ICT tools.

Information Communication Technologies are the power that has changed many aspects of the lives.

The impact of the ICT on each sector of the life across the past two-three decades has been enormous. The way these fields act today is different as compare to their pasts. Across the past twenty years the use of ICT has basically changed all forms of endeavour within business, governance and off-course education!  ICT has begun to have a presence but unfortunately we are lacking to achieve desired impact. The education is a socially oriented activity. It plays vital role in building the society.

The quality education traditionally is associated with strong teachers having high degrees. Using ICTs in education it moved to more student – centered learning.  As world is moving rapidly towards digital information, the role of ICTs in education becoming more and more important and this importance will continue to grow and develop in 21st century.

This paper highlights various impacts of ICT on contemporary higher education and also discusses potential future developments. The paper argues the role of ICT in transforming teacher-centered learning to competency based learning. It also explores some challenges in higher education like cognitive tutors, need for developing a model, collaborative authoring etc.

 

Role of ICT in Higher Education:

1. To increase variety of educational services & medium

2. To promote equal opportunities to obtain education & information.

3. To develop a system of collecting & disseminating educational information.

4. To promote technology literacy.

Educational ICT tools can be divided into 3 categories: Input source, Output source and Others.

        

 

Worldwide research has shown that ICT can lead to improved student learning and better teaching methods. A report made by the National Institute of Multimedia Education in Japan, proved that an  increase in student exposure to educational ICT through curriculum integration has a significant and positive impact on student achievement, especially in terms of "Knowledge・Comprehension" • "Practical skill"  and "Presentation skill" in subject areas such as mathematics, science, and social study.

However, you can see that there are many education technology solutions provided in the world which may cause confusion among educators about how to choose the right ICT solution. Let's have a look at the advantages and disadvantages of ICT tools for education and discover what kind of education ICT solution is suitable for your school needs.

 

Teaching methods

Teaching Methods

The term Teaching method refers to the general principies, pedagogy and management strategies used for classroom instruction. Your choice of teaching method depends on what fits you - your educational philosophy, classroom demographic. subject area(s) and school mission statement.

We can now consider a number of specific methods which can be drawn from in the course of classroom instruction. It is however, important to note that the choice of any form of methods should not be arbitrary, but needs to be governed by the criteria we have already examined. At the same time each method is not fool-proof, but has its own advantages and disadvantages. That is why I would recommend the use of complementary methods rather than one method.

1. LECTURE METHOD

A lecture is an oral presentation of information by the instructor. It is the method of relaying factual information which includes principles, concepts, ideas and all THEORETICAL KNOWLEDGE about a given topic. In a lecture the instructor tells, explains, describes or relates whatever information the trainees are required to learn through listening and understanding. It is therefore teacher-centred. The instructor is very active, doing all the talking. Trainees on the other hand are very inactive, doing all the listening. Despite the popularity of lectures, the lack of active involvement of trainees limits its usefulness as a method of instruction.

The lecture method of instruction is recommended for trainees with very little knowledge or limited background knowledge on the topic. It is also useful for presenting an organised body of new information to the learner. To be effective in promoting learning, the lecture must involve some discussions and, question and answer period to allow trainees to be involved actively.

THE DISCUSSION METHOD

Discussion involves two-way communication between participants. In the classroom situation an instructor and trainees all participate in discussion. During discussion, the instructor spends some time listening while the trainees spend sometimes talking. The discussion is, therefore, a more active learning experience for the trainees than the lecture.

A discussion is the means by which people share experiences, ideas and attitudes. As it helps to foster trainees involvement in what they are learning, it may contribute to desired attitudinal changes. Discussion may be used in the classroom for the purpose of lesson development, making trainees apply what they have learnt or to monitor trainees learning by way of feedback.

THE DEMONSTRATION LESSON

“The most effective way to teach an occupational skill is to demonstrate it... one of the two most essential teaching skills is the ability to demonstrate; the other is the ability to explain.

BUZZ GROUPS

Another method of instruction is the buzz group. During a longer session, the plenary group can break into sub-groups to discuss one or two specific questions or issues. The room soon fills with noise as each sub-group ‘buzzes’ in discussion. If appropriate, after the discussion one member of each group can report its findings back to the plenary. Buzz groups can be in pairs, trios, or more depending on the activity. People turn to their neighbours for a quick buzz, or form larger groups of three or more. This allows almost every one to express an opinion. While they are buzzing, participants are able to exchange ideas and draw on their wide collective experience. It may provide a good opportunity for trainees to reflect on the content of a lecture. A good buzz session will generate many ideas, comments and opinion, the most important of which will be reported back.

