What does technology mean to you?

- Mrs McKay on Technology at our Junior School 

I know that when I first heard this word (many moons ago), I thought it was related to computers alone but, as I delved deeper into the subject, I began to realise that it was one word for a myriad of things.

In the Junior School we have split Technology into different areas of learning: Digital Literacy, Internet Safety, Computer Science and Use of Technology. By doing so, the girls are able to see where and when technology is used, and opens the flood gates of discussion on whether technology is improving traditional methods of working, or in fact whether the girls could improve further on the technological developments currently in existence.

All of the above areas of Technology are taught to girls in Reception through to Year 6. In Digital Literacy, for example, our younger girls are encouraged to create text boxes and pull images in to their documents to enhance their work, and learn how to start to put a presentation together with all that this entails – from using the same font, the same colour, and so on. In the upper years, girls are introduced to spreadsheets and, most recently, creating their own podcasts (this is hopefully going to turn into a regular item on the curriculum). All of these topics involve a huge variety of skills, none more than our Mary Ward characteristic of ‘Resilience’ – it can often feel easy to give up or say ‘I can’t do that’. However, we are continually encouraging the girls to think of alternative ways to create something, to work with their peers, and to see failure or challenge as part of the learning process, saying ‘I can’t do that – yet!’ and not giving up at the first hurdle.

Internet safety is, today more so than ever, paramount in our teaching and we prioritise finding time to discuss this with the girls. With the use of smartphones and other mobile technology becoming increasingly common at younger ages, it is important that the girls are educated in how to use these devices safely. Topics range from keeping your personal information private to cyber-bulling, and the teachers at our Junior School work incredibly hard to put relevant age appropriate tasks in front of the girls to aid them.

The introduction of iPads has been a superb asset to the enhanced learning of the girls here. Thinking back to some work which the Year 6 classes created at the end of their humanities topic on World War One, the documentaries they created using iMovie were impressive. The girls were able to take their learnt knowledge, write scripts and then record voices and drag images in to create what was, in some cases, exceptionally moving pieces of work. In addition to this, various apps are used to help in the teaching of English, Mathematics and other subjects across our creative curriculum.

At present, the girls are beginning to work on their coding skills. Using ‘offline’ ideas – such as all of the individual processes involved in making something like a jam sandwich, from standing up and making your way to the kitchen, to placing one piece of bread on top of the other – they are learning that clear, explicit instructions are needed in order for their ideas to flow smoothly. Again, allowing the girls to code builds a variety of skills from computational thinking to creativity.

Technology, when used in the right way, is a superb asset to our teaching and one which the staff and girls alike thoroughly enjoy.

We have recently come across an organisation called Make Space, based in Cambridge, which looks like an excellent opportunity for Junior School pupils to gain interesting insight, and use equipment which isn’t available in normal lessons or home lives, such as 3D printing. Please visit the website for more information – a potential weekend activity for the girls.

Year 6

Year 6 pupils have been coding during IT lessons recently. The group started by doing lots of offline work to highlight the importance of clear instructions. The girls worked collaboratively in groups and then pairs to write some basic conversation, which they then transferred to Scratch.  

Year 5

Year 5 pupils had an excellent day at the National Space Centre in Leicester today - with reports coming from Mr O'Reilly to say "We've just been on a space mission to rendezvous with a comet!" The photos were sent over from Mission Control.

Year 4

Year 4 has been using Puppet Pals on the iPads to learn about the discovery of the Aztec Empire by Cortes in 1521. 

Year 3

Year 3 pupils enjoyed an hilarious lesson learning the essential basics of coding. The girls laid out step by step the instructions for making a jam sandwich - which proved more difficult than the girls expected! The next challenge will be to use instructions in coding to move objects to different locations - the girls are very excited about learning to code!

Year 2

The girls in Year 2 have been researching Mary Anning, the first fossil hunter, and have utilised the BBC website to find photographs, facts and a great film of her life. Next week the girls will continue their learning 'offline' with a visit to the Sedgwick Museum to see some of the actual fossils and an Ichthyosaur she found.

Year 1

This half term Year 1 pupils are learning about Antarctica. The Interactive White Board (IWB) gives the girls the sense that they have been transported to the Antarctic as they watch fascinating footage. This week's specific focus has been on penguins and the girls have watched clips from the March of the Penguinsdocumentary, as well as time lapse footage of penguins forming huddles against the bitter wind. As a treat we also found time to watch Pingu.

Reception

In Reception the girls have enjoyed seeing how to make the be-bots move in different directions. The group agreed a route for the be-bots to follow and used the controls to program the be-bots around the route.

The way I see it...a word from Assistant Head, Mr O'Reilly

As an A Level student in 1998 I was asked by my tutor to create an email account. "What on earth would I do with an email account?" myself and my peers pondered. We could chat in the Sixth Form common room and telephone each other easily enough to speak when not together. The concept of communicating online was in its infancy and, as I can attest, even teenagers took some convincing of the need to communicate electronically. Ask any A Level student today and, I would imagine, email will likely be at the bottom of their list of essential platforms for communication having had it's heyday in the years between. Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook, to name just a few, are seen as much cooler, more interactive, and more immediate methods of communication.

We cannot deny or resist the ever growing role that technology, particularly social media, has to play in young people’s lives - and nor should we. Whilst being conscious of the potential pitfalls and dangers of our connected world, we also have to recognise the benefits of technology in communication; from the positive impact of crowdfunding websites to the entirely distinct experience of keeping in touch with friends on the other side of the planet. So commonplace is our connectivity now, the latest trend has been to challenge yourself to 'disconnect'. The Disconnect project asked a group of 15 year olds to go offline for several weeks and many enjoyed the experience, one participant noting, "you have a weird feeling inside yourself that makes you feel happy"! Is this a trend we as adults should embrace? Perhaps we could be setting a different example for our young people when it comes to the frequency of use of social media. Take a look at the Reconnect: off-line on-life website for further inspiration.