Day 2

During today’s lecture we discussed the importance of integrating ICT into teaching to develop the thinking skills needed to use alongside technology in their future. The children growing up now are called “Digital Natives” (Perinsky, 2001) so their knowledge of current technology would be more advanced than their teachers, and in my experience, that is definitely the truth. Therefore, in order to effectively use ICT in the classroom, it is important to focus on developing thinking skills instead of technology skills. (Kim, Choi, Han, So, 2012).

It is also important to ensure that alongside technology, the balance of pedagogy and content is still maintained. For example, in my own school experience, some teachers would utilise powerpoints, however, certain teachers did not use them effectively. One teacher created a powerpoint that consisted of slabs of text, without images or videos, and the students were expected to copy each slide word-for-word. I have to admit, my attention span and motivation levels dropped extremely low, so none of the information was actually transferred into long term memory and I barely paid attention.

In contrast, another teacher utilised powerpoints in a more efficient way. Rather than using the powerpoint to inform us on the bulk of the topic, she used it as an introduction to the topic. The powepoint involved simple definitions and explanations, had relevant images and short videos, and also included questions and puzzles. This integration of ICT and teaching was extremely effective, as it not only introduced me to concepts that we were going to explore in the unit, but also helped drive my motivation and curiosity for the subject. After the class I felt the need to research more of the topic in my own time, which helped me to develop an advanced understanding of what I was going to learn.

These examples show how important it is to ensure that technology does not restrict students to basic tasks that result in a loss of information and interest in a subject. The lectures today helped me understand how it is crucial to incorporate ICT in the classroom, because if used incorrectly, lessons would be boring and wouldn't benefit students at all.