Digital Futures in Teacher Education

DeFT is a JISC OER 3 funded project.

About the project. The aim of the DeFT project is to develop guidance on digital literacy practice and involvement with Open Educational Resources in teaching and learning in the school sector. The team work collaboratively with participating schools, trainee teachers and tutors to develop an online-based open textbook, which will incorporate resources addressing the opportunities and challenges of embedding digital literacies within teacher education at all levels.

http://www.digitalfutures.org/

A summary of the DEFT case studies have been incorporated into the ORBIT resource bank. Moreover, the lesson ideas are also featured in the relevant section of the resource bank. They are available here:

Relevant resources

Blogs	Digital Reporters at Camp Cardboard
	Children using iPads to blog about Cardboard Sculptures This activity is a cross curricula(subject) activity, involving a collaborative(tool) approach, giving children the opportunity to work together on a blog. Children were encouraged to engage in group talk(ta) and discussion(ta) in the classroom to reflect on the activity they were to report on. The activity furthers e-skills(topic) and e-safety(topic) through the use of whole class(ta) participation. The specific art activity provided a great stimulus for the blogging. Equally, however, this approach could be applied to any event in or out of school. The use of blogging and social media gave the opportunity for children to share their ideas with a wider audience, and also gave opportunities for real-time feedback to their work. The use of hand-held technology also enabled active learning(ta) as the portability of the iPads and iPods allowed them to be used outside the classroom.
Blogs	Creating and Using OER to Promote Best Practice
	One school's approach to sharing and promoting best practice using a blog This lesson idea encourages collaboration(ta) between teachers in order to develop and share practice(i) across a school. Blogs provide excellent opportunities for children and adults to share ideas and work together. They encourage and enable dialogue(ta) between a writer - or group of writers - and an audience, allowing for quick and easy feedback. They enable questions(ta) to be asked and answered quickly. This example shows a blog being used to encourage discussion(ta) to enable curriculum planning(topic) and curriculum development(topic).
Creativity	Exploring the intersections of digital literacy and creativity
	A DEFT case study with Mundella Primary School, Sheffield This cross curricula(i) case study focusses on Digital Literacy, in particular using E-skills(topic) to: extend/update teaching skills and support CPD and explore the creative potential of digital technologies. The case study examines the potential of using mobile technologies to enhance creative aspects of learning. One of the lesson ideas from the case study is available as a separate resource at Creating Digital Paintings using iPads
Digital Art	Creating Digital Painting using iPads
	Children using iPads to create observational drawings of flowers This activity is a cross-curricular(subject) activity, that gives children to opportunity to work independently on an art activity that also encourages the development of E-skills(topic). This activity encouraged inclusion(ta) as the children's final work was displayed as a collaborative(tool) piece, where all children had the opportunity to make an equal contribution. In this instance, the children created observational drawings of flowers. However, the subject of the art could change to fit with any topic across the curriculum. The use of hand-held technology could also active learning(ta) as the portability of the iPads and iPods would allow them to be used outside the classroom, thus enabling observational drawings to be made in a range of locations.
Digital Media	21st century show and tell
	A DEFT case study with Dinnington Comprehensive, Rotherham This cross curricula(i) case study focusses on Digital Literacy, in particular using E-skills(i) to: support skills in writing/recording for a target audience and to improve communication and research skills through the process of creating OER(i)s. The case study illustrates issues involved in the use of video(i) for educational purposes, with an emphasis on students producing and releasing OERs. The method could also be used for self/peer assessment(i) with pupils. One of the lesson ideas from the case study is available as a separate resource at Creating Instructional Videos.
ICT	Creating Instructional Videos
	Children create instructional videos to upload to YouTube This activity is a cross-curricular(subject) activity with a literacy focus, involving a collaborative(tool) approach, giving children to opportunity to work together to produce a set of instructional resources. Children were encouraged to engage in group talk(ta) and discussion(ta) in the classroom to reflect on what they should include in their videos. The activity furthers e-skills(topic) through the use of whole class(ta) participation. It develops e-safety(topic) skills through discussion of the issues relating to posting digital content online. Children were allowed to choose their own subject for the video, although this could be set by a teacher with a specific outcome in mind, or could be tailored to cover a particular topic or subject. It could, for instance, be used to explain their mathematical thinking(ta).
ICT	The use of mobile apps for digital story-telling by nursery pupils
	A DEFT case study This cross curricula(i) case study focusses on Digital Literacy, in particular using E-skills(topic) to: explore the creative potential of digital technologies for storytelling and to improve language skills. The case study explores the educational potential of mobile devices to support children's creative involvement with digital literacy. It also explores issues related to pupils using Web2.0 applications to share resources openly. One of the lesson ideas from the case study is available as a separate resource at Telling Stories about Farm Animals
QR codes	Editing Using QR Codes to Engage Children with Learning
	Children using digital literacy to engage with reading and writing This lesson idea uses technology to promote active learning(ta) as resources were produced to be located and explored in a public park. The early stage of the activity, involving the creation of the resources by the children, required discussion(ta) involving the whole class(ta). Group talk(ta) was also employed as a strategy, with the children agreeing on a narrative(ta) outline relating to the event. The creation of the online materials encouraged development of e-skills(topic). The later stages of activity, where the children were looking for clues, required them to ask questions(ta) and to take a collaborative(tool) approach to find a solution, based on the digital texts they found.
Video	Digital Video in ITE
	Student teachers producing digital media This activity is a cross-curricular(subject) activity, involving a collaborative(tool) approach, giving student teachers the opportunity to work together whilst making digital media in the form of films. The activity furthers e-skills(topic) and also helps to develop discussion relating to e-safety(topic). The topic of location provided the stimulus for the videos. Equally, however, this approach could be applied to any topic or subject in school. The use of video also encouraged active learning(ta), with the students developing their own skills through direct participation in the creation process.