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Using IT to engage students in learning is a good idea. However, classroom management could make or break a lesson.This is my take on a few strategies that might have helped Mrs. Xing with her unsuccesful IT-based lesson.
Failing to Plan and Anticipate
As a teacher, Mrs. Xing would have had to prepare a lesson plan, even if it is for an IT-based lesson. As she plans her lesson, she must also anticipate the students' behaviour and response in class. In this 'wired' generation, Mrs. Xing should have anticipated the problem of students using the computers to surf the internet instead of paying attention to her class and obeying instructions. Today's generation are majorly computer and internet savvy and Mrs. Xing should have realised that for the students, the internet is the main attraction of a PC. If she had anticipated this problem, she could have then come up with a plan to counter the problem.
What Mrs. Xing could have done was to set ground rules and explain to the students the consequences of breaking the rules. She should make it clear to the students that computers are expensive equipment and are school property and they must exercise responsibilty when using the computers.
It would have also been ideal if the teacher's computer is able to control the students' computers in a way that she could monitor their activities as well as lock their computers when she needs them to pay attention to her. In that way, she would have been able to control the students' activities on the computer.
Classroom Management
Mrs. Xing also had problems managing her class. She should have implemented basic classroom management skills such as assigning seats. By assigning seats, she will be able to better monitor her class as students will not be able to stick to their own cliques and start talking among themselvers. Ultimately, what Mrs. Xing would want is for her students to give all their attention to her and to engage them in their learning .
As I watched the video posted on the ICT E-Learning page on managing a full-computer lab as a learning environment, one interesting point that I noted and felt that Mrs. Xing should have implemented was the using of colored cups to indicate if the student needs help and the appointment of an IT rep to help the class with simple troubleshooting. This will definitely help in maintaining order in the classroom and cutting down the noise level. It would also probably help to eliminate Mrs. Xing's problem of desperately trying to get her attention on what to do with the computer. She would also have better control of the class although she could not see their faces from behind their computer screens.
Pre-Preparation
For an IT-based class that would need all the students to be able to use the commputers to do their assignment and submit it during class time, Mrs. Xing must ensure that all the computers are in working order. This is because having students to share computers in case of a computer breakdown would mean that the students sharing the computers will either have to rush through their work to allow their peer to be able to do their work or one of the students will not be able to finish their assignment. Hence, as pre-preparation to her lesson, Mrs. Xing should have liased with a lab assistant or IT personnel in the school to check and ensure that all the computers are in good working order before the lesson.
Mrs. Xing too should not have asked the students to write-up a piece of work on the spot in the lesson as it is time consuming. She should have gotten the students to write-up a piece of work in an earlier class and get them to type it out in the IT-Based lesson and then submit it to her via the shared folder for her to check. Students who are not used to typing compositions on the computer might take some time to get used to the keyboard and how the word processor works.
If Mrs. Xing had planned her lesson well, she will also have realised that it might not be possible for her to edit all forty scripts and return it to her students in one lesson. She should have planned for a follow-up IT based lesson for them her to return the students' edited scripts and re-type them.
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|.eikha.|
4 comments:
I agree with Eikha that Mrs Xing should have a lesson plan because it was mentioned that she is has little experience with IVCT.. s she could have used tthis for the back up in any case if problems occured.
She could also have at least set the ground rules before they enter the computer lab so that the students are well informed of the consequences if they break any of the rules.
I think... since Mrs Xing knew that she is not well verse in IT, she should have consulted the IT technicians or students who are good in IT. Teacher should not just TEACH but must be willing to learn as well, especially from the students.
Yes I agree. All this falls under pre-preparation and planning for the class. She should have assessed the kind of help she needs while she was planning the class, be it from an IT consultant or an IT rep to ensure that the class runs smoothly and the lesson's objectives are met.
Yes! I agree. Lesson plan do play a part. Mrs. Xing should have made preparations before conducting lesson like this. But since it was her first attempt in this, I guess it is all part of trial and error for her.
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