ICT for Meaningful Learning

Have you come across any of the pedagogical approaches as a student? What was your experience like?

Throughout my learning experience, I have been exposed to all the different types of pedagogical approaches in a way or two. And I am very sure that most of us are usually tied down with project-based learning most of the time which I feel is the most effective approach of learning. I feel that through projects, students get the opportunity to build self-confidence when presenting in front of others. Students get to know things that they might have not known by learning new things and through projects, we get to minimize our own workload of research and share our findings. And also through projects, I manage to bond with my friends.

The other approach I enjoy doing most was through game-based learning where students learn and have fun at the same time. Like for my experience in game-based learning, we did amazing race where students are to find their way to places and then gather information regarding the place. This promotes the learning of geography and history at the same time. And during interaction games through learning, we learn to interact better with each other and learn to understand the other party.


What do you think is the relationship of these approaches?

The common factor which incorporates all these approaches is that they are all student-centered where the teachers do not teach them but become their facilitators to lead them in their learning. These approaches are less structured compared to traditional teacher-led activities; for example, in project-based learning, students are given equal opportunity to organize their work through effective time management and take leadership in some aspects.


What roles do the various ICT tools play in these approaches?

ICT help students to obtain up-to-date information and allows interaction through a global platform. It brings students beyond the classroom context, going further more than the limitations of a classroom by exposing them to other countries and not just local context. ICT also serves as an administrative tool where teachers are given the convenience of managing their students’ progress in learning. This way, teachers can interact with students and help them identify their strengths and weaknesses. ICT allows communication to take place where students can receive information at the same time but being in various places.