Mathematics through ICT:

Mathematics through ICT:

ICT based teaching and learning is one of the most important aspects of teaching-learning process particularly in this era of fast and technically advancing technology. Teaching and learning without the use of ICT can be very redundant since it’s the need of the generation. The learners will become inactive and un-participatory without the integration of ICT in the lessons apart from many more.

To make the class interactive and students’ centered, insisting students to browse the net on their own to relate the information of the text to that of the internet for better and realistic learning and understanding comes as solution. Through the process, students were empowered with a series of skills and attitudes about ICT that are essential tool of knowledge for success in this era as they  learn to browse net and you tubes for educational purposes.

On 22^nd October, I taught a lesson on ‘MEAN, MEDIAN and MODE’ to class VI using ICT. The facilities used were laptop, projector, internet and smart phones. During the lesson, I used video tutorial. Alongside, I made students to have hand on experience to use ICT facilities; children were involved in surfing Google search for the solution and used WeChat app to discuss (for two days).

I found that through student-centered ICT integrated teaching-learning process; students were very active and energetic throughout the lesson. They were excited and felt that they were doing small research in their own way while they were doing Google search using smart phones. It also made them to have extensive discussion on a problem as they found lots of related responses by different authors. Further, while using WeChat app for discussion, students were very enthusiastic to discuss and comment which helped them to learn better. The classroom was very lively as students were completely engaged in exploring information for the lesson concept. The introduction of the lesson, made trough video tutorial, let students realize that learning can happen even in absence of teacher. They also realized that it will certainly support them to use the period effectively that ultimately will reduce the challenges of syllabus coverage. Surfing search engines in smart phones helped them to find meaning for difficult words; pronounce the words appropriately; find synonyms and antonyms with examples and many more, which surely added excitement to learn and explore further. Children realized that smart phones were not just to call or chat, but can be used for educational purpose. Usually, I use video clips as energizer in between the lesson to break boredom to increase the learning efficiency, but for this  lesson learners were already enthusiastic and curious to learn which greatly helped to   reduce  my workload.

On the other hand, having uncountable benefits of ICT in teaching learning process is not without challenges. Owing to limited ICT resources in Computer labs, transportation of electronic gadgets from one class to another location were seen as nuisance and waste of time.  Lack of IT expertise is another hiccup. High internet price also does not motivate us to integrate ICT on a daily basis. The handiest gadget that students and teachers can be used was found as smart phones but the policy of not letting students to use smart phones in schools comes as a big obstruction. Therefore, it is my earnest opinion that the policy has to be amended to help the digital natives, the 21^st century students, to learn in the way that suits them.

To conclude, ICT plays a pivotal role in transforming educational practices.  ICT not only helps to translate theory to pragmatic experience, but also makes learning more fun and creative. It has helped both the teacher and the learner to carry out their tasks conveniently and efficiently which finally results learning more independently through ICT as they take more responsibility of learning process.

 

Science with ICT Integration:

Science with ICT Integration:

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have gained a swift momentum on teachers and students teaching learning process and has provided a significant research area for many scholars in and around the world.  ICT has significantly changed the face of education. Thus Bhutanese educational system has entered in the early phase of Information and Communication Technologies adoption.

The lesson I taught was on “Properties of Gas” in class V. On 9^th October, I taught the topic through ICT facilities. While through the lesson, I have used video tutorial and PowerPoint presentation form my side. On the other hand, I too made students to Google search for the answers, prepare their own group PowerPoint presentation and use Wechat to exchange and provide feedbacks to their findings etc.

Till date though I used ICT in my lesson, it has very limited opportunities for students to use hand on experience as the presentations and videos were mostly prepared by myself as teacher centered but this time I made students to have hand on experience to use the facilities to innovate and share within themselves. So after having used two different modalities, I would like to reflect on the achievements and draw backs for future reference.  

