Exploring natural materials with a digital microscope

Elaine Valiris is an early years officer at St Andrews Nursery and has responsibility for ICT development. She has introduced a wide variety of ICT resources including programmable toys and an interactive whiteboard. During activity time pupils are allowed to choose which activity they wish to take part in. These activities promote investigative play. One activity uses the digital microscope to investigate leaves, twigs and flowers that they have collected and another involves the use of their new interactive whiteboard to draw freehand.

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Teacher profile

Elaine Valiris has been an early years officer at St Andrew's Nursery for three and a half years. She did a Higher National Certificate(HNC) in childcare and education at Dundee College and spent six months as a supply nursery nurse before coming to St Andrews.

ICT is a subject that really interests Elaine. At the nursery she has responsibility for ICT development. She attended a four-day course for trainers run by Fife Council as part of the Early Learning Forward Thinking strategy. Otherwise her ICT skills are mostly self-taught. She is lucky to have a brother who is an IT project manager, who can help her if necessary.

There is a growing number of ICT resources at the nursery, from programmable toys to a new interactive whiteboard, which are used daily. Some of the technology is also used for parents' evenings and open days.

St Andrew's Nursery in St Andrew's has 69 pupils. One pupil has special educational needs, four have free school lunches and five speak English as a second language.

The school has three PCs for the pupils’ use and two in the office. Elaine and the headteacher have had Early Learning Forward Thinking training for trainers and their new skills are being cascaded to the rest of the staff in the school year 2004/05. All staff have had training in the use of the digital stills and video cameras and the digital microscope.