For this blog, i have decided to research into a few areas that i find interesting to me and things that are close to my heart!
I am in educational studies in Swansea metropolitan so have researched and blogged out things that are in that topic that i feel people can relate to and have opinions on too!
I have also blogged about me personally and my family as they are people that are very precious to me :)
I then thought i would blog about interesting facts such as the Apple company and Steve Jobs as i find him inspirational and a pleasure to read about. I have analysed different websites as well.
Hope you all like my blog, and Enjoy!
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Thursday 20 February 2014
Bruner
Bruner
Studying more into Piaget and Vygotsky has made me want to explore
into Bruner as well. Bruner was born in 1915. He was engrossed in how different
educational approaches can encourage the development of children’s thinking. According
to Bruner there are four major components of instructional theory.
1 . The child’s predisposition towards learning
2 . The way in which body of knowledge can be
structured so that it can be readily grasped by the child.
3 . The most effective sequence in which to present
the material.
4 . The role of success and failure and nature of
reward and punishment.
Bruner then went into research three modes of thinking.
Ø Enactive Stage
Ø
Iconic Stage
Ø
Symbolic Stage
As stated when I was discussing Vygotsky, Bruner took over
the ‘ZPD’ with ‘Scaffolding’ as Vygotsky died without final explanation of how
children work in the ZPD.
The term ‘scaffolding’ was adapted to define the social role
of the social role of the adult in supporting the child’s learning.
What does
Scaffolding Provide?
- - Provides support
- - Functions as a tool
- - It extends the range of the worker
- - It allows the learner to accomplish a task
otherwise impossible
- - It is only used selectively, when needed.
Scaffolding is a great opportunity for children to outshine in
education and shape their self-confidence. Children, I believe can accomplish
whatever they want in life, but with help of the teacher/leader to direct them
in the right way. I find it fascinating researching into Piaget, Vygotsky and
Bruner and has opened my eyes to the way children learn!
References
http://www.uky.edu/~eushe2/quotations/bruner.html
"what a child can do in cooperation today, he can do alone tomorrow" - Vygotsky
Vygotsky was born in 1896 and died in 1934. His aim was to
understand the nature, evolution and transmission of human culture. However,
Vygotskys work was only available in 1970’s. He believed that individual
development count not be understood without reference to the social and
cultural context within such development is embedded.
Vygotsky was a social constructivist who thought that
children actively construct their own knowledge and understanding.
-
They learn through social interactions
-
Society provides tools for learning
-
Language is also very important in this process
Another thing that Vygotsky researched into was that children
use language and guide to plan, guide and monitor behavior. Whilst Piaget had
an ‘inside-out’ view, Vygotsky had an ‘outside-in’ view.
Vygotsky was known to have put a lot of his time and effort
into certain aspects of his research such as
- - ZONE OF PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT (ZPD)
This is the gap between what a child can accomplish
unaided and what can be achieved with help from an expert.
2. - PLAY
Play creates a zone of proximal development
of that child. That in play a child always behaves beyond an average age.
Vygotsky also claimed that play is a major source of development. Play has also been seen as a means for exercising
skills that would be later on in life.
CRITICISM
Vygotsky didn't really have any criticisms, however; as he
died at a young age Vygotsky never really finished his research on ZPD and didn't get to say how children learnt in the ZPD. BRUNER however took it on with ‘scaffolding’.
I really enjoyed researching into Vygotsky's work as looking at ZPD and what he was beginning to learn, i felt that there is a lot of truth behind it and glad Bruner carried it on with 'scaffolding'.
 |
References.
|
This is just a diagram of the ZPD, as it took me a while to understand it, and if you'r like me.. picture form is better!
Jean Piaget
“All knowledge is tied to action” – Jean Piaget.
Jean Piaget was born in Switzerland in 1896 and died in
1980. He was a trained biologist who had a constructavist approach. Piaget
covered cognitive development throughout his lifetime.
Piaget’s Key Principles:
1.
Children’s thoughts process cognitively
differently from adults.
2.
Children also actively construct their own
knowledge.
Piaget also said that there are three processes’ that
children adapt his/her mental structures.
Piaget’s active learner has been described as ‘the lone
scientists’. He also said that children go through different stages of
learning.
1.
Sensory motor period (0-2 years)
-
Examples of 1) when a child is sucking or
grasping.
