiences of using technology ineducation.

DavidAndrewsspecialisesindelivering‘outstanding’lessonsinschoolsusingpioneeringtechniqueswith technology.He leads innovation andmakes technology accessible to alleducators. David embraces the idea of technology being used creatively to help allstudentslearn.HisbloghasbeenrecognisedasoneofthetopthreeblogsintheUKforimpact in education at the2014 National UK Blog Awards, and influences classroompracticewith technology around theworld. David’swork features in awide variety ofuniversity research papers. He has also written a number of articles for theGuardianTeacherNetwork.DavidisanationalspeakeroncreativeuseoftechnologyandpresentshisworkfortheNationalAssociationofHeadteachers.

ChristopherDyerisaprimaryschoolteacherintheNorthEastofEngland,whereheiscurrentlycurriculumleaderforComputing.Hehasworkedinarangeofprimaryschoolsettings developing a variety of ways to use digital technology to enhance children’slearning. Christopher liaises with a number of local schools, advising them in thedevelopment of computing in their settings. He is the creator of the websitecomputinginprimaryschool.com.Thisoffersavarietyofideas,resourcesandsupporttoimplementtheuseofdigitaltechnologyintheclassroom.

ClareFenwickisSeniorLecturerinEducationforPrimaryComputingatOxfordBrookesUniversity. Her teaching covers the effective use of technology and social media forlearning as well as implementing the primary computing curriculum. She teaches bothundergraduate and graduate students as well as delivering a range of continuousprofessionaldevelopmentforteachersandotherschoolstaff.Hersessionsaredeliveredasonline, blended or face to face. Her approach to teaching the primary computing

curriculumfocuseson theprocesses,problemsolvingandcomputational thinking ratherthanlearninghowtousespecificdevicesandsoftware,oftentakingananalogueapproach.Herresearchareaistheroleofsocialmediainlearning.

Sway Grantham (@SwayGrantham) is a primary school teacher and Leader ofComputing at Caroline Haslett Primary School. She has been ICT/Computing Leadersince her NQT year and during this time has written a new curriculum and conductedresearch into the impact of 1:1 iPads in the primary classroom. Sway has been usingtechnologyallherlifeandhasspentthelastfiveyearsfocusingthisoneducation.Shewasinvited as a ‘lead learner’ to attend the first ever Raspberry Picademy becoming aRaspberryPiCertifiedTeacherand loves theopportunities thesecheapcomputersoffer.Recently having qualified as a Google Certified Teacher, Sway believes in offeringchildrenarangeofICTandComputingopportunities.Overtheyears,Swayhasbuiltupasuccessful blog (www.swaygrantham.co.uk), which is full of learning ideas andpedagogyforComputing,ICTandmanyothercurriculumareas.

AcknowledgementsEveryefforthasbeenmadetotracethecopyrightholdersandtoobtaintheirpermissionfor the use of copyright material. The publisher and author will gladly receive anyinformationenablingthemtorectifyanyerrororomissioninsubsequenteditions.

HelenCaldwellwishestothankAshleyWilliamsfortheimagesusedinFigure6.2.ShealsoacknowledgestheuseoftheimageofFerncumbeCofEPrimaryinFigure6.3sharedunder a CCby2.0 Licence athttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Ferncumbe_C_of_E_Primary_School_playground_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1757004.jpgInaddition,thankyoutoGoogleEarthforFigures7.2and7.3,bothMap image:GoogleEarth–Landsat, IBCAOandData:SIO.NOAA.USNavy,NGA,GEBCO.

IntroductionThe use of technology in schools continues to evolve rapidly as newdevices and toolsbecomeavailable,andtheadoptionofmobiledevicessuchasiPadsandtabletshasbeenaparticularly exciting development in recent years. The benefits offered by thesetechnologies, such as their portability, connectivity, accessibility and range of media,present new challenges and opportunities for teaching and learning. As the take up oftabletsgatherspaceinourschoolsthereisaneedforadviceonthebestapproachesandappstohelpachievesuccessfullearningoutcomes.Teachersneedtofindmeaningfulwaysto integrate the devices into their own practice and to evaluate which of the manythousandsofeducationalappsmightbeappropriatefortheirpupils.

ThisbookconsidershowiPadsandtabletscanbeusedtoenhanceteachingandlearninginprimaryschools.Itisespeciallyrelevantinthelightofthecomputingcurriculum,whichputsanewemphasisonchildrenasmakersandcreatorsofdigitalcontent.Acrossothercurriculum subjects too, the introduction of mobile devices that can be quickly andreliably accessed has precipitated a shift in practice. For example, they have enabledteachersandchildrentospontaneouslypursuelinesofinquiry,toconnect,collaborateandpublishinmanydifferentways,andtousetheirdigitalskillstoenhancetheirexplorationofthephysicalworldoutsidetheclassroom.

Withtheseopportunitiesinmind,weofferanecdotesfromtheclassroomandexamplesofhowtabletsmightbeembeddedwithincurrentpedagogyandpracticeasanaturallearningtool.Eachchapter combines apractical case studywithdiscussionof relatedpedagogy,andrecommendsappstosupportapersonalised,inclusiveandactiveapproachtoteachingandlearning.

WebegininChapter1bylookingathowtabletsmakeiteasiertousearangeofmediatocreateshareabledigitalcontentsuchasmovies,posters,animatedcharacters,greenscreeneffectsortalkingphotos.Chapter2goesontoconsiderhowthesemultimodalformatsaddvalue to eBooks and digital storytelling. Next, we consider how tablets can helpmakechildren’s learning more visible by capturing learning activities through film, photos,screencasts and spoken explanations, making it easier to review learning and provideassessmentopportunities.Chapter4exploreswaysinwhichthecreativeuseoftabletappscanpromote talkandcollaborationwithaparticular focusongame-based learning.OurEarly Years chapter explores the potential for making learning more personal anddifferentiated. Here we review apps for reinforcing numeracy and literacy skills in amotivatingandaccessibleenvironmentandconsidertheirrelevancetoindividuallearningtargets, thinkingabouthowthecustomisationofcontentandpacecanenhanceinclusivepractice. The following two chapters on ‘Technology outdoors’ and ‘Children asresearchers’ outline the advantages of being able to use technology away from thetraditional learningspacesofclassrooms.We lookathowtabletscanadd immediacy toresearchingtopicsandhelpchildrenseethemselvesasinformationgatherersandcreativeproducers.Thefinaltwochaptersfocusoncomputing,suggestingwaysofusingtabletstoapply computational thinking skills to analyse and solve problems, and how childrenmightmaketheirownapps.

Drawingtogetherthesevariedthemesistheoverarchingconceptofusingtabletstobuildchildren’s digital literacy. This encompasses skills such as choosing, evaluating andsynthesising information with discrimination, learning how to build and create withtechnology, and collaborating and sharing with others safely. Our aim is to enthuseteachersandpupilsastheydevelopthesedigitalliteracyskillsthroughtheuseoftablets,and show how they can be used as a creative tool to engage with relevant challengesacrossallsubjectareas.

HelenCaldwell

January2015

Chapter1

ManipulatingmediaIntroductionThischapterlooksathowtabletsmakeiteasytocombinemediatocreateshareabledigitalcontent such as movies, posters, animated characters, green screen effects or talkingphotos. An important aspect of digital literacy is the ability to combine media inmeaningfulways,whetheritiscomputercode,words,numbers,images,soundorvideo,andtabletscanmakeitmucheasiertodothis.Our‘Bridgecraft’casestudyexplorestheuseofappsforcreatingpurposefuldigitalartefacts.Wewill thinkabouthowtheuseofmediacanenablechildrentoexpresstheirideasandhowitcanenrichlearningwhenitisusedalongsideotheractivitiessuchasdrama.

LearningObjectivesAttheendofthischapteryoushouldbeableto:

•identifyanumberofappsforworkingwithfilm,animation,images,textandsound;

•understandhowtheseappscanbeusedtocombinemediatocreatearangeofdigitalartefacts;

•usesomemediaappstohelpchildrenexpresstheirideasandsharethemwithanaudience.

LinkstoTeachers’StandardsThefollowingTeachers’Standardsareparticularlyrelevanttothischapter:

TS1 Set goals that stretch and challenge pupils of all backgrounds, abilities anddispositions.

TS2 Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of how pupils learn and how thisimpactsonteaching.

Encouragepupilstotakearesponsibleandconscientiousattitudetotheir

ownworkandstudy.

TS3Haveasecureknowledgeoftherelevantsubject(s)andcurriculumareas.

Fosterandmaintainpupils’interestinthesubject,andaddressmisunderstandings.

TS4Promotealoveoflearningandchildren’sintellectualcuriosity.

Contribute to thedesignandprovisionof anengagingcurriculumwithin the relevantsubjectarea(s).

LinkstoNationalCurriculumProgrammesofStudy

KeyStage1andKeyStage2

•Pupilsbecomedigitallyliterate–abletouse,andexpressthemselvesanddeveloptheirideasthroughinformationandcommunicationtechnology–atalevelsuitableforthefutureworkplaceandasactiveparticipantsinadigitalworld.

•Allpupilsareresponsible,competent,confidentandcreativeusersofinformationandcommunicationtechnology.

•Pupilsshouldbetaughttousetechnologypurposefullytocreate,organise,store,manipulateandretrievedigitalcontent.

•Pupilsshouldbetaughttoselect,useandcombineavarietyofsoftware(includinginternetservices),onarangeofdigitaldevices,todesignandcreatearangeofprograms,systemsandcontentthataccomplishgivengoals,includingcollecting,analysing,evaluatingandpresentingdataandinformation.

Intheclassroom

ExamplefrompracticeBridgecraft:technologyunitingphysicalanddigitalworlds

ContextBridgewater Primary School in Northamptonshire held a curriculum enrichmentweekinspiredbytheworld-buildinggameMinecraft.Throughouttheweek,learningacross the curriculum was based on the theme of helping to build an alternativeBridgecraftvirtualworldforsomelostavatars.EachyeargroupwasresponsibleforadifferentelementoftheBridgecraftworldandchildrenwerechallengedtoproducea rangeofdigital andphysicalartefacts.The ideas forusing tabletsoutlined in thecasestudybelowwereinspiredbytheprojectatBridgewaterPrimarySchool,andarepartly basedon theirwork.Wehave emphasised theuseof technology in order tosuggesthowtabletsmightbeintegratedintoasimilarwhole-schoolproject.

LearningObjectives•toraisetheprofileofmaths,science,artandtechnologythroughan

integratedapproach;

•todeepenchildren’sthinkingskillsandgivethemopportunitiestoapplytheirknowledgetoproblem-solvingsituations;

•tohelpchildrenseetherelevanceofmathsandscienceineverydaylife;

•toinspiretheschoolcommunitytoworktogetherandcelebratetheirlearningwiththelocalcommunity.

OutlineAt the start of theweek, anonline avatar introduced theBridgecraft project to thechildrenduringawhole-schoolassembly.Shetoldthemthatherfriendshadlosttheirvirtualworldandaskediftheycouldallworktogethertobuildanewworld.Inordertoextendthegamestheme,theavatarexplainedthattheywouldmeetattheendofeachday to celebrate their achievements and receive challenges thatwould unlockthenextlevel.Aseachlevelwasunlocked,thechildrenreceivedaclueoranobjectto help them complete the following day’s challenge. In addition to the use of agames-based approach, therewas an emphasis on integrating the artswith scienceandcomputing,andonusingonlinecollaborationtoolstoshareideas.Pairsofclasseswithintheschoolweretwinned–usingtheonlinenetworkingtoolEdmodo,sothattheycould share ideas–andablogandTwitter feed invitedparticipation from thewiderworld.At theendof theweek,parentsandmembersof the localcommunitywereinvitedtocomeintotheschooltoexploretheworldofBridgecraftthroughanexhibitionofphysicalanddigitalartefacts.

A curriculum plan showing each year group’s contributions to the project incomputing,scienceandartisoutlinedbelow.

CurriculumplanTable1.1Curriculumplan

We will describe how tablets and apps can be used to enhance learning acrosssubjectsineachyeargroup.

Exploringeggs:Year1Year1childrenfocusedontheanimalsofthevirtualworldandwereinspiredbythediscoveryof anestof strangeeggs.Theymadeprintsof imaginedcreatures in theartistic style of Paul Klee and photographed them with their tablets. They used

descriptivelanguagetodeveloptheircreatures’personasandsharedtheirideasasamindmap, combining images and text using the Popplet app. The images wereopened in thePuppetPals app, andchildrenwere able to ‘cutout’ the animals andmove themaround thescreenusing their fingerswhilst recording theirvoices.Theresultinganimatedpuppetshowswereexportedandcombined in iMovie tomakeafilmintroducingtheBridgecraftanimals toshowtoparentsat theendof theweek,complete with added sound effects,music and credits. A talking avatar created inTellagamiwasaddedtointroducethefilm.

Inspiredbyseeds:Year2InYear2,theimpetusofagiantseedpromptedworkondesigningandmakingtreesand plants for the virtual world. Children walked around the local environmentcapturingimagesofplantlife.Theseweredigitallyeditedusingaphotoeditorwithachoice of filter effects using the apps Snapseed andBeFunky. Within these apps,childrenexperimentedwithslidersandfilterstoalterthehue,saturationandcontrastoftheirimagesinordertogivetheworkan‘other-worldly’feel.Theycreatednamesfor their invented plants and trees. Some childrenwent on to add descriptive text,choosingfromarangeofpostertemplatesinthePhosterapp;someusedPicCollageto make an annotated collage; others used Skitch to add text and labels to theirimages.TheresultswerecombinedintheslideshowappHaikuDeck,andembeddedasaslideshowontheclassblog.

Inventingpeople:Year3Year3’sworkwasbasedaroundcreatingpeopleforthevirtualworld.Beginningwiththeclueofacollectionofhats,childrenproducedgroupdramasbasedoncharacterswho live, work or play together, thinking about their various roles andresponsibilities.TheyfilmedthemselvestalkinginfrontofaMinecraftbackground,usingtheappGreenScreenbyDoInk,tocreateanillusionofbeingwithinthegame.TheywentontodesigntheircharacterswithinMinecraftandimportedscreenshotsoftheseintotheappMorfotomakeanimatedtalkingheads.WorkingwithGreenScreentechniques again, they made films of themselves interviewing their Minecraftcharacters.Asanextension,somechildrencreatedfilmsinthestyleofsilentmoviesusingVintagio, with added special effects using the app Studio FX. The resultingvideoclipswerecombinediniMovietomakeatrailerinthestyleofanactionmovieintroducingthepeopleofBridgecraft.

Composingsounds:Year4Year 4 began their exploration of the sounds of the Bridgecraft world using aselectionof real instruments, togetherwithmusicapps suchasGarageBand,GlowTunes,SoundPrism,LoopsequeKids,Musyc andMixTiki. Theirmusic-makingwasinspired by the abstract artwork of Klimt, Kandinsky and Miro, and tied in withscienceworkonsound.Afterchoosingapieceofabstractart,childrenthoughtaboutthree emotional responses and used these to create a soundscape. They aimed tocomposeshortresponsivepieces,thinkingabouthowtheimageinspiredideasaboutan imagined virtual world and capturing their digital and physical music-makingusing theappQuickVoice.Alongside this, they inventedamethodofwritingdown

their pieces as a readablemusical score. Some childrenwent on to record soundsfromtheirenvironment,analysingthewaveforms,usingtheappSoundOScope,andcombining them to compose loops using theMadPad app. To tie in with the arttheme, they created their own accompanying abstract artworks using Fragment.Otherchildrencontinuedwith the themeofcombiningsoundsandartbyexploringoptionsto‘paintwithsounds’,usingtheappsSingingFingersandSoundBrush.Thefinished works from the class were gathered together using VoiceThread, whichallows for narration, text and sounds to be displayed alongside images andsubsequentlyplayedthroughasawholepiece.

Figure1.1RecreatingtheBridgecraftworldindigitalandphysicalmedia

Designingbuildings:Year5InYear5,thefocuswasonthebuildingsofBridgecraft.Childrenweregiventheclueofakeyandthechallengeofdesigninghomesforthelostavatars.TheyusedGoogleEarth and Google Maps to visit places on their iPads and took screenshots ofbuildingsaroundtheworld.Thesewerecombinedwithresearchintothepropertiesofmaterials andpresented as explanatory screencasts,with annotations andnarration.ChildrenchosefromtheappsExplainEverything,VideoScribeandShadowPuppetsEdutopresenttheirideas.

Creatinghabitats:Year6Year6childrenweregiven thestimulusofa strangenestandchallenged todesignanimal homes and habitats using their knowledge of animal classification systems.They used PicCollage to collect images of the wildlife belonging to a particularhabitat. These images were combined into a comic format, using the app StripDesigner.Hotspotsaddedtothesecomicpages,usingtheappThingLink,openedupexcerptsofspokennarration,soundeffects,explanatorytextandcloseupimagesoftheanimals.

ActivityManyof theseexamplesreliedoncombinationsofapps.This isoftenreferredtoas‘appsmashing’.Lookatthelistbelowandthinkaboutwhatisgainedbyputtingtwoorthreeappstogether.Createaplantouseoneofthesecombinationsinacurriculumarea.

Figure1.2Exampleworkflowsusingcombinationsofapps

Makea listof themoreopen-endedappsyoucurrentlyuseformanipulatingmedia.Think of threeways inwhich thesemight be combined in pairs or trios tomake arangeoffinishedproducts.Reflectuponhowthisenhanceschildren’slearning.

DiscussionWe will look at ways of combining apps to facilitate media production. We will alsoconsider the advantages of Bridgewater School’s approach, in which tablets were usedalongsidepracticalscience,artanddesigntechnology,andwhichbroughtinelementsofgames-basedlearning.

CombiningappsforaneffectiveworkflowItisevidentthattabletspresentnewchallengestoteachers,andmanyschoolsarefindingthatitisnotenoughjusttoadddevicestoclassroomswithoutcarefulcurriculumplanningand evaluation. There are concerns about schools ‘jumping on the iPad bandwagon’(Kobie, 2011), and that tablets might end up reinforcing drill and practice learning inmuch the same way as interactive whiteboards propagated didactic teaching (Alberta,2012;NocenteandBelostotski,2009).Thereisaneedtobalancefreedomandchoiceforlearners,andtoprovideaguidingframework(MelhuishandFalloon,2010).Itisclearthatcarefulthoughtneedstobegivenastohowbesttousetabletstoacceleratelearning.

Wehaveseenthatoneofthekeystotheeffectiveuseofmediawithtabletsisthefactthata small number of open-ended apps can be combined in various ways. To give anexample: animated talking faces created inMorfo, PuppetPals animations and videosmadewithGreenScreen byDoInk on iPads automatically appear in iMovie as editable

assets. Once in iMovie, these assets can be combined, edited and enhanced by soundeffects –with impressive results.Another example is theway inwhich children’s ownartworkcanbephotographedandmade intoacomicstripusingStripDesigner,and thecomicthenturnedintoaninteractiveimageusingThingLink,sothatcharacterstalkwhenclickedandobjectsleadtonewinformation.

Much can be achieved by drawing from a toolkit of apps thatwork togetherwell.Youmight choose a video editor, a collage-maker, a screencasting tool, a sound recorder, aphoto-editor,acomicformat,aslideshowappandananimationtool.Agoalcanthenbeforchildrentobecomefamiliarwithahandfulofopen-endedappsandtobegintomaketheirownchoicesastohowtocombineandusethem,therebydevelopingmoreownershipovertheirlearning.

ChoosingappsAnimportantaspectofourcasestudywasthewayinwhichtheappsinteractedwitheachother. By understanding how apps can work together, we can make the most of theirparticularaffordances.Table1.2summarisesthefeaturesofanumberofmediaapps.

Table1.2Mediaapps

A key idea is to evaluate what each app adds to the learning process. The SAMR(Substitution,Augmentation,ModificationandRedefinition)modelbyPuentedura(2012)illustrates how judicious choices of apps might move learning through stages ofsubstitution(doingthesamethinginadifferentway),augmentation(addingsomething),modification(redesigningthetask)throughtoredefinition(doingsomethingyoucouldn’tdo before). It can be argued that at the redefinition stage, technology is helping totransformlearningbyfocusingonhigherorderthinkingskills.Evaluatingwhateachapp

addstothelearninglandscapeinyourowncontextisausefulstartingpointwhenyouaremakingchoices.

Figure1.3SAMRmodelshowingthetransformativepotentialoftechnology(Puentedura,2012)

AstudybyMurrayandOlcese(2011),lookingattabletuseinschools,consideredtheideaoftechnologytransforminglearningbyanalysingappsinordertodeterminewhethertheiPad allows teachers and students to do things in learning that could not otherwise bepossible(p43).Theypickedoutahandfulofappswhichstoodoutforhavingthepotentialtoextendlearningopportunitiesthroughaccesstoavirtualcommunity,theeffectiveuseofmedia, and collaborative potential, but concluded that themajority of educational appsavailableatthetimeofwritingwereoutofsynchwithmoderntheoriesoflearning(p48),astheywerenarrowlyfocusedontheconsumptionofcontent.Thisresearchhighlightstheimportance of content creation and collaboration as areas that can extend learning byallowingforactiveknowledgeconstructionwithinasocialcontext.

Thinkabouthowavisualapproachthatmixessound, images,animation,film,narrationandtextmightoffermultiplewaysintoatopic,supportinglearnerswhofindworkingwithtext challenging and inspiring all to be creative and ambitious. Offering childrenalternative formsof expression can encourage them to aim to produce a digital artefactthattheyareproudtoshare.

Collaborativegame-basedlearningAnotherfeatureofourcasestudywasthewayinwhichelementsofconsolegameswereusedto‘hook’childrenintolearningthemes,justasgamesdesignersengagetheirplayers.Consolegameplayerslearntoapplyincreasinglycomplexproblem-solvingtechniquesinordertoachievegoalsastheyprogressthroughagame.Inasimilarway,theBridgewaterteachers aimed to make their learning environment more effective by beginning withsimple levels to help children feel successful and giving daily feedback on progresstowardsthesharedgoalofmakingthevirtualworld.Motivationwaskepthigh,asteamsof children encountered bonus tasks, came across new characters and objects, unlockednewlevelsandfoundcluesastheweekprogressed.

SociallearningTheapproachestousingmediawehavedescribedarebasedonthenotionthatchildrenarenaturally social and learn through active knowledge-building rather than having an

extrinsic curriculum imposed on them, concepts developed bymany learning theorists,including Piaget (1979) and Papert (1994). In line with these ideas, recent researchershavenotedtheadvantagesofstudentsworkingtogetherinmultimodalenvironmentsthatintegrate personal and shared learning spaces, promoting social learning and allowingteachers ‘to weave more information from more sources into the classroom dialogue’(Fisheretal.,2013,p166).

Inourcasestudy,theoutcomewastocreateasharedvisionofanewvirtualworldforagroupoflostavatars.Thetabletswereusedtocommunicatechildren’sideasofwhatthisworldmightlookliketoanaudienceofpeersandparentsattheendoftheirenrichmentweek. The media manipulation apps allowed children to be digital creators in manydifferentways, frommakinganarrated slideshowpresentation tocreatingamultimodalebook.

Throughouttheprocessofmediamaking,then,childrenlearnedfromandwitheachother,as theyresearched,createdandsharedcontent.Thepursuitofanendgoal is intrinsic tothis process, as Turvey suggests: Creativity has at its core a duality based upon theinterplaybetween free explorationandmore focused thinkingasonemoves towardsanidentifiedgoal(Turvey,2006,p313).

Forourchildren,onlinecollaborationwasakeytosuccess.Pairsofclassesfromeachyeargroupwere able todiscussprogress towards theirgoals, usingaprivate social platformprovided by the appEdmodo. This gave them a chance to pose questions to thewholegroupwithoutwaiting for a turn, increasingpupil voice as they swapped strategies andposedquestionsforeachother.Children’sworkinprogresswasalsosharedbymirroringtheirtabletsontotheinteractivewhiteboard.Thesetechniquesstreamlinedtheprocessofsharingideasandgainingfeedback,helpingtokeeplearnersfocusedandontrack.

Childrenwereencouragedtothinkabouttheiraudiencefromthebeginningandtomakedecisionsaboutthelookandfeeloftheirendproducts.Ideaswerepostedregularlyontotheproject blog, and eachdaybeganwith a reviewof comments received from furtherafield.Havingafocusedthemeandaknownaudiencemeantthatchildrenaimedtocreatework for others to see rather than for their teacher to mark, and it was noted that theimmediate feedback fromanauthenticaudiencehadamotivationaleffect, especiallyonthemorereluctantwriters.

STEMtoSTEAMTheBridgewaterweekalsoaimed to integrate science,computingand thearts, aligningwiththeSTEMtoSTEAMmovement’sbeliefthataninjectionoftheartscanaddvaluetoscience,technology,engineeringandmaths,andthatlearningwithinallfivesubjectscanbeempoweredbybuildingonthenaturaloverlapsbetweenthesesubjects(Robelen,2011;Burnard and Hennessey, 2006). Many researchers suggest that a cross-disciplinaryapproach uniting science and the arts fosters innovative thinking by drawing from theflexibleperspectivesand risk-takingassociatedwithart-making.They suggest that suchanapproachhasthepotentialtopositivelyaffectbothourteachingandlearningpracticesinschoolsandoureconomiccompetitivenessinthewiderworld(Platz,2007;FreedmanandStuhr,2004;BequetteandBequette,2012).

In our experience, the combination of creative arts, design technology and practical

science paved the way for more personalised learning, and helped children to makeconnectionsacross subjects as theyworked towardsa creativegoal.Rather thanalwaysworking in a digital environment, their physical artwork, drama role-plays or musicalcompositionswere often used as the basis for a digital product.As an example of thisprocess, ideas about the scientific process of plant growth were represented throughanimationsbasedonoriginaldrawings.Theuseoftabletsmeantthatchildrencouldsavephotosoftheirownartworkandscienceinvestigationsinthecameraroll,alongsideimagesfromtheinternetandscreenshotsfromapps. They could then draw from this personal bank of resources tomake newmedia.Thinkaboutthebenefitsofchildrenbeingabletoresearchinformationinaformtheyfindaccessible,returntoitintheirowntimeandreviewitattheirownpace.Theycanbuildupknowledgeofa topic throughacombinationof listening, readingandviewing,and thenremixmediatoconveytheirideasinafinalpiece.

Your role as a teacher, when children are negotiating individual learning routes in thisway,istohelpthemtoseeconnectionsandareasofinterestwithinasubject,andcapturetheir thinkingprocesses–using technology–so thatyoucanhelp themmakedecisionsaboutnextsteps.Forexample,youcouldusetabletstoexploreandstructureideasthroughmindmapping apps such as Popplet. Or, to take this idea further, you could make aphysical3Dmindmapusingcirclesandrealobjectsonthefloortobesharedasanimageonaworkingwall,perhapsalongsidedrawings,photos,vocabularyandQuickResponse(QR) codes pointing to relevant digital content. Be reassured that even the youngestchildrenwillbekeentoexplorealongsideyouandthereisoftennoneedtointroducenewapps in a formal way; the idea of playful exploring or ‘tinkering’ is a key aspect ofcomputationalthinking.Findingoutwhatappsandtabletscandoisasintuitivetotoday’schildrenasplayingwithmodellingclay,andyouneedtobearinmindthatnotonlyisthistechnologypartoftheirlivesrightnow,itwillbeintegraltotheirfutures.

Allowing digital and physical ways of working, and for the arts and the sciences tocomplement each other as we have suggested, can deepen understanding of individualsubjects.AsEdelsonputsit:Authenticactivitiesprovidelearnerswiththemotivationtoacquirenewknowledge,aperspectiveforincorporatingnewknowledgeintotheirexistingknowledge,andanopportunitytoapplytheirknowledge.

(Edelsonetal.,1999,p393)

Andthinkingaboutthewiderlearningcontext,linkingcreationandconsumption–sothatchildrenproducedigitalproductsbasedonthemestheyhavechosentoresearch–buildsbothmedialiteracyanddigitalliteracy.Asindependentcreators,childrenlearntoevaluatewhat each medium has to offer, and the process of making sharpens their criticalawareness of the information they consume, making themmoremedia-savvy. The endresultweareaimingforisagenerationofthoughtfulandliteratedigitalcitizens.

ActivityLook at the list ofmedia apps in Table 1.2 and identify threeways inwhich theymightbeusedtofacilitateartmeetingscienceintheprimarycurriculum.AnexamplemightbetomakeaHaikuDeckslideshowbasedonoutdoorart,usingnaturalobjects

illustrating the concepts of sun and shadows. Think about your role inmaking themostofthelearningopportunities.

SummaryandKeyPointsWehavelookedathowmanipulatingmedia,usingtablets,canputchildrenincontrolofpursuingtheirpassionsandsharingtheircreations.Ourcasestudyillustratedhowelementsofgames-based learningmight addchallengeand structure toaclassroomproject, and placed a firm emphasis on children working together to achieve theirgoals.Wealsoconsideredhowphysicalart,musicanddramamightgohandinhandwith the use of tablets, and how the creative subjects, science and technology canworkinunisontoamplifylearning.

Wehavesuggestedthatthemediacapabilitiesoftabletshavethepotentialtosupportdifferentmodesof learningand that thisversatility supports learnersofall abilities.Tablets support anytime, anywhere learning and, when integrated with curriculumsubjects in a purposeful way, they can extend learning beyond the classroom toinformal learningcontextsoutside school. Inaddition, theprocessofengagingwithmediaproductioncandeepenchildren’sawarenessoftheroleofmediainsocietyanddeveloptheircriticalunderstanding.

ReflectiveQuestionsTo what extent does the idea of integrating the STEM subjects fit with your existingpractice?CanyouseeaddedvalueinincludingtheartstomovefromSTEMtoSTEAM?

Whatdoyouthinkarethemainbenefitsoforganisingawholeschoolenrichmentweek?Whataretheadvantagesofusingtabletstosupportwholeschoolactivities?

Ourcasestudyusedtabletsforpairsofclassestosharetheirlearning.Canyouseewaysinwhich this might enhance your own teaching and identify the first steps needed toimplementthisapproach?

UsefulLinksBridgewaterPrimarySTEAMweek

https://showyou.com/v/y-jecVKxBrplA/bridgewater-primary-steam-week(accessed20December2014).

Tabletsforlearning:usingAndroidappsintheclassroom

https://slp.somerset.gov.uk/cypd/elim/somersetict/Computing_Curriculum_Primary/iPads%20and%20Tablets/Android%20apps%20for%20learning%20Dec%202013.pdf(accessed20December2014).

AusefulsetofmultimediaappsforAndroiddevices.

NorthamptonInspire

http://mypad.northampton.ac.uk/inspire(accessed20December2014).

AprimaryteachernetworkexploringthecreativeuseoftechnologyacrosstheprimarycurriculumandlookingatthethemeofSTEMtoSTEAM.

Apps4PrimarySchools

www.apps4primaryschools.co.uk(accessed20December2014).

Asiteaimedatteacherslookingforeducationalappsforpreschool,EarlyYears,specialeducationalneedsandKeyStages1and2.Filterablebyageandsubjectandplatform.

Pinterestcollection

www.pinterest.com/helencaldwel(accessed20December2014).

Alargecollectionofonlineresourcesandappsforteachingwithdigitaltechnology,includingiPadsformaths,iPadsforKeyStages1and2,appsforEYFS/KeyStage1,appsforliteracy,appsforcomputingandSTEMtoSTEAM.

AppListfortheChapterPicCollage,iBrainstorm,Popplet,VideoScribe,StripDesigner,Morfo,GreenScreenbyDoInk,HaikuDeck,Snapguide,PixnTell,iMovie,Phoster,GarageBand,ThingLink,Snapseed,BeFunky,VoiceThread,PuppetPals,Tellagami,Skitch,QuickVoice,SoundPrism,SoundOScope,LoopsequeKids,MixTiki,FallingStars,GlowTunes,MadPad,SoundBrush,SingingFingers,VoiceThread,Vintagio,StudioFX,ExplainEverything,GoogleEarth,GoogleMaps,Edmodo,Fragment,Musyc,ShadowPuppetsEdu.

FurtherReadingTheVisualinLearningandCreativity:AReviewoftheLiterature

www.creativitycultureeducation.org/wp-content/uploads/the-visual-in-learning-and-creativity-92.pdf(accessed20December2014).

AreportforCreativePartnershipsfromCareyJewittattheInstituteofEducation,UniversityofLondon.

Games-basedexperiencesforlearning

www.futurelab.org.uk/resources/games-based-experiences-learning(accessed20December2014).

AreportfromFuturelabatNFERdiscussingdigitalgamesandlearning,andsuggestingasetofdesignprinciplesforplanninggames-basedlearningexperiences.

STEAMcasestudies

http://stemtosteam.org/case-studies(accessed20December2014).

AsiteexploringtheconceptofintegratingsubjectsthroughSTEAMwithcasestudiesoftheseideasinpracticeacrosseducationsectors.

iPadArtRoom

www.ipadartroom.com(accessed20December2014).

ResourcesandideasforusingtheSAMRModeltomergetraditionalartmakingwiththeuseoftablets.TherearetwoebooksbyCathyHunttodownload,Lessons,AppsandIdeasfortheiPadinVisualArtandApp-straction:TechnologyEnhancedArtEducation,anin-

depthexplorationofacreative,multimedialesson.Thesebooksformpartofthe‘OneBestThing’collectionofover100freeebookswrittenbyAppleDistinguishedEducators.

DeployingandmanagingiOSdevicesintheclassroom

https://slp.somerset.gov.uk/cypd/elim/somersetict/appleblog/eLIM%20Genius%20Bar%20Documents/Deploying%20and%20Managing%20iOS%20Devices.pdf(accessed20December2014).

ApracticalguidetooptionsforchargingandsyncingasetofiPadsandhowtobuyandlicenseappsforschoolsfromeLIMSomerset.

ReferencesAlberta(2012)iPads:Whatarewelearning?Availablefrom:http://education.alberta.ca/admin/technology/research.aspx(accessed18January2014).

Bequette,JWandBequette,MB(2012)AplaceforartanddesigneducationintheSTEMconversation.ArtEducation,65(2),40–7.

Burnard,PandHennessy,S(eds)(2006)ReflectivePracticesinArtsEducation(Vol.5).Netherlands:Springer.

Edelson,DC,Gordin,DNandPea,RD(1999)Addressingthechallengesofinquiry-basedlearningthroughtechnologyandcurriculumdesign.JournaloftheLearningSciences,8(3/4),391–450.Availablefrom:http://www.geode.northwestern.edu/userdownloads/pdf/JLSEdelsonetal.pdf(accessed20December2014).

Fisher,B,Lucas,TandGalstyan,A(2013)TheroleofiPadsinconstructingcollaborativelearningspaces.Technology,KnowledgeandLearning,18(3),165–78.

Freedman,KandStuhr,P(2004)Curriculumchangeforthe21stcentury:Visualcultureinarteducation.HandbookofResearchandPolicyinArtEducation,815–28.

Gardner,H(1983)FramesofMind.NewYork:BasicBooksInc.

Johnson,L,Adams,S,Cummins,M,Estrada,V,Freeman,AandLudgate,H(2013)TheNMCHorizonReport:2013HigherEducationEdition.

Keengwe,JandBhargava,M(2013)Mobilelearningandintegrationofmobiletechnologiesineducation.EducationandInformationTechnologies,1–10.

Kobie,Nicole(2011)TheschoolthatswappeditslaptopsforiPads…andwantstoswitchback.11September2011.Availablefrom:http://www.pcpro.co.uk/blogs/2012/09/11/the-school-that-swapped-its-laptops-for-ipads-and-wants-to-switch-back(accessed18January2014).

Melhuish,KandFalloon,G(2010)Lookingtothefuture:M-learningwiththeiPad.ComputersinNewZealandSchools,22(3),1–16.

Murray,OTandOlcese,NR(2011)TeachingandlearningwithiPads,readyornot?TechTrends,55(6),42–8.

Nocente,NandBelostotski,G(2009)Elementaryandjuniorhighschooluseofclickers.

InWorldConferenceonE-LearninginCorporate,Government,Healthcare,andHigherEducation,2009(1),999–1008.Papert,S(1994)TheChildren’sMachine:RethinkingSchoolintheAgeoftheComputer.NewYork:HarvesterWheatsheaf.

Piaget,J(1979)SixPsychologicalStudies.Brighton:HarvesterPress.

Platz,J(2007)HowdoyouturnSTEMintoSTEAM?AddtheArts!Availablefrom:http://www.ikzadvisors.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/STEM-+-ARTS-STEAM.pdf(accessed20December2014).

Puentedura,R(2010)SAMRandTPCK:IntrotoAdvancedPractice.Availablefrom:http://goo.gl/78UJn(accessed18January2014).

Robelen,EW(2011)STEAM:ExpertsmakecaseforaddingartstoSTEM.EducationWeek,31(13),8.

Turvey,K(2006)Towardsdeeperlearningthroughcreativitywithinonlinelearningcommunitiesinprimaryeducation.ComputersandEducation,46,309–21.

