9 c infusing dynamism in te-fatima co_e

Infusing Dynamism in Teacher Education through ICT Integration

Teaching by Example and Involvement: Best Practice for SuccessfulTechnology Integration in Teacher Education

Fatima College of EducationTelugu Chinnappa

The Institution

The Fatima College of Education is a Christian minority institution permanently affiliated to the KakatiyaUniversity. The institution was established in 1988 and the present batch is the 19th batch and themajority of the students come from rural and poor social ,educational and economic background.

The college building is very spacious and conducive for teaching and learning. The institution possessesall the facilities that are required for a standard college of education such as a very beautiful auditoriumwith modern equipment, three laboratories, a very huge and prolific library, and a big playground. Thereis a spacious and well equipped computer lab with 21 computers, Internet facility, LCD projectors, alaptop, two printers, one web camera, one digital camera and two CD writers. The administrative officeof the college is also well equipped with computer facilities.

There are 16 teaching staff including the Principal. Most of the faculty members have undergone thetraining provided by Intel Teach Program on ICT, and proactively use ICTs in teaching-learning.

Objective of the Practice

To make the teaching learning process more vibrant, effective and comprehensive through useof ICTs is the main objective of the practice.

Implementation of the Practice

The Institution is known for its lofty standards. It does not compromise with any aspect of quality. In orderto improve on quality of the teaching learning process, all the faculty members are driven towards usingICT at all levels in the classroom, in the project preparation and practice teaching in the schools. A fewof these are detailed below:

Extra Time and Extra Hours

There are seven subjects in the curriculum that are compulsory for all in theory. Each subject carries100 marks. “Computer Education and Educational Technology ” is the third paper, and shares equalmarks. The stipulated time allotted is three periods per week. This time is hardly sufficient to deal withthe theory part alone. Then the question of practical computer knowledge arises. Working on computersbecomes very difficult in this scenario. In order to come out of the situation, we have a practical solution.The regular classes commence at 9 a.m. everyday. But special computer lab practical hours are

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Infusing Dynamism in Teacher Education through ICT Integration:


allotted to all the students. The students are divided into four equal groups. They work in the computerlab in the morning and evening, i.e., one hour before and after the regular classes, as per the specialtime table given to them. In this way each student gets access to the computers regularly and becomesfamiliar with working on the system.

Classroom Transactions

It was decided in the Staff Meeting that all the lecturers must transact at least few classes in their ownsubjects using ICT. Following the decision the staff used the computers and the LCD projector for thetransaction and have reached a stage where they feel it is a handicap in the absence of these ICTs.This practice is very successful and appreciated by all.

It is also acknowledged that the implementation of the practice needs a lot of patience and time on thepart of the teacher educators to prepare a model lesson, but this effort results in a great impact. As it isappreciated by students and teachers alike , it was felt by everyone that this practice should be adoptedacross all disciplines as it improves the quality of teaching and learning. Teacher trainees really broadentheir vision of teaching learning scenarios. Teachers extensively use the Internet, gather a lot ofinformation from the web , use the downloaded materials to make the concepts very vivid, allowingbetter and easy understanding of the concepts etc. The difference between the classes with technologyintegration and without can be clearly demarcated.

Classes with technology integration have attracted the attention of all categories of students, increasedthe attendance and performance of the students as they learn better. ICT integration has also led to anincrease in the interaction between the teachers and students as students raised more doubts andasked more questions. With the subject matter taught in a more elaborate way, the concept taught getsembedded deeper in the minds of the students. The knowledge is established more firmly and is longlasting. In fact, it also made the work of the teacher more easy and effective as the class becomes moreinteresting and provides rich experiences to the learners as the teachers use the latest information andtransacts through dynamic presentations using ICTs.

