LESSON 12: Information Technology in Support of the Student-Centered Learning

The Traditional Classroom



    It may be observed that classrooms are usually arranged with  neat columns and rows of student chairs, while the teacher stands in font of the classroom or sits behind his desk.  This situation is necessitated by the need to maintain classroom discipline, also to allow the teacher to control classroom activities through lecture presentation and teacher-led discussions.


The SCL Classroom

        John Dewey has described traditional learning as a process in which the teacher pours information to student learners, much like pouring water from a jug into cups.  This is based on the long accepted belief that the teacher must perform his role of teaching so that learning can occur.  This learning approach is generally known as direct instruction, and it has worked well for obtaining many kinds of learning outcomes.

     The problem with direct instruction approach to learning, however, is the fact that the world's societies have began to change.  Of course, this change may not be strongly felt in many countries in which the economy longer depends primarily on the factory workers who do repetitive work without thinking on the job.  the traditional classroom and direct instruction approach to learning conform to this kind of economies.

     Generally, the new school classroom environment  is characterized by student individually or in groups:

• Performing computer word processing  for text or graph presentations
• Preparing power-point presentation
• Searching for information on the internet
• Brainstorming on ideas, problems and projects plans
• As needed, the teacher facilitating instruction, also giving individualized instruction to serve  individual needs

REFLECTION

     Student-centered learning environments have a heightened advantage over the traditional

teacher-centered, subject-centered environment in that they provide complimentary activities,

interactive in nature, enabling individuals to address their own learning interests and needs

and move forward into increasingly complex levels of content to further their understanding

and appreciate subject matter.  The student learns to reason on his own to find a foundation

for venturing out with successful experiences under his belt.  But in less developed countries, the traditional classroom is still applied even here in our country.

LESSON 11: The Computer as the Teacher's Tool

                                                   
                                                               

     Constructivism was introduced by  Piaget (1981) and Bruner (1990).  They gave  stress to knowledge discovery of new meaning/concepts/principles in the learning process.  Various strategies have been suggested to foster knowledge discovery, among these, is making students engaged in gathering unorganized information from which  they can induce ideas and principles.  Students are also asked to apply discovered knowledge to new situations, a process for making their knowledge applicable to real life situations.

     While knowledge is constructed by the individual learner in constructivism, knowledge can also be socially constructed.  Social constructivism.  this is an effort to show that the construction of knowledge is governed by social, historical and cultural contexts.  In effect, this is to say that the learner who interprets knowledge has a predetermined point of view according to the social perspectives of the community or society he lives in.

     The psychologist Vygotzky  stressed that learning is affected by social influences.  He therefore suggested the interactive process in learning.  The more capable adult (teacher or parent) or classmate can aid or complement what the learner sees in a given class project.  In addition, Dewey sees language as a medium for social coordination and adaptation.  For Dewey human learning is really human languaging that occurs when students socially share, build and agree upon meanings and knowledge.


The Computer's Capabilities

     Based on the two learning theories, the teacher can employ the computer as a/an:

• An information tool
• A communication tool
• A constructive tool
• As co-constructive tool
• A situating tool

    

 Informative Tool

Still Image

Video Footage

Animation

Text

    

 The computer can provide vast amounts of information in various forms, such as text, graphics, sounds , and video.  Even multimedia encyclopedias are today available on the internet.

Communication Tool

Constructive Tool

     The computer itself  can be used for manipulating information, visualizing one's understanding, and building new knowledge.

Co-constructive Tool

     Students can use constructive tools to work cooperatively and construct a shared understanding of new knowledge.

Situating Tool

      By means of virtual reality (RS) extension systems, the computer can create 3-D images on display to give the user the feeling that are situated in a virtual environment.

REFLECTION


     The computer serves as a teacher's tool in the sense that the educators used computers as their instructional materials in supplementing the cognitive development of learners when it comes to technology.  Computer has a great help for both the teachers and the learners, for the teachers it facilitate their instructional methods and improve their instructional materials; for the learners it contributes a lot in their cognitive development and learning experiences.

