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Evidence of my capabilities in and understanding of pedagogical implications of integrating ICT into my teaching and students’ learning. 

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An example of how I could successfully integrate ICT into my students learning is through the subject of literacy and how students create their own fictional stories.
Here, I would use technology such as iPads and their accompanying applications as a format for students to write and illustrate their own narratives.

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Implementation of the ICT/Digital Technologies Curriculum 

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Implementation of the ICT/Digital Technologies Curriculum 

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As we move into an increasingly paperless world, several technologies are being taught and practiced by students for the purpose of reading and writing. Here are the curriculum links and elaborations of how this integrates with the standard Level 4 Victorian students need to learn.

English Curriculum / Level 4 / Literature / Creating literature
Content Descriptions:
- Create literary texts by developing storylines, characters and settings

Elaborations:
- Collaboratively plan, compose, sequence and prepare a literary text along a familiar storyline, using film, sound and images to convey setting, characters and points of drama in the plot

Here, Level Four students will plan, compose and sequence create a literary text by developing a storyline with its accompanying characters and settings. They will do this using film through sound and images to help convey important points of drama in the plot.

Digital Technologies Curriculum/ Level Three and Four/ :

Content Descriptions:
- Explore a range of digital systems with peripheral devices for different purposes, and transmit different types of data

Elaborations:
- Using different peripheral devices to display information to others, for example using a mobile device, interactive whiteboard or a data projector to present information

- Recognising that images and music can be transferred from a mobile device to a computer, for example using a cable to connect a camera and computer to upload images for a photo story

Students will be exploring iPads and their accompanying applications, they will use these devices to display their stories and use images and sound to add more creativity and innovation.

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Images and videos of how I would implement this in the classroom. 

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Images and videos of how I would implement this in the classroom. 

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An example of an application students can use in class are storytelling applications, such as this one titled Puppet Pals HD.

This is the introductory main page of the Puppet Pals app. Here, we can gather that students can have access to saved shows, the ability to create characters for multiple stories and an option to start a new story.

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How can students use the Puppet Pals app to create literacy texts?

Create an actor from a photo.

Use a photo as a backdrop for your storytelling.

Zoom and rotate your characters using two fingers

Provides a wide variety of creative characters to download (including famous talk show hosts and politicians)

Write accompanying text as narration to the story.

Multiple possibilities of story creations/ settings/

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Here is a Youtube Video explaining how students can use the application and its features for literacy learning.

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Links to Relevant Educational Literature

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Links to Relevant Educational Literature

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Arguably, there needs to be more research in the field of technology and its positive impressions on student learning as technology is a somewhat new implementation in society.

However, in considering the significance of technology use for students in the primary school, it is worth noting that studies (Marsh, 2004) of children’s interactions with digital texts in informal settings have highlighted the "playfulness, agency, and creativity" with which young children express when they may engage with digital texts.

Children are growing up in an an increasing "paperless" world, and the traditional way of storytelling through books has been transformed into different ways of consuming and comprehending texts. E-books, Kindles and Ibooks are just some of the few ways we in the twenty first century can read.

Studies suggest that students learn more from "printed texts but show more motivation and felt they personally learned more" from those online (Tancock and Segedy 2004).

A further set of studies examines children’s experimentation within more open-ended opportunities to engage in digital environments, highlighting the "relationship of children’s identities and digital practices to be positive" (Schiller and Tillett 2004).

Todays children are excited with how technology is shaping their futures and learning. Teachers practicing and implementing ways of using technology for literacy learning is important knowledge for students to execute as they may be using it for years to come.

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Provide evidence of your capabilities in and understanding of pedagogical implications of teaching computational thinking to primary students. 

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An outline of ideas for future practice 

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An outline of ideas for future practice 

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A group of educational researchers (Kotsopoulos et al, 2017) specialising in the subjects of mathematics and programming wrote in 2017 "Digital Experiences in Mathematic Education". This book features an in depth chapter on the "Pedagogical Framework for Computational Thinking".

