Today the pre-school children were learning how to take photographs with the digital blue camera. They were really motivated by what you could do to the photographs using the software that came with the camera.
They quickly picked up how to both take the photographs and download them onto the laptop. The activity was linked into our Space topic. The children could animate the photographs they had taken by adding special effects or space backgrounds.
I then encouraged the children to go around the school and take photos of other members of staff. This helps them to become familiar with other people and places within the school before moving up into primary one.
The children are already confident in taking photographs with digital cameras but this activity allowed them to further develop a range of basic photography skills in a fun way. When they had taken the photographs they independently downloaded them onto the laptop via the USB camera base. They were then introduced to using a simple storyboard as they added the photos they wanted to edit. When they were animating their pictures they were using a range of skills- clicking, dragging, minimising/enlarging, using preview mode before finally presenting their end ‘masterpiece’ to others.
This activity was a fun way of introducing very young children to a new way of using digital photography. It linked in with our current theme as well as supporting the children’s transition from nursery to primary.
Kathleen Johnston at Port Ellen Primary asked me a few months back if I would do some whiteboard training with the staff in her school. However she later came up with an idea- I would work a day and a half in Port Ellen Primary and Pre-Five Unit with staff and children on the interactive whiteboards and she would do a day and half in Bowmore Primary and Pre-Five Unit with staff and pupils on ways to use a PC Tablet. On my first visit I worked with the nursery on a Promethean ACTIVboard. We did lots of different activities starting with 2paint, as this was a programme that staff and pupils were already familiar with. The children were immediately ‘hooked.’ We then used the ACTIVprimary software to decorate photographs of themselves and recorded their names, which they really enjoyed. They also experimented with adding backgrounds and drawing pictures. Before my visit I prepared some flipcharts based around traditional stories and nursery rhymes which we all discussed together before using the special ‘torch tool’ so the children could guess the pictures by seeing a small section at a time. We also looked at Musical Monsters and Number Run by Q&D Multimedia which allowed the children to be creative and learn in a fun way. Staff commented on how it was particularly beneficial for challenging individual children and meeting all their interests. Overall I feel the session went really well. Both the children and staff seemed to be motivated and inspired. On my next visit I spent about and hour in each classroom. I planned a variety of activities that the children would hopefully enjoy and at the same time show staff the potential if the ACTIVprimary software and how to actually use it. In Primary 1&2 I started off by doing ‘magic writing.’ I used a white pen on a white page so the only way the children would know what I was writing was by watching my hand movements. Then I revealed the number by using the fill tool to change the background colour. The teacher thought this was such a simple but very useful activity that she felt she could use to help develop children’s letter formations. The primary one children then used the software to decorate the photographs of themselves (the teacher had seen the nursery children doing this and thought her children would also enjoy it.) The class have been doing a topic on ‘Food’ so using the artwork of Guiseppe Arcimboldo as inspiration the primary two children used the ACTIVprimary resource library to create their own faces with different fruits, showing that the board can be used in different curricular areas. In Primary 3&4 we looked at how to use the ‘camera tool’ to add photographs into our flipcharts. They have been doing a project based around the Flay Stanley books so we added a photograph of Stanley and the children added backgrounds and drew other things. This gave them, and their teacher, a chance to experiment with all the tools. We also did a maths activity with a Space theme. The children had to make the astronaut move between pages to collect all the odd numbers they could find. This showed staff how to make objects ‘containers.’ Again it showed how the board can be used across the curriculum. The teacher thought she could set up activities for the children do when they had finished their work which would reinforce what they had been learning. We finished off by taking photographs with the digital blue camera then edited them with the special animated features. They really enjoyed this, and the teacher could so real potential for its use in future topics. Primary 6&7 worked in small groups to make flipcharts. It was amazing how quickly they picked it up. After a quick demonstration they were adding photographs, sound and even QuickTime movies! On the board the children worked in small groups to complete a sudoku challenge. I also brought my ACTIVote set so the class teacher led a maths activity using a flipchart I downloaded from the Promethean Planet website. It was amazing to stand back and watch- every child in the class was giving the activity their full attention and they were really motivated. P5&6 then joined us. They have been learning about handling data based around their healthy tuck so we did some voting on questions about healthy eating. We then looked at different ways to present the data using ACTIVote and also how you could make your own graphs using ACTIVprimary. Again everyone was completely engaged in the lesson. I really enjoyed my day and half. I found it beneficial to work with the children and staff together. I think it allowed staff to see the potential of using an interactive whiteboard in their own situation. It also created a mutual learning atmosphere- staff and pupils were learning together and people could share things they and found out. It is really nice that Kathleen and myself have had the chance to share our skills within each other’s establishments.
