ASSURE: Designing Technology-Enhanced Lessons

When objectives are clearly stated, it gives the teacher a chance to prepare a lesson with the materials that align with the stated objectives. The set objectives for the lesson help the teacher to select the instructional methods, media and materials which help in achieving those objectives. Having to select the methods, media, and materials before the lesson is such a lesson enhancing tool that I feel gives the teacher confidence knowing that all the materials required for a successful lesson have been put into consideration and gathered, and are at hand and ready for use. In most cases teachers stammer during a lesson when they realize that some of the items required for an effective learning process have been forgotten. Planning for these things before hand helps to reduce this lack of confidence. With technology, if any of the materials needed for the lesson is missing it becomes a big problem. There is no way students will access the resources/ websites in class if the teacher has forgotten to bring a computer/laptop; or how Microsoft PowerPoint presentation will be carried out without a projector? Therefore, the need to select the methods, media and materials before-hand to ensure that effective learning takes place.

Secondly, once the methods, media and materials have been selected and put together, the teacher indicates which of them will be used at which step of the learning process. The ASSURE model therefore helps the teacher to think systematically and know how to handle the lesson effectively.

 

The Value of Analyzing My Students

It is good to know my students in order to help them learn effectively. If as a teacher, I understand my students I will be in position to get them to produce very good grades. I would find a way of getting closer to them and develop good rapport with them, identify with them in their problems and always try to make it easier for them to approach me and also get them to love the subject. Analyzing my students empowers me with information and gives me an advantage over them that enables me to operate effectively. Through analyzing my students I get to

·       It makes me more aware of their strengths, weaknesses and challenges and plan well how to maneuver them, help the students to overcome them and get my students to learn effectively.

·       It helps me to choose the appropriate instructional method that would best suit the learning process.
·       It makes me aware of the dominating learning style of the students and gives me the opportunity to build from that to ensure effective learning.
·       When I am aware of their preferences in terms of style of learning, I can mobilize what is required, design and set aside tasks that fit within their preferences.
·       I get to know how to handle each of my students so as to get them to learn effectively.

Apps and Software for Teaching

In Designing learning there are several principles of learning that are presented and they all have areas that they emphasize in the process. Authentic learning theory and Constructivist theory give learners chance to experience things in the real world by creating an environment that gives them chance to play their role in increasing their knowledge. It allows them the opportunity to observe, engage in, invent and discover in the way that makes sense to them. It also emphasizes continuous assessment of the learner.  Learners interact with the problem and also have an active role in the problem solving for instance in  drill and practice, quizzes, games and puzzles. The learners are given chance to control their own learning and they set pace and time for it and are given immediate feedback.  There is a vast supply of software on the net that caters for Authentic learning and Constructivist theories. With online learning, learners have a hands-on experience, they do everything themselves, navigate through the links and get answers to the many questions they have, and are also in position to create their own products. With Multiple Intelligence Theory on the other hand, where the teacher or educator is expected to take into account the fact that learners have differing intelligence levels and learn differently, the various software online provides for all levels too. There are instructional games such as brain games like Sudoku, Metrix, mind games, Lumosity , Crossword puzzles. Others software include; Quizzes, Tutorials, Typing lessons, Exam software, developer and programming and e-learning programs. Socratic Approach lays emphasis on getting the learners to think and think of thinking. It also makes it clear that there is never one answer to a question, and that when one question is seemingly answered it raises a string of questions in its wake. As is evident with the software available, there are many questions that are answered and yet there is much that still need to be answered and the process is continuous. Some software is meant to task the students with thinking. Through using the software, the students will also be inspired to also come up with their own questions about a topic. Navigating through the software arouses students' interest and thinking. They will not be satisfied with one answer and that they are made aware of existence of other answers to the same problem. TPACK and  SAMR theories introduce the aspect of technology into the teaching and learning process and offer various ways in which technology can gradually be introduced without causing dismay or panic among the students and teachers.

In all these principles the major/ key issues emphasized include; Collaboration, experiencing, researching, recreating, different intelligence levels, Reworking and observing and giving the learner a chance to make meaning out of these learning situations. In all these situations, the learner is encouraged to make use of technology in their learning process. The principles help the teacher to determine what kind of software to use with each category of learners. Since amongst the available software we have quizzes, puzzles, instructional games, and others about different activities that could be used to engage the learners, the teacher will find little or no problem in identifying the software and apps that would best suit the learning situations of his students.