The goal of the chapter was to propose a Computational Thinking Pedagogical Framework (CTPF). This includes four pedagogical experiences for exploration and technological understanding. They are:
1. Unplugged
2. Tinkering
3. Making
4. Remixing

Technology is interwoven in virtually all aspects of daily living including that of our students. As educators, we need to teach not only the core subjects of numeracy and literacy but also the important subjects that are entwined in their educational and personal lives such as digital technologies.

In this section, I will be outlining how each of the four pedagogical experiences as part of the CTPF can be implemented in the classroom. This will be done through an inquiry and design activity involving Level Six Mathematics.

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Implementation of the ICT/Digital Technologies Curriculum 

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Implementation of the ICT/Digital Technologies Curriculum 

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Mathematics Curriculum / Level 6 / Measurements and Geometry / Geometric Reasoning

Content Description:

Investigate, with and without digital technologies, angles on a straight line, angles at a point and vertically opposite angles. Use results to find unknown angles (VCMMG231)

Elaborations:

- Identifying the size of a right angle as 90° and defining acute, obtuse, straight and reflex angles

- Measuring estimating and comparing angles in degrees and classifying angles according to their sizes

Students start their Geometry activity without the aide of technology, when they do integrate ICT into the other parts of their activity they will compare how technology integration is beneficial to their learning. The activity involves leading people/objects through obstacle courses using explicit instructions (forwards, backwards, 45 degrees to the left etc.)

Digital Technologies Curriculum / Level 5-6  / Creating Digital Solutions

Content Description:

Develop digital solutions as simple visual programs

Elaborations:

- Following a design and creating a solution that is interactive, using a visual programming language, for example creating a quiz that provides feedback on responses and allows the user to try again

Students will use simple visual programs and programming language to design an interactive and visual way of leading an object through an obstacle course using measurement and geometry knowledge.

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In this section, I will be describing a design activity for Year Six students that involves the two subjects of Design Technologies and Mathematics.

The aim of this activity is to help student lead others through an obstacle course using geometry and spoken instructions.

Using the Computational Thinking Pedagogical Framework (CTPF), this design activity will be split into four parts.

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1. Unplugged
First, we need an introductory activity that is implemented without technology.
Students will be in groups of three and will each make an obstacle course using three hoola hoops.

Students will take turn using instructions to lead their classmates through their obstacle course, instructions are limited to:

Forward (by __ steps)
Backwards (by ___ steps)
Turn at a ____ angle (left or right)

Students won't be blindfolded for safety reasons but have to move only the instructions they are given. The student giving the instructions will be successful when the other two students in their group step into the three hoola hoops.

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Tinkering experiences commonly involve taking things apart and engaging in changes and/or modifications to existing objects/subjects. The students experienced this without the use of technology previously, but now we need to use our knowledge during the unplugged experience into further practice.

Students here will be programming code, they won't be constructing their subject (obstacle course), but rather will be exploring the implications of changing instructions.

Coding is a perfect example of the hands-on aspect of tinkering with computer programs, "code allows for students to easily see the connection between changes in the program and the outcome and even allows students to immediately know an error has occurred when the program does not execute or run." (Sneider et al. 2014).

Scratch is an introductory coding system for students, it is a visual graphic computer programming software that involves a block coding method (e.g run, repeat, stop, move etc.)

Here, students will create a piece of code that represents their previous obstacle course. They will use the instructions in the unplugged experience to create a visual image of their course, drawing circles to mimic hoola hoops.

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Here is a video of students explaining Scratch!

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Next, students will need to building a course using materials and tools that the students can handle and manipulate. Making experiences, require a deeper knowledge than tinkering where objects are usually already constructed or pre-existing.

In the making stage, students will be required to problem-solve, make plans,  reflect, communicate effectively together as a team. Often making involves practices such as prototyping and testing.

Many open source programming applications that utilise a visual-based block program/code are downloadable onto mobile devices such as tablets and cell phones. Here in this stage, students will be creating a course of their own design where they have to lead a ball from start to finish.

They need to include angles (obtuse, acute etc) as part of this for added difficulty and mathematical practice.

