One of my plans for next year will be to use Socrative in Literacy to assess the children's understanding of the class novel. As mentioned in module 1, Socrative can provide ongoing assessment throughout a topic and provides immediate feedback to the pupils.  Over the course of the novel I will use Socrative as a class and homework activity to assess the children's knowledge of characters, plots and other information regarding the book. I will use features such as "Short Answer" and "Multiple Choice" to check that the children have a good understanding of the novel. I will provide feedback and suggest ideas directly to the pupils using Socrative.  I think that using Padlet would also be helpful for Afl assessment for example posting a particular opinion about a character in the novel and getting the children to respond to it is an excellent way to promoting collaborative learning and self assessment.

By the end of the novel I would hope that each child had a good understanding of the novel regarding characters and plot. I would like to see them demonstrate their persuasive writing skills when discussing their views on the novel and their critical writing skills when reviewing it. 

We use i-pads twice a week for 35 minutes at a time. Each child has access to an i-pad. I would start off with a quick quiz based on previous chapters in the novel and then get the children to respond to a quote or opinion on the novel using Padlet. I would also use this format for a homework activity a
month.

I have never used the paint tool on the i-pads before and I think that the children would really enjoy this art element to the lesson. Integration is so important in the curriculum especially with the implementation of the new language curriculum subjects such as maths(2D/3D shape) and Gaeilge (dathanna) could also be included in the lesson. 

I will definitely be using this idea next year regarding the home topic. There are so many Padlet discussions that could be created around this providing wonderful learning opportunities!

The children will be given a template of a book review to use on Google Docs, they will be differentiated for SEN pupils. The children will be paired in a "Buddy System" so once the children have completed their review they will get the opportunity to view their "Buddy's" review  on Google Docs. They will be required to comment on them as to whether they agree or disagree with the writer's comments and check for punctuation or grammar mistakes.

Literacy - persuasive writing.

Grammar - punctuation.

Desired learning objectives, enable the child:
To become familiar with using Google Docs.

To express ideas and opinions through the narrative of text.

Give constructive feedback after reading a piece of text.

Resources Needed:

Google Docs Account

i-pads

class novel

interactive whiteboard

The children will each have an i-pad to complete the task. There will be a group discussion held at the end of the lesson.
Assessment of activity:

The teacher will read each review on Google Docs and give feedback to each child.

The children will take part in a collaborative assessment of group discussion at the end of the lesson to discuss any interesting points from the reviews that they read.

The child can self assess their work based on the feedback that they receive. 

Writing a report can be a boring activity for children, by using Google Docs it provides the opportunity for the children to really put their own stamp on the report such as including photographs. I like the idea of including instructions on how to present their best work, this is something I will definitely include in my lesson.

Curricular Areas - SPHE, History, P.E.

Desired learning outcomes - The pupils will be enabled to carry out research in small groups  based on healthy living guidelines from the past and today.  The pupils will also be enabled to set up a healthy living blog and contribute to it.

The pupils will work in small groups to research healthy eating and exercise guidelines in the past. They will then compare and contrast these with today's guidelines. They will also interview a parent or grandparent as part of their research. The children will explore healthy eating guidelines and try out some healthy recipes in the school kitchen. The children will also take part and try out new P.E. drills and games as part of the project. At the end of the project the pupils will present their work on the interactive whiteboard to the class. This will provide opportunity for feedback and discussion. The pupils will also become involved in creating a healthy living blog.

Storage - the pupils will use Google Drive to store their research such as text, audio and visual elements on the project. They will also send me a copy of their finished presentation to grade. During the project they can also sent me drafts of their work.

Workspace - The pupils will use Edmodo during the project to interact with each other regarding recipes they have tried e.g. would they recommend them or any changes they would make. I will also assign various P.E. games and drills to the pupils as part of their homework. They can then comment on how 
well they got on or if they had any good fitness ideas to share.

Showcase - the pupils will present their projects to the rest of the class. I will then use Wordpress to set up a class blog based on healthy living. The children will work in groups to contribute to the blog every two weeks.

Resources needed - i-pads, laptops, interactive whiteboard.

Classroom management - The children will work in group of 3 or 4 during i-pad time which is twice a week for 40 mins. It will take two weeks for every group to use the kitchen to try their recipes. 

I like the fact that the children can publish to the school blog at the end this gives parents an opportunity to view their child's work as well as the wider school community.

Purpose of Learning Path - To provide useful and meaningful information on the Irish Famine across various media forms for a senior primary class.

