eLearning: Scenario 1- Activity A

Scenario 1- Activity A

In this activity, you are to read Scenario 1 carefully and then identify implementation issues Mrs. Xing faced in her lesson. Post your thoughts on your group blog. Invite other members to respond to your postings and reciprocate accordingly. Your postings should reflect your thoughtfulness and your responses must be critical and reflective. You are encouraged to substantiate your viewpoints by citing papers and articles you have read.

Implementation issue 1:

Students were not subjected to any computer lab rules. There were critical lapse of disciplinary regulations where one-third students start surfing the nets without permission of the teacher.

Implementation issue 2:

Computers equipments not in working condition as there were 2 computers not in working condition.

Implementation issue 3:

Students were not adequately prepared for the lesson. Quote- “She also realised many of the scripts she had marked were either not on- topic or lacked coherency. Many were also badly organised.”

Implementation issue 4:

Lesson plan not robust enough to cater more instruction for the faster pace students. Quote- “She noticed some students finished faster than the others. That resulted in some unnecessary noise, which in turn, disturbed those who were still working.”

Lessons learnt:
This week, I learnt how to make a proper lesson plan. I think SIOs are useful in reminding us of what we should achieve at the end of lesson. However we have to also be mindful of some setbacks in class and modify the plan according to the current needs.

Application:
For the lesson plan formulated this week, my group has successfully applied the concepts of SDL and CL. I like the lesson plan because it allows students to first apply the knowledge and skills they have individually, and subsequently share it with their peers. Individual work is critical for students to self-assess their strengths and weaknesses (e.g. weak in interpreting political cartoons but better with speeches). After discovering their strengths and weaknesses, students improve by practicing and also learning from others who are better (students can find out during CL who these people are)

The lesson plan also incorporated the use of ICT (mindmeister) in lesson. Mindmaps are extremely useful in History as chunks of information can be streamlined into smaller digestible parts. Having a more compact map to study is definitely less intimidating than browsing through a whole chapter.

Questions:
I would love to know how extensive is the use of ICT in classes today. So far I have only seen ppts and viewing of youtube vids in class. I would not consider those integrating the use of ICT in lessons. The sch I was at for ESE did not have wireless internet access, and there were no PCs in class. Making students travel to the Comp labs will take time (oh yes, we were once like too, taking our own sweet time getting to classes!), eating into our lesson time, and also the next lesson.
How do we overcome lack of resources? I would like to use ICT in lessons, but I reckon it will take up probably the whole week, and also require students to have internet access at home (to finish up loose ends and prepare for the next lesson).
This will sound very pessimistic but, how possible is this in mainstream schools in Singapore? Are we making lofty plans which we have to shelve once we start teaching?

Session 4 Reflections

I'm a victim of Cyberbullying

Over the weekend, in a pocket of 20 mins that i was playing my World Of Warcraft character in my desperate attempts to reach the highest level, i was Cyberbullied. Now this just brings to mind our session 2 weeks ago with regards to mind-mapping the Cyberbully concept, so i've decided to put my thoughts down here as well.

I was just minding my own business, when a player (real life) from an opposing faction decided to camp himself on top of a tall structure and casted DOTS (Damage over time) spells on me. Despite my attempts to self heal, i died. So i resurrected my character and was just about to mind my own business again, when he struck again and killed me. (He was of a higher level too.) So he kept at it for a span of 10 minutes non-stop. He camped me and other players and just consistently annihilated us. After which in my disgust i quit and just went to do something else.

As an adult, i'm able to handle all this emotionally, as for me it's not really a matter of life and death. For the impressionable youngster however, such repeated onslaughts of cyberbullying might cause some trauma or psychological distress to a youth. We must educate our youths on how to handle cyberbullying so that it does not distract them from the real world or cause them to bring their baggage to real life.

Session 4's thoughts...

3 things i've learnt

In today's session,1) i've learnt what's pertinent in a Lesson Plan, and how i should structure a lesson plan such that it's comprehensive and relevant.2) This means using suitable verbs to describe the objectives to be achieved and ultimately the goal of the lesson. 3) I've also learnt how we should be able to sit back and critique on our own lesson plans (in today's session however we critiqued another group's).

2 things i've applied
1) During yesterday's session for our TEL group's lesson plan, we used suitable verbs to bring across what we wanted to communicate and to make sure that what we have outlined in our objectives were pertinent and clear.

2) We also made sure the ICT we've incorporated supports our lesson objectives and that we did not work our lesson plan around the use of the technology.

