Spreadsheet as a Learning Resource

Reflection on Activity 7

 Reflecting on this activity, I can state that a significant amount of information was gleaned. In the activity I observed that the teacher presented information that the student (Nicole) was aware of, as a result the student (Nicole) was able to make connections with what was required for the designing of the crafts. Might I add that one of the key components for effective teaching is to assist students in making connections with what is being taught and what they already know.

Throughout the duration of the lesson the teacher acted as a facilitator and was able to help the student grasp the development of knowledge as a process rather than a product. I was inspired by the student centred classroom created by the teacher so the child was quite interactive and expressive which of course aided in her understanding of the Microsoft Excel.

This case study acted as a motivator for me because initially I thought that transferring my knowledge of Microsoft Excel would have been an uphill task, but because this teacher was able to present this lesson in a stimulating and student friendly way I am intrigued to apply a similar method to ensure my students grasp the concepts

Activity 8: Integrating Spreadsheet with Learning

Reflection

 

 Teaching my class about Microsoft Excel was quite a rewarding experience. Students were enthused to transfer what they had documented during the science lesson. Students were engaged in a period of observation where they documented how much water was absorbed by a plant over a six days period. The thrilling part was when they had to work in groups to be able to create a line graph. I observed that as students worked in their groups there was greater productivity, more high-level reasoning, more frequent generation of new ideas and exercising of problem solving skills. My task as a facilitator was to offer assistance where necessary. There was one group that encountered some difficulties but as time progressed they were able to grasp the concepts and ably complete the task at hand. All the objectives were met and learning did take place.

 Reflection of the outcome of the lesson: This lesson was rather interactive and students were very enthused to work in their groups for the duration of this lesson. There was one group that struggled to present their data because initially the information was incorrectly documented during the observation process. In the future I will ensure that greater attention is paid to the collection and tabulation of data by students.

Activity 3

Reflection:       The Word Processor as a Learning Resource

The use of technology actually transforms our consciousness, our ways of thinking and writing and our ways and writing and our ways of knowing and constructing meaning. The information presented on the use of Word Processing software reveals that great advantages can be achieved in the writing classroom. Experimenting with the software in my own classroom experience I have realized that children who write with word processing software tend to make more revisions, write longer compositions and produce pieces with fewer mechanical errors. This is achieved because the programme can assist students to correct incorrect spellings and sentence structure.  I must note though that computers in themselves do not affect student's writing ability. However teachers play a major role in children's learning. I must hasten to say that in order for this tool to be effective, teachers must identify explicit learning goals, design their instruction efficiently and effectively and give students adequate practice.