c.
Helping Learners Develop their own IT Capabilities
Whenever
the pupils in the case study are using a computer to learn, they
are of course not only developing their literacy skills but also
their ICT skills. It is important to distinguish between one thing
and the other, and also for us as SEN specialists to know when
a pupil is learning to use ICT as well as learning to work more
independently and developing literacy skills.
If
pupils used all possible resources - and maybe one or two extra
that you thought of - the very least they would have developed
is the following range:
- Loading
software - the CD
- Accessing
the World Wide Web
- Searching
for information - on the CD or the World Wide Web
- Basic
skills of mouse and keyboard manipulation
- Printing
- if the pupil was allowed to print from the CD or the World
Wide Web. They will also print their recipe document as well
as the list of names of the other students in the group.
- Using
e-mail - to send their recipes to others in the group, if relevant
- Using
a word processor to input text and save the documentation
It
might be interesting to look back over your own lesson plans to
see where these things happened, and even to look at the IT/Communication
curriculum accreditation as it applies to these learners. This
will allow you to see what they are doing in your subject that
is contributing to their development in the IT, Communication
as well as generating links with Home Skills arenas. All case
studies in all subjects in this series make this same statement,
so crucial is the pupil's awareness of, and use of, ICT to his
or her own learning in other subjects.
It
is worth trying this exercise:
- Identify
what pupils are doing with ICT in the tasks you have set them.
- Identify
whether what they are doing is a basic motor skill such as moving
a mouse, a technique where they have to follow steps or a higher
order skill where they have to plan and make decisions.
- Identify
the areas of the IT/Communication accreditation at the learners
level to see whether work you are doing with him or her can
be linked to learning in the IT area.
 d.
Assessing Learning
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