whaddup?

Visual Design critique

2008-02-09T08:57:00.000-08:00

Slide 1: Lesson menu

Strength:
The uses of font colour and size is suitable;
- Number of font used is kept to the maximum
(i.e. adept, tempus san ITC & Times New Roman.)
- There is a difference between the title and sub-heading.
The layout used uncluttered primary-color design
Instruction in audio form is used so as to minimize the amount of information presented on the screen.
Sound effect of frog sound is used as an attention grabber and as a learning source.

Area of improvements:
Clarity of audio instruction is not quite good enough as there is background noise.
Although the graphic used matches with text but it does not help in learning as the student will have know how a frog look like.There is no visual display to accompany the audio sound of frog to support learning.

Slide 2: Facts about frog

Strength:
The font used is harmonized with other element of the visual. The use of capital letters for short title is suitable. The font size is appropriate for the whole class to read. Good spacing between lines. Good choice of contrasting colours for ease in reading.

Area of improvement:
The use of sound effect is distracting and the slide animation effect is poor. Although the pictures used are associated with the text; but it would be better if the slide is accompany with video to help student visualize difficult event to see in their daily life. For example, video featuring the frog jumping and swimming showing its long back legs and webbed feet and how a frog change its skin colour as well as the frog eating insect.The arrangement of pictures and text are disorganized and looked quite messy.

Slide 3: Life cycle of a frog

Strength:
Complicated information is simplified using appropriate visual e.g. Life-cycle of frog
Different colour is used to direct attention and to instruct. For instance, orange colour is used to direct student to click on the stages to find out more.
Area of improvement:
Having the instructions in capital letter slows down reading as the sentence is longer than 6 words. Hence, a mix of capital and small letters should be use to ease reading.

Slide 4: Eggs

Strength:
Length of text is appropriate.
Layout is consistence as background and frame for the whole series and same font and format for the title.

Area of improvement:
Although there is a clear visual relationship between the text and the picture, the alignment could be improved using formal or informal balance.
Other than the drawn pictures of frog eggs, it would be better if the lesson is supported with photograph of real frog eggs. The use of frog animation should be removed because it does not support learning. The slide should indicate that the picture of tadpole and young frog served as a link to other slides.

Slide 5: Tadpole

Strength:
Layout use informal balance. There is a clear visual relationship between the text and pictures.

Area of improvement:
The slide should limit no more than 8 lines. Information can be separated into different slides. The forward and backward arrow should be placed at the bottom right corner of the slide so as to be consistence with the rest of the slides.

Slide 6: Young Frog

Strength:
Layout use informal balance. Layout is consistence as background and frame for the whole series and same font and format for the title.

Area of improvement:
The slide should limit no more than 8 lines. Information can be separated into different slides. The slide should indicate that the picture of tadpole and young frog served as a link to other slides or it can be omitted as it does not support learning. It would be better if the slide is also accompanied by a photograph of real young frog.

How does COTF promote student-centered learning?

2008-02-09T08:48:00.001-08:00

In the COTF tour, we embarked on the journey as the students in the future classroom.

Cyber lounge
Firstly, we were welcomed to the lounge where there is a cozy sofa with 2 tables. Each table was embedded with touch screen computer connected to the internet so student can have conduct research and group discussion. There is also a large screen TV where student can display their desktop on the TV.

Each student is equipped with Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC) as a personal learning device. The UMPC is outfitted with wireless internet, web2.0 such as MSN, learning software such as mind map, digital resources and a pedagogical agent; an artificial learning buddy to facilitate learning. The UMPC also served as a collaborative tool as it can be connected to the touch screen computer on the round table with just bringing the UMPC close to it so that student can share and collaborate with each other.

Apart from that, students can exchange knowledge and views with student from other countries. Language difference no longer posed as a barrier as there is voice translator software which translates voice to the language that each party understands.

