Final Reflection on the Commonwealth Certificate for Teachers' ICT Integration CCTI

Final Reflection

On

 The Commonwealth Certificate for Teaches’ ICT Integration (CCTI)

2012-2015

I begin my final reflections by expressing gratitude to the Ministry of Education for affording me the opportunity to pursue training in ICT integration with The Commonwealth of Learning COL.
I wish also at this time to thank all my online tutors Gerald, Brenda, and Debs and our assessor Kevin. The feedback you provided were timely and in many instances very helpful. You have all been quite understanding and accommodating at times when I was unable to meet my deadlines for one reason or another and I appreciate it very much. It has been a learning experience and a pleasure working with you all.

May of this year would have marked three years since I begun studying with COL. During that time I would have been exposed to a number of new and innovative ways of approaching teaching with ICT. For the first time I learned about ‘flipping the classroom’. This was in module (8) Managing Teaching and learning with ICT which was quite challenging like the Project Approach to Learning with ICT.  I particularly like the Flipped classroom because it allows teachers to engage in differentiated instruction, catering to students’ varied learning styles. The Project Approach to learning with ICT in particular WebQuests was also very well received by.  

As intimated earlier, I would have been exposed to a number of productivity tools and how best to use them in the delivery of my lesson. Additionally I would have gained a better understanding of how to evaluate online resources. The course also provided me with the requisite tools to develop and implement an ICT integration programme at my school. It also forced us because of the way it was designed, to be original in the completion of assignments. There could not have been any textbook answers as such because the assignments focused on finding solutions to or addressing concerns at the school level. In this regard the programme was quite unique.

In my opinion the programme was quite protracted and the workload tedious for a certificate course. On a few occasions the instructions were ambiguous and as a result, posed difficulty in my interpretation of what was required. I also encountered difficulty in navigating my way through the readings for some of the modules. The Project Approaches to Learning with ICT was exceptionally challenging for me. This may have come about because by this time I had become mentally fatigued and demotivated. However, this module could not have come at a more opportune time. The readings and activities provided greater insight into project writing and opportunities to practice various aspects of project writing. Am sure that many teachers  found this module very useful as projects have become a permanent feature on the curriculum and now form part of the Caribbean Primary Exit Assessment.

I can recall very early in the programme being told by one of the e tutors that students were not required to cite the work of others because what we were doing wasn’t scholarly. Nor were we required to create  bibliographies. This was of great concern to my fellow colleagues as well. Nevertheless I was not daunted by this and was able to persevere to the end. One of the questions that still plague me is whether or not the work done would be recognized by the University of the West Indies or any other college.

The wealth of information gathered over the duration of the programme made it worth the while. However, I would love to see COL streamline the programme. In addition something should be done to enhance the presentation of information making it easier to find your way around. I also would like to see a system set up where students can check their grades online and be able to chart their progress.

I conclude as I begun by expressing my sincere gratitude and appreciation to all those who would have assisted me in one way or the other to complete programme. May God richly bless you all.

Module 6: Project Approaches to Learning with ICT

Module 6: Reflection

My earlier prediction that this module would have been fun could not have been further from the truth. It was very demanding. I found the constant need to go back forth in the materials for the Project Approach to Learning (P.B.L) rather annoying. Sometimes I did lose my way. Additionally the number of activities that I had to keep up with as I made my way through this half of the module was quite taxing. 

The Abrupt switch from P.B.L to WebQuest didn’t help either. I felt as though there was quite a bit that still needed to be covered in regards to P.B.L. WebQuests however, proved easier to work with because they generally appeal to the creative side of me. However, I am of the opinion that some minor technical details of the creation of WebQuests may have been omitted. I stand subject to correction. 

From my involvement with WebQuests, I would have to agree with the findings that they have tremendous potential to transform learning in the 21 century classroom. This claim is grounded in the evidence contained in the literature and from my own experience. A well designed WebQuest is intended to promote 21 century skills such as collaboration, cooperation, critical thinking, social skills and problem solving, all of which are critical to ones’ success in the 21^st century. 

In conclusion, the success of any WebQuest resides with the teacher and the extensiveness of the planning and implementation of it. One must ensure that WebQuests align with the curriculum, that adequate resources on- and of-line are provided, that clear instructions are given and that at every stage of the WebQuest, opportunities for scaffolding are presented to the students. Management therefore, is of critical importance. I would strongly recommend that WebQuests and or P.B.L become permanent pedagogical tools in our classrooms as we prepare or students for 21^st century workplaces.

Module 6 Project Based Learning

Reflection: Module 6 Project Based Learning

This module promises to be an exciting one given the fact that projects are becoming a permanent feature on the curriculum and now form part of the Caribbean Primary Exit Assessment, the examination which replaces the Common Entrance exams. This module could not have come at a more opportune time, as the readings and activities provide greater insight into project writing and opportunities to practice various aspects of project writing.

The readings that I have done to date indicate that there are benefits to be had from adopting a Project Base Learning (P.B.L) approach to teaching. Some of these include among others increased motivation, self direction and collaboration and so on and so forth.

Having said that, I am also cognizant of the fact that P.B.L pose some challenge to teachers, especially to those of us who are new to it. The present curriculum which is teacher centered and the high demand it places on teachers and students must be addressed. Building on the issue just raised, is the time factor. Projects take up a lot of time and the demands of the present curriculum makes adopting P.B.L a bit of challenge but it can be done.

My advice would be for us to start small until we have gotten a hang of it (P.B.L) with at least one project per year throughout the school. In our planning, careful attention must be paid to each phase of P.B.L. In the first or planning phase, attention is paid to goal setting, developing curriculum framing questions, planning of assessment and designing of activities. The second or investigative phase sees children working through the activities and producing representations of their findings. And in the third and final stage pupils will be in involved in culminating activities such as presentations and debriefings.  In all of this we must be mindful of the content we wish to cover, the processes involved and the final product we want our children to produce.

Activity 10 &11: Producing Resources

It's accepted that digital resources can significantly improve learning in the classroom. This activity, in conjunction with a similar activity in a earlier module has taught me how to create my own or modify existing digital resources. This reduces the heavy reliance on text books. With these resources students can be provided new and exciting experiences that can deepen their understanding and enhance academic performance.

Activity two of the learning resource was well received but not without its challenges. The students were using blade to dissect flowers and required strict that proved challenging. The joy was obvious as they dissected the flower and proudly displayed the various parts.

Children on a whole love the outdoors immensely and activity four of the learning resource provided them with an opportunity to be outside. While the on the outside they investigated flowers that were visited by insects and those which are not. They thoroughly enjoyed being investigators making observations, taking notes and discussing their observations. The students were very eager to share their knowledge of local plants as well.