Reflection on Informative Tool

In this session we learned about how we can use computer to teach and learn. Computers can play different roles depending on our needs so firstly we looked at what does using computer as a tool mean, some of the examples of computers tools followed by a short activity. We concluded the session by discussing pros and cons of using ICT in education.

Educators view on education are diverse and constantly changing so teachers also need to adapt and embrace the new pedagogies and theories on successful learning. In this digital era, children are known as digital natives meaning that they are the computer generation. The traditional methods of teaching and learning which existed for many decades where teacher is the only source of information have to replace by ICT integration and by doing so we are catering to the diverse needs of our students.

Computers can play a significant role in being used as a tool or giving access to instructional materials. Informative tool are applications which provide vast amounts of information in various formats like text, sound, image or video. A student reading a text or information online or stored in a computer, listening to an audio on their topic, simply looking at an image and making meaning out of it or watching a video lesson or tutorial on popular video sites like YouTube are all receiving information on the particular topic but through different means based on their choice. When we use computer as an informative tool we are providing raw materials to organize, reorganize and expand their knowledge and skills.

Sir instructed us to go outside and click a picture of anything that interest us. I took a picture nof our promising national flag. . He then asked us to integrate ICT to teach a lesson on the object we captured. We had a difficult time transferring the image from our phone to the lab desktop. As for me I first saved it in my google drive and later downloaded it from logging in from desktop. I chose micro soft power point to make a lesson on national prayer flag. Once we are all done, we were made to check others work in exchange of knowledge and most of them used power point. We also discussed some advantages of ICT integration in education and that is it saves time, improves engagement and encourages collaboration. To teach about a flower we don’t have to wait for summer, the time flower blooms. We can easily teach by showing different beautiful pictures of flowers to make it more enjoyable.  In this way we can make teaching and learning process enjoyable and at the same time learning takes place.

Lastly, we also discussed some of the challenges while integrating ICT in classroom. Firstly it is the competence of the teacher; he/she constantly need to update their knowledge on ICT, availability of internet access and attitudes of teacher are also some hindering factoring of ICT.