d.
Developing Your Own Knowledge of the Resources
Having
made decisions about using some of the resources and opportunities
in tandem, it is important for the teacher in the case study to
get to know the resources well enough to feel confident about
using them in the classroom. It is also important that the pupils
will feel comfortable about using resources.
There
are a number of options available to support the learners to carry
out this activity using ICT. Some of the options you will be able
to use will be limited by the access you have to symbols packages.
If you have the Writing with Symbols CD then you need to get to
know how the CD works and the options that are available on it
for creating written material supported by relevant symbols.
For
this study though we can focus on an exercise that requires you
to use the World Wide Web to find resources that will be of relevance
to the exercise set for the learners.
To
give you some focus to begin with answer the following questions:
- How
much time do you plan to carry out a search for relevant symbols?
The amount of information stored on the WWW is extensive, it
might be an idea to give yourself a time limit as there are
so many hyperlinks within sites of this nature that you can
quite easily get carried away. Once you have found a site that
you perceive as useful then stick to it for the needs of this
study.
- Do
you know how to copy and paste elements from the WWW into Word
documents and are you aware of the legal constraints on your
activity in this respect?
When
you have done this, take a look at the following web sites and
answer the following questions.
www.clipart.com
www.free-clipart.net
www.webplaces.com/search
- Are
the resources available suitable to support the needs of the
learners for this particular activity?
-
How will the learners need to be supported in order for them
to access these materials?
-
Are there any other means of differentiation that you will need
to take into consideration to support all the learners needs?
When
you have looked at some of these resources in the light of these
questions, and perhaps written some worksheets of your own to
go with these resources, you should discuss with your mentor what
you want to do with the resource in the classroom. This can be
done in a mentor visit, over the telephone or by e-mail, and should
serve merely to satisfy you that you are on the right track with
your use of the materials.
 e.
Planning the Work of Learners
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