Final thoughts

In this course I learn many ICT examples and it’s application in teaching.

Such as

·        student center learnig

·        Inquiry based learning

·        WebQuest

·        Mind mapping tools

·        Education games types and using it as a tutor

I also started this blog for the sack of this course and it was a really enjoyable experience. I had a blog before this course but I didn’t have the carriage to post on it but now I am an expert on blogging and I'll carry on bloging.

During this course I design with my friend a WebQuest an I am very proud of it and here is it:

 Environment Friends WebQuest

I am honored that I've been taught by Dr. Myint Swe Khine

who is a great professor who made this course enjoyable and opened our eyes to the ICT word and encourage us to be an ICT ambassadors in our schools.

ICT as a Tutor

ICT as a tutor is one of the new trend coming to get use of the ICT and the students interest in computer and ICT. Students nowadays are changed. They don’t like the traditional way of teaching so we should as a teachers tries to get their attention with thinks they like but in the same time they can learn from it. By using ICT as a tutor we can do that.

There are four type of educational software that can be used as a tutor

• Drill-and-practice

It "promotes the acquisition of knowledge or skill through repetitive practice."*

That mean by practicing a specific skill or knowledge through computer game over and over. The feed back comes in the same time.

Examples:

• Math Practice
• Aplusmath.com
• Math Sites
• SuperKids Math Worksheet Creator
• Chemistry Drill and Practice Tutorials

• Tutorial:

A computer tutorial is an interactive software program created as a learning tool. Tutorials help people learn new skills by using a step-by-step process that ensures the user is following along and comprehending the material.**

And there are two types of tutorial:

• Linear: here the instruction go step by step such as the vedio tutorial example

• Branching: the user can navigate through the tutorial and skip parts and jump back to it.

• Simulation

A simulation game is a video game which seeks to recreate some aspect or aspects of the real world. This can mean anything from operating a vehicle, to organizing a business or sports franchise, to running the lives of a virtual family. The subject matter of simulation games varies greatly from game to game, but all simulations share a desire to accurately reproduce a complex activity or system in a virtual environment. ***

The simulation educational software is where student can practice a real life experiment but on computer for example flying an airplane.

Examples to try:

• Simulation games
• Educational Simulations

• Instructional games

Educational games are ideal for engaging students with course content. Games can test deeper levels of understanding than just knowledge repetition

*http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/de/pd/instr/strats/drill/index.html

** http://www.techterms.com/definition/tutorial

*** http://www.download-free-games.com/download/cat/simulation/

ICT as a Mind tool

I tried "Inspiration" application to create this concept map and it was really easy.

And my student will have a batter under standing of the software types and categories.

This test gives me the imprison that ICT as a mind tool is very helpful an ease the way we draw a concept map,

when I was a student I  high school I used to hand draw concept map and that takes me a long time to draw one, but now with the use of ICT as a mind tool every thing will be easier.

the mind tool helps to Visual learning which help to:

• Make abstract ideas visible and concrete

• Connect prior knowledge and new concepts

• Provide structure for thinking, writing, discussing, analyzing, planning and reporting

• Focus thoughts and ideas, leading to understanding and interpretation

• Clarify thoughts

• Organize and analyze information

• Integrate new knowledge

• Think critically

WebQuests

what is a WebQuests?

"A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented activity in which some or all of the information that learners interact with comes from resources on the internet, optionally supplemented with videoconferencing. " *

I think about WebQuest as the new type of teaching that should be implemented in the school in Bahrain. WebQuest are very interesting and the students nowadays love to use the internet a a resource, so if we implemented it in our lessons I think it will change the way the students think about learning. That means that the students will be self-directed learners where they will be responsible of their learning and the teacher will be a guide.

Now let us see the component of the WebQuest:

1. An introduction that sets the stage and provides some background information.
2. A task that is doable and interesting.
3. A set of information sources needed to complete the task. Many (though not necessarily all) of the resources are embedded in the WebQuest document itself as anchors pointing to information on the World Wide Web. Information sources might include web documents, experts available via e-mail or realtime conferencing, searchable databases on the net, and books and other documents physically available in the learner's setting. Because pointers to resources are included, the learner is not left to wander through webspace completely adrift.
4. A description of the process the learners should go through in accomplishing the task. The process should be broken out into clearly described steps.
5. Some guidance on how to organize the information acquired. This can take the form of guiding questions, or directions to complete organizational frameworks such as timelines, concept maps, or cause-and-effect diagrams as described by Marzano (1988, 1992) and Clarke (1990).
6. A conclusion that brings closure to the quest, reminds the learners about what they've learned, and perhaps encourages them to extend the experience into other domains.
1. 
   
   Now the steps to make a WebQuest are as described in the picture below:
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

 

there are so many website that can help you to build a WebQuest such as

www.webquest.org

http://www.teach-nology.com/

http://www.zunal.com/

All what we have to do now as teacher is to start to build one now.

Thank you and see you in the next reflection.

* http://webquest.sdsu.edu/about_webquests.html

Inquiry based learning

This is a great video that describes the Inquiry based learning, what dose it mean and how can you apply it in your classroom.

I liked this video a lot that I don't want to add anything more to force you to watch it.

But I might add that Inquiry based learning is the new way of teaching and many teacher starts to apply it in their teaching strategies and I was a fan of this type of learning since I was a student and I tried to use it in my teaching but now after knowing its principles I think that the quality of learning will increased.

This is comparison between the traditional teaching and the Inquiry based learning

click here to see the comparison 

Student centered learnning

Student centered learnning is great opportunity for student to express their thought and their ideas. Student feels less bored and excited to learn new things. Student relations are enhanced where the student should deals with each other to learn and to do projects.

The information that the students learn through the student centered learnning stays in their head more than the information that the students learn through the old teaching methods because they get involve in learning process.

On the other hand the students may don’t like this type of learning especially if they have some issues with the other students. Other student may get scared of this type of learning especially if they have low self confidence because in this type of learning the responsibility of learning relay on the student where the teacher is a guide.

For a teacher this type of Student centered learnning is relieving because you will know that the students won't get bored and all of them will be engaged in the learning process. But that dose not means that there won't be some students who don’t want to work and will only watch the other while they are working. The challenge now is to let them be involved and self-motivated.

 

Computer as a tutor , tutee and a tool

Before 10 ago most of the people in the education field thought that the computer is only a tool that can help them to do their work and organize their documents. But know the computer role in education has been change. Now the computer is used as a tutor especially after the release of Kings Hamad School of the futuer project.

Learning is encouraged to be student centered leaning where the students do all the work to get the knowledge and the teacher guides them and this can be done using the computer as a tutor where the student can use the internet browser to find the information they need by googling it or use an educational websites that have lessons prepared and posted by teachers or watch a video

or use an Educational applications that were implemented to teach the student a specific concept.

Since the role of the computer may vary, teachers should understand its roles in their classrooms and use it in the right way which maximize the benefits of the computer. I as a computer teacher I usually use it as a tool specially that I am teaching the students MS Office

 which is a tools programs. But when I teach Ms Fron Page the computer is a totee where the students tutor the computer how to bulid the websites according to their Instructions.

I hope in the future that  I will be able to use the computer as a tutor to teach those programs, and in order to do this I should implement the application that helps me to achieve my goal.