How does CoTF promote student-centered learning?

Classroom of The Future (CoTF) is a site in NIE which envisions a time in the future where education is greatly supported by the usage of infocomm technology (ICT) and makes learning a more enriching experience. Education is not limited only in classrooms but also on trains, cafes, at home, etc. It showcases advanced technologies, which enhances and redefines pedagogy to allow more student-centred learning.

 

One of the key devices in CoTF is the Ultra Mobile Personal Computer (UMPC). Instead of students carrying heavy bags containing numerous thick textbooks, they would each be

equipped with a wireless interpersonal learning device, which is the UMPC. This device not only has digital textbooks, but also includes Internet connection and interactive computer games to name a few.

 

In the CoTF tour, we were brought to the café, laboratory, MRT, home and the classroom.

 

Cafe

 

In the café, students are able to relax with their peers and still do their work at the same time. The café has a table which has a computer embedded in it such that the computer screen can be seen on the tables. By putting their UMPCs on allocated places on the table, students can share what is on their screen with their peers as their screen could be reflected on the table screen.

 

Hence students can easily collaborate with their peers in these cafes. They would be able to learn from each other and exchange viewpoints easily. However, I feel that it would be very expensive if all cafes were to have this kind of tables with in-built computers. If they do, then I guess many students would flock to these cafes to relax meet up with their friends to do their schoolwork. However, then that the students might turn out to be a nuisance to the café owners if they stay there for long hours to do their schoolwork but only buy e.g. a cup of coffee.

 

Laboratory

 

With the UMPC, students can easily go online to book a science laboratory to carry out their experiment. Teachers do not necessarily have to be present during these experiments as students as they can easily communicate with their teachers via video-conferencing.

 

Aside from communicating via video conferencing with their teachers and classmates, it is envisioned that there would be an online database of content experts whom students are able to communicate with. They could also video-conference with students from other countries, regardless of the language used as the UMPC has a tool which could translate foreign language to English immediately in a computer simulated voice. This is an extremely valuable tool because students are able to learn from their peers from other countries and gain a wider perspective when they interact with them.

On top of that, students would also be able to see for themselves what are on the screens of the people whom they vide-conference with. Thus they would be able to understand what the other party is referring to if he/she is able to show it on the screen.

 

Thus students would feel a sense of meaning in their educational activity as they have a real-life experience communicating with experts and people from other countries. Students will hence generate a greater interest in their work as they are the ones playing a major role in their own education by actively searching for knowledge.

 

MRT

 

In the MRT, should you fancy the design of a poster, you can easily swipe your UMPC and the poster will be downloaded into it. On top of that if the poster is regarding a concert performance etc, some songs can even be downloaded as well.

 

I guess it is useful as students can download posters and songs in such a short time but even now they can do it at home. In addition, it would be expensive if all trains were to be fitted with such technologies.

 

Home

 

TV can also act as a channel whereby students are able to interact with their classmates and teachers. Teachers can leave messages to their students to remind them of their homework etc.

 

Most children nowadays like to play computer games. In CoTF, these computer games can be integrated with learning as well and make learning very fun and engaging. Students can play the game with their friends from other schools or even other countries using a multi-user virtual environment. The games featured would be related to what is being studied, for example, in a shooting game, the students are able to learn about the trajectory curve etc. Hence, students not only have fun but also learn at the same time. This is good because students can visualize how the knowledge that they learn applies in real life. Hence they would be able to see meaning in the learning.

 

Classroom

 

Teachers can take attendance of their students when students place their UMPC on a radio frequency identification device. But this I feel is not necessary because the teacher can just ask the class representative to inform her if all students are present.

 

The classrooms also had tables with a computer screen embedded in it such that students in one group would be able to share a computer screen. They could even write on the screen using digital inking. Whatever is on their computer screen can be showcased to the rest of the class and hence students can easily share information or their thoughts during the lesson.

 

On top of that, students can do an MCQ test in their UMPC and the test results of the class could be computed instantaneously. Thus, teachers would be able to gauge how much their students have learnt during the lesson and go through the question immediately after they have done the test. However, I feel doing an MCQ test does not fit in with the student-centred learning environment that the CoTF is aiming for because teachers would not be able to see why students go wrong and how they derive the answer.

 

The classroom also had interactive walls whereby teachers could put up certain backdrops to introduce topics to students. Hence the classroom environment would be constantly “changing” and I feel students would be more interested in what they are learning.

