Today’s lecture took place in the form of a video conference to experience the benefits of having a lesson on an online environment, but also the downsides.

One of the main benefits is that we got to stay in our own home environment whilst still attending and participating in our lecture. For most of us this online lecture was successful, however a couple of us did experience technical difficulties. This is a disadvantage of relying on technology, it’s not always reliable. This would be a disadvantage for pupils as it would affect their lesson. We were able to participate in this online lecture in various ways. For example, sending a message, creating discussion points on a discussion page, selecting the hand raising tool if we had a point to make etc.

Below is a link to my presentation on wearable technology. The horizon report discusses wearable technology which I have summarised and discussed the use of wearable technology in classrooms.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1WNchgeOw-tKbGOFK74_XeS2-O8SGTxOwoe7Aq48cAoo/edit#slide=id.p

I think wearable technology in the classroom is definitely the future. For example, having images projected all over the classroom which can be controlled through a Bluetooth is something which would be effective. However, it would be very costly for schools.

This post will discuss the use of badges in the classroom from the perspectives of both teachers and pupil. Firstly, what is a badge and how can it be used in the classroom?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgLLq7ybDtc

Benefits of badges to pupils:

• Badges allow pupils to customise their learning by choosing a badge they would like to work on, thus motivating, challenging and encouraging pupils to work towards their chosen badge.
• Celebrates pupil’s achievements when they have met a target or reached their goal. This is important as it allows pupils to feel a sense of achievement.
• Allows pupils to compete with each other to earn different badges. This competition is good for pupils as it motivates them, thus encouraging learning.
• Reinforces positive reinforcement in the classroom (Skinner, 1938).

Benefits of badges to teachers:

• It can be used to monitor pupil’s progress by checking to see if pupil’s have met their chosen badge.
• Allows the teacher to provide pupils with badges depending on their aims and targets.
• Allows the teacher to set class goals and targets which are visible to all pupils.

Mozilla badges

Mozilla badge is a new form of assessment and rewards that allow students to take courses and earn badges that they can store in their electronic backpack. These give children a sense of reward in a sense of behaviourist teaching if you get answers correct. However, while this is effective in that it gives children the motivation to learn and encourages them, the software itself is complicated to use. There are over 200 million combinations to choose from.

Overall, I strongly believe badges are an effective method to encourage and motivate pupils in schools and I would definitely use it with my pupils. Furthermore, I can see the importance of badges in the home and school environment as it gives children confidence and self esteem in a range of areas. However, although there is huge potential with them, I can only really see a few classes using them.

This was my first time attending bett in Excel London and I felt that I took away a lot from this experience. The bett show presented more than just a smart screen which would be beneficial for use in classrooms, it presented the Sun-Tech I.T. Solutions Limited. This would be effective to develop skills and enhance interactivity and effectiveness in learning and teaching in schools. However, this would be very costly for schools.

During my day at the bett show, I also watched my lecturer Miles Berry give a talk about Raspberry pi. He explained the developments and how it can be of a benefit in classrooms in allowing children to develop skills. Furthermore, he informed us about this new magazine called Hello World which provides information to young people about computing and the digital world. It also explains how raspberry pi and computing can be used in schools in the most effective way.

I will definitely be attending the show again next year as I found I learnt a lot from it in terms of what I can bring to my classroom, thus finding it very valuable.

Below are a few pictures I took as I explored and attended different talks during my time at the bett show.