I often feel really disappointed when you see primary children being ‘taught’ ICT skills they were competently and independently displaying at three/four years old in pre-five. Kirsteen Carmichael has described some examples from one of her early years settings. This again highlights the skills pre-school children are developing through the exciting opportunities early years staff are providing.
Today I filmed the children playing co-operatively with others during free play. There were examples of every child doing something including sharing resources at the art table, helping each other solve problems at the computer, playing an imaginative game together and taking turns on the interactive whiteboard.
We then had a discussion at the end of the session when we all viewed the ‘movies’ together on the whiteboard. The children were all engaged in the discussion because it was focused around themselves and what they had been doing well. It was meaningful and fun for them all and also good for specific children who don’t interact much with others or find it more difficult to share etc.
Today the pre-school children designed their own invitations for our Grandparents/Special Person Day using 2Publish. It was great for developing their mouse control. I scribed the message and some children attempted to type their own names, others preferred to print then write their name/experiment with symbols. It was a simple activity that was easily differentiated to accommodate for individual children’s skills and interests.
Today my pre-school group of children were learning about different shapes in the environment. We had a circle time in the nursery first and talked about some of the different shaped objects we could find. Afterwards the children were given the digital camera in groups of three to go around the school and take photographs of different shaped objects they could find. It was an exciting and motivating way to learn about shapes. The children were also developing their skills in using the camera, they had a sense of ownership of their learning, they were co-operating with each other and they were becoming familiar with different places within the school and meeting other staff members. Next we plan to go around the local area and take photographs of shapes in the environment.
September 18th, 2006 by catherinemacmillan in Whiteboards · 1 Comment
I know there are mixed feelings about the use of interactive whiteboards, but from my experience of using a promethean activboard in the pre-five unit I have found it to be a fantastic asset for both staff and pupils.
I have been using the board now for about a year and a half but still get amazed by the children and what they can do! Overall it has been really good for encouraging children to work co-operatively compared to using a desktop computer. The size of the board has been good for developing both gross and fine motor skills. I also feel that a Promethean board is better for using with young children because it is good for them to be learning to use a pen and the board is not touch sensitive so when groups of children are working together it doesn’t matter if another child starts pointing at something on the screen. During our HMIe inspection last November the inspector praised the influence the activboard has had on children’s confidence in using ICT equipment, their fine motor skills and their overall development. The children just love showing each other (and adults!) what they have been doing.
It has been beneficial across the whole curriculum. We have used science simulation and infant toolkit by 2simple, Beep by Q&D Multimedia, Musical Monsters also by Q&D Multimedia, talking stories to name but a few. The activprimary software is fantastic. To begin with I though it would be ‘too much’ for the children. There were so many different tools etc, but they took to it like ducks to water. To begin with I put digital photographs of each child on and they disguised themselves to make guess who pictures. They were so motivated by the whole thing. They loved the special ‘torch’ and ‘blind’ tool which they used to reveal themselves. We then used backgrounds to make pictures and develop early handwriting skills. It was much more appealing to the whole group compared to using ordinary pencils and paper.
More recently we have been using it to make our own interactive stories. The children record their own voices, we type what they’ve said and we can add photographs and movie clips. The last story we made included photographs and movies from our bear hunt in Kilnaughton woods/beach. It was an exciting way to re-tell familiar stories and reflect on their outing.
I think it has excited parents as much as the children! We had a parent workshop last November and they had a great time. They were not only amazed at the equipment but could not believe how well their children could use it.
Myself and Trisha Boyd did a presentation at a Promethean Early Years Event in Stirling in February this year so if you are interested in finding out a bit more have a look on the promethean website. It includes a short clip of the children using the board.
We have also been using activote for the past year and have found lots of positive uses for it in the pre-five setting but I’ll talk about that another day!
During our first topic this session we did a lot of activities about our emotions. One activity we did involved the use of digital photography. During a circle time we discussed different emotions and when we experience them etc. The children then took photographs of each other displaying different emotions. We had some very dramatic poses! The photographs were displayed and we scribed the children’s comments in speech bubbles. For a change we printed the photographs in black and white. An example of the comments included “I feel happy when my dad hugs me at bed time” and “I feel sad when my mum and dad go to work.” The children enjoyed this activity and it shows that ICT can be used in all curricular areas, in this case emotional, personal and social development. The children often spend time reflecting on the photographs with each other and with their parents.
Hello, my name is Catherine MacMillan and I work in Bowmore Primary Pre-Five Unit on Islay. I became involved in ICT when the Early Years, Forward Thinking initiative was launched and then later became an Early Years Masterclasser.
I make regular use of ICT in all curricular areas and thrive on seeing the children becoming such confident users.
I’m looking forward to working with colleagues from the primary and secondary sector and sharing ideas with others.
I hope to use this blog to tell others about some of the exciting ICT activities we get up to with the ‘wee ones’ in the nursery.
I look forward to meeting everyone at SETT.