 

Thus I feel the classroom setting is quite student centred because students can easily interact with their classmates without having to make destructive noise during lessons via their UMPC. However, there is also a danger that this technology could be abused e.g. students not discussing about the subject content but instead are telling about their personal stories. Hence I feel it is good that teachers are able to see all the students’ screens on the class screen so that he/she would be able to know what each student is doing and how he/she is coping without having to walk around the class.

  

In the CoTF, students will be in-charge of their own knowledge and teachers will act as facilitators, guiding them in their pursuit of knowledge. This is in line with student-centred-learning whereby students research independently for their own information and do not depend on their teachers to spoon-feed them. Hence, students are not restricted to their textbooks as they are encouraged to take initiative to use various resources such as internet, online encyclopedias, books etc to find out more information regarding a particular topic. This allows them to practice their analyzing and decision-making skills, as they would have to choose and select which information they think are more reliable. Hence, they are able to construct their own knowledge from what they have researched on.

 

Lastly, today’s students are very technologically advanced. Hence, ICT should be adopted to support education, as the use of technology, such as computers, are real world tools and are relevant in the future. These tools are applicable in the working world and teachers should prepare students so that they would be familiar with the tools.

 

Visual Design Critique

Slide 1: 

Strength:

• Font size is appropriate for visibility as the heading is size 40 and the smallest font is size 24. As mentioned, minimum font size for slide presentation should be 24 (Wong & Cheung, 1999).
• Good choice of colour as it contrasts with the background hence can easily be read.
• The audio, which instructs the students, was clear and concise.

Areas of Improvement:

• There are more than two font types which could result in disharmony. Wong & Cheung recommended no more than two type of fonts in a single slide (Wong & Cheung, 1999).
• The picture serves more as a distraction than as an educational purpose
• The supposedly audio sounds of frogs was not, hence it might confuse students. The correct audio should be put up.

 Slide 2: 

Strength:

• The heading as it is short, was put in all capital letters.
• Font size of overall slide was visible.
• Font colour was appropriate as it contrast the background.
• The main point in the text, i.e. amphibians, was bold hence students would know that this word is of importance.
• Visual, i.e. picture of frog, used is related to the topic of discussion thus for students who have never seen a frog in real-life before they are better able to visualize it.

Areas of Improvement:

• The text animation when each word comes out one by one is very distracting. It would be better if each point appears together instead of one by one or if there wasn’t any text animation at all.
• Sound effect that accompanies the text and the music is distracting.
• The spacing between the third and last point was too close such that it seems as if it were one point instead of two.
• Alignment of the pictures could confuse students because one picture was on the left and the other on the right, hence the part of the text started on the right while another part started on the right.
• Also, alignment of the text is centered, which is quite confusing. It would be better if all of the words were aligned left.

 Slide 3: 

Strength:

• Graphic and text are arranged in a circle (which is a familiar shape for students) with arrows to show the life cycle of a frog. In this way, students are better able to visualize the life cycle.
• Graphics are used to display how eggs, tadpoles and adult frogs look. This benefits visual learners.

Areas of Improvement:

• The text, which is quite long i.e has more than six words, is in capital letters, which makes it hard to read.
• The words in the cycle, in particular adult frog, are not the same colour as the rest, which could create distraction.
• The words in the life cycle are also too small, with a font size of 16.
• Students might find the music distracting and hence not focus on the slide.

 Slide 4: 

Strength:

• Picture of eggs beside the heading allows some visualization
• Font used for the heading and main text was appropriate as it was big enough and the colour was contrasting.

Areas of Improvement:

• Animation at the start of the slide is distracting as students would likely focus on it instead of the letters. A suggestion is to only show the animation at the end of the slide after the teacher has finished explaining the slide.
• The text animation is also extremely irritating (and personally for me gives me a headache) as the letters is “typed” one by one.
• Again, the texts are not aligned properly as some are further to the right.
• The picture of the tadpole and young frog also serves no educational purpose in slide 4 because the slide is just explaining about eggs.

 Slide 5: 

Strength:

• The picture allows students to visualize how the frog will look like at each stage.
• The text animation is appropriate as all the text for each point appears at the same time.
• Alignment of the text is orderly. 

Areas of Improvement:

• The text seems to be too chunky and the slide has too many lines of text. It is recommended that for each slide, the maximum number of lines is eight (Wong & Cheung, 1999)
• The text is also quite small, with a font size of 18, instead of the minimum 24.
• The action button is now at the top instead of the side. This is not uniform to the rest of the slides where the action button was at the side. Also, having action button at the top could be distracting.