While through student centered ICT integrated teaching-learning process, students were found very active and energetic throughout the lesson. They are overwhelmed when they see their own Power Point presentation and they too feels that they were doing small research in their own way while they were doing Google search (mobile phone). It also made them to have extensive discussion on a question as they finds lots of related responses by different authors. Further, while we were using Wechat (through mobile)  to share the information that each group has noted with others and started commenting, students were very active to read and comment which made them to learn better. They too realized that mobile phones were not just to call and chat but can be used for good purposes of teaching and learning process. They promised to use for such activities here after.

The classroom was lively as students completely engaged in searching for the lesson concept in gist. Usually, I had to use energizer clips in between the lesson to break boredom to increase the learning efficiency but in this lesson it was out of the scene.

But despite having uncountable benefits of ICT in teaching learning process that can be done through mobile, the policy of not letting students to use mobile phones in schools comes as a big blow for schools. Therefore, I would like to recommend to our educational stake holders to look onto the issue for the wellbeing of our future leaders.

References :

The challenges of illiteracy and ICT training in Bhutan ( 2013 June 21) Retrieved from

           http://www.ictworks.org/2013/06/21/the-challenges-of-illiteracy-and-ict-training-in bhutan/

Israel B. Olaore (2014) The Impacts (Positive and Negative) of ICT on Education in Nigeria.

          Retrieved fromhttp://www.iiste.org/Journals/index.php/DCS/article/viewFile/17715/1808

Properties of 3-D shapes in class I through ICT

                                  Properties of 3-D shapes in class I through ICT

As per the studies conducted by scholars, and my own experience of having worked both in remote school and in central school, I can endorse that the schools with sufficient ICT resources achieve better results than those that are ill-equipped, as ICT brings significant improvement on learners’ performances. 

According to a document entitled teaching and learning with ICT, G. Galea (2002), states that with the change in students learning behavior, ICT can change the lesson pace where learners will develop sufficient potentials and skills. ICT allow for a higher quality lessons through collaboration with teachers in planning and preparing resources. ICT technologies encourage independent and active learning, and students’ responsibility for their own learning which truly constructs the teaching- learning process.

Having mentioned above statements, on 25th of the September, I taught Mathematics lesson in class I through ICT tools. It was on the properties of 3-D shapes such as number of rectangular faces, number of triangular faces, circular faces, number of edges and corners.

To be different from normal lesson, I showed video on topic in the class. The video clearly demonstrated on how to draw the shapes; it also showed how many rectangles and squares are used. For example in triangular prism, in the video it clearly demonstrated of using two triangles and three rectangles. It was properly explained by the tutor in the video.

The number of   Edges and Faces were counted properly by literally touching on it in the video.  

The part of video in which the triangles, rectangles and circle were used to make shape by interested students. It gave clear picture in their mind of how the 3-D shapes are constructed. The music and the beautiful drawings in the video caught their attention and they watched it sincerely.

Students smiled and felt happy to watch video, it was interesting and new to them. Unnecessary noise was not there other than discussing and pinpointing to the shapes that they are familiar. I though the videos allowed them to recapitulate their prior knowledge. It was as if like they were fixing the broken part of the concept.

Further, I found students were looking at the video very carefully. They were able to catch on how to draw and count the edges and faces of the shapes. I saw their eyes moving as the shapes rotated in the video which states that they were very curious.

After the video I let them do activity which demanded to count the number of edges, corners, vertices and faces of the shapes. To my surprise all the students counted and filled it correctly.  I think ICT can bring lots of changes in learning, especially in gaining attention. I too realized that old-school visual aids such as chalkboards and hand-drawn illustrations was of  time-consuming while video presentation was of easy and faster mode to deliver the lesson.

Extended lesson through ICT:

Extended lesson through ICT:

I made my class V science yearly plan depending on the season as biology related lessons need the season for flowering plants to bloom. I kept the physics part after midterm as it doesn’t need season.