-
Major development within this stage.
2.
Pre Operational stage (2-7 years)
3.
Concrete operational stage (7-11 years)
4.
Formal operational stage (11-12 years above)
Critiques.
Even though Piaget is in fact powerful to many people throughout
the years that he had been doing research he was heavily criticized by many
people. Critics leading arguments was that Piaget basically undervalued children’s
abilities. Another criticism about Piaget’s work is that he used his own
children for his experiments so they thought it was bias.
However, even though Piaget had criticism throughout his
life. He is highly influential throughout the UK.
I find it truly fascinating while researching into Piaget
work and even though I agree on the criticism’s and that he only used his own
children for his experiments I feel that what he talked out when It came to The
four stages of development that Jean Piaget spoke the truth and I agree on it.
"You don't chose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them" - Desmond TuTu
My names Regan Dalton and I am 19 years old. I live in Swansea
at the moment with 7 housemates. I love every single one, but can’t say we don’t
have our fair share of arguments!
I am one lucky enough to have a huge amount of family
members, and would like to share with you all and talk a little bit about them!
I have 1 older brother, 2 older sisters, 2 nieces and a
nephew. I also have a Brother in law and a sister in law. At one point we all
lived in the same house! I know.. crazy!
Our family is absolutely hectic but just like every other
family I suppose. My mum works in marks and spencer’s and my dad owns a nightclub.
My sister Alana is a hair dresser and her husband is a builder. My Brother
works in BMW and his wife Dominique is an Optician. My eldest sister Natalie is
a Manager at a hotel.
As you can tell there are many different job titles all
through my family, and hopefully ill progress on to be a teacher in primary
school.
Thought you could get to know my family in more detail as have
found some photo’s I would like to share with you!
My family mean the world to me, and I know for a fact they
would be there for me through thick and thin.
 |
| My brother Phill and my niece charlotte. |
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| My sister Natalie and my Nan! |
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| My dad Ian and my Nephew Henry and christmas |
 |
| My sister Alana and my Brother in Law Michael |
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| Me and my Mum Suzanne |
 |
| Me and My boyfriend Chris |
Apple Iphone
Fun Facts about Apple.
1.
Apple IPhone has higher sales than everything Microsoft
has to offer.
2.
Apple has more operating cash, than the U.S
Treasury.
3.
Apple’s co-founder sold all his shares for $800.
Today, they would have been worth US$35 billion.
4.
Apple earns $300,000 per minute.
5.
Apple sold $340,000 I Phones per day in 2012. (Apple Facts)
References
Recently I watched a documentary on Steve Jobs, which showed
me that all his hard work eventually paid off and that it wasn't easy getting
to where he did. He went through struggles like anyone else. I found it truly
fascinating watching Steve jobs explain his life and the challenges that he
faced.
Below this, i have posted a you tube link of one of Steve Jobs most inspirational speeches given, this gives you more of an insight to what he achieved and how he did it.
References
Apple Facts. (n.d.).
Retrieved from http://www.factslides.com/s-Apple
Wednesday 19 February 2014
Outdoor play
Outdoor play -
outdoor play is essential to children of all ages. This
shows children’s imaginative side, and also is great for the child physically. From
being outside pushes children to be imaginative further than normal.
Forest activities in schools are getting more popular by the
year, so I thought I would research into it and see what I can learn. Forest schools run normally on their own
ground such as their gardens/playing fields which has to be appropriate and
safe for the children. This gives a child change to become comfortable with an
outdoor approach to education and play whilst feeling safe. This is helping the
children to self- explore.
The children then have ‘sessions’ exploring the site and
establishing physical and behavioral boundaries.
Each forest school is designed to meet the needs of the
students in the class. Teamwork is a vital lesson children are taught
throughout their time out in the forest schools as they work together to make
something, or go and explore something.
Personal skills also are brought out and even the ‘quieter
children’ are making friends and enjoying themselves. Each activity also
develops intra and inter-personal skills as well as practical and intellectual
skills.
Forest schools provide so many learning curves for children
so I thought I would post a video for you to understand a bit more about forest
schools and what they do achieve.
REFERENCES
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAR_OTMxNOs
Voki
Voki.
Voki can be used in the classroom for any topic at any
level, allowing to broaden a student’s internet use. It is fun, but can be used
in an educational context as it is a very beneficial tool; if the children are
having fun they will be more involved and absorbed in what they are doing.