Chapter2

DigitalstorytellingIntroductionInthischapterwewillconsiderhowmultimodalformatsaddvaluetoebooksanddigitalstorytelling,andexplore thepotential forusing tablets tomakeebookspersonalisedanddifferentiated.Wewill alsodemonstratehow tocreate a rangeof ebooks featuringbothnarrativeandnon-narrativetexts.Areviewofappstocreateebookswhichcanreinforcenumeracy, literacy and computing skills in an interactive digital content, and aconsideration of their relevance to individual children’s learning targets and needs,willalsobehighlighted.Afurtherareaoffocuswillbethepotentialforcustomisingebooksbyincludingphotos,videos,activities,textorsoundtoprovidecontenttargetedatchildren’sneeds and interests.Wewill suggest strategies to support individual learning goals anddiscusshowebookscanbesharedinordertopromotepeerassessmentandcollaboration.

Tobeliterateintoday’sdigitalworld,childrenneedtofamiliarisethemselveswitharangeoftechnologiesandsoftware.Electronicbookscanprovideprimaryagedchildrenwitharangeofcontentexperiencesandcanhaveanumberofbenefits.Althoughwewouldnotsuggest that they replace paper books, ebooks can provide motivating and interactivereadingexperiences. Inaddition,makingebookscanenablechildren todrawupon theirownexperiences,personalisingtheirlearningandmakingitrealandpurposeful.Ourthreeebook case studies showhow aYear 3 class exploredways ofworkingwith ebooks inEnglish,mathsandhistory.Inhistory,thewholeclassworkedcollaborativelytocreateanebookbasedonthetopicofAncientEgypt(casestudy1);inmaths,theteachercreatedanebookasaresourcetosupportmathematicalunderstanding(casestudy2);andinEnglish,children created individual ebook stories, incorporating a rangeof digital features (casestudy3).

LearningOutcomesAttheendofthischapteryoushouldbeableto:

•identifyanumberofappsthatcanbecombinedtocreateebooks;

•understandhowtomakeebooksandtheirvalueintheprimarysetting;

•identifyanumberofwaysinwhichebookscanhelpsupportchildren’slearning;

•applysomeofthesetechniquestohelpchildrenexpresstheirownideasandsharethemwithanaudience.

LinkstoTeachers’StandardsThefollowingTeachers’Standardsareparticularlyrelevanttothischapter:

TS1 Set goals that stretch and challenge pupils of all backgrounds, abilities and

dispositions.

TS2 Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of how pupils learn and how thisimpactsonteaching.

Encouragepupilstotakearesponsibleandconscientiousattitudetotheirownworkandstudy.

TS3Haveasecureknowledgeoftherelevantsubject(s)andcurriculumareas.

Fosterandmaintainpupils’interestinthesubject,andaddressmisunderstandings.

TS4 Contribute to the design and provision of an engaging curriculum within therelevantsubjectarea(s).

TS5Knowwhenandhowtodifferentiateappropriately,usingapproacheswhichenablepupilstobetaughteffectively.

TS6 Give pupils regular feedback, both orally and through accurate marking, andencouragethemtorespondtothefeedback.

LinkstoNationalCurriculumProgrammesofStudyKeyStage1andKeyStage2

•Pupilsbecomedigitallyliterate–abletouse,andexpressthemselvesanddeveloptheirideasthroughinformationandcommunicationtechnology–atalevelsuitableforthefutureworkplaceandasactiveparticipantsinadigitalworld.

•Pupilsusetechnologypurposefullytocreate,organise,store,manipulateandretrievedigitalcontent.

•Pupilsselect,useandcombineavarietyofsoftware(includinginternetservices)onarangeofdigitaldevicestodesignandcreatearangeofprograms,systemsandcontentthataccomplishgivengoals,includingcollecting,analysing,evaluatingandpresentingdataandinformation.

Intheclassroom

ExamplefrompracticeCasestudy1

CreatinganinformationtextebookaboutAncientEgypt:Year1

ContextOverthecourseofa term,aYear3classatWheatleyHillPrimarySchool,CountyDurhamworked together to create an ebook aboutAncient Egypt for the school’siBook library, which would become available for the whole school to use as aresource.Pairsofchildrenchoseanareaofinterestandwerejointlyresponsibleformaking a page in the ebook. The children added a range ofwidgets, such as quizquestionsandhotspots,tomaketheirpagesinteractive.

LearningObjectives•tocreateanebookaboutAncientEgypt;

•torecordandshareourlearningwiththewiderschoolcommunity;

•towriteapieceofinformationtext;

•toaddarangeofmultimediacontent.

OutlineThe children completed a series of six sessions to create the ebook. These areoutlinedbelow.

Table2.1Planningoverview

Thechildrencompletedaseriesofsessions(seeTable2.1)tocreateanebook.TheywereabletomakeclearprogressbyusingarangeofappsandfeaturesonaniPad,aswellastheMacBook,toreachtheirlearningoutcomes.Atthestart,thewholeclassdecideduponthepagetheywouldbecompleting,thenpairsofchildrendecideduponanareaofinterest.Thisgaveeachchildaclearunderstandingoftheebooklayout.

Thoughtwasgiventohowtosupportarangeofabilitieswhenengagingininternetresearch.Mylowerabilitypupilsweregivenalimitednumberofwebsitestouseassources, whereas the higher ability children had more freedom to explore forthemselves. Similarly, some children were provided with sets of images, writingpromptsandrelevantvocabulary.Forothersthetaskwasmuchmoreopen-ended.

When the children collected information for themselves, theywere able to use thecameraapptotakephotographsofprimaryresources–aswellasscreenshotsfromrelevanttextbooks–tostoredigitallyandaddtotheirpageatalaterdate.TheyusedthepresentationappKeynotetodocumenttheirresearch,makingiteasytoaccessandreview their work. Children of all abilities could access this task, as some couldsimplytakephotographswhileotherscouldberesponsiblefortyping,andtheuseofimages provided support for their writing. Once children had completed theirresearch,theywereabletousetheExplainEverythingapptoplanthedesignoftheirpage,makingeachpageunique.

An additional advantage of using the iPad for online research was the ‘SpeakSelection’ feature, which enabled children to listen to highlighted text read aloud.Thisnotonlyprovidedsupport for readingbut facilitated theeditingofwriting, aschildrencould listenforerrorsoromissionsand identifyways inwhich theycouldimprovetheirwordchoices.

Some children used theMorfo app to create talking characters. Using a CreativeCommonslicensedimageofanEgyptianfacesourcedfromanAdvancedSearchonGoogleorFlickr,theywereabletocreateananimationwhichlip-syncedwiththeirownrecordedspeech.ThismeantthattheycouldadopttheroleofanEgyptianandexpresstheirthoughtsandfeelingsinrole.Oncethesewerecreated,thechildrene-mailedorsavedthemtoDropboxtoaddtotheirpageinavideoformat.

Assoonasthechildrenhadcollectedtheirinformationandplannedtheirpages,theywerereadytocreatetheebook.IsetupiBookAuthorontheMacBooksinadvanceforthemtocreatetheirpagebyspecifyingthebookcover,thenumberofpagesandthecontentspage.Eachpairwasallocatedablankpageandtheywereabletoaccesstheirpreviouslye-mailedworkasastartingpoint.

There were many opportunities for children to demonstrate their computing skillsthroughout theunit,but theadditionofarangeofwidgets to thebookpageswasausefulsourceofdifferentiation.ThewidgetsareaspecialfeatureiniBookAuthoronaMaccomputer,allowingtheusertoaddmultimediacontentsuchasagallery,typesofmedia,quizquestions,interactiveimages,ascrollingsidebar,a3Dimageorapop-over.Forexample,a lowerabilitypairmightaddasimple3Dimage to theirpage,whichmoveswhentouchedtomakea3Deffect.Thehighabilitypairsinvestigatedmore complexwidgets, such asmultiple choice questionswhich respondedwith agreentickwhenthecorrectresponsewaschosen.

In the final session the children presented theirwork to thewhole class usingAirServer tomirror the iPads to the interactivewhiteboard. They discussed their endproductsandtalkedaboutareaswhichcouldbefurtherdevelopedandimproved.Thisallowedme toaccess their finalpiecesofworkandevaluate theway inwhich thepupilsrelatedtothedevelopmentofthework.Italsoprovidedarichsourceofpeerfeedback.

ThiseBookisavailabletowatchat:www.youtube.com/watch?v=5O9WBKYXn1Y(accessed20December2014).

Casestudy2

Mathsrevisionebook:Year3

ContextAYear3classatWheatleyHillPrimarySchoolusedamathematicalebookcreatedbytheirteacherasalessonstartereachweekforaterm.Thethemeoftheebookwasmultiplication.The aim was to enable children to complete a series of tasksindependently and share them electronically with the teacher. Pupils accessed theebookinPDFform,usinganappcalledShowbie.

LearningObjectives•todeveloppupils’understandingofmultiplication;

•toshareworkandfeedbackelectronicallyovertheInternet;

•topromoteself-directedlearningandgivechildrenmorecontroloverthepaceoftheirlearning.

Myfirst taskswere tocreate theebook,using theBookCreator app, and to createloginsforchildrentoaccesstheappShowbie,whichwaskeyto thesuccessof thisproject. My idea was to make a simple ebook all about times tables; this wouldinclude a front cover, and then a page for each times table.On eachpage I addedsomeexamplenumbersentencesbasedonthetable,aswellasanimageillustratingthenumberfacts.Inaddition,Iwasabletoinsertmessagepromptstogiveguidancetochildrenwhofoundthetaskdifficult.

Next, the app Showbie was added to my class set of iPads. I created a Showbieteacher’s account as well as individual accounts for the class. Showbie allowsteacherstoassign,collectandreviewstudentwork,anditconnectstoarangeofiPadapps.Thisallowsgreaterconnectivityandmakesiteasiertosaveandreviewwork.

WhenIloggedintomyteacher’saccount,IsimplyaddedanewclassnamedYear3and received a five-digit code,whichwas added to each child’s account tomatchtheirShowbieaccountwiththeteacher’s.Iwasthenreadytogo.

IopenedmyebookandexporteditasaPDFtomyShowbieaccountandintoanewfilecalled‘Year3’.Onceaweek,inmymathslessonstarters,childrenloggedontoShowbie using their unique username and password, selected the ebook and thenscrolled to the multiplication table they were working on. They were able to useShowbietoannotatethebookpagewiththeiranswers.Pupilsenjoyedcompletingthetasksandtheirmotivationtopractisetimestablesincreased.

In the example above, children demonstrated their understanding ofmultiplicationtablesusingtheannotationtoolsinShowbie.Iftheyfounditdifficulttowriteonthescreen,therewasanoptiontozoomintotheimage,andiftheymadeamistaketheywereable touse the rubber iconorclick theundobutton.Theprompton thepageprovidedareminderofstrategies,andiftheyneededfurtherhelptheycouldclickonthenoteiconandtellmeiftheyfoundthequestiontoohardoreventooeasy.Then,oncetheyhadfinished, theywouldclick‘done’andtheebookwouldautomaticallysavetotheirworkspaceinPDFformat.

Iwasabletoobservethechildren’sprogressfrommyShowbieteacher’saccount.ApaperclipiconnexttotheirnamesindicatedthattheyhadcompletedtheirpageandIcould point the early finishers towards extension tasks. I was able to mark eachchild’swork online and give constructive feedback by clicking on their name andopeningtheirwork.WhenIassessapieceofworkIhavethesameannotationtoolsasthechildren,butmineappearinred.Igiveticksandwrittenfeedbackinnoteform,justasIwould in theirexercisebooks.OnceIhavemarked theirworkaredcircleappears,indicatingtothechildrenthattheycanaccesstheirfeedback.Theycanthenamendanymistakesandprintoutselectedworktostickintheirbooksforevidence.

After a few weeks of trialling the multiplication tables book, I began to createdifferentiatedebookssothatchildrencouldworkontasksthatmatchedtheirability.We also experimented with opening the ebooks in BookCreator, so that I couldsupporttheirlearningfurtherbyaddingvoicepromptsandspokenfeedback.

Casestudy3

Createyourownnarrativeebook:Year3

ContextFor our third exploration of ebooks, my Year 3 class planned and wrote fairytalestoriesusingTheLiteracyShed’sClocktowerfilmasastimulus.PupilsusedtheBookCreatorapptocreateebooks,whichwerelatersharedwiththerestoftheschoolviatheiBooksonlinelibrary.

LearningObjectives•towriteapieceofnarrativetext;

•tocreateanebook;

•toenhancewritingskillsthroughtheproductionofeBooks;

•tosharedigitalworkonanonlineplatform.

First,thechildrenwatchedtheClocktowerclipavailableonTheLiteracyShed.Seewww.literacyshed.com/the-fairy-tale-shed.html (accessed 20 December 2014).Thentheyplannedtheirownstoriesabouthowthebeautifullittlegirlendedupintheclocktower.

Thisebookisavailable towatchat:www.youtube.com/watch?v=qg8vZC3xCEw_and the animation technique can be seen here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBY3sIsggtY

ChildrenwereabletousefeaturesinBookCreator,suchasaddingphotos,drawings,text,narration,soundeffectsandvideotocreateamedia-richebook(seeFigure2.1).From the start, the children were engaged and enthused. I noted that individualchildrenhadmanymorechoicesthantheyusuallydowithpenandpaper.Theycouldamendthefontandsizeof textoruse theSpeakSelection tool tocheckforerrors.Theycouldrewriteandeditasmuchastheywished,andatapacethatsuitedthem.The use of words, images, video and narrationmeant that they could choose anycombination of these methods to tell their story and still produce a professionallookingbook.Manychose to adda soundbutton to record themselves reading thestory.Thissupportedboththewritersincapturingtheirideasand,later,thereaders,makingthebooksaccessibletoawideragegroup.

There was a good deal of potential in using digital art tools to enhance thestorytelling. For example, children created a clocktower animation using amosaiceffectbasedon theirownphysicalartwork, togetherwith thestop frameanimationapp iMotion to turn hundreds of photographs into a short animation that could beinsertedintotheebookasavideo.

Oncetheebookswerecreatedweexploredanumberofpublishingoptions,suchasmakingaprintedcopy,addingittoourschooliBooklibraryasanebookforallyeargroupstoreadandevenpublishingitonYouTubeasavideo.IusedanappcalledPS

Mobiletoprintebooksinphysicalformforevidence.IalsousedtheShowbieapptoenable children to give feedback to their peers and suggest improvements. Thechildren’sebookswereuploadedontoanareainShowbiethatallowedthemtosaveacopyontotheirowndigitaldeviceathome.

Figure2.1Aflowchartofappsformakingebooks

Overall, our ebooks case studies have featured a range of appswhich the childrenused independently toaddrich layersofmedia to theirebooks.Thediagramabovesummariseshowtheseappscanbecombinedtohelpcreateanebook.Thisisbynomeans an exhaustive list: children can choose from a wide range of apps to addinterestthroughmultimediacontent.Addingphotographsoftheiroriginalartworkoranimations made with their own model-making can also have a very powerfulimpact.

DiscussionEbooksintheprimaryclassroomWehavesuggestedthatchildrenneedtobecomfortablewitharangeofdevicesandtoolsif they are to be digitally literate by today’s standards. Carlson (2004) proposes thattechnology is acceleratingchangeat anevenmore rapidpace thanweexpectedand, asClark andLuckin (2013) andTraxler (2010) suggest,mobiledevices such as iPads andtablets are fast becoming an essential classroom tool. Teachers need to share ways inwhichtheyenhancelearningsothattheyare:recognisingthepotentialofnewandemergingtechnologiesandenablingtheirmeaningfulintegrationinsupportofteachingandlearning.

(AlbertaEducation,2010,p5)

One areahighlighted throughout this chapter is themaking and sharingof ebooks, alsoknown as multi-touch textbooks. Using ebooks can enable teachers to promoteindependent learning, to differentiate learningmore easily to accommodate a variety ofabilitiesandtoeasilyshareresources.Ourapproachhasbeentousetheebookformattodevelopchildren’sideasandsupport themastheyworkat theirownpaceandlevel.Wenotedthatchildrenwereabletodevelopabetterunderstandingofatopic,aswellasgainkeyEnglishskills,byusingarangeofdigitaldevicesandtechniquestocreateandmergemultimediacontentfortheirebooks.WewouldagreewithClarkandLuckin(2013)thatakey benefit ofmobile devices is theway inwhich they canwork in combinationwithothertechnologiestosupportcollaborativeandpersonalisedlearningexperiences.Wewillexplorethisideafurther.

UsingebooksforpersonalisedlearningOneadvantageoftheebookformatisthepotentialtopersonalisechildren’slearning.Wehave shown that it can enable children to study any area of a given topic that intereststhem.For example, they can combine images from the internet, their ownphotographs,mediacreatedinotherappsandphysicalartworkthattheyhavecreatedthemselves.Theycanevenaddtheirownvoice-overs,andtheyhaveagooddealofcontroloverthepaceoftheirworkandthecombinationofmediainthefinishedproduct.Wethinkthatbeingabletochoosefromanumberofoptionsincreaseschildren’smotivationandengagement.AsLovelessandDore(2002)suggest,suchchoicespromoteindependentlearningaschildrencanmake informedjudgementsaboutwhatpiecesofdigitalcontent theywant toadd totheir ebook. They also have a greater sense of ownership over their work, which canimproveproductivity.Thiswasclearlyshownincasestudy1,astheebookcreatedaboutAncientEgyptwasofahighstandardandthechildrenputagooddealoftimeandeffortintoit.Theknowledgethatthefinishedartefactwasgoingtobepublishedandsharedwithanaudienceprovidedadditionalimpetus.Oncetheebookswereavailableintheschool’siBookslibrary,peersofallabilitiesacrosstheprimaryagerangecouldreadthem.Readersas young as five and six were accessing the ebook by scrolling through the pages,browsingthephotogalleriesand3Dimagesandlisteningtothetextreadaloud.

Differentiationandaccessibility

Whenourchildrencreatedtheirebookstheynotonlyhadtheteachertosupportthem,butarangeofoptionstohelpthemalongtheway.Wehavesummarisedsomeoftheseinthetablebelow.

Table2.2Tabletaccessibilityoptionssupportingebookwriting

Inadditiontothis,Iwasabletoscaffoldtheebook-makingprocessbyassigningspecifictasksanddifferentiatedsupporttogroupsandindividuals.Incasestudy3,somechildrenbenefitedfromasimplelayoutofthestorytohelpplantheirwork.Otherswerehelpedbyhaving the option to add different levels of multimedia content.We would agree withWilliamsandEasingwood(2006)thattechnologyshouldnotreplacethepractical,hands-onelementofteachingbutitcangivechildrenalternativewaysofresearchingatopicandsharingwhattheyknow.Theuseofsoundorsymbolsupportforreadingandwriting,forexample, canhelpchildrenwithwritingchallenges toaccess learningandcommunicateindependently.TheGuidedAccessoptioncanbeusedtorestrictchoicesduringanactivityandhelpchildrenwithlowerconcentrationspansstayfocused.Inthisway,thetechnologycanincreaseaccessandcontrolovercurriculumcontentforsomechildren.

Oneoutcomehighlightedbyourcasestudieswasthepositiveimpactofusingimagestoinspirewriting.Someofourchildrenstruggledwithideasorthoughtswhenhandwriting,buttheiPadsgavethemavisualfocusthatresultedinahighlevelofengagementand,inouropinion,adeeperunderstandingofthesubject.

There is also thepotential to exploreother apps for storytelling.Weplan to extendourworkbyexploringthefollowingoptions:

•retellingtraditionaltalesbymakinganarratedscreencastinPuppetPals;

•creatingacomicstripversionusingStripDesigner;

•makingatalkingbookwithShadowPuppetsEdu;

•animatingastorywithiCanAnimate;

•capturingdramainfrontofagreenscreenandaddingbackgroundsusngGreenScreenbyDoInk;

•planningstoriesusingPopplet.

CollaborationAnotherkeyoutcomewasthefacilityforpairsandgroupstocollaborateusingtheiPadsandforme,astheteacher,togiveresponsiveandtimelyfeedback.TheShowbieapphadseveraladvantagesasafeedbacktool.Itcouldbeaccessedfromanydevice,aschildrensaved theirworkonto their personal online area.Wecould all access this online space,makingmarking easier and also facilitating peer feedback, as children could view eachother’sworkonline.Iwasabletoaddannotations,voicenotesoreventextnotesdirectlyontothestudents’workandsharethesewiththemstraightaway.

ActivityUse the planning overview table in Figure2.1 to plan your own ebook based on ahistoricaltheme.Aimtoadaptittoyourchosentopic.

SummaryandKeyPointsThischapterhasexploredwaysinwhichtabletscanhelpcreateebooksandsupportchildren’s learning across the curriculum. It has highlighted how teachers canincorporatetheuseoftabletsintotheireverydayteaching,toenablechildrentocreatedigitalstorieswithvisualmedia,interactivityandsound.Thesemightincludevaryingamountsofmediacontentdependingonlevelsofability,butchildrencanstillendupwithasatisfyingendproduct.Wehavethoughtaboutsomewaysinwhichtheuseoftablets can help to meet a range of learning needs, as well as providing highlyindividualwaysforchildrentodemonstratetheirideasandunderstanding.

Our twenty-first-century learnershavean increasingrangeofdigitaldevicesat theirfingertips,andwehaveanexcitingroleaseducatorstousethistoengageanddevelopchildren’s learning aswell aspreparing them for thedigitalworld theywill face inlaterlife.

UsefulLinksAblogandYouTubeexamplesfromtheprojectdescribedinthischapter

www.computinginprimaryschools.com/ibooksandwww.youtube.com/channel/UCvJxYQ5Hg8YS6j5EzWMWn8g(accessed20December2014).

Ideasforcreatingmulti-touchbooks

www.bookwidgets.com(accessed20December2014).

Evaluatingtheevidence

www.tabletsforschools.org.uk(accessed20December2014).

Asitecollatingresearchexperiencefromteachers,industryleadersandacademicsonhowtabletscanimpactlearningandattainment.

Fiftywaystotellastory

http://50ways.wikispaces.com(accessed20December2014).

AppListfortheChapterCamera,Morfo,Keynote,ExplainEverything,Dropbox,BookCreator,Showbie,PuppetPals,StripDesigner,ShadowPuppetsEdu,ICanAnimate,Popplet,GreenScreenbyDoInk,iMotion,Safari,iMovie,PSMobile,iBooks.

FurtherReadingiPadsintheClassroom

www.computinginprimaryschools.com/ipads-in-the-classroom(accessed20December2014).

IdeasonhowtouseiPadsintheprimaryclassroomaswellasdownloadableebookresources.

ReferencesAlbertaEducation(2010)Emergeone-to-onelaptoplearninginitiative:Finalreport.Edmonton.Availablefrom:www.education.alberta.ca/admin/technology/emerge-one-to-one.aspx(accessed25August2014).

Carlson,G(2004)DigitalMediaintheClassroom.Gilroy,CA:CMPBooks.

Clark,WandLuckin,R(2013)Whatresearchsays:iPadsintheClassroom.London:KnowledgeLab.Availablefrom:https://www.lkldev.ioe.ac.uk/lklinnovation/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/2013-iPads-in-the-Classroom-v2.pdf(accessed25August2014).

Loveless,AandDore,B(2002)ICTinthePrimarySchool.Buckingham:OpenUniversityPress.

Traxler,J(2010)Willstudentdevicesdeliverinnovation,inclusion,andtransformation?JournaloftheResearchCenterforEducationalTechnology,6(1),3–15.

Williams,JandEasingwood,N(2006)PrimaryICTandtheFoundationSubjects.London:ContinuumInternationalpublishinggroup.

Chapter3

VisiblelearningIntroductionThis chapter looks at how tablets can help make children’s learning more visible bycapturing learning activities through film, photos, screencasts and spoken explanations,and by creating contexts for talk, making it easier to review learning and to provideassessmentopportunities.Tabletshavegivenusawholenewrangeofpossibilitieswhenitcomes tochildrendemonstrating theirprogressandunderstandingofa topic.No longeraretheyrestrainedbythechallengeofputtingpentopaper;instead,theycantype,recordtheir voice, use voice to text or simplymake a screencast video.Wewill use the term‘visiblelearning’todescribetheideaofusingtabletstocapturelearningasithappensintheclassroom.Visiblelearningcoexistsalongsideeverydayclassroomactivitiestoensurethat the teacher gets a greater insight into the learning that is happening within theclassroom.

The following case study fromCarolineHaslett School,MiltonKeynes,models simpleandpracticalwaystocapturelearningas,andwhen,ithappens.Itfocusesonthedifferentstages within the learning cycle at which children’s learning can be recorded, andconsidersthedepthnecessarytoinformteachingandlearningthroughoutatopicofwork.Arangeofappsisexplored,alongwithopen-endedexamplesofhowtousethemandarationaleexplainingthepedagogicalchoicesmade.

Wewillgoon todiscusshowusing tablets toallow insight intochildren’s learningcanenhance the learning experience by facilitating independent learning skills such as self-efficacy,learningaboutlearningandself-assessment.Wewillalsoexploretheimpactforchildrenwhen their learning is frequently sharedwith others, including their peers andtheir teacher, as well as further assessment opportunities that would not be possiblewithouttablets.Capturingandsharingchildren’slearningusingtabletsopensawealthofpossibilitiesforAssessmentforLearningstrategies(AfL),personalisedlearningandself-regulatedlearning.

LearningObjectivesAttheendofthischapteryoushouldbeableto:

•identifyanumberofappsforcapturinglearningthroughfilm,photos,screencastsandspokenexplanations;

•understandhowtheseappscanbeusedasassessmentopportunitiestoinformAssessmentforLearning(AfL);

•understandhowtheseappscancoexistwithtraditionalteachingmethods,thusofferingawiderrangeoflearningexperiences;

•applysomeoftheseideastohelpchildrencaptureandsharetheirlearning.

LinkstoTeachers’StandardsThefollowingTeachers’Standardsareparticularlyrelevanttothischapter:

TS1Establishasafeandstimulatingenvironmentforpupils.

Setgoalsthatstretchandchallengepupilsofallbackgrounds,abilitiesanddispositions.

TS2 Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of how pupils learn and how thisimpactsonteaching.

Encouragepupilstotakearesponsibleandconscientiousattitudetotheirownworkandstudy.

TS3Haveasecureknowledgeoftherelevantsubject(s)andcurriculumareas.

Fosterandmaintainpupils’interestinthesubject,andaddressmisunderstandings.

TS4Promotealoveoflearningandchildren’sintellectualcuriosity.

Contribute to thedesignandprovisionof anengagingcurriculumwithin the relevantsubjectarea(s).

TS5Haveaclearunderstandingoftheneedsofallpupils,including:thosewithspecialeducationalneeds;thoseofhighability;thosewithEnglishasanadditionallanguage;those with disabilities; and to be able to use and evaluate distinctive teachingapproachestoengageandsupportthem.

Demonstrate a critical understanding of developments in the subject and curriculumareas,andpromotethevalueofscholarship.

LinkstoNationalCurriculumProgrammesofStudyKeyStage1andKeyStage2

•pupilsbecomedigitallyliterate–abletouse,andexpressthemselvesanddeveloptheirideasthroughinformationandcommunicationtechnology–atalevelsuitableforthefutureworkplaceandasactiveparticipantsinadigitalworld;

•pupilsareresponsible,competent,confidentandcreativeusersofinformationandcommunicationtechnology;

•pupilsusetechnologypurposefullytocreate,organise,store,manipulateandretrievedigitalcontent;

•pupilsselect,useandcombineavarietyofsoftware(includinginternetservices)onarangeofdigitaldevicestodesignandcreatearangeofprograms,systemsandcontentthataccomplishgivengoals,includingcollecting,analysing,evaluatingandpresentingdataandinformation.

Intheclassroom

ExamplefrompracticeAone-yeartrialof1:1iPadsinaYear5class

ContextDuringtheacademicyear2013–14,32childreninYear5atCarolineHaslettPrimarySchoolparticipatedina1:1trialusingiPadsasalearningtool.OneoftheoutcomesInotedwas theway inwhich the iPads providedopportunities for children to sharetheirworkanddiscusstheirlearning.Inthissection,Iwilldiscussanumberofappsthathelpedtomakelearningmore‘visible’toboththechildrenwithinmyclass,andtomeastheirteacher.

LearningObjectives•toencouragechildrentoverbalisetheirthoughtprocesses;

•tosharethelearningprocesssothatitcanbediscussedandbuiltupon;

•toallowchildrentopresenttheirlearninginarangeofdifferentways;

•toengagechildrenintheirownlearningjourneyandempowerthemtoshareitwithothers.

OutlineAtCarolineHaslettPrimarySchool, Ibegan touseavarietyofappsandmedia tocapture,ormakevisible,thelearningthatwashappeninginmyclassroom.Assuch,Visible Learning’ is a strategy I used alongside other learning activities across thecurriculum.

VisiblelearningcycleOver the courseof a lesson, or a series of lessons, I found that therewere severalstages atwhich I could use apps tomake the learning processmore explicit. Thisallowedme todelvedeeper into thechildren’sunderstandingandmake themmoreawareoftheprogresstheyweremaking.ThestagesatwhichIcapturelearningformacyclethatcanberoughlybrokendowninto:

•Pre-/Post-assessment:thisinvolvescheckingwhatchildrenalreadyknowatthebeginningofalessonandthenrepeatingtheprocessattheendofthelessonorunittocheckthattheyhavelearnedwhatIwastryingtoteachthem.

•Capturinglearninglive:thisisavisuallearningtechniqueuniquetotablets,asyoucancapturetheprocessratherthanjusttheoutcome,allowingyoutoquestionhowchildrenarriveattheiranswers.

•Pitstopsorminiplenaries:checkinginwithchildrenthroughoutalessonandensuringthattheyareworkingintherightdirection.

•Reflectingonlearning:alongsidecapturinglearning,tabletscanmakeitquickandeasyforchildrentoexplainexactlywhytheymadechoicesandto

demonstratetheirunderstandingofatopic.

•Ongoinglearningmaps:theseareasimplebuteffectivewayofmakingavisualrepresentationofchildren’sprogress.

ThesestagesareillustratedinFigure3.1belowtodemonstrate thelearningjourneyover the course of a classroom topic. By following one of these routes frombeginningtoend,youwillassembleacatalogueofvisuallearningevidenceallowingyoutoadaptandmeetthespecificlearningneedsofthestudentsinyourclass.

Figure3.1Thevisiblelearningcyclemakingchildrenawareoftheirprogress

We will look at how this cycle can be implemented over some example literacy,mathsanddesignandtechnologylessonstoseehowitcanenhancelearningacrossthecurriculum.

Literacylesson

Pre-assessmentUsing the app Answer Garden, I gave my class two minutes to ‘List as manyprepositions as you can.’ Their answers instantly appeared on my interactivewhiteboard(IWB)viatheAnswerGardenwebsite.Oncethechildrenhadsubmittedtheir answers, I immediatelyhada clearpictureofwhichchildrenhadgood ideas,andwhichfoundthetaskmorechallenging.Usually,Iwouldfocusmyquestioningontheoneortwowhowereunsure,soastoascertainwhetherthiswasduetoalackofunderstanding.However,inthiscase,therewerefiveorsixchildrenwhoseemedtolackconfidence.Withthisinmind,Ilaunchedapre-preparedmultiple-choicequizusingtheappSocrativetoaskthemtoexplainwhataprepositionwasandencouragethemtopickoutanexampleprepositionfromaselectionofwords.

Having used these apps to complete a pre-assessment for my class’s existingknowledgeofprepositions,Ibeganmymainliteracylesson.Thelessonfocuswasonusingprepositionsindescriptivewritingandthecontextwasdescribingtheinteriorof theTardis from theDrWhoTVseries.AnswerGarden nowworked forus as aword bank of examples – supporting those less confident at using prepositions, aswell as forming a reminder of our language focus. The children wrote theirdescriptionsintotheirliteracybooksandIcontinuedmyusualroutineofremindingchildren to work on their literacy targets and checking in with those who hadpreviouslycompletedtheSocrativequiz.

Pitstopandreflectiononlearning

Aroundhalfwaythroughthelesson,Iwantedtocheckthateveryonehadrememberedtoincludetheprepositionswetalkedaboutatthebeginning.Iaskedthechildrentotakeaphotoof theworktheyhadwrittensofarandusetheappSkitch toannotatetheirimages,highlightingexamplesofprepositions.Next,theyusedawebsitecalledPadlet,avirtualwallforpostingandsharing,todisplaytheannotatedimageoftheirwrittenwork.Wewereabletolookatthistogetherinordertodiscussandpeerassessourworksofar.

Highlightingtheirownuseofprepositionsandlookingatexamplesoftheirpeers’useof prepositions refocusedmy class on the learning objective.The annotatedSkitchimages provided a visual example of the use of prepositions as sentence openers.This gave me an invaluable insight into their level of understanding about howprepositionscanbeused.

Mathslesson

CapturinglearningliveTo give another example: in a maths lesson on data handling, I completed a pre-assessment quiz based on a range of SATs (National Curriculum Tests) questionsusingtheSocrativeapptocheckthechildren’slevelofunderstanding.Thisevidencehelped me to arrange differentiated groups. I then set the children the task ofpresenting data through a paper-based data poster, often referred to as an‘infographic’, so that I could see that they could construct a purposeful variety ofgraphsandcharts.Iaskedthemtalkthroughthisprocessinpairsandtocapturetheirlearning live using the AudioBoom app, which records audio and allows it to besaved,editedanduploadedtotheinternet.Thishelpedtofocustheirdiscussionsandgaveme a chance to catch any learning points I hadmissedwhilst Iwasworkingwithotherchildren.Italsoformedthebasisforpeer-assessmentatalaterstageinthelesson.

ReflectingonlearningAfter their infographics were complete, I asked the children to reflect on theirlearning. Iwanted them to focuson thechoices theyhadmadewhenpicking theirresearchquestion, and to explainwhy they choseparticular graphs to present theirdata.For this, IusedtheappThingLink,whichallowsyou to takeaphotoandaddinformation around it. In this case, the children took a photo of their paper-basedinfographicand thenaddedvoice recordings,videosor just text,oneachaspectoftheirinfographic.Forexample,onepieceofinformationmightsay‘Iusedapiecharttoshow themaindevicepeopleused toaccess the internetas itwasclear that thiswasdata fromthewholesample.’Reflectingon their learning in thiswaygave thechildrenindependenceandflexibilityinhowtheychosetosharetheirthoughts.Afterthey had reflected on their choices, and created an individual record for myassessment, they peer assessed each other’s ThingLinks through the shared onlineaccount.

DTlesson

OngoinglearningmapsFinally, for ongoing projects, tablets provide an opportunity to regularly update adigital artefact to represent a learning journey. In a design and technology (DT)project inwhichYear5mademodelsofa themepark ride, I asked thechildren tocreateanebookusingtheappBookCreator.Fromtheinitialgroupdecisionstotheannotated photos of the finished working models, the ebooks allowed children tocombine text, images, videos and voice recordings to share reflections on theirlearning.

At theendof each lesson thechildren thoughtaboutwhat theyhadachieved,whytheymadethosechoicesandwhattheyplannedtodointhesubsequentlesson;theythenrecordedthisintheirebooks.Makingeachchildaccountablefortheirlearninginthiswaygavethemaclearerfocus.Itenabledmetotapintotheirthinkingandtosteerthembackontrackifnecessary,aswellashelpingmetoassesstheirindividualcontributiontothegroupwork.

TakingitfurtherTheexamplesofpracticesharedherearetakenfromanumberoflessons,buttheycouldalsobeadaptedforanysubject,yeargrouporkeystageduetotheopen-endednatureoftheapps.Forexample,whenusingAnswerGardenwithYear1children,youmightaskthemtolisttimeconnectivesratherthanprepositions.

ActivityThereareseveralapps thatsupporteachstageof thevisible learningcycle.Exploresome of the apps listed in the table below and compare their use to traditionalAssessmentforLearningstrategies.

Table3.1Appssupportingvisiblelearning

Addthreeoftheseappsintoyourmedium-termplanning.Focusonwhatyouaretryingtoachievebycapturingthelearningateachstageofthevisiblelearningcycle.Tohelpwiththis,considerthefollowingquestions:

•Whyareyouusingthisapp?Whatdoesitallowthatothermethodsdonot?

•Whyisthisagoodplaceandtimetomakethelearningexplicit?Howwillcapturinglearningatthispointhelpprogresschildren’slearning?

DiscussionWe will discuss some of the advantages of using these visible learning techniques toinformbothteachingandlearningbehaviours.Thefocuswillbeonacomparisonbetweentraditional Assessment for Learning (known as AfL or formative assessment) andassessment methods using tablets. We will also consider how tablets can increasemetacognitionandpersonalisedlearning.

AssessmentforLearning(AfL)Asseeninthecasestudyabove,therearemanypotentialusesfortabletssupportingAfLwithintheclassroom,frompre/postassessmentstoregularteacher‘check-ins’throughoutthelearningcycle.Overthelasttenyears,therehavebeenseveralinitiativestopromoteAfLwithineducation(AssessmentReformGroup,2002;Jones,2005;DCSF,2008)and,as teachers, we know that AfL is an important aspect of day-to-day teaching. Givingqualityfeedbackandadviceonnextsteps,withdifferentiatedsuccesscriteria,makesforhighqualityteachingthatrespondstoindividualneeds(Wiliam,2000).Withthisinmind,AfLshouldbeaprioritywithintheclassroom,butitcanbeahardgoaltoachievegiventhetime-consumingnatureofregularlyassessing,markingandfeedingbacktoallchildrenwithinaclass(AntoniouandJames,2014).Itisworthexploringwaysinwhichtabletscanhelptomakethisprocessmoreresponsive.