1 thing i want to know more about
(Still reflecting upon this, i will update this soon..)

Reflection on Session 4

3 Things I've Learned

1. From the mini-lecture, I've understood the steps involved in creating a lesson plan
2. Through the lesson planning activity, I've learned how to set good Specific Instructional Objectives (SIO)
3. Thanks to the critiques session, I've learned that SIOs should be as specific as possible and that the lesson plan must align with the SIOs.

 2 Things I've Applied

1. I've applied the concept of Collaborative Learning (CL) in today's activity. The activity required us to come up with a draft lesson plan for our (Technology-Enhanced Learning) TEL Demo. I find that working in a group and applying CL really helps to make a task 'easier'. I'm sure one person can come up with a lesson plan easily. But when a group of people put their heads together and bounce ideas off each other, the resulting product is much more interesting and richer than the solo one.
2. I've used the ABCD (Audience-Behaviour-Constraint-Degree) framework in formulating SIOs. It helps in focusing the objectives towards a measurable outcome and 'forces' the author to be as specific and detailed as usefully possible.

1 Thing I Want to Know About

1. I want to learn more about how lessons can be structured to allow students to engage in more Self-directed Learning.

Overall, I enjoyed today's session and I actually thought the 2 hours went by quite fast. My group's TEL demo idea still needs to be fleshed out some more, especially the link between using the mobile phone and putting the videos out on a shared platform (could be online or offline). Also, what criteria should be used to assess how well a video is presented? And are we falling into the cool tool trap? Could an old-tech approach work just as well?

Reflection on pedagogical approaches

At the last ICT lesson, we were introduced to five pedagogical approaches. These five pedagogical approaches are Case-based learning, Game-based learning, Inquiry-based learning, Project-based learning and Resource-based learning. Through the jigsaw activity, we were each “expert” in our own field of research on one pedagogical approach and then shared it with the rest of our group members. I find this useful as we were able to pool resources together and learn from one another. As a secondary school students years ago, I was exposed to the jigsaw activity by my history teacher. My class was divided into groups of five and we were asked to research on an area tasked by the teacher. Let me use the Collapse of the Tsarist regime in Russia, the Rise of Communism in Russia and the policies introduced by the communists to illustrate my point. One group was tasked to research on the reasons for the collapse of the Tsarist regime; another group had to do the reasons for the rise of Communism in Russia, while two other groups were tasked to research on the various policies of Communist Russia. At the end of the lesson, every group had to present their findings to the class. This helps to train our presentation skills. This becomes a learner centred activity where the students play an active role in their learning and the role of teacher becomes a facilitator where he comes in at certain juncture to clarify points and have additional comments.

Another pedagogical approach which I come across as a student was the project-based learning approach. This approach was fully utilize by my teachers. We were given projects to engage on different issues. My group did a project on the conservation of Chek Jawa in Secondary Four. In Junior College, as Fatma mentioned, my batch was the first batch to experience Project Work (PW) and we had to work out a project based on themes given by MOE. The project lasted for a year and the end product was a detailed report and a presentation. My group chose the theme “Blast from the Past” and we did a project on the Chernobyl nuclear accident and what are the lessons which we could draw from it. It was a bittersweet experience as there was lots of documentation and research to do. But seeing the final product and presentation, it was worthwhile.

With the ICT tools like blogs, websites and wiki, it enhances these pedagogical approaches. Work now can be saved and published on wiki and websites for other students to view. As compared to the traditional pen and paper method, information can be presented faster.

Confusion sets in

Lesson03 Reflection - here it is!

Hmmm am geting confused what's with the WikiPages here and there, plus our indiv blogs for reflection. Hope I get this right (that this week's reflection is to be done on Grp wikipage) but just in case, will copy and paste to the blog.

• Have you come across any of the pedagogical approaches as a student? What was your experience like?
The Jigsaw method is definitely a norm, having had experienced that as a student numerous times. What was it like? It was okay, nothing magnificent. But of course the 'best' part was moving around and meeting friends, and at that age, it can be quite exciting ;)
One thing lacking from such activities in my opinion is the overall picture. Yes, we have our own niche areas, get more info from other 'experts' and then share the information with our group members. And then what? If I'm not wrong, in the next lesson we are to design a course for teachers to update them on what we have learnt.
But somehow i think it lacks 'kick'?
I was reading the EL text (for QUE512) and there is a jigsaw activity where students are given clues to solve a mystery. There is an element of competition as the first group to solve it may get a prize (or at the very least bragging rights!). I prefer using the jigsaw method in such a circumstance rather than to pool resources and combine information for a bigger project/presentation (although I admit that in essence it employs the same concept).
Undeniably, such an activity saves time on research and allows students to learn how to interact with each other, and shows them the importance of teamwork.

