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 * How have you seen teachers using technology and digital media in early years classrooms to enhance their literacy teaching? How are the early years literacy learners using digital technologies at home and at school? **

Technology usage in the classroom for literacy and numeracy lessons has developed substantially over recent years. Although the level of technology varies considerably from school to school and even from classroom to classroom within the same school. Overall it aids further development of the literacy abilities of early years students. According to Hill, “technological change is increasingly defining the nature of literacy” (Hill 2011, p.340) therefore it is vital that teachers and aspiring teachers have the skills and knowledge to incorporate it into everyday learning; while further developing this skills as the technology progresses.

The majority of classrooms now have a number of computers; digital cameras, video cameras, the ability to play mp3s and CDs. Another form of technology commonly found in classrooms are smart boards, they are now being used on a daily basis; for example the smart board can be used to display the daily timetable and focus for the day. Technology is a useful tool in order to keep students focused and interested in the task at hand. One of the reasons smart boards have become so popular is that they are easy to use and can be used for such a broad range of tasks.

Smart boards can be used in a variety of ways, including displaying different groups and activities so that students can identify which group they belong to and completing literacy tasks best suited to their ability, as was observed in one classroom. In another classroom the boards were used to display commonly used words and modeled writing phrases such as today’s date or “on the weekend I did…” The smart board can also be used as brain storming tool in a whole class activity before children return to their desks to conduct an individual writing activity, whilst still having access to the group’s ideas.

Another example of the use of a smart board in prep/grade one class is using it to conduct the roll. If the children are able to locate their own name this assists them in the recognition of their name as well as further developing their understanding of the letters of the alphabet. Although this is not a literacy lesson it assists in developing skills that will help with reading and writing.

Teachers are also able to access websites such as http://www.storylineonline.net/, which provides online story books; this enables students to hear a variety of people reading to them rather then just the classroom teacher and their parents. Websites can also provide interactive activities for the children to do after listening to the story.

In most classrooms there were pieces of literacy work on display that had been produced with the used of computers after previously being drafted by hand; the topics ranged from recounts of holiday experiences to creative writing narratives. Commonly used programs included Microsoft Word, Publisher and PowerPoint, these assist with developing recognition of correct spelling of words as these programs underline incorrect spelling which helps further develop the students ability to edit and revise their own work. Typing also helps in letter recognition and is a skill that is common practice in today’s society. These processes allow students to take pride in their writing and display it for a wider audience.

At home children use technology to aid in literacy development through the use of educational games online, television programs, games on consuls such as Wii and PlayStation as well as general use of computers and new media. Computers are often used when completing homework and project tasks. The Internet is now a world with never ending information that students now have at their fingertips.

Whilst technology is able to enhance the learning of literacy in the classroom teachers must always have a “back up” plan, as things don’t always go the way they are intended. Technology cannot solely be relied upon when conducting literacy lessons. It is vital that this generation of children as well as the ones to follow have the skills and the ability to use technology effectively and productively. Go to: Integrating Theory and Practice Go to: Home