The cyber lounge in COTF shows that students are encouraged to work in groups to construct a shared knowledge and learning can be unlimited by the constraints of space, time and language. Students have the support for active learning and they can still be able to work at their own pace. They had the excess to all learning tools to help them to better understand concepts, organize information and manipulate data. This also means that students are more in control of their learning as they can construct knowledge without having the teacher there each time to facilitate.

Biology Lab
After student had done their experiment, they can share and compare results with their friends from other countries on the screen sharing tool without having to touch anything. Student can also get excess to expert mentor worldwide. Again, student can still learn even in the absence of the teacher.

In COTF, student was provided with the support for communication and social interaction. Discussion is no longer limited to the class, but is able to involve other students and experts around the world. This means that student from lower income family can get equal opportunity to learn without leaving the country. The transfer of information and knowledge is instant hence increase the level of enthusiasm and motivation to learn.

The learning materials featured in COTF are supported by real-life problem. For example, the research on bacteria on human skin caused skin rash in Canada but not in Asia. Students get to discover the strain of bacteria on their skin. They also get to discuss and provide solution for the cause of rash in Canada. By relating to the acquired knowledge, students are able to solve similar situations in the future.

MRT
The uses of UMPC as an information transfer device is not restricted to school only. Student can also download information such as video clip displayed in public places just by by tapping the UMPC to the scanning device. This is useful for teacher to conduct field trip as students can scan information about historical buildings etc. The drawback of this is that the technology may not be available for field trip in undeveloped area.

Home
Apart from public places, the uses of technology in education can also stretched to home. There is a large white screen to replace the TV in the living room and student can project their workspace on the screen. Teacher can push information or homework online and the technology allow synchronous communication where student can have on-line discussion through webcam to enhance communication among students and teachers. The technology can also support voice recognition and control. This served as an assistive tool for physically disabled so they won’t be at any disadvantage. Yet, there are other factors which cause a drawback such as cost of having such technology.

In COTF, teachers can provide student with real-life experiences from several perspectives. For instance, students can understand a certain concept like parabolic function by allowing them to experience several activities from using software to plot graph and application of the concept in a simulation game.

Parents can also take advantage over the technology. They can monitor and communicate online with their children so as to keep themselves updated with their children activities even though they are not at home.

Classroom
The wireless link between the students’ UMPC and their seats will be used to detect attendance. The classroom environment in COTF also provides support for active and collaborative learning. Student sat in groups around the round tables which are embedded with computers. They can electronically share information and communication thus giving them the opportunity to interact, share, discuss concepts and ideas with peers and teachers. The surrounding backgound of the classroom is also equipped with a large white screen where teacher can use as a digital gallery to display visual information. This helps the teacher to provide student with the environment to learn and to facilitate learning.

The classroom management system in COTF work in such a way that the teacher are also able to monitor and control each of the student activities to reduce unneccessary noise and guide the student through the lesson efficiently. The teacher can use the ‘scrawlies’ system to dictate the lesson. In addition, students’ assessment were not purely based on student knowledge but also on how they collaborate to arrive to an agreed conclusion. Quiz can be conduct electronically on the computer so there is no need for teacher to make copies of test papers. The quiz was also be assessed automatically and the results can be obtained almost instantly. This saves time and energy for the teacher as they can correct their students’mistakes immediately.
I find that the use of technology is very intensive in this environment. I wonder how will the lesson be conducted should there be a trip in the power supply.

In conclusion, the COTF promotes student-centered learning by providing the technology to support independent learning as well as the support for active learning through real-life experiences from several perspectives. The COTF also provide support for communication and social interaction for collaborative learning.

Managing ICT-enhanced emvironments.

2008-01-18T08:11:00.000-08:00

a. Do you think the classroom environment chosen is appropriate for the learning activities? Explain why.

Video 1 (Full computer lab):

The classroom environment was appropriate because ICT was used to enhance the lesson on congruent triangles which can be quite challenging to teach using the traditional way. Guidance in a form of instruction were given to facilitate the process of learning. Each individual also has a hands on exploration. Thus students can learn actively.