I have also encountered the other pedagogical approaches, and will elaborate on a few below:-
Project-Based Learning - yes of course. My batch was the first to be tested on this in JC, and it was not such a fantastic experience as they focused a lot on the paperwork (oh yes, remember the THICK file we had to submit? -_-), and while they kept telling us to 'think out of the box' it was really quite hard to do that given the guidelines we had to follow. I sure hope the batches after us had a more memorable time!
Resource-Based Learning - did this for pretty much the whole time in Uni, and had a great time as we get the opportunity to explore the given topic further according to our own interests. The presentations we had for our papers helped us learn more other areas which we did not concentrate on. I would think this (presentation part) can be similar to the jigsaw method of learning?

• What do you think is the relationship of these approaches?
The approaches are closely linked together, for example inquiry based is very similar to case-based learning. I think each approach will take on other approaches as well in order to make it more effective. A case can be presented to the students, and from there they formulate inquiries and teachers can provide a list of resources to start them on their research. All these approaches are also a form of SDL, and if the information/research is divided amongst students, it will then be a form of CL.

• What roles do the various ICT tools play in these approaches?
ICT plays the critical role of allowing for revision and feedback even after the presentation is over. While students can present to each other their findings, or present their combined effort to the class, the process usually ends there. However, with ICT such a blogsite, students and teacher can revisit the lesson to further understand topic, or come up with new questions.

SDL & CL

K: Also based on the videos and the readings, i now know what the two definitions of Self Directed Learning and Collaborative Learning entails. Self Directed Learning entails the student driven to find out information or do research based on the topic that the student is interested in. Collaborative Learning entails coming together to learn or to tackle an issue or project.

SDL and CL thus can go hand in hand, for students can go away and research their own components then putting together what they have learnt or researched into a whole project.

W: What i want to learn is how can we find a project that is relevant to the curriculum that we are involved in, and how we can afford such luxury of time for a project, if the main crux of our education is still results oriented?

L: What i learnt for the week's lesson is how it can be possible for students to go on auto pilot to be in charge of their own learning, through working on a mind map, and through watching videos that illustrate and explain concepts. All this can be done with the essential equipment provided - laptops, etc...

Q: I'm still wondering whether initiatives like these can be tangible for a result driven curriculum like ours? And how much of SDL and CL do we allow?

what is the teacher's role in SDL and CL?

After completing my KWLQ framework, I came to realise that the entire point of my blog post is this - what role does the teacher play in SDL and CL? Intuitively it seems, the teacher's role is very much diminished when students are involved in such projects concerning SDL and CL. However, I came to realise that this was untrue. the teacher plays an even more active role in the classroom, as mentor/facilitator/guide/quality control etc etc. What do you think?

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K – Based on the videos I watched before the lesson, I roughly understand what SDL and CL are. SDL is about the development of an idea/plan/project without guidance from the teacher. For example, the team that did the project on Japanese American history later on launched an awareness campaign in their neighbourhood. The whole exercise was fully inspired by the team itself; their teacher did not have to prompt/guide/teach them.

In CL, the entire class was split into different groups; each group contributed to different aspects of one single project, which was to save four astronauts from the moon.

It seemed to me as if the teacher was more involved in CL as compared to SDL, because the CL project required more sophisticated skills such as designing programmes that would aid in rescuing the astronauts.

W – I agree with Fatma on this aspect. I always believe in executing effective/efficient lessons and would like to learn more about time management when setting up projects that involve SDL and CL. Perhaps in this case, the teacher will have to play a more active role in designing basic guidelines, deadlines and to provide tips on effective time management.

L – From the lesson we had last Tuesday, I learnt that collaborative learning and self directed learning occur simultaneously in a given project/task. For example, when my group was contributing to the concept map, other groups were similarly editing and contributing their ideas to the same map. Technology placed a significant part in allowing us to see changes being made in real time, which was, for the lack of a more suitable word, very COOL! At the same time, some members of my group were very excitedly clicking away at the sidebar, and experimenting with the different icons and font sizes/colours available. From what we learnt later on, this latter activity was a rough idea of that SDL is about.

Q – How do we ensure that the students actually learn from SDL or CL? How can we ensure that all members of a group participate or contribute to the project? In every classroom, I think teachers face 40 different and possibly very diverse personalities. How do we reconcile the differences? How do we ensure that both the boisterous and the meek contribute equally?