BRAINSTORMING

The purpose of a brainstorming session is to discover new ideas and responses very quickly. It is particularly a good way of getting bright ideas. It differs from the buzz groups discussion in that the focus is on generating as many ideas as possible without judging them. In this technique, all ideas are given equal credence.

Participants are encouraged to let ideas flow freely, building on and improving from previous ideas. No idea, however crazy, should be rejected. These ideas are listed exactly as they are expressed on a board or flipchart, or written on bits of paper. The combination of swiftly generated ideas usually leads to a very animated and energising session. Even the more reserved participants should feel bold enough to contribute. The purpose of listing responses is to collect existing experiences and thoughts.

ROLE PLAYS

In role plays, participants use their own experiences to play a real life situation. When done well, role plays increase the participants self-confidence, give them the opportunity to understand or even feel empathy for other people’s viewpoints or roles, and usually end with practical answers, solutions or guidelines.

Role plays are useful for exploring and improving interviewing techniques and examining the complexities and potential conflicts of group meetings. They help participants to consolidate different lessons in one setting and are good energisers.

Methodology

A teaching methodology is essentially the way in which a teacher chooses to explain or teach material to students so they can learn the material. There are many different methodologies that can be utilized by a teacher, and the methods chosen often depend on the educational philosophy and preferences of a teacher. It is also not uncommon for a teacher to utilize multiple methods within a single lesson or over the course of several lessons. A methodology of teaching can include the use of lecturing, group or small group discussion activities, and engaging students as teachers for their peers.

It is important to understand that a teaching methodology is not the same as an educational philosophy for a teacher, though they can often be related. The philosophy a teacher chooses usually indicates how the teacher believes students can best learn new material, and the ways in which students and teachers should relate and interact in the classroom. This philosophy often impacts the choices a teacher can make regarding which teaching methodology or methodologies he or she chooses to use, but they are not necessarily directly connected. Teachers commonly refer to their preferred teaching methods and philosophies together, to give other teachers or students an understanding of their approach to education.

While a number of different methodologies can be used by a teacher, one common and traditional teaching method is often referred to as lecturing or explaining. This is essentially an approach to education that regards the teacher as an expert on a subject, and he or she provides information to students who are expected to absorb and understand the material. Sometimes derisively referred to as a “sage on the stage” approach, this teaching methodology has lost favor in recent years with many instructors. Even those teachers who do still use this method often supplement it with other methodologies.

Some increasingly popular methodologies focus on the importance of the student in the learning process. One such teaching methodology utilizes group discussions with an entire classroom, or smaller group discussions with numerous small groups at once. Students are encouraged to take responsibility for their education and to be active participants in the learning process.

This can also be utilized with a teaching methodology in which students take on the role of teacher to instruct other students in the class. Small group discussions, for example, are often followed by larger group discussions in which each group presents what they learned or discussed to the rest of the class. Similarly, individual students may be charged with researching a particular subject, and then teaching that material to the other students in the class.

Learning strategies

A Learning Strategy is a person’s approach to learning and using information. Students use Learning Strategies to help them understand information and solve problems. Students who do not know or use good learning strategies often learn passively and ultimately fail in school. Learning Strategy instruction focuses on making students more active learners by teaching them how to learn and how to use what they have learned to be successful.

Learning strategies are used by students to help them understand information and solve problems. A learning strategy is a person's approach to learning and using information. Students who do not know or use good learning strategies often learn passively and ultimately fail in school. Learning strategy instruction focuses on making the students more active learners by teaching them how to learn and how to use what they have learned to solve problems and be successful.

The Learning Strategies Curriculum has the necessary breadth and depth to provide a well-designed scope and sequence of strategy instruction. The curriculum is divided into strands, or categories of skills.

One strand addresses how students acquire information. It includes strategies for learning how to paraphrase critical information, picture information to promote understanding and remembering, ask questions and make predictions about text information, and identify unknown words in text.

A second strand helps students study information once they acquire it. It includes strategies for developing mnemonics and other devices to aid memorization of facts as well as strategies for learning new vocabulary. These strategies help prepare students for tests.

A third strand helps students express themselves. It includes strategies to help students write sentences and paragraphs, monitor their work for errors, and confidently approach and take tests.