Nevertheless, the learning task could be further designed to promote individual and collaborating learning. Other than the given worksheet, the teacher can cast a challenging task to encourage the students to obtain information from the CD-rom by themselves. The teacher can allow further discussion to take place among students so that there will be collaboration with peers to develop a better understanding for the topic.

Video 2 (Half computer lab):
In a half computer classroom, the teacher asked questions as a form of assessment strategy to check of understanding of the topic. Similarly as in Video1, instructions in the computer lab were given as a guidance to create a conducive environment for learning and ICT was used to enhance learning process. The good aspect of this classroom is that it allows pair-work discussion to take place. Furthermore given 2 teachers in the class, more attention can be given to each students.

The drawback of this lesson lies in the learning task. Each pair should take turns for different roles in the specific tasks given in the worksheet.

Video 3 (Learning centres):
In learning centre, students are not restricted to computer as they can learn using a variety of tools eg. microscope,labtop and articles. Hence there were hands on activity and this helps to engage the student to the learning process. The worksheet served as a resource to allow discussion to take place so as to promote collaboration and cooperative learning among students. The learning task was also designed with good teacher support as a reasonable amount of time was given for each station.

Video 4 (One computer classroom):
The classroom environment was appropriate because students were actively engaged and challenged in the pyramid game as the game was constructed to stimulate thinking. Here, ICT was used to ensure the game flow smoothly.

b. The students seem to be focused and on task. What strategies do you think the teacher has used to achieve this outcome?

Video 1 (Full computer lab):

In this classroom, the instruction given were clear. The use of blue and red cups, dimming of lights served as an effective methods to capture students’ attention. The noise level such as movement around the lab was minimise as student raised their hands to ask questions. The task matched the student capability as they are well competence in IT. Hence students are very engaged.

Video 2 (Half computer lab):
The strategies used in this class is that roles were assigned to each pair where one to has navigate while the other has to take down note. This helps to promote teamwork and collaboration. Each pair was given a navigation guide to facilitate the learning proess. Two teachers were present during the lesson to provide more assistance to the students.

Video 3 (Learning centres):
The strategies used this classroom is to form the class in groups and each groups was assigned to do different activities at different stations. This station-based activities allow student to have different learning experience to suits different learning styles. The activity was designed such that there is enough time given to each station. In addition, this activity promote social interaction as students have to discuss among them.

Video 4 (One computer classroom):
The strategies used in this classroom is to engaged all student in the game as every student was given different role to play. The instructions given by the teacher was very clear-cut. Appropriate noise (cheering) was also allow to create environment that instill interest. Finally, homework related to the pyramid game was given so that student can combine experience (action) and thought (reflection) to build understanding.

c. What potential classroom management issues can possibly occur? What proposed solution(s) do you have?

Video 1 (Full computer lab):

The teacher may have to revise the design of the activity as a lot of students have many red cups at one point of time. Though the use of dim light is a good attention grabber but some student may just lose attention add to the noise level while waiting for the teacher to resolve the matter. Besides that,collabrative learning could be incoperate into the lesson by having the class to work in group or in pairs.

Video 2 (Half computer lab):
Although the use of ICT is incoporated into the lesson but it is not well designed to meet the student-centered environment. The activities on the worksheet does not develop thinking skills because it seems that student copied what they seen on the CD into their worksheet. Some students are not be able to finish tasks on time.

I proposed that the teacher may ocasionally asked for feedback to ensure that students were on task. The teacher may also ask question as a form of assessment to check the level of understanding.

Video 3 (Learning centres):
The noise level in this class can be quite high as students have to move around to different stations. Some of the students even went to the wrong stations. Aside from doing the required activities, students may just play around with the equipments.

I proposed that the teacher can arrange the station such that it allow student to move in a very organized way. The teacher may also include the station sequence list in the instructions so that student will know which station to go next. Since this activity may required student to discuss, hence the noise level may just went out of hand. In order not to hinder the learning process, the teacher may remind student to maintain the low noise level and discuss on only what is related to the activities.

