Using technology across the curriculum opens up the possibilities for not only developing valuable computing skills such as coding and programming, but also a range of essential learning skills, often referred to as the 4 C’s for 21st Century Learning.
Technology helps to motivate and inspire children and offers them lots of opportunities to practice and develop their skills in communication, collaboration, creativity and critical thinking.
Although these aren’t specifically noted as curriculum outcomes within the National Curriculum, developing these skills will help to give children the tools they need to access learning across the curriculum.
By supporting children to develop these 4 C’s, we can help to prepare them with the skills they need to be the innovators of the future!
The future belongs to the curious. The ones who are not afraid to try it, explore it, poke at it, question it and turn it inside out.
Anon.
Here are some examples of the ways that three of our best-selling resources can be used to help children develop these essential 21st Century Learning Skills.
Rugged Robot
COMMUNICATION
- Children can discuss and explain their Rugged Robot journeys with each other and also discover and explore specific vocabulary across the curriculum, such as positional language in maths.
COLLABORATION
- Set children the challenge to work together to share ideas and problem solve. They could plan a route together, set each other challenges, or work together to navigate Rugged Robot out of a maze!
CREATIVTY
- Give children the freedom to plan and be creative. They can explore, discover and learn through being creative with their choices.
CRITICAL THINKING
- Encourage children to discuss, problem solve, evaluate and make changes to their plans when they do not go as expected.
Easi-Speak
COMMUNICATION
- Children could record their thoughts, share their ideas, plan activities or explain new concepts, and then share and listen back to these recordings. This can be really useful in supporting oral and written communication, as children can practice and rehearse as many times as needed.
COLLABORATION
- Encourage children to work together or why not ask them to interview each other about events, stories or something new that they have learnt.
CREATIVTY
- Easi-Speak can offer children a creative way to record their learning, such as a new story, a music composition or a voice over for a film. By having Easi-Speak as a resource always available in your classroom, children can make their own cretaive choices.
CRITICAL THINKING
- Through recording their thoughts, ideas and explanations, children have the chance to reflect and evaluate.
STEM Class Kits
COMMUNICATION
- As children create and make their STEM creation, encourage them to talk and discuss their ideas.
COLLABORATION
- Many of the STEM kits will require children to work together to build a model. They will need to develop key skills such as listening and turn taking in order to collaborate effectively.
CREATIVTY
- Whether adding decorations to their own brush monster or creating their own ride using the crumble kit, the STEM class kits allow children to add their own personal touch to their creations.
CRITICAL THINKING
- There are so many opportunities for children to plan, problem solve and evaluate as they build their STEM models. Then continue the critical thinking with children planning their own experiments using the models. They might explore how to change their vehicle to make it go faster, or how to make their lighthouse shine brighter.
Explore our full range of technology resources …