Voki can be used to present work orally, as well as making work
exciting for students. Children can also hear how words sound and how they are
spoken. Websites such as Voki can build children’s confidence that is possibly
shy at presenting. It can be a way of presenting technology into other
subjects.
Voki can be used for a variety of different things such as;
·
Poetry and music
Students can create poems that can be
spoken or sung by their favourite avatar.
·
Vocabulary
You could use Voki to present a vocabulary
list of words; using real speech allows students to hear correct pronunciation.
Students can stop, pause, play and fast forward at any time.
I believe that Voki is an important part of education as it
helps children use it while boosting their confidence as well.
Make your own avatar and see how you feel!
Homeschooling
Homeschooling:
Home-schooling is one of the most talked about subjects when
it comes to education. I am here to look into both positives and negative’s to
see if I can come up with a conclusion of if I agree with it or not.
The Pro’s
·
A lot of
children in schools are under pressure to ‘fit in’ by trends and ‘keeping
friends’. Home schooling provides children with safety and makes them feel a
sense of comfort as they are in their own surroundings.
· Physical freedom
-
With the child’s time no longer revolving around
school hours, homework, and the school calendar; the parents/children can now
fix their time according to their schedule that makes them happy rather than
what they have to do.
·
Religion
-
Many families believe that religion and their
beliefs are important in everyday life and throughout education. Home Schooling
gives parents the opportunity to include religion into their everyday life.
·
Not as much busywork.
-
Home schooled children can accomplish in a few
hours, what would take normally a week or more to cover in the classroom.
Children are more focused and don’t have the distractions that children would
have in the classroom. It is more of a calmed atmosphere.
The Con’s
·
Financial
Restraints
-
It is an awful lot of money and time to invest
in home schooling and can put a lot of restraints on the relationship of the
parents or the child.
·
Living outside the norm.
-
Home-schooling can be lonely for children as
they are not around other children/friends. They can also not realise what
living in the ‘real world’ is like as they are not having the same experiences
as the other children in schools. Children also will not be part of any teams
as are no longer in a school
My opinion
Personally, Home schooling would not be for me. I loved
being part of a school as I enjoyed going because friends and being in a team
as I was in the netball team raised my confidence. Being in a school made me I feel
ready for the ‘real world’ as I experienced a lot and although schools had it’s
difficult times for me; I learnt from it and feel that I have become who I am
because of it.
Technology used in schools
 |
Technology is getting better throughout the years and the
majority of the population use it in everyday life and for their jobs etc. More
and more people are being taught about and how to use technology than ever
before. Schools have not been left out of the 21st century as they
bring technology in for the children to help them learn and experience.
Technology such as I pads, interactive white boards and
projectors are commonly used in primary and secondary schools. This has proven
to be effective for the children in today’s society.
Projectors
This allows the teachers to share different activities,
videos, PowerPoint presentations deom their computer with the whole class. The
LCD projector is a MUST have in the class room in today's schools. The LCD projectors
are a powerful tool because It allows something from a computer be known to a
large group setting. A teacher/lecture can put an entire lesson together on a
presentation and actively engage their students throughout the lesson. Color is used to it can help engage the children/students more.
Interactive white boards
An interactive white board takes place on a white board but
with technological capabilities that let students interact in ways they had not
been able to do previously. Teachers can generate engaging, active lessons
using the many tools a ‘smart board’ offer. You can produce diagrams, charts
and templates on this white board. What I like about this is you can have
students come up and contribute in the lesson, and can also print everything
that is done on it in the lesson and give it as a hand-out. Teachers may
possibly need some training on the white boards but that is easily done.
I feel that technology in schools is a great idea and should
be used in classes more. It gives children confidence when they get something
right and helps them understand how to use different equipment when needed. It
helps children interact more than just listening to someone speaks at the front
of the class. Children can excel in things that they possibly wouldn't with
help of technology and is more of a ‘fun’ way for children to get involved
with.
An educational blog
For this blog, I decided to research into an educational
blog. Whilst looking on my blog list, I came across this blog that brought to
my attention.
Why do schools side-line religious education?
Throughout this blog, they are sharing their opinions and
views on how Religious Education isn’t being taken seriously enough throughout
school. It is undervalued and unappreciated.
