Reflection on the Teaching of ICT as a Subject

 

In this digital era, ICT use in classroom is important for giving students opportunities to learn and apply the required 21^st century skills. It is an important part of most organizations these days. ICT improves the effectiveness of education as everything we teach using ICT is hands on experience.

When ICT came into existence as a subject, I found students’ interest in learning ICT growing everyday and to everyone’s surprise we found our students rushing towards the IT lab to explore and learn something from the resources available online. ICT is such a subject where students can explore and learn by their own; so it happens in my class too. I just provided them with the clear directions and they learn by their own. Whenever they come across problem they seek my help and I make them understand the concept. The nature of subject itself demands more of practical, so they learn ICT by doing.

Since ICT provides more creative solutions to different types of learning inquiries or the subject demand hands on experience and exploration they keep coming to the lab looking for ways and means to learn by their own. It also improves engagement and knowledge retention and keeps each individual students more engaged in their work, as technology provides different opportunities to make learning more fun and enjoyable in terms of teaching the same thing in different ways. As compared to the teaching of other subjects I found teaching of ICT to be most effective because everything is hands on experience which makes the students to better understand and apply the learnt knowledge in the real scenario.

Code Monkey

With  the introduction of Code Monkey into school curriculum PP to VIII and IX and at least for this year, the number of students visiting ICT lab during recess hour has gradually increased. My grade four student's interest in learning ICT has now become 100 percent with the coming of coding through game. Although they do not have prior knowledge on coding, but they do it so well they already have some basics in coding.

Drawing in MS Paint

In the beginning of ICT session; to make my students better in handling with the mouse and keyboard (mouse and keyboard balancing), I asked them to open MS Paint and told them to draw any image of their interest. And to my surprise I found my class IV students drawing a wonderful image in paint.

Challenges

Overall, the key issues and challenges found to be significant in teaching ICT are; limited accessibility and network connection, limited technical support, and lack of effective training. Moreover the teaching of ICT in a classroom setting is little less effective in terms gaining students attention, since when the lesson (theory) is taking place in the ICT lab, it is found that most of the students attention are grasped by the equipment's as they are sometimes taken away by the mouse and the keyboards. In the same time there are always few students who would go online and watch movies that don’t really match the curriculum despite teacher’s constant reminder. Moreover it is the first phase of introducing ICT into the school curriculum and therefore students are not well skilled in using ICT as planned in the lesson.

 

Reflection on ICT Integration in Teaching

 

Learning is an experiential and practical through ICT integration. ICT integration in teaching different shapes stimulated children’s interest and enthusiasm in learning through self-exploration. They tried themselves with all their ability and trial for the success in learning and development.

The lesson was taught theoretically about the 3 D shapes and nets. I showed a video clip about how the different nets form different 3 D shapes. After that I assigned a classroom activity to identify the nets of 3 D shapes through designing a game by sharing a link. Students were instructed to click the given link: https://turtledairy.com. (Nets of 3D shapes- Geometry Game) and started playing game in pair.

The 3D Nets are wonderful game for young students to learn about 3D shapes and their nets. Nets of a 3D shapes is two-dimensional shape that can make a given 3Dshape.In this game, students have to recognize the shape a given net can make, and the nets that can make a given 3D shapes. The game has superb animations to show how a 3 D shape can be made by its net, and other way round. The game will help students to understand 3D shapes, their nets and the interchange between them very clearly while having a lot of fun. Through game, I could assess immediately and was a quick way of providing compliment on time and feedback timely to improve their level of understanding about the nets and the 3 D shapes.

Integration of ICT in teaching enables students to practically learn about different shapes and nets. Learning was positively effective as they could learn perfectly with the help of internet and ICT facilitation. Thus, students could explore and learn all ideas and implement theoretical teaching into practice.

ICT integration in teaching and learning enhance students’ enthusiasm as they actively participated in learning. Students drew their interest and activated their striving to learn and explore for the betterment. The ICT integrated teaching process stimulates students’ attention for learning and could learn better than normal classroom teaching. They become skillful and mastery over the topic as it provides an opportunity for learners to practice and explore themselves.

