TV in class

During my time spent in Primary schools, I have been awestruck by the calming effect of television and witnessed it being used in several roles; as reward, as pacifier, as teaching substitute and as time-filler.  However, I feel I have not consistently witnessed television being used to its fullest potential; as a rousing teaching tool.  I aim therefore, to discuss how and why televisual texts can be used to enhance children’s literacy abilities.  I therefore include an except of my recent assignment which discusses some criticisms and  advantages of using television in primary schools.

Televisual texts are often used to give children an insight into new worlds or cultures, often described as “a window on the world” (Shaw and Robertson, 1997, p.17).  This asset has been criticised in draconian fashion as the “replacement of direct experience by a unified mediated experience can leave people disconnected from reality” (Shaw and Robertson, 1997, p.17).  Using televisual texts does not however assume to be a substitute for real-life experience but, like any text, is used to inform and inspire.  Televisual texts offer the chance to go beyond our limitations of finance, time-travel and space-travel to portray other worlds and times. 

Pedagogically speaking, the biggest criticism directed at using televisual texts in the classroom is the effect it may have on reading print.  Winn advocates the importance of books by stating;

…reading engrosses, but does not hypnotise or seduce the reader from his human responsibilities.  Reading is a two-way process: the reader can also write; television viewing is a one-way street; the viewer cannot create television images. (Robinson, 1997, p.5 cited Winn, 1985, p.106)

The complexity involved in reading televisual texts suggests children are not ‘seduced’ but are actively engaged in reading television.  This would be further avoided by teaching media literacy.  Winn’s argument also fails to recognise the potential benefits of children making their own videos in the classrooms, although perhaps the technology wasn’t so accessible at the time of her writing.  Nonetheless, drama has long been a feature of the National Curriculum.

Some, like Trelease, see “television as the major stumbling block to literacy” (Robinson, 1997, cited Trelease 1984, p.97).  However, television can arouse a great enthusiasm for children to become literate.  Television provokes a vast array of emotions more naturally than books, and can consequently be used in conjunction with books to help lower achieving students engage in writing and reading print.  As Evans (2004) shows in relation to Harry Potter, the plethora of films and other tie-ins are not stopping children reading the books. Browne (1999) agrees that conversely, television adaptations increase interest in the original source material, which acts “as acknowledgement of the existence of links between different types of texts” (p.75).  I feel this demonstrates how televisual texts are bringing literacy up-to-date. 

While books are essential to our cultural heritage, which needs to be passed to new generations (Robinson, 1997), at Primary level we need to start by stimulating enthusiasm in literacy.  A good way to do this is by using television, as this reflects texts used in real-life.  This does have perceived drawbacks.  As Himmelweit’s (1958) study suggests, children could choose television in favour of books.  Himmelweit’s study showed, that while the amount of time spent reading books fell when children studied televisual texts, it was not consistent for all students and depended on numerous factors.  This leads back to my original dissension of the ‘effects debate’ as everyone is unique and brings different experiences to text reading.  Browne’s study (1999) for example, revealed that when asked to express preference between books and video, the results were almost even. Televisual texts therefore need to be used in personalised and differentiated ways to appeal to individuals and classes.  Their advantage is that they can be read on different levels of understanding by different individuals, which can lead to a vast array of tasks based on the text.

With the large emphasis on phonics in the current curriculum, children do not rely on books as their sole source of reading development.  The other main reason for using books is therefore story-telling, a craft at “the heart of the education of young children” (Dunn, 1977, p.156).  Televisual texts offer a different narrative experience from books, which may engage a wider range of pupils. They can enable students to creatively “identify how...plot, narrative structure and themes are developed” (National Curriculum, p.53).  Televisual texts can add to what Lathey (1999) describes as “a varied reading diet…[which will]…positively influence children’s understanding of complex ideas across the curriculum.” (p.52) Tasks could include allowing children to compare the affordances of televisual texts with written texts (Evans, 2004, p.27), to make posters for the film of the book, a debate on whether the book would make a good movie, (Benton and Fox, 1985, p.70) or to discuss different people’s ideas of how a book should be visualised in a film adaptation.  Browne (1999) suggests televisual texts can expand “children’s vicarious experiences through the use of a range of forms of text.” (p.20) By being made aware of a range of texts children can discuss the merits of each.  More importantly though is that children’s programmes often have what Robinson (1997) refers to as numerous ‘secondary texts’ such as books or comics.  “These secondary texts have a particular mediating role in terms of highlighting awareness of intertextuality” (p.35). Televisual texts can inspire the reading of related texts and therefore meaning is supported in a range of diversified ways.

