At St Joseph’s we are fortunate to be well resourced when it comes to computers. All classrooms have an interactive whiteboard, at least four desktop PC’s and two ipads as well as access to a class set of laptops. Of course we would welcome more, but at present we have sufficient resources to meet our needs.
So what do we do with these pieces of technology?
Ipads are ideal for developing literacy and numeracy throughout the school as are many computer programs of which we are fortunate to have access.
More so than ever before computers are interactive devices. Schools have gone beyond computers being used primarily for word processing and research (although they are still more than handy for these purposes). Our older students are now involved with ‘creating content’. By this term they are blogging, glogging, programming, tweeting, website designing and collaborating to name just a few verbs. Children are rapidly becoming experts at how technology can prove beneficial to their education.
It is important that students are made aware of the uses of technology because as they move forward in their lives it is going to be an evermore presence. By the time the students at St Joseph’s reach university and the workforce it is highly likely that the manner in which they use technology will have changed dramatically.
Remember however that computers do not drive what we do at school, they support and enhance the already excellent work that is being done in the classroom.
Encourage your child to show you how they use computers at school. You might be surprised, you might learn something new yourself.
