Module 3: ICT and the Roles of the educator - Assignment 2

Evaluating web-hosted resources
       
Assignment two afforded me the opportunity to immediately put into practice the newly acquired skill of evaluating websites. It was a bit tedious having to search online for 10 educational sites that provided information that aligned with the curriculum objectives of my chosen topic "plants". Nevertheless, it was a worthwhile exercise. One of the many challenges encountered in this exercise was understanding the use of the template. I manipulated the  margins, font style and size in an attempt to get the evaluatory comments for each criterion hold in the allotted space but to no avail. In the end common sense prevailed. The exercise also increased my collection of websites that can be shared with my teachers.

Activity 9: Relection

Evaluating web-hosted information:

It is not enough to know how to use  a search engine to find websites especially with the plethora of information available on the internet. What is of greater importance is the ability to evaluate these sites.  Teachers and students alike must therefore be equipped with the necessary skills to make such evaluation. This was the intent of Activity 9 to equip me with these skills.

The following criteria can be used to evaluate educational website resources to ensure the best selection. These criteria are purpose, credibility, accuracy, objectivity/bias, and relevance/timeliness among others. Further information on the evaluation of websites can be obtained here.

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.

The roles of the educator

Reflection on Activity: 1

I can say that the views expressed by my colleagues on the role of the teacher in the ICT classroom were quite informative.  Based on the discussion the role of the teacher includes mediator, designer, admission, scholar, pastor, assessor and specialist. Three roles that were of interest to me are the teacher’s role as a designer, a mediator and an assessor.

As the mediator the teacher facilitates learning and creates opportunities for dialogue between the teacher, students and parents. The claims are powerful and unequivocal, when schools work together with families to support learning, children tend to succeed. Therefore the cultivation of strong “family school linkages” is increasingly and widely viewed as an essential component of strategies to improve students’ educational outcomes. The use of blogs and emails can assist to foster this strong school tie. I find this method quite innovative and its a quick way to convey messages to parents about students progress in schools. This method will certainly be used by me as I endeavour to involve parents in the learning experience. 

The teacher operating as a designer certainly tickled my interest. As a designer the teacher devises programmes which cater for the needs of the students. Therefore the teachers in the ICT classroom should be creative in the use of technology based on the curriculum and their students’ needs and design educational materials in their own fields. In this view, the teacher rather than taking on the role of knowledge dispenser or just adopting existing technologies, design their own teaching environment with a variety of technological tools to facilitate knowledge construction. Analysing this role has motivated me to create an environment where technology can be used to teach diverse learning styles, thus ensuring that the needs of students are catered to. 

In the end it’s imperative that students’ learning is assessed on a continuous basis. This will give me a clearer understanding of how learning takes place; this will help me to better collect, analyse and make decisions that are in the best interest of my students.