Lesson 10: Computers as Information and Communication Technology

            The evolution of computers first started with the invention of the printing press, the introduction of libraries and the invention of the computer, especially so with the advent of the microcomputer in 1975. Thus, mark the emergence computer technology n education. Teachers saw the development technology have brought in the teaching-learning process like in reading and writing. Soon computer-assisted instruction (CAI) was introduced using the principle of individualized learning through a positive climate that includes realism and appeal with drill exercises that uses color, music and animation. The evolving pace of innovation in today’s Information Age is so dynamic, computer technology in education has matured to transform into an educative information and communication technology (ICT) in education.

               Computer technology has already become a channel/ medium of instruction in the teaching-learning process. It has also become an effective learning resource for students and teachers. The reporters were good with the discussion because really made us distinguished the different computer applications that can help both teachers and learners. It is indeed true that we have now varieties of educational application that can aid learning and teaching. Examples are, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, MS Excel, Google Chrome, Photoshop, and MS music player. We cannot deny the fact that, old ways of conveying information like through the blackboard is slowly vanishing and we are now welcoming the use of PowerPoint presentations. Technology has made our lives easier and faster.

                With the invention of the computer, many changes were realized especially in the world of education. Before, teaching was merely teacher-centered one, teaching and learning was through textbooks and curriculum, learners were independent learners, and gave emphasized on the passing the exams. While today, as technology pave its way in the teaching-learning process it shifted to teaching as learner-centered, learners go beyond textbooks and curriculum, learners are active learners and focus on learning to do. See? How it changes from one generation to another? Nowadays, technology computers have already become a necessity. It has already made big innovations in the educational system which helped the school, teachers and learners.

               As a future teacher, it should be made clear however that the computers cannot totally replace the teachers since the teachers shall continue to play the major roles of information deliverer and learning environment controller. With the advancement of technology we should not let technology rule the whole process because we, educators are still the sole responsible for the learning of our students.

Lesson 9: Higher Thinking Skills through IT-Based Projects

            Developing student’s higher order thinking skills (HOTS) is the main priority of the teachers. To achieve this, teachers must conduct and implement activities that would require student’s active participation. Higher thinking skills activities are not only done in a traditional way but we also now have different computer-based activities that can effectively cater the higher order thinking skills of the students. These activities refer to the IT-based projects which include the, resource-based projects, simple creations, guided hypermedia projects and web-based projects. These may not totally address all the higher thinking skills but these projects represent constructivist projects containing the key elements of a constructivist approach to instruction, namely:

a.       The teacher creating the learning environment

b.      The teacher giving students the tools and facilities, and

c.       The teacher facilitating learning.

               With the these IT-based projects, it is the students themselves who demonstrate higher thinking skills and creativity through such activities searching for information, organizing and synthesizing ideas, creating presentations and the like.

I.             Resource-based projects

These refer to projects wherein the students gather and discover things independently. Learners are the main source of the knowledge and teachers will act as a facilitator. Learners are required to go beyond the textbook and curriculum materials. Inquiry- based approach in used in these projects. The following steps should be followed:

a.       The teacher determines the topic for the examination of the class

b.      The teacher presents the problem to the class

c.       The students find information on the problem/solution

d.      Students organize their information in response to the problem/solution.

II.          Simple creations

These refer to projects that require student creativity in using software materials. In developing software, creativity as an outcome should not be equated with ingenuity or high intelligence. Creating is more consonant with planning, making, assembling, designing, or building.

Creativity is said to combine three kind of skills/ abilities:

a.       Analyzing

b.      Synthesizing

c.       Promoting

Five key tasks to develop creativity:

1.      Define the problem

2.      Brainstorming

3.      Judge the ideas

4.      Act

5.      Adopt flexibility

III.       Guided hypermedia projects

The production of self-made multimedia projects can be approached in two different ways:

1.      As an instructive tool- such as the production by students of a power-point presentation of a selected topic.

2.      As a communicative tool- such as students do a multimedia presentation.

IV.       Web-based projects

These projects require students to create and post webpages on a given topic.

               I have experienced these IT-based projects during my IT class and in Edtech-1 and 2. During my IT class we were tasked to make projects such as brochure, magazine, and PowerPoint presentations. In Edtech-1 we were asked to make comics using Toondoo.com, make rubrics are Rubistar.com, Photoshop, and electronic collage while in Edtech-2 we are asked to make our own BlogSpot. Well, they were indeed very nice projects because it can develop your higher order thinking skills since it entails creativity in planning and critical thinking in making decisions. These projects also allow us to know better the computer and to navigate the wonders of it with ourselves. It is indeed true that these projects include discover and inquiry approach to learning. These projects are also hands-on activities.

