Reflection On ICT Eduction

Reflection On ICT Eduction Literacy is the learning to read and write proficiently while digital literacy is the ability to use different digital tools for learning in young children (Kazakoff, 2012; Green et al, 2006). Digital storytelling is more effective to children’s learning rather than the traditional way as it can support the current trends in teaching and learning. Through this rationale, it can be seen that the child’s writing skill and comprehension improved as she had fun through the process of creating the digital story. This rationale also discussed the implication of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in the early years setting, the planning and the usage of digital story in the early years setting with the supports of policies, theories and curriculums that can develop children’s literacy, communication and language skills. ICT can be defined as anything that enable us to receive information, to interact with each other or to bring impact on the environment using electronic or digital device (Bolstad, 2004). There are many devices and equipment that can be use in an early years setting to encourage the usage of ICT such as cameras, computers, programmable toys and many more. ICT had brought an impact to the children learning and development, remarkably in their literacy development as children nowadays are living in a challenging and advance environment (Roney, 2008). Children should be provided with opportunities, for instance, through creating digital stories to develop ‘technological literacy’ to ensure their activeness and competence in their environment (Shah and Godiyal, 2000). Significantly in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), involving technology in children’s learning and development can support the progression of the children and also achieving the learning goals (Df E, 2012a). The synthesis report by Hatherly et al (2010) had shown the positive implication of ICTs for children’s literacy development. The report stated that children’s activities that are based on ICTs could develop children’s literacy, language and communication skill. Other than that, the use of ICTs can motivate children to speak and engage themselves in conversation and to tell and share their experiences through various ways, for example, through digital story-telling that would facilitate children’s literacy development. Through observation, I chose a child who love to draw because I wanted to develop her literacy skill by supporting her through her interest in drawing using story-telling as making connection with drawing to writing can allow children to understand how writing can relate to their images and also their visual imagery (NYSUT, 2008). Before I started doing anything with the child, I asked for the willingness of the child to participate in this assignment as her opinions and views are to be considered first according to UNCRC Article 12 (UNICEF, n.d). I met her parents where we discussed about the resource plan and how this will help her learning and development. The discussion lead me to the understanding that the child was not exposed much to electronic devices at home. However, they allowed me to work with their child and also agreed in helping the child to familiarise herself with the device after the discussion. I understand that this could be advantageous for the child’s lea rning as involving parents in children’s education can bring many benefits including improvements in children’s educational achievement and also increasing parents’ confidence in helping their child at home (DCSF, 2008). Through the discussion also, I decided to make the resource with tablet and audio recorder as it will allow the child to navigate the device better than by operating a mouse that might be hard for new learners (Pierangelo and Giuliani, 2008). I started telling different types of stories to give the child a better understanding on how a story should be. Telling stories to children can enhance their language learning by introducing them to different languages and narrative styles such as the stories’ prologue, climax and epilogue (Whitehead, 2010). I gave the child the freedom to choose what kind of story she wanted to write and we both agreed on writing an imaginary story inspired by the movie ‘Frozen’ according to the child’s interest as practitioners should support children to write about things that interest them (DfE, 2012a). She was able to start planning her story without much difficulties but she faced problem in using the tablet. At the beginning, the child had a hard time trying to use the application in the tablet but I did not help her immediately. I gave her the time to explore the device herself and after a few trial and error and some guidance, she managed to navigate the device suc cessful. As accordance to the Montessori Method ‘control of error’, children learning from their mistake themselves can help them to develop a skill and knowledge more proficiently as their confidence and self-esteem increased (Lawrence, 1998). Throughout the process of illustrating the story, I took up the role as a facilitator. When the child had difficulties in continuing the story, I used open ended question like â€Å"What should you say if someone gave you something?† and â€Å"How did the girl felt?