Is ICT the solution?

As you should have established by now, if you have read any of my blogs.  I am not a true advocate of technology, whether it be in the classroom the home or any where else for that matter.  It has its place and purpose, but sadly we rely upon it all too much!  We are unable to live without it, or so it seems.  When it breaks down, or fails to work for periods of time, we go into panic mode, unable to function and we act as if the world is coming to an end.  I am also guilty of this, just like everyone out there using technology for work or whether it be for pleasure!  I am no different, I wish I was, I have tried, yet cannot escape the lure of, social networking, the Internet, or just browsing to see what is going on in the world.

Do computers really help us with our education, is it really productive, and can it make a difference to our lives?  I, personally, do not believe it does, however, there are those that would argue it does and that is fine. Everyone is entitled to their opinion.  I simply believe, there is a time and place for it. The use of computers, tablets, Ipads, Chrome books or whatever next does not improve results.  This is not just me emphasising this the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) also infers this and that standards are affected by the use of technology.  So I pose the question, should the classroom resort to a more traditional way of teaching and learning, despite living in a technological world? The article by the BBC suggest maybe! However, whether it should or whether it should not, technology is here, it is everywhere we turn and for that reason, there is no escaping it!

On a totally different topic, #Who is Rey's father? If you are a Star Wars fan, you will know what I am talking about.  Answers on a Postcard please, remember those? A traditional way of a greeting whilst away on holiday/ vacation /trip etc etc...  For me, Its Luke Skywalker. However using technology you can peruse and search to your hearts content if you have nothing better to do of course Who is Rey's father? Search now you know you want to!

Content - Analysis of applications used during the module

Over the last several months, I have been introduced to many applications created to aid in the teaching experience.

These applications, varied from Microsoft applications to Neopod and Socrative, Kahoot, Wordle and Prezi all of which are beneficial in one way or another. However, the only applications I would use in my current teaching placement would be Microsoft.

The simple reason being, they are familiar to me and my students.  All assignments are written in word and PowerPoint is usually the chosen application for presentations.However, recently, I did emphasise to my class that Prezi would be acceptable in a presentation assessment in which they were tasked with.  Following my assessment of all 10 group presentations carried out, not one group used anything other than

When asked why they only chose to use PowerPoint, the reply   was, we have only ever used PowerPoint, why change now?

If there was time to provide additional lectures and seminars in how to use the above mentioned applications. then maybe the students would adopt other versions of presenting and aiding their educational needs to benefit them and the teacher / learning experience.  Sadly, however, there are no resources available to allow for this and therefore, students are more likely to continue to use the applications they are more familiar with.

If the likes of Neopod, Prezi etc are adopted at secondary schools, high schools and colleges, then maybe at university level, they may want to experiment in using additional applications designed to aid the learning experience. My previous blog titled Appropriate applications to support my teaching experience can be viewed by following the link Appropriate applications.  Here you will find an evaluation of how advantageous or not these may be in my opinion.

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