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Quest
Making more of less
Mallika Mani
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How can we get the maximum benefit from the computers in school? A little ingenuity may be required from both the teacher and the student...
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The exclusive preserve of the Computer Science teacher...
All the workshops I do on "Using IT in the classroom" stem from four basic beliefs:
1. Technology can often dazzle; use only what is relevant and necessary.
2. Technology should be used when it is the best tool to accomplish a specific learning objective.
3. Whenever possible, factor in old technologies too; chalkboards and texts are important
4. Technology is expensive and scarce; harness it for high potential tasks.
Though teachers who attend these workshops are motivated to use technology meaningfully, they say, "When I go back to my workplace, it is difficult to get access to a computer. Our computer lab is used exclusively by our computer science teachers to teach Computer Science. How do we even try what we have learnt" .
We need to take an audit of computer usage and ensure that it is utilised by most number of persons for maximum time. Some schools believe in keeping a usage log to ensure that resources are shared equitably.
If we plan to use technology for learning, efficient resource management is imperative. In this case the teacher would certainly top the list:
1. The Teacher
The teacher can use it for accessing databases, resources, lesson plans, and bulletin boards. She can use it for creating, setting offline tasks, parent messaging, publishing school website/ newsletter.
2. The classroom
If the computer is kept in a classroom or the audiovisual room, it can double up as an excellent multimedia chalkboard. In Raffles School, Bangkok, I watched the teacher, Seok Moi use it efficiently as an offline web source. The children were going to visit the local history museum and she used her computer creatively to walk them through a virtual pre-field trip. Offline dissection to virtual excursions, concept mapping to modeling the writing/editing process.
3. Students working in groups
Hands-on work can be organised for students in groups. But it needs detailed preplanning to ensure that learning objectives are clearly spelt and time and task are clearly stipulated. The tasks must focus on issues and necessitate peer interaction and group discussion. Web quests, CD resources, newsletters, presentations and digital photography are some classic examples. The success of such learning rests on teacher competence to plan in advance. From data collection, instruments to monitoring strategies, activity sheets to offline tasks — everything needs to be in place to achieve the learning objectives.
4. Paired or Individual Student
Two students working on a computer while the rest engage in other activities too is a distinct possibility. Round robin story telling, drill and review of grammar items, project presentations, and quizzes are some possibilities. However, access should be democratic and equitable for all the students in the class if true learning has to take place.
It is imperative that the teacher and the learner understand the process so that there are no quick fix routes to producing the product. Technology makes the teacher all-important as she sets the context, plans and facilitates the process and assesses the product. This role makes her the fulcrum in making learning happen whereas in a "teach from the text only" classroom, she is often subservient to a predetermined context . Paradoxically this paradigm gives equal place to the learners too; they are responsible for their learning.
(The author heads SRIKRITI — The Teacher Education Centre and can be reached at mallikamani@satyam.net.in)
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