Reflections for Week 1 (Sheng Zhi)

Hi everyone, just want to share my thoughts about my first ever ICT lesson in NIE.

Before entering ICT class, my knowledge of technology in class is limited to powerpoints, visualizers and youtube clips. (But today I learnt that the first 2 are not actually ICT tools because they cannot let students provide feedback)

Since I am going to teach secondary schools, so I am going to start with some recollections about the use of technology during my secondary schooldays. During my time (ahem.. x years ago), my school has already transition to white boards and the occasional usage of computer labs to teach subjects like science and maths. During such lab times, the only technology we use were to play with educational games where we solve maths problems to get through the game. OHPs were commonly used for classroom teaching when we have to go through worksheets and tests. It is only when I reach JC and University that powerpoints and visualizers become the norm in classroom teaching.

Before entering the ICT class, I was thinking, "oh, its about the usage of powerpoints and visualizers and how to use them properly in class." Then after this class I realise there is so much more to ICT. First the tools are aplenty such as blogs, wiki, blackboard, youtube, and there are many more if we google the internet for "collaborative learning tools". These tools allow us to share information in real time and everyone is given a outlet to express their views. This brings me to my second reflection.

My second thought after the ICT lesson was how we were taught for most of our time in school. The teacher does a lecture-style teaching and we attempt to absorb all his words either through memory or by furiously scribbling notes. Sometimes we have questions but are too fearful of making a fool of ourselves by asking them. Having these tools allow students to finally ask questions in the comfort of their own home in front of their computers. Many students are more comfortable using an indirect means to ask questions. Or in the case of upper sec or JC students, they may have their own views on the lesson and want to express them to the teacher. The internet tool would act as an non-confrontal way to express their views.

My third thought is on harnessing the creativity of many minds. The teacher is only one human being and sometimes creativity is limited. Although the knowledge of the teacher is very extensive but the method of teaching could be old-fashion and that limits how much the students can absorb. Through using the online tools, the teacher can find out what topics are troubling the students, listen to what concepts the students find dry and boring and what changes the students suggest to the lessson. Therefore coming up with new ideas that can benefit the learning of the students. 1 creativity from the student + 1 creativity from the teacher = 1 brand new idea of teaching therefore 1 + 1 = 3 as mentioned by Dr. Tan.

I want to know more about the uses of the online tools and how to integrate them in classrooms. I want to know which online tools best suits my teaching style, which tool is better for concepts thats needs manual practicing (like solving algebra problems) and which tools that can simplify an abstract concept better (like understanding mole concept or Avagadro number). I want to learn how we can move away from wow-ing students with technology and actually helping them to understand the lesson.

How do we manage the time between teaching the lesson and accessing whether they have learnt? Can the online tools help us acomplish that in a one hour period? If nowadays students only interact online, will they lose the ability to communicate personally face-to-face?

Questions to be answered till next time =)