On 4^th September, I taught the topic ‘Series Connection’ in class V without integrating ICT facilities, however after finding some of the videos on same topic on YouTube, on 6^th September, I re taught the same topic as extended lesson. The lesson started with the recap of the same topic via quiz through a tool called “Hot Potatoes” (this tool was recently emphasized by our school IT teacher) followed by video screening.

It was one of the most exciting lesson for my students of class V because of the full of ICT integration. Therefore I will not write on how my lesson was so successful in achieving lesson goals but rather analyze how students were engaged in my lesson.

Students were found very active and energetic throughout my lesson. They were overwhelmed when I recaptured the lesson through quiz using “Hot Potatoes” tool. They were also very observant and attentative when they watched YouTube lesson on how we construct series and parallel connections using simulations. The classroom was lively as students saw the electrons move through the wire. They learnt that appliances like battery or cell can be connected in series or in parallel. If appliances are connected in parallel, they offer low resistance to the flow of current. If the appliances are connected in series, the amount of voltage passing through each terminal will be same.

By watching the video on series connection, students were able to know that, if one appliance breaks down, others will also stop working. Hence at the end of the lesson when I asked questions, students were able to answer all the questions correctly. As such, I started to believe that ICT really plays a role in making our lesson better and achievable.

With above statement I could conclude my reflection on ICT integration in teaching learning process with following pros followed by cons in general:

Advantages:

a.       Children get clear concept of the topic.

b.      Work load of teacher reduces when teaching through ICT.

c.       Use of energizer clips in between the lessons breaks their boredom.

      d.      Efficiency of learning increases when activity instructions are on the screen.

      e.       Increases their curiosity when teaching using ICT.

Disadvantages:

      a.       Limited resources make less feasible to use ICT during teaching learning.

      b.     Transportation of electronics from one class to another after every period is another hardship  for the user as preparation consumes time.

       c.    Lack of IT expertise.

            

               In conclusion, my recommendation for our education sector is, it’s the time to provide 
b             some  formal professional training on ICT for teachers including IT teachers to 
               develop appropriate skills, knowledge, and attitudes regarding the effective use 
                of computers to support teaching learning process. This is because according to
                Beggs (2000) as cited in Habibu et al. (2012) one of the top problems to teachers
                ‟ use of ICT in teaching was the lack of training.” Lacking in the  knowledge and 
                skills of ICT; teachers are reluctant about the changes and incorporation of extra

                learning associated with computers into their teaching processes. Hence there is 
                a problem of teachers‟ acceptance and adoption of ICT.” Teachers who plan lesson 
                 in hard copy claims that lack of skills” is a constraining factor preventing them 
                 from using computer; lack of computer  knowledge and skills deprived their 
                 eagerness about the changes and integration of ICT into their  teaching learning
                 practices.

          Reference:

           Meenakshi(2013) Importance of ICT in Education PP 03-08.Retrived from

    

        http://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jrme/papers/Vol-1%20Issue 4/B0140308.
        pdf?id=1681

Lesson with and without ICT Integration:

Lesson with and without ICT Integration:

A study conducted by Blanskat, Blamire, Kefala (2006) in national, international, and European schools  to draw an evidence regarding the advantages of ICT in school learning achievement, it has been  found out that ICT has positive impact on students’ performances. In this context, Education ministry in collaboration with colleges of education is trying their best to let we teachers to realize the roles of ICT in modern teaching and learning process. Therefore, we as a teacher need to give our students a platform to explore and adopt as per the demand of the environment.

Fig:Topic Introduction

The lesson I taught was on “Human Transport System” in class V. On 9^th August, I taught the topic without integrating ICT, however, after receiving video tutorial topic on the same topic on 16^th August, I made power-point presentation using ICT facility and also by down loading youtube presentation on same topic, I  re-taught the topic as an extended lesson.  I found that ICT integration lesson was unexpectedly different in terms of participation and learning on 22^nd August, 2019.

