Technology in the Classroom

'We live in a digital age. Technology has transformed how we do things, from communication with friends and family to learning about the world around us. The pupils we teach do not know a life without it. The opportunities it offers us to improve education are truly exciting. '

Education Endowment Foundation

At Manor Park we use technology to meaningfully and creatively enhance the curriculum. Technology is carefully integrated into lessons, where appropriate, to engage, to support knowledge retention, to encourage individual or collaborative learning and to support our children with skills necessary for life in the 21st century. 

In the Early Years, pupils explore and use devices and begin to select technology for a range of purposes. Through provision based learning they may use devices such as mechanical toys, cameras and Chrome Tabs. 

As pupils progress into Year 1, they will begin to develop their knowledge and skills of technology and its uses through our Computing curriculum. Technology will also be used to support learning across the curriculum subjects through the use of educational programs such as Century, Timestables Rockstars and Seesaw and, as we further develop our use of technology, home learning may also be assigned activities via these platforms. 

When children advance to Year 2 they are  provided with a Chrombook to enable them to enhance and extend their learning opportunities both in school and at home. GoogleSuite Tools are used across the curriculum where appropriate to support teaching and learning and to provide stimulating, purposeful lessons. GoogleClassroom enables teachers to assign, assess and to share learning with their class and allows students to work collaboratively using integrated programs such as Nearpod and AdobeSpark. 

Throughout the school, as we continue to develop our use of technology in the classroom, VR (Virtual Reality) and AR (Augmented Reality) experiences will be mapped across the curriculum to support our teaching and learning. VR and AR will provide exciting and engaging experiences for students to explore, in context, things they might otherwise not have the opportunity to witness. For example, using NowPressPlay, Year 6 children have been able to travel to the Arctic to develop their understanding of the landscape and experiences of individuals living there during their Frozen Kingdom learning project. Within the LEO Academy Trust, we have access to VR headsets to enhance children’s learning experiences. 

In Computer Science sessions, children have access to Spike Essential LEGO coding kits to allow them to develop their understanding of the need for coding in the world around them and use it to solve real world problems such as creating a driverless vehicle to get to a chosen destination.

Children will continue to use Century to support learning in school and at home.

Parents/Carers can support children’s learning at home using Century,  BusyThings and Timestables Rockstars. Pupils can log on to these platforms using their Google username and password. Where work has been assigned by the class teacher, parents can support pupils with additional activities using GoogleClassroom and the Century platform.