Changes to ICT past to present

It is easy to see how ICT is changing the classrooms we work in and also the world around us, even though iam only 21 i can still look back and see more advances than what were made for hundreds of years before. in the last 30 years ICT and technology has acceled on a massive scale and affected us all.
when i was in primary school, we got our first school computer when i was in year 4, and we had one for the whole school! it sat in the corridor and if you were lucky, you got 5mins in a week on it, and that was only paint or enclyclopaedia. now when teaching in ICT every child nearly has access and they have access at home! not just to basics but to hundreds of programes and not to mention the internet!
i come from a hybrid generation, where technology was coming in and developing while i was growing up, but the children im going to teach are not hybrids at all they are totally ICT literate! 10 year olds now understand more than most adults!
ICT paves the way for the future!

ICT- subject? or tool?

when i think of ICT and when i was in school, ICT was always a time allocated subject. but now as a professional, i see ICT as a tool for learning, ICT should in my opinion not be a subject as such but more intergrated into other subjects so children are alwasy learning ICT alongside other subjects.

Games consoles?

Games consoles, always receiving grief for how they are to violent or brainwashing children etc, but is there any truth? i think not! in todays rapidly advancing society, technology is part of our lives and for children, games are a part of that. children are using sophisticated games by themselves without manuals or adults to help. Games that may have hundreds of different button combinations and many levels with complex puzzles to over come, yet children overcome these and are interacting with people throughout the world. is this such a bad thing? i think not, children are learning and adapting to technilogical change.
this is not to say that all games are good as some are not, some to violent and others just plain crude, but i think if managed well, we can harness these games and consoles and make them tools for learning, such as psps and ds's are starting to enter schools already!
Games are great!

Flowol??

Not to sure on flowol, not sure what i think of it to be honest! i thought it was very complicated and think a child would find it over whelming and a little bit pointless! i do not think i will be using this in schools as it stands, although iam willing to have another go sometime. I think you one needs to keep an open mind when it comes to ICT, for it is forever changing, one might dislike something onday but itl be different the next.

Radio RiConor

Making a postcast with Conor was sooo much fun! i can really see myself using this in schools, allowing children to have a voice within the school, this would empower certain children further with ICT and other aspects such as social skills and confidence.
Obviously me and conor put our own spin on the podcast but it would be taken much more seriously in schools.
im hoping this will link to the podcast on Conors page:

http://conorthinks.blogspot.com/2009/03/its-time-for-radio-ricconor.html

SUPER duper music looper!

super duper music looper is amazing! i really enjoyed creating a theme tune with conor, as someone who is un musically talented, this gave me more confidence and allowed me to explore music in ways which have previously been closed to me! i found this programe easy to use, and with a huge varriety of sounds and tools gave a huge option for how we wanted our song to go. adding multiple layers and instruments. I think that children will really get creative with a programe like this and more importantly, enjoy every second of it!
The theme tune to Radio RiConor is amazingly good!

animations 2!

Me, conor, amy, thom and tom worked together for the animation movie, we did not really know where to start but quickly decided upon making it short and fun without making it into to much of a story. The first thing we had to do was, create some characters, these we based on ourselves. We did this by printing off a face picture of ourselves and some generic body parts. then we simply played around with things, as to fully understand and get the hang of 2d animation. we continued to make a sequence and later added sound to the movie to finish it off! i think using the same techniques for 3D would have many advantages aswel and might not limit children as much. or even allowing them the choice of both, may impower them even more!