Fig:Human heart

So after having taught same topic using two different modalities (traditional method and ICT integrated method), I would like to reflect on the achievements and draw backs of using ICT modalities for future reference.   I could see the vast difference in children’s learning comparing to traditional method of teachers teaching using hard copy teaching learning aids. While through the ICT integrated teaching, students were found very active and energetic throughout the lesson. They are overwhelmed when they see the power point presentation on functions of human transport system and also brief video tutorial on it through YouTube. The classroom was lively as students see the functions of human transportation system via video as it is a rare event for them to see the video to teach the concept. I also used energizer clips in between the lesson to break their boredom to increase the learning efficiency when activity instructions are on the screen. As mentioned earlier, it just not helped in increasing the curiosity of children when teaching but also it reduced the work load and hear talk process.

    

 Despite having uncountable benefits of integrating ICT in teaching learning process, limited resources,  transportation of electronic from one classroom to another after every period and lack of IT expertise were some of the manageable challenges that we have in schools. None the less, I started to believe that ICT really plays a vital role in making our lesson better and achievable.

 

References :

Meenakshi(2013) Importance of ICT in Education PP 03-08.Retrived from

        http://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jrme/papers/Vol-1%20Issue 4/B0140308.pdf?id=1681

The challenges of illiteracy and ICT training in Bhutan ( 2013 June 21) Retrieved from

               http://www.ictworks.org/2013/06/21/the-challenges-of-illiteracy-and-ict-training- bhutan/   

Yves Punie, Dieter Zinnbauer and Marcelino Cabrera (2006) A Review of the Impact of ICT on

       Learning. Retrieved from  http://ftp.jrc.es/EURdoc/JRC47246.TN.pdf

Learning days of a week through ICT

When I was serving in a  remote school of Denchukha Primary school (Samtse), despite my effort to deliver lesson in the best possible way, the pace of teaching learning process was  affected owing to  lack of ICT. This is because ICTs plays the potential to accelerate, enrich, and deepen skills to motivate and engage students. Now with the availability of the resource in central school, I can generate meaningful and engaging learning experiences to my students; strategically using ICT to enhance learning. I realize that my students have developed new found joy in learning through independent enquiry which can occur due to innovative and appropriate use of ICT.

On the other hand, brain-based research also shows that the period from birth to the age of eight is a critical phase. So primary students of class I are of age 7-8 which particularly falls in the researched category and the quality of pre-primary education need to be enhanced for them to perform better in various fields of mathematics, arts and languages. Therefore integrating ICT is one of the strategies that can be replaced the traditional way of teaching and learning processes.

On 5th August, I taught a rhyme titled ‘Days of the week in class I (revision lesson).  I conducted the lesson in school conference hall. The lesson started with the recap of the previous lesson learnt, followed by video screening.

Before I showed the video clip on the rhyme, I have instructed children to first listen and watch carefully. After that I allowed them to sing and do enact simultaneously. While I monitored children’s dance I could make out they really enjoyed my lesson. I was very much satisfied that the lesson went very fruitfully and children enjoyed the lesson a lot.

Finally, I realized that the lesson through ICT saved not only time but also resources. I could reuse plan and the materials which are saved using ICT facility.

ICT facilities and its support in teaching learning process:

As per the studies conducted by scholars, and my own experience of having worked both in remote school and in central school, one can endorse that the schools with sufficient ICT resources achieve better results than those that are ill-equipped, as ICT brings significant improvement on learners’ performances. 

According to a document entitled teaching and learning with ICT, G. Galea (2002), states that with the change in students learning behavior, ICT can change the lesson pace where learners will develop sufficient potentials and skills. ICT allow for a higher quality lessons through collaboration with teachers in planning and preparing resources. In addition, students learn innovative analytical skills, including improvements in reading comprehension. As per Lewin et al, 2000, ICT also develop writing skills: spelling, grammar, punctuation, editing and re-drafting. ICT technologies encourage independent and active learning, and students’ responsibility for their own learning which truly constructs the teaching- learning process.