ICT as co-constructive tool

ICT as Co- constructive tool

What is co -constructive tools?

I understood co - constructive tools as applications that support the construction of knowledge through a shared understanding (collaboratively consolidate the ideas). Students can use constructive tools to work cooperatively and construct a shared understanding of the new knowledge. Here are co-constructive tools that we have used so far.

Google docs (docs.google.com)

 Blog

 Discussion forum on portals (pce.edu.)

Face book

I learnt that there are many importance of co- constructive tools. They are as follows;

v  Co-edit

v  Communicate database, texts & graphics

v  Enhance collaborative learning environment:

v  high-level cognitive processes – explanation, problem-finding, problem solving

v  active & intentional learning

v  identifying & developing expertise

Camtasia video tutorial

When we were given task to prepare a video tutorial using camtasia I was worried as I didn’t have good idea on using it. I have used camtasia to prepare video during my first year second semester but during that time I had opportunity to discuss with my friends unlike this time where I had to do every on my own. I had difficult time to make use of the features of camtasia however; I could overcome the obstacles after going through videos uploaded by the tutor and I also learnt from different videos from YouTube.

In order to create the video, first, I prepared eight slides presentation using power point.

Here is the presentation on a poem “My mother saw a dancing bear” that I have prepared.

To record the presentation and voice narration using camtasia I have used screen recorder. I have found out that there are two options in camtasia for recording that is “screen recorder and Adds-Ins”. I preferred to use screen recorder as it was convenient for me and I could synchronize my voice narration and the lips movement. I also learnt many other features like importing images and videos, adding transition, cutting out unwanted part from the video and removing background noise.

After exploring all the features of camtasia and coming up with the video tutorial, I realized that camtasia is one of the best Applications for the teachers to use to prepare video lesson for the students. This kind of video tutorial will help students in better understanding and it is one way to make lesson interesting and engaging. So, in the future I will make use of apps like camtasia to provide good lesson to my students.

Here is my video tutorial.

 

ICT as Constructive tool

Under the topic ICT as constructive tool, the first thing that we have learnt is Constructivism. I understood that constructivism is an approach to learning that holds that people actively construct or make their own knowledge and that reality is defined by the experiences of the learner.

Constructivist approach to learning was emphasized by Piaget and Constructivism believes in personal construction of meaning by the learner through experiences, and that meaning is influence by the interaction of pre existing knowledge and new events. Constructivist approach to teaching and learning emphasizes on students’ need to construct their own understanding.

I have gained knowledge on how ICT is linked to constructivism. The use of ICT as constructive tool generates new ways of teaching and learning through technology. This shift teacher centered to learner centered pedagogy. Because of that it decreases memorization and rote learning. Learners can even learn in absence of teacher. Moreover, technology triggers constructivist learning by helping learner to adopt, explore and practice.

What is constructive tool?

 It is applications such as Microsoft publisher, power point, word, simulations and social networking sites (face book and bogs) that help learners to manipulate information, construct own knowledge or visualize one’s understanding.

We were asked to prepare power point simulation about our village using just one slide. In order to prepare the simulation I had to explore many sources and watch videos as I had no idea of what simulation is and how to prepare. As I go through various sources I gained idea on simulation and different features of Microsoft power point. I learnt about how to make good use of animations and one interesting thing I learnt about MS power point is that it has a feature to record narration.

Here is the simulation that I have prepared using power point.

 

Using blog as a communicative tool

Blog is an online journal or information website displaying information in the reverse chronological order. It is a platform where a writer or even a group of writers share their views on an individual subject.

We used blog for reflecting our understanding on five ICT tools. This became communicative tool between the tutor and the blogger. I must say that the use of blog is very beneficial especially for reflection. As I maintain my reflection in blog on five ICT tools, I learnt that we can maintain reflection better compare to writing reflection with hands or typing thoughts in Microsoft word. Unlike Microsoft word, blog has many features where we can reflect I the form of pictures and videos. This makes us able to show clear picture of our understanding and the communication between tutor and the blogger become effective where the tutor can clearly understand our understanding on five ICT tools.