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According to Resnick et al. (2009), programmers and project managers are constantly "borrowing, adapting, and building on one another’s ideas, images, and programs. Over 15% of the projects. .. are remixes of other projects". This is a great opportunity for students to try out and discuss other students obstacle courses and adapt theirs as they deem fit.

To conclude this activity, students will reflect on which activity (Real-life course on the grass, Scratch, Programming) helped them visualise measurements and angles and why.

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Links to Relevant Educational Literature

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Links to Relevant Educational Literature

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In this portfolio entry, we introduced the Computational Thinking Pedagogical Framework that consists of four experiences:
1. Unplugged
2. Tinkering
3. Making
4. Remixing.

This framework is intended to provide an introductory lens for structuring and learning Design and Digital Technology.

The pedagogical way of teaching using the CTPF is rooted in social constructionism theories such as those proposed by Lev Vygotsky (1978), specifically his zone of proximal development:
Unplugged - Task that the learner cannot do without assistance (i.e giving oral instructions to a learner who needs to navigate an obstacle course using appropriate mathematical concepts)
Tinkering - Using technology and computational thinking to assist the learner (using Scratch)
Making and Remixing - The learner now has more knowledge on measurements and angles thanks to scaffolded computational thinking.

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Provide evidence of your capabilities in and understanding of pedagogical implications of one other aspect of the Design & Digital Technologies Curriculum.

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It is important to remind students that when they are online, private information like their full names, date of birth, contact information and where you live are like the "keys to your house, be careful with them"!.

The Be Secure section on how to be an eSafe kid includes:
- Keeping personal information private
- Tips for sharing photos and videos
- Spending money online

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Teachers have a duty of care to take responsible steps to protect students from any harm, including those that may be encountered within the online learning environment.

The Be Safe section on becoming a eSafety Kid is all about providing students with engaging information on how to be safe online. This includes:
- Cyberbullying
- Privacy Settings
- Installation safety

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According to the Department of Education (2020) "Teachers have a duty of care to take reasonable steps to protect students from any harm that should have reasonably been foreseen, including those that may be encountered within the online learning environment."

Whilst advances in technology have created engaging opportunities for students learning, they also present significant challenges. The Australian Government eSafety department has many online resources for students, their parents/guardians and classroom teachers.

Working alongside IT teachers at school and their recommendation, I would create a lesson plan where students can explore the "eSafety kids" website so they can be an "eSafe kid" and earn their badge.

The site has four learning options:
1. Be Safe
2. Be Curious
3. Be Kind
4. Be Secure

I will be focusing on the first option "Be Safe and Be Secure" as it aligns with the curriculum content description in the previous entry.

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Digital Technologies Curriculum / Level 5 and 6 / Data and Information.

Content Description:

1. Plan, create and communicate ideas, information and online collaborative projects, applying agreed ethical, social and technical protocols (VCDTDI029)

Elaborations:
Applying safe practices while participating in online environments, for example checking the default privacy settings to ensure maximum protection of personal details, being aware of online filtering techniques and policies used at school and at home

Students will be learning alongside their teacher (continuing their technological education) how to be secure and safe whilst participating in online their environments. The Australian Government and the Department of Education have provided wonderful and insightful resources on how to implement new modern pedagogies in schools with a focus on protecting our students.

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There are individuals who see the current use of digital technology in the Australian/State curriculums as inappropriate in the classroom, the argument being that an uncritical use of technology is potentially harmful.

This portfolio entry focuses on the modern pedagogical take on students participation in physical and digital spaces and what balance I think students should be exploring.

As a teacher, I believe that learners who have the opportunity to participate and overlap their learning through digital and physical spaces are at a great advantage in this evolving digital world. However, I do have my reservations on implementing technologies in every aspect in my students day-to-day learning at school. Unfortunately the underlying issue I have is the trust in my students using and participating in online environments with safety and appropriateness.

