Hi Colleagues,
A few sessions ago we had a plenary session in the auditorium with Mrs. Woods Jackson. We were discussing the various requirements for completion of our five lessons. After some discussion we were told that all the Ministry was concerned with was a mark, for each of us. This took me by surprise because I expected that our Ministry of Education would have been concerned and ensured that the design of the programme was such that it motivated teacher learning, participation and mastery. Many teachers were at frustratuon level and I was happy when we were told that we would get some time to practise the technologies that we would be using in our lessons.
After some discussion about the lesson format itself a colleague asked a burning question, "How will we know if we are right?' At this point Mrs. Woods Jackson agreed that indeed the question was a relevant one. The question of feedback and mastery are two important concepts in learning, whether for students in a high school or teachers at university level. If we do not master the skills and competencies in class, we cannot transfer the information and skills to those who need these new technologies in our classrooms.
She assured us that we would get feedback via Myelearning. Is this enough? I am not sure, for me I would have preferred face to face interaction. I guess it is still something to hold on to. What I particularly liked though is at the end, our very last class, Mrs. Woods Jackson offered us her support in our efforts to implement and use the Web 2.0 in the classroom. She even motivated us by telling us about producing lessons that can be sold if they are well done.
In the survey we completed at the end of our ICT workshop though, many teachers indicated that they now know the names of the the new technologies and know how they can be used in the teaching/learning situation. However, it will be noted that many teachers do not believe that they can implement and teach with the technology. They still need time for reinforcement and mastery. They need time to marinate!
How will we know if we are right? We have to hit the ground running and keep on running! As educators have been saying, "We have to run with it" and remember to check Myelearning.
All the best to everyone!
Thanks to our Teaching Crew!
Rosalind, it is scary to think that many of us are going around thinking we are right. In one of my blogs I noted the advantage of using such technologies would be to save time and allow for faster feedback . I have been absent due to my health and I had no choice but to use My-elearning to keep up. I wish i had the alternative of logging in to the class or have my attendance taken . I have am sadly working towards a mark, i have not been able to fully enjoy working and experimenting with the technology as I have no time to marinate. This begs to question , how much time do we give our students the freedom to practice or "play" with the technology before we are busy to hand out an assignment. I realize that I have changes to make in my approach to teaching something which seems foreign to our students. We all need time for processing otherwise we many become as disengaged as well.
ReplyDeleteHi 21stcenturyreadingspecialist
ReplyDeleteYou are so right feedback is vital. In this case, for many of us, who have never gone this way before, we desperately need to know 'if we are right'. We do not want to be spreading a virus of teaching our students and other teachers the wrong content. Let's get together and pool what we have unearthed.
Acsramdass, I hope you are feeling much better at this time. Keep up the fight.