Reflection

This blog has tracked the learning progress made on my PCET - ICT module. It has also been a place to note thoughts and observations on teaching and learning along the way.  ICT has a huge impact on teaching and learning, and is invaluable for both teachers and students.

Fish love technology (photo: my own)

Planning, Teaching and Assessment

Developing lesson plans and teaching materials using ICT not only makes the materials easy to transport, but easier to edit, update and share.  The internet is also a valuable resource for research - not only webpages, but also online journals, newspapers, academic papers, and E-books. ICT is integral for keeping records.  Many universities today operate with digital registers which can automatically flag up continuous absentees.  For my own role in student services, I provide different services to fit in with the students' needs.  These include one-to-one study skills support/tuition; support mentoring and guidance; note-taking, and practical support providing.  These roles are all paid slightly differently, so keeping a spreadsheet that automatically calculates how much I get paid based on a pre-embedded formula, helps me keep on track of my finances (see blog post 'Microsoft and Me').  I also keep the students' details on a Google Drive spreadsheet, so I can access it on any device, wherever I am.

I love record keeping

         

Teaching using technology adds some interactivity to the class, allows differentiation, and gets the students engaged. See blog post 'How Technology Has Changed the Way We Learn'.

Gone are the days of the red pen for assessment.  Today, turnitn; video recordings, questionnaires, quizzes and even video games can be used as tools for assessment.

Learning Experience

Evidence has shown that learners benefit from using multimedia tools to enhance their learning.  See blog post 'The Value of Mobile Technology in Teaching and Learning'. Using different technologies can aid differentiation and inclusion, as well being fun to use.  With the amount of potential technological learning tools available, there is room for variability and continued interest in lessons. Technology also provides more access to education, particularly for adults who may not be able to attend a traditional college or university.  With online courses, podcasts and various apps that focus on learning (see blog post 'Mobile Technology and Learning') adults have more options than ever to develop their skills and further their academic interests. 

Technology in the First Romanian School; Brasov, Romania - chalk and slate, abacus. (Photo: my own)

Word Bibliography

Today I attended a Word Functions workshop to find out how to create a bibliography on Word, using the referencing function.  I have known about this function for a while but never bothered to look at it.  I thought it was only really useful to people who struggled to reference correctly.  I know how to reference.  It's not hard to type the references up - I do it as I go along whenever I'm writing an essay.  I know the alphabet so putting the bibliography in the correct order isn't a problem.  So why would I need this little helper when I can do it perfectly well myself?

Now that I work as a student support mentor and a specialist support tutor, I thought it was about time I learned about the bibliography function so I can pass it on to students who aren't so familiar with referencing.  Oh boy, what have I been doing typing up all those references this whole time?! Admittedly the function was not available when I first started my undergraduate degree (I believe it has been around since 2007), but all that time spent on typing up the references for my MA, articles I've written and short courses I've taken in the last few years - wasted!  The bibliography and citation functions are great tools, even for those who are good at referencing.  Students - get on it immediately!

Fish don't really need to know about referencing.  But for everyone else, let Microsoft Word create your bibliography for you...
(photo: my own)

Using headings to simply create a contents page is another invaluable function on Word.  Again, this is not something I used for my degree until I wrote my dissertation...

...thank goodness I discovered it before writing my dissertation :-o