Hi everyone and welcome to Module 2.
Over my last fourteen years of teaching experience, I have seen the use of educational technology take a quantum leap! When I started teaching in 1998, my first education technology was overhead projector with slides which I used instead of the white board; then I moved on to overhead projector hooked to a laptop and more sophisticated power points. Over the years Blogs, YouTube, TED and Black Board Vista have played a major role in my journey as a teacher and educator. I am a very big fan of Black board vista and use it regularly for class lessons, assignments, assessments and other course material.
The benefits of using educational technology cannot be contradicted. Of ‘The Ten Fundamental Reasons’ by John Page, I agree with #6 Going Global; and #7 Individual Pacing and Sequence the most. Going global because Educational technology transcends the geographical boundaries. Thus, making the learning experience a virtual reality across borders without entailing significant financial cost. Individual pacing and sequence because one of the biggest challenge for a teacher is addressing different learning abilities in a single classroom. This, ideally, would imply catering to all the students’ individual learning needs which with growing class sizes is becoming more and more difficult. Educational technology where the lessons can be recorded, replayed and assignments reviewed unlimited times, create a more conducive and effective learning environment for individual students.
I have always found the students to be more receptive to technological advancements as long as they perceive it not to increase their work load. The youth of today is much more techno savvy than what we used to be and what we are even now… I am very keen to stay abreast of these technological developments and often share the desire to do so with my kids. They always give me a reassuring pat at the back and explain to me '… mama, you are doing good for someone who was born in the last century' :)
It's interesting what you said about students being receptive of technology as long as they perceive it not to increase their work load. I guess we as educators are the same. Even though we know about the benefits of education technology we take a step back when adopting it in our classrooms because of the learning curve involved or because it is time consuming.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback Ghazala!
DeleteIt’s challenging no doubt but fulfilling and invigorating at same time! Over the years I have found students to be a great source of inspiration for me. Although coming out of the comfort zone takes a lot of effort, but getting a positive response from the students is really motivating for me. As a teacher and facilitator, my aim is to engage them in a variety of class exercises through a variety of teaching methodologies
Wow, it sounds like you use it a lot, and that's impressive, but I'm just wondering if you're saying it is beneficial for all? Are there some students who would prefer the familiar environment of the teacher-centered classroom?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback Nancy!
DeleteI use bbvista regularly but not as a substitute to conventional class room learning environment but rather as a supplement. All of my class lessons are delivered in person, face to face to all my students. It is after the class that I transfer the lesson with my class notes to bbvista for those who were absent or would like to review it again with my handwritten notes on it. Similarly, I only keep one out of five individual assessed tasks online and that too is taken in the class through respondus lock down browser.
This gives students blended learning and assessments opportunities which are a better reflection of their unique individual learning capabilities.
What about the students who don't want to even open a book, be it a hard copy version or an e-book version. I am talking about students who learn by doing rather that reading and comprehending.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely Firoz!
ReplyDeleteThere are always students who are strongly resistant to ‘books’… in my experience Industry Projects & Oral Defense, wherever applicable, help them engage better. This serves the purpose of both, a learning tool and an assessment strategy which reflects fairly on their unique learning abilities.