Module 2A-5: Assignment 3: ICT and the Roles of the Educator

This is perhaps the last post in this particular blog (at least for a while because I am not sure what happens next).  The latter part of the course was very taxing especially in light of a hectic schedule at work. Still this assignment was rewarding.

I was required to re-visit an old lesson and and give it an ICT twist.  I used a software that could simulate electricity labs and it was quite interesting.  The thing is however, that I had access to this software for quite sometime but had never followed through.  I am glad that I eventually did.

I have been encouraging science teachers to use similar approaches and it was a physics teacher who first introduced me to the software.  The ease with which this approach allows students to understand key concepts and the excitement it generates suggest to me that I should forge ahead with plans to assist teachers increase their reliance on ICT for educational purposes.  In fact it will be the subject of a major series of workshops that I am planning for the near future.

Module 1B-4: Assignment 3: ICT in your school - do you have a dream?

Hello World!
I missed quite a few blog entries but I think it is important that I at least give closing thoughts on the process.  This last assignment was the one that caused me to miss my deadline and after that I did not participate in the class discussions as I should have.

The assignment was challenging from the perspective it actually caused me to think very seriously about what it would take to improve the ICT use in my workplace.  I strongly doubt that the things I wrote about will happen soon but at some point in time, thing will have to change and I hope that given the experience of this course, I will be in a position to make a positive contribution to the change process.

Module 2A-5: Assignment 1: ICT in Support of the Educator

"Module 2B-5: Assignment 1" was heavily based on the article  "The Seven Roles of the Teacher" by Emilia Potenza.  The first line in the article reads "You may or may not know of the seven roles of the teacher".  This immediately caught my attention because I generally view such authoritative pronouncements with skepticism.  One expert might conclude there are seven roles of a teacher, while another might with equal assurance claim that there are ten.  So we were not off to a great start.


Nevertheless, I did find the article quite interesting.  The first role discussed was that of learning mediator.  As a mediator, the teacher is required to setup "a dialogue between the learner and various sources of information".  A part of this duty is to "construct appropriate learning environments".  I quite agreed with this concept.

The next role described was that of "Interpreter and designer of Learning Programmes and materials".  The author asserted that this is perhaps the role that has been most misunderstood and abused".  Initially, I thought "hmm, I am probably misreading something here because to me this is the one of the most widely discussed role of the teacher".  However, as I think about it, there is some question about the extent to which I as a teacher have had control over the curriculum to be taught.

I felt that the role of "Leader" overlapped with that of mediator and the distinction became blurred in my mind.  In general, I think the roles mentioned were roles of teachers, but as laid out, there was not always enough distinction to merit separate classifications.  So I found the article to be nice butI was not totally satisifed at the end of the reading.

The assignment itself was very involved but for the most part, I simply modified files that I have used in the past.  It did result in me creating my first zip file so that was good.

Module 1B-4: Activity 2: Attitudes and Perceptions of ICT

I just completed Activity 2.  I am still convinved that a significant number of persons are hesitant to incorporate the use of ICT in their lessons because they believe their ICT skills are inadequate.  My survey was a bit inconclusive based on the hypothesis that  was testing but I believe my assertion is accurate.

On a personal note, if it was left totally up to me I would not have written that type of hypothesis in the first place because it is very difficult to prove cause.  I might be able to show reasonable correlation but cause ....

Module 2A-5: Activity 3: Spreadsheet for Administrative Purposes

Today I completed Activity 5 for this course.  Most of the material I was fairly comfortable with but I had some difficulties with the "COUNTIF" function.  I was asked to determine how many students got A's, Bs, etc but there was no criteria for the different ranges.  I can use nested IF's for this requirement but I would still need to know what is the cut off score for say a "B".

Module 2A-5: Activity 3: Word Processor for Lesson Preparation

Progress being made.  I shared a plan for a form 4 physics experiment with the class and I got some interesting feedback. For example, I thought it was very clear that the cardboard should be placed on the table, then a plane sheet of paper placed on the cardboard and finally the glass block placed on the paper.  With the equipment before them, most students would quickly figure it out but I realize that this is still putting unnecessary pressure on them.

I will have to test out a few more of my plans especially with persons who have not studied physics.

Module 1B-4: Activity 1: Conclusions from the discussion on ICT integration in developing countries

ICT covers a very broad field and depending on a person's specific interest, he will only see a portion of this spectrum.  Initially, I was certain of my perspective but now I am not sure that I have settled in my mind the extent to which developing countries can compete with developed countries in ICT. 

Two things are occupying my thought at the moment.  First of all, no country has a monopoly on intellect therefore from that perspective, some amount of leveling of the playing field has already been established.

Secondly, equity does not mean same.  The ICT needs of developing countries might be significantly different to those of their more developed counterparts.  Who knows, what in one perspective is woefully inadequate might be lavish from another perspective.  Hmm.