Video 4 (One computer classroom):
Some of the group members behaved as an observers, as only 4 representatives from each group are required to participate. There is no follow-up action after the game to recapitulate the learning goal of the game.

I proposed grouping the class into smaller group so that everyone will participate actively. In addition, scores and rewards can be awarded to spurs the students’ interest to the game. The teacher should do a summary of what the student have learnt from the game and ask student to do a reflection journal as a follow-up action after the activity.

Case Study for ICT Integration in Spore Classrooms: How student-centred was the lesson?

2008-01-17T08:46:00.000-08:00

• Teacher roles: (Score 8)

The teacher guide the student through structured experiences by creating a scenario for her student to role play. Categories such as problem, causes, effects, and solutions were provided as a framework for students’ internet research and presentation. The rest of the class were given general instuctions on how to use the Inspiration software and possible categories for organizing the information so that they can take down notes in a form of a mind map.

The teacher incoporated social interaction in the lesson by having an online discussion. She monitored the student discussion to ensure that learning is occuring. She facilitate the discusssion by providing example on how to pose a question and providing comprehensive answer.

The teacher also provide decision–making template for students to rank the issues so that they can compare different perspectives before deciding on their own conclusions.

However, there was no model for the process of using Inspiration software for note-taking and categorizing the points. Hence after the first lesson, the student only managed to note down word for word the points the presenters were making. Most of the information in the mind map templates was disorganized. Due to this, the students did not see the purpose of the template as they could not make informed decisions. The options given were simply ticked instead of ranked.

• Student roles: (Score: 8)

The student undergo structured experience designed by teacher. The presenting group will work as a team to research and present the issues of environmental degradation based on the categories provided. The rest of the class have to take down the main presentation points in a form of a mind map using Inspiration software.

The class then asked questions to the presenters through an online discussion forum. The student then decide on an issue using the decision-template provided before polled their decision online.

• Curriculum characteristics: (Score 8)

Student were cast an intellectual challenge in a form of a problem/project for them to solve. The use of IT were widely used to support and enhance the student research as well as presentation and social interaction among students. The online discussion also served as a medium to create more opportunities to develop understanding and expose to higher-order thinking skills.

• Learning goals: (Score: 8)

Doing research can promote independent work as student were in charge to make correlation to construct understanding to the subject matter. With communication channels such on-line discussion, student can share, critiqued, brainstormed and dialogued their ideas with teachers and peers.

Students can get feedback to reaffirm their understanding. They can reflect and record their views during the information-gathering process. Hence these promote cooperative and collaboration learning as well as communication skills.

Next, students are able to develop decision-making skills as they have to compare different perspectives before drawing out relationship and decide on making their own conclusions.

Lastly, the online discussion geared students to think logically and develop problem-solving skills. This skill can be applied and further developed into problem-solving skills and the development of higher-order thinking skills such as critical thinking.

• Types of activities: (Score: 9)

The activity involved a group projects research and presentation followed by an online discussion and an online poll

• Assessment strategies: (Score: 7)

No written test provided in this lesson. However the online forum, mind-map, presentation slides and the decision making template was taken as a rubric to check the level of understanding of the topic.

• Use of ICT: (Score: 7)

In groups, pupils conducted Internet research on their topic and put together a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation. The rest of the class uses the Inspiration software to construct the main points into a mind map. Next, the class will have an online discussion forum followed by an online poll.

Overall, I felt that this lesson has a student-centerness of an average value of 7.8. Daphne has designed a lesson which creates an environment where students take responsibility for their own learning. But she has to play a key role in creating an environment that promotes engaged learning. As a facilitator, she has to carefully design the learning task with the appropriate resources and teacher support (e.g. modeling, scaffolding, time provided for task) in mind. Though her students were technically proficient, but without her modeling and guidance, they were unable to benefit from on the full potential of the technology to clarify their thought process. Her students were also not able to take notes and categorize at the same time. It worked better when pupils took notes first and were given time to categorize their notes for the second lesson.