Working on Group Projects

Group work helps us learn more as we need to interact with our group members. When we interact we pour in our thought about the topic and as we discuss we learn a lot of new things from each other. While working on these two projects, we interacted a lot and I learnt a lot of things. The two projects we worked on were Project 1. Creating Quiz and Project 2. Creating Video Tutorial. We were four in the group - Sonam Choden, Jigme Norbu, Sonam Tenzin and me.

Project 1- Creating quiz was done using Wonder share quiz creator. As I download and went through it showed the different types of questions that we can make. We discussed in groups about the question type and then we divided the questions among ourselves  for a faster result. So we agreed to work on this way- Multiple Choice and multiple response - Sonam Choden, Fill in the blanks and word choice- Sonam Tenzin, Matching, sequence, and click on map questions- Jigme Norbu and True and False and short essay type was done by me.

Creating quiz using this software would be interesting because we can have animations, sound effects to make the quiz fun and enjoyable. The children now a days know a lot of skills using computers so if we can manage some more computers at school then we can also create quiz to conduct end chapter test. The children in our class would also love to do it in a different way. So learning to create a quiz will help me conduct a quiz at my school.


Project 2- Creating a Video Tutorial was another fun activity we did as a group. I downloaded Camtesia Studio 6 and discussed with my friends on wechat. Jigme Norbu explained to us the how we can import videos, add text, transitons to produce a video.

To create the video tutorial we need to plan a lesson which was drafted by Sonam Choden. She shared this on wiki for editing and refining. We did it and divided our parts. We then captured our part and uploaded on drive to be shared to our group members. Though we worked together in groups the last part- producing the video was done by Jigme Norbu. He always shared to us what he was doing, how to do it on wechat and would sometimes call us to tell what he was doing and what we should know. Finally, the video was produced and was submitted for assessment.

While working on Project 2, I got busy whenever Jigme told us to do this and this. I was very much enthusiastic to learn to produce a video because if we can do this we can produce teaching learning materials in videos and animations. The students in the lower classes are very much keen to learn songs and rhymes but the prescribed songs and rhymes do not have video clips. Now I can use whatever I have learnt here to produce video clips to enhance my teaching and learning process. I can also produce my own video tutorials to substitute my own class while I stay on leave.

It is never too late to start, so let us all gear ourselves to move on with this 21st century learners and be able to cater to their needs.

Blogging and Wiki Day VI -10th July

I was very excited to learn about blog and wiki as I have heard people talk about blog pages they have. These are also sites where we can share information to our friends far and near. Once we know one's address on blog, we can access to it from anywhere. It is also an important site as we can post our views and receive comments on our post. It is going to be very useful in our day to day life.

To be able to create a blog, we need to have a gmail account. Then we got to click on google apps and choose blogger. After that make an address and give a blog title. We can then add information into our personal profile. Finally we can write, add videos and images to a post by clicking on to new post. Click publish to appear on our blog page. Click view blog to view our page.

Wiki is another website where we can participate as a group and work on same task/activity. As in blog, we can write, add images and videos and share it with our friends. Wiki site allows not only to comment but also to edit a friend's work. To create a wiki site we need to login to our gmail account and go to google apps. Scroll down to find sites to create the wiki site.Finally create the page by adding a title , friends that we want to share our information.

Learning about all these sites were informative as we get to explore and experiment on our own and in the process we come to learn so many things that we never thought of, so learning is never ending. These sites would be more useful among teachers as we can share information, our experiences, views and opinions on issues and achievements that come our way as we teach and learn everyday.

I would like to share it with friends and ask them to create a blog and a wiki page. We can ask each other our concerns and also share our professional experiences on these site so that we can be of some help and benefit each other in the teaching profession. Lastly I would like to thank our tuotor for his support and guidance.

Co-constructive tools Day IV and V Date - 8th and 9th July

As the session began for today’s lesson I became more interested as I was sure that I was learning a lot from the ICT classes. We were introduced to the Google Apps like Drive, google doc and google form. After each introduction on the apps we were also left to explore on our own, with support from the tutor and friends too. To be able to access to and use these apps we needed an account in gmail. Some of ou friends did not have a gmail account so they were asked to open one to make use of the apps. The following are the google apps that we were taken through during the session.

1.      Google Drive

2.      Google Doc

3.      Google Form

1.      Google Drive

I had some knowledge about this as we were asked to upload files and documents on drive during our 10 day training under the Chigphen Rigphel Project. It is an online drive. It can store documents online. We will be able to access all the files and documents uploaded and saved at all times with an access to internet. The files that are heavy can be uploaded on drive and then shared to our friends.

2.      Google Doc

I thought this is going to be complicated as I have never heard of it but as the tutor took us through his presentation I found out that it was like working on Microsoft word. We can create document, edit and share online. As google drive we access to all documents that we created with an internet access.

3.      Google Form

This app can be used to gather information of a survey in a faster and effective way. We can create survey questionnaire online and then share it to our friends or the stakeholders. The responses are automatically stored in google spreadsheet which can be analyzed easily. It saves a lot of time and resources.