An important limitation of using televisual texts in schools is that highlighted by Lankshear and Knobel’s study in 1996-97 of Australian schools’ use of television.  They found there was a large number of “teachers with little experience of new technologies trying to integrate them efficiently and meaningfully into classroom practices.” (2003, p.67).  There are dangers of teachers using televisual texts if they aren’t used critically with structured tasks to develop understanding.  This, in part, accounts for my observations of television being used as a pacifier.  A possible reason for this is the lack of curriculum support and necessary training which exists for teachers.  Currently in the National Curriculum (1999), there is only one reference to use of televisual texts in Literacy, that being an ICT opportunity to study how moving images are used to “convey meaning and emotion” (p.54). Browne (1999) highlights that while OFSTED and policy makers “have not actively criticized the use of television…[they]…have not shown a commitment to use of the medium” (p.25). One reason for the lack of focus of televisual texts in the curriculum (apart from a possible social outcry) could be the difficulty in assessing children’s ability and progression.  As Evans (2004) suggests, televisual texts “present robust demands in terms of describing progress in reading” (p.22). Interpreting meaning is subjective and therefore causes challenges in assessing progression.  Though improving the reading of televisual texts does not lend itself to assessment, doing so can help to inspire children to progress in assessable areas, such as writing stories, if they are made aware of elements such as “plot development, characterization, time and discourse.” (Robinson, 1997, p.185)

There are, of course, many ways in which televisual texts can aid children’s literacy development.  Televisual texts are typically used in primary schools to support foundation subjects (most commonly history in my experience). Being able to read television is therefore an essential skill required by children and highlights the cross-curricular link available with literacy.  For example, children could discuss how elements of content, camera angles, scripting etc affect historical viewpoints.  

Using televisual texts in school can also help to strengthen ties to home.  When watching television at home, carers can interact with children using techniques learnt in the classroom to deepen understanding of texts.  This is vital in children’s development as Murphy (1983) found in her research which showed “young children tended to talk more about programmes they had watched with someone else who…had a shared frame of reference” and therefore “the themes of the programmes watched would be extended and built on”  (Browne, 1999, p.39 cited Murphy, 1983). By reflecting these experiences at school, teachers can be seen to moving away from “the notion that school is somehow remote from the everyday world” (Wray, 1995, p.66).  The hope therefore is that children will engage more because they can make links between the two environments.

A further point is that televisual texts can be beneficial to learners with English as an additional language (EAL).  I found that such texts had universal appeal when teaching English to non-natives as students relate to and anticipate watching television much more highly than other texts.  Kuppens (2007) undertook an empirical study of media use on vocabulary acquisition amongst Flemish students in their final year of Primary School.  The study revealed that those who frequently watched English programmes with subtitles had significantly improved scores on vocabulary tests.  Using televisual texts in English classrooms with EAL students could prove difficult due to the varying levels of English abilities that exist.  Using subtitles could help to anchor meaning for students and allow them to understand language affected by accent or dialect.

In summary, used effectively, in moderation and with confidence, televisual texts have numerous assets, which Evans (2004) summarises when she writes;

…teachers should have the confidence to…take an interest in children’s out-of-school literacy practices through regular discussion in class…look for opportunities to allow all class members to contribute what they already know about storytelling…allow children to benefit from being experts about aspects of popular culture…structure writing activities which encourage collaborative work and enable the kind of talk that allows children to retell their own stories to each other…emphasise the importance of being critical about the texts children both read and write…tolerate differences in taste and in individuals’ preferred modes of creativity…involve parents and carers as much as possible. (p.163)

The key point for me is that if children enjoy the text they are studying they will benefit from having, what Early (1960) describes as, “conscious delight” (Corcoran and Evans cited Early, 1961, p.10) and will therefore be considered a “good” reader  (Corcoran and Evans, 1961, p.10).