               These IT-based projects are the ways to develop higher order thinking skills because these require student’s analytical, creative and critical thinking. As educators, we should not give too much attention to low order thinking skills because this will not result to meaningful and productive learning. I am very amazed with how technology it works in the classroom because it will not only make the learning active and productive but it can as well promote and develop the HOTS of the learners which is very good because modern leaners give more emphasis on personal and participative works and new digital learners simply wish to acquire skills, knowledge and habits as windows of opportunity afford them to learn. Also, digital learners prefer fun learning which is relevant and instantaneously useful to them. Through the IT-based projects the needs and interests of learners will be catered and hence will develop their higher order thinking skills.

               Through the IT-based projects, I will create an innovative, useful, meaningful and creative activity for my students to develop their higher order thinking skills that will make them globally competitive and productive components of the society.

Lesson 8: Evaluation of Technology Learning

               Today, students are expected to be not only cognitive, but also flexible, analytical and creative. With the development of technology in the education process there are methods for the use of computer-based technologies as an integral supports to higher thinking skills and creativity. Assessment and evaluation as an important part of the teaching-learning process must also change in order to have reliable and valid results in this fast changing world. Assessment needs to conform not to the literacy of the past but the new literacy of the 21^st century. We must not only use the typical pen and paper form of assessment because this will not address digital learner’s performance and progress but instead digital tools must be consider in planning the assessment because this will prepare them to face a high-tech world.

               Teachers must adopt a new mindset both for instruction and evaluation. Evaluation must be geared to assessment of essential knowledge and skills so that learners can function effectively, productively, and creatively in a new world. It must use evaluative tools that measure the new basic skills of the 21^st century digital culture. The assessment and evaluation tools should also aim at bridging the gap between the traditional and modern way of assessing students. These changes refer to “mass amateurization” meaning the change in the evaluation process which implies a mass reach of student outputs.

               Computer-based assessment and evaluation is now being practiced and employed in different school. Example, during our Edtech-1, our instruction used the electronic exam to assess whether or not we have learned something. He came out of the traditional way of assessing which was through pen and paper and employed the modern way one. We were also being assessed through our computer outputs like the Photoshop, Electronic collage, and film festival, etc. With the kind of assessment method our instructor used, it did not only assess the cognitive domain but also the psychomotor and affective domain. It made us flexible, analytic and creative learners.

               As the teaching and learning activities changed because of technology, assessment and evaluation methods must also change to conform to the new way of learning which is technology-based. Which is very important to have a balance in the process, it will be ineffective and unproductive if the learning activities that we will use in the classroom are traditional one, then we will assess our learners through the modern way of assessment. There is no congruency in the process hence may lead to unreliable and invalid results which in turn may affect learners. If wrong learning assessment is used, this may demotivate and discourage learners in learning because wrong feedback and results are given to them.

               It is then very important that the learning activities and the assessment and evaluation method must complement with each other. As a future teacher, I must therefore consider these things because this will have a big part in the development of a student. One may not learn effectively if wrong assessment method will be used. And that, everything has changed, if a teacher will not cope and adjust to the changes brought by the technology he/she may not totally address the needs and interests of the students which can lead to the destruction of the learners. Teachers must therefore become flexible, creative and critical in planning all the activities and assessment methods to be used in the classroom.

Lesson 7: Developing Basic Digital Skills

               Technology has pave its way in the educational system, with this advancement teachers need to shift and to make adjustment with how they teach in order to cater the new learning styles and intelligences of the digital learners. Teachers should not merely the traditional way of teaching but also to consider the modern ways of teaching which are technology-based ones.  This is in order to bridge the gap between the old and new generation learners. Aside from the modern strategies, new skills are also developed. We are not only focused on the 3R’s (reading, writing and ‘rithmetic) but we are also welcoming the innovation of the new literacy skills namely; Solution fluency, Information fluency, Collaboration fluency, Media fluency, Creativity fluency and Digital fluency. With these new literacy skills, it does not mean that we will ignore the 3R’s but instead we will complement the six new skills and the 3R’s to equip students for success in the millennial world.

              

1.      Solution fluency

               This is the capacity of the learners to act and think critically. As the name suggests it refers to the ability of the leaners to solve problems which involves the whole brain. Also, it requires students to be systematic in solving problems. They must execute the following in coming up with a solution, define the problem, design appropriate solution, apply the solution, and assess the process.

2.      Information fluency

               This refers to the ability of the students to gather information not only through the libraries but also with the use of the internet.

3.      Collaboration fluency

               This refers to the ability of the students to work in groups not just in the typical classroom scenario but as well as communicating in the online environment.

4.      Media fluency

               This refers to the skills of the students in using media or digital sources in communicating ideas. Medias may include radio, television, magazine, advertising, graphic arts. The role of the teacher is to evaluate the message in a chosen media, as well as the creativity of the published digital messages.

