ICT at Gamesley EEC

In January 2003 two members of our staff, Cathy Jones and Carole Bennett received a BECTA Award (British Education and Communications Technology Agency) for Innovation and Change in the field of information and communications technology (ICT). We were given the award for our holistic approach to ICT, which we tailor to the Foundation Stage Curriculum and the needs of the 3 and 4 year old. This is the first time an early years setting has been given an award in ICT and we were delighted that BECTA have recognised the role of ICT in early years education.

Early years practitioners have been somewhat ignored in this field and for a long time it has been thought that ICT is of no relevance to the Foundation Stage Curriculum. The nursery and reception class often have the oldest, out-of-date computer or no computer at all. It may remain in the corner of the classroom waiting for suitable software and many practitioners feel, with some justification, that young children have no need to sit at a computer when there are other more exciting things to explore in the nursery environment.

Our approach is that ICT is as much part of the children’s world as literacy and numeracy or indeed any other part of this complex world of which they are trying to make sense. On a trip to town they will encounter bar code scanners, digital weighing machines, buttons and directions to cross the road, cash machines, close circuit televisions etc. The list is amazing when you think about it! In the home, consider how many machines are digital – the washing machine, microwave, video, television… we are pressing buttons and programming all day long and children are watching us and copying.

At Gamesley we reflect these experiences through socio-dramatic play and thread them through the foundation curriculum. This is not so difficult when you start to think along these lines. Every play situation that staff plan in the nursery could have an ICT application included, such as;

• making a simple bar code scanner for the shop using a buzzer and battery
• introducing a video in the pretend garden centre with Alan Titchmarsh showing us how to garden
• making the telephones work in the home corner by linking them to a low powered electrical circuit
• including the computer in the grocery shop with items on the screen for pricing
• printing out and photocopying forms for the post office.

It is a challenge to consider each area of the curriculum and add an ICT element. You will have lots of fun with a metal detector outside, with two-way radios for communication and with programmable cars and bikes. In music try karaoke machines as well as cassette players; in art use a digital camera to photograph objects from different angles and the scanner to scan different coloured leaves to create a pallet for children to copy in paint. In communication, language and literacy use a video camera to video a puppet show or the karaoke show. In science try a digital microscope. For simple programming try a ‘Pixie’ (Swallow systems- 01494 813471) a box which can go forward, backward, turn right and left. Its very simplicity means that it has many imaginative applications.

Cassette recorders are a boon and every ‘early years’ setting should have one if they have no other piece of ICT equipment, especially if it has a karaoke feature. Children can record their singing and retell stories and staff can tell stories on tapes for children to take home or listen to at nursery.

We use computers with digital cameras, camcorders, scanners and webcams to great effect to communicate with parents and children. We show digital photographs as screen savers and use photos for record keeping. We use web cams to enable children to see themselves and each other at the computer.

Finding suitable software for under fives is not always easy and we have purchased and tested enough unsuitable programmes to know what we are looking for. It is important that the programmes are easy to understand by the child and do not require constant adult direction, the learning objectives need to be clear and the programmes need to be creative so that the child is not overly directed to a closed end result.

We make simple programme screens using ‘My World 3 (SEMERC) which relate to our topics (go to help on the programme), we use ‘Junior Multimedia’ to animate children’s drawings and make our own talking books.

Nursery schools and classes will receive E- Learning Credits for the first time this year. This is a huge step forward but many ‘early years’ staff are wondering how to access the credits and what suitable software can be bought. The credits can only be used to buy software or buy subscriptions to access suitable sites from which software can be downloaded.

One has to use the website (www.curriculumonline.gov.uk) to find the software that is registered for purchase using E-LC. When you go on the site you will notice immediately that there is no Foundation Stage to click onto (to date, but I hope there will be changes). One has to register with key stage one and look through software descriptions that recommend use from the age of three. There is an amazing number of programmes out there, which can be daunting, so it’s helpful to share with colleagues any software you find useful and then check to see if its registered.

Meanwhile, below is some of the software we use and recommend as a start. Good luck, and don’t forget to ask for a good computer (NGfL will provide!) on which to use your new programmes.

• Oxford Reading Tree – Sherston (www.sherston.com)
• 123 – Sherston
• Junior Multimedia – Sherston (aimed at key stage 2 but useful for making your own screens and books)
• Teachers’ Cupboard – Sherston
• Science Fair – Sherston
• Tizzy’s Toy Box (Sherston)
• Nursery Rhyme (Sherston)
• ABC (Sherston)
• My World 3 + 3.8 – SEMERC (www.granada-learning.com)
• Leaps and Bounds and Musical Leaps and Bounds – SEMERC
• 2 Simple video toolbox – 2simple (www.2simplesoftware.com)
• Spot the Dog – (www.funwithspot.com)
• My First Number – Dorling Kindersley – (www.dk.com)
• Reading and Counting – Dorling Kindersley
• Bailey’s Book House, Sammy’s Snake house, Millie’s Maths House – Edmark (www.edmark.com)