I have completed another Blackboard Pick n Mix module, this time on 'Professional Issues' - SEND and Assessment in Computing. This helps me to complete another target from my action plan: 3. Research how computing can be differentiated and adapted for children with additional needs. As the module states, there is a range of apps, programs, and technologies to support children with additional needs. I have seen speech-to-text computers, adapted iPads, trackpads on laptops, and specialised large-font keyboards, although the module has also introduced me to new technologies. These include eye-tracking software, QR codes for quick access to websites, and a range of apps from visual timetables, to converters which can lower the reading age of a text. There are also lots of resources for teachers, from downloadable dyslexia-friendly typefaces to SEN planning apps. Below, I have included some links for supporting children with additional needs through tech. There are also specific resources and online lesson plans for teachers to use with children with special educational needs. Barefoot Computing has a whole section devoted to teaching the Computing curriculum to children with additional needs; from Scratch adapted for those with visual impairment, to sorting games and simplified ideas for using Bee Bots. There are also some interesting blogs online related to using algorithms and coding as part of explaining routine or important activities. I have linked to these below. Ultimately, all children with SEN are different, and so I will approach every child as an individual, and examine their needs and access to Computing, in isolation. The module has also taught me about the range of methods which can be used to assess Computing. Briggs et al (2008), and Black and Wiliam (2006) have emphasised the importance of formative assessment, and I have researched how Computing and tech can be used in this way. Formative assessment is a major part of Assessment for Learning (AfL), a process in which 'the teacher and child are in a process of continual review about progress’ (Briggs, 2008: 2). This approach argues that teachers should feedback to students and plan lessons based on a review of previous work. Tech can be used to take photos in lessons, record screenshots of work, record pupil polls or self-assessment data, issue questioning to the devices of groups or individuals, and much more. My GPP school did not particularly assess Computing, and I know from conversations with colleagues that this occurs in other schools as well. My KS3 placement had a very well-established framework, combining formative and summative methods in lessons, and self-assessment booklets. Children took screenshots of their work, and these were printed at the end of every lesson. The module has shown me that some schools purchase a commercial scheme which allows teachers to match progress to units of work, although I have concentrated my attention on free online frameworks. In particular, the Computing at School framework (part of which is seen below) is impressive because it clearly sets out pupil progression within the key areas of the national curriculum. Teachers can either plan from a basic framework, or use ready-prepared lessons. This could be an easier way for schools to adopt best practice in Computing when staff are not confident or suitably trained. Bibliography
Briggs, M. et al. (2008) Assessment for Learning and Teaching in Primary Schools, 2nd edition, London: Sage Publications. Black, P., William, D. (2006). Inside the Black Box: Raising Standards through Classroom Assessment, London: Kings College, Department of Education and Professional Studies. Links www.planetpda.net/blog/using-ict-to-support-pupils-with-send/ www.understood.org/en/school-learning/assistive-technology/assistive-technologies-basics www.inclusive.co.uk www.community.computingatschool.org.uk/resources/1692 www.barefootcas.org.uk/activities/sen
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