Apr 9, 2013

How much ICT in Education?

"Teachers will not be replaced by technology, but teachers who don't use technology will be replaced by those who do" (Sheryl Nussbaum Beach)
I have never plan a lesson for the school. Usually I would  be given the lesson and carry it out as it is. That wasn't that fun nor interactive. As I am developing the unit plan for the second assignment. I begin to ponder about how much ICT should be used and how am I going to use it? It would have been much easier if it is for the higher level students from year 6 onward but as for year 1, they are young.


It is true that we all know how much benefit ICT brings to the classroom learning environment. We are all aware that children will things better as well learn better things with the use of ICT such as computer and the internet. However, we do not want to trade off the real life experiences for the child, and so here are some suggestion to use sufficient ICT in the classroom without making a trade off.

Image Source: Spanish Classroom
We should recognize that children are having so much fun using ICT whether in the classroom or at home. They probably spent half the time at home stuck to their gaming console, Ipads and computer. and hence if the teacher telling a story to the children is seem to be boring, then what could be done would be the teacher records herself telling the story in video and audio format and play it for the child during story telling time. In that way, the purpose of telling a story is still there yet the use of ICT enriched their learning experiences.

In addition to that, another learning experience that would be using ICT to enrich learning would be English. When the children are about to learn how to write letter 'S' and 'N' for the week. Teachers can begin the lesson with sand paper allowing them to feel how to write the letter before asking the children to trace on the Ipad. Then the teacher would remove the Ipad and bring out the paper and pencil for the child to trace the letter. This is one example to use ICT sufficiently to enrich learning rather than taking over the lesson completely.

With that thought aside, let's get started with planning the third stage of unit planning. What will your learning experiences be like?

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