After we are given all these information on google apps , we were then asked to work on creating a questionnaire using form.

Critical Analysis of the topic

The google apps were very important to us. Storing files and documents online can be safe as there are fewer chances of losing or damaging a file or else forgetting at home when needed. We can produce the all the documents at any time if we have uploaded the file on drive and with an access to internet.

Google Doc, as said, is like working on Microsoft word, we can use this app to have a question and answer session in higher grades to assess them at the end of the chapter or the day’s lesson. We can also have activities like word building, word search for English lessons. I have found this app a useful tool that can be used in our class if we are provided the facilities.

Google form is going to be very useful to collect data for conducting survey. I am sure that this app will useful when I pursue my higher studies. I have seen my friends pursuing higher studies conducting survey for researches. They print their questionnaire as move from one place to the other to gather information. Then at the end of the day some friends have such a handwriting that they are not able to read. If we use google form then we can gather information at a faster rate and whatever is written will be clear and readable. The responses will be stored on spreadsheet making it easier for analysis. So I will definitely benefit from whatever I have learnt during my residential school

As a saying goes “Practice makes a man perfect” , so whatever I have learnt today will be remembered and practiced in my day to day teaching and learning process. I am also going to share all these information with my colleagues so that they will also be benefited as I am. Lastly I would like to thank my tutor for his support and guidance.

Day 3 - Web Search Date- 7th July, 2015

Familiarization on Web searching and its benefits was the main focus on today’s lesson. Web searching was looking for information on internet that helps us in particular use.

The popular search engines used today are Google, Bing and Yahoo. The results displayed are typically prioritized by relevance, so those who search the Web can quickly find material that is relevant to their needs. Without a search engine, finding information and resources on the Internet is very difficult, especially when specific servers and domains containing desired information are unknown.

Introduction of Operators when using search engines introduced to us were; 

Boolean Operators are simple words (AND, OR, NOT or AND NOT) used as conjunctions to combine or exclude keywords in a search, resulting in more focused and productive results. This should save time and effort by eliminating inappropriate hits that must be scanned before discarding.

Using AND operators The AND & OR operators are used to filter records based on more than one condition. The AND operator displays a record if both the first condition AND the second condition are true.

Using Truncation

Truncation, also called stemming, is a technique that broadens your search to include various word endings and spellings. To use truncation, enter the root of a word and put the truncation symbol at the end.

• Examples:
  child* = child, childs, children, childrens, childhood
  genetic* = genetic, genetics, genetically
• Truncation symbols may vary by database; common symbols include: *, !, ?, or #

Using  Wildcards:

Similar to truncation, wildcards substitute a symbol for one letter of a word.

• This is useful if a word is spelled in different ways, but still has the same meaning

Using site operators

We were also enhanced on how to carry out complete search omitting the www. and instead adding specified domain. For example, a search for site:bbc.com would encompass not just www.bbc.com, but also news.bbc.com, sports.bbc.com, and so on. The site: search operator works even when just the domain extension (like .com, .org, .gov, or .co.uk) is specified. Thus, we can restrict our search to .com sites with site:com, to .gov sites with site:gov, or to .org.bt.  

Searching by format  

we can restrict our search to Word documents, to Excel documents, to PDF files, or to PowerPoint files by adding filetype:doc, filetype:xls, filetype:pdf, or filetype:ppt, respectively, to your search query.

If we want a PowerPoint presentation on How to integrate ICT in subject  Simply query Google for “Diagonals and Symmetry filetype:ppt”

Towards the end of today’s lesson we were briefed on the benefits of using Google application and Google help centre. Google Books is a Google service that makes discovering book content easier for us on the web.

Day 2 (6th July 2015)

Day 2

What does it mean to teach in the 21^st century?

Teaching in 21^st century was second session took place on 6^th July, 2015 with brief comparison between conventional and contemporary world. The presentation covered numerous features of modern technology for making learner interesting. It also highlighted many of mundane technique still following in 21^st century which becomes totally obsolete.

The students of 21^st century world demands high tech digital facilities. Effectively putting the modern facilities into practice will only gain the attention on the learner of 21^st century otherwise monotonous classroom teaching will gradually thwart the potential student to excel.

Incorporation of ICT will lure the interest of modern student for making effort to learn more knowledge. Such facilities have the capacities to provide opportunities to learn by themselves at the same time enjoy while leaning in due course.

It is obvious that the teachers are now not the main source of information, digital natives can get information from different sources in this digital world. Modern teacher just need to provide tutelage in finding right kind of information and its proper utilities. The kind of spoon feeding information reveled less benefit to develop required skills and values. Student of such kind just clinch to teacher every time for help and lack developing independent.

Delivering content and facts to children of this digital world would become mundane. Children aspire to learn different things engage themselves meaningfully. So, teacher needs to provide the opportunities with pragmatic ICT in order to mesmerize the interest of learner for acquiring knowledge and experiences. However the usage of ICT should be in line with the standard of learner and its virtual practicality. Therefore ICT should be precise and fun loving otherwise it will exploit in wrong ways.

