EDWARD'S 👨‍💻🖨️ CCTI PROJECT

In this section of my learning, I have broadly realised - building from my background knowledge as an educator - that there are no proven methods of educating people to be producers of knowledge. Knowledge creators of the past have been too few and too exceptional in their talents to provide much basis for educational planning. In what is coming to be called the “knowledge age,” the health and wealth of societies depends increasingly on their capacity to innovate. People in general, not just a specialized elite, need to work creatively with knowledge.  Knowledge is socially constructed, and best supported through collaborations designed so that participants share knowledge and tackle projects that incorporate features of adult teamwork, real-world content, and use of varied information sources. This is the most widely supported approach at present, especially with regard to the use of information technology. Knowledge building provides an alternative that more directly add...

Learner engagement is key for effective learning to take place. Learners are engaged not only when we see participation, activity, use of a piece of technology here and there but when, after evaluation of the engagement process, we are able to note without reason to doubt that there is: Creativity; critical thinking which generates new ideas and opinions/questions; application of knowledge to solve real problems in the local and global communities; collaboration between learners to create new and relevant content using a series of platforms e.g. google docs; ability of the learner to evaluate themselves in a series of tasks that the teacher gives from time to time. To mention but afew. These and a lot more can be used gauge effectiveness of learner engagement. Much as presence of technology in a lesson in itself is not proof of learner engagement, the role of technology in ensuring learner engagement cannot be down played. Phones have been used by teachers to engage learners throu...

ENGAGEMENT

My view about innovative teaching is revolutionizing and very quickly. The exposure I got from the first part of course 5 was one that gave me a glimpse of what was in store as regards teaching with innovation and now that I have completed 5.2.3, I consider myself to be, to  a greater extent, ready for my next innovative lesson. In talking about innovation, I now see that it is about allowing the learners to freely learn in social groups created either virtual or physical and facilitating them with guidelines that enable them to create knowledge on their own as they go about with pre-designed tasks. This kind of collaboration exploits learners creativity abilities and has lead to results we had never imagined would ever be realised. In engaging learners in these tasks they are prompted to critically think - another skill - and come with solutions to the challenges before them. The role of the teacher in this regard is narrowed to seeing to it that a lesson is designed in a way tha...

I teach in a school not very far from the urban municipal centre -- 6 km away actually. We therefore have very good internet and we make use of it. The school is integrated with Nursery, Primary and Secondary campuses not very far from each other and with seamless collaboration among the campuses possible. The learners hail from a variety of backgrounds - Ugandan and non-Ugandan and have been exposed to Digital Technology (prior to their coming to our school) in varying degrees. The teachers have basic knowledge about Digital Technology; mostly acquired as a result of the school emphasis (in its different policies), on need for knowledge in ICT as a prerequisite for employment in any of the campuses. There is a growing use, however, of application of Digital Technology in learning. The learners study ICT as a subject and are able to use the knowledge they acquire to use the different Digital Technologies in place. These technologies include, but is not limited to smart phones, lap...

Collaboration on an online project like developing a wiki is fun if everyone is collaborating. It becomes challenging if you have to work with a team that either is reluctant taking up their responsibilities in the group or probably, for one reason or the the other, do not at all contribute to the group collaboration.  In the last experience I had with group collaboration task, the experience was not so good; although it made me learn a lot in the process. For starters, only three members of the five were taking part actively. Of the three, two continued to the end and of the two one seemed not very conversant with what exactly was supposed to be done. The one left did something which, at this juncture, I must condemn! Not reading what the rest of the members had come up with, the said person decided to delete all the work two of us had come up with; the research write up and links were all deleted and substituted with what the person saw fitting. Good enough, it seemed to b...

Looking at how I would integrate search literacy and information literacy, I am drawn to believe that the first step would be to make an attempt to change the mindsets of those who are going to get involved in this integration. Change them to the mindset that will embrace the integration of course. This is because no clear achievement can be made in this line unless those I am going to work with (including myself) have the will power to see these innovations coming to pass. Once those minds are changed for the 'good' then we can get to work. It will be important to ensure that all skills needed to interact with computers and/or any media we are going to use are mastered and the learners are proficient in the use of these tools (I am assuming that the technology and facilities we need are already in place). Later, use of relevant applications and the browsers must also be mastered. The skills of the learners can be improved as they get along. Next is to ensure that the learn...