end of term? for computers and help desk 'guru's :) too...

this sounds like learning through play to me.....alongside the experiences Kindergartens would deliver in this area as a matter of form.... and literacy learning is generally very widely recognised.

echo reading...

I really like ebooks as a support to a literacy programme.... these apps help the largely non print oriented reader.... sound familiar?

Using ICT to communicate.... blogging.

children's voices......

This clip is a few years old now- but I uploaded it for a number of reasons. Chrissie was working with the Foundation for the blind and is an extremely talented educator to support visually impaired children and adults. She is very innovative and reflective about what works for the learners in question. The Kindergarten she talks about is one I know well ( having been there when she discovered voice thread) and we as a team rose to her challenge to use ICT to give the kindergarten child a voice as well as her extended family and support network. Not only did this child have a blog where all the players could view interpreted data and primary data and put their own lens of interest on it... but the voice thread tool let them articulate it with audio, video or text so the learner could be engaged. I wish I could show you the voice threads themselves but I don't have permission for this. Here's a demo of the tool to see what I mean about using it for multiple assessment opportunities..... if you want to take a peek click on the coloured text to check it out

rewinding the learning...

Here's a link to some artwork a 4 year old was kind enough to have sent me from one Kindergarten - together with a message ( name removed ) - "This is .....'s picture about a girl inside a present - who is .........! There is an......who is 6 who is going to open it!!! I like my picture". Receiving this means the art work process gets revisited by a whole range of stakeholders in the learning- it has the potential to be assessed by the child, the teachers and the family.....offering opportunities for multiple voices in the learning process as well as perhaps the documentation. check it out!

Now here's a way to supplement your puzzles without clobbering the budget! a range of sites have puzzles where you can choose images and select levels of difficulty... a nice way to show a bit of progression. This is Jig Zone - but there are others. Be aware of being on line - policy dictates we don't leave children on line unsupervised and sometimes this sort of site has add pop ups that will take you away from where you meant to be....