 Slide 6: 

Strength:

• Text alignment is again orderly with pictures on the left and text beside it.
• Each point is put in bullet form instead of chunks of paragraph 

Areas of Improvement:

• Each point seems too wordy. It would be better if the points are more concise.
• Again, the pictures at the bottom serve more of a distraction because it doesn’t relate to the slide.
• The words of the text also appears one by one which makes it harder to read.

Managing ICT-enhanced environments

a. Do you think the classroom environment chosen is appropriate for the learning activities? Explain why.

Full lab:

The classroom environment was air-conditioned, quiet and conducive. I feel it is an appropriate environment for individual learning because students are less distracted and hence are able to concentrate better during lessons.

Half lab:

The classroom environment was air-conditioned and conducive. It is also an appropriate environment for students to learn together and share ideas.

Learning centres:

I feel the science laboratory was appropriate to be used as a setting for learning centres because the science laboratory was quite spacious and the tables were arranged neatly hence students were able to seat in their groups and discuss and when it was time to move to the other learning centre, they could do so without much difficulty. Also, the science laboratory is probably quite noisy due to noise coming from outside the laboratory itself, but the teacher overcame it by using a microphone so that all her students are able to listen to her instructions.

One computer classroom:

The classroom was enclosed and hence even with all the cheering, the noise was maintained within the class. Thus I feel it was appropriate.

b. The students seem to be focused and on task. What strategies do you think the teacher has used to achieve this outcome?

Full lab:

The teacher assigned seats to students hence establishing order in the class because probably they are not in their cliques and are thus less easily distracted.

He assigned leaders to each row to do tasks such as collecting and returning the CD Roms. This ensured that only limited students came to the front at the same time and collected and returned their CDs in an orderly manner instead of everyone doing it at the same time. It also saves time as the ones who had to collect and return the CDs were the ones at the side, nearer to the collection point.

He also made use of coloured cups so that his students can get his attention. Hence, should there be any problem, they do not have to disrupt the class by shouting out for their teacher, instead they can do it quietly.

In addition, he dimmed the lights to get his students’ attention. This is a good strategy because he can get their attention without having to make noise as students might not be able to hear him as they are using headphones to listen to the CD Rom.

He also had an appointed IT representative to assist him in doing minor troubleshooting. Hence, his time can instead be focused on more major issues e.g. helping students who are weaker in their studies and are lagging.

Lastly, all the students had their own individual computers to work with hence individula learning is practised. Students are able to learn at their own pace. Students who are weaker are able to repeat the activity if they wish and those who have less difficulty are able to go on to more challenging activities.

Half lab:

Team teaching was practised hence they are able to gather their resources to help students appreciate the subject better.

One teacher prepares the class materials in the half-lab with the help of the TA, while the other teacher handles the class and gives clear instructions to the students regarding their seating arrangement. Hence, this prevents students from behaving disorderly in the laboratory in their bid to choose a computer. Also, their CD Roms are already made available beside their computer thus they do not have to collect it from their teacher. This also is a good practise as students do not have to waste time collecting it.

Students were also provided with a navigation guide hence less problems regarding how to use the CD Roms wil arise, allowing the teachers to effectively monitor the students’ progress.

Students were also put in pairs to share a computer. Hence, they are able to learn together and discuss with each other, which could lead to a greater understanding as compared to if they do individual learning.

Furthermore, students were assigned roles for pairs. Hence, they would not overlap what each is doing and they could just share what is being recorded. Since there are two teachers, they could help students with difficulties in a shorter time and less students would be kept waiting.

Learning centres:

The teacher grouped her students before the start of the lesson and she brought her students in group by group to their assigned seats hence avoiding a situation where students are in a disorderly manner looking for their seats.

She planned her lessons such that students are exposed to different ways of exploring the subject via the learning centres, hence enabling students to get different perspectives. This is commendable as different pupils have different learning styles and it also made the lesson more interesting hence students are more likely to put in more effort during lesson.

She gave each group clear instructions on what they were expected to do. The first group were to discuss and answer the questions. This allowed students to exchange their views and hence create a deeper understanding of the subject matter. The second group was to use the CD Rom provided and just look through the basics to fill in the worksheet.

She also assigned a group leader to take responsible of the group.

Also, she planned activities which took the same amount of time. Thus it was fair for students from both groups and also, most likely they would finish their work at about the same time.

In addition, she gave the students a time check by announcing five minutes before they had to rotate to another learning centre. Thus, students could quickly finish up what they were required to do and also prepare the students mentally that they were about to change places.

One computer classroom:

The teacher made the lesson interactive as it appeared to be in the form of a competitive game and this seemed to capture the students’ attention. She also made them go into their groups and they did quite efficiently, suggesting that the groups were already assigned beforehand.

