Week 8

Week 8: Explanation of how a depth of curriculum knowledge also supports the decision

making process relating to ICT use in the classroom, with reference to a learning

moment in phase two of your project.

The world that we live in today is a knowledge society therefore a depth of curriculum knowledge is imperative for effective teaching to occur in a quality learning environment. For students to gain a deep knowledge from ICT use, teachers need to be explicitly selecting technological resources that support students learning. In order to ensure student learning is at the highest level, practices in the classroom need to be comprehensive and rigorous to improve achievement.

By understanding the syllabus content teachers are able to adapt and invigorate the learning experiences for their students with the use of ICT in the classroom. Making technology more readily available such as computer lessons in primary school and the Digital Education Revolution (DER) rollout enables students to access an array of tools to express their knowledge creatively. Chee et al (2011) expressed that “technology is indispensable in our globalised world”. In order for students to become contributors to this technological society, curriculum must be adapted to create engaging links with ICT. The use of a multi-modal approach can cater for all learning styles and deepen the knowledge and understanding of the content area.

 The integration of technology in the classroom provides challenges for students in the 21^st century of how to master different programs, features and tools by investigating its use whilst applying new knowledge learnt. According to Gibbons (2002), Student-Directed Learning is “any increase in knowledge, skill, accomplishment, or personal development that an individual selects and brings about by his or her own efforts using any method in any circumstances at any time”.

Gibbons’ (2002) notion of SDL stresses the importance of developing ownership of learning as it will motivate a learner to pursue a learning goal and persist in the learning process. Therefore teachers need to be enriched with content knowledge in order to provide their students with optimal engagement and deep knowledge through the use of ICT in the classroom. When creating my resource, a learning moment directly linked to student engagement was researching all of the available artefacts that could be used in my Webquest. Selecting appropriate technological artefacts is essential for creating significance for the students. I selected ‘I-movie and Xtranormal’ as two teaching tools to create narrative and understanding of the tasks for students. Therefore the right tools and teaching methods in the classroom will create value for both students and teachers.

References

Chee, T (2011). Self-Directed Learning with ICT: Theory, Practice and Assessment. Published in Singapore, Ministry of Education. Retrieved on the 12^th September 2012 from http://ictconnection.edumall.sg/ictconnection/slot/u200/mp3/monographs/self-directed%20learning%20with%20ict.pdf

Gibbons, M. (2002). The self‐directed learning handbook: Challenging adolescent students to excel. San Francisco, CA: Jossey‐Bass. Pp 2.