Lesson 12: Information Technology in Support of Student-Centered Learning

Lesson 12: Information Technology in Support of Student-Centered Learning

              In today’s modern world of highly urbanized societies and economic progressive countries the main focus of education has shifted from the teacher to the student.  To compete globally with other cultures and a communities, students must learn to be independent, creative, self-reliant and resourceful to be able to mold them and be successful in their chosen careers, professional and personal lives.  From a teacher-centered process, learning has evolved into a student-centered activity.  From the traditional method of teacher to student transfer of information, it has changed to teacher guiding and facilitating students to gather information and knowledge by themselves thru the use of the computer and its varied ethological aspects.  Of course, this new educational pattern can only be observed in well-off countries where the educational system has a very large budget and can afford to install all modern information technological devices in their schools.  In the so called third world countries which unfortunately includes our own country - Philippines, the traditional method of teacher focused learning prevails.  In fact the bare necessities of a classroom, desks and chairs are often lacking..! 

          SLC environment is giving the student’s active participation in the classroom. It can be noisy but still it is a good idea for developing students to be an independent learner and make them smart. But I don’t think that it is unwieldy because being a teacher she has still the right to control the behavior of the students inside the classroom. SCL become fun in a way that this process will involves interaction between the facilitator who was the teacher and towards the student. It can give more enjoyment because the students are given more educational activities that could enhance their skills and also could enhance their higher order thinking skills in order for them to manipulate a certain activity by their own.   

      Generally, the new school classroom environment is characterized by student individually or in groups:

•  performing computer word processing for text or graph presentations
• preparing PowerPoint presentation
• searching for information on the internet
• brainstorming on ideas, problems and project plans as needed, the teacher facilitating instruction to serve individual needs.

            The  traditional and student centered learning are very much different traditional is more on teacher centered classroom, while for student-centered classroom requires the good outcome of the students. As I experience before that teacher in traditional setting just talk and talk without thinking if there students are learning.

           As a future teacher i will not allow traditional way of teaching i will encourage them to do their task with my supervision and active participation. I also allow them in first hand experiences and focus on outcome based learning.
          
         

LESSON 11: The Computer as the Teacher’s Tool

LESSON 11: The Computer as the Teacher’s Tool    


                 In the previous lesson, we saw how the computer can act as a tutor, particularly along a behaviorist and cognitive approach to learning. But we also saw how certain computer software programs have been developed to foster higher thinking skills and creativity.In this lesson, we shall again look at the computer, but this time from another perspective, the computer as the teacher’s handy-tool. It can in fact support the constructivist and social constructivist paradigms of constructivist learning.Constructivist was introduced by Piaget (1981) and Bruner (1990). 
               They gave stress to knowledge discovery of new meaning/concepts/principles in the learning process. Various strategies have been suggested to foster knowledge discovery, among these, is making students engaged in gathering unorganized information from which they can induce ideas and principles. Students are also asked to apply discovered knowledge to new situations, a process for making their knowledge applicable to real life situations.While knowledge is constructed by the individual learner in constructivism, knowledge can also be socially constructed. Social constructivism. This is an effort to show that the construction of knowledge is governed by social, historical and cultural contexts. In effect, this is to say that the learner who interprets knowledge has a predetermined point of view according to the social perspectives of the community or society he lives in.The psychologist Vygotsky stressed that learning is affected by social influences. He therefore suggested the interactive process in learning. The more capable adult (teacher or parent) or classmate can aid or complement what the learner sees in a given class project. In addition, Dewey sees language as a medium for social coordination and adaptation. For Dewey human learning is really human language that occurs when students socially share, build and agree upon meanings and knowledge.           

Learning Framework	Constructivism	Social Constructivism
Assumption	Knowledge is constructed by the individual.	Knowledge is constructed within a social context.
Definition of Learning	Students build their own learning.	Students build knowledge influenced by the social context.
Learning Strategies	Gather unorganized information to create new concept/principle	Exchange and share from ideas, stimulates thinking.
General Orientation	Personal discovery of knowledge.	Students discuss and discover meanings
Example	8*5-8+8+8+8+8	Two alternative job offers option 1-8 hrs/day for 6days/week Option 2-9 hrs/day for 5 days/week

