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.