Wehaveseenthattheuseoftabletsalongsidemorestandardteachingmethodscanofferarange of opportunities, allowing for snapshots of successful learning within our ownclassroomsaswellasquicklyhighlightingmisconceptionssothattheycanbeaddressedstraightaway.Thebenefitsofusingtechnologyforassessmenthavelongbeenrecognised(Ravitz,2002),however,theadoptionofassessmenttechniquesisstilllowacrossEurope(Redecker,2013).WewilldiscusssomepotentialbenefitsofusingtabletsandstrategiestosupportAfLwithinaclassroomenvironment:

1.Differentiatedlearningforall

Oneofthesimplestwaystabletscanbeusedistocollectinstantresponsesfromallchildrenandadjustyourteachingastheirpriorknowledgeandneedsemerge,whilstkeepingthedataforalater,deeper,levelofanalysis.Thiscanenableyoutobemoreflexibleintheclassroomanditalsomakesiteasiertoanalysedatatoinformfutureteaching.Analysingworkinthiswayallowsteacherstoseetrendsofmisunderstandingswithintheirclasses,sothattheycanaddressthem(BeattyandGerace,2009).

Ifeachpupilcreatesamindmapoftheirexistinglearning,usinganapplikeMindomo,theycanaddtoitattheendofeachlessonandsendittotheirteacherusinge-mailorDropbox,whichletsyousharefilesovertheinternet.Youcanuseakeywordsearchtodeterminehowmanychildrenwithintheclassareusingthecorrectterminology,forexample‘point’or‘dot’whendiscussingcoordinatesinmaths.

Aswellasbeingusefulfromateachingperspective,thereisalsoadirectbenefittolearningintermsofthepupils’accountabilityandanonymity.Usingthemorestandard‘handsup’approachtoAfLquestioningtechniques,manystudentsknowthatthelikelihoodofthembeingpickedisminimalandthereforedonotchallengethemselveswithanswers.Whenstudentsknowthateachoftheiranswerscanbetracedbacktothemselves,theymakeagreaterefforttotrytheirbest.Atthesametime,theoptionofanonymityamongsttheirpeers(duetoindividualanswersbeingsentdirectlytotheteacher)protectsthosewhomayfeelmorevulnerableansweringquestionsinfrontofanaudience(Roschelleetal.,2004).

Inthesecases,theSocrativeandAnswerGardenappsaregoodchoices.Theyofferanopportunitytoshareanswerswiththeclass,whilstallowingtheanonymityofnot

pointingoutindividualchildren.Socrativecreatesinstantgraphsshowinghowmanychildrenchosewhichmultiple-choiceoption,orhowmanyanswered‘true/false’questions.AnswerGardendisplayseachwrittenanswerfromachild,butwithnoidentifierastowhichchildsaidwhat.Repeatedchoicesdisplaylargerandmakethemstandout,givingavisualrepresentationofgroupopinions.

Onceyougettogripswiththeprocess,youwillfindthatassessingworkinadigitalformatismuchmoreefficientthanlookingatpaper-basedwork,andisthereforemorelikelytobecarriedoutbyteacherswhoalreadyhaveabusyschedule.Aswellasthis,inmyopinion,theanonymityofferedtolessconfidentlearners,andtheaccountabilityofferedtolessmotivatedlearners,isunrivalledbypaper-basedformsofAfL.

2.Immediatefeedback

Throughreal-timequestioningwithappslikeSocrative,wecangetimmediatefeedbackonchildren’scurrentlevelsofunderstandingwithrelativelylittleteachertimerequired.Aquickpre-plannedquizcanbecompletedbychildrenindividuallyandtheycaneachreceiveimmediatefeedbackastocorrectandincorrectanswers,includingexplanationsoferrors(PeatandFranklin,2002).Researchsuggeststhatthisimmediacyplaysavitalroleintheimpactthatfeedbackhasonthelearner.Inshort(asnotedbyNunan,2010),thesooner,thebetter!

Beyondtheappsalreadymentioned,anotheroptionwastheimmediacyofchildrenbeingabletosharetheirongoingworkwiththeirpeers.Forexample,childrenmightusetheappTagxedotocreateawordcloudofcommonwords,theappScreenChomptocapturetheirscreenandexplainwhattheyhavebeendoing,theappThingLinktoexplainthedecisionstheyhadmadethroughouttheirwork,ortheappAudiobootoshareaconversationorlearningdiscussion.Usingtheseapps,thechildrencouldsimplyandefficientlysharetheirworkinprogressandgainvaluablepeerfeedbackinadditiontothatoftheirteacher.

Ifweweretorecreatethesescenarioswithouttheaidoftabletsitwouldbealotmoreintrusiveonthelearningenvironment.Wewouldhavetocollecteveryone’swork,displayitorhanditoutsomewheretoensurethatchildrenhavetheopportunitytopreviewwhatotherchildrenhavedone.Tabletshelpclassescollaborateandgrowintolocallearningcommunitiesbysyncingtheprocessesofproducingandrespondinginthisway.

3.Peer-andself-assessment

Goodassessmentmeanshelpingchildrentothinkabouttheirlearningandwhatdecisionstheycouldmaketoimproveit,andhelpingthemtosharetheirdevelopingunderstandingwiththeirpeers(Jones,2005).FeaturesofgoodfeedbackpracticesuggestedbyNicolandMacfarlane-Dick(2006)includeself-assessment,andteacherandpeerdialogue.WilleyandGardner(2009)foundthat,whenusingtechnologytoensuresimpleandfrequentuseofself-andpeer-assessment,learnersachievedthedesiredlearningoutcomes.Thiswassupportedbyaliteraturereviewwhichfoundthatchildrengivingfeedbackontheirpeers’workoftenledtoalargernumberofimprovementsintheirownwork(Hepplestoneetal.,2011).Managingthisasaclassroomteacherisacarefuljob,asyoudonotwantthosewhostruggletofeelself-

consciousabouttheworktheyaresharing,andyouwantthosewhoareachievingwelltolearnfromassessingtheirpeers’work(Jones,2005).

Examplesofpeer-andself-assessmentarementionedaboveinthe‘ReflectingonLearning’sectionofthelearningcycle(Figure3.1).Here,childrenhavetheopportunitytotaketheirexistingworkandannotateitwithappssuchasScreenChomp(anappwhereyoucanmakeanarratedscreencast),ThingLink(anappwhereyoucanannotateanimagewithtext,videoandsound)orSkitch(anappwhereyoucanannotateanimagewithtext,arrowsandhighlights.Theexperienceofexplaininglearningencourageschildrentoreflectonobjectivesandsuccesscriteria,andrefocusestheirattentiononthetask.

Once children have created these digital artefacts describing their self-assessment, theycaneasilybesharedeither throughwebsitessuchasPadlet,avirtualwallwhichallowsstudentstopostimages,videosandtext,orsimplythroughasharedlog-inaccountforanapp.I tend to take thisopportunity toencouragedialogic teachingbyaskingchildren todiscuss someone else’sworkwith their partner, and be ready to feedback positives andsuggestionstotheclass.

Overall, the use of tablets to encourage self-assessment has benefits over regularassessmentmethodsbecauseitusesworkthatchildrenhavealreadycreatedasastartingpoint.Fromhere, childrencanadd reasoningandexplanationswhilst easily referring totheirownwork.Aswellasthis,themultimediaaspectofusingtabletsislikelytoengageawider range of students, as those who are less comfortable with text can share theirthoughts using narration, video or images. Learners with a wide range of abilities cancreateimpressivedigitalartefactsusingvariouscombinationsofthesemedia.Finally,bymakingannotatedassessmentsstudentsleavetheiroriginalworkintactsothatanyerrorsmadeintheirownunderstandingandexplanationscanbeusedasevidencebytheteacherwithoutdeletingordefacingtheoriginals.

Fromapeer-assessmentperspective,theuseoftabletsallowsforanagiledistributionofchildren’swork.Thismeansthatonlyasmallamountoftimeneedstobeusedphysicallysharingtheworkandthemajoritycanbespenthavingtheassessmentconversations.Aswell as this, letting the children view everyone’s work brings us back to the idea ofaccountability,as,evenifworkisanonymous,studentswillrecognisewhoputinthemosteffort. Finally, a larger range of skills and focused conversations occur if you canencourage children to analyse and discuss a range of different examples of work. Forexample, if you ask children to find a piece ofwriting that creates the strongest visualimage,thechildrenwillspendtimereadingthroughseveralexamplesanddiscussingtheirthoughtswiththeirpartners.Addtothisthattheymustgivethreereasonsfortheirchoice,andyouhavearangeofhigh-levelprocessingskillsbeingused.

IndividualneedsAs well as the numerous AfL benefits that are provided by tablets, there is also anopportunityforustoensurethatwemeettheindividualneedsofchildrenwithintheclass:frombeingabletoofferspecificchildrenanalternativepre-assessmentquiz,tobeingabletoofferchildrentheopportunitytocompletelearningtasksinawaythatallowsthemtoexpressthemselvesasindividuals.

TheneedtoaddressindividualneedshasbeenhighlightedbyBrunvandandByrd(2011),whoexplored theuseof thewebsiteandappVoiceThreadby individualswithinaclass.They found that this toolprovidedaguided learningenvironmentwhichmet individualneedsandlearningstyles,andenabledarangeofchildrentofeelsuccess.Thissupportsthe idea that using open-ended visible learning apps such asBookCreator (formakingebooksusingacombinationoftext,photos,videosandaudio),MindMash(anappwhichallowsyoutocombineseveraldifferent typesofmediatoorganiselikeanotebook)andMindomo (amindmappingapp thatallowsyou to includedifferentmedia inconnectedwebs)canallowyourlearnerstocommunicateandsharetheirlearningmorereadilythanwithpenandpapermethods.

MetacognitionMetacognition is described as ‘awareness and understanding of one’s own thoughtprocesses’(OxfordDictionary),andresearchsuggeststhatmetacognitiveskillscanpredictlearningoutcomes(VeenmanandSpaans,2005).VeenmanandSpaans’studygoesontoexplore the idea that,within education, ‘young students should be instructed to acquiremetacognitiveskillsinvariousdomainsand,subsequently,toapplythoseskillsacrosstheboundaries of tasks and domains’ (p173). The ‘Reflecting on Learning’ and ‘OngoingLearningMaps’stagesofthelearningcyclementionedinFigure3.1meetthiscriteria.

Using tablets to encourage learners to recognise andunderstand their learning increasestheirunderstandingaswellastheirmotivationonspecifictasksacrossthecurriculum(LiuandCarless,2006).Reflectionisitselfalearningexperienceforchildren,andtabletsofferbothteachersandlearnersinteractiveinsightintothelearningasitishappening.Finally,atprimarylevel,metacognitionhasbeenusedasaninterventionwherereflectiononthelearning process develops skills that can be transferred to other learning situations(DignathandBüttner,2008).

Self-regulationandself-efficacyWiththesurgeoftechnologicaldevelopmenttakingplaceoverthelast20years,theideaoflifelonglearningisnowmorewithinoursightsthaneverbefore.Asteachers,weneedtoensurethatthechildreninourclassesarebestpreparedtolearnbothwithinandbeyondourclassroomwalls,andtabletsareagreatwaytoencouragethis.Previously,educationwas limited by children accessing textbooks, or other school equipment, which wasunavailableintheirhomes.Modellingapositiveuseoftabletsineducationcangosomewaytowardsresolvingthis,althoughweneedtotakeaccountoftheneedforequalityofaccess.Ofcom (2013) reported that, in their2013 survey,51per centof5–15-year-oldsnowhadhome tabletaccessand thatuseofa tabletcomputerathomeby thesameagegrouphadtripledsincethepreviousyear.

Using tablets tomake learning visible offers a unique opportunity to allow children topractisestrategiessuchasmetacognitionandimproveself-regulationandself-efficacyinanalreadyfullcurriculum.Theirusehasbeenshowntobebeneficialtolearningatbothprimaryandsecondary level (DignathandBüttner,2008).Givingchildren thechoiceofhowtopresent their learningcanbethefirststeptowardsthembecomingself-regulatedlearners who are aware of their own abilities. This coincides with offering themopportunities to reflect on their practice and self-assess their progress (Nicol and

Macfarlane-Dick,2006).

Tablets allow students to present their work in a range of different media, whilst stillmakingiteasierforteacherstocollateandofferfeedbackontheworktheirlearnershaveproduced. Giving children greater ownership over their learning helps them to self-regulateandsetthemselvesachievablegoals.Theyneedtoconsiderhowtheyaregoingtoshow you that they have understood the learning. Alongside this, your children mustbelieveinwhattheycanachieve,astheyaretheonesbeingaskedtoshare.Intheend,alllearningstemsfromthelearnersanditisfacilitatedbytheuseoftabletstoaccommodateindividualperspectives.

Ifwe thinkback to the design and technology (DT) lessondiscussedpreviously in thischapter, we have a clear example of a controllable way to manage giving children anopen-endedtask.ThetabletswereusedalongsideDT,and,byusingthetabletinthisway(showing skills of self-regulation, self-efficacy and metacognition), the children had aclearer understanding of the relevant DT concepts. This is supported by researchsuggesting that combining spoken text and images allows for deeper understanding(MayerandMoreno,2002).Spendingjust5–10minutesattheendofalesson,reflectingonwhatthechildrenhadachieved,verbalisingwhatthey’dlearnedandplanningtheirnextsteps,ensuredthat,asateacher,Icouldclearlyseethelearningthatwashappening,but,moreimportantly,socouldthechildrenthemselves.

PedagogyToensurethatthesetechniqueshavethegreatestimpactonlearningintheclassroom,youneedtoensurethattheethosofthistypeofassessmentandlearningisunderstoodbyyourstudents. This is not as challenging as itmay seem;modelling to children the positivebenefitsof this typeofassessmentof learning, rather thanon ‘marking’ them,willhelpchildrenhaveavestedinterestinthistypeofactivity.Drawingpositiveattentiontothosechildrenwhoarecompletingtaskseffectivelyandusinginformationtoformtheirlearningwillreinforceyourlearningandassessmentethos.Repeatedlyreturningto,andremindingchildren,ofthisassessmentprocesswillensurethattheyrecogniseitasausefullearningtoolthemselves(Keppelletal.,2006).

RecentguidancefromtheEuropeanUnionfocusedon‘TheUseofICTforAssessment…’(Redecker,2013)andhasasectionspecificallyrelatingtopedagogicalstrategies,statingthatteachersshould:

•chooseassessmentformatsthatencouragealternativesolutionsandpromoteexperimentation;

•promoteself-regulatedlearningthroughself-andpeer-assessment;

•useICT-basedassessmentasameansofmakingthesemoreinnovativelearningstrategiesmorereadilyavailable.

Thissupportstheabove-mentionedstrategiestoensurethatwearebestsuitingtheneedsofourclasstocreatebetterlearningenvironments,inturnensuringthateveryonereachestheirmaximumpotential.

Activity

Rank the following statements about using tablets for visible learning in order ofimportancetoyou.

Table3.2Rankingaboutusingtabletsofvisiblelearning

Identify the threenextstepsyouwouldneed to take inorder tobegin to implementthisapproachinyourclassroom.

1.

2.

3.

SummaryandKeyPointsWe have looked at how tablets can help capture learning through film, photos,screencasts and spoken explanations, making learning visible to both learners andteachers. By using apps, teachers can dip into the learning journey regularly, withminimaldisruptiontothestudents.Aswellas this, theuseof tabletscanreducethetimespentonassessmentandallowmoretimetogivethelearnersqualityfeedback.

Thevisiblelearningcyclesuggestedinthischapterfocusesattentiononthevarietyofopportunitiesforteacherstocapturelearningandmakeitvisiblethroughoutaunitofwork.Itisunlikelythatyouwoulduseeachofthesetechniquesineveryunit,butitisimportanttorecogniseeachstageindividuallysothatitcanbeappropriatelyplannedintothecurriculum.Whilstlittlediscretetimeneedstobegiventotheseactivities,aswith any assessment, planning and preparation are required to ensure that themaximumimpactisachieved.

WefocusedourdiscussiononthefollowingadvantagesofusingtabletsforAfLovermore traditional methods: the simplicity of collecting data from all students; theimmediacyofofferingfeedbacktothosestudents;andtheeasewithwhichself-andpeer-assessmentopportunitiescanbemanagedwithin theclassroom.Fromhere,weexploredextendedopportunities forusing tablets todeepen learning throughvisiblelearningactivitiesthatmeettheneedsofindividualstudents,encouragemetacognitivereflectionsandpromoteself-regulationwithinstudents.

Remember that these strategies are to be used alongside ‘traditional’ classroomlessons and that the role of the tablet is to capture the learning that is alreadyhappening, often in a more subtle way. In the digital age, with tablets playing anincreasinglymoreprominentroleineverydaylife,wewanttoequipourstudentswitharangeofskillsallowingthemtoharnessthistechnologyintheirjourneytobecominglifelonglearners.Bringinglearningtotheforefrontofthelessonhasbenefitsforboth

thechildrenandtheteacherandensuresthatourlearnersareattheheartoftheirownlearningexperiences.

UsefulLinkshttp://ipad4schools.org(accessed20December2014).

RichardWells’bloglookingattheiPadsandlearning.

http://swaygrantham.co.uk/?s=ipad(accessed20December2014).

SwayGrantham’sblogdocumentingiPaduseinherownclassroom.

www.unity.com.au/pad201(accessed20December2014).

ExploringiPadsandBloom’staxonomy.

http://ictevangelist.com/?s=ipad(accessed20December2014).

iPadblogfromICTEvangelistMarkAnderson.

AppListfortheChapteriPadapps:AnswerGarden,SloPro,Socrative,WordPress,Video,ScreenChomp,BookCreator,Mindomo,ExplainEverything,Skitch,ThingLink,Audioboo,MindMash,Reflector,ShowMe,WordSalad,VoiceThread

Androidapps:Socrative,WordPress,Video,BookCreator,Mindomo,ExplainEverything,Skitch,ThingLink,Audioboo

Windowsapps:Socrative,Skitch,ExplainEverything,Audioboo

Web-basedtools:AnswerGarden,Socrative,Mindomo,Audioboo,ThingLink,Tagxedo,WordPress,VoiceThread

FurtherReadingTheUseofICTfortheAssessmentofKeyCompetencies.http://ftp.jrc.es/EURdoc/JRC76971.pdf(accessed20December2014).

ApracticalguidetotheuseofICTintheclassroomwrittenfortheEuropeanUnion.

FormativeAssessmentwithiPad:RepresentingtheProcessofLearningbyTomFosteraspartoftheAppleDistinguishedEducator‘OneBestThing’seriesebook.Includesdiscussionandclassroomexamples.

iPadsintheclassroom:embeddingtechnologyintheprimarycurriculum.AGuardianarticlewithacasestudyofaYear6classusingiPadstosupportlearning.http://bit.ly/ipad-primary-curriculum(accessed20December2014).

ReferencesAntoniou,PandJames,M(2014)Exploringformativeassessmentinprimaryschoolclassrooms:Developingaframeworkofactionsandstrategies.EducationalAssessment,EvaluationandAccountability,26(2),153–76.

AssessmentReformGroup(2002)AssessmentforLearning:10Principles.Available

from:www.aaia.org.uk/content/uploads/2010/06/Assessment-for-Learning-10-principles.pdf(accessed11August2014).

Beatty,IDandGerace,WJ(2009)Technology-enhancedformativeassessment:Aresearch-basedpedagogyforteachingsciencewithclassroomresponsetechnology.JournalofScienceEducationandTechnology,18(2),146–62.

Brunvand,SandByrd,S(2011)UsingVoiceThreadtopromotelearningengagementandsuccessforallstudents.TeachingExceptionalChildren.43(4),28–37.Availablefrom:http://voicethread.com/media/misc/support/JTECVoiceThread.pdf(accessed13August,2014).

DCSF(2008)TheAssessmentforLearningStrategy.DepartmentforChildren,SchoolsandFamilies.

Dignath,CandBüttner,G(2008)Componentsoffosteringself-regulatedlearningamongstudents:Ameta-analysisoninterventionstudiesatprimaryandsecondaryschoollevel.MetacognitionandLearning,3,231–64.

Hepplestone,S,Holden,G,Irwin,B,Parkin,HJandThorpe,L(2011)Usingtechnologytoencouragestudentengagementwithfeedback:Aliteraturereview.ResearchinLearningTechnology,19(2),117–27.

Jones,CA(2005)AssessmentforLearning.London:LearningandSkillsDevelopmentAgency.

Keppell,M,Au,E,Ma,AandChan,C(2006)Peerlearningandlearning-orientedassessmentintechnology-enhancedenvironments.AssessmentandEvaluationinHigherEducation,31,453–64.

Liu,N-FandCarless,D(2006)Peerfeedback:Thelearningelementofpeerassessment.TeachinginHigherEducation,11(3),279–90.

Mayer,REandMoreno,R(2002)Aidstocomputer-basedmultimedialearning.LearningandInstruction,12(1),107–19.

Nicol,DJandMacfarlane-Dick,D(2006)Formativeassessmentandself-regulatedlearning:Amodelandsevenprinciplesofgoodfeedbackpractice.StudiesinHigherEducation,31(2),199–218.

Nunan,D(2010)TechnologySupportsforSecondLanguageLearning,InternationalEncyclopediaofEducation(3rded.,Vol.8,pp.204–9).Oxford:Elsevier.

Ofcom(2013)ChildrenandParents:MediaUseandAttitudesReport.Availablefrom:http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/research/media-literacy/october-2013/research07Oct2013.pdf(accessed20August2014).

Ravitz,J(2002)CILT2000:Usingtechnologytosupportongoingformativeassessmentintheclassroom.JournalofScienceEducationandTechnology,11(3),293–96.

Redecker,C(2013)TheUseofICTfortheAssessmentofKeyCompetencies.Luxembourg:PublicationsOfficeoftheEuropeanUnion.Availablefrom:http://ftp.jrc.es/EURdoc/JRC76971.pdf(accessed13August2014).

Roschelle,J,Abrahamson,LAandPenuel,WR(2004)Integratingclassroomnetwork

technologyandlearningtheorytoimproveclassroomsciencelearning:Aliteraturesynthesis.PaperpresentedattheAnnualMeetingoftheAmericanEducationalResearchAssociation,SanDiego.

Veenman,MVJandSpaans,MA(2005)Relationbetweenintellectualandmetacognitiveskills:Ageandtaskdifferences.LearningandIndividualDifferences,15,159–76.

Wiliam,D(2000)IntegratingSummativeandFormativeFunctionsofAssessment.KeynoteaddresstotheEuropeanAssociationforEducationalAssessment,Prague:CzechRepublic.

Chapter4

TalkandcollaborationIntroductionThischapterexploreswaysinwhichthecreativeuseoftabletappscanpromotetalkandcollaboration within classrooms. The case study will focus on games-based learningapproaches to curriculumdevelopment, utilising apps and other digital tools to developgamedesignskillsandunderstanding.Thewaysinwhichthiscanpromotediscussionandactivereflectionwillbeconsideredandthecasestudyalsoexploresusingtechnologytosupportthewritingprocessasacross-curricularprojectwithaYear6class.Thechapterdiscussion attempts to frame the case study examples with reflection on academicapproachestothinking,dialogueandpedagogy.

LearningObjectivesAttheendofthischapteryoushouldbeableto:

•designprogramsthataccomplishspecificgoals;

•beconfidentandcreativeusersofinformationandcommunicationtechnology;

•usespokenlanguagetodevelopunderstandingthroughexploringideas,participatingindiscussionsandconsideringandevaluatingdifferentviewpoints,attendingtoandbuildingonthecontributionofothers.

LinkstoTeachers’StandardsThefollowingTeachers’Standardsareparticularlyrelevanttothischapter:

TS1 Set goals that stretch and challenge pupils of all backgrounds, abilities anddispositions.

TS2 Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of how pupils learn and how thisimpactsonteaching.

TS2Encouragepupilstotakearesponsibleandconscientiousattitudetotheirownworkandstudy.

TS3Have a secure knowledge of the relevant subject(s) and curriculum areas, fosterandmaintainpupils’interestinthesubjectandaddressmisunderstandings.

TS4 Contribute to the design and provision of an engaging curriculum within therelevantsubjectarea(s).

TS5Knowwhenandhow todifferentiateappropriately,usingapproaches thatenablepupilstobetaughteffectively.

TS6 Give pupils regular feedback, both orally and through accurate marking, andencouragethemtorespondtothefeedback.

LinkstoNationalCurriculumProgrammesofStudyKeyStage1andKeyStage2

•Pupilsbecomedigitallyliterate–abletouse,andexpressthemselvesanddeveloptheirideasthroughinformationandcommunicationtechnology–atalevelsuitableforthefutureworkplaceandasactiveparticipantsinadigitalworld.

•Pupilsusetechnologypurposefullytocreate,organise,store,manipulateandretrievedigitalcontent.

•Pupilsselect,useandcombineavarietyofsoftware(includinginternetservices)onarangeofdigitaldevicestodesignandcreatearangeofprograms,systemsandcontentthataccomplishgivengoals,includingcollecting,analysing,evaluatingandpresentingdataandinformation.

Intheclassroom

ExamplefrompracticeContextThe opportunities for learning through the use of digital gaming arediverse and massive. The speed and ease with which basic gamedevelopment can be achieved using apps such as Sketch Nation can provide aplatform for outstanding cross-curricular projects and really make an impact onprogress, standards and pupil independence. This chapter describes one project(UpperKeyStage2),whichcouldeasilybeadaptedtosuitKeyStage1andwhichcouldsupportalmostanytopic/subject.Acoreaspectofthisapproachwastodeveloppedagogy to support rich talk and collaboration – promoting thinking and deepreflection.

This case study, entitled ‘Game Designers’, was a week-long project focusing onwaysofraisingstandardsinwritingbyusingagamecreationappasastimulusforapersuasivewritingtask.

Theinitialobjectiveoftheprojectwastodesign,produceandpromoteagamebasedonanelementofourcurrenttopic.Inclasssomeofthechildrenwantedtolinkthegametolastterm’sWorldWarIItopic,butmostchosetobasetheirgameonthenewtopicofAfricanwildlifeanddiversity.Thewholeoutlineof theprojectwassharedwiththechildrenattheoutsetsotheycouldplanandorganisetheirwork.Thebasicrequirements were that the pupils would need to: design and produce an originalgame; collect video andvoice recorded feedback from their peers – reflect on thisfeedback andmake appropriate improvements; create a persuasive and informativemarketing display on their learning wall; write an advert for their game as if itappeared in theAppStore; create onlinemultimedia promotionalmaterial on theirblog space; and present and try to sell their game to a class ofYear 5 pupils at ashowcase event. This would lead to the culmination of what was ultimately abusinessandenterpriseproject.

OutlineThis case study outlines a number of key features of a sequence of lessons andlearning events that took place within this project. The features are all importantcomponents of the sequence and they provided essential ‘building blocks’ for thedevelopmentofthechildren’slearningandunderstanding.

GamedesignThefreeappSketchNationwasintroducedtothechildren.Itisaquick-to-learnandeasy-to-usegamedesignapp,whichallowsuserstoproducetheirownuniquedigitalgame.

Thechildrenweretoldthat theywouldbedesigningagameforYear5pupils.Theprojectwouldalsoinvolvemakingapersuasivedigitalposter,movieadvertswithabacking track and a persuasive piece of writing to advertise the game in the AppStore.

After a brief demonstration the pupilswere put into pairs andwere encouraged todiscussandexplore the featuresof theappandbegin to thinkabout thegame theywantedtodesign.Afterdecidingthegenreofthegame,thepupilswereencouragedtodesignaprototypeinSimpleMode.Thename,player,platformandbackgroundallhadtobeuniqueandnotexactlylikegamestheymighthaveplayedbefore.

FeedbackAfterafewminutesofdesigningtheirprototypegamethepupilswereaskedtosharetheirgamesamongsttheirpeers.Theywereaskedtocollectoral/videofeedbackontheir tablet. This could be collected using the appBookCreator. The pupilswereencouraged to find the answers to following types of questions: Are the graphicsappealing? Is thisgamechallengingenough?Will the themeof thegameappeal topupilsinYear5?Whatimprovementscouldtheymake?Aftertheyhadcollectedit,theywereaskedtolistentotheirfeedbackandrecord,eitherasavideoorasavoicerecording,whattheyhaddonewellandhowtheyweregoingtomakeimprovementstotheirgame.

Reflectingontheirfeedback,pupilswereintroducedtotheadvancedmodeinSketchNation,inwhichyoucancontroleveryaspectofthegame.Pupilswereabletodesigntheir own characters, a range of obstacles and enemies, and platforms andbackgroundstosuitthetypeofgametheywantedtoachieve.Itispossibletocreategraphicalcontentintheappbyscanninginartworkorusingdownloadedandeditedimages. The amount of content that can be developed is vast. Scoring systems,power-ups, frequencyofobstacles, effectsof collisions and somanymore featuresareallcompletelyeditable.Thequalityofthecompletedgameswasexcellent.Somewereextremelychallenging, somewere funand somewerea little easy. Ina shortspaceoftime,thechildrenproducedexactlywhattheywanted.

PreparingthepromotionalmaterialLinking back to previous work on persuasive writing, pupils researched differenttypesofadvertisingandfeaturesofbrandingandpromotion.Theywereabletocreatetheir own display on their learningwall, using their own content. Every aspect oftheirworkwasalsopostedtotheirownblogspace.

LearningwallsTheclassroomlearningwallswereanintegralpartofthe‘GameDesignProject’andmanyotherprojectsthatwecoveredinYear6.

Learning walls are spaces in the classroom; they are divided into equally-sizedsections, with a space allocated to each child. Their purpose is to allow pupils toexperimentwithpresentingworkforanaudience,todevelopasenseofownershipofapubliclyviewablespaceandtodevelopskillsingivingandreceivingrelevantandvalidfeedback.

Onceworkhasbeencompleteditisdisplayedonthewallandpreviousworkistakendown and kept in a scrapbook, having been photographed and displayed on thepupil’sownblogspace.Thechildrenmanaged thewallcompletelyanddecidedon

content,layoutandanyadditionalorinteractiveelements.Thewallremainsthefirstpoint of display for a large proportion ofwork produced in class. Stickynotes areusedbypupilsandstafftoprovideconstructivecommentsandfeedback.Ithasbeenimportanttostresstopupils,parentsandschoolstaffthatthechildrenareresponsibleforthecontentdisplayedontheirownwallspace.Inmanyways,thewallhas become an interactive learning tool aswell as a place to showcasework. Thepupilsareveryawarethatifhighstandardsarenotmaintained,thiswillbepointedoutbyanynumberofvisitorstotheirwall.

The power of preparing work for an audience has promoted independence andcreativity inmanyof thepupils.Thechildrenenjoygivingandreceivingfeedback,and many staff, including the head teacher, regularly inspect the wall and givesuggestions for improvement or recognition of excellent work. A large number ofparentshavealreadybeentoviewtheirchild’swallandparentfeedbacksuggeststhatchildrenarediscussingtheirschoolworkalotmoreathome.

TitlesandlogosFollowing research in theAppStore, the pupils designed their own app logos andtitles,usingclassroomstationeryandthinkingcarefullyaboutcolourschemesandaconsistentstylefortheirbranding.

DigitalpostersPostersweremadeinStripDesigner–apowerfultoolwhichcancreatehighqualitywork.Theywereaskedtotakeanumberofscreenshotsfromthegame,suchasthegameplay,maincharacters,enemies,power-ups, specialeffectsetc., tocreate theirpersuasive poster. In pairs, they discussed and added the name of the game,persuasivewordsandphrases(suchasrhetoricalquestions),costandfeedbackfromtheirpeers.Oncecomplete,theposterwassavedtothecameraroll.

VideoadvertsThe image created in Strip Designer (the persuasive poster) was applied to thebackgroundintheappTellagami.Thepupilsusedtheimagetomakearecordinginordertopresenttheirideasorally,usingpersuasivetechniques.Itwasexplainedthatthiswouldformpartofanadvertusedtopersuadetheiraudiencetoplaythegame.Using the background created in StripDesigner provided the pupils with a visualprompt, which helped them think about sequence and rehearse the language theywouldusingintheirwriting.Thepupilswererestrictedto30secondsofrecording,sotheywere encouraged to rehearse their ideaswith a partner before recording theirpersuasiveadvert.Thiswas saved to thecamera roll tobeeditedandused in theirfinaladvertiniMovie.

Pupilsfilmedeachotherplayingtheirgamessothattheycouldcaptureexamplesoftheexcitementproducedduringthegameplay.ThevideoswerethenairdroppedbacktothepupilsiPads.Theyalsocapturedvideotestimonialsfromtheirpeerstoaddtotheirfinaladvert.

iMovie was used to make the advertisements (using Tellagami, game play and

testimonials).Thisallowedeasyeditingandacombinationofimages,video,captionsandtitles.SoundtrackswerecreatedinGarageBand.The‘smart’compositionaspectof this app, alongwith the excellentdrummachine and sampling features,make iteasy to composeeffectivemusic to suit anypurpose. It doesn’t takea specialist toproducehighqualityoriginalcompositionswithGarageBand.

QRCodesEachpupilhastheirownuniqueQRCode,whichlinkstotheirownblogspaceontheYear6blog.AnappcalledQRafterProwasusedtocreatetheQRCodes.Eachtimea pupil has postedwork to their blog space,which is relevant to the theme of thewall,thepupilcanuseaQRCodeontheirlearningwallspace.Thepupilsareinvitedtovisiteachothers’wallspaceandscantheQRCodes–usingScanapp–andleavecommentsaboutthepostontheirblogspace.Ifacommenthasbeenleft,thechildrenareencouragedtoreply.

PresentingtoanaudienceAstheculminationtothisproject,thechildrenfromtheadjacentclassroom(Year5)wereinvitedtoaNewGamesLaunchEvent.Thevisitingpupilsviewedthelearningwalls,engagedindiscussionswithgamedesigners,scannedtheQRcodestoviewtheonline content and had the chance to test the games. Each visitor had five gametokensandwasable to ‘purchase’ their favouritegames.This sessionwas focused,veryinteractiveandprovedtobeanexceptionalopportunityforpromotingspeakingand listening,questioningandanswering. It alsoprovidedvaluable feedback to thepupilsonthequalityoftheirgamedesignsandpromotionalmaterial.

Cross-curricularlinksEach pupil’s starting point was a history or geography objective, such as:‘Demonstrate an understanding of the main threats to wildlife in Africa’ or‘RecognisetheimplicationsontheBattleofBritaininWWII.’Theopportunitiestoexpandlearninginaproject likethisarenumerous.Thereweremanyopportunitiesforwritingintermsofpersuasivetexts,summarisingfeedbackandreportingontheNewGamesLaunchEvent.During theevent, recordsof scoreswerekept foreachplayer of the game, allowing investigations into averages and data handlingopportunities.

Therewas a significant impact on the pupil’s ability to orally present and explaintheir work using appropriate styles and vocabulary. The integrated use of tablettechnology had allowed tablets to become a tool to support and enhance learning.The pupils only use it when it is needed and will often choose other methods ofpresentationandresearch.

DiscussionThecasestudyexampleswithinthischapterprovideideasforcreativeusesoftechnologytopromote talkandcollaboration.Anumberofkey iPadappsarediscussed, aswell aswiderpedagogical toolsand techniques toenhance learning.Acasestudyof thisnatureenables understanding of how one teacher has approached the development of aninclusive,technology-richlearningenvironment.Developingenvironmentswith‘rich’talkandcollaborationisanimportantfeatureofprimaryclassrooms.

TalkandcollaborationAnumberofstudieshavedevelopedourunderstandingofhowtalkandcollaborationcandevelop children’s learning. Collaborative learning approaches can often be seen asindicatorsofsuccessfulclassrooms(LittletonandMercer,2013;Slavin,2009).Thenatureof these collaborative environments is such that ‘transferable’ thinking and relatedreasoning and communication skills are seen as being natural developments. HoweverLittletonandMercer(2013)alsoindicatethat‘collaborativelearning’,oftenseenasgroupwork,maynotalwaysbeasproductiveashoped.Unstructureddiscussionandgroupworkwithout adequate purpose and direction will, unsurprisingly, not have an impact onlearning. Children need great direction and skill development to be able to ensure thattheirtalkandcollaborationleadto‘good’learning.

Theexamplesofuseof technologywithin thischapterattempt toshowpurposeful taskssituated within engaging contexts which provide good engagement for pupils. Indeedsomeindicatorsofsuccessfulcollaborativeenvironmentsidentifythe‘dualrole’ofbeingteacherandlearner,somethingenabledbydesigningtaskswhichensurethatlearnerstaketheroleofdesigninglearningandinformationprovisionforothers:Collaboration includes taking the perspectives of both the student as learner and the teacher and assumes thatgroupproblemsolvingleadstogreatersuccessthanworkingalone.

