Reflection on Last Session of QED522 18th Oct 2007

1. SCLP-related

a. What were some major changes to my SCLP?

The initial idea was to spend more time on crafting the first part of the SCLP, which was to include pictures of the various cation and anion tests and the colour and amount of precipitate formed or the gas tests. However, it was mentioned that this knowledge could be obtained from any chemistry textbook, so we decided to simplify the first part to include only words.

The final part of the SCLP was also slightly simplified. The original idea was to design a website to include all the common bench reagents for the students to use to test the 5 unknowns provided by Desperate Mama. However, upon discussion, we found that it was too time-consuming and complicated to design a whole new template for the website, so we decided to simplify it to using PowerPoint.

b. Why did those changes take place?

Technology is supposed to be a learning aid for lessons and should be as transparent as possible. It is not feasible for the students to use a complicated piece of software which requires time to learn and master. Thus, it is necessary to make the SCLP as simple as possible and as user-friendly as possible.

Being mindful of the point mentioned above, we felt that it was more appropriate to focus our attention to the scaffolding of the activity worksheet rather than to create fanciful programs for our SCLP. Our project focused on helping the students synthesize knowledge by using technology as a tool as opposed to making technology the main focus.

c. What did I learn as a result of creating an SCLP?

I’ve learnt that we can create many interesting and impressive projects by just using PowerPoint alone. Many functions of PowerPoint were discovered, like embedding worksheets or videos into the slideshow, and that it is possible to create entire e-learning lessons by just using PowerPoint.

It was also noted that technology should not be the main focus of the whole lesson and should just be a transparent aid to the lesson. It would be best if the students did not even notice the presence of technology in the lesson. The usage of technology is also more suited for higher cognitive processes like evaluation and synthesis as they are able to help the students scaffold these processes more effectively. It would be a ‘waste’ if technology was only used to help the students to memorize or regurgitate information.

2. What did I learn from QED522? (What was the first thing that popped into my mind?)

The first thing that pops into my mind is definitely the phase “student centred learning” and I’m sure that’s the case for many of us in the class as well. Technology is useless without the proper method and skills to implement it in the lessons and student centred learning is one way that ICT can be successfully integrated into the lessons. Using technology, students can learn better and faster on their own and the role of the teacher would mostly be to help the students structure their thoughts by asking suitable questions and using the appropriate technology.

I have also learnt many new programs from the demonstrations given by other members of the class and how to implement some of these technologies in the classroom. I believe that with the help of technology, learning can be much more effective and should be able to take place anytime, anywhere. Hopefully the load on the teachers and students will be very much relieved too with the help of technology in the future.