WEEK 3

After the demonstration of ComicLife by the 1st group, SCL has a new meaning to me. For the past few weeks, I had thought that SCL is how teachers can engage their students in learning by various means. However, after going through the demonstration I found out that its not only engaging the students in their own learnings. It is also about choosing the right tools and equipping them with the right skills for them to make their own learning meaningful. Just like what I have learn last semester, meaningful learning (Ausubul) is the key to effective learning. The tools do not just help the teachers to make the lessons more interesting, they also help the students to make connections between the knowledge and learn on their own.


Just like what Pro Tan has mentioned in the class, ICT is not a "must" for SCL, drawing board and markers can do the same job. Thus, it is important for us to make sure the usefulness of the softwares or whatever technologies in SCL before we are going to use it in the lessons.

Pro Tan also mentioned another important point in the class, which is the importance of the preparations before the class. It is such an important step, but yet I believe that most people would overlook it most of time. It is because we will just "assume" everything should be able to work. However, base on my past experiences in Poly or even now in NIE, there were many times things did not work out the way it supposed to be. eg, connection failure, file corrupted, etc ...

Besides, it is actually quite amazing that they are actually more points need to be taken care off compare to the traditional makers and paper's way. Making sure of wireless network is ready for use is already challenging enough especially when most of us have no idea of how to do it. Of course there should have a technician, but what is he or she happen to be on leave? Guess I am just thinking too much over here.


Lastly, after reading the Modeling with Computers as Mindtools, I agree that the advancement of IT, especially the introduction of internet has changed the way we "should" teach. Teaching should no longer be limited to transmitting of knowledge, because we can easily get the information we want by just typing few keywords on the keyboard. It is much more important to teach the students about critical and creative thinking skills. This is where the computer softwares can be useful, but just like what it mentions in the article, it also has its limitation and disadvantages. It is all up to the user and how he or she wants to use it.

Just remember the 2 key words, "help" and "options" They are just 1 of the options that can help in teaching. That's all.

By the way, I start to wonder how do we choose the right software to help students? Of course they must be easy enough for them to use, but the problem is, how easy is considered easy to students and not too easy that they lose their interests in using that.

Hmm ... that's something I would like to find out in the coming weeks.

WEEK 2 - COFT

Firstly, I have to say that I am really impressed by the displays in COTF, despite the fact that there are some flaws in the Bacterial identification part.

However, after giving it a thorough thought on the way back home, I began to doubt if it is really effective to have all these technologies in the classroom to make current learning more student centered.

It is true that these wireless or bluetooth technologies can make learning easier and more mobile and at the same time save teachers' trouble of taking attendances. However, is it really student centered? I am pretty sure that no student will like to be known their whereabout after their classes. All these technology have failed to ensure students' privacy.

Besides, I believe that we do not need all these technologies to achieve the concept of SCL, they just make learning more accessible and looked more sophisticated. No matter how "hi-tech" it looked, it still has to come down to a point of simulating students' interests so that they will want to learn and learn on their own. Thus, the teachers are still the most important elements when it comes to learning cause they are the ones who control the technologies and make them to create a more interesting and appropriate learning environment for the students to carry out their own learnings.

AED 104 - Week 1 Reflection

Before starting the first ICT class, I had thought this class is going to teach us on how to use the softwares, like Photopshops, Powerpoint, to help us on our future teaching careers. Thus, I hoped that I would be able to learn how to create flash and use Photoshop before starting of the module. Besides, my impressions with ICT is just about conducting the lessons with Powerpoint slides and videos.


However, after the first lesson, everything seemed to be almost completely different from what I had known. According to my tutor, there will not be anything lesson on any of the program, instead I was introduced to the term of "Student Centered Learning" where teachers no longer teach instead they facilitate and "Master Plan II" which aims to enhance educational processes and structures through the use of ICT. (http://www.moe.gov.sg/edumall/mp2/mp2.htm)

Personally, I think the Student Centered Learning concept is a bit like the "teach less, learn more" (http://www.moe.gov.sg/bluesky/tllm.htm) concept by MOE in 1997. The teachers are asked to spend less time on teaching and more time to guide the students in their own researches and engage them in self learning. This is to help the students to develop their critical and creative thinking skills as these are the 2 of the most important skills that educators want hope to equip the future generations with in the world today.

Thus, ICT is not about using sophisticated IT tools, it is more about using the most appropriate IT tools to assist you inside and outside the classes to allow students to get the information correctly and easily, and simulate the interests of the students at the same time. That is why it is called "Student Centered Learning" rather than "IT Centered Learning". After all, IT is just a tool, a tool to help the students in their learning.

Besides of SCL and MPII, the word "referencing" has been mentioned quite a few times in the class too. Well, it is not a new term for me as my lecturers in poly always asked for that, but still that is still a headache for me to do citations especially when the length of the essays have increased many many times in NIE compare to poly time.

It is just the first week of the school and I already started to feel stress !!!