Very insightful lesson on the internet. I knew not about the difference between a ‘network’ and ‘the internet’ before the lesson and have come away with a much better understanding of what these concepts are.

Whilst my subject knowledge of this aspect of computer science is not 100%, I know that there are websites where I can find more information on this, should I ever have to teach it: I can Google ‘cerf internet’ or visit the w3schools website.

I’m now much more equipped with lesson ideas for this topic: a great starting activity is to get children to draw what they think the internet looks like; children can learn to code through ‘Code Avengers’ and better understand the internet through interactive games like ‘erase all cats’.

This lesson gave me really good ideas about how I can use Google forms to introduce online questionnaires in my teaching. I think its a valuable cross-curricular activity that can bring link to Maths and Science. It also encourages the children to think about different opinions and you can bring in PSHE and think about respecting opinions etc.

In the year 2 class I was placed in for BSE 1, I did not see a varied use of ICT.

The IWB was used in every lesson to display the LO and SC; and, depending on the subject, the CT would enhance her input through showing pictures, example questions etc. on this. Sometimes the visualiser was used in conjunction with the IWB to model how to fill in worksheets – or, if a story was being read out, to show all of the class the pictures in the book simultaneously. I thought this was a really good way to facilitate inclusion as it meant the children within the class who had EAL could still access the text on some level.

The children were using iPads one Maths lesson to work on problems on the Maths website, Sumdog. The children were working in pairs and had clearly had experience using the iPads before as they knew how to log on and get started with the website. It was a fun and engaging lesson for them. However, this was the only use of ICT I saw in the 7 week placement. I don’t think ICT was a priority for the school’s KS1 curriculum because it did not have ICT scheduled on the weekly timetable for KS1.