5.      Creativity fluency

               This refers to the artistic proficiency of the learners in using digital sources in presenting ideas. Font, color, patterns, layout are elements to creative fluency.

6.      Digital ethics

               As the name suggests, ethics refers to the “moral code” of the digital citizens. The digital citizen is guided by principles of leadership, global responsibility, environmental awareness, global citizenship, and personal accountability.

Higher thinking skills

               Entering the new world of information and communication technology opens the way for complex and higher cognitive skills.

              

 The following taxonomy may be proposed:

1.      Remembering- recall information

2.      Understanding- explain ideas

3.      Applying- use information in a new way

4.      Analyzing- distinguishing different parts

5.      Evaluating- justify stand or position

6.      Creating- new product/ point of view

I am very new to the basic digital skills. I never even thought that they exist. For that, I am very thankful in this course- Educational Technology-2 because it had made me aware of how should digital learners be taught and on what are the points to be targeted in order to equip them with the necessary skills and to have a meaningful learning. With the reporting, it was good because they have employed strategy which is role playing that have better explained how the six fluency works in the classroom. These new literacy skills will also be of great help especially in bridging the generation gap brought by technology. Teachers can also decide on how to evaluate these digital learners since they possess different learning styles and techniques in learning things. They will also be guided about the necessary competence to be developed in the learners so that they will become globally competitive individuals.

               What is good in this lesson is that, it really emphasized that there’s no need to eradicate the 3R’s in the educational process but instead it is better to complement these 3r’s with the new literacy skills in order to come up with globally competitive students. Indeed, these innovations are good because as we all know we are not only after on the development of the digital skills but we also need to develop the other skills of the students for holistic learning. Remember that our end goal is- HOLISTIC LEARNING.

               As a future teacher, I will make use of these new literacy skills together with the 3r’s because these will really help me in teaching especially that my future learners are technology-oriented. These will guide me on how to deal with my future learners and will keep me on track on the things that should be taught and to be developed to my learners so that they will become globally competitive individuals. Learning will become an outcomes-based one since these new skills are after on the total development of the learners not just on knowledge but also how to use that knowledge in the real word situation.

Lesson 6: Preferences of the Technology Generation

            Contents: In the field of education, it is important that critical differences in perceptions between old and young which create a generation gap should be taken into account:

	OLD GENERATION	YOUNG GENERATION
Single and multi-track activity patterns	Slow and single-track pattern of activities.	Exposed to a quick flicking video games, mobile phone texting and socializing through the web sites, etc. They are multi-track pattern of activities
Texts versus Visuals	They read books, went to library to do research and borrowed needed books.	They have greater affinity to visuals.
Linear versus Hyper Media	They obtained information in a linear, logical and sequential manner. It made them more logical, focused and reflective thinkers.	They follow a personal random access to hyper linked digital information, less superior to elders in focus and reflection. They easily get distracted and bored during classes.
Independent versus Social learners	Educational system gives priority to independent learning, prior to participative work.	They are acquainted with digital tools that adopt to both personal and participative work.it is based on experimentation, discovery and intuition.
Learning to do versus Learning to pass the test	Old teachers teach students in order to help them past tests and complete the course requirement.	Learners wish to acquire skills, knowledge and habits as windows of opportunity afford them to learn.
Delayed rewards versus instant gratification	Educational system consists of grades, honor certificates/diplomas. Including jobs and unclear rewards for performance.	Immediate gratification through immediate scores from games, enjoyable conversation from webcam calls.
Rote memory versus Fun learning	Content-based courses and measured by standard-tests.	Fun learning which is relevant and instantaneously useful to them.

      I love to read books. I like to read e-books. I prefer to converse with other people personally than talking to them in phones, e-mails and Facebook because I can personally see with my two eyes how they feel and their facial expression upon talking. I like the traditional way of teaching-learning. I love the new one. Well, everything has changed. But sometimes, technology gave me a hard time completing tasks at school because of the limited internet café. With just one click, everything is serve. You don’t really need to exert much effort in everything you because technology is there to do all the task.

            From the table, we can see the shift of preferences from the old generation to the new. It is really easy to identify the distinct characteristics of the two generations. Upon knowing all these different preferences, I realized that I still have so much to learn when it comes to integrating technology to instruction and to the learners of the new generation. There are a lot of things to consider especially on the side of the learners since they are the most affected in the development of technology in education. Technology has brought both positive and negative changes on the educational system. With the negative changes, we can still do something about it like, fully accepting technology as the new avenue to instruction, understanding our students and being on our best capability in order to address the needs of the learners in this new generation.

            With the information above, there is really a need to vary our teaching strategies that is appropriate to the learning styles of the students. Traditional way is more effective if will try to integrate educational technology in our instruction.