Technology

Technology

The learning area of Technology includes Information Technology - computers and other electronic equipment. We have been adding 5 interactive whiteboards a year to the classrooms and these have had a huge impact on teaching and learning. Access to the internet for research and interactive learning activities is invaluable. Teachers have been learning almost as much as their students! We also have 31computers in our computer lab and at least 2 computers in each classroom. Also skills related to computer software and electronic devices such as cameras are taught within contexts of classroom study, often as part of a guided inquiry process but also in support of numeracy and literacy.

At Flaxmere Primary, each team integrates technology into inquiry units. The students have the opportunity to be fully involved in the planning, making and evaluating process of technology. Years 1-3 Years 4-6 Years 7-8

Year five and six students bottling their Gingerbeer
in the final stages of a Food Technology Unit.
These are the faces of some satisfied Gingerbeer makers!

JUNIOR SCHOOL TECHNOLOGY

Our junior children investigate items that have relevance to their lives. They find out how things work, their purposes and what they are made of. They have many opportunities to make things using supplied or found materials. We always encourage individuality and variety.

MIDDLE SCHOOL TECHNOLOGY

The children who are working at Years 3 / 4 and 5/6, (Levels 2 and 3), are learning how to solve a problem that does not necessarily have a right or wrong answer.
They need to:

understand the problem
design a plan to solve the problem
try their plan
evaluate it and adapt it
try their adapted plan and evaluate it.

Each year this group of children will focus on technology topics such as designing and making some kind of container, comparing the roles of various objects in people’s lives, and mass production on an assembly line for items such as food or cards.

SENIOR SCHOOL TECHNOLOGY

Our Year 7 and 8 students participate in an exciting Technology programme integrated with other curriculum learning areas. Each year there is also a focus in one term on several areas of technology when students are able to choose one area and spend 3 hours a week on in-depth designing and making.

The programme includes the areas of

Food
Materials (Metal, Fabric Wood and Plastic)
Electronics and Production (including electronic devices such as computers and cameras)
Process Technologies

Students are also encouraged to participate in building equipment for the school such as abacus and cookie cutters.

In 2001, students decided they needed aprons to protect their clothes when cooking and during atr and technology messy sessions, so they researched the various styles and then designed their own aprons.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Flaxmere Primary School is fully networked with over 80 computers and laptops in classrooms and administration areas. There are 20 computers presently in the computer centre and each classroom space has a machine with additional computers in the library, special needs and enrichment rooms.

All classrooms have internet and email facilities within them. The students participate in a range of integrated information technology projects during the year.

All classes have weekly scheduled seesions in the computer centre as well as daily access during timeslots where individuals or group are supervised by our I.C.T. teacher.

Information Technology is integrated within the curriculum so that students cover computer software skills suited to their levels within the context of other curriculum studies.

We also have 2 digital cameras and 2 video cameras which students make use of for recording activities such as sports, drama, music, technology and speech making. Movies and photos are edited and accessed by all through our school intranet which is set up as a private website.

Assemblies are exciting times with a laptop computer connected to a projector so that school-made movies, power points and other published student work, song words, internet information and slide shows of pictures can be shared and enjoyed together.