INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AS THE SUPPORT OF STUDENT CENTERED LEARNING

What can you say to the objection that a student-centered learning environment can be noisy and unwieldy?

The student centered classroom describes as an approach on Education that focuses on the interest of the students, rather than those involve in teaching learning process like teachers or administrators. Student centered learning environment is focused on the students interest, abilities, multiple intelligences, and learning preferences which placed the teacher as a facilitator in the classroom.

            A student-centered learning environment can be noisy and unwieldy because the student doesn’t want to work with peers, they complain about being on teams where they tend to have difficulty in working with other students and lacking for team skills. Some of the students in a student-centered classroom keep on talking, where the classroom environment become busy and noisy. If the teacher cannot deliver the proper instruction, the students might misinterpret the meaning of it. There are also some students who are not comfortable in working with others and want to become alone. There are some points that a student may have misconception when they only read the ideas or concepts wherein they form wrong knowledge in their minds because the teacher did not elaborate well the concepts about a certain topic. That’s why the teacher must also provide the better and clear explanation prior on the learning process of the students.

            This type of approach seems very difficult in the part of the teacher because of some disadvantages in teaching and learning processes as well as the students are differently not alike in terms of multiple intelligence and learning preferences.

THE COMPUTER AS A TEACHER TOOLS

Situating tools can put users in Africa, the North Pole, or solar system. How can interactive situating tool computer activity be fun and exciting in these cases?

  Situating tools are like simulation wherein the computer creates a virtual environment that featured virtual reality and can give a concrete display of things which are perfectly alike. This kind of tool might seem as an exciting and more fun in terms of learning and teaching process. Visual search attracted a greater interest for the learners because it provides a better understanding of the concepts under a certain topic. These are the systems which situate the users in an environment where they may experience the context and happenings.

    Situating tools are quite interactive as a form of instruction in giving a real experience to the learners in virtual world. This interactive situating tools place a user in one place he want to visit. Likewise on a situation where you can go to Africa even if you have no visa and go to the beautiful places and historical landmarks of that certain place. In this case you’re free to have fun and explore everything about the place. While you are exploring that place, you may also know some of their culture and tradition. On the other side which is all about the field of science, it is an effective way to give their a better understanding if you send them in outer space where they can explore the planets, comets, stars, and even galaxies. In this approach you can easily relate them to the situation of an astronomer in studying the solar system.

      Situating tools is an effective way of approach used to boost the interest of every student about a certain topic. They can easily understand and visualize what is the concept and context.

THE COMPUTER AS A TUTOR

Do you believe that CAI in some future can replace teachers in the classroom?

          Technology is developing so rapidly that some activities of human depend on it. One of the greatest discoveries in the field of technology is the computer which is used in different ways. Some of its application is for instruction, searching information, and communication which are very relevant in Education.

              As a computer become an effective way of learning process, teachers in digital world used it as a tool for instruction to satisfy the needs of the students in learning technology. Thus, computer-aided instruction can be used as a substitute for teachers in a learning environment. Likewise some countries are in favor with the use of embedded-robot to serves as a facilitator and substitute for a teacher which can aid also in teaching-learning process that is manipulated by a programmer ( or the teacher as well). This programmed robot substitute as a teacher in the classroom but cannot replace on how a teacher manage the learning environment, it is only used to teach and facilitate but not to do the whole task of a teacher. It is believe that CAI in some future time can replace a teacher to employ teaching-learning process and as another development in the field of technology and education. In the modern time where the learners are now introduce with the technology, teachers must cope with a form of instruction aided by computers. Thus, this computer-assisted instruction is an effective relieving of the teacher in many activities in the classroom as a tutor.

                  The principle of CAI says that, “Computer cannot totally replace the teacher since he shall continue to play the major roles of information provider and learning environment controller,” which means even if we use CAI as a form of instruction, the teacher must continue in providing information and manage classroom environment. Therefore, in employing CAI in the classroom, a teacher must continue as an information provider and classroom manager.

COMPUTER AS ICT

How does computer be used as ICT? Does it really help in the learning process? Explain.

Computers have been a useful tool in the world of technology which provides a vast area for information, social interaction in virtual world, and explore different applications and software’s.

            Thus, that useful application of computers can be a boon or bane. Let us take the advantages of using computer as ICT. As a tool for Information and Communication Technology, computer has been useful as instructional tool which refers to the programs like Microsoft Word, Spreadsheet, or PowerPoint Presentation that aids teaching and learning process. While for communication tool, it is likely useful on the field of social media wherein communication involves throughout the people from the globe as well as updates, news or special reports about certain issues.

