1st Week of SBT1 Block Placement

Well it is a day into the new week, but it slipped my mind at the weekend, so I'm a couple of days late, but I have lots to say!

It seems like ages since I last wrote. I've had a very relaxing Christmas and New Year in between, but by the time the 3rd January was here I was itching just to get on with it and by my first day on 7th January I was almost climbing walls!! So day 1 was an Inset day, which I must say was an experience!! I always used to think Inset days were great - a day off school - not anymore!!!

Day 2 was as my CTM put it a Baptism of Fire!!! The children were rather excitable and the hour and a half lesson after lunch on Science was a very sharp learning curve! Luckily I have a fantastic CTM, who was able to reasure me that it hadn't been a total disaster, that I could take positives from it and build on it the next day. Luckily the next day was a huge improvement and rebuilt my confidence nicely and I've kept on going up since then.

I've just had my observation today and my Link Tutor said she was impressed at my ICT useage in the classroom, which I thought you'd be happy with!! I've been creating my own PowerPoint's and Word documents to put on the IWB, as well as using it in almost every lesson I teach to demonstrate things to the children. I have also used a digital camera with them, which they found quite exciting and I am hoping to use the digital microscope in a Science lesson, but I need to still improve my behaviour management before I attempt that. I have also played some games and quizzes with them on the IWB, BBC Science Clips is very good.

We have also looked at photographs, of my wedding for an RE topic that I am teaching and my friends photos of Africa in a Geography lesson, the children were mesmerised by these and their behaviour was fantastic, which shows just how engaged ICT can make them with a topic.

My CMT took away his white board just before Christmas, so it has really helped me to use the IWB as a fantastic teaching tool. However the children only get 30 minutes a week in the ICT 'suite' which I think is too little in todays world, where they would be hugely benefited by having increased accessibility in the classroom. There have been some lessons that I would have loved to have a computer for each child so they could research something, or make a presentation to show the class. However the classroom does have 3 computers in it, which is more than most, so I shouldn't complain.... but I will, after all we want the best for these children, otherwise we wouldn't be here.

Over and out until next week!