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Students are from the remote areas and they are facing difficulties in exploring different digital learning system. Moreover, it is the first phase of introducing ICT teaching to students and therefore they are not well skilled in using ICT as planned in the lesson. However, with the constant practice and occasionally incorporating in the lesson step students into the tract of ICT integrated teaching and learning process.

Though ICT integration in teaching enhance students’ better learning and development, lacking of required facilities hindered to incorporate it in the daily lesson. In my school, it doesn’t have sufficient internet connection, projector, and computer desktop. In addition, students are prohibited to use mobile phone and thus it is hard to integrate ICT in teaching learning process. In order to achieve better teaching and learning, school need to have available of desktop, and every classroom need to have a projector each. Internet accession is the most important for learning through self-exploration. Internet plays a vital role in the school to access the students into new learning experiences. Therefore, every school need to have well furnish with digital gadgets with functioning internet connection. 

Mathematics through ICT

 

The use of ICT is must as it helps us to deliver the lesson well. 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 sensible learning .Through this process, students were empowered with a chain of skills and attitudes about ICT that are critical tool of knowledge for success in this era as they learn to browse net and you tubes for learning purposes.

On 19^th October, I taught a lesson on “Adding and Subtracting Decimal Numbers” to class IV integrating ICT. The facilities used were computer, internet and links to execute the assigned task. During the lesson, I projected the links https://cutt.ly/jkfT2xB and delivered the lesson making children to watch the video clips of adding decimal numbers. Alongside, I assigned individual task to students by providing once more the links https://cutt.ly/6kW1WBV  of adding and subtracting decimal numbers. The links allow learners to solve the various questions associated to the addition and subtraction of decimal numbers. On other hand, students have hand on experience to explore more related to use of ICT too.                                                                                    

While carrying out the task children were occupied in typing the links on Google and started solving the problems. I found that through student-centered, ICT integrated teaching-learning process they were curious and excited to learn. One thing I observed, the student’s energy level and enthusiasm in learning is different comparing to the normal teaching without ICT integration. In the normal teaching there are some children who are reluctant to copy single note after repeated reminders but when I taught ICT integrated lesson they were the one who was very much excited to explore and complete the task. When they are performing the task after solving the questions correctly and get comment in the form of compliment they exhibit satisfaction with gestures. However, In case if their answers are not correct there are explanations they can check where they made mistakes and be mindful while attempting next questions. Further, students were very excited to see the comment after submitting answer regardless of their answers correct or in correct so in that way students solve various questions related to adding and subtracting decimal numbers. Finally at the end they get score which assist them to make an effort to improve and to excel and equip the topic too.

My lesson went well, however with uncountable benefits of ICT in teaching learning process it is challenging to integrate ICT in my lesson. With one ICT lab, poor internet connectivity, difficult to get ICT lab to deliver lesson having classes PP to X and ICT lab engaged with other classes. Therefore, it is challenging to help the digital natives, the 21^st century students, to learn in the way that suits them. Anyways the ministry is at pipe line in providing a strong WIFI to all schools and so that our students learn lessons easily which ultimately fulfills the vision of our King.

ICT helps to provide interactive learning experiences and stimulates and motivates students to learn. ICT caters to different learning styles and helps to gain valuable computer skills. It has helped both the teacher and the learner to carry out their tasks conveniently and professionally. When ICT is integrated into lessons, students become more engaged in their work. This is because technology provides different opportunities to make it more fun and enjoyable in terms of teaching the same things in different ways.

Reflection on ICT Integration

Ministry of Education is collaborative with Educational Colleges (Teaching Colleges) to instigate teachers to realize the roles and significant mode of ICT in modern teaching and learning process. Therefore, we as a teacher need to provide students a platform to explore and adapt to the need of educational changes at present time. The modern time is in need of ICT exploration for every field and daily working environment. Therefore, it is the role of the teachers to facilitate ICT enrichment for the children's better learning and development.   

