| Objectives The activity was carried out by a Year 6 pupil, working unaided. He was asked to: - Research a factual report on volcanoes
- Present findings in an interesting, appealing format for an audience.
- Where appropriate, make a free, informed choice of ICT applications.
Activity Description The pupil was asked to prepare a three-page report on volcanoes for parents to read at a parents' evening. He was expected to combine text with images, diagrams, charts and tables. The activity took place over two 40-minute sessions. There was some initial teacher intervention to set the task and provide initial guidance. The pupil was then left on his own to interpret the task as he saw fit. The completed report was evaluated against the level descriptors. The pupil was also asked how well the final report matched the initial task, and to identify ways in which it fell short. Finally, he was asked to suggest ways in which it could be improved. Click to download the whole report in Word (171 KB) Commentary The pupil's work shows Level 5 attainment, because he: - recognized the need to use Word, Excel, IE5 to combine and present information during the initial discussion with the teacher.
- made informed choices in selecting a search engine to retrieve the best, most appropriate information.
- critically evaluated the fitness for purpose of the work as it progressed and made changes.
- took the needs of the audience into account, by creating a hyperlink to connect to a website for further information.
- continually evaluated his work to assess for appropriateness for the intended audience
| To make further progress: The pupil has shown his ability to research and retrieve a core of information, and write his own version in a similar genre. He has presented a factual report, as he was asked to do, in the style of an encyclopedia entry. To make progress, he could be asked to use ICT to rework, without rewriting, in a different format, e.g. as slides, as a poster, or as a set of cards to support research by younger children. Evidence
The following notes were taken by support staff observing the pupil during two 40-minute sessions. They show the development of the work, and provide insights into the pupil's thinking and level of ICT knowledge. SESSION 1: | Pupil: | Explains to adult that he is going to use Word and Internet Explorer, Excel | | | Opens Word Documents and Internet Explorer | | | Selects search engine (Google). | | | Searches for "volcanoes" | | | Selects: University study of volcanoes | | | Selects information on "What is a volcano?" | | | Explains to adult that the reader first needs to know what a volcano is. | | | Highlights information, copies and pastes into Word | | | Looks for sites that are "easier for children to understand". | | | Decides that one site is particularly useful: creates folder in Favorites called volcanoes | | | Draft map. Saves to file on floppy disk. | | | Forms a hyperlink to website by creating action button in Word. | | | Copies, pastes information into Word. Positions on page | | | Types information in own words. | | | Finds volcanoes database. Decides to select information, for use in spreadsheet. Selects by type and by activity. | SESSION 2: | Pupil: | Self-checked for spelling errors on document | | | Read aloud to edit | | | Used Web to find more information before printing work | | | Used Ask Jeeves for a specific question ("How many volcanoes in the world?") | | | Reflected on results - decided that they were not useful for his task | | | Selected images, cut and pasted for later selection | | | Revisited Ask Jeeves to refine search question | | | Communicated frustration at not finding "helpful" pages | | | Selected pictures for "looks", rather than reading the accompanying text for suitability | | | Became sidetracked with links to other sites, and forgot what he was looking for. | | | Back on track, placed own labels on imported images using text boxes | | | Manipulated images and text boxes for suitability of layout | | | Used print preview to check work | Level descriptors Level 5is characterised by combining the use of ICT tools within the overall structure of an ICT solution. Pupils critical evaluate the fitness for purpose of work as it progresses. They select the information they need for different purposes, check its accuracy and organise it in a form suitable for processing. An increased range of quantitative and qualitative information is considered. Pupils assess the use of ICT in their work and are able to reflect critically in order to make improvements in subsequent work. Level 6 is characterised by increased integration and efficiency in the use of ICT tools. A greater range and complexity of information is considered. Pupils use information from a range of sources and use complex lines of enquiry to solve problems and test hypotheses. They present their ideas in a variety of ways and show a clear sense of audience. | |
