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In examining how ICT can change and enhance
teaching and learning we have to analyse the roles of both
the learners and the teachers. In analysing the roles of learners
we should focus on what kinds of learning activities are taking
place and how active the learners are in that process. In
a later activity, when we analyse the role of the teacher,
we will focus on the actions of the teachers, how they plan
ICT integration and the kinds of opportunities that they create
for learning with ICT.
In Changing How and What Children Learn
in School with Computer-Based Technologies the authors
examine the four fundamental characteristics that make learning
most effective.
- Learning through active engagement
- Learning through participation in groups
- Learning through frequent interaction
and feedback
- Learning through connections to real-world
contexts
Notice how the role of the learner focuses
on a) how involved they are in leanring, b) how well-supported
they are and c) how meaningful their learning is to them.
You would be quite correct to observe that these are just
elements of plain good teaching practice (and wonder why more
teachers do not do this). Is ICT therefore really necessary?
You be the judge. Read the paper and consider how ICT can
enhance these processes.
Click
here to see the hyperlinked (HTML/Web) version of Changing
How and What Children Learn in School with Computer-Based
Technologies
Click
here to see the Acrobat format of the whole document
The Draft e-Education White Paper defines
e-Education in ways that are quite compatible. Read
paragraphs 2.3 and 2.4 of this extract and note the skills
that learners should acquire and the role of ICT in helping
them do so.
Click
here to see the entire White Paper on e-Education (optional)
In The Teacher as Learning Guide
Bonnie Bracey reflects on her changing role as a teacher,
but notice how almost inseparable it is from the roles that
the learners are expected to assume. How do these roles relate
to the definition of e-learning in the White Paper and the
fundamental characteristics for effective learning?
Click here to read The
Teacher as Learning Guide
Margaret Riel's Learning Circles online
collaborative learning model has been very successfully implemented
worldwide and many South African schools have participated.
As you read about Learning Circles, identify all the effective
learning factors that are present in the model, with special
emphasis on the roles of the learner.
Click
here to read Learning Circles: Virtual Communities for Elementary
and Secondary Schools
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