Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Revision Notes
I was referred to this site by a friend and it is really good. If you want you might refer your students to it or you could use it yourself. The revision notes site has a variety of notes for different subjects.It covers IGCSE and IB curriculum. One can also register to become a member.The site was started in 2004.
Sunday, September 03, 2006
INTEGRATING ICT IN THE CLASS
Most of the time we use computers in preparations for our lessons, keeping records and searching for information. I attended a workshop where i learned alot of information. The report will give what it entails.
This report is aimed in enlightening future PD developers on what they can offer in their future training.
REPORT
Introduction
This report is written about a ten day workshop held in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It explains the workshop activities their implications on Pedagogical and Subject knowledge skills.
Workshop
The workshop was attended by teachers from, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Kenya. It was an IAP sponsored workshop led by Henry Wilmer from Phillips Academy, Andover and Azra Naseem from Aga Khan University, Institute of Education. The workshop covered several major areas Surveys, Blogs, Web Quest, Video Editing and Projects.
Survey used a share-ware called SurveyMonkey which can be obtained as a free ware but it has limitation of use. The survey can be used by teachers in several ways like
-Getting prior information from students.
-Getting a feedback from the students on a topic or a project.
Such information may be important, because the teachers can then analyze the feed back and plan their subsequent classes accordingly. The program is easy to use though it is limited to ten questions in the free ware format but can offer more option when purchased.
Blogs are current information billboard on the net. Teachers were taught how to make blog and use them. This exercise exposed the skills of making and using the blogs. Blogs can be very useful as teachers can upload their instructions for assignments, projects and lessons. Blogs can also be used to upload useful sites for other teachers and students. The students can then access this information at their own pace. The blog offers comments options, thus students can comments on the uploaded information. On the other hand the students can also create their blogs which can be access by teachers and fellow students. Thus the blog creates a communication forum that can be accessed by all at their own time.
Web quest is use of web to find information. The web has a lot of information. Teachers were exposed to skills of using the web, to access the information within the shortest time possible and appropriately. Before teachers give web based assignments or projects, they have to get the appropriate Web sites before the list them for the students use. The teachers hence need skills to use the web effectively. The Web is a resource which, when used efficiently can source useful information to be used in class for, teaching, demonstration or evaluation in the classroom.
Video editing is a skill full process. However there are programs are available and easy to handle. Vision is a very important aspect in learning and it impacts on the retention power. The exercise involved actual video shooting in the field and later editing into a quality piece of work. Teachers can use this tool in many ways including preparation of demonstration and documentaries. Students can also be encouraged to integrated video in their projects. Audio-Visual is an integral part of teaching and learning the ability to manipulates sounds and pictures can be useful in the classroom.
Projects can be very useful in teaching. They tap the inquiry skills of students exposing the students to problem solving skills, planning and working together. It’s a concept which has not been explored fully and in some cases not used appropriately. The workshop exposed the teachers to real life situation where the teachers had to undertake a project. This gave the teachers hands-on experience of what the students undergo when doing their projects. It was an opener as the teachers got an insight on how to design projects so that the students can be able to effectively use theme as a learning tool. The design of an assessment tool and the presentation took the teacher’s to a deeper understanding on how to deal with projects in their classrooms. Projects can be one approach which can be used in teaching in the classroom. Project nature the student’s creativity and research skills, it bonds into the student’s social skills of working with others.
For those who had some knowledge on the concepts, there was implicit knowledge which was not part of the mainstream planning. This was planning, undertaking the workshop and evaluation of the workshop. The workshop leaders did there planning online which gave learning opportunities to those aspiring to undertake a workshop. They also shared their planning with the participants, which also provided a way of tracking what is happening. Those who attended which a view of learning how to organize an ICT workshop had a lot to learn from the activities. The opportunity was enhanced because they took part as participant observers giving them hand-on experiences on what the workshop participant experience from the leaders planning.
Implications
The teachers who attended this workshop will try the skills in small scale an observer the development. The teachers will then improve the integration in the subsequent cycles. After the cycles the teachers will then share among themselves. ICT is a crucial component in the pedagogical aspects, how well it is utilized will gauge its effectives in the achievement of the objectives. Learning among the teachers can open avenues for exponential growth as individual teachers bring along diversity in knowledge and expertise. The documentation of activities online will offer unlimited access to many people. Study has found out ICT resources are usually under utilized in schools at a rate raging from 25% to less than 50%. Such a low rate is partly due to lack of integration of ICT in class. Participant observation is also a very important aspect in workshop as it induces future trainers to the workshop environment. The inclusion of Participants observers ensures the continuity of the training where they can be given roles in follower-up workshops.
Conclusion
ICT integration can be one of the PD components which are done continuously. Teachers have diverse expertise and experience. When they are put together they can share the knowledge giving an opportunity to those who don’t know to learn and those who know to experience the teaching of the same. Teachers are life long learners and with the growth of ICT hey need to keep a breast with the development. This will improve their pedagogical skill as well as the subject knowledge base. The students to have effective learning opportunities they need teachers who can craft such opportunities effectively.