The Computer’s Capabilities
            Given its present-day speed, flexibility and sophistication, the computer can provide access to information, foster creative social knowledge building, and enhance the communication of the achieved project package. Without the computer, today’s learners may still be assuming the tedious task of low-level information gathering, building and new knew knowledge packaging. But this is not so, since the modern computer can help teacher-and-students to focus on more high level cognitive tasks.
            Based on the two learning theories, the teacher can employ the computer as a/an:·         As an information tool
·         A communication tool
·         A constructive tool
·         As co-constructive tool
·         A situating tool
Informative tool
           The computer can provide vast amounts of information in various forms, such as text, graphics, sound and video. Even multimedia encyclopedias are today available on the internet.The internet itself provides and enormous database from which user can access global information resources that includes the latest news, weather forecasts, airline schedule, sports development, entertainment news and features, as well as educational information directly useful to learners. The internet on education can be sourced for kinds of educational resources on the internet.Along the constructivist point of view, it is not enough for learners to download relevant information using the computer as an information tool. Students can use gathered information for composition or presentation projects as may be assigned by the teacher. Given the fact that the internet can serve as a channel for global communication, the computer can very well be the key tool for video teleconferencing sessions.
Constructive Tool 
            The computer itself can be used for manipulating information, visualizing one’s understanding and building new knowledge. The Microsoft Word computer program itself is a desktop publishing software that allows uses to organize and present their ideas in attractive formats.
Co-constructive Tools 
           Students can use constructive tools to work cooperatively and construct a shared understanding of new knowledge. On ways of co-constructive is the use of the electronic whiteboard where students may post notices to a shared document/whiteboard. Students may also co-edit the same document from their homes.

         Computer serves as a good guide for the teacher this to promote active participation of the students and effective instruction. The computer is an aid of the teacher this is to lessen his/her works.

        In own point of view  computer serves as a key tool or and aid of the teacher in providing a better outcome

LESSON 13: Cooperative Learning with the Computer

LESSON 13:Cooperative Learning with the Computer

 Singapore has set the global pace for student-centered learning with a 2:1 (2 pupils with one computer) ratio in its masterplan for IT in Education. This shows that even in other progressive countries, the 1:1: pupil-computer ratio is still an ideal to be achieved. Reality therefore dictates that schools face the fact that each classroom, especially in public or government schools, may not be equipped with the appropriate number of computers.

          The creativity of the teacher will have to respond to the situation, and so cooperative learning will likely be the answer to the implementation of IT supported learning in our schools. But the situation may not be that bad since there are motivational and social benefits to cooperative learning and these can compensate for lack of hardware that educators face.

 Defining cooperative learning

            Cooperative or collaborative learning is learning by small groups of students who work together in a common learning task. It is often also called group learning but to be truly cooperative learning, 5 elements are needed:

1. A common goal

2. Interdependence

3. Interaction

4. Individual accountability

5. Social skills

          Therefore not every group work is cooperative learning since students working on their work sheets physically sat around a table may be working together without these features of cooperative learning.

From several studies made on cooperative learning, it is manifested that cooperative learning in its true sense is advantageous since it:

(a) Encourage active learning, while motivating students

(b) Increases academic performance

(c) Promotes literacy and language skills

(d) Improves teacher effectiveness

          In addition, there are studies show that cooperative learning enhances personal and social development among students of all ages, while enhancing self-esteem and improving social relations between racially and culturally different students. 

Cooperative learning and the computer

    Researchers have made studies on the learning interaction between the student and the computer. The studies have great value since it has been a long standing fear that the computer may foster student learning in isolation that hinders the development of the student’s social skills.

            Now this mythical fear has been contradicted by the studies which show that when students work with computers in groups, they cluster and interact with each other for advice and mutual help. And given the option to work individually or in a group, the students generally wish to work together in computer-based and non-computer-based activities. Reflecting on this phenomenon, psychologists think the computer fosters this positive social behavior due to the fact that it has a display monitor – just like a television set – that is looked upon as something communal.

            Therefore researchers agree that the computer is a fairly natural learning vehicle for cooperative (at times called promotive) learning.

Components of cooperative learning

            Educators are still wary about the computer’s role in cooperative learning. Thus they pose the position that the use of computers do not automatically result in cooperative learning. There therefore assign the teacher several tasks in order to ensure collaborative learning. These are:

· Assigning students to mixed-ability teams

· Establishing positive interdependence

· Teaching cooperative social skills

· Insuring individual accountability, and

· Helping groups process information

          These are in addition to assigning a common work goal in which each member of the group will realize that their group will not succeed unless everyone contributes to the groups’ success. It is also important for the teacher limits learning group clusters (six is the ideal number in a group) so there can be closer involvement in thinking and learning.

