Posts Tagged ‘meet’
A-ha! moment
Posted on: August 15, 2008
Andrew of Group 7 had what I like to call an “A-ha!” moment. He saw the light! He mentioned a very important concept about technology integration, that when put into practice, makes for more meaningful and powerful teaching and learning.
At the end of Andrew’s entry, he said:
This small use of ICT really started me thinking about how to effectively implement ICT in my teaching. ICT is not simply about introducing a technology into a classroom so that my students have “fun” – it’s not only about creating a lesson that is “fun”, but ultimately one that is pedagogically effective. The technology itself is therefore only one aspect of an ICT-facilitated classroom and it must come with other supporting material to ensure that learning takes place.
Do you want to know what “small use of ICT” he was referring to? Read the rest of his reflection.
Where along the MEET continuum did his initial idea fall? (I wrote about MEET here.)
Addressing issues 1
Posted on: August 14, 2008
I thought I’d start addressing some of the recurrent issues I identified earlier. (Mind you, I do not intend to provide clear answers because there are no absolute truths to those issues.)
The first two issues or concerns were:
- How do I use ICT to motivate my students?
- How might ICT promote creative and/or critical thinking?
I have two responses to the first question: You don’t need to, because ICT, if brought in as a novelty, is already motivating. My other response is that ICT should not be used merely as a motivating factor.
I have identified at least four levels of ICT use/integration in education: Use that is 1) motivating, 2) enhancing, 3) enabling, and 4) transforming. Using ICT to motivate is the lowest level and such use gets old quickly. If ICT could be used to enhance learning or to enable creative and critical thinking, its use is more powerful and thus worthwhile.
Which leads to the next question. How might ICT promote creative and/or critical thinking?
I hope that it is obvious that ICT alone cannot promote these forms of thinking. What needs to be in place is a whole learning ecology that promotes thinking. An ecology where ICT is a critical part of this ecology along with powerful instructional strategies, meaningful assessment systems, well-prepared learners, and inspired, reflective teachers.
In my opinion, the most critical component is the teacher. The teacher can define what formal or informal learning takes place inside and outside the classroom. If a teacher is a critical and creative thinker, then s/he will likely model behaviours for learners to emulate. With or without technology, it is the pedagogies that the teacher employs that can make all the difference.
It is not WHAT you teach (or WHAT you teach WITH), it is HOW you teach.