Class Level - 5th/6th class

Curricular Area - History and English

Use of each resource - 

(1) The 1st resource in the learning path is an article on the BBC History website based on the events of the Irish famine. There is a lot of information in this article and I would remind the children to highlight particular points of interest that the feel is important and record them. I think it would also be important to hold a class discuss on this article because it has interesting points such as "artificial famine" and "political involvement". 

(2) The 2nd resource on the learning path is a famine time line. This is an excellent resource because it provides a clear timeline of events broken down by months and years so that the pupils get a chance to see exactly how it unfolded.
(3) The 3rd resource is a film based on life around the time of the famine. I always like to include a short film into my learning paths for the visual learners in my class. This film is a very good resource because it asks questions throughout which will lead to group or class discussions.

(4) The next resource is a worksheet based on the topic. The pupils will be able to print it off on the class printer. This worksheet has very good pictures and contains questions that the children have already covered in the learning path. I particularly like the questions based on what a typical man and woman ate daily, this gives the children a real insight into how difficult life was.

(5) The last part of the learning path is a Kahoot Quiz based on the topic. Children love to complete these and it gives the teacher a chance to see how well the children have understood the topic. 

The Cúinne Baile path is a great idea and can be linked in with Aistear and the home corner. When teaching Gaeilge in particular to infants you need to have lots of ways to keep it exciting and colorful. The inclusion of rhymes, games,  songs and stories will really add to the topic. 

Proposed Activity - Internet Safety, being safe online regarding strangers on the internet.

Class Level - 5th/6th class

Curricular Area - SPHE -Stay Safe Programme

Desired learning outcomes - the pupils will become aware of how to deal appropriately with strangers on the internet. The pupils will also gain the skills necessary to keep safe and protect themselves on the internet.How topics will be addressed and implemented - 

This is a topic that is currently used in the new Stay Safe SPHE programme. The pupils will start off by having a class discussion on what they know about internet safety and how they implement this in their day to day lives. They will then recap on what they know about strangers and what to do when they encounter them. The children will be split into groups and various scenarios will be given to them regarding contact with strangers, a class discussion will then be held regarding these.

The topic will then move onto strangers on the internet and the children will listen to a story about two girls meeting another girl on the internet. At the end of the story the children will discuss what the girls did in the story and what they should do at the end. The pupils will then watch this internet safety video on youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_o8auwnJtqE.

Art: At the end of the lesson the children will work in groups to create internet safety posters to display around the school.

Classroom organisation and management: the children will be seated in groups of 4 for both the discussion and art work.

Resources: Stay Safe website, whiteboard, youtube, art materials.

The key learning points of this course for me have been focusing me on what I need to do to set up ePortfolios in my class for the coming school year. I really learned how they are beneficial for assessment for learning and assessment of learning. Before now I really did not know the difference between the two and I can now see how vital both of them are for a child's learning. I also got the chance to use and experience various digital tools during this course, Edmodo, Google Drive and Kahoot being my favourite. Google Docs is a great collaborative tool that is not only beneficial for pupils but it can be used for staff to create document sharing which is something I will be mentioning in my next staff meeting. The last key learning point for me would be internet safety and how I need to become more aware of copyright issues when I take material off the internet.

How I will use this knowledge in my classroom.

I plan to start using ePortfolios with my 5th class next year. I plan to start off using Google Docs and setting up a folder for each child and sub folders for the curriculum subjects. This will be much easier than the paper folders of work that I usually use. I also plan to use Edmodo for setting various homework assignments during the year and creating class discussions on particular topics that we are covering. I will also do lessons on internet safety and copyright.

Challenges that I will face.I will face some challenges during the school year. The main one would be getting the children used to using the digital tools and making sure that each one has an email address. I teach in a disadvantaged school so some of the children may not have access to an appropriate device to complete homework activities. I suppose my own lack of knowledge and learning as I go will also be a challenge. I have never used ePortfolios with a class before so this will also be a learning experience for me.

How I will overcome these challenges. 

I will try and get the parents on board with the ePortfolios by having a brief meeting with them at the start of the year regarding them. For the children with no access to appropriate devices I will allow them time in the morning to complete the task on a school device if they are have a problem. I will spend a lot of time setting up the ePortfolios and I will probably do another course with the pdst over the year to improve my knowledge.

The next steps in ICT in my classroom.

My next steps going forward will be to implement ePortfolios with my class. I would also like to use more ICT in my lessons for example using learning paths on the scoilnet website and more quizzes on Kahoot. I am really interested in starting a class blog on Wordpress and I think that the children would have a real interest in this.