Having done a practical lesson investigating pitch, the class teacher took the children into the computer suite to use an interactive science program which allowed them to "test" various instruments for themselves. By changing certain factors (e.g. tightness of skins and strings, lengths of instruments etc) pupils could see for themselves how pitch changed.
The children obviously loved being on the computers and worked well together. it also gave them the opportunity to test a wide variety of instruments that were not available for the real life testing. However, I felt that the session should have been a little more directed. From an assessment point of view, it is difficult to measure what each child came away with. While some were quite engaged with testing the instruments, some also seemed in danger of just playing to pass the time. I feel the LO should have been clearer and that children should have had some sort of quiz sheet to work from.
Interestingly, the computer skills of the Year 5s seemed much more advanced than those of the Year 4s. Perhaps this is mostly down to developmental factors and amount of practise. However, it could also be pointed out that the class teacher was very enthusiastic about using ICT, running an "App club" during Golden Time and including a Digital Photography unit within the art curriculum.
The children obviously loved being on the computers and worked well together. it also gave them the opportunity to test a wide variety of instruments that were not available for the real life testing. However, I felt that the session should have been a little more directed. From an assessment point of view, it is difficult to measure what each child came away with. While some were quite engaged with testing the instruments, some also seemed in danger of just playing to pass the time. I feel the LO should have been clearer and that children should have had some sort of quiz sheet to work from.
Interestingly, the computer skills of the Year 5s seemed much more advanced than those of the Year 4s. Perhaps this is mostly down to developmental factors and amount of practise. However, it could also be pointed out that the class teacher was very enthusiastic about using ICT, running an "App club" during Golden Time and including a Digital Photography unit within the art curriculum.