Lesson 16

The Internet and Education

   

The invention of the computer and the subsequent software programmed for its use has totally changed the whole concept of progress and communication.  Every part of the world can now be reached and contact with other persons where ever they are can be done through the internet.  The internet is the system that enables the user of a computer to gain access to whatever he needs be it for information, for communication, for business or for personal reasons.  Missing relatives can even be found thru the internet by using different search and social sites.  How much more for the field of education; the internet has become its partner in the ever changing learning process.  Students can interact with students in foreign countries, they can share information, learn and grow with each other.  They can search any topic and subject they want to research.  The globe becomes smaller and its inhabitants become closer and relations between countries are improved and strengthened.

                               

It is very amazing when the teacher and the students communicate with each other through internet. It saves time and effort and with this even if you are away can always see to it that you are never behind whatever is happening. Human living has really evolved into something great. Before, if you don’t go to school you can’t attend classes but now, online lessons and courses were very in demand.

Despite of the disadvantages of technology you can never deny that it really helped us in so many ways, ways that we are notable to imagine before. From communication to studies and now, even shopping online is no longer something amazing. Undoubtedly, the internet is now a big part of education especially to the learners of this generation and of the years to come.

                                

Having an access to the internet is a big edge for someone because we are all aware that internet is now a big part in education, not in terms of the information because we can get it from books but in terms of how we do things on our way. Why read lot of books when you can directly look for something in the internet. Why bother giving hard copies when you can email those. We can do things without internet but what can we do it make things easier for me and for you.

                                

Lesson 18

Tablets for Textbooks in Schools

                                               

Today, books are still the primary medium of instruction in most schools. Already, there is a disadvantage of using books for learning that are being debated upon. The errors in public school textbooks have also been exposed, errors resulting from wrong information, technical mistakes and editorial lapses.

Today, technology is being viewed as a savior because the students are enamored by computer games. By that, the educators have begun to think that the computer screen can very well serve as a power point educational medium.

      In general, tablets as a primary learning tool can be replacing the textbooks. Tablets are conducive to higher thinking, constructive and participative teaching-and-learning. By that, parents gave full support to the IT advancement. Technology itself may be a key to problem resolution and Filipino ingenuity is called to respond to the challenge facing the digital generation of the millennium.

Having something that can replace heavy bulky books is a good idea, the students will no longer suffer from carrying heavy books and if the only use tablets they can access their books anytime anywhere because it can be brought easily without hassle.

                                   

It is no longer impossible as what the students in La Salle were experiencing. Even ordinary college students were no longer buying books in the store especially now that PDF format copies of the books were already available and free to be downloaded.

                                  

In the near future this kind of events will be achieve by all levels of schools in the Philippines it may sound impossible because of the current situation in our country that cannot even provide good classrooms and equipment. But nothing is impossible, if there’s a will to become better there will always a way in achieving better and bigger things.

                                 

Lesson 8

 Thinking Skills through IT-Based Projects

              Resource-based Projects

In these projects, the teacher steps out the traditional role of being an context expert and information provider, and instead lets the students find their own facts and information. Only when necessary for the active learning process does the teacher the step in to supply data or information. The general flow of events in resource-based projects are:

1.      The teacher determines the topic for the examination of the class.

2.      The teacher represents the problem to the class.

3.      The students find information on the problem/questions.

4. Students organized their information in response to the problem/question.

  

A Webquest- is am inquiry-oriented activity in which most or all of thei information used by he learners are drawn from the web.

       I.            Simple Creations

                               Students can also be assigned to create their software materials to supplement the need for the relevant and effective materials

                             In developing software, creativity as an outcome should not be equated with ingenuity of high intelligence. Creating si more constant with planning, making, assembling, designing, or building. Creativity is said to be combine in three kind of skill/abilities.

               Analyzing- distinguishing similarities and differences/ seeing the project as a problem to be solved

            Synthesizing- Making spontaneous connections among ideas, thus generating interesting or new ideas. 

                     Promoting- selling of new ideas to allow the public to tet ideas themselves   

             The Five Key Task

               Define the task- clarify the goal of the completed project to the stude

                                 Brainstorm- The students themselves will be allowed to generate their own ideas on the project.
                                  Judge the idea- The students themselves make an appraisal for or against any idea.
               Act- The students do their own work with the teacher a facilitator.
                        Adopt flexibility -the students should allow to shift gears and not follow an action path rigidly.

     II.            Guide Hypermedia Projects

The production of self-made multimedia projects can be approached in two different ways:

1.     As an instructive tool, such as in the production by students of power-point presentation of a selected topic.

2.     As a communication tool, such as when students do a multimedia presentation (with text, graphs, photos, audio narration, interviews, video clips, etc. to simulated a television news show.

  III.            Web-based Projects

Students can be made to create and post webpages on a given topic. But creating webpages, even single page webpage, may be too sophisticated and time consuming for the average students.
                                 

Lesson 7

Evaluation of Technology Learning

           

             The standard student evaluation of learning must change. This is justified by the fact that not only has the new generation changed into digital learners, but the traditional world has metamorphosed  into a digital world.

            

              Assessment needs to conform, not with literacy of the past century but the new literacy in 21^st century. This literacy uses digital tools in preparing students to face  high-tech world.

            The comparison is made with the Swiss watch-makers which failed to adapt digital watch-making. The Swiss watch lost its prime position in less than 2 years of neglect to the need to go digital.  

            Evaluation must be geared to assessment of essential knowledge and skills so that learners can function effectively, productively and creativity in a new world.

            It must us evaluative tools that measure the new basic skills of the 21^st century digital culture namely:

•       solution fluency

•       information fluency

•       collaboration fluency

•      creative fluency

•       media fluency and

•       digital citizenship

            For example: In reading, single text becomes less important compared with empowerment  process of being imbibed by varied informative, educational and recreational literature-textual, audiovisual, digital. Apart from form reading, learners are asked to engage in the process of writing reports, essays, articles, stories, power-point presentations, video scripts, drama skills, etc. The standard paper tests will prove inadequate in assessing new learning.

            As students engage in the problem solving process, assessment will also need to focus on 4 Ds (define, design, do, debrief) that empower students to solve problems using higher-level theoretical and practical thinking. 

       As product-outcome learning changes from verbal-textual to textual to digital expressions (research-based outputs in various forms such as audio, video, power-point, multimedia, etc.) evaluation must also changed.

Mass Amateurization

            A term which implies a mass reach of student outputs. The personal and group creative activities in school should aim in bridging the gap between amateur creators of outputs to professional creators of future outcomes and products in the real world.