Week9And10


 * __ICT in Action__**

One of he best way to gauge the value of an ICT tools from the students perspective is to use these particular ICT tools to enhance my own studies. I will also be able to verify whether it is an effective tools for the particular activities, foresee possible barriers and hiccups that my students may have with the tools, and make any necessary arrangements such as training and acquisition of equipments.

When I was asked to create a collage and a presentation on my favorite author in EDUC485, I decided to make it my sandbox to try out different tools. There are three types of activities involved in this class project 1) Research, 2) Presentation (Including sharing of resources/teaching ideas). The focus is on the learning process not on any particular tools. I planned to approach this project with an open mind. Technical tools would only be used when it is appropriate.

The following is the log of my ICT journey in this favorite author class project: media type="custom" key="4146827"
 * //Research://**
 * Search for snippets of books from [|Google Books]. Start looking for the printed books from [|SFU Library] and [|VPL library] when nothing showed up.
 * Then, I collected a bunch of online resources on [|Delicious], including [|Coupland's personal website] and [|Twitter page].
 * Found tonnes of interviews and video clips based on his work in YouTube. Categorized the pages as "[|Coupland as a person]" and "[|Coupland's creation]".
 * //Presentation://**
 * Rather than presenting a traditional collage on a poster paper. I created a PowerPoint Presentation. I learned how to embed Flash and YouTube video on [|PowerPoint].
 * Share my presentation with my classmates on [|SlideShare]: (Week 12)


 * //Reflection on my ICT experience://**

My classmates were impressed by my presentation. In fact, my presentation inspired my professor and some of the fellow classmates to adapt these tools in their own teaching. My mini demonstration of ICT usage in the EDUC 485 classroom gives me a taste of the role of ICT specialist in a school. I have a hunch that most of my peers will be interested to attend any workshops using for any of the above technologies. I feel honored to be able to contribute to the Educator's community.

How about the students? Will my digital native students be able to use technologies like I did in this project? One of the biggest concerns I have with technologies is training and accessiblity of tools. Unfortunately, useful educational softwares amd tools may not be availabe in the school's computer lab, making it hard for teachers to introduce the tools in their classroom. Teachers may also need to schedule some training time with their students before they can use these tools in their classroom. I believe most students won't be able to use these tools effectviely by themselves.

My project also reinforce the multimedia nature of the 21st century literacy text. It seems backward to exclude information and media literacy in the 21st century classroom.