 

References

BROWNE, N. (1999) Young children’s Literacy Development and the Role of Televisual Texts, New York: Falmer Press

Department for Education and Employment (with Qualifications and Curriculum Authority) (1999) The National Curriculum: Handbook for primary teachers in England. Norwich: HMSO

DUNN, G. (1977) The Box in the Corner; television and the under-fives, London: Macmillan Press

EARLY M.J. (1960) Stages of Growth in literary appreciation. English Journal. 49 pp.161-167 IN CORCORAN, B. and EVANS, E. (Ed.) (1961) Readers, Texts and Teachers, Milton Keynes: Open University Press

EVANS, J. (Ed.) (2004) Literacy Moves On; Using popular culture, new technologies and critical literacy in the primary classroom, London: David Fulton Publishers

HIMMELWEIT, H.T. and OPPENHEIM, A.N. (1958) Television and the Child; An empirical study of the effect of television on the young, Oxford: Oxford University Press

KUPPENS, A. The effects of the use of English media on English vocabulary acquisition: an empirical study with Flemish youngsters, Tijdschrift voor commumicatiewetenschap, 2007, volume 35, issue 4, pp.325-336, available from:

http://apps.isiknowledge.com/InboundService.do?Func=Frame&product=WOS&action=retrieve&SrcApp=360&UT=000254644600006&SID=V2eiB67cHN21EF2fg4H&Init=Yes&SrcAuth=SerialsSolutions&mode=FullRecord&customersID=SerialsSolutions&DestFail=http%3A%2F%2Faccess.isiproducts.com%2Fcustom_images%2Fwok_failed_auth.html

[accessed 1 December 2008]

LANKSHEAR, C and KNOBEL, M (2003) New Literacies; changing knowledge and classroom learning, Berkshire: Open University Press

LATHEY, G (1999) A sense of time and place: literature in the wider curriculum.

In GOODWIN, P. (Ed.) The Literate Classroom, (pp. 52-57) London: David Fulton Publishers

MURPHY, C (1983) Talking about Television: Opportunities for Language Development in Young Children, London: IBA IN BROWNE, N. (1999) Young children’s Literacy Development and the Role of Televisual Texts, New York: Falmer Press

SHAW, J. and ROBERTSON, C. (1997) Participatory Video; A practical guide to using video creatively in group development work, London: Routledge

ROBINSON, M. (1997) Children Reading Print and Television, London: Falmer Press

TRELEASE, J. (1984) The Read-Aloud Handbook, Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin IN ROBINSON, M. (1997) Children Reading Print and Television, London: Falmer Press

WINN, M. (1985) The Plug-in Drug (second edition) Harmondsworth: Viking Penguin IN ROBINSON, M. (1997) Children Reading Print and Television, London: Falmer Press

MMORPGS

I was interested by this article from the BBC relating to people queueing to buy an expansion pack for the MMORPG "World of Warcraft".  

My immediate response was one of shock at the level of obsession some people seem to have for such games.  I am extremely critical of the lack of social interaction that such games offer.  In a society where it seems new generations have lost the ability to talk face-to-face with each other in a polite and respecting way, why are people becoming more and more obsessed with online interaction.  I found it rather ironic that one man interviewed claimed the game was socially "bloody brilliant" due to diversity of people from different countries and cultures that you could 'meet'.  I would argue strongly with this comment for several reasons, although admittedly I have a lack of knowledge on the medium, having never played it.  I would suggest that when two individuals of different nationalities 'meet' they will communicate only about their position in the game, rather than having a conversation one might have face-to-face on more important topics.  Such a game therefore offers players the option of escapism by giving them the opportunity to avoid dealing with real issues or problems while quenching a basic human thirst for belonging.

One of those interviewed cited the friendliness of the environment to be one of the main reasons for playing.  Perhaps these individuals who may be isolated by society because of their appearance, like these poor individuals, are involved in the communities created by MMORPGs to get acceptance and belonging.  It was however, encouraging to hear the same man say that the game had been the basis for many strong friendships (including his current girlfriend) as he had physically met the people he had previously met online.  This does however led to concerns of safety due to the faceless anonymity offered by the internet. 