Looking forward to reading your comments :)

Jin Xun

SDL vs. CL

First up, i think providing everyone admin privileges is awesome! It's somewhat like collaborative learning, just that we don't really 'learn' per se but we share the results (: (but I do think that you can figure out some basic HTML by looking at the page source/template ;))

Moving on to the reflection proper:

K - I already know prior to class a vague idea of SL and CL are about based on the meaning of the words 'self-directed' and 'collaborative'. 'cooperative' and 'collaborative' learning was however harder to differentiate

W - I would want to learn how to ensure that students are on track while discussing and collaborating, both F2F and online. Other than walking around the class and checking on them (not very effective as they might revert to their own discussions the moment you move to another group), what else can be done? Would setting a timeline/deadline be an effective solution?


L - I learnt that SDL can be done independently. The videos didn't really make this obvious as both were group efforts, hence the difference wasn't quite apparent and I was quite confused while trying to figure out their similarities and differences.
The main difference between Cooperative Learning and Collaborative Learning based on my understanding is that Collaborative learning goes a step further in that students will get to discuss the 'product' they have assembled. Coop Learning however is similar to piecing together a jigsaw puzzle- after assembling the 'product' their task is complete. In Collaborative Learning however students can discuss their end product, and reflect on the process and results. They will learn not only what others know (merely facts), but also what/how others think.

I admit that I was quite apprehensive about CL conducted exclusively online as it might hamper the learning of social skills amongst students. However, I learnt that CL can incorporate both F2F and online collaboration seamlessly. For example, we discussed as a group what to add to the mind map, and later collaborate with the rest of the class online. This way, students get to take advantage of the affordances of ICT and at the same time learn social skills imperative for their personal development.

I also learnt that SL and CL can be combined effectively. For example students can be assigned SDL where they have to research on a broad topic, and later form groups for CL, and share their knowledge with the rest of the class.

Q - My question: Will CL require more lesson time? For example, teachers need to provide instructions, allow students time to log on to the site, get used to the tools etc. But I guess this is part of the learning process? Students then can finish the task at hand via their own time-management as SDL and CL is less structured than conventional lessons where teachers talk/teach and students listen/learn.

Building on the point above, I am of the opinion that students can learn more in SDL as they can pursue their own interests (within the broader lesson objectives as delineated by the teacher). With less structure, students are able to explore the concept on their own, and learn discover their own interests while at it.

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and a random thought/question- I wonder how many people out there (in this class and also in general) is perfectly comfortable with going totally digital (i.e. can do readings online w/o having to print them out, comfortable with typing notes instead of writing them down on paper (or printing out the typed notes)). Personally, I feel much more comfortable and confident having a hardcopy of things. Just need to hold on to something tangible. Just like how I ended up buying the text (and wish textbooks cost less!) cause the concepts were still floating around and I couldn't grasp them yet. Tell me what you think!

Everyone gets Admin Privledges

Dear Qed527-ers,

In order to facilitate and encourage everyone to have a go at customizing and re-designing this blog, i've given everyone admin privileges. Sorry, overlooked the option earlier. :) Have fun and have a go at customizing if you don't like the colors, etc, but remember to backup the template first in case anything goes wrong... :)

Cheers!

Reflections for Week 1

In yesterday's newspaper, there was mention of the use of Nintendo Wii's 'Fit' that acts as a virtual exercise coach and guides players through yoga moves, basic strength training and fitness. The article also reports that as more and more people make less efforts or time to get daily exercises or workouts in, perhaps console games are now the solution. This will also allow children and adults to hop onto the fitness bandwagon to strive for a fitter and healthier lifestyle. So no more excuses for the conscious (poor body image), or for other equipment related excuses (oh the treadmill's occupied by that lady again... etc). In order to sustain interest there is perhaps a need to introduce a multi-player dimension to the fitness game when the novelty wears off.

This could shape in the way we implement Physical Education for the lack lustre in the future. Instead of getting unfit students ( a programme formerly known as TOUGH), we could now get those lacking in fitness to go through an hour's use of Nintendo Wii instead of subjecting them under torturous sunny conditions. This could also help in achieving Physical Education's idealistic goal - which is to encourage students and all people to stay fit, incorporating physical activity in their daily regime, for the rest of their lives.