Students Practice

We drive all the students invariably towards the current trends in the teaching learning scenario. Realizingthe importance of computers and other ICTs in the way we teach, in the way we learn and do things, wethrive to motivate the teacher trainees to initiate themselves into the integration of ICT in the teachinglearning process. For this the use of ICT is made a compulsory activity for all the students and they areclosely monitored and evaluated from time to time. Further, the following activities adopted at theinstitution have positively influenced the students in changing their attitude to use of ICTs:

Selected Few: This is an interesting, easy and effective practice that could be adapted by all. Thechoice is given to the students to take up and present any lesson of their choice according to their

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convenience. They choose the lesson, but need to take care that it should be transacted essentiallywith the use of ICT. For this, they need to spend time on the computers, browse the Internet, collectsufficient material, analyze the material, select the material relevant to them, organize them properly ina logical and interesting manner before finalizing their modalities for transaction. As the whole projectis guided and supervised by the concerned lecturer, the teacher educators also have to be updated inthese issues, and thus, they also upgrade themselves from time to time. It can be reused by others bymodifying the presentation according to the need. This is compiled as a repository of materials whichcan even be made available to the schools at a later stage.

Project Work: In the present B. Ed curriculum, there are seven practicum projects containing 40internal marks each. Some projects are to be done in groups and the others individually. The criteria tocollect the data are to link or browse the Internet. It is also made very clear that marks are allotteddepending upon the level of ICT adapted. This practice has helped in making the students work moreon the internet and gather better information to fare well in their project. As it is a group work, all thestudents must work together and showcase it in front of the jury as a group. There is a tendency thatthose proficient with ICTs work and others watch. To avoid such a situation and ensure that each oneis involved, students proficient in Internet use are entrusted with the responsibility to guide and helpstudents who are not familiar with the Internet .This makes students to work together, learn from oneanother, co-operate and share material and technology with each other. It is not just learning thesubject alone, but also developing an attitude towards new ways and means of doing things which isachieved through this approach. The most important thing is that students recognize and appreciatethe importance of ICTs and their use in the teaching learning process. This is what makes a differencein the quality of the teaching.

Computer Project: Apart from the projects mentioned above, there is a special project the “ComputerEducation Project”, which is a compulsory project with a weightage of 40 marks, to be completed byindividual students. For the project work, the students are allotted different lessons and different worksto be done such as preparing lesson plans, blue prints, graphs, maps, charts, pictures and so on. Oncompletion the students present the project work in both hard and soft copy. This practice helps thestudents to optimally utilise time and resources by selective browsing, improving their speed on thekeyboard, selecting appropriate software etc. It is not enough to just present the project work butstudents also have to provide the sources of information used by them and their ICT skills.

Computer Education Practical Exam

Yet another component of the curriculum using ICTs is the evaluation of the ICT skills acquired bystudents. At the end of the course, a practical examination (in computers) is conducted by the Universityfor 50 marks. In this, the trainees are evaluated for their abilities in using computer technology in theteaching learning process. The more they are in tune to ICT use, the better they are ranked. Thismakes students get involved intensely with the ICTs.

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Resources Required

The resources required are trained teacher educators with a positive attitude towards technology, wellequipped computer labs, access to the Internet and computers, ICT friendly classrooms, LCD, DVD,TV and other facilities for use in classroom teaching and presentation devices. As in the case of anynew systems introduced, sufficient finances for deployment and maintenance of technology is a verycrucial resource.

Challenges Faced and Solutions Devised

It is indeed a tough task to provide all the students with individual computer facilities. The managementis striving hard to do the needful within the existing financial limitations. As we need more systems toimplement total ICT integration and have severe financial constraints, we have planned incrementaldeployment of technology by altering priorities and diverting certain funds for technology deployment.Thus, a provision has been made in the annual budget for upgrading the computer lab. Last year anLCD projector and laptop were purchased. This year the Internet facility has been provided. We areexpecting improvements year after year. Through proper planning of available resources, we areconfident that we can achieve our targets.

