Computers play different supporting roles as a tool which classifies into five categories:

·         Informative tool

·         Communicative tool

·         Constructive tool

·         Co-constructive tool      

·         Situating tool

Computer as Informative Tool

In this technological era, computer technologies and other aspects of digital culture have changed the way people live, work, play, and learn, impacting the construction and distribution of knowledge and power around the world. It is also used effectively in a range of different ways to improve teaching and learning: by individual pupils, by groups and by the teacher to focus discussion. It helps to develop pupils’ thinking in a range of different ways including reasoning, understanding and creativity. When integrated with lesson it provides information for the students to manipulate and from which knowledge can be constructed. Moreover, ICT as an informative tool guide learners and provide them with  huge and vast amount of information in various formats which includes text, sound, videos, graphics, multimedia encyclopedias or resources available in internet.

Informative tools have the facility to cater needs for all kinds of learners which includes visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners. Every individual are unique in their own ways and possess different learning styles andcomprehension styles where some learn more through visual (pictures, graphics, etc), audio (sound, music,etc and kinesthetic (movements, practical, experiments, etc).

So, I personally felt that every educator does need to absorb adequate knowledge and skills of ICT and 21^st century skills because it plays a vital role in our daily life in the passage of time. Although it got both positive and negative impact on teaching and learning but it is always fun, easy to comprehend and foster external and internal collaboration. Therefore, computer as a formative tool facilitates, accelerate, enrich, deepen skills and at the same time motivates and engaged students, making teaching and learning more conducive for all. 

Date: 15.02.19 Friday 

Reflection on the paradigm shift

In today’s session, we discussed the topic ‘ICTs and Teacher Education: Global Context and Framework’ and ‘Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants’ by Marc Prensky. The first article basically talks about a ‘Paradigm Shift’ in education. It compares the traditional view of the learning process and the changes that have taken place in recent times. As we are living in a technology-based society, there are enormous shifts in different aspects such as economy, politics, society, and culture. ICTs have changed the nature of work and types of skills needed. It is a powerful tool that may help in transforming the present isolated, teacher-centered classrooms into rich, student-focused, interactive knowledge environments. A shift from teacher-centered instruction to learner-centered instruction is needed to enable students to acquire the new 21st-century knowledge and skills. It is going to create a more interactive and engaging learning environment for teachers and learners. It is going to change the role of both teachers and students. Students will have greater responsibility for their own learning. So, ICTs will be a powerful tool to support the shift to student-centered learning.

Every education systems around the world can embrace new technologies as a tool for learning. It is important that we make an effort to move from the traditional paradigm of learning in order to keep students engaged, take greater responsibilities for their own learning and help them construct their own knowledge. Thus, shifting the approach from the traditional mode of learning to more modern mode learning with the integration of ICT is a paradigm shift.

Another article that we discussed is about the digital native and digital immigrants. Here, Mark Prensky tries to define what these two terms mean. He said that different technological devices have become part of their lives and they are called ‘digital natives.’ He also states that our students today are all native speakers of the digital language of computers, video games, and the internet. Those people who are not born into the digital world but have, at some point in their lives, become fascinated by and adopted many or most aspects of the new technology are called ‘digital immigrants.’ We also discuss that digital natives will have fewer appreciations to the new skills that the natives have acquired and also they think that ICTs may not help students learn the concepts and skills in the manner as they use to learn. It also presents the role of educators to adapt materials to the language of digital natives. It also talks about using different software, games and other online materials to ease the teaching and learning process in the schools. If done efficiently, it will not only engage students well but also help them learn more effectively. Therefore, it is important that we as educators be equipped with all the necessary ICT skills and knowledge to make the teaching and learning more effective and productive.