            In learning process, the computer as instructional material or tool have been effective for helping the students by means of some programs like database used for making documents, spreadsheet used in developing different graphs out of specific data, and PowerPoint presentation for creating audio-visual materials which attracts the attention of the students. On the other hand, as communication tool, its effective way of conveying information from different people around the world.

            The computers are very important tools for searching information and communication different people out of culture, tradition or principle.

EVALUATION OF TECHNOLOGY LEARNERS

How do the six basic digital skills affect the learners in using technology?

An effective learning process should be a product of developing such particular skills which starts with recognition of knowledge towards making judgment of ideas using the higher thinking skills.

            The basic digital skills affects learning process of a learner in using technology is by developing their higher thinking skills. Thus, these digital skills are interrelated with higher thinking skills in constructing their creativity, process of remembering or retrieving information, reflect on or evaluate messages, and capacity to interpret virtual translation. The first digital skill is the solution fluency which relies on the capability to create new techniques in problem solving that merely go through appropriate solution. This digital skill correlates the whole brain to think on the accurate answer that assesses the process and result. The second is information fluency, it refers on how a learner assesses, retrieve, and reflect on the information about digital messages in virtual world. The collaboration fluency deals with virtual and real interaction on the online environment and collaborates the cognitive domains in playing online games. The media fluency which is the fourth digital skills, needs an analytical mind in evaluating virtual messages and make or publish ability in understanding such information. The creativity fluency adds meaning on every graphics design or digital artworks to hide a message, and also making designs for PowerPoint presentation or websites. The last one which is the digital ethics that describes on how the individual must use technology for evaluating ones leadership, responsibility, awareness, and accountability as a digital users in virtual world.

            The six digital skills interrelates with higher thinking skills as well as the learners multiple intelligence and learning preferences.

DEVELOPING THE BASIC DIGITAL SKILLS

As a future teacher, what website(s) do you prefer to engage as a source of information in teaching, and why?

As a student, what website(s)do you prefer to use as your bank of outputs, video outputs etc. to be criticize and why?

                  

            A website simply means as a set of related web pages which are accessible through a network such as internet or private local area network with the internet address known as Uniform Resource Locator (URL). Webpage ia a document typically written in plain text with formatting instruction of Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). This websites are used in amny fields like science, mathematics, economics, or other specialization.

       I prefer to use google as a source of information that can engage teaching; http://www.math.com/ can be used in computation, games or practice drills in solving mathematics problem; http://www.chem.ox.ac.uk/vrchemistry/livechem/transitionmetals_ content.html use to combine or mix substances and elements to observe the reaction of the elements to the given substance; http://www.mathsisfun.com/algebra/quadratic-equation.html use in graphing linear and quadratic equation given a certain equation; and http://www.coolmath.com/reference/triangles-types.html use in displaying kinds of polygons in order to understand the concept of geometry. For the students references, I prefer to use google chrome to find meanings for difficult words, images, and scholarly articles. Also the yahoo can be used as a source of information in some cases.

          The websites used by a teacher can be used by the students and vise-versa. Its effectiveness in teaching and learning process are quite important in understanding the context and concept of a certain topic.

PREFERENCES OF TECHNOLOGY LEARNERS

Give your perception or experiences (good or non-good) in using Facebook as a social media.

                      

        Social media is a form of interaction among people by the use of virtual community and network wherein they share, create and exchange information. The internet users spend more time with Social Medias rather than visiting educational websites. Many kinds of social media arise in the twenty first century which create a highly interactive platforms for the web-based technology through which individuals allows creation and exchange of user-generated content.

The use of social media (i.e. facebook) isn’t safe for our personal data wherein private information can be used in pornography, blockmail, spamming, virus threat or theft of personal information. Thus, it is used for faster communication, uploading or downloading pictures or files, and playing online games, this social community opens on how you deal with the people around the world. The opening of this social media for everyone with a valid email address can represent a portion of your life which may seems as a threat about your personal information. It’s been a site for amusement where you can explore anything likewise giving comments, share photos, play online games or chatting with your friends. I’ve experience some sort of negative comments about my uploaded and shared photos trhat lead a certain lesson of keeping my personal data to be in private. But prior to that experience, I’ve also experienced a lot of advantages like I knew about my relatives living in other countries, gain information from various webpage on my facebook account, knowing what are the online services offered by facebook, and play online games which are educational in nature.

My experience about facebook doesn’t pertain only to its negative effects on the part of users but also its advantages as a social networking site in the virtual world.