The presentation also explained some of the 21^st century skills. They are as follows:

Ø  Critical Thinking

Ø  Media Literacy

Ø  Communication

Ø  Collaboration

Ø  Information Literacy

Ø  Creativity

The teachers teaching in the 21^st Century should guide and support our children to posses this skills.  The curriculum needs to be designed in such a way that it integrates the 21^st Century skills into the classroom learning. Though such integration of technology, it can really enhance learning however at this juncture many of us are devoid of even basic ICT facilities.   Our current classroom teaching and learning is still at the infancy stage yet we try our best to incorporate ICT to promote as well as to woo the interest of learner.

Just to cite paradigm shift of conventional to modern teaching.  Teachers are the role model and by their incessant action can make difference. In olden days, just merely reading, writing and memorizing. These days, emphases are given more on self learning methods which happens through innovation, practical involvement, exploration, putting knowledge and skills into action for trial an error basis. All this involves using ICT for easy and first accomplishment. Even in our daily teaching at lower class, we include colorings using crayons packs to give insight of developing to share or offer to other friends which is one of the social skills needs to develop from early stage. So this is simple paradigm shift from my perspective.

So, I always promote teamwork whereby students learn skills as they interact with each other. We can also design some lesson using ICT and take children to IT lab to enhance relevant skills. 

ICT for Education

When explaining the ICT for education, we were asked to tell the meaning and definition of ICT. As such, it defines ICT as Information and Communication Technology which compasses of technological tools and resources used to communicate, to create, disseminate, store and manage information. Further we even looked into ICT tools as follows:

Various forms of Information are as below:

Ø  Text

Ø  Audio

Ø  Video

Ø  Graphics

Ø  Flash (multimedia)

Ø  Data-base (students)- is a collection of related information.

Various file format of Information

Ø  Text Files- MS word document

Ø  Data Files- ppt.

Ø  Audio Files- mp3

Ø  Video files- fly

After that we were introduced to teacher sites. Teacher site helps to meet the needs of the teachers. It provides resources, lesson plan and teaching ideas for teachers to refer for enrichment.

Beside the teacher site, the sessions talked about using ICT in education, discussions on various forms and format of Information compatible in line with different software requirements. Every files requires compatible software to support it opening otherwise it will not. All such information is available in teacher sites.  

The session has given lots of ideas on ICT in Education and now I would use it in my teaching though the facilities are limited.

Day 1( 3rd July 2015)

Day 1

The first ICT class began on 3^rd July, 2015 with brief introduction from subject teacher followed by short brain storming session. The focus of brain storming was mainly to find out the participants knowledge, expectations, benefits, importance, setbacks and constraints on ICT related matters. The following are some of the expectations raised from the floors.

ü  Rationale of ICT in education

ü  Benefits of ICT in schools

ü  Developing user friendly teaching learning materials

Shortly after preface session, sir took us through work plan wishing to cover in eighth semester including assessment parts. It was observed quite difficult and hectic at glance. Nonetheless, enthusiasm surged up following eloquent explanation on each sub session. 

The session on digital natives versus digital immigrants was presented taking us through its date of initial inception. The year 1980 onwards were considered digital native and today’s children by virtue falls under this category of high tech-digital user group. Teacher in other hand entails timely update to enable proper guidance on digital natives. The video clip on Digital Natives versus Digital Immigrants was quite informative.

The characteristics of Digital Native Students are as below:

Ø  They receive information very fast

Ø   Multi-tasking all the time

Ø  Prefer visual information over text

This clearly indicates that children of this era are more inclined towards digital usage whereby their congenital developments are parallel to digital advancement.

The Digital Immigrants are over the age of thirty and as they are into the digital world they are trying to adopt many aspects of new technology. It is said that digital immigrants can build the skills with daily practice and use. Some of the characteristics of Digital Immigrants:

·         Controlled release of information

·         Single or focused task

·         Prefer text than graphics

After having watched the video clip, I felt that there exist reasonable gap between Digital natives and digital immigrants. It is paramount to fill the gap when it comes to teaching domains. Digital Immigrants should update on digital advancement for pragmatic utility.

The word “horribly boring” depicts the students are simply inattentive because they find the teachings mundane. To cater digital native students proactively, we need to redefine our teaching and learning process in line with best available high tech ICT facilities. It is obvious that digital native prefer graphics, animation, real objects than fictitious facts and figures. Teaching in the form of audio-visuals needs to come up to fill the gap of digital native student

Incorporating ICT in Teaching and Learning

What a start it was, though not very new but seems a quite challenging to use. The whole of learning computer began in the year 2013. We were taught by the teachers of trainers from other schools. The course was for a stretch of ten days. We were baptized to use ICT in our career. It was a great start……The chiphen Rigphel  funded by NIIT played a prominent role in not only learning for our students but also to the teachers across the kingdom…ever since I joined the DE program ,I was really enthusiastic  about learning the ICT.

Now I know how to use  google apps  for different purpose.

Lastly I would like to extend appreciation to Mr. Chenga Dorji  lecture for his guidance and support during the residential school. Hence I anticipate for the same.

Thank You