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K : I KNOW that for my previous school, there have been steps to implement the use of ICT in curriculum. Like for example to engage students for oral presentations, teachers (and myself) have asked students, in groups to record a reading of a newspaper passage into their handphones. After which they will upload their audio files onto the teacher's laptop. The teacher will then go through the files, and can highlight a certain student's diction or pacing to the whole class, and at the same time, the teacher can playback this to the class to illustrate the point.

Some teachers have also gotten students to start blogs, to start reflecting on issues and to offer their points of view, while the teacher facilitates the comments and points for the purposes of an expository essay exercise.

W: I want to learn what other ICTs we can effectively use to compliment a successful and fruitful pedagogy or lesson plan. And i want to learn how this can be sustained.

L: I've learnt that ICT masterplans have been in place and is still in the process of development and research. ICT MP1 focuses on the basic implementation of ICT infrastructure, while MP2 focuses on further enhancing the use of ICT. This includes the vision of 'Engaged learning.' From the ICT readings, MP2 'called for a shift from predominantly teacher-centred, didactic teaching to a more student-centred, constructivist pedagogy.' Which means giving students the power to be in charge of their own learning to do their own research, through using the vehicle of technology (forums, wikipedia, msn) to fuel their knowledge and to engage discussion synchronously or asynchronously.

MP3 will try to merge all the works of Mp1 and Mp2 for the purposes of 'harnessing ICT, transforming learners' as mentioned in the ICT readings chapter 1.

Q: How can we facilitate learning through ICT and yet try to get students to focus on achieving good examination results? Is this viable for subjects like biology or physics? Where the crux of study is the regurgitation of formulas and theories?

Reflection on Session 1

K: What I already KNOW

• ICT for meaningful learning is basically the use of information and communication technological tools in teaching to deliver more effective, creative and innovative lessons.
• There has been conscientious efforts to incorporate ICT in schools.

W: What I WANT TO LEARN

• To what extent has ICT been integrated in schools and how receptive are teachers and students to these efforts?
• What are the different types of ICT tools that can be incorporated into teaching to enhance lessons?
• Are there any particular teaching strategies that are crucial in integrating ICT in everyday lessons?

L: What I LEARNED this week

• ICT is not just about acquiring technological skills that would aid teaching but learning how to incorporate these skills in everyday teaching to deliver effective lessons, enhance communication between students and teachers and maximize the use of ICT.
• Self-directed learning (in which individuals take the initiative in the learning process) and collaborative learning (in which individuals work together to achieve shared goals) are the key drivers of the third masterplan.
• Computer applications can be integrated into teaching as either a tutor or a tool depending on its function and how it is used by the teacher.
• The effectiveness of the lesson which uses ICT is dependent on the pedagogical and social affordances whereas the extent to which ICT can be integrated in lessons depends on the technological affordances.

Q: What QUESTIONS I still have

• How are teachers and students responding to the integration of ICT in schools?
• What are the different types of ICT tools available and how can they be accessed?

ashreena :)

An article and thoughts on the lesson

Before moving on to the reflection proper, just would like to share an article i read in today's ST, 'iPhone as tool for school outing,' [The Straits Times, Saturday 8th August, Page B8]

Basically it is a pilot project where schools rent the device for SGD5/per student, and students get to use the device to fill in digital "worksheets", take photos etc. I'd agree that it is a good move as the device can easily fit in pockets, and is less cumbersome than juggling papers, pen and a camera.

However, the idea that "scribbling on bits of paper...may well be history" made me wonder - will writing be history in the future as we type more than we write? (personally it it a norm not to hold a pen for the whole day, but i will definitely type on my keyboard or phone.) But i guess going digital could save the trees ;)

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K - I already know ICT is an exchange (hence communication is two-way) of information using technology

W - I would want to learn how to effectively incorporate ICT in lessons. Sometimes i think teachers use it just because they have to. As far as possible, I would like to use ICT in lessons because it will make lessons more effective and impactful.

L - I learnt that there are various ways to incorporate ICT in lessons, and there are various dimensions of a meaningful learning. I think that these dimensions will assist me in developing lessons which uses ICT meaningfully.

Q - My questions are similar to my comment under W - some teachers can make lessons lively without the use of ICT, hence is there still a real need to use it? Since PPTs and showing films are not considered ICT (they are one-way form of communication), throughout my ESE i did not see any teachers using ICT, hence my question is how prevalent is the use of ICT in schools at this moment?
* Q: What QUESTIONS I still have

Welcome to Our ICT Blog!

Dear all, annnnnd here it is! Our group blog for reflection purposes. Feel free to start penning your thoughts and reflections!

Cheers
Eugene Francesco Lee