(Garton,2007,p197)

Indeed Staarman (2009) identifies a range of ways of approaching computer-mediatedcollaborationandcommunicationwithinprimaryliteracy teaching.Withinherstudy, thenatureofcognitiveandregulatorydiscourseisanalysedtoprovideagreaterunderstandingofthecomplexitiesofapproachingcollaborativegroupworkusingtechnology.

ThinkinganddialogueChapter5ofthisbook,iPadsintheEarlyYears,presentssomeideasonhowtechnologyhas been discussed in relation to thinking and dialogue.A range of studies identify theimportance of shared use of technology to promote dialogue and resultant thinking.Stanton and Neale (2003) explore the potential of shared computer usage to generatecollaboration,bothinthinkingandindialogue.

Technological environments provide a number of features, such as engaging animationand multimodal displays of information, which promote discussion and talk anddemonstrate‘rich’cognitiveprocesses.Wild(2011)identifiedtheimpactoftheshareduseof computers on the thinking of pairs of 5- and 6-year-olds. Specific benefits rested

particularlyon the supplementary roleofcomputersalongsideotherprofessionals’workwith children; where adults could not always give attention to children, the computerallowedthecontinueddevelopmentofthinking.

MultimodalitiesandiPadsAkey featureofanumberof thecase studyexamplesprovidedwithin thischapter is a‘rich’ multimodal environment. Apps such asGarageBand, iMovie, Sketch Nation andStripDesignerallowchildrentoeasilyincorporateimagesandaudiotocreativelyportrayinformationinarangeofways.Discussionsinotherchaptersofthisbookhavefocusedontheimpactoftablet-enabledmultimodalcommunication–thishasgreatpotentialimpacton learning and is easily allowed by tablet environments. Investigations of talk andcollaboration using the benefits of recent mobile technologies are not fully developed.Many studies have focused on talk and collaboration using desktop and ‘fixed’environments,whichneglectmanyofthefeaturesofusingmobiletechnologies–namelytheeasyandimmediateincorporationofarangeofimagesandaudio.

Recentstudiesarebeginningtoidentifysomeofthebenefitsofparticularapps.TalkandcollaborationenabledbyappssuchasExplainEverythingareidentifiedbyWiseetal.(inpress)inastudyofiPaduseinscienceinvestigations:UsingtheiPadstovideoandreviewhappeningscloselyappearedtoreallyhelpdevelopobservationalskillsandpiquecuriosity.UsingthemultimodalityoftheiPadtorecordasresults,annotatefindings,addimagesandallowvideotobecombinedinoneplaceworkedparticularlywellfor‘mixing’astheprocessoftenhappenedquitequickly(e.g.:foodcolouringdissolvinginwater).Beingabletorevisitthedissolutionprocessesviavideoalsosupportedthechildrendevelopingamoreexact,accurateanddetailedexplanationofwhatactuallyhappened.

(Wiseetal.,inpress)

Certainly, tablet apps enable children to quickly capture their ideas in a range ofways.Theyalloweasyeditingandplaybackandenablegreaterevidenceandrecord-keepingofprocessesthatcanbeusedlaterwithinlearning.Withinmathsandscienceinvestigations,thisisparticularlyimportantasreflectiononprocesseshasoftenreliedonpupils’memoryandscantnotes.Withtheaccuraterecordingofprocesses,andlaterplayback,childrencaneasilyrecallwhathappenedandthenreflectonthis,leadingtogreateropportunityfortalkandcollaborationand,subsequently,moredevelopedlearning.

UsefulLinkswww.mrandrewsonline.com(accessed20December2014).

www.mrandrewsonline.blogspot.com(accessed20December2014).

AppListfortheChapteriMovie,Skitch,AppStore,GarageBand,StripDesigner,SketchNation,Tellagami,Qrafter,Scan.

ReferencesGarton,AF(2007)Learningthroughcollaboration,inSalili,FandHoosain,R(eds)Culture,MotivationandLearning:AMulticulturalPerspective.Greenwich,CT:InformationAgePublishing.

Littleton,KandMercer,N(2013)Interthinking:PuttingTalktoWork.London:Routledge

Slavin,R(2009)Cooperativelearning,inMcCulloch,GandCrook,D(eds)InternationalEncyclopediaofEducation.London:Routledge

Staarman,JK(2009)Collaborationandtechnology:Thenatureofdiscourseinprimaryschoolcomputer-supportedcollaborativelearningpractices.UniversityofNijmegenThesis.Availablefrom:http://education.exeter.ac.uk/download.php?id=1440(accessed15October2014).

Stanton,DandNeale,HR(2003)Theeffectsofmultiplemiceonchildren’stalkandinteraction.JournalofComputerAssistedLearning,19,229–38.

Wild,M(2011)Thinkingtogether:Exploringaspectsofsharedthinkingbetweenyoungchildrenduringacomputer-basedliteracytask.InternationalJournalofEarlyYearsEducation,19,3–4,219–23.

Wise,N,McGregor,DandBird,JC(inpress)Reflectionsfromayearfourclassroom:ImpactofiPadstohelpchildrenthinkscientifically.PrimaryScience.

Chapter5

iPadsintheEarlyYearsIntroductionThischapterfocusesontheuseofiPadswithintheEarlyYearsFoundationStage(EYFS).It includes a number of short examples of using iPads in a variety of ways – both aspedagogical and administrative tools. The use of tablets, and specifically iPads, in theEYFSisperhapslessdevelopedthaninotherareasofprimaryschools.Partofthereasonfor thismaystemfromteachers’philosophical stanceon theplaceof technologywithinEYFS settings – this issue, alongside suggestions for the mitigation of concerns aboutearlytechnology,areincludedwithinthediscussion.

LearningObjectivesAttheendofthischapteryoushouldbeableto:

•identifyanumberofappsforusewithintheEarlyYearsFoundationStage;

•understandhowtheseappscanbeintegratedwithintheEYFScurriculumandassessment;

•applysomeoftheseideastocreateandassessengagingactivitiesforchildrenintheEYFS.

LinkstoTeachers’StandardsThefollowingTeachers’Standardsareparticularlyrelevanttothischapter:

TS1Establishasafeandstimulatingenvironmentforpupils.

Setgoalsthatstretchandchallengepupilsofallbackgrounds,abilitiesanddispositions.

TS2 Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of how pupils learn and how thisimpactsonteaching.

Encouragepupilstotakearesponsibleandconscientiousattitudetotheirownworkandstudy.

TS3Fosterandmaintainpupils’interestinthesubject,andaddressmisunderstandings.

TS4Promotealoveoflearningandchildren’sintellectualcuriosity.

Contribute to thedesignandprovisionof anengagingcurriculumwithin the relevantsubjectarea(s).

TS5Haveaclearunderstandingoftheneedsofallpupils,includingthosewithspecialeducationalneeds;thoseofhighability;thosewithEnglishasanadditionallanguage;thosewithdisabilities;andbeabletouseandevaluatedistinctiveteachingapproachestoengageandsupportthem.

LinkstoEYFSEarlyLearningGoalsUnderstandingtheworld

Technology:childrenrecognisethatarangeoftechnologyisusedinplacessuchashomesandschools.Theyselectandusetechnologyforparticularpurposes.

Expressiveartsanddesign

Exploringandusingmediaandmaterials:childrensingsongs,makemusicanddance,andexperiment with ways of changing these. They safely use and explore a variety ofmaterials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form andfunction.

Beingimaginative

Childrenusewhattheyhavelearntaboutmediaandmaterials inoriginalways, thinkingaboutusesandpurposes.

Intheclassroom

ExamplesfrompracticeInthischapter,wehaveincludedanumberofdifferentwaysinwhichtablets have been used within the EYFS. These include specificeducationalexperiencesandactivities,aswellastheadministrativeuseof tablets to aid assessment and tracking of pupil progress. For each example,wehave included a brief overview of the context of the activities together withinformationabouttheapproachandspecificappsthatwereused.

Ongoingcontinuousprovision

ContextThis short case studygivesanoverviewofanapproach toprovideaccess to iPadsduring continuous provision sessions within the Foundation Stage unit of a smallfour-classprimaryschool.AnumberofiPadshavebeenpurchasedforuseacrosstheschoolandalso todevelop iPadawarenessanduseamongst theyoungestchildren.TheFoundationStageclassusuallyhasbetween10and15childrenenjoyinglearninginapurpose-builtoutsideclassroom(acosy,vibrant,ski-stylechalet).

OutlineThe school decided to develop iPad use in the Foundation Stage class to provideearly skills and awareness in using touch-screen environments before moredevelopeduseinKeyStage1andKeyStage2.TheheadteacherandtheFoundationStage teacher, in discussion with the creative ideas of a consultant from aneducational technical support firm, decided to provide a fixed point of access toiPads,usingwall-mountedbrackets(www.ram-mount.co.uk).

The class teacher provides access to the iPads during ‘choosing time’, continuousprovisionsessions.Childrenareable toaccessa rangeofphonics,maths,drawing,photo,artandpuzzleapps(alistoftheappsusedinthisclassisincludedattheendof the chapter). The class teacher and teaching assistant (TA) carefully monitoraccesstotheiPads.TheyensurethatthechildrenonlyaccesstheiPadsforupto20minutesatatimeandaccessappropriateapps,andtheyguidesomeoftheactivitiesthatthechildrenundertake.

Thisnatureof access ensures that childrenhave regular and frequent access to theapps.Theyarethenabletodevelopskillsoveraperiodoftimeandwillfrequentlyinvolve their friends in their learning and activities. The fixed access points alsoensure calm and considered access to the iPads – children can see when they areavailable andwill negotiatewhen they canuse the iPad.The teachermonitors useandwill sometimes decide to have ‘iPad-free’ days – to control access and guidechildrentootherfocusedactivities.TheiPadscanbeeasilyclippedinandoutofthemountfixings,leadingtoflexibilityinuseandsecurestorage/chargingattheendoftheschoolday.Theteacheralsodecidednottoallowwirelessaccesstotheinternet–thusmitigatinganye-safetyissueswithinappropriatecontactandcontent.

Theteacherchoosesarestrictedrangeofabout15–20apps.Thisisagenericsetof

art,phonics,earlymathsandcreativeapps.However,appsthatrelatetothecurrentcurriculum focus or topic can also be provided. Children are involved in decidingwhichappscanbeusedanddevelopskillsinchoosingandjustifyingwhichappsareusefulfortheirlearning.ThisapproachhasallowedthechildrentodeveloptheirownapproachestousingtheiPads.Differentcohortshavehaddifferentrelationshipswithusingthetabletenvironment–thishasusuallybeenduetothenatureofexperiencethatthechildrenhavewithtabletuseoutsideschool.Forinstance,thepreviouscohortwaskeentousethephotoandvideoiPadsoftwaretodevelopstories,addmusicandperformforeachother.Thecurrentcohortismorefocusedongamesandactivities,suchaspuzzles,mathsquizzesandartapps.

iPadsasanobservationaltool

ContextAspart of an ongoing action point in the school development plan, thismid-sizedruralprimaryschoolhasafocusondevelopingassessmentmethodsinitsFoundationStage class. There is one Foundation Stage class in the school. It consists of 27children, and has a single entry in September of each year. There are three staffmembers attached to the class: one class teacher and two TAs. A substantialinvestmentintechnology–purchasing60iPadsforuseacrosstheschool–hasbeenmade.Thestrategicplanfor the implementationof thesedevicesfocusedonEYFSassessmentashavingthemosteducationalimpactforthisagerange.

OutlineInitialdiscussionsamongstEYFSstaff identified the intuitivenatureof thecameraand video tools for easily recording children’s learning behaviours. Each staffmember received an iPad mini and used it to take still and video images of thechildren,whichwerethenusedforplaybackanddiscussionaspartofteammeetingsandassessmentrecording.Theserecordingswereparticularlyusefulinanalysingthedevelopmentofchildren’s languageand theyallowedassessments tobemadewithfewerobservations.

Asstaffconfidenceandadeptness in theuseof the iPadsdeveloped, theybegan toseekoutwaysofdevelopingtheirassessmentpractices.Anextstepwastolookfornotetakingapps,whichwouldallowwaysofsortingevidenceandcombiningphoto,textualandaudionotes.ThestaffeventuallydecidedtodeveloptheirskillsinusingEvernote,asitallowedeasytaggingandaccesstoinformationusingarangeofweb-basedplatforms.Theydecided tohaveoneEvernote account for theEYFS staff –theyallsharedthesameusernameandpasswordandwerethenabletocreaterecordsforeachnotetheywerewritingaboutthechildrenintheEYFS.

An important part of the processwas the development of tags and tagging for thenotes they created. As they created a note – which was a record of a particularlearning event or episode – theywere then easily able to tag (tagging is away ofarchivingandstoringinformationforeasyrecallusingtagsearching)usingchildren’snames, effective learning characteristics and learning aspects (basedon the revisedEYFS framework). An important initial resource was a blog record from another

teacher who had implemented this approach:www.simonhaughton.co.uk/2013/03/using-evernote-for-eyfs-observations.html.

The EYFS team quickly identified the benefits of tablet use, which enabled notetaking using a range of differentways of communicating (text, audio, images andvideo). TheEvernote app easily allows integration and categorising of a range ofnotes – which can be linked together to provide a thorough record of particularlearningeventsandepisodes.Byrecordingaparticularepisodeandthentaggingwithmultiplechildren’snames,teacherswereabletoquicklybuildawell-roundedpictureoflearningacrosstheEYFS.

Atthestartof2014, theEYFSteacherwasintroducedtoanEYFSnotetakingandrecordingappcalled2Simple2BuildaProfile.AswithEvernote,thisappwasabletoquickly record, multimodally, learning events and observations of children in theEYFS.TheEYFSstaffalsoidentifiedanumberofotherbenefits,includingtheeasycreationofpupilaccounts,amoreintuitivetaggingandtagretrievalsystemandeasywaysofsharing informationbye-mailand thewebmanagementsystem.Themostimportantfeatureoftheappwastheabilitytocross-referencelearningobservationswiththeEYFSframework.Afterrecordingalearningeventandtaggingwithachildorchildren’snames,theappisdesignedtoallowstafftosearchforandthenchoosetheappropriateagebandandareaoflearningfromtheEYFSframework.

The EYFS staff in this school discussed how using tablets for note taking haspositivelyimpactedonchildren’slearning.Amainadvantagehasbeentheabilitytorecordandretrievealargerquantityandwiderrangeoflearningevents.Rapidrecallofobservation–easilycross-referencedtotheEYFSframework–hasenabledstafftobeginplanninglearningexperiencesfocusedonawiderrangeofindividualneeds.Byremovingtimespentonsortingandfilingpaperrecords–aswellascompletinghandwrittennotesmatchedtotheEYFSframework–thestaffcanspendmoretimeassessingbehavioursandadaptingplanning.

Tellingstories

ContextThislargetwoclassFoundation1(F1)unit(withanintakeof55childrenperyear)hasworkedwitharangeoftechnologiestoallowchildrentoexpressandrecordtheirstories and ideas.Digitalmicrophones, Talking Tins, Talk TimeCards andDigitalVideo are all used across a rangeof activities to enable children tobuild languageskillsandbegintodevelopappropriatelysequencedstories.However,inthelastyear,theclasseshavebegundevelopingtheuseofiPadministoextendtherangeofscopeofdigitalstorytelling.TheschoolpurchasedsixiPadminis,whichhavebeguntobeusedinanumberofwaysacrosstheEYFS.

OutlineOneoftheteachingassistantsinthisEYFSwasveryconfidentataccessingtheiPadforpersonaluse.Someof thisexperienceincludedcapturingstillandvideoimageswithher family– fromholidays,parties andother events.This experienceenabledhertotakealeadinusingiPadsforstorytellingwiththechildren.Theinitialfocus

wasasimpleapproachusingthevideocameratoolstoallowchildrentoinvestigaterecordingandviewingeachother.

TheschoolchosetouseiPadminisandGriffinSurvivorcases,whichwereslightlyadaptedtoalloweasieraccesstothecamera.Thisallowedthechildrentobeabletomove freely around the EYFS, both inside and outside. At first, the staff justencouraged the children to record each other playing, taking part in activities andspeaking to each other. After a short time, children were encouraged to make upstories–sometimesusingpropsandtoysthattheycouldfindintheEYFS.TheiPadminiswere thenused to record thechildren telling their stories. Initially,onesmallgroupofchildrenwasparticularly interested increatingandactingoutstories.Thechildrenbegantousetherecordingstoreviewtheirworkandthentheyadaptedand‘edited’thestories–re-recordingthemtoseeiftheycouldmakethembetter.

TheEYFShadalsoboughtanAppleTV,whichwasconnected toaprojector.Thestaffwere able to share the children’sworkwith their class groups.Childrenwereencouraged to suggest how things be improved. Could different words be used?Could other props be used? Could other actions be used? This then began toencourageamuchwidergroupofchildrentobeginusingtheiPadministotellandrecordstories.

Astorytellingprojectwasbeingimplementedacrosstheschoolatthesametime.TheEYFSchildrenhadbeenvisitedbyanexternalstoryteller,whohadworkedwiththemtodevelopideasfortellingstories.Theseincludedstorywalkthroughs,usingpropsand developing expression. This input, alongside using the iPads, allowed thechildren toquicklydevelopstructure,vocabularyandpacewithin theirstories.TheEYFSstaffwereparticularlyimpressedbythewayinwhichsomechildrenusedthevideotohelpthembegintowriteawrittenrecordoftheirstories,usingpicturesandearlymarkmaking.

Afterafewweeksofdevelopingthisproject,theEYFSstaffdecidedtoreviewtheirprogress.TheytookawaytheiPadminisfortwoweeks,reviewedthevideos,lookedatstoryrecordsandthenbegantoplanhowtheywouldlikeextendthisfurther.Aftersomediscussiontheydecidedthattheywouldliketoallowchildrentohavediscretecharacters to move, manipulate and add voices. One of the EYFS teachers hadrecentlyseentheuseofPuppetPalsinalocalschool.

This app allows children to create animated films, using a range of characters,backgrounds and props. The app has a number of resources that can be used toquickly make short films – children are also able to record themselves addingdialogue or sound effects to the action that they create. Children can also decidewhether to upload photos from the iPad camera roll to serve as characters orbackgroundsforthefilms.

TheEYFSteacherwhointroducedthisapptothechildrentalkedcandidlyabouthowthey allowedPuppetPalswith live action films throughuseof the existing cameratools.The teachercreateda taskforchildren to investigatemakingboth liveactionandPuppetPalsfilmsforthesamestory.Thechildrenwerethenencouragedtotalkabouthowtheyfeltthefilmsdifferedandwhichtheywerehappiestwith.

Earlymathsandphonics

ContextThis short case study describes the use of iPad apps to specifically develop earlymathsandphonicsskillsandunderstanding.StaffintheschooldecidedtouseiPadsinitiallyasadiscretetooltoimprovespecificareasofknowledge.InthisEYFSclass(anF1classof25childrenwithateacherandtwoTAs)theydecidedtodeveloptheuseofphonicsandearlymathsapps.

OutlineThisEYFSclasswasgivenfiveiPadsatthebeginningoftheacademicyear.Initiallychildrenweredirected to investigateandexploreasmall rangeofcreativeappsforpainting,musicanddrawing.Thechildrenwerealsoencouragedtoexploretheuseofthecameratoolsforstillandvideoimages.Theclassteacherthenspentsometimeinvestigating apps that could develop early phonics and maths skills. As staffmembers were investigating the apps, the teacher developed an informal set ofcriteriawhichguidedthechoiceofapp.Theareasincludedprice,abilitytoreinforceteaching,quality/typeofaudio(theAmericanaccentwasconsidered)andability toworkwithintheUKcontext(theuseofUStermssuchas‘math’).

Theteacherinitiallydownloadedasetofappsandtriedtheseoutwithchildrenintheclass.This‘user’informationwasessentialindiscoveringwhichappsactuallyeasilyimpactedonlearning.AttheendofafewweekstheEYFSstaffdecidedtoprovideasmallsetofappsforphonics,letterformationandmaths.Theychosearangeoffree,freemiumandpaidapps.

Atfirst, theseappswereprovidedontheiPadsandcombinedwiththeuseofothercreative tools. Children were allowed time to explore iPad and app use and wereencouragedtotalktoeachotherandadultsaboutwhattheyweredoingandlearning.After a few weeks the class teacher decided to take a more focused approach toinvestigatewhether directing children to use certain apps, followingother types ofteaching, could enhance and reinforce learning. Over a number of weeks smallgroupsofchildrenwerechosentohavetimeonphonicsorletterapps,immediatelyfollowingsmallgroupphonicssessions.Otherchildrenwerethendirectedtousethemathsapps,followingtheirownmathsinvestigationsanddirectmathsteaching.

The class teacher continued to observe and assess in the usual way – these notesprovidedsomeevidenceof the impactofappuse.Overall, the teacherfelt thatappusehelped toconsolidateandbroadentheexperiences thatchildrenweregetting inotherways. Inparticular, the teacher felt that thephonicsand letter formationappshelped toextend learningandgivemoreopportunity topracticesoundsand letters.Somechildrenweremuchmoreengagedwith theappenvironmentandvoluntarilyspentmoretimeworkingontheseareas.

The class teacher alsowent on to speculate that themaths appswere able to helpdevelopskillsandunderstandingthatcouldnotdevelopinthesamewaywithoutaniPad.For instance, the repetitionandfrequencyofsomeskills, suchascountingorcoin sorting, wasmore dynamic and gave instant gratification and feedback. This

encouragedsomechildren to tryout things that theywouldnotnormallyexplore–leadingtogreaterconfidenceandtimespentonthesetasks.

DiscussionSince2012,therehasbeenasteadyandsignificantriseintheamountoftabletcomputerswithinEnglishschools.BESA’s(BritishEducationalSuppliers)TabletsandConnectivityreport (E-Learning Foundation, 2014) reveals that approximately one in five schoolcomputersarenowtablets.Thisgrowthintabletaccesshasoccurredinbothprimaryandsecondarysectors–however,moreprecisedataaboutuseintheEYFSishardertofind.

Youngchildren’suseoftabletcomputers(usuallyiPads)isfrequentlythesubjectofmediascarestories.Thesestorieshighlighttheperceivedpotential‘dangers’ofusingiPads,suchasnegativeeffectsonmotorskillsoraddiction(DailyMail,2014;DailyTelegraph,2014a,2014b). Certainly, articles of this nature can affect opinion about the use of tablets inschools for young children. The intention of this chapter was to provide practical andappropriateexamplesoftheuseofiPads–hopefullyencouragingteacherstounderstandthepotentialbenefitsoftheearlyuseoftabletsintheEYFS.

TechnologyuseandyoungchildrenThere are an increasing number of diverse projects that research the iPad as a tool forlearning.Anumberofthesehaveawidediscussionfocuslookingatperceivedbenefitsofusing these technologies. Most studies focus on the impact in schools in general. Forinstance,Valstad(2010),inanearlydiscussionofiPaduseasapedagogicaltool,presentsafocusonthemultimedialearningbenefitsengenderedbythedesignandfunctionalityofthedevice.TherearesomeexamplesofstudieswithanEarlyYearsfocus–forexample,Kucirkova(2014)identifiesthreefeaturesofthistoolwhichshefeelswillhaveapositiveimpactonearlyeducation:iPadshavethreenovelfeatureswhichhavethepotentialtomakeapositivedifferencetoearlyeducation:iPadsareportable and light-weight (unlike netbooks and laptops), they eliminate the need for separate input devicesrequiring certain levels of dexterity (such asmouse and keyboard) and thirdly, they are specifically designed toaccommodateanumberofapps,manyofwhichhaveachild-friendlyintuitivedesign.

(Kucirkova,2014,p1)

Clark and Luckin (2013) speculate about how the iPad can add to the development of‘seamless’ approaches to learning within classrooms, promoted by the tool’s ability todevelop interest,enagagement, independence,creativityand improvedproductivity.Thischapter issimilar tootherdiscussions in identifyingpotentialbenefitsof theappropriateuseof iPads inclassrooms.FaganandCoutts (2014)presentcasestudyevidenceof theimpact of iPads on supporting collaborative learning, supporting creativity, inspiringlearningandhelpingtodevelopdocumentationandassessmentinearlyeducation.Otherspeculativediscussions,suchasMcPheeetal.(2013),attempttoputforwardreasonsforwhat they describe as increased learner engagement, especially for boys. The ability toexploreandstructureinformation,aswellasregularuseofgamebased-learningfeatures(such as extrinsic/intrinsic rewards, self pacing andgoal orientation), are seen asmajorbenefitsforengagementallowedbyiPaduse.

ClarkandLuckin(2013)continuetheirdiscussionbyidentifyingspecificinstancesofthebenefits of certain iPad affordances, such as how portability enhances opportunities topromote greater face-to-face social interaction. This discussion compares other

technologies,suchaslaptopsornetbooks,andidentifieshowflexibleandimmediatewaysofmanipulatingandstructuringinformationinavarietyofmultimodalwayscanpromotesharingandlearning.

A number of studies of technology use and young children centre on the nature ofinteraction and perceived impacts on thinking and dialogue. Stanton and Neale (2003)explorethepotentialofsharedcomputerusagetogeneratecollaboration,bothinthinkingand in dialogue. Suggestions from studies of this nature highlight how technologicalenvironments presentways of allowing shared approaches to achieve goals; pointing tothe process bywhich computers can allow interaction that other environmentsmay notallowinthesameway.Wild(2011)identifiedtheimpactofshareduseofcomputersonthethinkingofdyadsof5-and6-year-olds:Nevertheless, itwould seem that shared thinking could indeedbe facilitatedbyplanning for children to use thecomputerinapairedmannerwithinthebusyclassroomtosupplementthepracticeofapractitionerorteacherwhomaynotalwaysbeimmediatelyavailabletoprovidethekindofdirectsupportofSST[sharedsustainedthinking].

(Wild,2011,p230)

SpecificdiscussionoftheimpactofiPadsonthinkinganddialogueisusuallywithinthewider context of perceived benefits. However, there are a number of studies that haveincluded discussion of the impact of the iPad interface on promoting learning andengagement.

ClarkandLuckin(2013)suggestthatlearnermotivationandengagementispromoteddueto the immediate nature of the interface allowed by iPads. The touch-screen interface,whilst having certain restrictions such as restricted finger inputs, allows users to easilyaccessandmanipulateinformation,impactingquicklyonlearning.

PreviousdiscussionofKucirkova (2014) identities the lackof aneed for separate inputdevicesandperipherals–which requireacertain levelofdexterity–ashavingamajorbenefit,especiallyforyounglearners.Crescenzietal.(2014)specificallystudythenatureof touchon theuseofpaperand iPad learningandpaintingactivities. iPadsasa tool–alongsideothertechnologiessuchaspaper,pencilsandpaints–allowagreaterrepertoireof touch-based communication skills. When discussing use of the iPad as a tool, thediscussionsuggeststhatitengendersbroaderuseofawiderrangeoftypesoftouch,whichincludemore complex and longer sequences of continuous touch interactions, fosteringmoreelaboratetouchrepertoires(Crescenzietal.,2014,p94).

BarrierstotabletimplementationintheEYFSTabletcomputers–andmorespecificallyiPads–canhavearangeofissuesthatneedtobeconsideredbeforeimplementationintheEYFS.iPadsareprimarilydesignedforuseinthehome/leisuremarket.Thenatureofwirelessaccess,accesstofilesandpersonalisationare more suited for individual use rather than for working with groups or classes ofchildren.

ClarkeandAbbott (2013)alsodiscuss someof thedifficulties in lettingyoungchildrenaccess text usingupper case ‘keys’ on screenkeyboards; indeed, they call forApple totake this intoaccount in future iOSupdates.However thecase studiespresented in thischapter perhaps show some practical approacheswhichmay overcome access issues ofthisnature.IndeedtextinputandmanipulationisperhapsnotthegreateststrengthofiPad

use –with othermodes of communication enabled by intuitive software and embeddedcameraandmicrophonetools.SomeschoolsarecautiousaboutintroducingiPadsintotheEYFS,thinkingthattheycouldbeeasilydamaged.Someof this reticencecomes fromaperception thatyoungchildrencouldeasilydamagea technology that issoportable.McPheeetal. (2013)alsosuggestthat schools’ reticence can be due to entrenched views about the appropriate use oftechnologywith young children –where the ‘why aren’t they talking to each other’ or‘can’t they playwith sand andwater’ arguments dominate discussion and impact uponpedagogy.

The ‘dangers’ of technologies - ‘real’ or ‘imagined’ are capturedwithin popularmediadiscussion and coverage of this area. To some degree the need for a more widespreadresearch-ledunderstandingofpotentialpedagogicalusecouldalleviateandmitigate thisdiscussion.

FuturetrendsandpotentialTheresearch literaturedoesnotdisplayanywide-rangingdiscussionsofpotential futuretrends and potential of the use of tablets and iPads in schools and early education.Howeveranarea thatdoes receive someattention is thediscussionofpossible researchtrends. Kucirkova (2013) identifies the initial restrictions of early research focus. Forexample, a number of studies use an approach opposing digital vs non-digital ways ofdeliveringeducationandlearning.Thisapproachoftencreatesan‘unreal’restrictivefocusoniPad/tabletpotentialbyusingoppositionaldiscussionthatdoesnotrepresenttherealityof classrooms, which can naturally combine both technological and non-technologicalpedagogicalapproaches.

Kucirkova (2013) also identifies the common discussion strand of technologicaldeterminism that seems to exist in some research approaches. A technologicallydeterministviewmaintainsanapproachthatregardstechnologyasthedriverofchangeinsociety.Aviewpointofthisnaturepayslessregardtothepossibilitythatspecificcontextsandindividualchoicesandapproachesaffecttheimpactoftechnology.IndeedKucirkovaincludes mention of a number of studies that regard technology as an educational‘panacea’forarangeofproblemsandlearningdeficits:There is a tendency to perceive technology, including iPads, as a quick-fix solution for outstanding educationalproblems,withoutgivingdueconsiderationtotheidiosyncrasiesofindividualeducationalcontexts.

(Kucirkova,2013,p2)

Researchapproachesarenowaccepting thecomplexitiesandpotentialof the innovativepedagogical use of iPads as tools within a range of learning contexts. Oppositionalapproaches lose any appreciation of exploring pedagogies and approaches thatmay nothavebeenpreviouslyconsidered.

AppListfortheChapter2Simple2BuildaProfile,Evernote,PuppetPalsandPuppetPals2.

Anumberofearlyreading,phonicsandmathsappsareincludedwithinthetext.

FurtherReadingBurden,K,Hopkins,P,Male,T,Martin,SandTrala,C(2012)iPadScotlandEvaluation.Hull:UniversityofHull.Availablefrom:www2.hull.ac.uk/ifl/ipadresearchinschools.aspx(accessed20December2014).

AconsideredanddevelopeddiscussionabouttheuseofiPadswithinarangeofdifferentschools.ThisresearchreportallowsconsiderationofboththepotentialandexistingimpactsofiPadsonteachingandlearninginschools.

ReferencesClark,WandLuckin,R(2013)WhattheResearchSays:iPadsintheClassroom.London:LondonKnowledgeLab,IoE.

Clarke,LandAbbott,L(2013)HandsontheiPAD,HeadsintheCloud:TeachingandlearningwithiPADsinaBelfastprimaryschool,inMcBride,RandSearson,M(eds)ProceedingsofSocietyforInformationTechnology&TeacherEducationInternationalConference2013(pp.3672–80).Chesapeake,VA:AACE.

Crescenzi,L,Jewitt,CandPrice,S(2014)Theroleoftouchinpreschoolchildren’slearningusingiPadversuspaperinteraction.AustralianJournalofLanguageandLiteracy,37(2).

E-LearningFoundation(2014)www.elearningfoundation.com/Websites/elearningfoundation/images/PDF%20Documents/Evidence/BESA_Report_Summary.pdf(accessed1October2014).

Fagan,TandCoutts,T(2012)ToiPadornottoiPad.Availablefrom:www.core-ed.org/thought-leadership/research/ipad-or-not-ipad(accessed27October2014).

Kucirkova,N(2014)iPadsinearlyeducation:Separatingassumptionsandevidence.FrontiersinPsychology,5:715.

McPhee,I,Marks,LandMarks,D(2013)ExaminingtheimpactoftheApple‘iPad’onmaleandfemaleclassroomengagementinaprimaryschoolinScotland.ICICTE2013Proceedings.

Stanton,DandNeale,HR(2003)Theeffectsofmultiplemiceonchildren’stalkandinteraction.JournalofComputerAssistedLearning,19:229–38.

TheDailyMail(2014)www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2548365/As-revealed-one-three-children-use-tablet-talk-fathers-alarming-story-The-day-I-realised-toddler-addicted-iPad.html(accessed1October2014).

TheDailyTelegraph(2014a)www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/10767878/Infants-unable-to-use-toy-building-blocks-due-to-iPad-addiction.html?fb(accessed1October2014).

TheDailyTelegraph(2014b)www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/10008707/Toddlers-becoming-so-addicted-to-iPads-they-require-therapy.html?fb(accessed1October2014).

Valstad,H(2010)iPadasaPedagogicalDevice.Oslo:NorwegianUniversityofScience

andTechnology.

Wild,M(2011)Thinkingtogether:Exploringaspectsofsharedthinkingbetweenyoungchildrenduringacomputer-basedliteracytask.InternationalJournalofEarlyYearsEducation,19(3-4),219–23.

Chapter6

TechnologyoutdoorsIntroductionThischapterlooksattheadvantagesofbeingabletousetabletstoextendlearningbeyondtraditionalclassroomspaces.Wewillconsiderhowtheycanenhanceoutdoorlearningbycombining children’s physical and digital exploration of theworld, thinking about howoutdoor scenarios can lead toactive learning that isopen-endedandchild-led, andhowtablets can capture these valuable experiences. By providing a context for talk andcollaboration,technologycanpromotethedevelopmentofcommunicationskillsalongsideunderstandingoftheenvironment,andenablechildrentomakeuseofcreativemodesofcommunication. This approach is based on a constructivist view of learning, in whichchildren interact with the world around them and with others to create their ownframeworks of understanding, reflecting the ideas of theorists such asVygotsky, PiagetandBruner.WewillsuggestappsformakingtrailsandtreasurehuntsusingQRCodes,formanipulatingmediaoutdoors,andforusingdigitalmagnifiersandphotofilterstorecordfindings.Andwewill draw some conclusions about how the use of tablets beyond theconfinesoftheclassroomcanhelpchildrentakeownershipovertheirownlearning.

LearningObjectivesAttheendofthischapteryoushouldbeableto:

•identifyanumberofwaysinwhichtabletscouldextendlearningwithinanoutdoorenvironment;

•plantheuseoftabletsoutdoorstocapture,shareandpresentideasinarangeofmedia;

•suggestwaysofdifferentiatingchildren’slearningwithtabletsoutdoors;

•suggestwaysofusingtabletstohelpreviewandassesslearning.

Teachers’StandardsThefollowingTeachers’Standardsareparticularlyrelevanttothischapter:

TS1Establishasafeandstimulatingenvironmentforpupils.

Setgoalsthatstretchandchallengepupilsofallbackgrounds,abilitiesanddispositions.

TS2 Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of how pupils learn and how thisimpactsonteaching.

Encouragepupilstotakearesponsibleandconscientiousattitudetotheirownworkandstudy.

TS3Promotealoveoflearningandchildren’sintellectualcuriosity.

Contribute to thedesignandprovisionof anengagingcurriculumwithin the relevantsubjectarea(s).

LinkstoNationalCurriculumProgrammesofStudyKeyStage1andKeyStage2

•Pupilsbecomedigitallyliterate–abletouse,andexpressthemselvesanddeveloptheirideasthroughinformationandcommunicationtechnology–atalevelsuitableforthefutureworkplaceandasactiveparticipantsinadigitalworld.

•Allpupilsareresponsible,competent,confidentandcreativeusersofinformationandcommunicationtechnology.

•Pupilsshouldbetaughttousetechnologypurposefullytocreate,organise,store,manipulateandretrievedigitalcontent.

•Pupilsshouldbetaughttoselect,useandcombineavarietyofsoftware(includinginternetservices)onarangeofdigitaldevicestodesignandcreatearangeofprograms,systemsandcontentthataccomplishgivengoals,includingcollecting,analysing,evaluatingandpresentingdataandinformation.

Intheclassroom

ExamplefrompracticeOurCreativeVillage:usingtabletstoenhanceoutdoorlearning

ContextThiscasestudydescribeshowtechnologysupportedoutdoorlearningthroughahalf-termly,wholeschoolproject inourprimaryschoolentitled, ‘OurCreativeVillage’.The project focused on ways of enhancing maths and English, focusing on theimmediateenvironmentaroundtheschoolandthewiderlocality.Oneaimwastouseour tablets to capture children’s real-world exploration and allow us to bring theirlearning back inside the classroom for discussion and review.We hoped that thiswouldmakeforasmoother,moreconnectedlearningjourneythatmadesensetothechildren.Wepromotedtheideaofchildrenasexplorersthroughtheuseoftrailsandtreasure hunts, and emphasised the theme of discovery. An additional aimwas tomake themost of opportunities to combine physical and digital activitywithin thenaturalenvironment.HavingachievedourinitialfocusondevelopingconfidenceandcreativityinmathsandEnglish,wewentontoconsiderhowtheseapproachescouldbeappliedtoscienceteaching.

