Group Activity 5
- Participate in a discussion on the course blog with your tutors and discuss each of these three questions separately.
- Using the discussion called "Integrated Approach": Is the integrated approach an alternative (different form of) computer literacy or is it not the same thing at all?
- Using the discussion called "Integrated Approach Challenges": What are the challenges of an integrated approach?
- Using the discussion called "Who's Responsibility?": In a school whose responsibility is it to "teach computer literacy"? What are the most important requirements for such a person?
- Using the discussion called "Integrated Approach": Is the integrated approach an alternative (different form of) computer literacy or is it not the same thing at all?
- Complete the activity by writing reflective comments in your blog.
• Using the discussion called "Integrated Approach": Is the integrated approach an alternative (different form of) computer literacy or is it not the same thing at all?
ReplyDeleteAn integrated approach is not just having computer literacy without knowing how to use these skills to create learning environments that present experiences of real-life situations. This means planning learning objectives incooperating how ICT will be used to produce or create knowledge, skills and attitudes.
• Using the discussion called "Integrated Approach Challenges": What are the challenges of an integrated approach?
The challenges of the integrated approach:
The focus – there must be careful attention paid to note that although an integrated approach involves learning about computers and learning how to use the computer in learning, the focus is to be on learning the needed skill at the time and not just learning a skill when it is not going to be put to use right away. Therefore, the challenged posed is when is it appropriate to teach about computers with computers, and when to teach how to use computers in a subject area using computers. Also, how to cater for all the different learning styles in the classroom when teaching using ICT. In addition to how much to teach and how much not to teach, but let students discover on their own. Finally, understanding that computer literacy is far more than knowing computer programming and computer applications is a challenge for some based on their preconceived notions of what is computer literacy.
• Using the discussion called "Who's Responsibility?" In a school whose responsibility is it to "teach computer literacy"? What are the most important requirements for such a person?
The persons responsible in schools to teach computer literacy is no longer just the ICT teacher, but all involved in designing and developing the curriculum. Computer literacy begins with the learner’s needs, interests, real-life or authentic connections, and active involvement. Starts then are responsible for their own learning and (intuitive experienced) teachers the facilitator of this contextualised focused learning.
Therefore, it is the responsibility for students to discover things or lean things while integrating their computer skills in different subject areas, but it is the responsibility of the facilitator, teacher, to teach necessary computer skills, while students are engaged with the different computer applications. Because when students are left alone to interact with the applications they may acquire the know how to operate the application, but not the know how to apply the skills in real-life context situations.
• To what extent do we offer meaningless courses at schools in the name of Computer Literacy?
We offer meaningless courses at schools in the name of computer literacy when these courses are just focused on learning computer skills and not how to use the computer while learning the different subjects’ content.
• Given what we have read and reflected on in the last two activities, and accepting the limitations of the term, how do we conduct a "computer literacy" programme in a school? Do we have to teach about ICT before we can learn with ICT?
We conduct a computer literacy programme using an integrated approach. Using computer knowledge and skills in each subject area and not just teach computer knowledge and skills as a computer course only.
Based on the readings, no we don’t have to teach about ICT before we learn with ICT, however when one needs to learn about a particular ICT skill then it is a teachable moment to facilitate students knowledge about ICT while they are already using ICT.
Very well Terry- Ann. Integrated approach is more than just teaching computer skills in isolation.
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