She got an IT rep to help her set up the computer. Thus, she won’t have to spend time setting it up herself and could instead focus more attention on her students.

She also briefly told them what was expected of them e.g. not to talk when others are presenting their answers and only cheer when it is the appropriate time etc. Hence students learn to respect each other anc gave their full attention to the presenters.

Also when the group leaders were told to come to the front of the class, the rest of the students were not kept idle but were also included, whereby they had to chant the word “scissors paper stone” loudly then see who won. I feel this kind of competitive games will make the students more interested in the lesson as everyone has a competitive nature and would desire to win.

All students were actively engaged in the lesson and team spirit was strong. They even had a team cheer. This created a sense of belonging to the group and most likely encourage students to pay more attention to the lesson as they wanted to “win” the game.In addition, she let her students choose which category they wanted to go through and when she assigned them homework she also allowed them to choose seven words from the pyramid for hoework. Hence it gives students to a sense of ownership as they have a choice and say over what they prefer thus they would probably be more willing to participate in class and do their homework.

c. What potential classroom management issues can possibly occur? What proposed solution(s) do you have?

Full lab:

If there are too many students who put red cups on their computers, the teacher and the IT representative would not be able to handle all of them effectively as others will be kept waiting.

Also, it is harder for the teacher to know whether the student is facing a minor troubleshooting problem or if the student is facing difficulty understanding the subject. In addition, I feel that it is unneccesary to put the blue cups on the computer if they don’t have any problems because the teacher might just overlook a red cup among the many blue cups. Hence, I propose that cups not to be placed on the computer at the start of the lesson but only if they face any problem.

Also instead of using the blue cup as indicating ‘no problem’, it can instead be used to mean ‘I have difficulty understanding the math activity’. Hence the teacher is able to focus his attention on students who need guidance in understanding. He could also encourage students to help their peers who are seated beside them if they experience trouble with the activity. This will help to ensure that the teacher is able to cope with the demands of the class.

In addition, he could rope in the help of the IT laboratory technician to help him should there be any major troubleshooting problems, instead of the IT representative from the class as the IT representative himself is a student and would need the time to learn the materials instead of going around helping his classmates troubleshoot. Also, since the IT laboratory technician is a professional in his field, he probably would be able to solve the matter faster and more efficiently.

Half lab:

The noise level of the class might be high as the students discuss among themselves. Also, with discussion, the students might take a longer time to complete the activity, thus I propose that the students be given a timeline so that they know that by a certain time frame they should have completed which activities. Hence they are able to manage their time better. 

Also, it might monotonous for students if they stick to their assigned roles hence I feel it would be better if the students take turns and switch roles for different parts of the activity so that they have a feel of both navigating the CD Rom and recording information. 

Moreover, the activity of just recording information does not seem to stretch students’ capability to think. It could be better improved if they also had to answer higher order thinking questions and they can discuss it with their partners to exchange views. 

Learning centres: 

The teacher did not specify at the start of the lesson at what time the students would rotate to the other learning center. Thus students were not able to estimate how much time they should spend on each question. This might cause some students to take too much time doing the first few questions and not being able to complete the worksheet. 

One computer classroom: 

Students might get too rowdy during the “game”. Thus the teacher could probably introduce a way to capture her student’s attention e.g. like in the full lab scenario whereby the teacher dim the lights.

How student-centred was the lesson?

Teacher roles (score: 7 )

Daphne gained the students’ interest by putting the assignment across as fun and interesting, hence it could have made her students more excited to do the project and put in extra effort.

She gave students who were Secret Agents instructions on where they can find more information from, i.e. books and internet. However, I feel she should not restrict her students to just those sources. She should allow her students to be creative and resourceful as they might be able to find information from other sources as well e.g. interviews, documentary shows, etc.

She also made her students represent the information in three different ways i.e. mindmap, point form details in powerpoint and a report. This is a good way to expose her students to different ways of expressing information.

Daphne did not give them specific information but instead gave guidelines to her students on what she expected them to input in the content of their project, e.g. problem, causes, effects, etc. Hence providing a platform for the students to start work on. In doing so, she also ensure that her students are still learning relevant information which are required in the curriculum and at the same time they are taking charge of their own learning.

 Daphne provided her students with general instructions on how to use the Inspiration software to do mind-mapping during the first lesson but did not explain clearly how to organise their information.

Daphne also made time for formal social interaction for the students to discuss about what has been presented. She monitored her students’ discussion and intervented when she felt that most of them were asking “what” questions. Hence, she guided her students to ask more higher order questions to facilitate their understanding.