Gioko, 2006
This report is aimed in enlightening future PD developers on what they can offer in their future training.
REPORT
Introduction
This report is written about a ten day workshop held in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It explains the workshop activities their implications on Pedagogical and Subject knowledge skills.
Workshop
The workshop was attended by teachers from, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Kenya. It was an IAP sponsored workshop led by Henry Wilmer from Phillips Academy, Andover and Azra Naseem from Aga Khan University, Institute of Education. The workshop covered several major areas Surveys, Blogs, Web Quest, Video Editing and Projects.
Survey used a share-ware called SurveyMonkey which can be obtained as a free ware but it has limitation of use. The survey can be used by teachers in several ways like
-Getting prior information from students.
-Getting a feedback from the students on a topic or a project.
Such information may be important, because the teachers can then analyze the feed back and plan their subsequent classes accordingly. The program is easy to use though it is limited to ten questions in the free ware format but can offer more option when purchased.
Blogs are current information billboard on the net. Teachers were taught how to make blog and use them. This exercise exposed the skills of making and using the blogs. Blogs can be very useful as teachers can upload their instructions for assignments, projects and lessons. Blogs can also be used to upload useful sites for other teachers and students. The students can then access this information at their own pace. The blog offers comments options, thus students can comments on the uploaded information. On the other hand the students can also create their blogs which can be access by teachers and fellow students. Thus the blog creates a communication forum that can be accessed by all at their own time.
Web quest is use of web to find information. The web has a lot of information. Teachers were exposed to skills of using the web, to access the information within the shortest time possible and appropriately. Before teachers give web based assignments or projects, they have to get the appropriate Web sites before the list them for the students use. The teachers hence need skills to use the web effectively. The Web is a resource which, when used efficiently can source useful information to be used in class for, teaching, demonstration or evaluation in the classroom.
Video editing is a skill full process. However there are programs are available and easy to handle. Vision is a very important aspect in learning and it impacts on the retention power. The exercise involved actual video shooting in the field and later editing into a quality piece of work. Teachers can use this tool in many ways including preparation of demonstration and documentaries. Students can also be encouraged to integrated video in their projects. Audio-Visual is an integral part of teaching and learning the ability to manipulates sounds and pictures can be useful in the classroom.
Projects can be very useful in teaching. They tap the inquiry skills of students exposing the students to problem solving skills, planning and working together. It’s a concept which has not been explored fully and in some cases not used appropriately. The workshop exposed the teachers to real life situation where the teachers had to undertake a project. This gave the teachers hands-on experience of what the students undergo when doing their projects. It was an opener as the teachers got an insight on how to design projects so that the students can be able to effectively use theme as a learning tool. The design of an assessment tool and the presentation took the teacher’s to a deeper understanding on how to deal with projects in their classrooms. Projects can be one approach which can be used in teaching in the classroom. Project nature the student’s creativity and research skills, it bonds into the student’s social skills of working with others.
For those who had some knowledge on the concepts, there was implicit knowledge which was not part of the mainstream planning. This was planning, undertaking the workshop and evaluation of the workshop. The workshop leaders did there planning online which gave learning opportunities to those aspiring to undertake a workshop. They also shared their planning with the participants, which also provided a way of tracking what is happening. Those who attended which a view of learning how to organize an ICT workshop had a lot to learn from the activities. The opportunity was enhanced because they took part as participant observers giving them hand-on experiences on what the workshop participant experience from the leaders planning.
Implications
The teachers who attended this workshop will try the skills in small scale an observer the development. The teachers will then improve the integration in the subsequent cycles. After the cycles the teachers will then share among themselves. ICT is a crucial component in the pedagogical aspects, how well it is utilized will gauge its effectives in the achievement of the objectives. Learning among the teachers can open avenues for exponential growth as individual teachers bring along diversity in knowledge and expertise. The documentation of activities online will offer unlimited access to many people. Study has found out ICT resources are usually under utilized in schools at a rate raging from 25% to less than 50%. Such a low rate is partly due to lack of integration of ICT in class. Participant observation is also a very important aspect in workshop as it induces future trainers to the workshop environment. The inclusion of Participants observers ensures the continuity of the training where they can be given roles in follower-up workshops.
Conclusion
ICT integration can be one of the PD components which are done continuously. Teachers have diverse expertise and experience. When they are put together they can share the knowledge giving an opportunity to those who don’t know to learn and those who know to experience the teaching of the same. Teachers are life long learners and with the growth of ICT hey need to keep a breast with the development. This will improve their pedagogical skill as well as the subject knowledge base. The students to have effective learning opportunities they need teachers who can craft such opportunities effectively.
Gioko, 2006
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