LESSON 9: Computers as Information and Communication Technology

     Through computer technology, educators saw the amplification of learning  along computer literacy.  Much like reading, the modern student can now interact with computer messages, even respond to questions or to computer commands. Again like writing, the learner can form messages using computer language or program.

     Soon computer-assisted instruction (CAI) was introduced using the principle  of individualized learning through a positive climate that includes realism and appeal with a drill exercises that uses color, music and animation.  The novelty of CAI has not waned to this day especially in the  basic education level as this is offered by computer-equipped private schools.  But the evolving pace of innovation in today's Information Age is so dynamic that within the first decade of the 21st century, computer technology in education has matured to transform into an educative information and communication technology (ICT) in education.

THE PERSONAL COMPUTER (PC) AS ICT



   
     Until the nineties, it was still possible to distinguish between instructional media and the educational communication media.

     Instructional media  consists of audiovisual aids that served to enhance and enrich the teaching-learning process.  Examples are the blackboard, photo, film and video.

     On the other hand, educational communication media comprise the media of communication to audiences including learners using the print, film, radio, television or satellite, means of communication.  For example, distance learning were implemented using correspondence, radio, television or the computer satellite system.

     Close to the turn of the 21st century, however such a distinction merged owing to the event of the microprocessor, also known as the personal computer (PC).  This is  due to the fact that the PC user at home, office and school has before him a tool for both audio-visual creations and media communication.



REFLECTION


      The main purpose of ICT in education is generally to familiarize the learners with the use of technology or working with computers.  It also enabled learning through multiple intelligence like simulation games, this enables active learning through all sense.  ICT is not only for learners it is also for educators and nowadays,  ICT should evolve in education because it serves as an educational or instructional materials that supplement the needs of the learners when it comes to technology.

LESSON 10: The Computer as a Tutor

      The computer is one of the wonders of human ingenuity, even in its original design in the 1950s to carry out complicated mathematical and logical operations.  With the invention of the microcomputer ( now also commonly referred to PCs or personal computers), the PC has become the tool for programmed instruction.

     Educators saw much use of the PC.  It has become affordable to small business, industries and homes.  They saw its potential for individualization in learning, especially as individualized learning is a problem since teachers usually with a class of forty or more learners.  They therefore devised strategies to use the computer to break the barriers to individualized instruction.

Computer-assisted Instruction

       The computer can be a tutor in effect relieving the teacher of many activities in his personal role as classroom tutor.  It should be made clear, however, that the computer cannot totally replace the teacher since the teacher shall continue to play the major roles of information deliverer and learning environment controller.  Even with the available computer and CAI software, the teacher must:

• Insure the students have the needed knowledge and skills for any computer activity.
• Decide the appropriate learning objectives.
• Plan the sequential and structured activities to achieve objectives.
• Evaluate the students' achievement by ways of tests the specific expected outcomes.

   On  the other hand, the students in CAI play their own roles as learners as they:

• receive information.
• understand instruction for the computer activity.
• retain/keep in mind the information and rules for the computer activity.
• apply the knowledge and rules during the process of computer learning.

     During the computer activity proper in CAI the computer, too, play its roles as it:

• acts as a sort of tutor ( the role traditional played by the teacher)
• provides a learning environment.
• delivers learning instruction
• reinforces learning through drill-and-practice
• provides feedback

     Today educators accept the   fact that the computer has indeed succeeded in providing an individualized learning environment so difficult fo a teacher handling whole classes.  This is so , since the computer is able to allow individual students to learn at their own pace, motivate learning through a challenging virtual learning environment, assist students through information needed during the learning process, evaluate student responses through immediate feedback during the learning process, and also give the total score to evaluate the student's total performance.



REFLECTION

     The computer can be a tutor in the sense that the educators used computers only to served them as their instructional materials to supply the needs of the learners in terms of their cognitive development.  But we can not say that computer can automatically replaced the teachers, of course not because the teacher should still continue to play the major roles of information deliverer and learning environment controller.