I would be interested to learn more about MMORPGs but feel my criticisms of them will always remain.  In my mind, there seems to be a sense of mindless acceptance that programmes such as Facebook and World of Warcraft offer a substitute for social interaction.  There also seems to be an element of control exerted by such programmes.  Perhaps I am too critical to question what the creators of such programmes gain.  While it could be argued that they are created by their users, somebody somewhere is making a lot of money.  Businesses are inevitably fully aware of the opportunities offered by these games and the obsessed audience which could consume their products.  I would not be surprised if there was a McDonalds or Starbucks on World of Warcraft already, they seem to have the monopoly on Earth.

I recommend this episode of South Park to anyone with similar concerns (this is a short excerpt but catch it if you can)

IWBs

In response to the article 'Whiteboards under the microscope', I would like to express my lack of surprise that "the boards are having no discernible impact on children's test scores".  To my mind, IWBs are merely another tool which can be used by teachers to deliver lessons.  While IWBs can provide the opportunity to make lessons more creative, or least make it easier for teachers to be creative, there surely could not have been any expectations that they would improve children's learning potential.  I was therefore very surprised to read that "around 85% of teachers believed the whiteboard would improve children's scores."

I agree with the article when it states that teachers would benefit from further professional training to maximise the potential of this medium, but I would argue that this is not the main flaw to IWBs.  I suggest that the IWB add to the plethora at the teacher's disposal and therefore creates a sense of bewilderment for the teacher.   From my observations, faced with such a realm of resources, teachers consider using the IWB to entertain first, and to educate second.

IWBs are very exciting and I am looking forward to using them, but I am under no illusion that by throwing thousands of pounds at a problem or by using the latest technology, educators can improve grades.  Children are so far advanced in terms of ICT in comparison to their teachers, that they are not impressed or in awe of the programmes used by teachers on IWB.  Is this what that 85% of teachers mentioned earlier expect?  Children learnt for centuries without IWBs, why would they suddenly improve their ability when faced with interactive technology?  As a new technology, it will take a while for the effects of them to be seen as teachers develop their effective inclusion in the classroom.

I don't intend to sound negative about IWBs as I can see the many benefits they have, some of which have been highlighted here, for example, "Children can be directly involved in whole class teaching to show what they know and can do," and that teachers can more easily manage their work load.  I am looking forward to using IWB during my initial school based training but am sceptical of the amount of hope that seems to be pinned on them.  One final example of this scepticism is exasperated from the article mentioned above which states "the strongest indicator of success (of IWBs)...is teachers' unwillingness to move from a classroom with the technology to one without".  While the article sees this an indicator for success I would argue it shows an over-reliance on the tool and prevents teachers from planning lessons and being creative in other ways.  As teachers become reliant on IWBs, lessons can become repetitive and children can become indifferent to the tool.

References:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2006/jun/20/elearning.technologyhttp://eduwight.iow.gov.uk/curriculum/whiteboard/images/IWBReportIoWColour.pdf

evolution

mr bill bailey highlights the dangers of relying on ict in the future

Science blog

I've set up a blog to follow our science experiment. See it here, not here.

In response to the entry on Monty's blog, Oct 30, I would like to reflect on the way schools have picked up on the importance of ICT in Primary schools.

While it has been claimed that schools have been slow to adopt new technologies and are "ignoring the exciting new Information and Knowledge Societies which prevail outside the school gate" (primaryblog, 2008) we perhaps have to consider what we are expecting our students to learn.  Do we want them to become fervent ICT users, absorbed in a cyberspace where they don't need social skills? Do we want to give them the necessary skills to master ICT and keep on top of this dynamic industry? (I'd argue that those who want to do this will do so outside of a school environment) Or do we merely want our students to understand and be able to read new technologies and question everything they encounter?  The last point is crucial , as Evans (2004) suggests, “children must be challenged to respond to texts in a critical manner, to use critical literacy as a tool for asking questions such as who makes rules, who controls and holds power, who devises justice and who creates and writes knowledge.” I would suggest therefore that children need to have some form of Media education as early as possible to create a society which has a greater understanding of reading multimedia texts and are aware of growing problems associated with ICT such as cyber-bullying and internet fraud.