 With the sigh of the significant need of ICT in teaching learning process, I taught lesson on “equivalent fractions” in class IV Mathematics by integrating ICT and game base lesson on 30th August 2021. To propagate my ICT integration, I used link provided in NNC guide interactive simulation available at:  https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/fractions-equality to find number patterns in equivalent fractions. I found that ICT integration lesson was unexpectedly different in terms of student’s participation and learning comparing to normal teaching. As per my observation, ICT was an energizer for the students. It stimulates students energy with their utmost interest and enthusiasm. Teaching learning process was in lifeline of students' center of learning and development.   

I commenced the teaching procedures through demonstration of ways to find equal fractions by using PHET simulation. I demonstrated it by playing game level 1 from eight levels. After having taught same topic through game base lesson and ICT integration I could reflect on the achievements and draw backs of using ICT modalities for future reference. 

I could see the vast difference in children’s learning and development in comparison to normal means of teaching other teaching learning materials such as textbook, chart paper and chalkboard. Through the ICT integrated teaching, I found that students were active and energetic throughout the lesson. They are overwhelmed and curious to go to next level and to complete all the levels of game.  I feel technology provides students with easy to access to informative learning through innovative opportunities to practice what they learnt and to grasp the content easily. On the other hand, students explore in-depth understanding of the difficult concepts and also an easy task for teacher to check the understanding of the lesson immediately. If students fail to find equivalent fractions,  the score levels goes down indicating students have not done correctly. In that process, teacher can easily diagnose students' difficulties and can provide an instant support for their better understanding of the lesson.  

As mention earlier, it just not helped in increasing the curiosity of children when teaching but also it reduced the work load. 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 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.

To conclude, ICT plays a pivotal role in transforming educational practices. ICT is not only help to transfer assumptions to realistic experience but also makes learning more fun and creative. It has helped both the teacher and learner to carry out tasks conveniently and professionally which resulted in learning more independently through ICT as they take more accountability of learning process with their keen interest. 

 

Reflection on ICT integration

Reflection on ICT integration

Information and communication technology has gone through innovations and transformed our society that has totally changed the way people think, work and live. Schools and educational institutions which are supposed to prepare students to live in a knowledge society need to consider ICT as an important part of their life. So in conjunction with preparing students for the current digital era, teachers must act as a key players in using ICT in their daily classrooms. 

There is no doubt that ICT in this contemporary society is used more and more widely, especially for the purpose of teaching and learning. This is because ICT or modern technology offers many tools that can be used in classrooms to improve teaching and learning. In addition ICT has the potential in preparing students for the life in the 21^st century. In teaching students through the use of ICT, students will be prepared to face future challenges, as it develops students’ skills, boosts up their motivation and widens their knowledge and information.

We are always with the use of ICT in our daily teaching and learning process. The integration of ICT in teaching and learning at first glance was a complex task due to its dynamic nature. As the time went by, the integration of ICT in teaching seemed so interesting and the lesson as a whole goes better than the previous version of teaching. Students too faced a lot of problem in handling the technologies, but as the time went by, they got used to it and are now a better technology user.

ICT in general helps us in improving teaching skills, helps in innovative teaching. It also helps in effectiveness of classroom. In my case I teach English and other subjects with the use of ICT, and in the process two subjects are taught in one go. Electronic dictionaries are used for teaching students both professional vocabulary and reading in a special setting. It also provides interaction between teachers and students, making learning more of student cantered.

Language learning and teaching is considered to be a complex process. So to make such a complexity easier, well-advanced teaching aids should be available as it is the need of the hour. The recent and great development of the internet led to a technological revolution in all fields of our life and teaching and learning in which gradually became more reliable. ICT has its noticeable impact on the quality and quantity of learning process. In concrete term ICT has made teaching and learning dynamic, interactive and engaging. My traditional way of teaching in the classroom now is replaced with the use of ICT, and it has bought a great positive impact to my learners, as ICT provides the platform for the students to explore and learn by their own.

Figure 1.1: Teaching and learning English with the use of ICT. Figure 1.1 shows students typing letter in a computer.

Figure 1.2: ICT in my lesson is used to browse for additional information apart from the information provided by myself. Figure 1.2 is the evidence showing students browsing information on internet.

 Figure 1.3: I teach ICT as a subject for grade IV. In figure 1.3 students are exploring MS Paint to draw images of their interest.