† According to Piaget, the role of an educator is to aid the children to come to their own understanding and asking questions instead of telling the answers and this could improve children’s comprehension and vocabulary (Chamberlin, 2014; Teachnology Inc, n,d). The child wanted to incorporate fantasy element in her story where the snowman has the ability to talk and I strongly agreed. Encouraging children’s imagination can develop their social skills and improve their confidence in learning or acquiring literacy skill (The Reader’s Digest Association, 2014). I started to involve myself more in the making of digital story when the child started to write text on each drawing as practitioners should â€Å"support and scaffold individual children’s writing as opportunities arise† (DfE, 2012a:31). I wanted to know the child’s writing skill so that I can support her to reach her maximum potential in literacy within her Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). ZPD refers to the distance between what a child can do independently and what they could potentially do with the support of more knowledgeable adults and peers (Tools of the Mind, 2014). For example, I provided the child with short stories and few words’ flashcards related to her story that she can use. From the few options, she was able to choose which words she wanted to use, for instance, the word ‘build’ instead of ‘make’. There were a few spelling error where she invented herself through the sounds of the words but I encourage the chil d to continue without correcting her because children’s invented spelling can reflects their attempts in connecting the relationships of language’s sounds to the alphabetic system (Whitehead, 2010). I could see the child’s confidence in writing increased when she write without looking hesitant. Through this, I realised the child is developing positively in literacy as the child’s writing skill matched the early learning goals in EYFS where she could write simple sentences that can be read and could spell some words correctly and some phonetically reasonable (DfE, 2012b). Subsequently, I put all her completed drawings together using PowerPoint because it is an easy and accessible software where users can create and design their slides without much difficulties and it is suitable for new learners (Boundless, n.d). The child was very excited as it was her first time seeing a story in a digital form, moreover, she was involved in creating it. PowerPoint has the function where the child can easily choose the animation/effect that allowed her to portray her story better. For example, the child chose the curtain opening effect to display the starting of her story. The software effects that are used in a digital story enable children to link their story effectively and demonstrate understanding of their own story where children get to improve their reading comprehension (Vogel, 2007). Through the attractive and interactive way of presenting the story telling using the effects, I believe it will support the child’s literacy learning through the linking of words to image as according to Bruner, children from the age 1-6 years in his second mode of representation, iconic, the information that children had learned is stored in the form of images (McLeod, 2008). I also chose to use voice recorder to record the child’s voice because â€Å"writing with real voice has the power to make you pay attention and understand† (Elbow, 1981:299 cited in Nilsson, 2010). Voice recording had allow the child to express things she cannot write in words (Nilsson, 2010), therefore the child felt no barrier to explore her own vocabulary and I can see this when she said words that she did not write in her story. The child wanted to put music alongside with her voice and I agreed as it will display her emotions and expressions when she was creating the story. After completing the editing, I played the slides and praised her for her great work as treating her story interesting and reread it again can show the child that her effort was worth i t (Lawrence, 1998). Reflecting on this experience, I felt that the making and the usage of this resource alongside with the theories and approaches that I followed brought a positive result in enhancing the child’s language and emergent literacies and also allowing the child to understand better about ICTs. Through reflecting, I realised I should include more children in creating the resource as the children’s collaboration could encourage the exchange of knowledge in literacy happen during the discussion and planning to create the digital story. I also understand that digital storytelling is a fun yet effective way to support children’s learning because it enable the child to create stories that interest her and expanding her scope of learning in a modernized way. Now that I understand the impact of ICT in children’s learning, I will continue to incorporate ICT in my future activities with the children but with larger group of children so that children from diverse backgroun d can also have the opportunity to experience and learn from the usage of the technology. List of References Bolstad, R. (2004) The role and potential of ICT in early childhood education. Available at: http://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/publications/ict/4983 (Accessed: 29 November 2014). Boundless (n.d) The Advantages and Disadvantages of Powerpoint. Available at: https://www.boundless.com/communications/textbooks/boundless-communications-textbook/preparing-and-using-visual-aids-16/using-powerpoint-and-alternatives-successfully-85/the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-powerpoint-323-5654/ (Accessed: 2 December 2014). Chamberlin, J. (2014) Bringing books to life. Available at: http://www.apa.org/monitor/2012/10/books.aspx (Accessed: 29 November 2014). Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) (2008) The Impact of Parental Involvement on Children’s Education. Nottingham: Crown. Department for Education (DfE) (2012a) Development Matters in the Early Years Foundation Stage. London: Crown. Department for Education (DfE) (2012b) Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. London: Crown. Green, S., Peterson, R., Lewis, J. (2006) ‘Language and Literacy Promotion in Early Childhood Settings: A survey of Center-Based Practices.’ Early Childhood Research and Practice, 8(1), 27-47. Hatherly, A., Ham, V., Evans, L. (2010) Effective Learning in Early Childhood Education? The Impact of the ECE ICT PL Programme: A Synthesis Report. Available at: http://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/publications/ECE/79138/1.-childrens-learning (Accessed: 30 November 2014). Kazakoff, E. (2012) Toward Defining Digital Literacy in Early Childhood. Available at: www.eetcconference.org/wp/Digital_Literacy_Early_Childhood.pdf (Accessed: 2 December 2014). Lawrence, L. (1998) Montessori Read Write. London: Ebury Press. McLeod, S. (2008) Bruner. Available at: http://www.simplypsychology.org/bruner.html (Accessed: 29 November 2014). New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) (2008) ‘How Drawing in Conjunction with Writing Contributes to Literacy.’ Journal of Best Practices in Education, 1(6), 36-43. Nilsson, M. (2010) ‘Developing Voice in Digital Storytelling through Creativity, Narrative and Multimodality.’ International Journal of Media, Technology Lifelong Learning, 6(2), 148-160. Pierangelo, R. and Giuliani, G. (2008) Teaching Students for Autism Spectrum Disorders. California: Corwin Press. Roney, J. (2008) Digital Story Telling for Language and Culture Learning. Available at: http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/2812 (Accessed: 29 November 2014). Shah, A. and Godiyal, S. (2000) ‘ICT in the Early Years: Balancing the risks and benefits.’ Journal of Computing in Early Childhood, 3(1), 15-30. Teachnology Inc (n.d) Piaget’s Theory on Constructivism. Available at: http://www.teach-nology.com/currenttrends/constructivism/piaget (Accessed: 29 November 2014). The Reader’s Digest Association (2014) 5 Benefits of Encouraging Your Child’s Imagination. Available at: http://www.rd.com/advice/parenting/encourage-your-childs-imagination/# (Acccesed: 30 November 2014). Tools of the Mind (2014) Zone of Proximal Development and Scaffolding. Available at: http://www.toolsofthemind.org/philosophy/scaffolding/ (Accessed: 28 November 2014). UNICEF (n.d) United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Available at: http://www.unicef.org/crc/files/Rights_overview.pdf (Accessed: 27 November 2014). Vogel, J. (2007) Research Supporting Digital Storytelling. Available at: http://courseweb.lis.illinois.edu/~jevogel2/lis506/research.html (Accessed: 2 December 2014). Whitehead, M. (2010) Language and Literacy in the Early Years 0-7. 4th edn. London: SAGE Publications. 1

The Responsibilities of a Business Leaders

In the past, people that were above average in one area of leadership skills could survive as a leader. Technology has forced an adaptation in practically all aspects of the business environment over the past decade. The level of skills for leaders in the 21st century will need to adapt as well. Tomorrow's business leaders will need to possess a much broader range and higher level of leadership skills. First of all, good human relations skills may be the baseline characteristic of tomorrow's leaders. If an individual does not have good human relations skills or just does not get along with other people, then they will probably be doomed as a leader from the beginning. It is hard for an individual that does not get along with others to motivate anybody to do anything. Therefore, a good idea may be dismissed, if one is unable to generate some excitement or motivate others to jump on board. This is why being able to motivating people is such an important aspect of being a leader. Tomorrow's leaders will also transition more power from themselves to the people. Leaders will need to recognize and utilize through empowerment their most talented people. Acting as a role model will help demonstrate leadership styles and be the example for other people to emulate. Secondly, better time management skills are another characteristic that will be required of the future leaders. Managing and using hours efficiently on the telephone, doing paperwork, attending meetings and working on the computer is critical. Leaders waste time everyday by attending non-productive meetings, working on non-value added paperwork and even little things like using email inefficiently. This time adds up quickly and the costs associated are significant, since most leaders earn relatively large salaries. For instance, look at any CEO of a large corporation that probably earns at least $2,000,000 per year. This calculates to about $16 a minute. If the CEO wastes just 15 minutes per day, it cost the company and shareholders more than $60,000 per year. The same holds true for all employees, but the dollars wasted are much more significant with the middle managers and up. Next, the leadership characteristic that has been changing the most rapidly over the past decade is technical skills. Technology, and more precisely the use of computers, has increased dramatically over the last five to ten years. Much more information on a wide variety of subjects is at everyone's fingertips. Leaders that know how to access and use this information will be ahead of the rest when it comes to possessing critical knowledge. This will also make it easier for tomorrow's leaders to be thinkers and doers rather than just thinkers. In the past, leaders would just command people; there was not a great need for the leaders to be doers. But, by being a doer, tomorrow's leaders will set an example for other people or doers to follow, rather than just barking out commands. Finally, having good problem solving and decision-making skills are two more key characteristics for tomorrow's leaders. As people, technical, time management and any other types of issues arise, one must be able to evaluate a problem, then develop and implement a solution. By possessing a broader range and higher level of leadership skills today, the leaders of tomorrow will evolve.

