6. AREA OF CURRICULUM

The area of the national curriculum this program would be involved in is

English and technology. The English area has two components text and

literature .The children can create stories on the computer and therefore

incorporate the technology area also. The children would be in level 2 and the

strand they would be using is the writing strand.

The children will begin to learn to type and build confidence using the computer.

They should be able to increase the speed at which they type and also the

accuracy of the words.

7. OFF COMPUTER ACTIVITIES

One activity that could be used with the class off the computer, was one that I saw

on prac. Every person in the class had a letter from A to Z. Each person has a

card with their letter on it, and they line up by their letters, the same as on a

keyboard ie. Q,W,E,R...and so on. One person is out the front and the teacher

gives that person a word. That person must call out the name of their classmate,

that has the first letter of the word. The classmate then holds up the letter if

he/she gets it right. This continues until the word has been spelt correctly. This

activity works very well, as the whole class participates.

The teacher could use the weekly spelling words and incorporate them on the

computer. For example, the teacher could choose words from the typing

program and the children could practice them by the look, cover, write,check

mode. Therefore, when it came time for the children to use the computer, they

will be familiar with some of the words, and therefore will build confidence.

8. ON COMPUTER ACTIVITY

The children could use the Unicorn Quest typing program to build up confidence

using the computer and also their skills level. They could then print off a

certificate that shows which levels they have reached and then they could take it

home to their parents.

The more advanced children that can complete all the stages easily, could then

write their own stories on the computer about the wizard and the unicorn using

the program.

9. CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

AS there is only one computer in the classroom, a roster will be drawn up, so

every child will have an equal amount of time on the computer. Five students a

day will be able to use the computer at certain times, throughout the day for up

to 30 minutes at a time. The children can either work in pairs or on their own ,

but if they do work in pairs, it would be preferable to have a boy, girl

combination, to develop interaction skills. Wednesdays would be a "free"

computer day, where children who missed their turn on the computer, could

catch up.

The computer will be located in the back corner of the classroom, away from

working tables, so the rest of the class is not disturbed. There is a barrier around

the computer to give some privacy and also to decrease the noise. However, it is

not very high, so the teacher can still keep an eye on the children using the

computer. On the barrier will be displayed the computer roster and some rules

for using the computer, for example, no eating.The computer will be placed

away from windows to stop any glare from the sun and also any outsiders being

tempted to steal it. It would also be away from the art area to stop children

spilling paint and glue on the computer.

As the child develops using the program, the child will print out the certificate

indicating which level they were up to and they do not get a certificate if they did

not finish the stage. The teacher will have a copy of the certificate and therefore

will be able to tell how the child is going.