Cooperative learning using computer is gives an idea to do such thing which we did not probably encounter in our lives. Like my experience in doing projects in computer is not enough to do my task well, but I take my IT subject and through the effort of my classmates to guide and teach me how to do such task, now I can able to make my own project. Also, cooperative learning will lessen the task of the teacher to individually teach them

Cooperation in doing computer activities is important this well help student who are not yet expert in handling computer, cooperative work also encourages students active learning as well as motivating them to boost their performance and increase their social skills through social interaction between each group. As teacher in the future I will engage my students to have a collaborative work like in physics topic that in order to understand fully the concepts and ideas behind it, we should give or show the some simulation and other techniques which requires computer as a medium of instruction. Cooperative learning also allows asking their companion some queries and can share their ideas about it.

Through cooperative and active participation I can now do such thing that is very useful in my studies like for example that before I don’t know how to do even a simple PowerPoint but, through the guidance and support of my classmates I can now make my own presentation doing researches which I didn’t do usually before because the most reason is I don’t know how to handle a computer before

 

LESSON 14: THE SOFTWARE AS AN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE

LESSON 14: THE SOFTWARE AS AN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE

          Whenever people think about computers, they are most likely thinking about the computer machine such as the television-like monitor screen, the keyboard to type on , the printer which produces copies of text –and-graphics material, and the computer housing called “the box” which contains the electronic parts and circuits (the central processing unit) that receives/stores data and directs computer operations. The computer machine or hardware is naturally an attention- getter.
                It’s more difficult to realize, however, that the computer hardware can hardly be useful without the program or system that tells what the computer machine should do. This is also called the software.
                There are two kinds of software:
1.       The system software. This is the operating system that is found or bundled inside all computer machines.
2.       The application software. This contains the system that commands the particular task or solves a particular problem.
In turn the applications software maybe:
(a)    a custom software that is made for specific tasks often by large corporations, or
(b)   a commercial software packaged for personal computers that help with a variety of tasks such as writing papers, calculating numbers, drawing graphs, playing games, and so much more.
Microsoft Windows
                Also referred to as a program, Microsoft Windows or Windows for short is an operating environment between the user and the computer operating system. Also called a shell, it is a layer that creates the way the computer should work. Windows uses a colorful graphics interface (called GUI-pronounced “gooee”) that can be seen on the computer screen or monitor whenever the computer is turned on.
                The user can work with on-screen pictures (icons) and suggestions (menus) to arrive at the desired software. Windows 95 (now improved with Windows 2003 and 2007) is a software designed for Microsoft Windows. Actually, Windows is in itself a self-contained operating system which provides
•         User convenience - just click a file name to retrieve data or click from program to program as easy as changing channels in your TV screen.
•         A new look - fancy borders, smooth and streamlined text fonts.
•         Information center - Windows put all communications activities (e-mail, downloads etc. in a single screen icon); adapts/configures the computer for the Internet.
•         Plug and play - configures the computer with added components, such as for sound and video.
Instructional Software
Instructional software can be visited on the Internet or can be bought from software shops or dealers. The teacher through his school should decide on the best computer-based instructional (CBI) materials for the school resource collection. But beware since CBIs need much improvement, while web-based educational resources are either extremely good or what is complete garbage. In evaluating computer-based educational materials, the following can serve as guidelines:
•         Be extremely cautious in using CBIs and ‘free’ Internet materials.
•         Don’t be caught up by attractive graphics, sound, animation, pictures, video clips and music forgetting their instructional worth.
•         Teachers must evaluate these resources using sound pedagogical principles.
•         Among design and content elements to evaluate are: the text legibility, effective use of color schemes, attractive layout and design, and easy navigation from section-to-section (such as from game to tutorial to drill-and-practice section).
•         Clarity in the explanations and illustrations of concepts and principles.
•         Accuracy, coherence, logic of information.
•         Absence of biased materials (e.g. gender bias or racial bias

            A lot of software nowadays which are considered to be useful and bad for students, education expert is doing software or apps that can help the educator to lessen their burden in explaining hard concepts but some application such thing became easier. In our computational physics we experience in doing programs that we can apply in our instruction in the future like using MOODLE, C++, C# this task help us to appreciate how our calculator are programmed by the expert or we also experience how an IT programmer works in order to make a very useful program.

            There are many software that are very useful for us, like doing report presentation through Microsoft powerpoint, doing homework and assignments through Microsoft word. This implies that every software has its own characteristics but differ on the users. Teachers should always look into the student welfare before using any software for instruction; a teacher also serves as a guidance councillor, and an expert of that software.

          There are software that we can use in our instruction life this PHet application which sometimes introduced by our instructor in dealing our lessons. I will also allow my student to do task or activities that will help them appreciate many things using different application in the computer for them to understand the topics very well.