University Power point on ICT Supporting pupils Learning

1. Dean Draper

2. I am currently coming to the end of my eighth year as a teaching assistant in a
secondary special needs school. The pupils I work with have a various special needs
including moderate learning difficulties, speech and language difficulties, SEBD, ASD
and ADHD. They find learning hard and often display inappropriate behaviours if they
cannot carry out the task. My role therefore is to support the pupils in their lessons,
ensure they understand the work and help reduce any inappropriate behaviours, this
year I have also had the opportunity to cover lessons when required.
In terms of ICT the school has noticeably improved its resources over the past 4
years. When I first started in the school we had a computer suite with about 16 slow
computers and an interactive white board, this was one of just two interactive boards
in the whole school, each class had 1 or 2 computers which you could never guarantee
would work or that they would load up before the end of the lesson. This often
effected the lesson plan and the impacted on the children's learning as they could not
always complete their work.
Since then we now have a fully equipped ICT suite which contains enough computers
for a full class of pupils…

3. Every teacher has a computer and an IPad and each classroom has a projector and
interactive whiteboard along with at least 2 fairly new pc in them. Some classes have
TVs linked to laptops or apple TV.
The school has also bought about 20-30 IPad’s for the pupils to use during lessons
which have had apps added to them which help support and develop their learning. The
pupils often use ICT to help develop and support their learning, they often use
programmes such as rapid maths and catch up literacy and numeracy these
programmes also monitor the pupils progress and ensure the work is challenging the
pupils so that they progress and develop as learners, the pupils are also able to video
each other during tasks which can then be used as another way of assessment rather
than just assessing written work.
The school has high expectations of all pupils when it comes to ICT but also
differentiates what is to be expected due to the various learning difficulties, however
pupils in KS4 achieve an OCN entry level certificate in ICT graded E1-E3 or an
Essential skills qualification through Agoed Cymru at E1.

4. The class I have chosen to carry out the activity with is a class of 12, year 10 pupils
in key stage 4 who have been studying first aid as part of their option classes in KS4,
the work produced by the class will also be used as evidence to support their OCN
qualification.
All the pupils have special needs including speech and language difficulties, moderate
learning difficulties, SEBD, ASD and ADHD and are therefore working below their
national curriculum levels. The class has a full time TA attached to the class and also
another TA who works part time with the class.

5. For this activity I intend to set the pupils the challenge of producing information cards or
posters which will state the steps of treatment when dealing with various first Aid
scenarios such as Choking, Bleeding, Shock, Seizures and Burns. Before deciding on what
activity I was going to set, the pupil’s needs and ability was also taken into consideration.
As I wanted this activity to produce teaching materials for other pupils to use I chose not
to set the pupils the task of recording each step and creating videos as the recordings due
to the speech and language difficulties would have been too difficult for others to
understand. Therefore I decided to set the task of photographing each step and inserting
the pictures into publisher with short instructional writing next to each picture.
Galloway and Norton (2011) states that
“Photos can be used to aid documentation… support storytelling… can also be used in
lessons for activities such as sequencing” (pg. 113)

6. During the activity I want to hear and observe the pupils discussing and performing
the treatment steps for each scenario.
By the end of the activity I want the pupils to show me that they are able to recall
on prior knowledge of first aid scenarios and recognise the steps of treatment and
are all capable of using an IPad to take photos of each step as well as being able to
go back and show me the pictures they have taken. According to Burden and Maher
(2015)
“mobile devices such as iPads… allows pupils to learn in innovative and exciting
ways” (pg. 171)
I also want a piece of work produced using publisher showing that they have the ICT
skills needed and are capable of designing and creating a number of learning
resources on first aid scenarios using both instructional writing and photographic
methods.

7. The ICT resources that I have decided to use for the pupils to complete this activity is 5
Ipad's with the camera enabled in order to take the photos and 5 pc’s with Microsoft
publisher loaded to help create the information cards or posters. There will also be myself
and two TA’s observing and supporting the pupils throughout the activity.
Luckily in the school which I work we now have a good level of ICT provision and resources
which enables the pupils to use ICT to support their learning and help them produce a high
standard of work and also have staff who are fairly confident with ICT basics.
However according to WAG (2009) not all schools are so lucky and there are still a number
of challenges to increasing the provision of ICT in some of those schools including
“ensuring adequate resources (staff, equipment, software licenses and space) are
available to increase provision… providing good-quality support for staff who may be
preparing learners for an ICT qualification for the first time” (pg.10)
It is important for the schools to solve these challenges as ICT can be such a useful
resource to support learning. However these ICT resources can be expensive to initially buy
and some app’s then cost money to have, staff in some schools are being made redundant due
to the lack of funding. The government need to ensure that there is sufficient funding
available to ensure the pupils have the appropriate resources and support.

8. Year Group: 10 Option Class: 1 Date: 05/05/15
Main Subject(s) – First Aid
Topic/Focus: First Aid Scenario Resources Approximate duration: 45 minutes
Learning Outcome(s) (to be shared as appropriate at beginning and/or during activity)
To be able to recall on prior knowledge of first aid scenarios
To create learning resources on various first aid scenarios.
To be able to use an IPad to take photos.
To be able to use Publisher to create a step by step guide on treatments.
Literacy and Numeracy Framework
Learners are able to understand different types of writing.
Learners are able to write for different purposes.
Learners are able to make lists and tables.
Introduction
The children will be introduced to the activity and given a quick explanation of how to take photos using the iPad.
They will use prior knowledge of the subject / scenarios to understand what first aid skills are needed to treat
each scenario. The pupils will discuss the scenarios as a class and staff will demonstrate each stage of each
scenario.
Teaching and Learning Activities (individual, paired, group or class)
The children will be split into different small groups of 3 pupils in each and with support work on their given
scenario. The children will have adult support when taking photos if needed and will be reminded if of the steps
as they carry out the activity. Once the photos have been taken staff will upload the photos and the pupils will
start to create the information cards / posters on the steps of treatments, along with instructional writing to go
with each photograph.

