When given
this task I immediately came to think of the computer-program Little Bridge
that we use throughout the whole school where I work.
This program
works well with Lgr 11 as it uses the same progression as intended in the
syllabus. In the commentary material to the syllabus in English it is clearly
stated that the teachings should be based on receptive skills before you focus
on speaking and finally writing. All according to the European framework for
languages, GERS. To start off you´re supposed to simply listen before you start
doing things and finally you can do some talking yourself.
The program takes us to a little town, Little
Bridge, where we meet some of its residents och different places around town.
There are eight units consisting of eight different activities. The program is
animated and the menu consists of a room with a chest of drawers in the middle.
Each drawer contains one unit and you´re supposed to open one at a time. When
you have completed at least 50 % of the eight activities in a drawer you get
access to a game. The units´ activities deals with such areas as numbers,
colours, the names of the days of the week, bodyparts, pets and more.
I teach both
first- and third-graders in English but I only use this program for the older
pupils. They are all given their own protocol where they can mark what they
have done. Knowing that especially the boys are eager to get to the games and
tend to ignore the reason for being on the computer in the first place, it´s
important for me to be able to keep track on what they have been working on. I
think it´s important to talk about the activities they´ve worked on. Not only
in order to keep an eye on them but also because I use the conversation to
speak English with each individual pupil.
I find this
program both educational and fun for the pupils. It is easy to use and if you
want to you can do some of the activities as a group in front of a smartboard.
This will increase the possibility to talk and not just sit by yourself in fron
of a computor.
Little Bridge seems to be a very useful program. Partly beacause it is a method associated with the Swedish curriculum and partly beacuse it leads to different games that appeal to boys. We know that technical games captures and appeals to most children, that makes it desirable to find similar teaching methods that appeals to children in the same way as technical games do. I think that Little Bridge seems exciting and your describtion makes me curious to try the method.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Charlotta, this seems to be a very good program to motivate and inspire the pupils in a playful way. But I think it will appeal to both boys and girls. At least in my class, both boys and girls are very interested in computer games. I will absolutly try it, thank you for the tip!
ReplyDeleteI work a lot with Ipads and have never seen this program before. I agrre with Gabriella and Charlotta about the program. It´s looks very good and can motivate a lot of children in my class. I think it´s good for both boy´s and girls. I will try it! I have already test it by myself!
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