FoK+Literacy+Practices

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Table 1 is a summary of the technology use of the five students surveyed for their funds of knowledge.

It is interesting to note that of the five students, Nathan is the biggest user of technology. He is also the only student not attending a Geelong based school. Another point of interest is that the least interaction with technology appears to be by the only girl, Sara, but this may be attributed to a lack of knowledge pertaining to technology available to her at school. However, Sara is of interest in herself as she is proactive in her creativity through the use of technology. The other students are all boys, who use similar levels and types of technology. It is also the boys who appear most indulgent in gaming, which they iundertake for fun, they acknowledge little educational benefit at all.

The data is extrapelated as follows:
The computer, DS and Wii are the technologies Sam enjoys playing on at home; particularly playing against zombies. He believes these technologies have improved his Maths, through playing the games; countig dead zombies helps with knowing his numbers. Like most children,  Sam also watches television at home. At school there is an Interactive White Board, and digital cameras and a CD player are also available.

Harry has little interest or use in/for technology. At home he watches TV, occasionally he plays games on his Dad’s mobile phone, he listens to whatever music is playing on the radio, and he has no interest in the Internet. If he wants to research anything, he asks his father to check on the Internet or he goes to the library. He only tends to use the desktop computer at school, and this is infrequently. However, there is an Interactive White Board, digital cameras and CD players available at school, but these too are infrequently used. The only other interaction he  appears to have is via the electronic loan-out service provided by both his school and his community libraries.

====Nathan uses computers (both desktop and laptop), his DS, Wii, PS2, LCD TVs, a DVD player, cordless phones and an MP3 player at home; he loves gaming,although he does not think he learns anything because it is 'too fun to learn'. He is aware of texting and instant messaging but does not do either. At school he also has computers, CD players, and ‘flip cameras’. His classroom has an Interactive White Board and his library uses bar codes to register books loaned out to students. ====

====Sara likes technology as a form of entertainment. She watches the television, and uses the computer, her DS and iPod. Sara’s use of her iPod combined with her understanding of the computer has given her skills that allow her to download and create music, and make her own podcasts. She also plays //Moshi Monsters// on her iPod; an interactive digital pet game. she enjoys this game because it teaches her how the responsibilities associated with a pet. Unfortunately there are no records of available technology for her at school. ====

Charlie’s dealings with technology at home are purely for personal satisfaction and include the television, his PlayStation, DS and computer based games. he does not believe that he is learning anything from his gaming, he 'just plays it'. At school he has digital cameras, CD players and DVD players available, and his classroom has its own Interactive White Board.



Table 2 indicates the use of technology at the five schools where onservation sessions were undertaken.

The table indicates the differences of technologies seen used and indicated within the schools visited. nfortunately there was no terchnology observed at School D and Mrs Mauve was not forthcoming with information. At the other four schoolthere was a reasonable array of technology with no school being disadvantages compared to others.

//The teachers' use of the technologies is further discussed below. //

Unfortunately, at School A there was no technology used. However, Mrs Black usually uses the Interactive White Board for modelled and shared reading. She has attempted more interactive learning through the use of netbooks and the Interactive White Board. However, this proved problematic, due to setup time and added distractions created both by, and for the students; sometimes the netbooks do not work properly, or the students become disruptive whilst playing games on the Interactive White Board.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">At School B, Mrs Brown used an Interactive White Board and a laptop computer to begin her literacy block. She projected images produced by a digital camera on a recent excursion via the Interactive White Board, to aid in stimulating the students prior to their independant writing. She also used laptops as a listening post resource during the reading session.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> At School C, Mrs Green used the Interactive White board to display the day's timetable, enabling the students too begin organising themselves. Other technology included a CD player used as a listening post, and desktop computers used to aid in conjunction activities.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Mrs Green also used a microphone/speaker system to project her voice around the classroom, making instruction clear.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Unfortunately at School D, Mrs Mauve did not use any technology during the observed literacy session.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">The technologies observed at School E during the literacy block included Mrs Purple's laptop, a Interactive White Board, desktop computers. During the reading session, the laptop / Interactive White Board were used to enable students to view a DVD. The Interactive White Board was then used to display the worksheet activity, to assist students to understand the activity's requirements.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"> During the writing session, the laptop / Interactive White Board were used to show the purpose of the activity and its description. The laptop / Interactive White Board were further used to model writing a letter using a web based activity. Some students used the desktop computers to reinforce their letter writing knowledge, using a website activity.

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