North West Case Essay

Executive Summary North West Company will move towards a â€Å"pull strategy† within its supply chain. Pull production is based on actual or consumed demand and individual store managers will monitor this. The benefit of localization for North West will be a higher inventory turnover rate. The benefit for customers will be a more customized shopping experience based on their community. The potential risks are there are high costs involved in implementing a new database system and procurement decisions will be divided between category managers and store managers. We will implement a new database system and train store managers to purchase inventory based on local and regional needs. This system will allow stores to be a part of their community and customer needs can be better met. Issue Identification These are the following issues that must be addressed: Forecasting and Procurement – Low Inventory Turnover Rate Product Receiving and Shipping – Reducing Cycle Time Merchandising and Selling – Interorganizational Information Systems Store Managers – Preference Implications Environment and Root Cause Analysis Environment North West Company has a lower inventory turnover rate than most of its competitors and that is due to the use of a â€Å"push strategy† within the supply chain. Customer demands are not taken into consideration and they often have to shop at competitors to meet their needs. Issue Identification Forecasting and Procurement – Low Inventory Turnover Rate Forecasting and procurement use a â€Å"push strategy† where production decisions are based on long term historical forecasting. Category managers look at past trends and base their buying decisions on past sales. Purchase orders are submitted at least 4 months prior to the intended selling period. This does not allow for a response to changes in demand. This can lead to overstocking inventory, which is what causes the low turnover rate. The relationship with suppliers is streamlined because orders are placed in large batches and way ahead of time. The lack of customization allows suppliers to respond quickly and production is ahead of schedule. Product Receiving and Shipping – Reducing Cycle Time Products arrive at the distribution center approximately two months prior to the selling period. Inventory is separated between temporary and regular on two floors. Space is optimized because of the tight managing schedule or receiving and shipping however the lead-time to distribute the merchandise is too long. Excess merchandise is â€Å"pushed† to stores and eventually ends up being marked down. Merchandising and Selling – Interorganizational Information Systems Once merchandise arrives to the stores it is immediately put on display. Rural stores often sell out of popular items and customers are left with no choice but to shop at a competitor or substitute for other items. Demand for particular stores is not forecasted and this is an opportunity cost. The product assortment is kept fresh throughout the selling period by splitting up shipments throughout the period. There is a lack of information between stores and what each store/region requires. Store Managers – Preference Implications Category managers currently make all procurement decisions. Individual  stores have no say in what they will be selling and cannot combat customer demands. Although a costly process, if managers are given the ability to customize their inventory stores will be able to cater to their specific communities. Alternatives and Options Forecasting and Procurement – Inventory Turnover Pro: Forecasting and procurement is a fairly simple process because orders are placed in large batches and way ahead of time based on historical data. Con: It takes longer to respond to changes in demand, which results in overstocking. Alternative: Dividing inventory into two categories – General and Seasonal/Customized. General merchandise with consistent sales will maintain the â€Å"push strategy† as the process is less costly and decisions are based on data. Seasonal/Customized inventory will adopt a â€Å"pull strategy† where store managers will have the opportunity to make decisions based on their immediate environment. Product Receiving and Shipping – Reducing Cycle Time Pro: The distribution center is already divided into two floors – one for immediate shipping and the other for storage. This makes for easy access to what needs to be shipped right away and what does not. Con: Two months is a long time to be housing inventory that is projected for a specific period. Demands can change in this time frame and the distribution center is left with no choice other than to â€Å"push† inventory to store warehouses. This is what leads to unnecessary markdowns. Alternative: Placing orders with suppliers at a later date will reduce the time inventory sits at the distribution center. The center already runs  smoothly and on schedule so pushing back shipments should not be a problem. This will allow orders to go in at a later date where inventory demands might change. Merchandising and Selling – Interorganizational Information Systems Pro: Merchandise is immediately put on display so stores do not have to