For person like me who has difficulty in communicating face to face with the tutor, expressing thoughts through blog is much better. In blog I can write down my understanding in my own way in ease. I don’t have to fear that the tutor may tell me something if my sentence structure is wrong as I can always come back to the sentences I have written and make changes to convey better messages to my tutor.

So, in future, I am hoping to make good use of platform like blog make my students express their thoughts and understanding of lesson. I know it will be difficult for lower classes to use blog like us but I will find other alternatives of ICT tools for children to express their thoughts with ease.

ICT as Communicative tool

What is communicative tool?

I understood that Communicative tools are systems that allow easy communication between teachers and students or between students outside the physical barrier classroom.

For example; students using e-mail and online chats for messaging the information.

Following are commonly used communicative tools;

 

 

My presentation on Hitler

I learnt more about reliability of information after I prepared presentation on the topic “Was Hitler a gay?”

In order to prepare ten slides presentation, I had to go through different sources to get reliable information. As I went through different sources there were many articles saying that Hitler was homosexual as well as some saying that he wasn't. So, in order to get authentic information for my presentation, I had to see whether the article has author for not and had to look for article with recent date and time. I also look for  the source which is run by government agencies, nonprofit organizations, foundations, or colleges and universities. 

It was difficult for me to know which sources were reliable, however I could come up with the presentation supporting the idea that Hitler was a gay by getting the information by keeping the features of reliable sources in mind.  

Here is the presentation that I have prepared on "Was Hitler a gay?"

ICT as Informative tools

After learning on the topic ICT as informative tool, I learned that informative tools are applications that provide large amount of information in various formats such as text, graphics, sound, or video. Television, radio and internet are source of information. The most preferred source of information is internet. I found that the use of ICT in teaching and learning has lots of advantages.  It helps in Enhancing children’s comprehension. When children encounter any difficult point for them to understand, referring to different information in various formats will help them to understand better. For example; a child who cannot understand the process of rainfall in the text can watch video on the internet and understand better. 

In terms of reading, I think ICT can help the students with the vocabulary and the meaning of the words in the texts they read. For example, when they are reading a certain article online or when they are watching a video with English subtitles, they can look up the meaning of unknown words in online dictionaries. So they can learn many words from the web.

Information from the internet also helps to enrich the way of teaching. Teacher can always browse internet and look for new ideas of teaching and infuse them while teaching in the classroom. Children also learn to evaluate resources in the internet. When children are expose to different source of information they will learn to see which information is reliable and which is not.  

When children are given opportunity to browse internet for information by themselves, they will see different kinds of ideas and creative works. So, this helps them to widen their way of thinking and boost their creativity.

 It is important for us to know that though these tools give information, the user should know how to go for reliable sources as anyone can put any kind of materials on the internet.  I got idea on how to get reliable information. we should look for Established Institutions. It means that we have to look for sites associated with trusted institutions that have been around for a while and have a proven track record of reliability and integrity. Such sites may include those run by government agencies, nonprofit organizations, foundations, or colleges and universities. 

I also learnt that the user should avoid Anonymous Authors. Articles or studies whose authors are named are often—though not always—more reliable than works produced anonymously. If someone is willing to put their name on something they've written, chances are they stand by the information it contains. And if you have the name of the author, you can always Google them to check their credentials.

Another important thing to keep in mind is, the user should check Date and time.We need to look whether the source has date and time or not and if so, we have to go for recent one so that we get most up-to-date information. One way to check is to look for a "last updated" date on the page or site.

Moreover, we need to look for Sites with Expertise. We need to look for websites that specialize in the kind of information we are seeking. So if we are writing a story on a flu outbreak, we need to check out medical websites, such as The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and so on.