No single strategy is a panacea. For example, we have reading strategies that help students figure out what a word is, comprehend what they're reading, acquire vocabulary, and understand the structure of text. All of these strategies are essential for a well-integrated, balanced reading program. Likewise, an array of strategies in other areas is necessary for student success.

                                                                                                                              

 

 

 

For example:

1.    Brainstorm ideas. There are many effective ways for students to create brainstorms of ideas. Working with pairs or in small groups tends to be effective because students stimulate each other’s thought processes. Encouraging students to think out of the box and to delve into a topic using this technique often has unexpectedly positive results.

2.    Have students solve mysteries. One-minute mysteries, simple puzzles, even riddles make learning fun as well as involving students in active learning pursuits.

3.    Have students sit in a circle. To play, one student begins a story, stops after a few sentences, and then points to another student, who continues the story. You can adapt this activity to teach vocabulary, order of events, facts, or other information.

4.    Ask students to involve themselves in their learning by using review strategies such as these:

o Associate body motions with the material

o Use colored pens to rewrite the main ideas

o Recite or sing the information

o Teach the information to a classmate

o Create a vivid image of the topic

o Restate information in their own words

o Create a quiz and give it to a classmate

5.    Play Name That Person. This game is similar to Twenty Questions in that students try to guess answers with as few clues as possible. You should make up the clues in advance. On game day, you’ll call them out one at a time until someone can name the targeted person, battle, city, or other item.

6.    Chain Making is an educational version of the old alphabet game that small children play. One player begins thinking of an object relating to the unit of study and beginning with the letter “A.” The next student has to repeat that clue and add an object with the letter “B.” The game continues until students are stumped or until they reach the end of the alphabet.

7.    Many teachers use Bingo to review vocabulary words. Photocopy a game board with sixteen or twenty-five blocks. Give students a list of words to place in the blanks. They can use bits of paper to cover the words when you call out definitions.

8.    Play Hangman. In the traditional version, students guess letters in a word or phrase to keep the figure “alive.” In other versions, students can give correct answers to short-answer questions or define vocabulary terms.

9.    Hold sporting events. Divide your students into teams, and use the chalkboard to play games of football, soccer, or whatever sport currently interests to your students. Students advance by correctly answering questions or completing assigned tasks.

10. Exit tickets have been around for a long time because their appeal to students and teachers alike is powerful. Try some of these sentence starters to engage all of your students. You could even post these for students to refer to during class.

• Today I learned…

• I was surprised when…

• I’m beginning to wonder…

• I think I will…

• I would have liked…

• Now I understand

• Class would be more interesting if…

• I can be more successful in this class if I…

• I wish…

11. Give students a general topic and have them form study groups about it before the formal learning about it begins. They can do research, find examples, predict the main points, or complete other free-flowing activities that expose them in a general way to the material and provide background knowledge in a way that engages students fully. Their research can be online or with materials that you provide.

12. Have students make Power Point presentations or slide shows as a review of the material that they are studying in class. When they present their show to the entire group, everyone benefits.

 

 E-DIDACTICS

Reconceptualization of the traditional didactics is important in the light of rethinking its role in the digital age towards engineering of learning. New didactics of e-learning is called e-Didactics (D’Angelo, 2007).

Broadly defined, e-Didactics is an ICT-integrated didactics. In order to identify its

key characteristics, let us summarize the evolutionary development of didactics. As we mentioned earlier, didactics had several cornerstones in itsdevelopment. We consider the following main stages in the conceptual evolution of didactics:     • Pre-didactics

• Didactics-dialectics

• Classical didactics

• Digital age didactics.

The difference between classical/traditional didactics and e-Didactics is stipulated by a paradigm shift in the primary focus of didactics: from teaching to engineering of learning. This shift becomes more visible in online education where teaching in a

traditional sense is limited by the structure of the format: if in traditional didactics primary delivery format is face-to-face (and hybrid, in some cases), in e-Didactics — it is mostly blended and online.

Along with the changing delivery format, the learning and teaching space is changed: classroom is replaced by the virtual space represented by various learning management systems (LMS) and social networks.

Moreover, there is a significant change in the role of a teacher in the digital age

Chapter 1. e-Didactics: Digital Age Didactics 23

didactics: from a transmitter of knowledge to an engineer of student learning. In turn, transformation of teacher’s role influences the change in student role: from an information receiver to a connected learner.