stock inventory. Con: If a store runs out of certain products they cannot meet demand. Similarly, if a product does not sell it will eventually go into clearance. Alternative: Creating a database between stores that shows inventory of each store will allow inventory to move easily from one location to the next. Stores should hold some general merchandise in order to allow a continuous flow of turnover. Store Managers – Preference Implications Pro: Store managers can customize orders based on customer needs and local trends. There is opportunity to have higher inventory turnover because of localization. Con: Manager’s preferences can be biased and oppose that of the company as a whole. Alternative: Store managers should be given proper training and a guideline of what they can purchase. Managers are limited to â€Å"OTB† dollars. Recommendations The following is a summary of my recommendations: Categorize inventory into two sections: General and Seasonal/Customized Maintain the current system for General merchandise  Seasonal/Customized inventory to move to a â€Å"pull system† Within the â€Å"pull system†, seasonal/customized inventory is ordered at a later date to reduce storage time at distribution center Create storage space within individual stores for General merchandise Implementing a database for all stores to view on hand inventory Training store managers to use the database Developing an allowance for store managers to purchase products for their individual stores Implementation The first step is to categorize inventory between general and seasonal/customized. This will be appointed to category managers. General inventory will maintain the system that is already in place and will be consistent for all 147 stores. Once seasonal/customized inventory is identified, forecasting should be done two months prior to purchasing period. This responsibility will be that of the store manager. Cycle time will be reduced as the distribution center will now only be a gathering point for incoming shipments rather than a storage facility. Individual stores should allow for some storage space for General inventory and overstock. North West will need to invest at least $10 million to develop a database. The database will take a month to implement and we should consider up to two months for training of store managers. The category managers will determine the allowance that each store manager is given. We can look at data to determine which stores are most successful and calculate an allowance based on individual store inventory turnover. The entire plan should take no longer than six months to implement. Monitor and Control Timely checks should be made to see if the implementation plan is successful. Once inventory has been categorized and a database has been developed, category managers should measure the store managers’ performance. This includes examining if inventory turnover has gone up. Customers can be given surveys to measure whether or not their needs are being met. The  reduction in markdowns should be measured as well in order to determine whether or not this is a feasible system.

Outlining an Informative Speech Anabolic Steroids

| Outlining an Informative SpeechAnabolic Steroids in Sports | | | OUTLINE OF SPEECH ATTENTION-GETTING OPENER An athlete is a person who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility, or stamina. Athletes train and practice year-round to prepare for the competition and challenges. Most high school, college, amateur and professional athletes participate in sports for the opportunity to pit their abilities against those of their peers, and to experience the satisfaction that comes from playing to their potential. Others do so to satisfy a desire for recognition and fame. Unfortunately all this creates some athletes who are determined to win at any cost. Have you heard or know of†¦show more content†¦TRANSITION: You may be asking by now, what are the reasons that make athletes use these drugs? TRANSITION: Now, I will mention some famous athletes that used, during their careers and competitions, anabolic steroids. I’m sure you know most of them. Over the years many professional athletes have been focus of the media, after being caught using anabolic steroids. To name only a few, here are some examples. Heidi Krieger proved herself one of the worlds top athletes in the 1980s, winning medal after medal in the shot put for East Germany. Heidi Krieger, the 1986 European womens shot-put champion, became Andreas Krieger after a sex-change operation in 1997. He said he had been fed so many steroids by his coaches without his knowledge that physical and emotional problems began. We remember when Ben Johnson was stripped of his gold medal in the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Many athletes that were seen as heroes had their problems with anabolic use. Good examples of athletes that were made to look like heroes were Mark McGwire and Florence Griffith Joyner. Flo Jo was suspected of drug abuse when she won her gold medals in the Olympics. She was tested ten years after the Olympics and came up negative, but most steroids are out of a persons system within weeks. She was idolized by