Personally, when I was a child primary school, teachers found it hard to navigate the safe and ethical practices of students using computers. Keeping a watching eye and supervising every students use of "free time" or even subject work was hard. As a student I personally experienced ill use of technology from other classmates in my class, being exposed to very inappropriate information and online environments.

Here, I will be navigating the collaborative teaching pedagogies I can implement in my classroom so my students are safe and using their technology accordingly to policies and standards.

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Links to Relevant Educational Literature

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Links to Relevant Educational Literature

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Education is experiencing unprecedented change, particularly in the area of digital pedagogies, learning tools/spaces and student engagement.

Many students’ have communicated their preferences for the use of technology in effectively assisting their learning, however "teachers remain reluctant" (Kolikant, 2012) to utilise these technologies in their classrooms. The complexity associated
with the new emergence of modern pedagogies is challenging within itself. This is especially prevalent for teachers when it comes to navigating "educational polices" (Loveless, 2011), censorship, "filtering/blocking" (Brown, 2012), and protecting students online safety.

Whilst students are seemingly ready to embrace such technologies in their learnings teacher sceptism needs to be changed. Educating themselves and their students on applying safe practices while participating in online environments (VCDTDI029) is the best way to improve their capabilities in understanding these pedagogical implications.

As a pre-service teacher in the age of social media, learning how I should protect my personal information from others was such an important lesson for me in school that I need the educate my students on for their health and wellbeing.

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Section One
Marsh J. ( 2004) The techno-literacy practices of young children. Journal of Early Childhood Research 2(1), (pp. 51-66).

English - Curriculum - Victorian Curriculum. Victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au. (2021). Retrieved from:
https://victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au/english/english/curriculum/f-10

Technologies - Curriculum - Victorian Curriculum. Victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au. (2021). Retrieved from:
https://victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au/technologies/introduction/about-the-technologies

Marsh J. ( 2004) The techno-literacy practices of young children. Journal of Early Childhood Research 2(1), (pp. 51.

Tancock S. and Segedy J. ( 2004) A comparison of young children’s technology-enhanced and traditional responses to texts: An action research project. Journal of Research in Childhood Education 19(1): (pp. 58).

Schiller J. and Tillett B. ( 2004) Using digital images with young children: Challenges of integration. Early Child Development and Care 174(4): (pp.401).

Section Two

Donna Kotsopoulos, Lisa Floyd, Steven Khan, Immaculate Kizito Namukasa,  Sowmya Somanath,  Jessica Weber, Chris Yiu. (2017) A Pedagogical Framework for Computational Thinking. Digit Exp Math Educ.

Mathematics - Curriculum - Victorian Curriculum. Victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au. (2021). Retrieved from:
https://victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au/mathematics/curriculum/f-10

Technologies - Curriculum - Victorian Curriculum. Victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au. (2021). Retrieved from:
https://victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au/technologies/introduction/about-the-technologies

Sneider, C., Stephenson, C., Schafer, B., & Flick, L. (2014). Exploring the science framework and NGSS: Computational thinking in the science classroom. The Science Teacher, 38(3), (pp.10–15).

Resnick, M., Maloney, J., Monroy-Hernandez, A., Rusk, N., Eastmond, E., Brennan, K., et al. (2009). Scratch: Programming for all, Communications of the ACM, 52(11), (pp. 60–67).

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Section 3
Technologies - Curriculum - Victorian Curriculum. Victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au. (2021). Retrieved from:
https://victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au/technologies/introduction/about-the-technologies

Australian Government (2020) eSafety kids, eSafety Commisioner
https://www.esafety.gov.au/kids/I-want-help-with/personal-information-online

Kolikant YB. 2012.  Using ICT for school purposes: is there a student-school disconnect? Computers and Education (59):  (pp.907– 914).

Loveless A. 2011.  Technology, pedagogy and education: reflections on the accomplishment of what teachers know, do and believe in a digital age. Technology, Pedagogy and Education  (20): (pp 301– 316.)

Brown B. (2012).  Student voices and digital technologies in Australian school education. In  Student Reactions to Learning with Technologies L Perceptions and Outcomes.