OurclasshadbeenusingiPadsfor twotermsandhadbecomeconfident inusinganumber of apps.Once their iPadswere equippedwith robust protective cases, thechildren were ready to extend their use of mobile learning to the outdoorenvironment.IwilldescribesomeexamplesofourEnglishandmathsactivitiesfromanumberofyeargroups.

LearningObjectivesOurintendedlearningoutcomeswere:

•tofosterasenseofenjoymentandcuriosityaboutmathsandEnglish;

•toencouragechildrentoseemathsasacreativedisciplineandameansforunderstandingtheworld;

•tohelppupilsdevelopconfidenceinusingtalktodevelopclearthinkingskills;

•toenhancewritingskillsthroughtheproductionofmultimedia;

•tousetabletstocapturechildren’sreal-worldexploration,andthenreviewandextendlearningintheclassroom;

•Torecordandshareourlearningwiththewiderschoolcommunity.

Outline

OutdoormathsThe theme for our outdoormathswas ‘Trails’.Oneof our first lessons involved a

digitalscavengerhunt forYear2children inwhich theyworked together tocollectphotosofreal-worldnumberarraysusingtheiPadcamera.Togiveafewexamples,theyrecordedrowsandcolumnsofparkedcarsandtookclose-upsofpatternsonthecarsthemselves;theycameacrossfivesetsoffivepetalsonaflowerhead;andtheyfound regularity in configurations of leaves. Buildings were another source ofevidence,withtheirarrangementsofwindowsandsolarpanels.Awalkfurtherafieldrevealed number arrays in shop window displays, such as the symmetricalarrangement of fruit and vegetables. Children used the appPicCollage to pull theimages they collected onto a single screen and annotated them with the relevantmultiplicationfacts.UsefulfeaturesofPicCollagearetheabilitytodrawroundandclippartsofphotos,andtoaddtextandarrows.

A similar activity in Year 1 focused on collecting examples of shapes in theenvironment and comparing their sizes using non-standard units. Once again,childrenwereableto‘cutout’partsofphotoswiththeirfingers,arrangethemonthescreenandaddwordsandarrows.

Furtheruptheschool,Year6childrendevisedaQuickResponse(QR)Codemathstrail for Year 4 to complete. QR Codes are similar to bar codes. Text, videos orphotoscanbeturnedintoacodeusingaQRCodegeneratorandthendecodedwithascanning app on a mobile device. The Year 6 children began by looking at theNationalCurriculumprogrammesofstudyforYear4andfindingoutwhattheYear4s already knew. They aimed tomake a set of practical and inventive challenges.Herearesomeexamples:

•makeaRomannumeraloutoftwigs;

•skipandcountinmultiplesofsix;

•howmanytrianglescanyoumakewithninesticks?;

•findanaturalobjectofanequivalentsizetothegate;

•findaflowerwithanevennumberofpetals;

•measuretheangleofapavementcrack;

•illustrateanumberpatternwithnaturalobjects;

•findthediameterofatree;

•thinkofamethodtocountthenumberofbricksinawall;

•designaplaygroundgameforlearningatimestable;

•makeatallychartforinsectsvisitingabush;

•makeaCarrolldiagramtosortstones.

Armed with their ideas, they used the free QR treasure hunt generator fromClassTools,(www.classtools.net/QR)tocreatetext-basedcodesthatdidnotrelyonthe internet. If the internethadbeenavailableoutdoors, thecodescouldhavebeenlinked to uploaded images, sounds or videos.Another alternative is to use the sitewww.qrstuff.comtomakecodesthatarecolour-coded.Thismakesiteasiertocreatedifferentiatedactivities and for several trails to takeplaceatonce.Ourcodeswere

printed onto photographic paper and placed around the outdoor environment usingsticky Velcro. Finally, the Year 6 children made a talking avatar to introduce theactivityusingtheappTellagami.

Figure6.1ATellagamiavatarexplainingtheactivity

Itwas then the turnof theYear4s to followtheQRCode trail.Theyused theappScantodecodeinstructionsforeachactivityandrecordedtheirsolutionstothemathschallengesusingthecamerasontheirtablets.Someoftheiranswerswererecordedasshortvideos,someasphotos,andsomewerejust textornumbers.Theyassembledthese as pages in the app Shadow Puppet Edu to make shareable multimediapresentations. The option to add voice-overs and text to each page provided anopportunityforthemtotellthestoryoftheirexperiencesandreflectonthesuccessoftheirstrategies.

OutdoorEnglishThe theme forouroutdoorEnglish lessonswas ‘PointsofView’,andweaimed tousevisualimagestosupportwrittenandspokencomposition.Year1childrenbeganbyphotographinganoutdoorobject,suchasanemptycrisppacket,atree,acaroradoor.Theyplanneda30-secondnarrationbasedon‘adayinthelife’oftheirobject,focusing on sequencing sentences and using time connectives. Using the appChatterPix, they personalised their object by adding eyes and an animatedmouth,and then recorded their spoken narratives. The talking animations were annotatedwithasentenceintroducingthecharacterandthefinishedtalkingimagesfromeachgroupwereimportedintoShadowPuppetEdu,wheretheywerecombinedtomakeaslideshowwith introductorymusic and explanatory text. These presentations wereembeddedontotheclassblogsothattheycouldbesharedwithawideraudience,and

the childrenweredelightedwith thepositive comments they received from friendsandparents.Year 2 childrenwere given a selection of Lego figures and a brief to create TinyPeople Tales using just six shots. They created and rehearsed their short storiesthroughsmallworldplayoutdoorsandthentooktheirphotos.SomechildrenchosetoenhancetheirimagesbymanipulatingfiltersandcoloursintheappBeFunky.Thephotos were then imported into My Story, where children retold their fictionalnarrativesthroughtextandnarrationtomaketalkingebooks.

Figure6.2SixframestorieswithLegofigures

Alsoworkingwiththemediumofstory,Year3childrenexploredsettings,charactersand plot in a theatre made from a natural outdoor space, using puppets made ofnatural materials. They captured their drama activities as images and short videoclips, and then compiled them into iMovie trailers. iMovie trailers provide ready-madetemplatesfordramaticshortfilmsinarangeofgenres,asimpletechniquethattransformedourclipsbyaddingtransitions,textandmusic.Ifatrailerwastoolong,itwassavedandre-importedasaniMovieprojecttoallowaccesstothevideoeditingoptions.

Children in Year 4 used drama to explore perspectives on the theme of positivevalues, thinkingabout therelationshipbetweenpeopleandtheirenvironment.Theyusedafreeze-frametechniquetocreatethreeorfourdramatictableauxrespondingtoprompts such as co-operation, hope, forgiveness, trust, friendship, freedom andtolerance.ThesewerephotographedandcombinedintoacomicformatusingtheappStripDesigner.Next,theyfilmedshort‘talkingheads’excerptsofdialogue.TheappThingLinkwasusedtoaddinteractivehotspotstothecomicstrips,whichplayedtheirvideoswhen touched.Back in the classroom the interactive comic strips promptednon-narrativewritingonthethemeofvaluingtheenvironment.Boththeinteractivecomicsandthepiecesofwritingweresharedwiththeschoolcommunity.

InYears5and6,anumberofphotographicappswereusedasastimulusforthinkingandwriting. The appRollWorld enabled children to experimentwith stereographicimagesthatturnphotosinto‘miniplanets’.Manipulatingtheimageusingtheslidersgavethemmanynewperspectivesontheirenvironmentandhelpedinspirecreativewriting.

Figure6.3AstereographicimageofaschoolplaygroundusingRollWorld

Somechildrenchosetoattachasmall,lightGoProcameraattachedtotheirheads,abike, a skateboard or aWellington boot to capture action video shots. These shotswerereflectedandcapturedontheiPadinrealtimeandpairsofobserverscreatedacommentary.OthersusedtheiPadcameratomakepanoramicphotosandwentontoannotatethesewithinteractivehotspotsusingThingLink.

These unusual camera perspectives helped children to develop ideas arounddescriptionsofsettings,characters,atmosphereanddialogue.Backintheclassroom,theyusedtheir imagesandfilmsaspromptsfornarrativewriting.Theyretoldtheirstoriesstandinginfrontof theirvisualmediausingtheappGreenScreenbyDoInk,togetherwith a portable green screen, a stand and a clip.Alternative greenscreensincludedmid-green coloured fabric, backing paper, a paintedwall or even a greenPowerPointslideon the interactivewhiteboard.Theresultwasarangeofdramaticdigitalproductsuploadedtotheclassblogs,reflectingthechildren’sdesiretocreateanimpactbycombiningexcitingvisualswithhighqualitywriting.

Takingitfurther

ScienceoutdoorsHavingareceivedagooddealofpositivefeedbackfromparents,staffandchildrenonour

maths and English projects, we were keen to think about extending a mobile learningapproachtoscience.AnobviousapplicationwastousetheiPadsasalensthroughwhichto lookmore closely at the world around us from a scientific perspective via apps formagnification,slowmotionandtimelapse.

Ourinitialideasincluded:

•recordarocketlaunchinslowmotion;

•capturecolouredicemelting;

•recordtheactivityofbeesaroundalavenderbush;

•makeatimelapsevideoofthemovementofclouds;

•collectcloseupimagesfora‘findtheplant’quiz;

•annotateaphotoofanorganism.

Capturingtheseeventswouldgiveusastimulusaroundwhichtotalkandthink,and,mostimportantly,tomakeconnectionsbetweenideas.

ActivityEvaluatingphotographyappsforscienceoutdoors

Thinkabouthow the followingappscould support scientific inquiry in the fieldbyemphasising visual learning. Match each with a link to an aspect of the NationalCurriculum for science. Is there potential for some of these apps to be used incombination?

Table6.1Appssupportingavisualapproachtoscienceoutdoors

Toputitsimply,appssuchastheseoffernewwaysoflookingattheworld.WecouldseethatvisualapproachesmightinspireinvestigationsinsciencejustasmuchasthecreativeuseofwordsinEnglish.Theycouldhelpustodiscoverandcataloguethenaturalworldbyphotographinginsects,condensingfilmsofanimalbehaviour,exploringhabitats,lookingcloselyatcoloursinnature,ordocumentingourimpactontheenvironment,tosuggesta

fewexamples.

Tablets canalsohelp to recordhowoutdoor sciencecanbemessy,physical and fun, aschildren explore the properties of materials such as ice, foam or water, make geysers,rockets,vehiclesorparachutes,andinvestigatesoundsandshadows.Asteachers,wewantchildren to make links between their memorable kinaesthetic experiences and thescientificunderstandingthatunderpinsthem.Technologycanhelpusdothisbycapturingthenoisy,physicalexperiencesand thenallowingus tocalmly reflectafterwards,asweviewtheimagesorvideos,sothatthescientificconceptscanbereinforced.Afinalstageistoturnthecapturedfootageintodigitalartefactsthataddtext,annotationsandnarrationtodemonstrateandshareunderstanding.

In addition to offering a visual approach to documenting scientific inquiry, tablets cansupportscientificfieldworkbymakingiteasiertodocument,catalogueandrecordresults.Rather than recording on paper, children can collect data to add to a collaborativespreadsheet.Astheyaddnewdata,theirchartswillupdate.Asingleclickcanswitchtheresultsfromalinegraphtoapiechartandtheycanmakedecisionsaboutthebestwaytopresenttheirresults.Theaffordancesofaselectionofdatahandlingappsaresummarisedbelow.

Table6.2Exampleappsforworkingwithdata

DiscussionLearningapproachesforusingtabletsoutdoorsOur experience, then, suggests that there is considerable potential for using tablets in across-curricularwaytoenhanceoutdoorlearningwithoutcompromisingchildren’shands-on engagement and physical exploration of their environment. In this section we willconsider how this approach can influence learning and look at some relevant researchevidence.ThewordcloudinFigure6.4illustratessomeofthekeyemergingconcepts.

Figure6.4Awordcloudillustratingsomeofthekeywordsfortechnologysupportingoutdoorlearning

ThedevelopmentofmobilelearningOverthelastfiveyearstabletshavebecomeanacceptedtechnologytoolforlearningandcurrenttrendssuggestthattheiradoptioniscontinuing(Traxler,2010).Asurveyofover550USeducatorsinMay2013reportedthatmorethan75percentofrespondentshavealreadyadopted,orwerevery likely toadopt,mobile technology in thenextoneor twoyears(InteractiveEducationalSystems,2012),andarecentHorizonreportconfirmsthatmobilecomputingisalsoincreasinginUKschools(ClarkandLuckin,2013).

Several studies highlight the potential for tablets to offer unique learning benefits(Heinrich,2012;Burdenetal.,2012).Manysuggestthattheycanfacilitateahighdegreeofpersonalisationinlearning(Pegrumetal.,2013),anincreaseinstudent independence(Alberta, 2012) and enhanced opportunities for collaboration (Henderson and Yeow,2012). Researchers note that mobile learning can provide an effective bridge betweenindoor and outdoor learning and promote new forms of collaboration based on outdoorlearning contexts (Pachler et al., 2009; Clarke, 2012). Mobile learning is thereforeopeningupexcitingopportunitiesforlearninginavarietyofindoorandoutdoorsettings,anditsuseisgainingmomentum.

Forexample,agroupofresearchersattheOpenUniversity,ledbyAnneJones,suggestedsix reasons why mobile learning might be motivating: Control, Ownership, Fun,Communication,Learning incontext,andContinuitybetweencontexts.Theyreport thatthe association with informal learning outside school and the freedom to developownershipovertasksincreasesintrinsicmotivation:‘Feelingincontrolmatters’(Jonesetal.,inSharples,2006,p16).Asimilaremphasisonself-directedlearningemergedfromastudycompletedattheUniversityofNottingham,whichlookedatchildrenundertakinganoutdoor treasure hunt activity. This team concluded that technology helped children toconstructscientificmeaningandprovidedahighlymotivatingandwell-integratedcontextfortheiroutdoorlearning.Theysuggestthatinvolvingchildrenincreatingtheirownclueswhenmakingdigitaltreasurehuntsoffersawayofmaintainingmotivationandenhancingreflection(Wyethetal.,2008,p31).

ThegrowthofoutdoorlearningWithin thewider contextofoutdoor learning, therehasbeenagrowth inForestSchoolpedagogyandinoutdoorclassroomsoverthelast20years,stemmingfromScandinaviantraditions that view closeness to nature as a natural aspect of children’s learning. OurcurrentEYFS framework requires settings to recognise the importance of daily outdooractivity.PartoftheethosofForestSchoolistoofferalllearnersregularopportunitiestodevelop confidence through hands-on learning experiences that are responsive to needsandinterests.Playandchoiceareintegralfeaturesofthislearner-centredapproach,alongwithreflectivepractice(Knight,2013).

In line with the ideas outlined above, we sought to unite physical and digital ways oflooking at the world through our choice of activities, rather than replace one with theother.Inourcasestudyexamples,childrenwereimmersedinthephysicalexplorationoftheir environment. Tablets helped them plan, record and capture this, and to produceshareable digital products documenting the experiences. Sharing was important, as itencouraged children to build skills in synthesising and communicating ideas throughvariouscombinationsofmedia.Inthisway,thetechnologyreinforcedthevalueofoutdoorlearning,asitwasthemediumthroughwhichclearlinksweremadebetweenindoorandoutdoor activities, a requirement highlighted by Dillon et al. (2006) in their review ofresearchonoutdoorlearning.

Thevalueofusing technologyoutdoors isborneoutbya research studycarriedoutbyAcer andEuropeanSchoolnet in 2012, looking at theuseof tablets in63 schools fromeightEuropeancountries.Oneoftheirrecommendationsisthatteachersshouldexploittheuseoftabletsinlearningcontextsoutsidetheclassroomsuchasfieldwork:Evidence suggests that these type of practices, where tablets are used to extend learning beyond the formalclassroomcontext,leadtomoreradicaltransformativechangesinteachingandlearningpractices.

(Balanskat,2013,p11)

ChoosingappsIn order to ensure that the physical and digital worlds are complementing and notcompeting with each other, we suggest caution in the number of apps you install. Acommonapproachwhenstartingtousetabletsinschoolsistofocusongatheringalargecollection of subject-specific apps. Rather than do this, it might bemore useful to puttogetheracoresetofcontentcreationapps thatcanbeused timeand timeagainacrosssubjects.Once theygainconfidence,childrenand their teacherswillbegin tobeable toseewaysinwhichtocombinethesefamiliarappscreativelytocommunicateandexpresstheirideas.Acoresetofappsthusallowsyoutoconcentrateonembeddingyourdevicesintothelearningprocess.

Self-directedactivelearningFocusing on a small number of open-ended apps for content creation can also help tomakelearningmorepupil-centredandself-directed.Itempowerschildrentotakeanactiveroleinlearningthroughconstructingtheirownviewsandseekingevidencebasedontheirengagementwith theworld.Althoughourchildrenwereall exploring the sameoutdoorenvironment,theirresponsesweremanyandvaried.Theirconfidencewiththetechnology

meant that they could record and share individual discoveries, making learning morepersonal.Andtheirdrivetofindoutanddocumentwasdrivenbytheknowledgethattheywereworkingtowardscreatingaprofessional-lookingdigitalproduct.

Thetablebelowsuggestssomecoreappstochoosefromforoutdoorlearning.

Table6.3Aselectionofcoreappsforoutdoorlearning

Manyresearchersdrawattentiontothefactthatmedia-basedapproaches,suchaswehavedescribed,allowforhighlevelsofinteractionandinquiry.Theynotethatopportunitiesforpupilstoengageinmultimodalenvironmentsareexpandingandsuggestthatlearningcanimprovewhen childrenmanipulate information (Fisher et al. 2013). Our children wereactiveexplorersandcuratorsofinformation,takingpictures,recordingaudioandshootingvideoon location.Their use of apps transformed staticwords and images into artefactstheycouldinvestigateandexplore.

Thisideahasresonancewithsocio-constructivistmodelsoflearning,whichviewchildrenas co-constructors of knowledge through their interaction with people and theenvironment. Learning theorists such as Vygotsky, Bandura and Bruner, for example,recognise that learning is inherentlysocialand that interaction iscentral to learning.AsLlewellynputsit,‘knowingisanactive,adaptive,andevolutionaryprocess’(Llewellyn,2005,p28).Intheirdefinitionofmobilelearning,Sharplesandhiscolleaguesfocusonthelearning that takesplace throughinteractionsbetweenlearnersandtheirsurroundingsastheyfilternewmeaningabouttheworldbasedonpriorknowledge,andtheysuggestthattechnologycanenhancethisprocess:Thecomplexityoftheseinteractionsbetweenlearners,educationalsettingsandmobiletechnologieschallengesthe

conventionalviewofeducationasimpartingknowledgeinafixedlocation,invitingamoreexpansivepossibilityofubiquitouslearning.

(Sharplesetal.,2010,p2)

Theteacher’sroleinaninquiry-basedapproachWehavebeen thinkingabouthow interactionsbetweenchildrenand their environmentscanshapecognition,andhowtabletscanfacilitatethis.Youwillalsoneedtogivesomethoughttoyourownrole.Inordertohelpchildrentobuildontheirpriorknowledgeyoucan help them engagewith their initial understandings and preconceptions. Thismeansencouragingchildren toposemanyquestions, and then takinga lead from theirqueriesandallowingthemchoices indetermining thedirectionof theirprojects.Suchaprocesswillhelpthemtothinkaboutwhattheywanttoknow,whattheyalreadyknowandwhattheyneed toknow.AsHattie suggests, thismay result inyou talking less and listeningmoreinordertoachievegenuinedialoguesandmodeldeepcommunicationskills(Hattie,2012).

Ifyouaretohelpchildrentounderstandandtakecontroloftheirlearningjourneys,youwillalsoneedtodemonstratehowyoulearnandmakeadeliberateattempttomakeyourownlearningpathwayvisible:Passion reflects the thrill, as well as the frustrations, of learning; it can be infectious, it can taught, it can bemodelled, and it can be learnt. It requires more than content knowledge, acts of skilled teaching, or engagedstudents tomake the difference (although these help). It requires a loveof the content, an ethical caring stancederivingfromthedesiretoinstilinothersaliking,orevenlove,ofthedisciplinebeingtaught,andademonstrationthat the teacher is not only teaching, but also learning (typicallyabout the students’ processesandoutcomesoflearning).

(Hattie,2012,p16)

Avisible learning approach, asHattie describes, continuallymodels andmonitors goodlearningstrategies,givesrelevantfeedbackandevaluatestheimpactoftheteacherinputandmanagementofpace.Whenimplementingtheseideasoutdoorswithtechnology,youmightconsiderhowyoucanofferchildrenmultiplestrategies,encouragerisktakingandprovideappropriatechallenges.Youcouldincludelearningintentionsandsuccesscriteriathatarehighlydifferentiatedforindividuals.Theaimistogiveallchildrenthechancetoposerealquestionsandadoptanattitudeofpersonal inquiryfor theirworkoutdoors. Inshort,weneedtomakesuretoincludetimetowonderandtimetowander.

Itislikelythatyouroutdoorexperienceswillbesandwichedbetweenperiodsoftimeforpreparationandreflectionindoors.Withintheclassroom,aswell,youwillbeabletousetechnology tohelpmake the learningprocessmoreexplicit.ThinkaboutusingavirtualwallsuchasPadletoramindmappingappsuchasPopplet togather ideasand tosharereflections.AnAppleTVcan facilitatea reviewofwork inprogressbymirroringyouriPadsontoalargerscreen.AndtheuseofapupilresponseappsuchasSocrativeallowsforquickpollsat thebeginningandendofsessionstocheckforpriorlearningandgivepeerfeedback.

The diagram below illustrates how this type of learning can be an iterative process, inwhichinquiry,reflectionandreviewareintegral,andstagesarerepeatedaschildrenbuilduponthem.Questionsansweredleadtonewquestions,andtimeisallowedforchildrentodefineanddevelopownershipoftheproblemsorthemestheyintendtoexplore.

Figure6.5Theiterativeprocessofinquiry-basedlearning

ActivityUse the diagram above to analyse an outdoor learning experience with which youhavebeeninvolved.Makeyourownversionofthediagramandaddsomekeywordsdescribing the physical activity and curriculum content. In a different colour, addsomesuggestionsforways inwhich tabletsandappscouldaddvalue to theoverallprocess.

AccessibilityandeSafetyOnefurtherconsiderationwhenchoosingappsforoutdooractivitiesistothinkaboutthebarriers that your childrenwith special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)mayface,andhowparticularappsandsettingsmighthelptoaddresstheiraccessibilityissues.Somechildrenwillfinditusefultouse‘SpeakSelection’,voicerecognition,orzoomandhighcontrastviewingoptionson iPads.Forothers,unfamiliaroutdoorsettingscanbeasourceofanxiety,andpreviewingplannedvisitsusingphotosandexamplescenarioscanhelp build confidence. Concentration can be improved for many children through theGuidedAccessoptionwithintheiPadaccessibilitysettingsthatrestrictchoicesduringanactivity.Outdooractivitiesmayneed tobeadapted to takeaccountofcertainchildren’sphysicalneedsandyoumightfindanopportunitytogiveachildwithmobilitychallengesincreasedresponsibilityforhandlingthetablets.

Thought also needs to be given to e-safety considerations and the appropriate use ofsharingoptionswhenevaluatingapps.TheoptionwithiniPad‘Settings’torestrictcertainwebsites and limit adult content can be useful, and you will need to evaluate theappropriateuseofphotographswhenconsideringhowbesttosharedigitalcontent.

SummaryandKeyPointsWe have discussed ways in which tablets can unite ‘knowing’ and ‘doing’ whenworking outside the classroom, andwe have thought about how active exploration

helpschildrentoconstructnewmeanings.Wesuggestthatallowingtimeforreflectioncan help them to make connections with previous knowledge and begin to posequestions,applyingtheirfreshunderstandingtodifferentcontexts.Theoutdoorexperienceswedescribeemphasiseprocessoverproduct.Thatisnottosay that the product is not important; the use of technology can help to capturepersonal learning journeys outdoors, and then enable children to share and reviewthem afterwards. By balancing the process and the product, the digital and thephysical,andevaluatingboth,wemakelearningmoreconnectedandthereforemoremeaningful.Wecanquicklyrevisitandreviewexperiencesbeforemovingforwards,andwe can hold the reins of a large number of children as they pursue their ownroutesofinquiry.Inthistypeoflearningscenariotheproductionofmedia-richdigitalartefacts represent culmination points at which children can present theirunderstandings to an audience. This collaborative pursuit of publication orpresentation can draw together their individual strands of inquiry and fuel theinvestigativeprocessbyprovidingahugeinjectionofdriveandmotivation.

ReflectiveQuestionsHow could you use questions to help children identify themes, issues and questions toexploreintheiroutdoorlearning,andhowcouldtechnologyhelpwiththis?

How could tablets help you to achieve a balance between children’s direct experiencesoutdoorsandthereflectionandreviewneededtoconsolidateconcepts?

How can you create learning goals that give a clear direction to outdoor learningwithtechnology,whilstmaintainingchildren’sfreedomtoexplore?

UsefulLinksThe‘OurCreativeVillage’projectdescribedinthiscasestudyislooselybasedonworkundertakenatStLoysCofEPrimaryAcademy,WeedonLoisin2014.

www.st-loys.northants.sch.uk(accessed20December2014).

CreativeStarLearning

http://creativestarlearning.co.uk(accessed20December2014).

Afabuloussitefullofpracticalideasandinformationaboutlearningoutdoorsandmanyexamplesoftabletsusedpurposefullyoutsidetheclassroom.

PinterestCollection:BeyondtheClassroom

www.pinterest.com/helencaldwel/beyond-the-classroom(accessed20December2014).

Acollectionofover100linksforusingtechnologyoutdoors.

UploadsfromTheSlowMoGuys

www.youtube.com/playlist?list=UUUK0HBIBWgM2c4vsPhkYY4w(accessed20December2014).

AYouTubeplaylistfocusingoncapturingeventsinslowmotion,manyofwhichcouldbeusedtodiscussscienceconcepts.

GeocachingandEducation

www.geocaching.com/education(accessed20December2014).

Anintroductiontogeocachingasanoutdoorcross-curricularactivity.

TechnologyOutdoors

http://mypad.northampton.ac.uk/ictoutdoors(accessed20December2014).

NorthamptonshireteacherssharingideasforoutdoorlearningwithtechnologyinconjunctionwiththeUniversityofNorthampton.

AppListfortheChapterPicCollage,Tellagami,Scan,ShadowPuppetEdu,Chatterpix,BeFunkyPhotoEditor,iMovie,StripDesigner,ThingLink,RollWorld,GreenScreenbyDoInk,SloPro,Minatures:Tilt-ShiftTime-LapseVideos,Photosynth,BigMagnify,TradingCards,Skitch,Brushes,ArtRage,Numbers,GoogleSheets,GoogleForms,iChartMaker,Grafio,HaikuDeck,TeachingGraphs,ChartMaker,ExplainEverything,DoodlecastPro,PuppetPals,Videolicious,Vintagio,Moldiv,BookCreator,MyStory,QRStuff,QRafter,Huntzz,Aurasma,Geocaching,Spyglass,Keynote,SoundOscope,MadPad,Audioboo,Croak.it!,PopletLite,Bubble.us,Quizlet.

FurtherReading

Whattheresearchsays:iPadsintheclassroomClark,WandLuckin,R(2013)Whattheresearchsays:iPadsintheClassroom.LondonKnowledgeLab[online].Availablefrom:https://www.lkldev.ioe.ac.uk/lklinnovation/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/2013-iPads-in-the-Classroom-v2.pdf(accessed18January2014).

AreviewofresearchliteraturerelatedtoteachingandlearningwithiPadsinschools,includingnewspaperreportsandblogsaswellasacademicpapers,andconsiderationoftheimplicationsfordifferentusergroups.

ActivelearningandteachingmethodsforKeyStages1and2www.nicurriculum.org.uk/docs/key_stages_1_and_2/altm-ks12.pdf(accessed20December2014).

AbookletfromNorthernIrelandCurriculumgivingarationaleanddescriptionof79activelearningmethodologiestointegrateintolearner-centredteaching.

NMCHorizonReport2014www.nmc.org/publications/2014-horizon-report-k12(accessed20December2014).

AnannualreportdescribingresearchfindingsfromtheongoingNMCHorizonProject,whichaimstoidentifyanddescribeemergingtechnologiesandkeytrendslikelytohaveanimpactonlearning,teachingandcreativeinquiryineducation.

Introducingtabletsinschools:TheAcer-EuropeanSchoolnettabletpilot

http://1to1.eun.org/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=4507eca6-7707-4cfd-abe3-ad62b25ac847&groupId=10334(accessed20December2014).

Apilotstudyontheuseoftabletstoenhanceteachingandlearningpracticesacross63schoolsineightEuropeancountries.

ReferencesAlberta(2012)iPads:Whatarewelearning?[online].Availablefrom:http://education.alberta.ca/admin/technology/research.aspx(accessed18January2014).

Balanskat,A(2013)Introducingtabletsinschools:TheAcer-EuropeanSchoolnetTabletPilot.Availablefrom:http://1to1.eun.org/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=4507eca6-7707-4cfd-abe3-ad62b25ac847&groupId=10334(accessed31August2014).

Burden,K,Hopkins,P,Male,T,Martin,SandTrala,C(2012)iPadScotlandEvaluation.Availablefrom:www2.hull.ac.uk/ifl/ipadresearchinschools.aspx(accessed18January2014).

Clark,WandLuckin,R(2013)Whattheresearchsays:iPadsintheclassroom.LondonKnowledgeLab.Availablefrom:https://www.lkldev.ioe.ac.uk/lklinnovation/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/2013-iPads-in-the-Classroom-v2.pdf(accessed18January2014).

Clarke,B(2012)One-to-onetabletsinsecondaryschools:Anevaluationstudy.Availablefrom:http://tabletsforschools.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/2011-12-Final-Report.pdf(accessed18January2014).

Dillon,J,Rickinson,M,Teamey,K,Morris,M,Choi,MY,Sanders,DandBenefield,P(2006)Thevalueofoutdoorlearning:EvidencefromresearchintheUKandelsewhere.SchoolScienceReview,87(320),107.

Hattie,J(2012)VisibleLearningforTeachers:MaximisingImpactonLearning.London:Routledge.

Heinrich,P(2012)TheiPadasatoolforeducation.NAACEand9ineConsulting[online].Availablefrom:www.naace.co.uk/publications/longfieldipadresearch(accessed18January2014).

Henderson,SandYeow,J(2012)iPadsinEducation:AcasestudyofiPadadoptionanduseinaprimaryschool.InHICSS’12Proceedingsofthe201245thHawaiiInternationalConferenceonSystemSciences,78–87.

InteractiveEducationalSystemsDesign,Inc.(2012)NationalSurveyonMobileTechnologyforK-12Education:Corporateedition.Availablefrom:www.stemreports.com/products-page/market-research/2012-national-survey-on-mobiletechnology-for-k-12-education(accessed18January2014).

Knight,S(2013)ForestSchoolandOutdoorLearningintheEarlyYears.London:Sage.

Llewellyn,D(2005)TeachingHighSchoolSciencethroughInquiry:ACaseStudyApproach.ThousandOaks,CA:CorwinPress.

Pachler,N,Cook,JandBachmair,B(2010)Appropriationofmobileculturalresourcesforlearning.InternationalJournalofMobileandBlendedLearning(IJMBL),2(1),1–21.

Pegrum,M,Howitt,CandStriepe,M(2013)Learningtotakethetablet:Howpre-serviceteachersuseiPadstofacilitatetheirlearning.AustralasianJournalofEducationalTechnology,29(4).

Sharples,M(2006)BigIssuesinMobileLearning.Nottingham:UniversityofNottingham.

Sharples,M,Taylor,JandVavoula,G(2010)Atheoryoflearningforthemobileage,inMedienbildunginneuenKulturräumen(87–99).VSVerlagfürSozialwissenschaften.

Traxler,J(2010)Willstudentdevicesdeliverinnovation,inclusion,andtransformation?JournaloftheResearchCenterforEducationalTechnology,6(1),3–15.

Wyeth,P,Smith,H,Ng,KH,Fitzpatrick,G,Luckin,R,Walker,K…andBenford,S(2008,April)Learningthroughtreasurehunting:Theroleofmobiledevices.InProceedingsoftheInternationalConferenceonMobileLearning2008(pp27–34).

Chapter7

ChildrenasresearchersIntroductionThis chapter looks at how tablets can help children interact with the wider world byoffering exciting ways of engaging in research and seeing themselves as informationgatherersandcreativeproducers.

Asinformationbecomesmoreofanintegralpartofourlives,fromcheckingourfriends’status onFacebook and sharing their links, to readingblogposts by fellow teachers onTwitter and catching up with the news online, the need to handle this informationeffectivelygrows.Wewillfollowthejourneyofresearchersastheybeginchoosingatopicof research to explore, become information gatherers and finally, creative producers tothenusethatinformationtocommunicateandcollaboratewiththeworld.

ThefollowingcasestudyfromCarolineHaslettSchool,MiltonKeynes,showsasimpleand effective way of implementing project-based learning in the primary classroom,utilisingthetabletasonedevicethatcansource,organiseanduseinformation.Itfocusesonthevaryingstageswithintheresearchprocessandthequestionswhichchildrenmustconsideralongtheway,includinghowbesttohelppupilschoose,evaluateandsynthesiseinformation with discrimination and how re-mixing and re-purposing information canreinforceunderstanding.Arangeofappsisexploredtosupportgathering,organisingandusinginformation.

Wewillgoontodiscusshowproject-basedlearningasapedagogyforallowingchildrentoberesearchersfacilitatestheadoptionoftwenty-first-centuryskills.Partofthisinvolvesteaching children to become efficient and effective information gatherers and digitalcreators.Alongside this,weexplore the informal learningcultureassociatedwithdigitalcreationinonlinecommunitiesandhowthesepracticescanbeutilisedforeducation.Thechapter ends by discussing the impact of children sharing their work with a globalaudiencethroughsimplevideoconferencingandeTwinning.

LearningObjectivesAttheendofthischapteryoushouldbeableto:

•recognisetherangeoftwenty-first-centuryskillschildrenneedtobelearningalongsidethecontentcurriculum;

•beawareofthebenefitsofproject-basedlearningandhowtabletscanfacilitatethis;

•understandtheprocessofeffectivesearching,includingrelevantpedagogy;

•beawareoftherangeofdigitalcreationschildrencancreatetosharetheirlearning.

LinkstoTeachers’StandardsThefollowingTeachers’Standardsareparticularlyrelevanttothischapter:

TS1Establishasafeandstimulatingenvironmentforpupils.

Setgoalsthatstretchandchallengepupilsofallbackgrounds,abilitiesanddispositions.

TS2 Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of how pupils learn and how thisimpactsonteaching.

Encouragepupilstotakearesponsibleandconscientiousattitudetotheirownworkandstudy.

TS3Haveasecureknowledgeoftherelevantsubject(s)andcurriculumareas.

Fosterandmaintainpupils’interestinthesubject.

TS4Promotealoveoflearningandchildren’sintellectualcuriosity.

Contribute to thedesignandprovisionof anengagingcurriculumwithin the relevantsubjectarea(s).

TS5Haveaclearunderstandingoftheneedsofallpupils,including:thosewithspecialeducationalneeds;thoseofhighability;thosewithEnglishasanadditionallanguage;those with disabilities; and to be able to use and evaluate distinctive teachingapproachestoengageandsupportthem.

Demonstrate a critical understanding of developments in the subject and curriculumareas,andpromotethevalueofscholarship.

LinkstoNationalCurriculumProgrammesofStudyKeyStage1andKeyStage2

•Pupilsbecomedigitallyliterate–abletouse,andexpressthemselvesanddeveloptheirideasthroughinformationandcommunicationtechnology–atalevelsuitableforthefutureworkplaceandasactiveparticipantsinadigitalworld.

•Pupilsareresponsible,competent,confidentandcreativeusersofinformationandcommunicationtechnology.

•Pupilsusetechnologypurposefullytocreate,organise,store,manipulateandretrievedigitalcontent.

•Pupilsselect,useandcombineavarietyofsoftware(includinginternetservices)onarangeofdigitaldevicestodesignandcreatearangeofprograms,systemsandcontentthataccomplishgivengoals,includingcollecting,analysing,evaluatingandpresentingdataandinformation.

Intheclassroom

ExamplefrompracticeOneyeartrialof1:1iPadsinaYear5classatCarolineHaslettPrimarySchool

ContextYear5atCarolineHaslettPrimarySchoolexploredageography-basedprojectweek(afternoons only) originally based around some lessons from the InternationalPrimaryCurriculum’s (IPC) ‘WhataWonderfulWorld’unitofwork.Eachday theteamwouldbesetataskthatwouldallowchildrentoindependentlypursueresearchtopics,usingmanyappstomakenotesandcollaborate.Theycreateddigitalcontenttosharetheirfindingswiththe‘BoardofDirectors’,inthiscase,theirteachers,headteacherandaschoolgovernor.

LearningObjectives•todescribeaspectsofphysicalgeographysuchasclimatezones,biomes,

rivers,mountainsandvolcanoes/earthquakes;

•tochooseappropriatekeywordsforaninternetsearchandusearangeofICTsoftwareandapplicationstocreateanendproductsuitableforpurpose;

•tobeawareofattribution,reliability,paraphrasing,copyrightandCreativeCommonswhensearchingforinformationontheinternet;

•toworkcollaborativelywithpeerstofollowindependentlinesofinquiry.

