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Redhill Primary School: a class act

by Graham Jones
continued from page 1
Mrs Noel-Storr became committed to using computers to boost children’s learning potential generally, rather than teaching computing as a separate skill.
  • She explained: ‘In an art class, if you asked a child what they’d done, they would say what they had drawn and what it showed. They wouldn’t say they had used a crayon. But when children use computers and we ask them what they have done, we expect them to explain the command they used, rather than what they achieved.
  • She added: ‘You don’t have to teach children computer skills in the same way you don’t have to teach them to breathe.’
This point was emphasised when the regional BBC programme, Midlands Today, filmed a report at Redhill Primary School. At the time, a group of five-year-olds were using Microsoft Publisher to put together a booklet about a science project they'd done. When asked by the TV crew what they were doing, the children spoke about the science.

The report had to be filmed again, because the producers wanted them to talk about how they were using the computers. The children were a bit taken aback, because their computer usage was so ‘normal’.

Talking to the children at Redhill Primary reveals some interesting thoughts and practices. Not one child is frightened of computers. In addition, each class has a plethora of children who have taught their parents how to use a computer.

Doubtless, this is partly because of the way in which computing and the Internet are seen as an integral part of every lesson. Indeed, Mrs Noel-Storr encourages teachers to incorporate some element of computing in as many of their lessons as possible.



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Created: 04/02/2004  Updated: 05/02/2004
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