The different kinds of software have activities set out for students as well as teachers. Some of the activities specified include classroom activities, group discussions as well as individual tasks all of which require collaboration, experiencing, researching, and recreating, reworking, observing e.t.c. The most engaging educational software is the instructional games, and drill and practice software. Adults as well as children are easily captivated and taken up by the online games and quizzes.  Aside from that, the attention is very concentrated and intense when it comes to games. The nature of activities in these software are such that all areas of a topic are touched upon however briefly.

 

The Potential of Web Resources in Enhancing and Modifying Teaching and Learning of Literature in English.

 

I am an English language and literature in English teacher. From my research on the internet I have discovered a variety of information regarding the Literature in English subject which is useful to the learners as well as the teachers. Aside from The Government Inspector, I have noticed that there are more Web  Resource Sites with information on other Literature books such as Romeo and Juliet, To Kill a Mocking Bird, The Burdens, Prose, Poetry, the list is endless. Some of the Sites offer content information that enhance teachers understanding of the text The Government Inspector by Nikolai Gogol. The information they offer range from the themes of the text, character role and characterization, plot, setting, language and style not to mention background information on the authors. Examples of such Sites include; http://www.sras.org/gogol_the_government_inspector_in_text_and_presentation_1836_1938
http://study.com/academy/lesson/methods-of-characterization-in-literature.html.

There are Resource Sites that offer very useful information to learners about the same play and two of them are,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Government_Inspector#Plot_summary

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Government_Inspector.

There are also Resource Sites with interactive educational activities that are very interesting and suited for learners and would enhance the learning environment as well as promote collaboration for effective learning and one such site is; 

http://www.brown.edu/about/administration/sheridan-center/teaching-learning/effective-classroom-practices/interactive-classroom-activities.

Let me also include some Resource Sites on the lesson plans that could be useful for Literature teachers such as; 

http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/hi-can-some-one-someone-tell-me-where-can-find-470714

http://teachers.net/lessonplans/subjects/literature/

These Sites are authoritative. They have credibility, authenticity, currency, authority, accuracy and their scope of information is wide. There are so many links coming off these Sites and each addresses a particular aspect of literature. I have curated these Sites and added them to my Library "Serabidde2014 Public Library Diigo" and I hope to revisit them in the near future and to use the information to teach my Literature class. I recommend that you visit the above resource sites you won't regret. With Literature in English, I shall go with the organization Sites and the commercial Sites which seem to offer a lot of information. On YouTube I can definitely view the videos but the important thing here is identifying what is helpful to both the students and the teachers in the process of teaching and learning

 

 

A Day at the Office

Amongst the software I have viewed in this lesson I would say that some of them are good as a resource for teaching and learning of Literature in English. There are a variety of tools that one could choose from but it is also important to choose the most appropriate of them for that particular subject. The subjects differ in presentation as well as in content and can therefore not use the same App across the board. Maths is not English just as History is not physics. The choice of the App to use depends on the subject the person teaches.

I have tried out some like Microsoft Excel and discovered that the arrangement of the cells is not the best for subjects that use so many words. In their nature they have cells and literature rarely needs them apart from when one is just highlighting points without using so many words. However, in cases where the teacher or learner is interested in brief outlines, it serves the purpose well. Microsoft Excel would do well more with numbers and keeping of students data regarding grades and marks. Just like Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Access is structured in cell like divisions and good for keeping a tab on students performance as well as the important things about them (Bio-data).

Literature being a wordy subject requires an App that allows for as many words as one would love to use.  Microsoft PowerPoint on the other hand uses slides that can accommodate the alignment of points as one would wish to present them and also offers space for giving comments or adding notes and is therefore a more appropriate instrument to use in Literature. I have actually enjoyed myself working with Microsoft PowerPoint. It has designs you could choose from to make your product more attractive to the learners and hence chase boredom. You can also put sounds in the background of the text as well as decide how you would wish the slides to move. All those options are there and they are geared to give us the skills to have more interesting products and also make lesson more interesting as we discover more and more about technology. If students were to use Microsoft PowerPoint, they would find it very interesting and captivating because of what it has to offer.

Another tool that I have grown so accustomed to using is Microsoft word processor. This is also a very valuable tool as it allows for spelling checks, can offer substitute words and has dictionary facility that learners can use in the process of typing. Mine being a subject that requires one to get the spellings of words right, this is an appropriate instrument of technology integration for teaching and learning processes.

I do not think that these software stifle in any way the depth of knowledge of activities. Personally I think it depends upon what the person who is using the App wishes to include. It is up to the learner or teacher to choose whatever App is appropriate for the task at hand, and having the choice to do so gives one the opportunity to choose the best.