The blog then goes on to discuss that lessons on RE are
especially necessary after leaving school, as later on in life, if not in
school we meet people from different backgrounds, traditions and religious
beliefs from across the world. “The underestimated importance of RE is also
that it helps overcome prejudices and negative stereotype. If people have a
better understanding of other faiths, they’re less likely to be dismissive of
issues that don’t concern them directly”.
I agree with this blog, and that’s why I have decided to
talk about it more in depth in my blog. In today’s society I think that people
are to east to judge other people and be prejudice. Having RE as a class in
school opens up people’s eyes to understand and appreciate different cultures
and the way they chose to live their life compared to ours.
Have a look yourself and see if you agree! :)
http://www.theguardian.com/education/mortarboard/2014/jan/15/dont-dismiss-religious-education-school
How can WORDNIK be used in an educational context?
Can wordnik be used in an educational context?
What is Wordnik?
Wordnik.com is a website that proposes a dictionary and
thesaurus content. This website permits you to search for definitions,
different words and sentences. Wordnik has thousands of words/example sentences
and exclusive words.
My opinion.
I believe this website is extremely relevant and could be
really helpful in the educational context. Whilst developing educational
knowledge and widening the mind, you can use words that you may not know but
can learn. Wordnik.com I sense offers consistent definitions if the student/person
does not have a dictionary at hand. For students, Wordnik.com is very useful
when it comes to writing an essay, repeating yourself is something that is very
common and very easy to use words you have already used. Using a site like this
can help you progress the flow of the essay.
I feel Wordnik can be used in many different educational
contexts and not only for children/students. This can be used for adults and
teachers as well. I personally would recommend and use this website myself. It
is also reliable as internet is at hand everywhere you go, on phones, laptops,
tablets, libraries etc.
Pro's and Con's of FACEBOOK
About Facebook.
Facebook is an online social networking site, which was founded on February 4th, 2004. It was created by Mark Zuckerberg with his college roommates and Harvard University students. It later became viral worldwide over a very short period of time. Facebook today, is one of the most popular visited websites on the internet. In 2012 Facebook had a value of 104 billion dollars.
I am going to give my own opinion about the positives and negatives on the social networking site FACEBOOK.
POSITIVES
Social skills
-
Social skills for children is vital in today’s world,
it can keep the child up to date with their current friends and also help them
make new friends.
-
Social networking sites can also bring a child’s
self-esteem up and help them feel less isolated as most people are on sites
such as Facebook, twitter etc.
-
Gives children a chance to express themselves,
as Children can talk about different interests.
-
Teaches a child about the internet and how to
manage it.
-
gives good media skills
-
Children also discuss school work and have group
discussions about assignments/exams.
-
Way of getting in contact with friends/family
when needed.
NEGATIVES
Bullying
Bullying
-
Cannot stop what people write on Facebook.
-
Facebook and other sites have a lot of ads and
can connect to other aspects of the internet.
-
Could possibly ‘add’ or ‘accept’ a person you
think you know when you don’t.
From personal experiences I believe that Facebook and other
social networking sites are a good thing, and used in the right way can be
really beneficial. All positives and negatives I have specified are not only
for children, but for adults too.
TED TALK: how schools kill creativity - Ken Robinson
Ken Robinson,
- How schools kill creativity.
REFERENCES
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY
- How schools kill creativity.
“All children are born as an artist” – Shakespeare
Ken Robinson in the video I have posted above talks about
schools and children when it comes to creativity. Throughout the 20 minute
video Robinson expresses how children need creativity in their life. He also
goes on to explain that in today’s society with not just children but adults
and their job that it is frowned upon to be wrong. You should make sure you get everything right as
being wrong is a bad thing. Children these days are too scared to speak as they
are worried about being told they are not right.
Robinson later then goes on to say that highly talented
creative people believes they are not ‘clever’ enough as universities are so
set on academically clever people being publicised.
“TED celebrates the gift of human imagination” even if they
are not around to see things change, the children will be. TED wants to emphasise
that creativity and imagination should be taught more in today’s society as it
may possibly help you to be who you are when you are older.
From listening to Robinson, the passion that he showed was truly
moving. More people I feel need to take creativity in to account and use it in
a positive way and children should be able to take the risk and do whatever
they want to do.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY
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