ANALYSIS
Refer back to the first illustration, what does this tell you about being a future teacher?
Why is it important to understand the kind of students you will be facing soon?
The International Education Advisory Board says that “It’s become a type of tension.
We’ve got some parents and teachers who live on Earth and we’ve got our students at
school who live on Mars.” What do they mean? Do you agree that there is indeed a gap
between these generations? Can you cite some of these gaps? How can you build a
bridge, as a future teacher, to address the gap?
Statistics tell us, as reflected in the 2nd illustration, the number of hours spent by
Filipinos using online media to do different tasks. What does this figure tell you? How
engaged are Filipinos in online media? As a teacher, why is this data important?
Moreover, SimilarWeb showed the top 9 websites Filipinos are using. Do you agree with
this list? Which ones do you also use?
Since Facebook is on top, how do you think teachers can maximize the use of this
website? Do your teachers also use these sites as a teaching-learning tool?
How do the first three illustrations/data relate to the last illustration of a 21st -century
learner? Are you a 21st century learner? What does this illustration say about teaching
and learning in the 21st -century? Brown and Fritz (2001) shared that “The generation
gap in classrooms between instructors and learners is more about a mismatch between
teaching style and learning style than it is about the age difference.” What do they
imply? Do you agree with them?
What are the big ideas presented by the four illustrations above?
ABSTRACTION
The following are the roles of technology in learning according to Jonassen, et. al (1999)
a. As tools that support knowledge construction: for representing learners’ ideas,
understandings, and beliefs for producing organized, multimedia knowledge
bases by learners
b. As information vehicles for exploring knowledge to support
learning-by-constructing: for accessing needed information for comparing
perspectives, beliefs,re and world views
c. As context to support learning-by-doing: for representing and simulating
meaningful real-world problems, situations and context, for representing beliefs,
perspectives, arguments and stories of others, for defining a safe, controllable
problem space for student thinking.
d. As a social medium to support learning by conversing: for collaboration with
others, for discussing, arguing and building consensus among members of a
community, for supporting discourse among knowledge-building communities
e. As an intellectual partner to support learning-by- reflecting:
● For helping learners to articulate and represent what they know
● For reflecting on what they have learned and how they come to know it
● For supporting learner’s internal negotiations and meaning-making
● For constructing personal representations of meaning for supporting
mindful thinking
The following are five ways technology can improve and enhance learning, both in
formal learning and in informal settings as reported by the Office of Educational
Technology U.S Department of Education.
A. Technology can enable personalized learning or experiences that are more
engaging and relevant. Mindful of the learning objectives, educators might design
learning experiences that allow students in a class to choose from a menu of
learning experiences— writing essays, producing media, building websites,
collaborating with experts across the globe in data collection—assessed via a
common rubric to demonstrate their learning. Such technology-enabled learning
experiences can be more engaging and relevant to learners.
B. Technology can help organize learning around real-world challenges and
project-based learning – using a wide variety of digital learning devices and
resources to show competency with complex concepts and content.
Rather than writing a research report to be read-only by her
biology teacher and a small group of classmates, a student might
publish her findings online where she receives feedback from
researchers and other members of communities of practice around
the country. In an attempt to understand the construction of
persuasive arguments, another student might draft, produce, and
share a public service announcement via online video streaming
sites, asking his audience for constructive feedback every step of
the way.
C. Technology can help learning move beyond the classroom and take
advantage of learning opportunities available in museums, libraries, and
other out-of-school settings. Coordinated events such as the Global Read
Aloud allow classrooms from all over the world to come together through
literacy. One book is chosen, and participating classrooms have six weeks
in which teachers read the book aloud to students and then connect their
classrooms to other participants across the world. Although the book is the
same for each student, the interpretation, thoughts, and connections are
different. This setting helps support learners through the shared
experience of reading and builds a perception of learners as existing within
a world of readers. The shared experience of connecting globally to read
can lead to a deeper understanding of not only the literature but also of
their peers with whom students are learning.
D. Technology can help learners pursue passions and personal interests. A
student who learns Spanish to read the works of Gabriel García Márquez
in the original language and a student who collects data and creates
visualizations of wind patterns in the San Francisco Bay in anticipation of
a sailing trip are learning skills that are of unique interest to them. This
ability to learn topics of personal interest teaches students to practice
exploration and research that can help instill a mindset of lifelong
learning.
E. Technology access when equitable can help close the digital divide and
make transformative learning opportunities available to all learners. An
adult learner with limited physical access to continuing education can
upskill by taking advantage of online programs to earn new certifications
and can accomplish these goals regardless of location.
If properly selected and used, instructional materials can do the following (Garo,
2008)
a. Arouse and sustain the interest and attention of the pupils/students to
learn.
b. Concretize abstract concepts/ideas to promote meaningful learning.
c. Makes learning more permanent because of the rich experiences that they
provide.
d. Provide self-activities for independent learning.
e. Increase vocabulary by eliminating verbalism.
f. Develop continuity of thought.
g. Increase the quality of learning while decreasing the time spent
h. Check pupil preparedness
i. Make learning more interactive, hence learning is improved.