Where in Tech are We?

In this lesson I have learnt how to apply or integrate technology in my teaching. I have discovered that technology can be integrated into teaching starting with the simplest and basic ideas and moving onto the more complicated and modified forms of integration. Slowly by slowly it is easy to introduce the learners to this method of teaching and learning without scaring them into thinking they are getting into something that is more modified and challenging.

I have learnt the four stages into technology integration substitution, augmentation , modification and redefining from watching the SAMR model videos.  The first stage of substitution is not any different from the old way of teaching because you only get the students to transfer what they could have written down in pen into a microsoft word document.  A simple process but captures the interest of the students since they are doing it hands-on. Then Augmentation which is also similar to substitution improves a bit on the original format of task i.e allows the learners to do spell checks using the computer, access online dictionary and using clip art or digital pictures where they would have done it manually. Modification on the other hand allows for complete transformation of task through redesigning it such that the students can do the task but cannot complete it without using technology. e.g creating something like a book report or comic out of a book report. Redefining is almost similar to modification but it emphasizes use of technology. The students have to do something with technology in order to complete task/assignment. In this case the students would need to have all the materials they are to use lined up. In this process, the more one interacts with the technology the more they get used to it and the more they feel at ease with it. The process is simple and clear and it keeps taking you into the next step and by the time you realize it you are already there and ready to use TPACK.

TPACK is basically integration of technological knowledge with content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge. In integrating the three there is need to have the technical knowledge and know how it relates to content. Know what it is that you want to pass to your learners. What is that that you wish them to learn. After which you should know how to teach, what technology you are to use to teach the content you want to pass on.

 

 

Designing Learning - My Experience with Online Learning

This entire course has taught me a whole lot of things I did not know before and never thought to accomplish in such a short time. From the start of the course it has been one road of discovery after discovery of the advantages and highlights of online learning vis-à-vis the problems and pitfalls. The info graph has been such a challenge but a welcome one at that, let alone knowing how to keep notes in an Evernote application. The Virtual school, the Flipped classroom has been yet another wonderful experience for me as a teacher and for my learners too after having taken them through one of the most interesting and engaging lesson online. Online learning requires the learner to visit wikis, webinars, blogs, podcasts, Khan Academy videos, YouTube videos and all the resource sites available on the Net. In reality, it looks like an ocean of knowledge where one would fear to venture because of the diversity of the information there. But once there, the learner will discover that it is easy to navigate through this ocean and get to the desired information in just a matter of minutes or seconds or utmost hours. And the most wonderful thing about it all is the fact that most of these sites, once you are connected to Internet, you access them free of charge.  

Advantages include;

·        Learner-centered with the teacher as a facilitator

·        Teacher's role as a monolithic node is taken away.

·        Learners can study from anywhere ie at home and in the confines of their bedrooms. 
·        No fear of being embarrassed.
·        Ability to view lesson as many times as one wishes for clarity and further perception of concepts.
·        The learners who have jobs can also find time to read and learn without worrying.
·        Tutoring is possible across continents
·        Supports the learner to take charge of their own learning and decide what they want to learn.
·        Allows learners to experience things in their own learning and construct knowledge basing on their own experiences.
·        Encourages collaboration amongst students/learners.
·        All learners are treated according to their abilities since online learning takes into account the multiple intelligences of the learners.
·        Promotes continuity of data.
·        Gives immediate feedback.
·        Does not affect the final grade.
·        Provides for an all inclusive environment.

Highlights

·        It is up to the learners to dream big in every community.
·        Be a learner and be willing to be transformed.
·        Let the learners decide what they want to learn.
·        Give the children a chance to realize themselves.
·        Ensure that children can make sense of the world, the images, the ideas, and information they are bombarded with every day.
·        Learning to accommodate the differences.
·        Understanding how TPACK's three domains of knowledge interact including the subject domains that are in actual fact essential to support effective technology integration in the learning process.
·        Use technology to humanize on a global scale what is happening in education.
Disadvantages and pitfalls include;
·        Requires a lot of time.
·        Reduces memory span.
·        Reduces the ability to think.
·        Reduces concentration since most of the time there is skimming through texts to get to what one is looking for.
·        The culture of reading is killed.
·        A sea of information that may be too much for the learner to digest all.
The disadvantages and pitfalls are minimal as compared to the advantages and highlights of online learning.  Technology allows learners to research, collaborate, create, network and present in all kinds of new ways.