OutlineAt the start of theweek the childrenwere randomly assigned into six groups andgiven access to a Dropbox folder (a folder containing any files you want that issharedwith chosen people via the internet), so that the children could access anylearningresourceswhenevertheyneededthem.

Stages of research in the digital age: from information gatherers to creativeproducersThefocusoftheweekwasonencouragingchildrentofollowaprocessofinformation gathering and knowing how to find reliable information written at anappropriatelevelforthemtounderstand.Figure7.1showstheflowchartIcreatedtoguidethemthroughtheresearchprocess.

Asthechildrenpassthroughthesedifferentstages,thereisarangeofappssuitabletosupportthedevelopmentofeachoftheseskills.

Day1The first task was to find 12 calendar photos on the theme of ‘Planet Earth’ andincludeacaptionexplainingthechoice.Mylessoninputdiscussedthelawandethicssurrounding the use of images from the internet and included references to bothcopyrightandCreativeCommons.Nowthegroupswerereadytostartworkingtheir

waythroughtheflowchart!

Figure7.1Stagesofresearchinthedigitalage

Table7.1Appsuggestionsforeachresearchstage

ProblemsolvingandsearchingThe majority of the groups shared their ideas using a mindmapping app, such asMindomo, to suggest possible themes and the individual photo ideas surroundingthosethemes.Followingthis,thegroupssharedtheir‘planofaction’,uploadedittoaDropboxfolderandbegansearchingforimages.

When searching for Creative Commons images, the children generally usedwww.compfight.com, as this was a website we had used previously. One groupremembered that the appHaikuDeck (an app for making presentations) searchesCreativeCommonsimageswithinit,aswellasaddingthereferenceonyourbehalf,andusedthattodirectlyimportimagesintoapresentation.

Day2By thispoint, thechildrenwereexpressingawish tobeable tocommunicatewiththeirgroup.For this, Iused theappEdmodo,which isanenvironment similar toasocialnetworking site enablinggroupdiscussions,butwithcontrols for teachers toensureprivacyandsafety.

ProblemsolvingandsearchingThe task for day two was to research ‘Biomes’ and share what they found out. IsuggestedthechildrenusedtheGoogleSearchappratherthanaccessingtheinternetthroughabrowsersuchastheSafariapp.Thiswasbecausetheyget lessdistractedwith other websites. Here I emphasised ‘re-mixing’ the information they found asopposed tocopyandpasting;paraphrasingwillbecomeausefulskill in the future.MyclassfavouredusingappssuchasMindomoandNotabilityfortheirnotetaking,astheseallowtheuseofavarietyofdifferentmediasuchasphotos,links,textanddrawing.ForthosestudentswholikeclearorganisationMindomoispreferentialasitiseasiertoseelinksbetweeninformation.

CreateAsIdidnotspecifywhatthechildrenhadtocreate,thereweremanydifferentideassuggestedbygroupmembers.HaikuDeck,Flowboard,Google Slides andKeynoteare more traditional presentation apps, although each offer different advantages.GoogleSlidesallowedeachchildtoworkontheirowniPad,whilsteditingthesamefiles.HaikuDeckandFlowboardwereuploadedtoasharedaccountviatheinternet,sothatgroupscouldworkontheirownsectionsandeasilysharetheircontributions.Bycontrast,Halftone2isacomic-makingappwhichoffersanentirelydifferentwaytoproducefindings.

Day3For the third lesson Iwanted to show the class that information isn’t just gatheredfrom text-based sources. Themain focus of the lesson involved using several pre-downloaded Google Earth maps (you can get some that use official NASAinformation, so it’s well worth a look!) which allow you to cover the globe toillustrateaspecificfeature.

TherearenumerousadvantagestousingGoogleEarth insteadoftraditionalatlases.First,thedatashownhereisaccurateuptothetimeIdownloadedthemapstosharewithmystudents.Mostschoolatlasesareatleast10yearsold,andsomeevenshowcountriesthatnolongerexist!Aswellasthis,youcanlayerseveralmapstogether,allowing the teacher to show both the rainfall this month and locations of therainforestbiomes.

Finally, the troublewith atlases is that theyprovide a 2D image,whichmeans thecountrieshavetobedistortedinordertofitonthemapandbeclear.GoogleEartheradicatesthisbypresentingtheworldasaglobe,accuratelyshowingthescaleandpositioning of each of the countries. The only thing that children do need to becarefulofisthattheycanfliptheworldupsidedownandnotrealiseitiftheytryandnavigatetooquickly!

Day4ProblemsolvingandsearchingEachgroupexploreddifferenttypesofnaturaldisasters,anactivitywhichreliedonusing different sources of information gathering. For the ‘factual’ side of things IsuggestedthatthechildrenstartedwiththeEncyclopediaBritannica,asitgivessomebasicinformationwhichtheycanthenbuildonwithmorespecificsearchqueriesandsearchesonnewswebsitessuchaswww.bbc.co.uk/newsroundandEspresso,aswellastheFirstNewsnewspaperappforlivenewsstoriesaimedat7–14-year-olds.

Synthesising,maximisingandcreatingFor this lesson themajority of the children used theNotability app, preferring thelayoutand style features to thatof theMindMash app to collate their findings.Wefocusedon‘maximising’anddiscussedtheimpactofthewrittenwordcomparedtoothermedia.Thisledtothechildrensuggestingthattheycouldsharetheirfindingsabout natural disasters using video, as they believed that this would have thestrongest impact. The majority of the class used the app TouchCast to make a‘greenscreen’newsreportordocumentaryusingsomegreenbackingpaperandstillimages theyhad foundonline, andplacing themselves at the sceneof their naturaldisaster.Thislentasenseofimmediacytotheirwork.

Day5For the final lesson, I wanted to show the children how they could use theinformation that they had been gathering and processing over the last week.As aclass,weparticipated ina ‘mysterySkype’.This involves twoclassesSkypingandonly the teachers knowing where the other class is situated. Each class has 20questionstoaskinordertotryandguessthelocationoftheirpartnerclass.Beforewebegan, thegroups formed theirquestionsand then, in their teams,eachchildhadarolesuchasusingtheWorldAtlasapp tocheckfor local riversorGoogleEarth tocheckforrecentrainfall.

CommunicateandcollaborateBy communicating in thisway, the children applied the research skillswhich theyhad learned to a real situation. After they had solved where the other class waslocated,thechildrensharedthedigitalcreationswhichtheyhadmadethroughouttheweekusingNearpod toguideeveryone throughpresentations inan interactivewayandsharedadditionalmediathroughDropbox.Thisgavethechildreninbothclassesachancetolearnfromeachotherandsharefeedback.

TakingitfurtherTheexamplesofpracticesharedherearetakenfromageographyprojectweek,buttheycould also be adapted for any subject, year group or key stage due to the open-endednatureofresearch-basedprojects.Withyoungerchildren,Iwouldgivethemaselectionofpre-selectedandage-appropriatewebsites,perhapsusinganapp likePearltrees tomakethemeasiertofind,andthenallowthemtopractisesearchinginapre-definedcontext.

ActivityChoosealineofinquirythatinterestsyou;itcouldbetodowithtabletsandeducationorsomethingcompletelydifferent.FollowFigure7.1(Stagesofresearchinthedigitalage)andcompleteeachstageusingappsyouareinterestedinexploring.Aimtoendwithadigitalcreationthatyoucansharewithothers.

Consider how youmake choices throughout the inquiry.Which are simple choicesandwhicharetrickier?

Planways to teachspecificskills for thoseaspectswhichyoufindmoredifficult tocomplete.

DiscussionWewilldiscuss the importanceof these twenty-first-centuryskillsaswellashowusingthis project-based learning pedagogy nurtures children’s development. Finally, we willconsidertheprocessofinformationgatheringfromtheinitialinquiryformationthroughtothedigitalcreation,whichchildrenuse tocommunicate their findingswithapotentiallyglobalaudience.

Twenty-first-centuryskillsIntwenty-first-centurylife,researchskillsareessential;fromcheckingthenewsonline,tofindingoutwhatappstobuy.Weaccessinformationlikethiseveryday.From2013–2020,the digital universewill grow by a factor of 10 –more than doubling every two years(EMC,2014,p2).By2020,September2014’sFoundationStagechildrenwillbeinYear5,notevenoutofprimaryschoolyet.

Thisevolutionoftechnologieshasledtotheintroductionoftheterm‘twenty-first-centuryskills’ and is recognised as necessary around the world (Ananiadou and Claro, 2009).These skills aremost frequently described as being: collaboration, communication, ICTliteracy and social/cultural competencies. However, most frameworks also mentioncreativity, critical thinkingandproblemsolving (Voogt andPareja,2010).For example,collaboration today may mean working together without ever having met andcommunicating throughvideomessaging (Dede,2010),or itmight involve ten teachersworkingonthesamedocument,atthesametime,toplanaschemeofworkusingtheappGoogleDrive.

Twenty-first-centuryteachingThe role of the teacher has changed from being the primary source of information

(Kozma,2003)tosomeonewhofacilitates,supportsandscaffoldsthelearningprocessandaims to involve the teacher, peers and technology (Kim and Hannafin, 2011; Renner,2006).Learningisalifelongprocess,soourlearnersneedtoknowwhereandhowtofindinformation(Siemens,2005).

Givingchildrena rangeofsourcesof relevant,appropriately-levelled informationsheetsas well as a selection of pre-checked websites means that they view knowledge assomethingtheyreceivefromothers(Dede,2010),ratherthanseeingthemselvesasactivecuratorsandcreatorsofknowledge(Renner,2006).Resnick(2002)suggeststhattwenty-first-century learning should be project-based across subjects and that the role of theteacherisasconsultanttotheirlearners.Thisapproachisfrequentlyreferredtoasproject-basedlearninganditencourageslearnerstobecomemoreactiveandtakecontroloftheirownlearning.

Project-basedlearningProject-based learning (PBL) involves children, often in groups, following a line ofinquiry that interests them.This can be entirely open, or tied to a specific subject areadependingonwhatyouwant the learners to focuson.During thegeographycase studyabove, I gave children quite a narrow channel for inquiry as thiswas somethingwhichtheywerenotusedto.Fromhere,Ithenwidenedtheiropportunitiesandfreedomsinlaterprojects,sothattheywerenotinitiallyoverwhelmedbythetask.

Within PBL, the learners take responsibility for choosing their inquiry, brainstormingideasanddecidinghowtopresenttheirprojecttoshowtheirfindings(Bell,2010).Tabletsunifythisprocessallowingthesourcing,publishingandsharingofcontenteffectivelyandefficientlywithonedevice(Renner,2006). Introducingprimaryschoolchildren to theseskillssetsthemupaslifelonglearnersinourveryconnectedworld.

Finally, PBL is a very inclusive approach for meeting individual needs. Althoughcollaborationskillscanbe tricky,working inagroupensures thatstudentscanfulfil theroles suited to them.Whether they would prefer to be designing the presentation andorganising the information, creating a timeline of key events from a non-fiction text orwritingadiaryofreflection,eachchildcandisplaytheirlearningastheywish.Aswellasthis,theuseoftabletsmeansthatchildrenarenotconfinedtodesksandsocanchoosealearningenvironmentbestsuitedtotheirneeds(Bell,2010).

InformationgatherersWe are currently seeing a shift in focus of information and knowledge: it is no longervaluable,orviable,tobethe‘knowledgeholder’;withthedigitaluniversegrowingby1.7megabytesaminuteforeverypersononEarth(EMC,2014)wewouldbefightingalosingbattle ifwe retained thisoutlook. Instead,weneed strategies for learning the thingswedon’tknow(Resnick,2002)andweneedtoknowwhere tofindthe informationneeded(Siemens,2005).Unfortunately,thisisnotassimpleasitmightseem.

Forchildrentobecomeproficientinformationgatherers,theirabilitiesneedtoinclude:recognisingthatthe‘safe’searchfiltercanbeturnedonandoff,anabilitytoformulateeffectivesearchstrategies,interpret the results retrieved, judge relevancy of these results vis-a-vis given tasks, and possession of adequatereadingskills.

(Bilal,2012,p1894)

Theprocess:searching,validating,synthesisingandmaximising!

SearchingOnce thechildrenhavedecidedon their lineofenquiry, theymust firstchooseasearchengine.Therearesearchenginesdesignedspecifically forchildren, suchasSafeSearchKids (www.safesearchkids.com), KidRex (www.kidrex.org) and GoGooligans(www.gogooligans.com).Overall,childrentendtoprefertouseGoogleovermorechild-specific search engines, largely due to their familiarity with how it works (Jochmann-Mannaketal.,2010).

ThereareotherbenefitstousingGoogle:childrenoftenuse‘natural’languagewhentheysearch,forexample,formulatingquestionslike‘Whatfooddoesacrocodileeat?’,whichothersearchengines finddifficult tounderstand. Inaddition,Google’s ‘Didyoumean?’featurehelpsthemtocorrectspellingmistakesandthepredictivedropdownthat‘guesses’what you’re trying to search for reduces the amount of typing required (Jochmann-Mannaketal.,2010).Teachingchildrentousetheseshortcuts–aswellascopyandpaste–aspartofthesearchingprocesscanreducethefrustrationstheyexperience(Fossetal.,2013).

Whenteachingsearchtechniques,itisimportantnottojustgivethechildren‘fact-finding’activities.Whilstthesemightproveausefulstartingpoint,theyarenoticeablyeasierthanamoreopen-endedresearchactivitywherethelearnerhastofirstconsidertheappropriatesearch query (Bilal, 2001). The deconstruction of the search query is one of the mostdifficult tasksforchildrentounderstand:oftentheycanpickkeywordsbutdonotknowwheretogoifthisdoesn’twork.Bycombiningsearchterms,andrefiningthembasedonresults, childrenbegin to see the searchprocessas something that evolves rather thana‘oneanswersolvesall’problem(Fossetal.,2013).

Web-basedsearchlessons,whichfocusoninquiry,offerchildrentheopportunitytohonetheir skills in a real-life context (Kuiper et al., 2005). In the real world, findinginformationisnottheobjective,itsimplyprovidesinformationthatwecanusetoanswerourproblemandwewanttoreplicatethisintheclassroom.Inaddition,findingtheanswerdoesnotmeanyouhavemasteredsearching;rather,youneedtoaimtofindinformationinan effective and efficient way. Google offers a selection of lesson plans (includingexamples of progression), which you can access atwww.google.com/insidesearch/searcheducation. There is also a ‘Google A Day’(www.agoogleaday.com, accessed 20 December 2014) activity, which challengesparticipantstoansweraresearchquestionusingtheirsearchingskills(Fossetal.,2013).

It isalso important thatchildren recognise thatanswersarenotonly foundonwebsites,but also through ‘how to’ videos on video sharing sites such as YouTube(www.youtube.com). This is particularly important for those children who still relyheavily on visual cues when reading (Cooper, 2002) and for visual learners who areproficient readers. If access is an issue, you can always download a selection of thesevideosforyourstudentstouse,orencouragethemtomaketheirown.

Once the search query has been entered, several new skills need to be taught. First,

children need to use reading skills, such as skimming and scanning text, to judge thesuccessoftheirsearch–itmaybeusefultoconductthislessonaspartofaguidedreadingsession looking at real-world uses for these skills. Reading age is something veryimportant to consider, as 13–16 year olds would still find some of the texts Googlesuggests challenging (Bilal, 2012). There are Reading Level filters built into Google’sAdvancedSearchoptionswhichcanhelpreducethelevelofchallenge:childrenshouldbetaughttousethese.

ValidatingWhenyoungchildrenfirstsee theirsearchresults, they tend tostartclicking things inaprominentpositionandhopingtofindwhattheyneed.Thisisoneofthebiggestwaysinwhich children accidentally find adult content and advertisements, which causesfrustration (Duarte Torres et al., 2014). When you witness children doing this in theclassroom,itislikelytobebecausetheyhavenotreadandinterpretedtheirsearchresults.Boys frequently spend less time readingwebsites than girls (Largeetal., 2002) and somay be particularly thrown by this. Again, improving their skimming and scanningreadingskillswillhelp(BilalandKirby,2002).

Figure7.2TASKtocheckthevalidityofsuggestedpages

Assessingtherelevanceofthesearchengineresultsisanareathatchildrenstrugglewith(Bilal,2012).Intheclassroom,ItendtousetheacronymTASK(Title,Author,Summary,Kids) to encourage children to think about the reliability and validity of links they arepresentedwith.

Firstchildrenmustlookatthetitleandcheckthatitmatchestheirsearch.Next,theycheckthe‘author’or‘address’andconsiderifit’sagoodsource.Animportantlearningexercisecanbetodiscusssourcesandtalkaboutdifferentwebsuffixessuchas.org,.cometc.,aswellasthedifferencebetweenwebsites,blogsandwikis.Exposingchildrentoapoolofreliablesourcesandexplainingwhytheyarereliablemakes itmore likely that theywillmakeinformedchoiceswhensearchingindependently(Fossetal.,2013).Theycanalsobeencouragedtolookinthesummaryformoreinformationaboutwhetherthesiteistheonetheyaresearchingfor.

Finally,childrenshouldcheckiftheycanfindthesameinformationonseveralwebpages.This ensures that fake websites (such as the ‘Tree Octopus’http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus,accessed20December2014)aresoonfoiled.

SynthesisingandmaximisingBeforechildrencanbecomedigitalcreators,theymustfirstmakeuseoftheinformationthattheyhavegathered.Thisinvolvesusingevaluatingandinterpretingskillsinorderto

build knowledge (Bilal andKirby, 2002;Bilal, 2012;Walraven et al., 2008).Here, thechildren are reflecting on how they can make the best use of the information. It isimportantthatthisstageisnotomitted,asitiswherealotofthecontent-basedlearninghappens.

CreativeproducersHerearesomeinterestingfacts:every60secondsin2014,67,000photosareuploadedtoInstagramand360,000minutesofvideoareuploadedtoYouTube.Aswellasthis,50,000linksaresharedonFacebook,1800newWordPressblogpostsarewrittenand4.7millionTumblrpostsarebloggedandreblogged(Qmee,2014).Theyear2014isfullofcreativeproducersandtheprocesshasbecomesonaturalthatmanypeopledonotevenrealisetheyaredoingit.

Furthermore,Instagram,WordPress,Tumblr,BloggerandYouTubeallfeaturedinthetop50webentriesaccessedbychildrenaged6–14intheUK.Eachyearthereisarisein8–11yearoldsusingwebsites suchasFlickr, InstagramandSnapfish, aswell as thoseusingtheirphonetoputphotosorvideosonsiteslikeYouTube,FacebookorInstagram(Ofcom,2013).Thisdoesnot includeotheronline communities that childrenmayparticipate in,suchasScratch,whichhasapproximately940,000registeredusers,agedbetween4and11(Scratch,2014).

Theprocess:creating,communicatingandcollaboratingCreating

Bloom’srevisedtaxonomyplaced‘creating’asthehighestorderthinkingskill(AndersonandKrathwohl,2000)andsuggestedthiswouldshowtruemasteryandunderstandingofatopic.This iswhere teachingwith tablets reallyshines,as technology is suchacreativetool.Resnick(2002)suggeststhatweshouldthinkoftechnologyasmorelikefingerpaintthan television.Televisionsonlydeliver information,whereas fingerpaintallowsyou todesignandcreatethings.Inlinewiththedigitalage,Churches(2008)hassinceamendedBloom’s revised taxonomy, calling it ‘Bloom’s digital taxonomy’. Figure 7.3 combineseachofthestageswiththeirmodernskillsverbs.

Figure7.3Churches’(2008)Bloom’sdigitaltaxonomylistofskills

As you can see, technology offers themost variety of opportunities during the ‘create’stage of this taxonomy. The list of opportunities for allowing children to be creativeproducersinyourclassroomisendless.However,itisimportanttorememberthataskingchildrentomakeapodcastabouttheRomansdoesnotmeanthatbytheendoftheactivitytheywillindeedunderstandwhattheyneededtoknowabouttheRomans.Technologyismerely the mediator that presents the content the children have already learned andunderstood.Tothisend,weneedtoensurethatwehavefirstconsideredthecontentthatwearecoveringaswellasthepedagogyweareusingtocommunicatewithourlearners.Fromhere,wecanthenmatchthetechnologytoolstoourlearner’sneeds(Boweretal.,2010).

When teaching using these new technologies, particularly web-based applications, it isimportanttodiscusse-safety.Forexample,beforeyouuseanappyoushouldknowwhathappenstoyourcontent–doesitsaveonline?Canyoucontrolwhoseesit?Notonlythis,but,aschildrenarelearningnewroles,theyalsoneedabasicunderstandingofcopyrightsuchasnottakingimageswithoutattributionandusingparaphrasingwhenusinginternet-based sources, aswell as plagiarism and the difference between re-mixing and stealingideas.

Re-mixingandre-usingcontentviasocialwebsitesisagrowingpractice.AnexampleistheScratchwebsiteforsharingre-usablecomputingprojects.Theideaoftakingsomeoneelse’s work and changing or adding to it can be difficult for children, who think ofsomeoneelseusingtheirideasas‘copying’.YoungerusersofScratcharemorelikelytocomplain about plagiarism than older users. This may be because they have lessunderstandingaboutwhatre-mixingisanditspotentialbenefits(Hilletal.,2010).Theymay also feel that human-written credit should be given for their work in order todistinguish re-mixing from theft (Monroy-Hernández et al., 2011). Understanding thebenefits of working in an open-source way and sharing ideas could benefit classroomcultureaswell.Thinkaboutwhenyoushareideasinwriting,ordiscusshowyousolvedaprobleminmaths.

Creativeproducingoftencoincideswith anonline community.Thesegroupsoftenhavewhat Jenkins (2006) refers to as a ‘participatory culture’, which simply means anenvironmentwhere creativity is actively encouraged and sharedwith the group.Withinthese informal learning environments, there are often also social connections and anacceptance of any contributions submitted. Jenkins goes on to suggest that thesecommunities offer opportunities for peer learning, the development of useful skills,changes in attitudes towards sharing ideas and empowered citizenship. Creating such aculture within a classroom could have huge potential. Ito et al. (2008) stress that thecharacteristicsofpeer-based learning in thesecommunitiesarebasedaround reciprocityandtheideathatpeers,ofequalauthority,canproduceandevaluatetogether.

CommunicatingandcollaboratingWe have already discussed the use of online communities as a way of empoweringchildren toshare theircreationsaswellascollaborating towork together tocreateevenbetter projects (Renner, 2006). If you cannot use existing online communities, or therearen’tanythatsuityourpurpose,blogsandwikisareagreatwayofcreatingacommunity,allowing children to share their learning experienceswith a real-world audience.Many

childrenandyoungpeoplealreadyuseblogsasawayofreflectingontheirsociallivesortheir individual interests, andwithcarefulprompting this canbe turned intoapowerfulmetacognitivetoolforoutwardlyreflectingonlearning(Crook,2008).Finally, communicating and collaborating can be taken to the next step through digitalprojectssuchasSkype in theClassroom (https://education.skype.com) andE-Twinning(www.etwinning.net, accessed 20 December 2014), which are websites that allowteacherstomeetandengagecollaborativelyonprojectsofsharedinterestswiththeclass.Projectscan range fromaone-offSkype call, toacontinualEdmodo discussionabout atopicora sharedwikiorblogwhich isadded to regularlybybothclasses.The internetallowsforsimplecollaborationbetweenstudentsinneighbouringclassrooms,ondifferentsidesofatownorontheothersideoftheplanet(Fryer,2014).Weshouldbemakingthemostofthis.

Tofinish,technologyisanintegralpartofchildren’slivesand,asdigitalnatives,theydonot think twiceaboutusing these resources.Aseducators,wehavean important role inensuring that learners know how to do this safely, as well as shaping that use intosomethingthatisbeneficialtolearning:Ifwe do notworkwith socialmedia and associated literacies, not only dowe deprive students of considerableeducationalbenefits,butwewill find that, forstudents, literaciesacquiredoutsideof theclassroomwillcometoseemmorerelevantthatthoseacquiredwithinit.

(Pegrum,2011,p29)

ActivitySpendsome time lookingatFigure7.3Churches’ (2008)Bloom’sdigital taxonomylistofskills.

Choosethreedigitalskillsthatarenewtoyouandspendsometimeresearchingandpractisingthem.Youmightliketolookforexamplesandthencreateyourown,whichyoucoulduseasamodelwhenyouintroduceittoyourclass.

SummaryandKeyPointsWehavelookedathowtabletscanfacilitatechildrenasresearchersintheclassroom,throughsimpleaccesstotheinternetandtheuseofasoledevicetoexplore,collectandanalyseinformationbeforeusingittocreatearangeofdigitalartefacts.Aswellas this,weconsideredthepedagogicaladvantagesof teachingthroughproject-basedlearning andusing this as ameans to address, and teach, twenty-first-century skillssuchasproblemsolving,communicationandcollaboration.

The‘stagesofresearchinthedigitalage’flowchartsuggestedinthischapterfocusesboththeteacherandthelearnersonthenumerousstepsinvolvedinbeingaresearcher.Different amounts of timewill need to be spent on each aspect, but, by followingthrougheachstage,childrenwilldevelopadeeperunderstandingofthetopicstudied.Particularattentionshouldbepaidtothe‘communicating’and‘collaborating’aspects,astheuseoftheinternettoprovideanauthentic,globalaudiencecanneverbeover-estimated.

Wefocusedourdiscussiononthechallengesfacedbychildrenasinternetresearchersand how best to prepare them for life in aworkplacewhere this is likely to be aneveryday occurrence. Directly teaching twenty-first-century skills, and encouragingchildrentoreflectontheirprogressatdevelopingthem,isonewayforward.Aswellas this, we considered the best strategies to teach learners to ensure effective andefficientsearchinganddiscussedtherangeofdigitalcreationsmadepossiblebytheuseoftablets.

Remember, when using the internet, even with filters, it is important that childrenunderstandwhattheyshoulddoiftheyfindinformationtheyareuncomfortablewith.As well as this, teaching research skills provides a great opportunity to discussappropriate sources, the difference between fact and opinion and the validity ofsources.OtherICTissuescanalsobeexploredsuchascopyright,CreativeCommons,plagiarism,attributionandre-mixing.

UsefulLinks•https://education.skype.com(accessed20December2014)

•www.etwinning.net(accessed20December2014)

•www.google.co.uk/insidesearch/searcheducation/lessons.html(accessed20December2014)

•www.swaygrantham.co.uk(accessed20December2014)

•http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/ICT+%26+Web+Tools(accessed20December2014)

AppListfortheChapteriPadapps:GoogleSearch,EncyclopediaBritannica,Dictionary.com,GoogleEarth,TravelAtlas,Safari,Mindomo,HaikuDeck,Flowboard,Edmodo,GoogleDrive,Notability,Tellagami,MindMash,BookCreator,Diigo,Notes,Halftone2,WordPress,Quip,Keynote,Dropbox,Nearpod,Skitch,TouchCast,Audioboo,Skype,FirstNewsNewspaper

Androidapps:GoogleSearch,EncyclopediaBritannica,Dictionary.com,GoogleEarth,Safari,Mindomo,Edmodo,GoogleDrive,Tallagami,BookCreator,Notes,Diigo,WordPress,Quip,DropBox,Nearpod,Skitch,Audioboo,Skype

Windowsapps:GoogleSearch,EncyclopediaBritannica,Edmodo,Notes,DropBox,Nearpod,Skitch,Audioboo,Skype

Web-basedtools:GoogleSearch,EncyclopediaBritannica,Dictionary.com,GoogleEarth,Mindomo,HaikuDeck,Flowboard,Edmodo,GoogleDrive,WordPress,Quip,Dropbox,Nearpod,Audioboo,Skype

FurtherReadingBell,S(2010)Project-basedlearningforthe21stcentury:Skillsforthefuture.TheClearingHouse,83(2),39–43.

AclearexplanationofwhatPBLisandmoredetailabouthowtodevelopitintheclassroom.

www.skills21.org(accessed20December2014)

Americanwebsitewithdiscussionoftheirbeliefsabout21st-centuryskills.

CreativeCommons101:AnintroductiontoCClicences.Availablefrom:www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2011-12/13/creative-commons-101(accessed20December2014)

AnarticlediscussingCreativeCommons,copyrightandlicensing.

ReferencesAnaniadou,KandClaro,M(2009)21stCenturySkillsandcompetencesforNewMillenniumlearnersinOECDcountries.OrganizationforEconomicCooperationandDevelopment.EDUWorkingpaperno.41.

Anderson,LWandKrathwohl,DR(2000)ATaxonomyforLearning,Teaching,andAssessing:ARevisionofBloom’sTaxonomyofEducationalObjectives.Boston,MA:Allyn&Bacon.

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Chapter8

ComputingIntroductionThischapterdiscussestherelevantpedagogicalapproachesandassessmentopportunitieswhenteachingcomputersciencewithtablets,andillustratesthesewithcasestudiesfromaprimary classroom. We then look at activity ideas across year groups linked to theNationalCurriculumprogrammesofstudyandprovideusefulresourcesthatwillsupportteacherstofurthertheirknowledgeandunderstandinginthisarea.

Mobiledevicesprovidemanyopportunitiesforteachingcomputerscienceconcepts,fromproblem-solvingactivitiesusingpuzzle-likeappstowritingprogramstoachievespecificgoalsusingvisualprogrammingapps.Learningcomputationallogicontabletsthatcanbecarriedaroundmeans instantgratification for students,as theycanshare theirprogramswith their friends, check for errors, and receive immediate feedback on theirwork.Wewilllookatappsthatwillhelpstudentstounderstandcomputerscienceterminologiesandconcepts such as ‘algorithm’, ‘procedures’, ‘variable’, ‘sequences’, ‘loops’,‘decomposition’and‘conditionals’,andwewillsuggesttheuseof‘unplugged’activitiesaway from the computer where appropriate. Additionally, we will explore children’sproblem-solvingactivitiesontabletsasacontextforthemtoactivelyconstructknowledgethrough experiment and discovery. Based on a constructionist learning approach, thisconstant and continual ‘problem-solving’ process also enables children to developknowledge about their learning as they exercise the planning, decision-making,organising,testingandevaluatingskillsthatarefundamentaltometacognitiveawareness(Fisher, 2005; Schraw etal., 2006; Sternberg, 1998).Alongside this,we are aware thatselectingsuitableappsanddesigningappropriateactivitiestosupportlearnerstodevelopspecific skills, andachievedesired learningoutcomes, is avitalbut adifficult task.Wewillthereforeshareactivityideasforsomeoftheappswediscuss,tobeusedacrosstheyeargroups,withexamples.

LearningObjectivesAttheendofthischapteryoushould:

•beabletodescribesomekeytermsofcomputerscienceandtheconceptsrequiredtoteachthecomputingcurriculum;

•havesomeknowledgeofcomputationalthinkingandhowtoapplycomputationalthinkingapproachestosolveproblemsusingtablets;

•beawareofanumberofpedagogicalapproachestoteachingandlearningprogrammingconceptsusingappsontablets;

•beabletodesignactivitiestoteachthecomputerscienceelementofthecomputingcurriculumusingappropriateappsontablets.

LinkstoTeachers’StandardsThefollowingTeachers’Standardsareparticularlyrelevanttothischapter:

TS1Establishasafeandstimulatingenvironmentforpupils.

Setgoalsthatstretchandchallengepupilsofallbackgrounds,abilitiesanddispositions.

TS2Guidepupilstoreflectontheprogresstheyhavemadeandtheiremergingneeds.

Demonstrateknowledgeandunderstandingofhowpupilslearnandhowthisimpactsonteaching.

Encouragepupilstotakearesponsibleandconscientiousattitudetotheirownworkandstudy.

TS3Promotealoveoflearningandchildren’sintellectualcuriosity.

Contribute to thedesignandprovisionof anengagingcurriculumwithin the relevantsubjectarea(s).

LinkstoNationalCurriculumProgrammesofStudyThis chapter is relevant to thenewPrimaryComputingCurriculum inEngland forKeystages1and2,whichdefinescomputerscienceas thecoreelementofcomputing(DfE,2013). The following strands in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 subject content will becoveredinthischapter.

KeyStage1

•understandwhatalgorithmsare;howtheyareimplementedasprogramsondigitaldevices;andthatprogramsexecutebyfollowingpreciseandunambiguousinstructions;

•createanddebugsimpleprograms;

•uselogicalreasoningtopredictthebehaviourofsimpleprograms.

KeyStage2

•design,writeanddebugprogramsthataccomplishspecificgoals,includingcontrollingorsimulatingphysicalsystems;solveproblemsbydecomposingthemintosmallerparts;

•usesequence,selection,andrepetitioninprograms;workwithvariablesandvariousformsofinputandoutput;

•uselogicalreasoningtoexplainhowsomesimplealgorithmsworkandtodetectandcorrecterrorsinalgorithmsandprograms.

Intheclassroom

ExamplefrompracticeCreatingaracinggameusingtheHopscotchapp

ContextThiscasestudyreportsonafour-partlessonaspartofthecomputingcurriculuminaYear5classduringaspring term, inwhichchildrenwereasked tocreatea ‘racinggame’ using theHopscotch app on iPads. The aim of the lessonwas to provide acontextforchildrentodesignandwriteprogramsthatincludesequencing,repetition,proceduresandvariables.ThechildrenhadpreviouslyusedtheScratchprogramforcreatingsimplegames,sotheywereawarethatcomputersdowhattheyaretold,andintheordertheyaretold.Theselessonsprovidedthemwithanopportunitytoapplyand develop their step-by-step thinking skills in a different programmingenvironment. Children were allowed to work in pairs, in groups or individually,howevernoonechosetoworkalone.Theyfirstdrewtheirgamedesignonpaperandannotated it to define the procedures that they needed to write. They constantlychecked theirprograms forerrorsandcorrected them,either independentlyorwiththe support of a friend. Having a mobile device that can be carried around as alearningtoolmadeitmucheasiertomovearoundandlookatwhatothersweredoingoraskforhelp.Childrenreflectedon theirprogramsthroughdiscussionswith theirpartnersandthewholeclass,bothduringtheactivityandattheendofthesessions.

LearningObjectivesIntendedlearningoutcomesforthesefoursessionswere:

•todesignandwritesimpleprogramstoachieveaspecificoutcome;

•toidentifyerrorsandsolveproblemsbydecomposingthemintosmallerparts;

•tousesequence,selectionandrepetitioninprograms;

•toworkwithvariablesanddifferentformsofinput/outputinprograms.

Outline

GettingtoknowtheHopscotchappHopscotch isaniPadappthatprovidesadrag-and-dropprogrammingenvironment.UsingHopscotch youcancreatedrawings,mathematical shapes, simple interactivegamesandanimatedstories.Youselectcharactersandthenuserulestotelltheobjectwhattodo.Eachrulehasanevent(e.g.‘whenprojectstarted’)andanability,whichisasequenceoftasksfortheobjecttocomplete(e.g.‘goleft’,‘wiggle’).Onceyouhaveselectedtherule,youcandragblocksfromthemenuontheleft-handsidetothemiddle to create a script. TheHopscotch app comeswithmany built-in charactersand it isalsopossible touse theEmojikeyboardwith iPads,whichprovidesmanymorecharactersandobjectsforyourproject.

Lessonsequence•Inthefirstsessionweexplainedtochildrenthattheywouldbecreatingaracing

gameusingtheHopscotchapp.Westartedbydiscussingwhattheyalreadyknewaboutdesigningandmakinggames,andaboutusingdifferentprogramsoncomputersandtablets.Thisenabledustodifferentiatethetasksforlearnerswithdifferentneeds.Weaskedthemtolistanywordsthattheykneworrememberedaboutmakinggamesandwrotethemonthedisplayboardonawall.Theyweretoldthattheycouldaddanynewvocabularythattheylearnedduringthesessionstothelist

•Unplugged!Nextwetookthechildrentotheschoolhall,wherewedesignedaracingtrackwithobstaclesusingtissuepaper.Twochildrenactedasracingcarsandtherestoftheclassgaveinstructionstomovethemaroundtheobstacles.Thisactivitygavethechildrenanopportunitytopractisegivingpreciseinstructions,whichisthekeyskillfordesigningalgorithms.

•WeletthechildrenrandomlyexploretheHopscotchappforabout15minutesbyjustlookingatthecharactersandsamplegames.

•WeremindedthechildrenthattheywouldbecreatingaracinggameusingtheHopscotchapp;thereforetheyneededtodecideupontheircharactersandbackgrounds.Iaskedthemtodrawtheirracinggamedesignonpaper,annotateittoshowtheactionsrequiredandthenshareitwithothers.Figure8.1isanexampleofachild’sdrawingwithannotations.Thiswasusefulforthosechildrenwhowerehavingdifficultiesdefiningtheirideas.

•InthesecondsessionwedemonstratedhowtowriteascripttomakeabackgroundinHopscotch.ThechildrenthenpractisedcreatingtheirownbackgrounddesignsusingHopscotch.