She also allowed students to express their views and opinions freely and at the same time comply to the lesson. However, as different opinions and questions were brought forward at the same time, it could be quite confusing for students as there could be too much information in a short time for them to handle such that some questions might not be answered. During the second lesson however, peer teaching was implemented and opinions could be discussed in more in-depth  as students aired their views face-to-face, which allowed for better clarity of views and students did not have to handle too many questions at the same time.

Time management skills are important. I feel that Daphne tried to squeeze in too many activities in her lesson such that not all her students are doing the activities when she asked them to. However, in her second lesson, she limited the class activities such that the online poll and learning point were homework.

Student roles (score: 8 )

Secret Agents had to carry out their own research in their pursuit for knowledge. Since the internet has lots of information from various sources, students have to be critical of what they research on and ensure that the information come from reliable sources. Hence, students are able to take-charge of what they learn as they are able to reject any source which they deemed as unreliable and include information which they feel meaningful.

When the students had to put together a powerpoint presentation, they would have had an informal discussion by providing feedback to each other and exchanging opinions. Hence, they would have a greater understanding of the content as they have been exposed to many different views and suggestions from their group mates.

They would also have to analyse and organise their information before including it in the powerpoint. This can only be achieved through a deeper understanding on the subject matter.

Secret Agents are required to present and share their findings in the class, hence students who are listening to the presentation are exposed to new ideas and information.

Students acting as World Budget Committee were required to listen carefully to what their classmates presented as they had to take down the information in the mindmap. It is good that the students did pair work hence they had to collaborate with each other to get their job done. However, in this scenario there is a possibility that only one student from each pair is actually actively learning and listening while the other just passively jots the information. It might be better if all students were made to listen and jot them down.Students also built on their own understanding by asking critical questions to the presenters. They can then share their opinions and ideas and in doing so, they reflect on their work and create a deeper understanding of the topic itself. Students then had to practise their decision-making skills and reflect upon what they had learnt during the lesson.

Curriculum characteristics (score: 8 )

The curriculum is being followed as the teacher has crafted a framework for her students to research on, hence allowing students to be creative but also adhere to the syllabus.

 At the same time, the teacher has integrated the usage of IT in her lessons by instructing the students to research for materials on the internet, doing a powerpoint presentation, using the Inspiration software to do mind-mapping, online forum to do active discussion and the online poll to decide on which issue they supported.

Learning goals (score: 7 )

The teacher ensured that her students learnt what was required in the syllabus and at the same time were not restricted by it.

Students who acted as Secret Agents were also treated as individual learners as they had to do their own research. 

The students also picked up analytical skills especially when they did the research on the internet as they had to decide on which information to pursue on and which not to.

Students also learnt about teamwork as they had to work in groups to do their powerpoint presentation and pairs, on the mind-mapping tool.

 Students also learnt to decide which issue they felt was more important and give reasons for it, hence students had to reflect upon the discussion.

Types of activities (score: 8 )

Students had to do research on books and internet to find out more on their topics. This is proceeded by informal group discussion among themselves and a formal powerpoint presentation. They also had to take down notes in the form of mindmap. Then there was a formal class discussion where students exchanged views and ideas. Lastly, they had to decide which issue they supported and justify their decision. Also, they had to reflect on what they learnt during the lesson.

Assessment strategies (score: 6 )

Students had to do an online poll on which issue they supported on and they were required to use the decision making template to help them decide. However, I feel that due to short of time, some students might not make use of the decision making template fully and just picked one issue without thinking deeper. Maybe she could ask them to pick one issue via the online poll and justify their reasons convincingly online as well.

Use of ICT (score: 8 )

ICT was greatly incorporated in the lessons.

Internet was used to research on information needed. Powerpoint allowed for visual and creative expression on what they learnt and also showed how students categorised their information.

The mindmapping software used exposed students to a different way on how they could categorise their information as another form of learning tool.

Online discussion forum allowed students to express their opinions and ideas freely. In the first lesson however, the online forum was not used to its maximum potential as students were short of time to reflect on what was being presented and some seemed to not understand the question asked. and online polls.

Overall, I felt that this lesson was very engaging as it had an interesting start with different roles and responsibilities appointed to students, hence encouraging them to take their work more seriously.

The use of ICT was widely implemented which would be very useful in the future as they are more exposed and comfortable to use IT in their daily lives.

However, time management skills seem to be lacking in this lesson as the students were expected to carry out so many activities in a short frame of time, which might not allow students to think deeper of the topic discussed. The activities could instead be spaced out so that students could organise their information and actively participate in a constructive discussion before making a decision. 

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