Session IV: e-Learning

Managing technology integration

Section 1: Implementation issues and strategies in a face-to-face environment

Issue: Lack of training provided to teachers that is relevant to school culture and local context
Strategies: On-going relevant professional development for teachers instead of something that is merely one time off; Train up ICT specialist teachers within each department who will be available to conduct training and consultation to teachers who need more help; Provide on-site support for teachers from technical assistants.

Issue: Insufficient time to plan for ICT lessons
Strategies: School/departmental restructuring of timetable to free up time for teachers to plan for ICT-mediated lessons within the curriculum

Issue: Pressure to finish up syllabus in the simplest, most efficient way possible for semestral examinations; Resistance from teachers to risk changes and disbelief that ICT can enhance the learning process, thereby sticking with the traditional didactic approach to teaching.
Strategies: Cognitive apprenticeship model where teachers undergo an "immersion programme" to observe, learn from and emulate teachers who are experienced in conducting lessons with ICT integration so they recognise that it is not just novel, but is a relevant and efficient way for students to learn.

Issue: Lessons take too long due to outdated computers and limited units in the classroom/computer laboratory
Strategies: Financial support from the school leaders/administrators/MOE to upgrade units in order to stay abreast of technological advances and create a conducive ICT-mediated environment; Teachers need to streamline their lessons and plan realistically, taking into consideration the physical limitations of the facilities available.

Issue: Students demonstrate off-task behaviour while waiting for the teacher to assist them when they encounter technical problems.
Strategies: Establishment of discipline-specific rules and room use procedures (eg. red-alert cup); pairing of students strategically so playful students can be seated with ICT student helpers; on-site technical assistants to help students iron out technical issues so that teachers can concentrate on delivering the lesson and managing the class; teacher can spend more time planning so that students can proceed with other activities if they are stuck at one while waiting for help; Train up a team of student specialists who can be rostered to help their classmates out if they encounter any difficulties.


References:
1. http://www.ise.ee/kronoloogia/murphy/classroom_management.html
2. Teachers' ICT skills and knowledge needs- Final Report to SOEID http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library/ict/append-section4.htm
3. Zhao Y, Pugh K, Sheldon S, Byers JL (2002), Conditions for Classroom Technology Innovations, Teachers College Record, Vol.104(3):482-515
4. Lim CP, Teo YH, Wong P, Khine MS, Chai CS, Divaharan S (2003), Creating a Conducive Learning Environment for the Effective Integration of ICT: Classroom Management Issues, J. of Interactive Learning Research, Vol 14(4):405-423
5. Lim CP, Khine MS (2006), Managing Teachers' Barriers to ICT Integration in Singapore Schools, J. of Technology and Teacher Education, Vol 14(1):97-125
6. Lim CP, Pek MS, Chai CS (2005), Classroom Management Issues on ICT Mediated Learning Environments, J. of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, Vol 14(4):391-414

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Section 2: Implementation issues and strategies in an online environment

a. Cyber-bullying
Issue: Students are maliciously intimidated or harassed by people they meet through online forums, chatting platforms, emails or websites, resulting in negative psychological and/or physiological effects on the victims.
Strategies: Online circumstances that students face are difficult for teachers to monitor. The best they can do is to educate and create awareness of this issue. Teachers can also give some practical tips like not publishing personal information online, being discreet with own passwords, not opening emails from strangers and/or bullies and not responding to messages when one is angry. Most importantly, they should be taught about self-respect and mutual respect, so they will treat other people, whether in a virtual or real environment, the way that they would like themselves to be treated.
In collaborative group projects where there are potential student victims, teachers can make it compulsory for themselves to be part of the correspondence so that they can monitor any online assaults. Alternatively, teachers can establish moderated chat rooms or forums for the online discussions to be held.

b. Internet Pornography
Issue: Seemingly harmless exploration of pornographic pop-up windows or deliberate surfing can escalate to cases of addiction and acting out of fantasies, the latter of which could lead to criminal sexual offences.
Strategies: Teachers will need to work closely with parents on this. Parents should be cautioned about the possibilities of pornography addiction online so they can install filtering software. Web browsers can also be switched to block pop-up windows and to engage in "safe search" mode so that adult content will be filtered out during searches. Parents should also make it a point to check in on their children randomly when they are using the internet so they will be less inclined to surf pornographic websites lest they get caught by their parents and suffer the embarrassment or lecture. Work stations can also be positioned in an open area of the house where people can walk past and "inspect" what the students are doing.
Students themselves should be educated about the consequences of pornography addiction and should be warned not to click on hyperlinks from dubious email senders or pop-ups.

References:
1. Australian Goverment: A Teacher's Guide to Internet Safety, http://www.netalert.gov.au/advice/publications/guides/a_teachers_guide_to_internet_safety.html
2. http://www.cyberbullying.ca
3. http://www3.moe.edu.sg/edumall/tl/cyberwellness.htm

Reflection III

Anchored Instruction, Case-Based Learning, Cognitive Apprenticeship, Goal-Based Scenario, Inquiry-Based Learning, Knowledge Building, Problem-Based Learning and Project-Based Learning... Some of these were really new to me but was truly an eye-opener to have these strategies explored this week. All along I'd taken them for granted, thinking that "hey... what that teacher did was very engaging and I can use that in my future classes". But this week, I learnt that these tactics have already been around a long time and are actually being strategically employed by educators and are not simply accidental.

I remember one project I did in Primary School, where the teacher organised us into groups and made us collect different types of wild grass/flowers, name them and classify them according to their modes of dispersal (wind, water, animal). Back then, I thought it was simply a project for project ends, but I had a lot of fun looking out for unique species that weren't already collected and naming them. Even till today, I can still look at some common grass species and ramble off names like "cow grass, carpet crass, egyptian fingers, lalang, elephant grass, yellow wood sorrel, etc..." because the learning that took place at that moment was so engaging. In retrospect, I now understand that that was a form of project-based learning and/or goal-based scenario. And it was good because in the group we learnt to identify based on observing and comparing features from guide books (back then didn't have Internet...). The mini-competition to try and identify as many species as possible also gave my group motivation to look for more species in locations that were less convenient. Most groups only got their samples from near the school or their homes. But I recall we actually went to relatively distant fields to get some unique grass types. It was a very fun project.

If ICT was more readily available then, it would have been possible to upload all our findings onto a common database that we can still refer to today. Cos' I have forgotten some of these lesser-known species and it's nice to just remember so I can show-off from time to time! Hahas. Alas, our projects back then were presented on vanguard-sheets and they have been long chucked and trashed I believe. And we probably could just take a digital photo of the species instead of plucking and killing them (even though the few we took wouldn't have been missed since there are soooo many of them around anyway!).

So moral of the story: we should exploit ICT in today's digital age since it's already so accessible. Project presentations can now be done on Powerpoint or Keynote instead of on vanguard paper; data-logging and calculations can be easily achieved using Excel or other software; group discussions can be done online via Skype, MSN, email or forum boards instead of always having to do it F2F after school hours; and resources have never been so easily available thanks to Internet and Google. Good-bye to Britannica and long hours in the library! And if all these exist to make teaching easier... no. It means different types of classroom management issues will have to be addressed.