There is inevitably an age old problem of lack of time in the curriculum to squeeze in media education and ICT lessons and therefore, according to some, the use of ICT in education has suffered.  Another contributing factor is that "effective change requires a critical mass of teachers who really understand the potential of ICT as an educational tool to force change." (primaryblog, 2008) While there may be a lack of teachers who feel confident and have the skills to use ICT, this could be said of any subject.  In any school, there are specialists in English, Art, Science and all areas, the key arguably comes with a broad and balanced curriculum.  Children will always be one step ahead in terms of ICT use.  Our current school system which sees the teacher as the sole source of knowledge and power in the classroom is detrimental to student's progression in ICT.  We need to accept that our students probably know more than us when it comes to ICT, so we should harness their knowledge and use it to progress every body's learning.  

In my observations during my SBT, the use of ICT was at an adequate level.  Of course, we would love to give students more opportunities to use cutting edge technology just as we would like to read all our favourite books to our students, cover all areas of science and get our students to be mathematical prodigies, but all we can do is give our students the base and tools to develop by themselves.

References;

Primary blog, October 30 2008

Evans, Janet; Literacy Moves On; Using popular culture, new technologies and critical literacy in the primary classroom, 2004, David Fulton Publishers,

ICT and my CTM in KS1 of SBT1 (and other acronyms)

Following the serial week in our first placement school I wanted to reflect on some of the experiences I've had with ICT.  

Some have been good (for example, the amount of free resources available on sites such as sparklebox), some bad (a musical programme where you clicked on horses to make them make sounds so you can layer a song), and some just plain ugly (a interactive DVD of a book reading programme, why can't we just read to our kids and interact with them?).

I was very glad that my class tutor is the ICT specialist for the school and therefore was using a lot of cutting edge stuff.  One such example, is, I think, skydrive where you can store up to 1GB of data and access it anywhere and also 2simple software, which has a lot of user-friendly material.  The school were using Promethean whiteboards which are different to the ones I have experienced before.  I was very impressed by how child-friendly they are and contain a huge wealth of resources and programmes that make ICT in the classroom simple, lively and jolly good fun!  

Whether, because of my CTM's role as ICT specialist or not, ICT was used abundantly during my week.  There are many elements I would like to include in my own teaching, such as using a picture of the day for the children to look at when they come in and using 2simple's software to help numeracy by getting the children to count farmyard animals.  I was pleased to see a lot of 'traditional' resources like making posters using archaic tools such as pens and crayons, and reading using actual books.  Overall, I was impressed by the balance and look forward to gaining more insight into the use of ICT in future placements.

"a tsunami of paid bilge"

Rather ironically I wanted to agree with the article from Wired magazine regarding blogging as being dated and flooded with professional use.  I agree that when blogging started it was an exciting and expressive medium, but due to the dynamics of ICT, the novelty has waned. There are a plethora of blogs nowadays and I'd suggest it's for this reason that a lot of people are put off. 

Blogging and the ability to comment on anyone's post has become a double-edged feature of the internet.   As Boutin suggests " your blog will still draw the Net's lowest form of life: The insult commenter".  The about of abuse I have read on the comments list following a video on YouTube or other such material is immense.  Why do people feel the need to insult others so vehemently.  The security of being faceless on the internet shouldn't allow people to act like thugs.

With all that in mind, I feel blogging in the classroom is still a useful exercise as it exists within the perimeters of the school environment.

http://www.wired.com/entertainment/theweb/magazine/16-11/st_essay

My Delicious account

http://delicious.com/Wootton_AC

What will future primary schools be like?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/mortarboard/2008/may/06/whatwillfutureprimaryschoo

Blogging in the Primary classroom.

My initial feelings are that Blogs are rather self-indulgent and used for gap-year travellers who want to appear conscientious because they have visited a poverty stricken country for 2 days before returning to their air-conditioned 5 star hotel for a juicy steak.

However, I can see the potential of blogs in the classroom and am excited about of starting a class-blog. I feel that children could be excited to contribute to a blog and would be interested to see each other's contributions. There would be a danger of children seeing blogging as a form of compulsory work and lose enthusiasm for it. It would therefore have to be managed and introduced in an exciting way in order to maintain interest in blogging.

Remember to look at Monty's PGCE blog regularly!
http://primaryblog.wordpress.com/