Lesson 14 The software as educational Resource

Whenever people think about computers,
 they are most likely thinking about the computer machine such as the television-like monitor screen, the keyboard to type on, the printer which produces copies of text-and-graphics material, and the computer housing called “the box” which contains the electronic parts and circuits (the central processing unit) that receives/ stores data and direct computer operations. The computer machine or hardware is naturally an attention-getter.

 It’s more difficult to realize, however, that the computer hardware can hardly be useful without the program or system that tells what the computer machine should do. This is called software.

Lesson 13

Cooperative or Collaborative learning is learning by a small group of students working together in a common learning task.

Five Elements:

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v

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Advantages

v Encourages active learning while motivating students.

v Increases academic performance.

v Promotes literacy and language skills

v Improves teacher effectiveness.

It enhances:

v Self-esteem.

v Personal and social development among students.

v Social relations between racially and culturally different students.

Components of Cooperative Learning

v Assigning students to mixed-ability teams

v Establishing positive interdependence

v Teaching cooperative social skills

v Insuring individual accountability

v Helping group process information

     John Dewey

 

Educational educator, John Dewey argued that a highly active and individualized pedagogical methods which, place the student at the center of the teaching-learning process.

It may be observed that classrooms are usually arranged with neat columns & rows of student chairs while the teacher stands in front of the classroom or sits behind his/her desk.

After spending so many minutes in lesson presentation and class management, students can get ...

  

               restless                 and               fidgety.

The teacher has to also manage misbehavior in class, to prevent this situation, teacher often make students take time to work individually on worksheets that can help the situation.

Generally, the new school classroom environment is characterized by student individually or in groups:

v Performing computer word processing for text and graph presentations.

v Preparing PowerPoint presentation.

v Searching for information on the Internet.

v Brainstorming on ideas, problems and project plans as needed.

Lesson 11 The Computer as the Teacher’s Tool

Two Learning Perspectives

1.     Constructivism gave stress knowledge of new meaning/concepts/principle in the learning process.

2.     Social Constructivism this is an effort to show that the construction of knowledge is governed by social, historical and cultural context.

Learning Framework	Constructivism	Social Constructivism
Assumption	Knowledge is constructed by the individual.	Knowledge is constructed within a social context.
Definition of Learning	Students build their own learning.	Students build knowledge influenced by the social context.
Learning Strategies	Gather unorganized information to create new concept/principle.	Exchange and share form ideas, stimulates thinking.
General Orientation	Personal discovery of knowledge.	Students discuss and discover meaning.
Example	8*5-8+8+8+8+8	Two alternative job offers. Option 1 - 8hrs./day for 6 days/weeks Option 2 – 9hrs,/day for 5 days/weeks

The Computer’s Capabilities

The Computer as a Tutor

Computer-assisted instruction (CAI)

                        The computer can be a tutor in effect relieving the teacher of many activities in his personal role as classroom tutor. 

Even with the available computer and CAI software, the teacher must:

¢  Insure that students have the needed knowledge and skills for any computer activity

¢  Decide the appropriate learning objectives.

¢  Plan the sequential and structured activities to achieve objectives.

¢  Evaluate the students’ achievement by ways of tests the specific expected outcomes.

On the other hand, the students in CAI play their own roles as learners as they:

¢  Receive information.

¢  Understand instructions for the computer activity

¢  Retain/keep in mind the information and rules for the computer activity

¢  Apply the knowledge and rules during the process of computer learning.

During the computer activity proper in CAI the computer, too, plays its roles as it:

¢  Acts as a sort of tutor (the role traditional played by the teacher)

¢  Provides a learning environment

¢  Delivers learning instruction.

¢  Reinforces learning trough drill-and-practice

¢  Provides feedback.

CAI Integrated with Lessons

CAI computer learning should not stop with the drill and practice activities of students. In effect, CAI works best in reinforcing learning through repetitive exercises such that students can practice basic skills or knowledge in various subject areas. Common types of drill and practice programs include: Vocabulary building, math facts, basic science, and history or geography facts.

Suggestions on when and how can teachers integrate drill and practice programs with their lessons:

¢  Use drill and practice programs for basic skills and knowledge that require rapid or automatic response by students

¢  Ensure that drill and practice activities conform to the lesson plan/curriculum.

¢  Limit drill and practice to 20-30 minutes to avoid boredom.

¢  Use drill and practice to assist students with particular weakness in basic skills.

The Tutorial software should be able to:

¢  Teach new content/new information

¢  Provide comprehensive information on concepts I addition to practice exercise.

¢  Can be effectively used for remediation, reviewing or enrichment

¢  Allow the teacher to introduce follow-up questions to stimulate students learning

¢  Permits group activity for cooperative learning.

Simulation Programs

Simulation software materials are another kind of software that is constructivist in nature. This simulation software:

¢  Teaches strategies and rules applied to real-life problems/situations.

¢  Ask students to make decision on models or scenarios.

¢  Allows students to manipulate elements of a model and get the experience of the effects of their decisions.       

Instructional Games

While relating to low-level learning objectives (e.g. basic spelling or math skill),

Instructional computer games add the elements of competition and challenge.

Example: GeoSafari

Problem Solving Software

These allow students to learn and improve on their problem solving ability. The students have to employ higher thinking skills such as logic, recognition, reflection, and strategy-making.

Example: Thinking Things 1

Multimedia Encyclopedia and electronic books

The Multimedia Encyclopedia can store a huge database with texts, images, animations, audio and video.

Example: eyewitness Children’s Encyclopedia.

Electronic books provide textual information for reading, supplemented by other types of multimedia information (sounds, spoken words, pictures, animation). These are useful for learning reading, spelling and words skills.

Computers as Information and Communication Technology

In the Educational Technology Course 1 the role of the computer in education was well discussed. It was pointed out that the advent of the computer is recognized as the third revolution in education, the first was the invention of the printing press; the second, the introduction of libraries; and the third, the invention of the computer, especially so with the advent of the microcomputer in 1975. Thus emerged computer technology in education.


THE PERSONAL COMPUTER (PC) AS ICT

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  To illustrate, let’s examine the programs (capabilities) normally installed in an ordinary modern PC:    

Microsoft Office – program for composing text, graphics, photos into letters, articles, reports etc.

·         Power-point – for preparing lecture presentation

·         Excel – for spreadsheets and similar graphic sheets

·         Internet Explorer – Access to the Internet

·         Yahoo or Google – websites; e-mails, chat rooms Blog sites, news service (print/video) educational software etc.

·         Adobe Reader – Graphs/photo composition and editing

·         MSN – Mail/chat messaging

·         Windows media player – CD, VCD player or editing film/video

·         Cyber link Power – DVD player

·         Games House – Video games