9. Plenary Session(s) (as appropriate at end and/or during activity)
The plenary will be on-going during the activities. Re-enforcing the learning outcomes.
Resources (including role of support staff/differentiation)
There will two LSA’s working with a small group each.
5 iPad’s
5 PC with publisher loaded
Key vocabulary
Instructional verbs, treatments
Role of Practitioner(s)
To present the tasks in an imaginative/engaging way.
To praise and encourage children.
To encourage all children to think for themselves and to genuinely value their contributions.
Provide appropriate support.
Encourage independent learning.
Assessment opportunities – practitioner – children
Appropriate questioning.
Are the children able to discuss what treatments are required for each scenario?
Are the children able to use an iPad to take photos?
Are the pupils able to use publisher to create a poster / information card?
AFL strategies – Have we been ‘independent learners’ today?
Notes –
Option Class 1 have some pupils with challenging behaviour. Pupils will be grouped according to their behavioural
and ability needs.
Next steps/Future planning (completed following session/activity)

10. Before the activity begun we went through each of the scenarios to recap on each of the steps that
they needed to photograph. I then split the class up into groups of 3 pupils and gave each group a
different scenario to complete using an iPad. Myself and the teaching assistants supported the lessons
by observing the pupils, gave advice or prompts if it was needed by asking various questions to
encourage the pupils to think for themselves and ensure they were on task Harlen and Qualter (2009)
supports this and states a method of collecting information is by “observing children during regular
work this includes…questioning” (pg.174).
Once all the photos had been taken myself and the teaching assistants uploaded them to the schools
photo storage due to the restrictions the school has this is something the pupils were unfortunately
unable to do for themselves. The pupils then started to create the information cards / posters on the
steps of treatments, along with instructional writing to go with each photograph.
The children not only reinforced their knowledge of the subject area but also developed their ICT
skills by using the iPad’s to take photos and producing the information cards using publisher.
By using the IPad’s and the other ICT resources the pupils also remained motivated and seemed to
enjoy participating in the activities. WAG (2009) supports this and states that
“ICT can be motivating for learners of all abilities. Information can be accessed and presented
through text, graphics or sound to suit the students’ individual learning styles, strengths and
interests.” (pg. 9)

11. The use of ICT also helped create resources that will not only help the individuals in the group to
remember the steps of treatment but also help develop a resource for other pupils learning in the
future.
Throughout the lesson I tried to present the activity in an engaging way getting all the pupils to feel
part of the lesson. I gave praise and encouraged all children to be fully involved. Overall I am very
happy with how the lesson turned out and with the final piece of work which was produced. However
after the discussion with other teachers who are more knowledgeable about apps for the IPad,I would
use apps such as Show Me or Explain Everything. By using these App’s it will eliminate the need to
upload the photos and the use of publisher as all the work can be produced using the iPad, it will also
challenge the pupils and develop their ICT skills further as well as making the lesson more exciting.
Although I realised before the activity how much easier and the beneficial impact on a pupils learning
using app’s like these I was wary of using them as I had only briefly used them in the past and had a
lack of understanding, Uppal (2000) states that “To integrate ICT within the curriculum, teachers
need a good understanding of major applications” (pg. 67).
Morris et al (2015) also suggests that
“Your ability to be creative with ICT is very much down to your confidence to use technologies,
and your understanding of their pedagogical value in the classroom” (pg. 39)

12. I believe that if I had been more confident and had a better understanding of ICT and the
different app’s available, then the pupils ICT skills could have been further developed, which
perhaps would have had a greater impact on the pupils learning and a higher-quality final piece of
work could have been produced.
However in order for myself and other teachers alike to develop our skills we need to be given the
time and the training, by the school to help build our confidence and develop our skills. This is
essential before we can attempt to develop the pupil’s skills and further support their learning with
ICT. Parkinson (2004) when referring to Hargreaves and Fullan (1992) supports this and mentions
that teachers require “sufficient opportunities to learn and acquire the knowledge and skills for
effective teaching… to develop personal qualities… a working environment that is supportive.” (pg.
34). As a TA I hope to get more opportunities and training to develop my ICT skills and knowledge
as it will not only benefit myself but will also help to support the pupils learning and the school.

13. This is an example of the work produced on a Burns Scenario.
This group worked well together and did not need any support
from the staff other than the staff uploading their photos. I
would use IPad apps such as Show Me or Explain Everything
next time I do an activity like this. The faces have had to be
blocked out due to Child Protection.

14. Burden, K and Maher, D (2015) Teaching and Learning with ICT in the Primary School –
Mobile Technologies and Authentic Learning in the Primary Classroom. London: Routledge.
Galloway, J and Norton, H (2011) ICT for Teaching Assistants. London: Routledge.
Harlen, W and Qualter, A (2009) The teaching of science in primary schools. London:
Routledge.
Morris, D. Uppal, G and Ayres, D (2015) Teaching and Learning with ICT in the primary
School – Being Creative with Technology: Using ICT to Enhance the Teaching of Literacy
and Numeracy. London: Routledge.
Wag (2009) Information and Communication Technology at Key Stage 4 – Guidance for
schools. Cardiff: WAG
Parkinson, J. (2004) Improving secondary science teaching. London: Routledge Falmer.
Uppal, S (2000) Pocket Guides to the Primary Curriculum ICT. Warwickshire: Scholastic
Ltd.