EDU430 Final Term Handouts

Topic 123

Classroom Response System

Here we see a picture of this classroom response system. Concerning our earlier problem of change in seasons the students are given a few related questions such as: what happens in summer and winters; why is the sun brighter at midday in comparison to the evening? You see them answering these questions, but observe their happiness and excitement. This is a direct outcome of them being part of an interesting activity and the students not just passive listeners. The students come to the forefront, while the teacher recedes to the background. A junior instructor provides them with two minutes instructions for the first time after which the process becomes automated. The computer marks the answers and the results are instantaneously uploaded to the teacher; providing a mechanism to gauge their prior understanding/knowledge. As you see in the picture, each child, at first, attempts these questions on their own, without consulting others. Later they are allowed to consult with each other; another interesting and exciting learning experience for the students. The students are allowed to walkabout, argue, at times use the internet and even make calls. More importantly, the underlying commonality among the students is that they are thinking; analyzing and critiquing their own answers and not being lectured. This is the beginning of the learning process. You should also observe that no student is gossiping or wasting their time. People repeatedly point out that classroom discipline is essential. Yet having attempted this collaborative arrangement numerous times, I can attest that nothing happens. The students are there to learn. Turning to an actual example of this the first question the students are asked is why the sun is not as bright at 7 pm in the evening in June, if there is no pollution in the air. After their initial answer, the students are allowed to consult and you see a clear convergence towards one answer based upon argumentation, analysis and collaboration, collective convergence. We asked another question and you can see that the computer immediately generates a list of all questions for each student. This technology costs little. Infact, in a couple of years the only cell phone available in the market will be smartphones. So the solution will require little intensive technology.

Circuit Switched

It is a type of network connection which establishes a continuous electrical connection between calling and called users for their exclusive use until the connection is released. Ericsson PBX is a circuit-switched network.

Clickable Image

This may be defined as any image that has instructions embedded in it so that clicking on it initiates some kind of action or result. On a web page, a clickable image is any image that has a URL embedded in it.

Topic 124

Outside the Classroom

Now that we have discussed the inside of the classroom, we attempt at taking this technology outside the classroom. We took a class excursion to a remote rural area away from the university. The purpose was to determine if we could provide quality education in this setting. By quality, world class education, we refer to these constitute elements: the availability of instant feedback; awareness of a student’s foundation knowledge; their misconceptions, individualized learning; and quality teacher-student communications – all elements which can be addressed through technology. It was decided to commence the classroom in the bus. This entailed setting up of an intranet connection between the teacher’s laptop and student android tablets, no electricity or an internet connection is required. Compare the cost of acquiring land and building for constructing a school to a bus, which can be rented at a cost of Rs.25, 000 to Rs.20, 000 for a day. Other factors which need to be considered are; the inordinate amount of time students spent on commuting; endless homework and academies. Could not this time be used more productively? In comparison look at the class conducted in a field; the student’s happiness at being out of the restricting environment of a formal classroom needs to be noted. Here a proper teaching with the inclusion of instant feedback is transpiring; a thing which unfortunately not present in most elite institutions in the country. Despite the fact that each child in all probability posses a smart-phone and have access to the latest computer labs. Throughout the bus journey the learning process is not interrupted; leads us to the conclusion that a classroom can be developed anywhere in the wilderness or on a bus.