Hi everyone,
After browsing through most of the blogs created by my coursemates for MAE 812, I decided to do 2 make-overs for my blog. As you can see, this is my first attempt at blogging so my first reflection was really formal. So the 1st make-over... I've decided to write more personal reflections and do it in a causal style. 2nd make-over which is still in progress... I'm trying to see how I can link everyone's blogs onto mine (as what some of you have done).
After attending Week 3's MAE 812 lesson, I feel that the teacher, students & ICT are actually interdependent. In order for a lesson to be successful, all 3 elements must play their roles well. For a start, I (the teacher) need to know WHY ICT should be used in a particular lesson. Only then can I move on to create an effective task for students. As far as possible, lessons should provide opportunities for cooperation & collaboration rather than using it as a convenient replacement of a pen & paper assignment.
I shan't go on to summarize what I've learnt during the lesson. Instead, I'll share with you what I have in mind and hopefully, some of you will respond. This year, I'm taking a good P3 class. Most of the kids are exposed to technology. I gave them a journal writing title 'My Dream School' & generated a class discussion of an IT school, using Beacon Primary as an example. In fact, I tried to make myself sound 'smart' by using terms like 'laptop', 'tablet', 'stylus' etc... Guess what? The kids knew what these terms mean and could even go on & tell me more!
Using the idea of a blog that Dr Phillip has started with the intention of letting us give comments & gaining more knowledge, I thought of getting my students to have their own blogs too. In fact, some of them already have their own blogs. I will divide them into groups where they're supposed to post reflections after certain lessons (eg. science). Members in the groups will then respond and generate more discussion from there. This will mean that students need not do their reflections in their Science Journals. They'll do them in their blogs & more students can view their work. I'm just toying with this idea as I'm not sure if I'll be able to assess their understanding well based on their blogs. This can also be extented to English Journals so that more students with creative writings can share them with the rest.
What do you think? Have your say please...
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Monday, January 21, 2008
Week 2: Self-Reflection
Know the tools and know what the tools do best
In the video, there was an example where pupils did an i-movie based on their reading curriculum. Personally, I feel that this is an authentic task that allows pupils to be engaged in hands-on discovery and imagination. However, not many schools approach technology in this manner. Many schools are currently actively encouraging teachers and pupils to use technology to harness on teaching and learning. Teachers may know the tools but are not able to use the appropriate tools to their best effect. They simply use technology to ‘clock in’ the number of required hours stipulated by the management, something that I’m also guilty of at times. Not many will put in the effort to think through what the technological tools do and what they do best.
Impart technological skills
In schools, teachers are so caught up with completing the syllabus. In order to fulfill the schools’ IT requirements, some teachers overlooked the importance of imparting technological skills. For example, it is easy to tell pupils to do a research online but pupils are not aware of the essential skills to do an effective online research – how to do a concise search? How to use the search engine? How to discern between the right and the wrong? How to ask the correct questions in order to obtain the answers? Therefore, teachers should set aside some time to impart technological skills to pupils. Again, I’m one of the guilty ones here. However, the group discussion in class has motivated me to relook and modify the way I get pupils to do online research from now on.
Being aware of what distributed knowledge is
The final take-away for me is that I’m aware of what distributed knowledge is. Everyone has some knowledge in them. There is no one single depository of knowledge available. In this technological age, it is important for pupils to be aware of the importance of distributed knowledge and knowing where/who to go to for getting the needed information.
In the video, there was an example where pupils did an i-movie based on their reading curriculum. Personally, I feel that this is an authentic task that allows pupils to be engaged in hands-on discovery and imagination. However, not many schools approach technology in this manner. Many schools are currently actively encouraging teachers and pupils to use technology to harness on teaching and learning. Teachers may know the tools but are not able to use the appropriate tools to their best effect. They simply use technology to ‘clock in’ the number of required hours stipulated by the management, something that I’m also guilty of at times. Not many will put in the effort to think through what the technological tools do and what they do best.
Impart technological skills
In schools, teachers are so caught up with completing the syllabus. In order to fulfill the schools’ IT requirements, some teachers overlooked the importance of imparting technological skills. For example, it is easy to tell pupils to do a research online but pupils are not aware of the essential skills to do an effective online research – how to do a concise search? How to use the search engine? How to discern between the right and the wrong? How to ask the correct questions in order to obtain the answers? Therefore, teachers should set aside some time to impart technological skills to pupils. Again, I’m one of the guilty ones here. However, the group discussion in class has motivated me to relook and modify the way I get pupils to do online research from now on.
Being aware of what distributed knowledge is
The final take-away for me is that I’m aware of what distributed knowledge is. Everyone has some knowledge in them. There is no one single depository of knowledge available. In this technological age, it is important for pupils to be aware of the importance of distributed knowledge and knowing where/who to go to for getting the needed information.
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