Figure8.1Anexampleofachild’sdrawingwithannotations

•Weneedtorememberthatchildrenwillhavedifferentcognitiveabilitiesandbepreparedtosupportthosewhowouldbenefitfromextrahelporextrachallenges.Weprovidedaposterwithinstructionsforcreatingabackground,controllingthe

carusingabuttonandprogrammingthecaronHopscotchforthosewhoneededextrasupport.Figure8.2isanexampleofaninstructionguideforcreatingtheRacingCarsgame.

Figure8.2InstructionsforRacingCarsproject

•Oncethechildrenhadwrittenprogramstocreatetheirbackgrounds,wefocusedonhowtowriteproceduresforthebuttonstocontroltheircharactersthatwouldberacing.Thispartofthelessoninvolvedcreating‘bluebutton’,‘redbutton’and‘step’variables.AnexampleofthisprocedurecanbeseeninFigure8.3.

•Childrentestedwhattheyhaddonesofarandthendebuggedanyproblemsthattheydetectedintheirprograms.

•Inthethirdsessionthechildrencompletedtheirprogramsandtestedthemtocheckthattheyworked.Theyexchangedgameswithapartnerandmadesuggestionsonhowtomakethembetter.Weprovidedachallengesheetforthosewhohadfinishedandwantedtotinkerwithmorecomplexideas.ExamplesofthesechallengescanbeseeninTable8.1.

•Inthefourthsession,somechildrencreatedavideopresentationoftheirracinggamecombiningnarrationandscreenshotsiniMovie.Theysharedtheirpresentationswiththewholeclass,whichprovidedfurtherdiscussionopportunities.Wealsolookedatthevocabularylistonourworkingwallandtalkedaboutthenewwordsthatwereaddedbythechildrenduringthesessions.

Figure8.3Anexampleprocedurefor‘redbutton’and‘redcar’

AssessmentopportunitiesVariousmethods were used for recording and assessing children’s learning duringthisactivity.Childrenwereaskedtotakescreenshotsoftheirproblemsandannotatethem to explain how they solved themusing apps such asExplainEverything andKeynote.YoucanseeanexampleofthisinFigure8.4.Theywerealsoaskedtotakescreenshotsof theirgamesatdifferentstagesandcreateavideopresentationat theendtosharewiththewholeclass.Thishelpedthemtoregulatetheirownlearning,asitenabledthemtocheckontheirprogressthroughouttheactivity.Thegamedesignactivityalsoprovidedopportunitiesforgroupandwholeclassdiscussions,inwhichthe children were able to reflect on their developing understanding of computerscienceconcepts.Someofthesediscussionswererecordedtoevaluatetheirlearningand identify the issues they faced. This evidence was then used to inform theplanningoffuturesessions.

Figure8.4Anexampleofachild’sannotationsusingtheExplainEverythingapp

SuggestedactivitiesusingtheHopscotchapp

Although ourRacingCars activitywas aimed atYear 5 children, in coming yearswhen children will have more experience of using different programmingenvironments on tablets and computers, this activitymight also be appropriate forlowerKeyStage2classes.AtourschoolwehavebeguntouseHopscotchineveryagegroupfromYear3upwards.Table8.1presentssomeactivityideasforteachingcomputerscienceconceptsusingHopscotchacrosstheyeargroups.

Table8.1ActivityideasacrossagegroupsusingtheHopscotchapp

Computer science has very strong links withmathematics and science, as well asdesignandtechnology,thereforeitcanbeusedtosupportchildren’slearninginthese

disciplines.OneexamplethatwewouldliketomentionhereistheuseofLOGOtoteachchildrenaboutdirections,shapesandangels.LOGOisaprogramminglanguagethatwascreatedin1967bySeymourPapertandWallyFeurzigforeducationaluse.Itwasdesignedtoenableyoungchildrentoprogramthephysicalmovementofarobotturtle and thereby teach programming concepts and thinking skills. In the LOGOenvironment children solve problems by programming the turtle to accomplishcertain tasks and learning mainly takes place when children learn how to writeinstructions for the turtle to follow.Originally itwas aimed to teach children bothmathematical and programming concepts concurrently, however, it was quicklyrealised that LOGO could be used to teach skills in subject areas outsidemathematics.TherearemanyapplicationsthatcontinuetousetheLOGOlanguage.Forexample,i-LOGOisamobileapponiPadswhichadoptsaversionofLOGO.

ActivityLook at the suggested activities inTable8.2 and think about howyou could use i-LOGO and apps that are listed in Table 8.3 to teach children computer scienceconceptslinkedtoothercurriculumareas.

Table8.2Suggestedactivitiesusingi-LOGO

DiscussionKeytermsYouwillfinditusefultofamiliariseyourselfwiththesekeycomputingtermssothatyoucan make them part of your classroom vocabulary, enabling children to discuss theirlearning.

•Algorithm:analgorithmisasetofpreciseinstructionstosolveaproblemorachieveagoal.

•Debugging:identifyingandremovingerrorsfromscriptsandprograms.

•Decomposition:tacklinglargerproblemsbybreakingthemintosmallerpartssothatwecanexplaintheprocesseithertosomeoneortoacomputer.

•Abstraction:theprocessofremovingorreducingdetailsfromacomplexobjecttofacilitatefocusonrelevantconcepts.

•Iteration:computersrepeatsimilartaskswithoutmakinganyerrors.Repeatedexecutionofasequenceofstatementsiscallediteration,e.g.loops.

•Generalisation:transferringaproblem-solvingprocesstoawiderangeofproblems.

•Procedures:blockofcodethatperformsaspecifictask.

•Variable:avalue,whichcanchangedependingonconditions.Variablesusedforholdingontoavaluetouseitlater.

•Loops:asequenceofinstructionsthatrepeatsuntilaspecifictaskisachieved.

•i:aninstructioninaprogramthatisonlyexecutedwhenaspecificconditionismet.

AconstructionistapproachTheadoptionoftablettechnologyinschoolsintheUKisstillinitsinfancyandtheuseoftablets for teaching computer science is a relatively new concept.Rather than focusingpurelyonmobilelearning,wewillexplorethepotentialoftabletsforteachingcomputingconcepts in relation to the constructionist teaching approach. For this we first need todefinecomputerscienceandcomputationalthinking.

Computerscience(CS)isthestudyofhowcomputersandcomputationalprocessesworkand how they are designed. Computer scientists create algorithms to transforminformationandabstractionsintomodelcomplexsystems.Themostimportantskillforacomputer scientist is problem solving. Problem solving involves formulating problems,thinking creatively about solutions, anddesigning a clear solution.Teaching children tothink like a computer scientist helps them to understand how computers think whensolving problems, which in turn promotes computational thinking. According toWing,computationalthinkingisa:thoughtprocessinvolvedinformulatingproblemsandtheirsolutionssothatthesolutionsarerepresentedinaformthatcanbeeffectivelycarriedoutbyaninformation-processingagent.

(Wing,2010)

Based on the ability to think logically, algorithmically and recursively, computationalthinking involves knowledge of the fundamentals of computing such as algorithm,abstraction, iteration and generalisation. It also includes logical reasoning, problemdecomposition,testing,debuggingandvisualisationskills.Developingtheseskillsenablesstudents to represent and solveproblems computationally in anydiscipline and in dailylife. When supported with a constructionist teaching approach, as we outline below,children’sinteractionwithdigitaltools,suchastablets,providesacontextforchildrentodevelopcomputationalthinking,asitoffersaspacetopractiseanddevelopmetacognitiveproblem-solvingandreasoningskills(ClementsandMeredith,1992).

Beforeexploringconstructionism, it is appropriate todiscussconstructivism,as the twoapproachesareverymuchinterrelated.ChampionedbyJohnDewey(1938)anddevelopedbyJeanPiaget(1970),constructivismisalearningtheorythatfocusesonknowledgeandexplores how people learn. It suggests that people construct meaning through theirinteractions and experiences in social environments. It also stresses the importance ofprior knowledge in learning and how previous experiences shape subsequent actions.Learningthereforeisallaboutlearnersadjustingtheirmentalmodeltoaccommodatenew

experiences.

One of the key elements of the constructivist theory of learning suggests that childrenlearnbydoing.Childrenconstructnewknowledgeaboutthephysicalandsocialworldsinwhichtheylive,throughplayfulinteractionwithobjectsandpeople.Childrendonotneedtobeforcedtolearn;theyaremotivatedbytheirowndesiretomakesenseoftheirworld(Piaget,1970;PiagetandInhelder,1969).AccordingtoPiaget,childrenlearnwhentheyare actively involved in the process (Slavin, 1994). The teacher’s role in traditionalclassroomsisseenasthesolegiverofknowledgeandthestudent’sroleisthatofapassivereceiver.Theconstructivistapproachencourageschildrentotakeanactivepartinlearningbyusingtheirideasandintereststodrivethelearningprocess.Theroleoftheteacherinthismodelistosupportchildrenwhentheyneeditandguidethemtotakecontroloftheirself-directedlearningexperiences(Ringstaffetal.,1991).

Vygosky’s constructivism (1978) is known as social constructivism because he stressedtheimportanceofthesocialcontextandculturewithinthelearningprocess.Hedescribedlearningasacollaborativeactivityandexplainedthesignificancetheroleofhistoryandthe social environment bear in acquiring new knowledge. Learning takes place whenchildren interactwith the social environment and internalise their experience.Vygotsky(1978)suggeststhatcognitivedevelopmentislimitedtoacertainrangeataparticularage.However,with thehelpofsocial interaction, suchasassistance froma teacher, studentscanunderstandconceptsthattheycannotknowontheirown.

Influenced by Piaget’s (1954) constructivism, Papert’s (1991) work with children anddigitaltoolsledhimtodevelophispedagogicaltheoryof‘constructionism’,whichstatesthatchildrenactivelyconstructknowledgethroughexperience,describedas‘learning-by-doing’.Asmentionedbefore,PapertandFeurzeig(1967)createdtheLOGOprogramminglanguage that couldbeusedbyyoungchildren tomoveand rotatea floor turtle.Papert(1985)suggestedthattheturtleis‘goodtothinkwith’andhelpschildrentodeveloptheirproblem-solving skills through designing solutions, which could also enhance theircognitivedevelopment.Kafai (1995)observedchildrenusingLOGO and suggested thatwhenchildrenmaketheirowncomputationalartefacts,theycantakecontroloftheirownlearninganddeveloptheirownideas.

Fromaconstructionistperspective then, learninghappenswhenlearnersactuallyengagein the act of producing something. Using apps on tablets for learning to program ormakinggamesprovidesanimportantopportunityforchildrentopractiseproblem-solvingskillsasstudentsactivelyconstructtheirowncomputationalartefacts.Lookingatourcasestudy,wherechildrencreatedtheirownracinggameusingtheHopscotchapp, it isclearthatthistaskrequiredthechildrentodesign,visualiseandinvestigatesolutions,whichledthem to develop computational thinking. In this scenario, the role of the teacher is toempowerandsupportlearnerstotakecontroloftheirlearningbydefininganddevelopingownership of a problem to investigate, so that they design their own projects andcollaborativelybuildtheirknowledge.

Papert(1987)suggeststhat thisprocessisnotassimpleaslearnersjust takinganactiverole; rather,educatorsneed todesign learningenvironmentsandmake toolsavailable tothe learners to accommodate their active participation in their learning. He refers tocomputers as powerful tools that provide a context and opportunities for children to

understand abstract concepts from an early age. He presents a new kind of learningenvironment,where the focus is on the process of inventing ‘objects-to-think-with’ thatunderlinetheinteractionbetweenchildrenandcomputers(Papert,1987).Whilstdesigningtheir racing game using Hopscotch, our children were active participants, buildingknowledgethroughwriting,testinganddebuggingtheirscripts.Inthislearningscenario,thetabletsbecame‘powerfultools’andtheappsprovidedaspaceforchildrentointeractwith abstract concepts and take control of their own learning. Through game designactivitiesusingtablets,thechildrencreatedtheirownknowledgeoftheworldbycreatingobjects;inourcasetheyweremakinggames,experimentingwithideas,modifyingthemandstudyinghowtheyoperated.

DevelopingmetacognitiveawarenessthroughcomputergamedesignComputer game design as a computational activity provides a context for students toinvent, develop and use metacognitive strategies. Cross and Paris (1988) definedmetacognition as the knowledge and control children have over their own thinking andlearningactivities.Inourexperience,studentscanimprovetheirlearningbybeingawareoftheirownthinkingandregulatingtheirlearningactivitiesaccordingly.Claxton(1999)explains metacognition as a way of supporting people to manage their minds moreproductively,whichthenenablesthemtousetheirresourcesmoreeffectively.

Sternberg (1998, p17) expands on this by suggesting that metacognitive abilities aredriven bymotivation,which activates learning and thinking skills, and then feeds backintothemetacognitiveskills,enablingalearner’slevelofexpertisetoincrease.AccordingtoSternberg(1998)theseprocessesincludeplanning,evaluatingandmonitoringproblem-solvingactivitiesandallocatingcognitiveresourcesappropriately.Sternberg’sanalysisofmetacognitive behaviours in problem-solving activities has seven stages: problemrecognition,problemdefinition,problemrepresentation,formulationofsolutionstrategy,allocationofresources,monitoringandevaluation.Anumberofstudiessimilarlydescribeplanning, monitoring and evaluation as the main metacognitive skills (Fisher, 2005;Schraw et al., 2006; Whitebread et al., 2009). Flavell (1979) listed exploring, settinggoals, organising, planning, self-questioning, choosing and applying, monitoring andmanagingthinkingasmetacognitiveskills.

We will consider ‘planning’, ‘evaluating’ and ‘monitoring’ as the main metacognitivestrategies relevant to our unit of work. We will also include ‘processing’ as ametacognitive regulating-application skill representing the strategy of monitoringproblem-solvingactivitiesandthedeploymentofcognitiveresources.

MetacognitiveplanningPlanningskillshelpchildrentoformulatetheiractionsinordertoreachtheirgoals.Theyprovidelearnerswithabaseforanalysingtheirapproachestoataskbeforetheyactuallystart working on it. Planning involves exploring, analysing, designing, engineering,visualising and experimenting. In our programming and computer gamedesign context,studentshadtothinkaboutthetitleoftheirgame,theirnarration,characters,backgroundsandsoforth.Theyaskedquestionssuchas:Whatismytask/mygoal?WhatdoIneedtoknowandwhatstrategiesdoIneedtouse?Whatarethestepsformakingmycomputergame?

MetacognitiveprocessingProcessingcanbeacognitiveorametacognitivestrategydependingonthepurposeofitsuseandalsowhether theactivity isdirectedat the‘self’. It involvesbehaviourssuchasconversationalthinking,connecting,monitoringproblemsolving,selectingstrategies,andmaking decisions.According toVygotsky (1986), language and thought dwell together.Hebelievedthatinordertoraiseawarenessofmentalactivities,alearnerneedstoknowhowtoarticulatetheirthoughts.Hesawdialogicexchangeasanessentialskill,whichcantransformthewayinwhichchildrenthinkandlearn.Wecantracetheoriginsoftheuseofdialogue for learning to Socratic learning. In a Socratic learning context, languagewasseenasasocialinquirytool(Nelson,1949).Bruner(1986)describeslanguageas‘awayofsortingone’sthoughtsaboutthings.’Askingquestionsofthe‘self’or‘others’doesnotaim to evaluate what a child already knows; rather it enables them to analyse, reflect,share and extend their understanding and thinking. Articulating their thoughts throughlanguage in thisway, learners’ begin to regulate theirmental activitieswhen designingsolutions;theymakedecisionsandclassifyorselectappropriatestrategiestoaccomplishatask. This conversation element makes ‘thought’ more visible and manageable. In thisdomain, conversation becomes a strategy to negotiate meaning rather than a tool tocommunicate.Whilst making computer games, learners posed questions, which helpedthemtodefinethebeststrategiestosolveaproblem.Forexampleduringourgamedesignactivities,thechildrenaskedquestionssuchas,‘WhichstrategyshallIuse?’,‘Whatistheproblem here?’, ‘How can I solve this problem?’,‘What does my partner think?’ and‘Whatdoyouthinkaboutmysolution?’

MetacognitivemonitoringMonitoringreferstoalearners’abilitytomanagetheirowncognitiveskillswhileworkingona task to identify theproblemsandmodify their planning asneeded. It is a difficultstrategy to develop and use, even by adults, as it requires an awareness of one’s ownprogress. Testing a sequence of codes to check if a game works is an example. Thequestionslearnersaskedwere:‘AmIontherighttrack?’,‘DoIunderstandthetask?,‘AmI working towards my goals?’, ‘Is my plan working?’, and ‘Do I need to make anychangestomyplanning?’

MetacognitiveevaluatingTheevaluationskillisallaboutlearnersreflectingontheirownprogressbycheckingthefinaloutcomeagainsttheirobjective.Itinvolvesauditingthesolutionstheyhavedesignedand the strategies theyused to execute theirplanning for a specificgoal.Thequestionsthat were asked by the learners were: ‘Have I reached my target?’, ‘Which strategiesworked?’,‘Whichmethodsdidn’twork?’and‘WhatcouldIdotomakeitbetter?’

ActivityChoosingandevaluatingappsforteachingcomputerscience

MostoftheappsforteachingcomputerscienceareavailableoniPadsandonlyafewareavailableontheAndroidplatform.Itisimportantforteacherstoevaluatetheappsin terms of age suitability, accessibility and their relevance to the teaching context.

Involvingchildrenintheappevaluationprocesscanalsobeuseful,asithelpsthemtoreflecton theirownviewsandunderstanding.Table8.3presentsa suggested listofappsforteachingcomputerscienceavailableoniPadsandAndroidtablets.

Table8.3Alistofappsforteachingcomputerscience

ActivityUsingthetableabove,identifyoneappforKeyStage1andoneforKeyStage2thatyouwouldliketoexplorewithchildren.Testthemoutandmakeanoteofhowyoucouldincorporatethemintoasetoflessons,howyoucoulddifferentiateforabilitiesandwhichcomputationalthinkingskillsyoumightreinforce.

SummaryandKeyPoints

Apps on tablets can provide some excellent opportunities for teaching elements ofcomputer science when they are combined with well-designed activities. It isimportantforteacherstoevaluatetheappscarefullyinrelationtolearningobjectivesand define which apps can be used for developing specific computational thinkingconcepts.Onewayofdoingthisisbycreatingaschemeofworktoshowprogressionacross the age groups and conceptual development in learning.We also need to beawarethatjustgivingchildrentabletsandallowingthemtouseappsforgamedesign,problemsolvingandprogrammingactivitiesdoesnotguarantee that theywillmakeprogress. The learning environment needs to be designed efficiently for students toactively manage their own learning and provide opportunities for talk andcollaborativeactivities.

Teachingcomputationalthinking,whichisbasedondesigningsolutionsforproblems,is more than just transmitting the knowledge of coding. Teachers should allowlearnerstoexperimentwithideasandusepurposefulquestioningandspecifictaskstoguide learners in constructing their own knowledge. For this, it is important forteachers to have the required subject knowledge and understanding of pedagogicalapproachesthatworkwell.Furthermore,usingdifferentassessmentstrategies,notjustattheendoftheactivity,butthroughoutthesessions,willhelplearnerstoensurethattheyareontherighttrack.Thiswillalsoenableteacherstokeeparecordofchildren’slearning,whichisveryvaluableforinformingtheplanningofthefuturesessions.

ReflectiveQuestionsOur game design activity provided opportunities for reflective group and whole classdiscussions.Howcouldyouextendthistoothercomputinglessons?

Wehave focusedongamesdesign in this chapter.Howmightyouapply someof theseskillstodesignlearninggamesacrossotherareasofthecurriculum?

How might you present the positive learning outcomes of your computing lessons toparentsandgovernors?

UsefulLinkshttp://code-it.co.uk(accessed20December2014).

ThissiteprovidesactivityideasonprogrammingwithLogo,ScratchandPythonforKeyStage2,aswellasplansforotheraspectsofICT.

http://csunplugged.org(accessed20December2014).

Acollectionoffreelearningactivitiesthatteachcomputersciencethroughengaginggamesandpuzzles.

www.softronix.com/logo.html(accessed20December2014).

Afreeandwell-supportedversionofLOGOwithaWindowsinterface.

https://slp.somerset.gov.uk/cypd/elim/somersetict/Site%20Pages/Computing%20Curriculum%20Primary/Primary_Computing_home.aspx?PageView=Shared(accessed20December2014).

Acomputingcurriculumforprimarylearners.Thiswebsitehasmanyusefulresourcesand

planningguidesforteachingthecomputingcurriculum.

AppListfortheChapterALEX,Bee-Bot,Cargo-bot,Cato’sHike,DaisytheDinosaur,LegoFixthefactory,HakitzuElite,Hopscotch,i-LOGO,Kinescript,Kodable,Lightbot,Movetheturtle,RoboLogic2HD,Scratchjr.

FurtherReadingResnick,MandRosenbaum,E(2013)Designingfortinkerability,inHoney,MandKanter,D(eds)Design,Make,Play:GrowingtheNextGenerationofSTEMInnovators,pp.163–81.London:Routledge.

InthischapterMitchelResnickandEricRosenbaumdiscusstherelationbetweentinkerabilityandcomputation.Theysuggestthatcomputationalconstructionkitsandactivitiesencouragedesigningandtinkeringwithcomputationinwhichchildrennotonlydevelopmathematical,engineeringandcomputationalideas,butalsolearntothinkcreativelyandworkcollaboratively.Thischapterisamustforunderstandinghowchildrendevelopcomputationalthinkingthroughdesignandtinkeringwithideas.

Harel,IandPapert,S(1991)CONSTRUCTIONISM,AblexPublishingCorporation.

Newtechnologiescontinuetoenterintoourclassrooms.Aseducators,knowingstrategiesthatwillworkwellwhenimplementingtheuseoftheseemergingtoolsisveryimportant.Constructionism,whichfocuseson‘learning-by-making’,wherelearnersactivelyconstructknowledge,isoneofthemaintheoriesthatsupporttheeffectiveuseoftechnologyinteachingandlearning.Thisbookprovidesthetheoreticalknowledgethatisrequiredforunderstandinghowchildrenlearnandmakesenseoftheworldaroundthemwhenlearningwithtechnology.

Berry,M(2014)Thereismoretothenewcomputingcurriculumthanjustcoding.Availablefrom:http://milesberry.net/2014/05/there-is-more-to-the-new-computing-curriculum-than-just-coding(accessed20December2014).

Sincetheannouncementofthenewcomputingcurriculum,themajorityoftheheadlineshavebeenaboutteachingchildrenhowtocode.Thiscanbemisleading,ascomputerscienceisnotjustaboutcoding.InthisarticleMilesBerryexplainscomputerscienceandhowitrelatestoprogrammingandcodinginaveryflowingandclearway.Thisarticleisveryusefulforunderstandingthecontextofcomputerscienceinthenewcomputercurriculum.

ReferencesBruner,J(1986)ActualMinds,PossibleWorlds.Cambridge,MA:HarvardUniversityPress.

Claxton,G(1999)WiseUp:TheChallengeofLifelongLearning.London:Bloomsbury.

Clements,DHandMeredith,JS(1992)ResearchonLogo:Effectsandefficacy.Availablefrom:http://el.media.mit.edu/logo-foundation/pubs/papers/research_logo.html(accessed16August2014).

Cross,DRandParis,SG(1988)Developmentalandinstructionalanalysesofchildren’smetacognitionandreadingcomprehension,JournalofEducationalPsychology,80(2),131–42.

Dewey,J(1938)ExperienceandEducation.NewYork:Simon&Schuster.

Dwyer,D,Ringstaff,CandSandholtz,J(1991)Changesinteachers’beliefsandpracticesintechnology-richclassrooms,EducationalLeadership,48(8).

Feurzeig,WandPapert,S(1967)TheLogoProgrammingLanguage.Availablefrom:http://el.media.mit.edu/logo-foundation/logo/programming.html(accessed17August2014).

Fisher,R(2005)(2nded)TeachingChildrentoThink.Cheltenham:NelsonThornes.

Flavell,JH(1979)Metacognitionandcognitivemonitoring:Anewareaofcognitive-developmentalinquiry.AmericanPsychologist,34,906–11.

Kafai,YB(1995)MindsinPlay:Computergamedesignasacontextforchildren’slearning.Mahwah,NJ:LawrenceErlbaum.

Nelson,L(1949)SocraticMethodandCriticalPhilosophy.NewHaven,CT:YaleUniversity

Papert,S(1985)DifferentvisionsofLogo.ComputersintheSchools,2(2–3):3–8.Availablefrom:http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J025v02n02_02(accessed16August2014).

Papert,S(1987)ACritiqueofTechnocentrisminThinkingabouttheSchooloftheFuture.Availablefrom:www.papert.org/articles/ACritiqueofTechnocentrism.html(accessed15August2014).

Papert,S(1991)Situatingconstructionism,inHarel,IandPapert,S(eds)Constructionism.Norwood,NJ:AblexPublishingCorporation.

Piaget,J(1954)TheConstructionofRealityintheChild.NewYork:Ballantine.

Piaget,J(1970)LogicandPsychology.NewYork:BasicBooks.

Piaget,JandInhelder,B(1969)ThePsychologyoftheChild.NewYork:BasicBooks.

Schraw,G,Crippen,KJandHartley,K(2006)Promotingself-regulationinscienceeducation:Metacognitionaspartofabroaderperspectiveonlearning.ResearchinScienceEducation,36,111–39.

Sternberg,RJ(1998)Abilitiesareformsofdevelopingexpertise.EducationalResearcher,27(3),11–20.

Vygotsky,S(1978)Interactionbetweenlearninganddevelopment.MindinSociety,pp79–91[online].Availablefrom:www.psy.cmu.edu/~siegler/vygotsky78.pdf(accessed16August2014).

Whitebread,D,Coltman,P,PinoPasternak,D,Sangster,C,Grau,V,Bingham,S,Almeqdad,QandDemetriou,D(2009)Thedevelopmentoftwoobservationaltoolsforassessingmetacognitionandself-regulatedlearninginyoungchildren.MetacognitionandLearning,4(1),63–85.

Wing,J(2006)Computationalthinking.CommunicationsoftheACM,49(3),33–5.

Wing,JM(2010)Computationalthinking:Whatandwhy?LinkMagazine.Availablefrom:www.cs.cmu.edu/%7ECompThink/papers/TheLinkWing.pdf(accessed18August2014).

Chapter9

CreatingyourownappsIntroductionIn this chapterwewillgobeyondusingapps todevelopcoding skillsbybuildingyourownappsthatyoucanshareanduseonyourmobiledevices.Thereareanumberofeasytouseprogramsthatallowyoutobuildappsusingsimplevisualprogramminglanguages.Two of the leaders in the field of app building for education areMicrosoft Research’sTouchDevelop (www.touchdevelop.com) and MIT’s (Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology)AppInventor2(http://ai2.appinventor.mit.edu).Thesearebothfreetouse.YoucanusethesetocreateappsusingaPCorApple,MicrosoftandAndroidplatformsand,asbothsystemsarecloudbased,youcancreateanduseyourappsacrossdevices.Forexample,youcouldcreateanappononedeviceandthencontinuedevelopingonanother,opening up the possibility for children to continue with their projects outside theclassroom. Although the TouchDevelop andApp Innovator apps are only available forAndroidmobiledevices,youcanusethebrowseronaPC,Mac, iPador iPhonetobothbuildandplaytheappsandsharewiththeonlinecommunity.

AppInventorwasoriginallydevelopedbyGooglewho thensold it toMIT’sCentre forMobileLearningforfurtherdevelopment.Theirversion,theAppInventor2,wasreleasedin2012.MitchResnickispartofthisteam;healsohelpedtodevelopthepopularcodingprogramScratch (http://scratch.mit.edu) andwhen you start usingApp Inventor2 youwillseeverysimilarblocksofvisualcodesthatcanbedraggedandclickedintoplace.

InthischapterwewillfocusontheTouchDevelopappcreator,whichcanalsobeusedviathe browser on your PC or tablet. This free to use visual programming environment isdevelopedbyMicrosoftResearch.ItcanprovideatransitionfromvisualprogramminginScratchtotext-basedprogrammingbetweenKeyStages2and3.Theenvironmentallowsyoutopicksuggestedcommandsandsearchforcommands;italsoprovideshintsfornextstepsandtohelpyouidentifybugs.

Ifyouhavenotusedeitherofthesesystemsandwouldliketolearn,bothTouchDevelopandAppInventor2haveeasytofollowonlinetutorialscreatedbythedevelopers.Youcanfindsomelinksattheendofthechapter.

LearningObjectivesAttheendofthischapteryoushouldbeableto:

•haveanunderstandingofhowtouseTouchDeveloptoteachtheprimarycomputingnationalcurriculum;

•transferyourskillsdevelopedinothervisualprogramstowriteasimpleapp;

•supportchildrentodevelopasimpleapp.

LinkstoTeachers’StandardsThefollowingTeachers’Standardsareparticularlyrelevanttothischapter:

TS1Establishasafeandstimulatingenvironmentforpupils.

Setgoalsthatstretchandchallengepupilsofallbackgrounds,abilitiesanddispositions.

TS2 Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of how pupils learn and how thisimpactsonteaching.

Encouragepupilstotakearesponsibleandconscientiousattitudetotheirownworkandstudy.

TS3Promotealoveoflearningandchildren’sintellectualcuriosity.

Set homework and plan other out-of-class activities to consolidate and extend theknowledgeandunderstandingpupilshaveacquired.

Contribute to thedesignandprovisionof anengagingcurriculumwithin the relevantsubjectarea(s).

ThefollowingcriteriafromComputingatSchoolsComputingProgressionPathwaysareparticularlyrelevanttothischapter:

Yellow(KeyStage2)

•designssimplealgorithmsusingloops,andselection,i.e.‘if’statements;AlgorithmicThinking(AL);

•useslogicalreasoningtopredictoutcomes(AL);

•detectsandcorrectserrors,i.e.debugging,inalgorithms(AL);

•usesarithmeticoperators,ifstatements,andloops,withinprograms(AL);

•useslogicalreasoningtopredictthebehaviourofprograms(AL);

•detectsandcorrectssimplesemanticerrors,i.e.debugging,inprograms(AL).

Orange(KeyStage3)

•designssolutions(algorithms)thatuserepetitionandtwo-wayselection,i.e.‘if’,‘then’and‘else’(AL);

•useslogicalreasoningtopredictoutputs,showinganawarenessofinputs(AL);

•createsprogramsthatimplementalgorithmstoachievegivengoals(AL);

•declaresandassignsvariables;Abstraction(AB);

•usespost-testedloop,e.g.‘until’,andasequenceofselectionstatementsinprograms,includingan‘if’,‘then’and‘else’statement(AL).

Beforeyoucanstarttheseactivities,youwillneedtosetupaTouchDevelopaccount.Thisissimple.GototheTouchDevelophomepageatwww.touchdevelop.com,whereyoucanchoose a number ofways to sign in:Microsoft account, Facebook,Google andYahoo.Youmayneedtorefertoyourschool’se-safetypolicyifthepupilsaretohavetheirownaccounts.Yourusernamemaybeautogenerated,butyoucanchangethisusingAccount

Settings.

ThekeyareasthatwewillbeusingareinthehomescreenorHub,andaretheMyScriptsandtheLearnareas.TheenvironmentlooksverysimilartotheWindows8interface.AllofthescriptsorprogramsthatyouwritewillbesavedinMyScriptsand,solongasyousignintoTouchDevelop,youcanaccessallyourscriptsnomatterwhichdeviceyouuse.TheLearnareaiswhereyoucanaccesstutorials.

Intheclassroom

ExamplefrompracticeTurtlechallenge:drawingshapes

ContextIf you have usedTextease Turtle,Scratch or something similar, youwill probablyrecognisethisactivity.YoucanalsofindatutorialintheTouchDeveloponlinecoursethatcoverselementsofthisactivity.IfindthatusingafamiliaractivityliketheTurtleisagoodwaytohelppupilstofindtheirwayaroundnewenvironments.Ifchildrenare familiarwith theconceptsofprogramming theTurtle todrawashape theycanfocusonhowtheTouchDevelopenvironmentworks.

Thisactivitycanbedeliveredinanumberofways.ForKeyStage1,Iwouldusetheinteractive whiteboard (IWB) and demonstrate this as a different programminglanguage,with the children discussing the process andmaking predictions.As thechildrenmove intoKeyStage2, Iwoulduse theTurtleChallenge so that childrenworkmore independently,probably inagroup, toprogram theirownapp that theycan share online. This activity can be further differentiated by asking more ablechildrentoprogramtheirTurtletodrawmorecomplexshapes.AsTouchDevelop iswebbased,childrencanlogintotheirTouchDevelopaccountandcontinueworkingontheirappsathome.

LearningOutcomesThepupilwillbeableto:

•predicttheoutcomeofrunningofthescript(KS1);

•programmeaTurtleinTouchDeveloptodrawasquare(KS2);

•recognisekeyprogrammingfeaturesinTouchDevelop(KS2);

•usesimpleloopsinprogramming(KS2);

•modifyvariablesinasimpleprogramme(KS2);

•publishtheirapp(KS2).

OutlineIntheMyScriptsareayouwillseeanoptiontoCreateScript;whenyouclickonityouareaskedifyouwouldliketoselectatemplate;ifyouchooseablankscriptitwilltakeyoutoascripteditingpage.

Thepanelontheleftprovidessomekeyfunctions:abackbuttontoreturntotheHub,arunbuttontorunyourprogramsand,mostimportant,anundobuttonincaseyoumakeamistake.

Thecentralpanel is theScriptExplorer,whereyoucansearchforactions.Andthepanelontherightisthecodewindow,whereyouwriteyourcodeorscript.Asyoustartwritingyourscript,someactionbuttonsappearatthebottomasillustratedinthe

earlierimage.IfyouareworkingonamobiledevicethescreenmaylookdifferentastheEditWindowtakesupmostofthescreenwhenScriptExploreriscollapsed.

ActivityTurtlechallenge

•FromtheMyScriptsareaselectCreateaScript.

•FromthescriptstemplateselectBlankTurtle.

•Clickintothecodingwindowbelow‘actionmain’into’donothing’.Youwillnoticethatthelineontheleftofthescriptturnsred.Thisindicatesthatthereisanerrororsomethingthatneedstobedone.WhenyouclickinthecodingwindowtheActionOptionsbuttonsappearatthebottomofthescreen.SelectTurtle.

•JustlikeothercodingpackageslikeTexteaseTurtleyouneedtotelltheTurtlewhattodo;selecttheactionàforward(0);youcanselectthiseitherfromtheactionbuttonsatthebottomofthescreenorusethesearchfunctionintheScriptExplorerarea.Asyouselectthis,youwillnoticethathintsonhowtohandlethisactionwillappearjustabovetheactionbuttons.TouchDevelopconstantlygivesyouhintsasyoumovethroughtheprocess.

•YouneedtoenterhowmanystepsyouwanttheTurtletotake.WhenIdemonstratethisactivity,thisiswhereItaketheopportunitytohaveconversationswiththechildrenabouthowfarthiswillmaketheTurtlemove,whichgivesyouachancetocomparetheTurtle’sactionstounitsofmeasureandmakepredictionsabouthowfaritwillmove.

•Clickintotheplussignbelowthe‘Turtleàforward(50)’,whichwillgiveyouthenextlinesothatyoucanenterthenextinstruction,whichis‘insertàturnleft(0)’;aswearedrawingasquare,wewillneedtoeitherenter90orwecanexpressitas360/4.Again,here,Iusethisasanopportunitytohaveconversationsaboutthesizeoftheangleforvariousshapesandtherelationshipbetweenthenumberofsidesandthedominatorusedfor360,andwhyweareusing360.

I carry on discussing what we need to tell the Turtle to do so that it can draw asquare,oftengettingchildrentowalkthroughtheinstructionstotestthemout.Itheneitherentertheirinstructionsorallowthemtodoitforthemselves.Youdonotneedtoworryaboutthemgettingitrightthefirsttime.IftheTurtledoesnotdowhattheyexpect,itisreallyimportanttogetthemtodebugtheiralgorithm.

TomakeasquareyouwillneedtoinstructtheTurtletomoveforward,forexample:Forward200stepsandTurnLeft90°fourtimes.

Enter these instructions into the codewindow.Askyour pupils to suggestways tosimplifythecode.Thisisanopportunitytointroducetheconceptofabstraction.

Youcandothisbyinsertinga‘for’looparoundonesetof→forward(0)→turnleft

(0),indicatingthatyouwanttheTurtletorepeattheactionfourtimes.

IusethisTurtleactivityasafoundationforexploringothershapessuchascreatingasquarespiralorasquare‘S’shape.

Creatingasimplegame

ContextBy the time that most pupils reach upper Key Stage 2, with some experience incoding, theyare ready tocreatesimplegames.TouchDevelopcanhelp tomake thelinksbetweenvisual and text-basedcoding languages, providing the transition intoKeyStage3.ThereareanumberofonlinetutorialsdevelopedbyTouchDevelopandon YouTube that provide clear instructions on how to create simple games(www.touchdevelop.com/docs/tutorials).

