MY ESE, Preparatory Task One

Wednesday, August 3, 2011ENHANCED SCHOOL EXPERIENCE, PREPARATORY TASK
ENHANCED SCHOOL EXPERIENCE:
PREPARATORY TASK FOR ICT FOR MEANINGFUL LEARNING

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Enhanced School Experience: Classroom Observations of ICT Use
(I) Specific Observations
School Name: Pioneer Junior College
Class: J I English Literature class, A lecture on how to tackle ‘unseen poetry’
Profile of the class:
(For e.g., the students’ academic abilities, stream and other characteristics)



The academic abilities of the students were admirable. They were a group of pupils who had a keen willingness to learn. They were attentive listeners and had meaningful questions to ask at the end of the lesson. They seemed to be very interested in the subject. They did not hesitate to ask questions when they were in doubt, and they were keen to learn about the thought processes of their fellow peers.


Subject:
What ICT tools are used in the lesson?


The Power Point presentation was an important tool used during the course of the class. The visualizer was also used very frequently.
The Projector was also employed.
The lap top of the teacher.
An electronic dictionary.



Describe how ICT is used for teaching and learning in the lesson.




The power point presentation, was an essential component of the lecture because it helped the students to visualize concepts more clearly. There were a lot of slides which were projected on to a screen, to explain abstract poetic ideas. For example, one particular slide carried a particular poem, and there was accompanying analysis on the same slide. This had a very positive effect on the students, because they were able to immediately relate the analysis to the poem which they were studying. Another slide contained a very detailed chart, which graphically illustrated different literary techniques and devices. This enabled students to comprehend difficult ideas, owing to the extreme organization of the chart. A lot of pictures were also projected, to help the students conjure up a visual picture of the poem they were supposed to study in detail.

The lap top of the tutor was an indispensable device, because without it the power point presentation could not have been made, and the slides would not have been able to be projected on to the screen.

The visualizer was extremely helpful. In this class, it was used to show-case a corrected question paper of a student. The English Literature teacher used the visualizer to demonstrate her method of correction to the students, and went into great detail to explain why and where she had deducted marks. This greatly helped each pupil to realize what the teacher expected of him/her, and hence helped strengthen their grasp over academic writing.




(II) General Observation:
How do teachers in the school feel about the use of ICT for teaching and learning? (For this question, you may want to speak to the HOD/ICT and other teachers you know in the school.)

The teachers, in general, feel that information and communication tools have definitely improved the scope for teaching and learning. The use of the ICT tools has opened up a world of new educational opportunities for teachers and students alike. Knowledge is much more easily accessible and available nowadays, and is literally at one’s finger-tips. The teachers feel that ICT tools help them reach out to their students more effectively. ICT tools also make it5 possible for teachers to use their time more efficiently