Techniques for Using Technology in the Classroom

The module focuses on the use of the Internet, technological tools, and other available resources to support student learning. The module is based on constructivist ideas about how students learn, which suggest that students learn best when they first activate background knowledge about a topic, then construct meaning from new knowledge or a new skill, and finally evaluate and apply what they have learned in the lesson. The lessons in this module are structured around these three phases of a teaching session or unit. The module addresses four key themes: Using Technology in Education, Project Based Learning, Using Available Resources for Learning, and Microteaching. The first theme emphasizes the importance of using technology in education to support student learning and to keep up with the growth of new skills and technology. The second theme, Project Based Learning, involves students in learning by presenting them with a challenge or problem and requiring them to work in groups to analyze the problem, research, discuss, and produce explanations, solutions, or recommendations. The third theme, Using Available Resources for Learning, highlights the effectiveness of visual-based programs for teaching content and exposes participants to various activities related to pictures, movies, and radio programs to integrate technology in the primary education curriculum. The fourth theme, Microteaching, provides an opportunity for participants to present sample lessons of what they learned during the module and receive support, feedback, and confidence before they go into the field. To complete the module, participants are required to have access to various technology tools, including a computer with access to the Internet, a cassette player and cassette tapes, a radio, a television and video cassette recorder and cassette, an overhead projector, and magazine pictures. If all of these tools are not available, participants will complete the sections of the module for which tools and resources are available. The module's objectives include enabling participants to reflect on their current practices for using different technologies in teaching and learning, explore the use of the Internet, develop an understanding of Project Based Learning, and use the Internet to research information for Project Based Learning. By the end of the module, participants are expected to have developed a deeper understanding of the use of technology and other available resources in education at the primary school level and to feel comfortable with the tools they intend to use to teach their students.