Smartboard

One thing I got positive feedback for on this placement was my use of ICT. I found this strange becuase to me it's just very straight forward...I'm very used to using computers and have used them since I was a child.

I'd never used a Smartboard prior to this placement but picked up on how to use it straight away. My only problem being that i sometimes forgot to put the pens back in place!

One of the most useful things I found was that I could type up what 'Learning Activities' the children should be doing during the lesson the night before, highlight it in different colours so appropriate groups could easily read off what they should be doing, and put it up on the screen. This meant i didn't have to stand around writing on the white board the list of tasks.

Furthermore, it was just a total time saver because it cut down so much on the amount of photo copying i had to do. For example, instead of blowing up a piece of text to use i could just show it on the smart board.

Also, when i played classical music i could leave up media player so tha the children could see the song list. This was great becuase the children began to learn the names of some classic composers and developed a real interest for 'nice music', whereas initially they had just asked me to play 50 cent!

I could also use funny videos on you tube as a reward for good work or behaviour at the end of a lesson. For example, at the end of a lesson on shapes, i played the clip of James Blunt singing about triangles to the tune of 'your beautiful' on sesame street! Educational and fun!