The B. Ed. course is a short duration compact course. It runs for a period of 9-10 months only. There isvery little time allotted in the time table for computer learning and related activities. Using computers inthe class room situation in such tightly scheduled time table has been one of the major challenges.However, by making use of the extra time our students could overcome this difficulty.

Irregular power supply and lack of back up facilities has made it very difficult for students to completetheir work as scheduled. Though the institution is not in a position to provide the facility immediately, themanagement has realized the seriousness and are trying to divert a certain budget for creating thefacility. We are positive that we can overcome this challenge as well.

Many of the students enrolled for the B. Ed. program are computer illiterate and most of them have noteven have touched a computer, whereas some of them are well versed with the use of computers. Withsuch a mixed group of students having two extreme skill levels, providing training has been a majorchallenge. The only solution was to expose the weaker students to the computers as much as possibleand give them more time for self learning. Since it is a compulsory subject, and the students have noother options but to learn it within the time limit. Providing opportunity and motivation certainly fetchedgood results and most of the computer illiterate students became well versed with computers by theend of the program.

Impact/Outcome

ICT has many advantages in the teaching learning process. Some of the outcomes of the practicesdetailed above are specified below:

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l Improved quality of the teaching learning process: Though initially the preparation of a lessonbased on ICT was difficult, over time it became an essential tool for the effective delivery of content.It helped the student teacher to organize content and present it with sufficient clarity.

l Improved student experiences: ICT plays an important role in providing improved experiencesthrough the use of computers, audio and video equipment. Exposure to video clippings with reallife situations, for example, has improved student learning considerably.

l Self-learning: When student-teachers were introduced to ICTs, they started using it to exploremore information on the subject and this quest led to self learning, and self expression wasenhanced.

l Content could be dealt with comprehensively: Things are changing rapidly. The student-teachersuse the Internet and keep abreast of new inventions and theories and immediately incorporatethem into their lessons. This makes the content more relevant.

l Appropriate methods are adopted: ICT leads to adaptation of child centric methods in the teachinglearning process and develops critical thinking.

l Evolves scientific temperament in the students: With the right reasoning process, the studentsmake choices: selecting information, segregating it and also in the choice of the appropriate ICTs.Also, ICTs help the students’ inquisitiveness and their research attitudes get strengthened. Thusthe benefits of ICT integration and use include :

l Broadens the outlook, self motivation towards learning.

l Makes teaching learning interesting.

l Access to a sea of knowledge and information.

l Activity based learning leading to development in all spheres.

l Improved communication channels resulting in a healthy teacher student relationship.

l Conventional methods are replaced by the modern learner centric methods.

l Develops the confidence level of the teacher and the student. the teacher is confidentbecause he has a strong base and a mastery over the subject matter. The pupil becomesconfident as the method itself compels him to participate completely and give out the besthe/she possess within.

Overall, the use of ICTs removes monotony and makes the teaching learning process very active andeffective.




Requirements for Adoption and Adaptation

All the developed countries have moved far ahead in all the fields, by making the use of ICT in theeducational system. As it is said, “Better late than never”. Let us not compare with the other nations andlag further behind. Let everyone, every institution make it a point to make the teaching learning processmore vibrant, effective and comprehensive with the help of ICT which is available at the door step at amarginal cost. It is already high time for the Government to look into this particular area and bring outnecessary changes to channellize the funds in a way that makes the whole educational system emergewith a new look under the vibrant currents of ICT.

As the laptop and Internet facility is available to most of the institutions, it has helped the faculty to makeuse of their leisure time more meaningfully and usefully. Good computer labs, Internet access, audiovisualequipment and ICT friendly, trained faculty are the wealth of every institution. Proper planning of thebudget with priority allocation for maintenance and deployment of technology has a greater impact.

Education plays a very vital role in shaping the destiny of any nation. Hence it is necessary that theeducational system in the country should be modified according to the times and needs.

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