Classroom technology
By ALYCIA LIM
educate@thestar.com.my
TEACHING children who grew up in the age of the Internet and limitless information can present an entirely new set of challenges to teachers, and classroom teaching and the learning process have to evolve or risk becoming outdated.
Recognising this, Intel started its own Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) learning programme in 2000, designed to enable teachers to support 21st century learning through project-based approaches in the classroom.
To commemorate the programme’s 10-year milestone recently, five key drivers of Intel Teach Programme (ITP) from schools and teacher training colleges throughout Malaysia gathered to share their experiences, and to give their insight on using technology in the classroom.
Intel K12 Education Programme Manager and corporate affairs executive Hasnan Hakim said, “ITP is available in almost all teacher training institutions throughout Malaysia, and we have trained about 70,000 teachers to date.”
As the main objective of the programme is to educate teachers on how and when to use ICT-based approaches in the classroom, ITP constantly revamps its syllabus as technology advances.
IPGM Kampus Bahasa Antarabangsa lecturer Ooi Say Tin, who started using ITP as a trainer from its early days, said, “Technology today is more advanced than 10 years ago, when we did more activity-based learning.
“Today, we incorporate things like blogging in our teaching. We are constantly developing our programmes to keep up with the times.”
A teacher from Kolej Tun Datu Tuanku Haji Bujang in Miri, Liew Tho Lip said that while many teachers were afraid of using technology when it was first introduced to schools, most are now computer-savvy and are excited about the programme and its developments.
“We even have a colloquium where we share ITP methods with the surrounding schools,” he added.
The projects under ITP revolve around real issues faced by students daily, such as turning kitchen waste into compost, and promoting safety awareness among primary school pupils, to name a few.
The Education Ministry’s English Language Teaching Centre lecturer Jayanti Sothinathan said, “Projects like these make learning meaningful because the children are learning through experience and discovery.
“When we put them into teams for the project, the children learn time management skills, self-discipline, and they become self-directed learners.”
Jayanti added that the programme was valuable because it moved away from traditional teacher-centric methods and emphasised students’ curiosity and discovery.
“ITP provides a systematic logical framework to guide the students. We give the students a curriculum as a guide, but it is through the process of finding the answers does the learning really take place,” she said.
Critical Analysis (by Doris & Jennie)
Recognising this, Intel started its own Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) learning programme in 2000, designed to enable teachers to support 21st century learning through project-based approaches in the classroom.
To commemorate the programme’s 10-year milestone recently, five key drivers of Intel Teach Programme (ITP) from schools and teacher training colleges throughout Malaysia gathered to share their experiences, and to give their insight on using technology in the classroom.
Intel K12 Education Programme Manager and corporate affairs executive Hasnan Hakim said, “ITP is available in almost all teacher training institutions throughout Malaysia, and we have trained about 70,000 teachers to date.”
IPGM Kampus Bahasa Antarabangsa lecturer Ooi Say Tin, who started using ITP as a trainer from its early days, said, “Technology today is more advanced than 10 years ago, when we did more activity-based learning.
“Today, we incorporate things like blogging in our teaching. We are constantly developing our programmes to keep up with the times.”
A teacher from Kolej Tun Datu Tuanku Haji Bujang in Miri, Liew Tho Lip said that while many teachers were afraid of using technology when it was first introduced to schools, most are now computer-savvy and are excited about the programme and its developments.
“We even have a colloquium where we share ITP methods with the surrounding schools,” he added.
The projects under ITP revolve around real issues faced by students daily, such as turning kitchen waste into compost, and promoting safety awareness among primary school pupils, to name a few.
The Education Ministry’s English Language Teaching Centre lecturer Jayanti Sothinathan said, “Projects like these make learning meaningful because the children are learning through experience and discovery.
“When we put them into teams for the project, the children learn time management skills, self-discipline, and they become self-directed learners.”
Jayanti added that the programme was valuable because it moved away from traditional teacher-centric methods and emphasised students’ curiosity and discovery.
“ITP provides a systematic logical framework to guide the students. We give the students a curriculum as a guide, but it is through the process of finding the answers does the learning really take place,” she said.
Critical Analysis (by Doris & Jennie)
Based on the article found in The Star online, we found that it is interesting first of all for an NGO to participate willingly in an education programme (to incorporate ICT in teaching). It just goes to show that the nation and its people do realise the importance of ICT in the education world. However, due to the rapid pace of modernisation and globalisation today, it is constantly ever-changing, so much so that it "ha(s) to evolve, or risk becoming outdated".
Therefore, as teachers, we should design our lesson plans to cater for the needs of today's tech-savvy society by supporting 21st century learning. How is this specifically carried out? In the classroom, we could use more project-based approaches when assigning homework. For example, when teaching on the topic of 'Shapes'; after the students have mastered the basic skills in identifying the different types of shapes, the teacher would assign students to use Google Images to search for at least 3 different objects in our daily lives that are circular, triangular, square, oval, etc. Thus, the students' memory are not only enforced, but they could also relate to this topic to their daily life, besides gaining priceless ICT skills like using a search engine, sorting and filtering appropriate images, downloading a file, copying and pasting images, and so on.
Thus, as you can see, this is a clear example on how we are now moving towards a more student-centred approach, where students carry out their own independent self-learning rather than the conventional teacher-based style. However, it is important to note that although all this are carried out, teachers play a significant role as facilitators in the classroom to guide the students. As different schools have different Socio-economic Status (SES) and facilities, just as students have different abilities in mastering the computer, it is up to the teacher to take into consideration all these factors before instructing students to do any ICT-related projects, or it would be too much of a burden to the students, and the objectives of the teaching and learning process would not be achieved.
Therefore, teachers should not be afraid by the technological boom - nowadays, the "Chalk & Talk" method is simply insufficient in this society. Rather, we should realise the importance ICT and embrace it, as it is an extremely useful teaching tool. According to The Education Ministry’s English Language Teaching Centre lecturer Jayanti Sothinathan:
“Projects like these make learning meaningful because the children are learning through experience and discovery."
And we couldn't agree more with this statement, as we all know that interest in a child develops from curiosity, and from that, comes competence. So, when we apply this theory practically, we can our importance in nurturing the child since young about the boundless information that can be found at the tip of their fingertips. However, it is also important to educate them about internet safety and privacy as well. We felt that this aspect is also as important, but often neglected, as students nowadays tend to plagiarize from the net and misuse or abuse the communication tools available.
As a conclusion, 21st century skills in harnessing ICT should not only be fostered among students, but also among teachers and teacher-trainees, as we are the ones who would act as a facilitator and adviser for them. Therefore, we ourselves should be equipped with ample ICT-related skills and knowledge in order to move our nation forward.
Bibliography:
Lim, A. (2011, January 30). Classroom Technology. Retrieved July 13, 2011, from theStarOnline: http://thestar.com.my/education/story.asp?sec=edu&file=/2011/1/30/education/7523539
References:
http://www.thesmartbean.com/magazine/21st-century-skills-magazine/what-are-21st-century-skills/
http://www.21stcenturyschools.com/What_is_21st_Century_Education.htmReferences:
http://www.thesmartbean.com/magazine/21st-century-skills-magazine/what-are-21st-century-skills/
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