The task of creating a game can be handled in a number of ways. You coulddemonstratethewholeprocessasadirectedtaskwhereyouclearlyoutlinethestepsto your pupils, perhaps providing them with a worksheet to work through. TheTouchDevelopwebsitehassomeexamplesavailable tosupport this.Youcouldalsosetitasamoreindependenttask,wherethepupilsworkusingtheirownknowledgeof coding or using the online tutorials on their own to create the app. Thisindependent approach would particularly suit situations where you want to addstretchandchallengetothosealreadycomfortablewithcodinginTouchDeveloporasan activity in a coding club. I tend to make my decision on how I am going toapproach this activity based on the individuals in the group andwill often alter itdepending on howpupils respond. I find it useful to remember that just because Imay be intimidated by something like coding does not necessarily mean that mypupilswillbe;itisafterallpartoftheireverydaylife.

Beforeyougetstarteditisusefultoconsiderthebasicrequirementsforagame.Youneed to startwithan ideaor ‘storyboard’ for thegame.Thiswill inform thebasicelementsthatyouneedtocreate:

•background;

•Sprite;

•actionsfortheSprite;

•conditionswithinthegame(suchastiming,scoring,gravityandlives).

Iliketogetpupilstothinkaboutthecomputergamesthattheyplayandmakealistof the featuresofa ‘good’game,so that theycanuse that toplan theirowngame.Youwillneedtomanagetheirexpectations,astheywillbebuildingasimplegame.IgetthemtolookatsomeofthefeaturedappsintheShowcaseintheTouchDevelopHubas examples.Whenyou select an app in theHub, thiswill giveyou a screenwhereyoucanRunthescript,and,byselectingEdit,youcanexaminethescript.Thisgives you the chance to get children to predict from the script how the gamewillplay, as well as getting them to evaluate the games against their list of ‘goodfeatures’.Iwilloftenasktheclasstopickthetopthreegames,sothatwecanlookmore closely at the script for them to predictwhich lines of script relate towhich

activityandencouragethemtochangefeaturessuchasthevariablessothattheycanseetheimpactonthegame.

AspartofthisplanningprocessIalsogetpupilstowriteaplanfortheirgamewithalltheelementsthattheywouldliketoinclude,andthengetthemtothinkabouthowtheywillcodeeachofthese.Itisgoodpracticetousetrackingsheetssimilartotheoneillustratedso that theycanuse thefirst threecolumnsas theyplanandthe lasttwocolumnstorecordtheiractivity.Thishelpstomakethedebuggingprocessmorevisible.

Table9.1Planningtoprogramagame

I find that pupils learn more if they work out the solution or debug the codethemselves.Iftheystruggle,Iencouragethemtoaskothersintheclassusingan‘Askthree thenme’ approach. I thenopen thequestionup to thewhole class todiscusspossiblestrategiesratherthangivingthemtheanswerstraightaway.Thisway,theycanseethemselvesandtheirpeersashavingtheabilitytoworkoutthesolutionsforthemselves.Theyarethenabletoexperiencethatgreaterfeelingofrewardwhentheyhave worked hard for the solution. The success of this approach is, of course,dependentonhavingcreatedanatmospherewhereit isacceptabletotakerisksandsometimestomakemistakesintheprocessofachievingthegoal.

LearningObjectivesOurintendedlearningobjectivesareforthepupiltobeable:

•towritethescriptforabackgroundtoasimplegame;

•towritethescriptforananimatedspriteforasimplegame;

•todebugascriptforasimplegame;

•topublishtheirsimplegameapp.

OutlineHereisabreakdownofcreatingasimplegamewhereyouhaveaspritethatmoveswithgravitytothebottomofthescreenand,whenyoutapthesprite,itmakesanoiseandbouncesup.Ifthespritehitsthebottomofthescreen,youlosealifeandwhenthespritehitsthesideitbouncesback.

ThisactivityisbasedononeoftheTutorialsintheLearnareaoftheHub,soyoucaneasilyusethattohelpyouasyouplanyourownsessions.

The images that you use in the app can be selected from the Script Explorer byselecting ‘Add new action or event’. This gives you an option to select imagesalready saved within TouchDevelop, images from the web or upload your ownimages.Whenyouchooseimagesfromthewebyouwillneedtoensurethatyouuse

copyright free images.Youcan saveonline images thathaveaCreativeCommonslicence by using theGoogleAdvanced search settings.Alternatively, you can takeyourownphotographsorcreateyourownimagesanduploadthose.AsyousaveyourimageintoTouchDevelop,youaregiventheoptiontoremovethewhitebackground,which theyadvise for sprites.Youare reminded that ‘Everyonewillbeable to seeyourpictureontheinternetforever’,whichoffersagreatopportunitytoreinforcetheconceptofe-safety.

When we are developing games, I get my pupils to create their own sprite usingPowerPoint, as I find this a good environment to manipulate shapes to createcreatures. The activity also addresses the statements in the National Curriculumrelatedtousingtechnologytocreateandmanipulatecontent.ChildrencanthenusetheSaveAsfunctioninPowerPointtosavethecurrentslideasa.pngfileandthenupload it into TouchDevelop. Creating their own sprite has the advantage ofcontextualising thegame.Youcouldalsodownloadsoundfiles for thegame in thesameway. I find that it iseasier tocreateandsave theseelementsasusableassetsbeforestartingtowritethescriptsinTouchDevelop.

Onceyouhaveyourimagessorted,fromtheMyScriptsareaselectCreateascript.ThenselectaGamesTemplate.Uploadyoursavedimagesbyclickingonthe‘Addnewaction,event…’intheScriptExplorerarea.

Youarenowready towrite the script.Here isanoutline thatdescribes theactionsthatyouneedtotake,alongsidewhatthescriptshouldlooklikeintheEditWindow.

Table9.2Scriptingagame

Oncetheappshavebeencompleted,whenyouselectthescriptfromyourHubyouwillbetakentoapagethatoffersanumberofusefuloptions.

When you choose to Publish, you are reminded about storing passwords andconfidential informationwithinthescriptas theappwillbeontheinternetforever,which offers another opportunity to reinforce e-safety and responsible use of theinternet.Publishgeneratesalinkthatyoucaneithercutandpasteorusethebuttonstosharethroughe-mailorsocialmedia.

SelectingCodewilldisplaythecode,andifyouscrolltothebottomyouaregivenanoption toPrint/e-mailallowingyou tosave thescriptandyoucan include that inarecordofprogress.

AsyoustartworkingwithTouchDevelopyouwillseethatthereismuchpotentialtouse this coding environment to extend pupils’ learning. In our examplewe used ascripttorecreategravity.Thereareanumberofotherphysics-basedactions,suchasvelocity,andoneofthetemplatesonofferisPhysicsGameStarter,whichprovidestheenvironmentwhichwillsetgravityasadefaultoption.

DiscussionThecomputingcurriculumTheintroductionofthe2014computingcurriculumhasledtoagreatdealofdebateintheeducational andwider communities.Concerns havebeen raised, for example, about theappropriatenessof teaching ‘programming’or ‘coding’ toyoung children. I suspect thatsomeofthesedisagreementsmaybelinkedtotheinterpretationofthetermsusedratherthantheintentoftheprogrammeofstudy.AninterpretationsuggestedbyResnick(2013),whichIfinduseful,istothinkaboutcomputinginthesamewaythatweconsiderliteracyandnumeracyforchildren.WewouldnotexpectachildinKeyStage1tobeabletowriteascreenplay;however,wedounderstandthatinordertobeabletowriteorunderstandtheconcept of a screenplay, at some time you need to develop fundamental literacy skills.Andweagreethattheseliteracyskillsgiveyouthepotentialtoproduceandengagewitharange of texts throughout your life. We would not dream of suggesting that childrenshouldnothaveopportunitiestodevelopliteracyskillsfrombirth.Equally,Ifeelthatweneedtoofferopportunitiesforchildrentodevelopdigitalskillstohelpthemtounderstandthetechnology-richworldaroundthemandtobeempoweredtoactivelyengagewithit.IbelievethattheprimarycomputingcurriculumofferstheseopportunitiesandIwouldalsoarguethatitsbrevityprovidesspaceforthistobedeliveredinarangeofwaysthatmeetthe needs of the individual, whilst stimulating and stretching them. The primarycomputingcurriculumalsooffersanumberofopportunitiesforcross-curricularworking,reinforcingtheconceptsandreiteratingtherelevanceofcomputing.

Aswith all times of transition, there are a range of responses to change. Concerns areoftenlinkedtotheresourcesrequiredandwhethertheyareavailableorwhetherteachershavetheconfidencetodeliverthenewcontent.Inanattempttostandardiseandaddressalack of confidence in the content, schemes of work and step-by-step worksheets arefrequentlydeveloped.Theseoften focusonaproduct rather than the learning that takesplace through theprocess.Teachers should remember that theyare experts inpedagogyandusethisstrengthastheybecomeincreasinglyconfidentwiththecurriculumcontent.Thisdiscussionwillexplorethepedagogyandtheoriesthatcanhelpthecodingnovicetoeffectivelydelivertheprimarycomputingcurriculumcontent.

Onemajoradvantageofusinganappdeveloperprogramasoneofthetoolsforteachingthe primary computing curriculum is that you code an app that you can play on yourmobile device, providing immediate relevancy and placing coding into a meaningfulcontext.Youalsoempowerchildrentoseethemselvesasmakersandcreators,ratherthanas passive consumers of other people’s content. I have to confess that I find it verysatisfyingtobeabletoplayagame,thatIhavecreated,onmyphone.

ComputationalthinkingSoftware suchasTouchDevelop andothers likeAppInventor can be introduced inKeyStage 1 and 2 in the same way that you would introduce any other coding software,remembering that at this level these are best introduced in conjunctionwith a range of‘unplugged’activities thatdevelopthekeycomputingskills.There isarequirement thatchildren have repeated opportunities and experiences of a number of programming

languages(DfE,2013)andtheappdeveloperlanguagescanhelptoofferthis.Introducingthis sort of programming gives children an opportunity to become familiar with anenvironment that theymayuse independently later. Iwouldsuggestusingan interactivewhiteboard,wheretheteacherdemonstratesthesoftwaretothewholeclasstoencouragediscussion. Itwouldbeuseful tomake links tootherprogrammingexperiences that thechildrenmayhavealreadyhad,sothattheycanstarttoidentifysimilarities.Thiswillhelpthemto recognise theskills thatcanbe transferred tootherprogrammingenvironments.YoucandemonstratesimplecodingstepsinTouchDevelopandtheimpactthatthesehaveon the environment and sprites. This will help the pupils to develop and reinforce anunderstandingofthefollowingkeyconceptsofcomputing:

•Algorithmsareunambiguoussetsofinstructionsforaspecifiedoutcome.

•Decompositionisaprocessoftakingtheproblemaparttofindasolution.

•Debuggingisaboutworkingoutwhyyouralgorithmisnotachievingwhatyouhadanticipatedandwhatyouhavetodotogettheresultthatyouneed.

•Abstractioniswhereyouremovethedetailssothatyoucanfocusonafewconceptsatatime.AfamousexampleofanabstractionistheLondonTubemap,whichgivesyousufficientdetailsothatyoucanmakeyourjourneywithoutbeingdistractedbydetailsthatyoudonotneed,suchastheactualdistancebetweenstations.AbstractionatthislevelcanbeachievedbyusingsimpleloopsasdemonstratedintheTurtleChallengeactivity,whichcanalsohelptoreinforcemathematicalconceptssuchasthelinkbetweenthenumberofsidesofashapeandtheangles.

•Computationalthinkingisatermdevelopedin2006byJeannetteWing.Itisaboutnotthinkinglikeacomputer;itisaprocessthatconsidersproblemsandtheirsolutionssothattheycanbecarriedoutbyacomputer.Itinvolvesproblem-solving,logicandalgorithmicthinking,whichisunambiguousstep-by-stepthinkingtoachieveaspecificgoal.

TalkforlearningTheseprocesses requirepupils tomakepredictions,whichcanbe testedby running theprogram.Iftheprogramdidnotperforminthewaythatwasexpected,childrenneedtogoback to the code or algorithm to debug it using computational thinking to solve theproblem. These are conversations that you can have with your pupils to help them todevelop these skills andclarify their thinking.This conceptof the roleof languageand‘conversations’beingsignificantinthedevelopmentofmentalfunctionsisattheheartofsocial-constructivism and thework ofVygotsky (1978), and informs our daily practice.Youcouldarguablyachieveallof thisusingotherprogrammingenvironments,howeveranappcreatorhastheadvantageofgivingpupilstheexperienceofcodingthatcanberunonmobile devices, allowing them to create and sharewith their friends and family.AspupilsmakethetransitionintoKeyStage2andbeyond,thefocusofactivitieswillbeonthepupilsworkingmoreindependently,whetherthatisaloneoringroupstocreatetheirown apps, including the planning and developing process. Remember that theconversations continue to be important in the learning process and that you need toencouragepupilstoverbalisetheirthinkingprocessesinordertohelpthemtorememberandmakesenseoftheirwork(Wegerif,2013).

DigitalliteracyMitch Resnick (2013) fromMIT, one of the developers of Scratch, is one of the keyproponents formakingcomparisonsbetween reading skillsor literacyanddigital skills.Heproposesthatdigitalliteracyisakeyskillthatindividualsneedtodeveloptobecomefullcitizensofatechnology-richsociety.Resnickproposesthatchildrenneedtobecomefluent in these digital literacies, as using technology to play games, search the internet,communicate digitally, create digital products and write code is just as important asreadingandwriting.Hesuggests that there isnorealexpectationthateverypersonwholearnshowtocodewillwishtoendupprogrammingasacareerbut that it is importantthat everyone understands the process. Experience of coding helps to develop logic,algorithmicthinkingandproblemsolving;italsohelpsindividualsdeveloppersistence,askill that is useful in all areas of life. The processes of debugging and persistence areparticularlywell-supportedwithinTouchDevelop, through thesimplicityofchanging thecode then running it to see its impact, the hints provided throughout the process andthroughpossiblythemostimportantfeature,thedesirabilityofthe‘endproduct’beingaplayablegamethatyouwouldbeproudtosharewithothers.

Thelearner-ledapproachThe child-led, experiential learning approach that we have been discussing is oftenassociatedwithcodingenvironmentssuchasScratch,KoduandTouchDevelop.However,ithasitsrootsintheworkofanumberoftheoriesfrompreviouscenturies.ForexampleFroebel (1782–1852) introduced the concept of ‘kindergarten’, where children wereprovidedwithstimulatingenvironments thatweredesigned todevelop their imaginationandphysicalskills.Froebeldevelopedaseriesof‘buildinggifts’consistingofblocks indifferent shapes and quantities and encouraged pre-school children to develop anunderstandingoftheworldaroundthemthroughplayingandobservingtheirproperties.ItisnottoomuchofaleaptoseetheblocksofvisualcodinginprogramssuchasScratch,HopscotchandTouchDevelopasavirtualformofFroebel’sblocks,andsimilarlythereismuchtobegainedfromplayfulexplorationoftheirproperties.IndeedthedevelopersofScratchrecognisethatthisconceptisthefoundationoftheirapproach.

WehavealreadysuggestedthattheworkofVygotsky(1978)informsusabouthowweuseconversations to help children to develop their understanding and that the discussionsabout prediction and the use of logic to make these predictions help to reinforce theconceptsofcoding.Dewey’s(1902)worksuggeststhatpupilsshouldbeproactiveintheseconversationsandthelearningactivities,ashefeelsthattheteachershouldnotbeonetostand at the front of the roomdoling out bits of information to be absorbedbypassivestudents. Instead, the teacher’s role should be that of facilitator and guide. Theprogrammingenvironmentswehavediscussed,andtheavailabilityofonlinetutorialsthatpupilscanuseforthemselves,particularlyfacilitatethis.Thislearner-ledapproach,wherethe teacher acts as the ‘Sage on the side’ encouraging children to work things out forthemselves,istakenfurtherbytheworkofSugataMitra,whoiswellknownforhisHoleintheWallexperiments(Mitra,2010).SugataMitraplacedcomputersintoIndianslums,wherechildrentaughtthemselvestousethecomputersandinmostcaseshowtoreadandspeakEnglish so that theycoulddo this.PopularconceptionofMitra’s ‘SelfOrganisedLearning’work is thathewassuggesting that therewasnoneedfor teachers.However,

this work was looking at increasing educational opportunities (Mitra and Negroponte,2012).Whatwecan takefromthisandhiscontinuedworkonSelf-OrganisedLearning,whichincludedaprimaryschoolinthenorth-eastofEngland,isthatencouragingchildrento seekout the answers for themselves, using the internet and their peers to solve theirproblems, creates a rich learning experience where they develop deep learning that ismaintained,ifnotimproved,whentestedmonthslater(Mitraetal.,2010).

Creatingappsthatcanbeshared,inmyopinion,isanexampleofauthenticlearning.Appbuilding creates a purpose for the activity beyond hitting the designated assessmentcriteria.Dewey’s(1902)workonthepowerofauthenticlearningexperiencesrecognisedtheneedforchildren to interactwith thecurriculumwhilst takinganactivepart in theirown learning. He suggested that school is a place where children not only learn thecurriculum,but theyalso learnhow tobecomepartofour society, and this should takeaccountofstudents’interests.Buildingappscouldbearguedtobepartofthisprocess.

TheroleoftheteacherAnother approach that I find usefulwhen teaching coding in primary schools also usesauthenticityasitsstartingpointandresonateswiththeworkofbothMitraandDewey;thisistheworkofmathsteacher,DanMeyer.Meyer’spremiseforteachingmathseffectivelytothosewhodon’twanttolearnmathsis‘Belesshelpful’.Hesuggeststhattheexamplesinmostmathstextbooksareverywordyandthatsuccessisbasedoninsertingvaluesfromexamples intonewquestions, rather than learning theprocess.Meyerurgesus to allowchildren to formulate the problem rather than the teacher providing a smooth and easypathtothesolution.ThisiswhyIfeelthattherearerisksinusingstep-by-stepinstructionsandworksheets;successcanbebasedontheabilitytodecodetheworksheetsratherthanaknowledgeofcoding.Youdoneedtocreateanenvironmentwhereitissafetotakerisksin terms of finding an answer so that children have to think, predict and haveconversationstoworkoutthesolution.Thereallearninghappenswhenchildrenhavetothinkhard,trythingsoutanddiscussstrategieswitheachother.Itiswhentheyarriveatasolution that the ‘wow’moments literarily happen (Meyer, 2010).Thesewowmomentsnot only improve motivation to persevere when things are difficult, they also help toreinforcethelearningprocessandimproveself-esteem.

ConnectivismA number of coding programs, including TouchDevelop, Scratch and Kodu fostercommunitieswhere you can share your projects so that others can play them and givefeedback.Through thisprocessofdialoguepupilsbegin to recognise thatasknowledgechanges,itisnotjusttheknowledgeitselfthatisimportantbutknowingwhereandhowtoaccess knowledge or the individuals that hold that knowledge is also important. ThisprocessisrecognisedinMitra’sworkandGeorgeSiemens’(2004)workonconnectivism,which seeks to explain learning practices that are embedded in the use of technology,particularly the internet.Connectivismmovesawayfromtraditional learning theoriesbydrawing on the theories of chaos, complexity, self-organisation and networking. Itrecognises that learning is messy and cannot be controlled by an individual. Rather,learningisdependentonconnectionsandconnectedness.Withtheadventof technology,knowledge can reside outside of the individual, for example within a database or a

network,andunderstandinghowtoaccessthisknowledgequicklyisvital.Consequently,it is important to nurture andmaintain learning networks, focusing in particular on thehubsthatgrantaccesstoothernetworks.

AssessmentLike other areas of the primary curriculum, the attainment targets for the computingcurriculumare:Bytheendofeachkeystage,pupilsareexpectedtoknow,applyandunderstandthematters,skillsandprocessesspecifiedintherelevantprogrammeofstudy.

(DfE,2013)

Thisbroadstatementcanseemdauntingasyoustarttoplanwaysofrecordingprogress.Computing at School (www.computingatschool.org.uk) has developed a progressionpathwaythatcanhelpyoutoidentifywhatstudentsshouldachieve.Youcouldalsouseamobiledevicetovideochildrendiscussingtheprocessofcreatingtheirapps.Thisraisesthequestionofwhereyousaveallofthisinformationsothatcanyoushareitandfinditwhenyouneedto,particularlyifyouareworkingacrossplatforms.IfindprogramssuchasEvernote(https://evernote.com)usefulforthis,asyoucanuseitonarangeofdevices,andsavefiles,photosandaudiorecordings.Youcan thenuse tags tosort theentriessothatyoucanretrieveallentriesforaparticularchild,grouportypeofactivity.Thismakesiteasiertoshareworkwithparentsandcolleagues.

SummaryandKeyPointsInthischapterwehavelookedatusingappbuildingsoftwaretoextendlearningaboutcomputingandwritingcode,andhow touseprogrammingskills tobuildanapp toplay and share. We started by using the Turtle Challenge to introduce theTouchDevelop environment and made comparisons with other coding experiences.Buildingontheseskills,weexploredtheuseofTouchDeveloptobuildasimplegameand considered the publishing options. As we worked through these examples, weexploredwaysofdelivering theseactivitiesso that theycovereda rangeofabilitiesandmadecross-curricular linkswithmaths.We then reflectedon thepedagogyandtheoriesthatcouldinformtheprocessofappcreation,focusingonencouragingpupilstoseethemselvesasmakersandcreators.

UsefulLinkshttp://youtu.be/adYPsk6J5Qw(accessed20December2014).

YouTube

TouchDevelop–FollowerGameTutorial

Simpletutorial

http://youtu.be/UUq4Zc-o_20(accessed20December2014).

TouchDevelop–Lesson1–Howtochangeabackgroundonanapplication

Oneofaseries

RayChambers@Lanky_Boi_Ray

HeadofITUppinghamCommunityCollege–RutlandregularlydemonstratesforMicrosoftateventssuchasBETT

MicrosoftInnovativeEducationExpert

http://youtu.be/r_OuucF_MmY(accessed20December2014).

TouchDevelopCurriculum–Activity1a(Creatinganewscript)

Oneofaseries

DavidRenton

@drenton72

MicrosoftMPV(MostValuableProfessional)LecturerinGamesDevelopmentatWestCollegeScotland

http://youtu.be/r-D5wu-2Q6Q(accessed20December2014).

TouchDevelopCurriculum–Activity1b(Creatingagamescript)

Oneofaseries

DavidRenton

http://youtu.be/Di0QwNPnsFI(accessed20December2014).

TouchDevelopCurriculum–Activity2a(CreateaFruitNinjaCloneonatablet)

Oneofaseries

DavidRenton

www.touchdevelop.com/hourofcode2(accessed20December2014).

TouchDevelophourofcode

Microsoft

AnumberoftutorialstosupportHourofCode

http://youtu.be/HbntNGGXamw?list=PLsxoqvm6HPQV5XMPwN4N0tYIe7asB81PS(accessed20December2014).

AppInventor2

Oneofaseries

DavidWolber

appinventor.org

ThisAppInventor2tutorialseriestakeslightheartedapproach

AppListfortheChapterTouchDevelop

Microsoft

www.touchdevelop.com(accessed20December2014).

Onlinefreetouseappcreator

AppInventor2

MIT

http://ai2.appinventor.mit.edu(accessed20December2014).

Onlinefreetouseappcreator

Kodu

Microsoft

www.kodugamelab.com(accessed20December2014).

FreetousevisualprogrammingsoftwaretocreategamesusingaPCorXbox.

ThisisasimpletouseprogramthatcreatesgameswhichcanbeusedfromKeyStage1,butisprobablymoresuitableforKeyStage2andabove.

Therearemanytutorialvideosavailable.

Onlinecommunitytoshareprojects.

Annualcompetition–theKoduKup.

Scratch

MIT

http://scratch.mit.edu(accessed20December2014).

Onlinefreetousevisualprogrammingsoftwaretocreategames,interactivestoriesandanimations.

ThisisasimpletouseversatileprogramthatcanbeusedfromKeyStage1toadulthood.

Therearemanytutorialvideosavailable.

Onlinecommunitytoshareprojects.

FurtherReadingMitra,SandNegroponte,N(2012)BeyondtheHoleintheWall:DiscoverthePowerofSelf-organisedLearning.KindleEditionTEDBooks.

ThisbookdescribesMitra’sworkwiththeHoleintheWallexperimentandself-organisedlearning.Throughthis,heweavesamythicalstoryofachildthatrepresentslifeandlearninginatechnology-richfuture.

Ilikethisbook,asitexploreslearningandtheimpactthattechnologycouldhave,resultinginsomechangesinrolesasthelearningenvironmentisenriched.

Ialsolikethisbookbecauseitisaneasyandquickread.

Renton,D(NA)TouchDevelopCurriculum.Availablefrom:https://az31353.vo.msecnd.net/cpd/uxvi-touchdevelopcurriculum.pdf(accessed20

December2014).

ThisisaclearstepbystepguidetousingTouchDevelopthatcouldbeusedtosupplementhisvideos.

Horspool,RNandTillmann,N(2013)TouchDevelop:ProgrammingontheGo.Apress.Availablefrom:www.touchdevelop.com/docs/book(accessed20December2014).

ThisisafreeebookthatgivesanindepthbackgroundtoTouchDevelop.Inmyopinionthisisreallyfortheenthusiastand/orexpert.

Belshaw,D(2014)TheEssentialElementsofDigitalLiteracies.Availablefrom:https://gumroad.com/l/digilit(accessed20December2014).

Thisisanonlinebookthatwasreleasedpiecemeal,withreadersprovidingfeedbackthatinformedfutureiterations;itisnowcomplete.

WhatIlikeaboutthisbookinparticularistheconceptofthe8Csofdigitalliteracy:cultural,communication,cognitive,citizenship,constructive,creativity,confidence,critical.

ComputingatSchool.Availablefrom:www.computingatschool.org.uk(accessed20December2014).

ComputingatSchool(CAS)aimstopromotetheteachingofcomputerscienceatschool.Itsgoalistoputtheexcitementbackintocomputingatschool.

CASisagrass-rootsorganisation,incollaborationwiththeBCSthroughtheBCSAcademyofComputing.

Membershipisopentoeveryone,andisverybroad,includingteachers,parents,governors,examboards,industry,professionalsocietiesanduniversities.

JoiningtheCAScommunitygivesyouaccesstoawiderangeofusefulresourcesandsupport.

ComputingUnplugged.Availablefrom:http://csunplugged.org(accessed20December2014).

CSUnpluggedisacollectionoffreelearningactivitiesthatteachcomputersciencethroughengaginggamesandpuzzlesthatusecards,string,crayonsandlotsofrunningaround.

ReferencesDewey,J(1902)TheChildandtheCurriculum.Chicago:UniversityofChicagoPress.

DfE(2013)NationalcurriculuminEngland:computingprogrammesofstudy.

Meyer,D(2010)DanMeyer:Mathclassneedsamakeover,inTED(ed.)TEDTalks.

Mitra,S(2010)SugataMitra:TheChild-DrivenEducation.Availablefrom:www.ted.com/talks/sugata_mitra_the_child_driven_education.html(accessed20December2014).

Mitra,SandNegroponte,N(2012)BeyondtheHoleintheWall:DiscoverthePowerofSelf-organisedLearning.KindleEditionTEDBooks.

Mitra,S,Leat,D,Dolan,Petal.(2010)TheSelfOrganisedLearningEnvironment(SOLE)Schoolsupportpack,TechnologyAfL(ed).

Renton,D(NA)TouchDevelopCurriculum.Availablefrom:https://az31353.vo.msecnd.net/cpd/uxvi-touchdevelopcurriculum.pdf

Resnick,M(2013)MitchResnick:Let’sTeachKidstoCode,inTED(ed.)TEDTalks.

Vygotsky,LS(1978)MindinSociety:TheDevelopmentofHigherPsychologicalProcesses.Cambridge,MA:HarvardUniversityPress.

Index2Simple2BuildaProfile58

Abbott,L64

abstraction114,126,132

accessibility26–7,82

accountability37,39

activelearning79–80,115–16

advertisements,video49–50

ALEX118

algorithms113,114,132

AncientEgyptebook19–21,25–6

animals4,5

anonymity37

AnswerGarden32–3,35,37

AppInventor2123

AppleTV81

apps:choosing9–11,78–9;combining8–9;creating123–39

arts,the12–13

assessment:appcreation135–6;gamedesign109–10;EYFS57–8

assessmentforlearning(AfL)36–9

atlases91

AudioBoom33,35

authenticity13,134

Balanskat,A78

Bandura,A80

Bee-Bot118

blogs99

Bloom’sdigitaltaxonomy97–8

BookCreator23,34,35,39

Bridgecraftproject1,3–7

Bruner,J67,80,117

Brunvand,S39

buildingdesign4,6

buildinggifts(blocks)133–4

Byrd,S39

capturinglearninglive31,32,33,35

Cargo-bot118

CarolineHaslettSchool:childrenasresearchers86,88–92;visiblelearning29,31–4

Cato’sHike118

ChatterPix71–2

child-ledlearning133–4

childrenasresearchers86–103

‘choosingtime’56–7

Churches,A98

Clark,W25,62,63

Clarke,L64

ClassToolsQRtreasurehuntgenerator70

Claxton,G116

coding127,131,133

collaboration10–11,63,77;game-basedlearning11–12,47–50;makingebooks27;promoting45–53;inresearch89,92,93,99

combiningapps8–9

communicating:inresearch89,92,99;seealsolanguage,talk

computationalthinking114–16,132

computerscience104–22;appsforteaching118–19

computingcurriculum131

ComputingatSchoolprogressionpathway124,135

connectivism135

constructionism114–16

constructivism67,115;social80,115,133

contentcreation10–11

continuousprovisionsessions56–7

conversationsseetalk

copyright98

Coutts,T62

creating89,90,91,97–9

creativearts12–13

creativeproduction90–2,97–100

Crescenzi,L63

Cross,DR116

cross-curricularlinks50

curriculum:computingcurriculum131;curriculumplanfortheBridgecraftproject3,4

DaisytheDinosaur118

datahandling33–4,76

debugging113,128,132,133

decomposition113,132

designandtechnology(DT)34,40

Dewey,J115,134

dialogue45–53,63,117,132–3,134

differentiation26–7;AfLand36–7

digitalliteracy133

drama73

drawingshapesactivity125–6

Dropbox36,88,92

e-safety82,98,129,130

E-Twinning99

EarlyLearningGoals55

EarlyYearsFoundationStage(EYFS)54–66

ebooks17–28,34

Edelson,DC13

Edmodo3,12,90

EncyclopediaBritannica91

English,outdoor71–4

evaluation,metacognitive116,117,118

Evernote57–8,136

ExplainEverything10,109,110

Facebook97

Fagan,T62

fakewebsites97

feedback48;immediate37–8

Feurzig,W111,115

Flavell,JH117

Flowboard90

ForestSchoolpedagogy78

Fragment9

Froebel,F133

GameDesignerproject47–50

games:collaborativelearning11–12,47–50;creatingusingTouchDevelop127–30;metacognitiveawarenessthroughgamedesign116–19;racinggameproject106–10,116

GarageBand9,50

Garton,AF51

generalisation114

geographyresearchproject88–92

Google,searching95,96

GoogleEarth90–1

GoogleSlides90

gravity128–30

GreenScreenbyDoInk5,10,74

greenscreens74

guidedaccessoption26,82

habitats4,7

HaikuDeck9,76,90

HakitzuElite118

Halftone290

Hattie,J80–1

Hopscotch106–12,116,118;activityideas110–11

‘howto’videos96

i-LOGO112–13,119

iBookAuthor20–1

immediatefeedback37–8

iMovie9,49–50,109;trailers6,73

individualneeds39;PDL94

informationgathering88–90,94–7

inquiry-basedlearning80–1

Instagram97

interactivecomicstrips73

interactivewhiteboard132

invertcoloursoption26

iteration114

Jenkins,H99

Jones,A77

Kafai,YB115

kindergarten133

Kinescript119

Kodable119

Kucirkova,N62,63,64–5

language117,133;seealsodialogue

learner-ledapproach133–4

learningmaps,ongoing32,34,35,39

learningwalls48–9

Legofigures72

LegoFixthefactory118

letterformation60–1

Lightbot119

literacy131;digital133;visiblelearning32–3

LiteracyShedClocktower23

Littleton,K51

LOGO111–13,115

logos49

loops114

Luckin,R25,62,63

manipulationofmedia1–16

maths:ebookforrevision21–2;EYFS60–1;outdoor69–71;visiblelearning33–4

maximising89,91,97

McPhee,I62–3,64

mediamanipulation1–16

Mercer,N51

metacognition39;computergamedesign116–19

Meyer,D134–5

mindmapping13,90;students’mindmapsofexistinglearning36

MindMash35,39

Mindomo35,39,90

Minecraft5

miniplenaries(pitstops)31,32,33,35

Mitra,S134

mobilelearning77–8,80

monitoring,metacognitive116,117–18

Morfo9,20

motivation77–8,116

Movetheturtle119

multimodalities52

multiplicationtablesebook21–2

Murray,OT10–11

mysterySkype91

narrativeebook23–4;seealsostorytelling

NationalCurriculumProgrammesofStudy2,18,30,46,68,87,105

Neale,HR52,63

Nearpod92

NewGamesLaunchEvent50

Notability90,91

notetaking57–8,90

numberarrays69–70

numeracy131

observation57–8

Olcese,NR10–11

ongoingcontinuousprovision56–7

ongoinglearningmaps32,34,35,39

onlinecommunities97,99

OurCreativeVillageproject69–74

outdoorlearning67–85;coreappsfor79;growthof78

Padletvirtualwall35,38,81

Papert,S11,111,115,116

Paris,SG116

participatoryculture99

pedagogicalstrategies40–1

peerassessment38–9

Pegrum,M100

people,inavirtualworld4,5–6

persistence133

personalisedlearning25–6

phonics60–1

Phoster9

Piaget,J11,67,115

PicCollage9,70

pitstops(miniplenaries)31,32,33,35

plagiarism98–9

planning:gamecreation127–8;metacognitive116,117

plantsandtrees4,5

pointsofviewtheme71–4

Popplet81

post-assessment31,32,35

posters49

PowerPoint129

pre-assessment31,32,35

predictions132,134

prepositions32–3

presentations50

problemsolving:computerscience114,115–16;research89,90,91

procedures114

processing,metacognitive117

programminglanguages132

project-basedlearning(PBL)94

promotionalmaterials48

Puentedura,R10

PuppetPals9,59–60

QRCodes(QuickResponseCodes)50;maths70–1

qrstuff.com70

racinggameproject106–10,116

readingskills96

Redecker,C41

reflectiononlearning32,33,33–4,35,38,39

re-mixing98–9

research:childrenasresearchers86–103;stagesofinthedigitalage88–92

Resnick,M94,95,98,123,131,133

RoboLogic2HD119

RollWorld73

safety(e-safety)82,98,129,130

SAMR(Substitution,Augmentation,ModificationandRedefinition)model10

scanningreadingskills96

schemesofwork131

science:investigations52,76;outdoors75–6

Scratch97,99,106,123,133–4

Scratchjunior119

ScreenChomp38

scriptingagame129–30

searchengines95

searchlessons95

searchquery95

searching89,90,91,95–6

self-assessment38–9

self-directedlearning78–80

self-efficacy40

self-organisedlearning134

self-regulation40

ShadowPuppetEdu10,71,72

shapes,drawing125–6

Sharples,M80

ShowMe35

Showbie21–2,24,27

Siriforvoicerecognition26

SketchNation47,48

skimmingreadingskills96

Skitch9,33,35,38

Skype99;mysterySkype91

Snapseed9

socialconstructivism80,115,133

sociallearning11–12,80

Socraticlearning117

Socrative32,33,35,37,81

sounds,composing4,6

SpeakSelection20,26

specialeducationalneedsanddisabilities(SEND)learners82

sprite-basedgame128–30

Staarman,JK51

Stanton,D52,63

STEMtoSTEAMmovement12–13

step-by-stepinstructions131,135

stereographicimages73

Sternberg,RJ116

storytelling27;EYFS58–60;narrativeebook23–4;outdoorEnglish71–4

StripDesigner9,10,49,73

stylus26

synthesising89,91,97

tagging58

talk45–53,63,117,132–3,134

TASKvaliditycheck96–7

teacher’srole13,134–5;constructionism116;constructivism115;inquiry-basedlearning80–1;twenty-firstcenturyteaching94

Teachers’Standards1,18,30,45–6,54,67–8,87,105,124

technologicaldeterminism64–5

technologyuse,byyoungchildren62–3

Tellagami9,49,71

textsize26

ThingLink9,10,33–4,38,73

thinking:computational114–16,132;anddialogue51–2,63;skills97–8

titles49

touch-basedskills63

TouchCast91

TouchDevelop123–35

trackingsheets128

trailstheme69–71

treesandplants4,5

Tumblr97

turtle111–12,115

TurtleChallengeactivity125–6,132

Turvey,K11

twenty-first-centuryskills93

2Simple2BuildaProfile58

validating89,96–7

Valstad,H62

variables114

videoadverts49–50

VideoScribe10

virtualworldproject1,3–7

visiblelearning29–44,80–1;appssupporting35

visiblelearningcycle31–4,35

voicemessages26

VoiceThread6,9,39

Vygotsky,LS67,80,115,117,133,134

WheatleyHillPrimarySchool19–24

widgets21

wikis99

Wild,M52,63

Wing,J114,132

Wise,N52

WordPress97

worksheets131,135

Wyeth,P78

YouTube96,97