Sunday, 6 June 2010

PDI

PDI is an exelente medium in oder to stimulate the motivation among students.  Due to its great versality, it is offering as well the utility of the conventional PDI as a proyector with interactive games, DVD, etc... 
Futhermore, with its continues development and the posibility to participate activly, students will experience a new way of studying. They will feel as if they were active elements in they own learning process.

Textbooks and their utility with PDI

Nowadays, PDI resources in clases are increasing spectaculary because of the fact
that a lot of digital matetial are included in textbooks for the ultilisation of new technologies.

Therefore, most of the current textbooks have a cd roms with excercises, and activities that can be very helpfull in order to master de asignment.

For example the Twister serie, edited by Richmond, is a great way to learn English at a playfull way. So is it possible to study be yourself, of together in the presence of parents.

Moreover, in his website also appears a usefull resouces which can add value to the clases.

Richmond
English Adventure

Sunday, 9 May 2010

New technology, New Education

As I said before, the world has become a global village due to the internet. It has become easier to obtain information, than twenty years before. Furthermore, internet has become much more accessible for everybody.
Because our society has changed, the children, how are going to be the future of tomorrow have to be prepared to this new situation. It is the task of the school to prepare and educate the kids to the requirements of this new society.
To stimulate the use of modern technology at schools, governments are giving incentives in the form of subsidies to schools how are willing modernize their school methods by means of electronic devises and the internet.
One of this electronic devises is the new tablet PC. This tool is very similar to a portable laptop and it permits the student to have access to the internet, save files, make imagines etc...Moreover, there is no keyboard and you have to write with a digital pencil.
At this way, the students keep developing their writing as if they where writing at a real paper. The Tabel PC transforms the handwriting in to a text in a Word format. Another advantage is that the device is completely wireless, so that the students can walk around with it in class and even outsight the class at a maximal distance of ten metros.
They also can surf on the internet and therefore they learn to use it and search for information. Another handy gadget is that because the Tablet PC has access to internet, the parents are able to monitor the development of their children and they can participate with school projects.
The objective of such devices are to create more independency among the students, which will be very useful in their future career. They have already computer literacy and therefore a better change at the job market, but maybe more important, they will learn at a more joy and playful way like they have never done before.
This is just one of the great scales of technologies that will change the idea of school that we had until now. In order to give children the opportunity to learn more efficient and affectively with these new methods it is absolutely necessary that the teachers will be retained. There are already special courses founded to educate the teachers.

Let´s know more about E-learning

What is E-learning?

E-learning is a collective noun of the creation of learning situations (as well formal as informal) with the help of information and communication technology (especially internet technology). At this moment, E-learning is mostly used in education, but it is also applied in companies.

E-learning is a relatively young term. Initially, the name for this phenomenon was ´online learning´. In 1999 the term E-learning was introduced.

With the introduction of the internet, E-learning came up very quickly. The expectations of E-learning were great. One thought that learning by means of the internet would be faster, more efficient and more interactive. Internet technologies should make it possible to learn complex tasks within a powerful, flexible and so called ´authentic´ learning environment.

Types of E-learning

E-learning can be applied in different ways to support learning methods, although this depends on the following factors.

 Formal-informal
 Didactic
 Asynchroon- synchroon
 Technology

Even so there are different forms of E-learning, I will only go in dept on the most important one which is formal-informal.

We can speak of formal learning when a student is learning purposefully and systematically. An organization (school) is the initiative taker of this process in the form of a course of a study.

We can speak of informal learning when the learning process takes place in a more spontaneous way. For example, when project teams have to execute very complex tasks. They analyze the situation, collect information, etc…There is hardly a separation between learning and working.
In both cases, one can use E-learning to advance the learning process.

Examples of formal forms of E-learning:

 Online course
 Course at a CD ROM
 Online exam
 Virtual work areas, like blackboard or aula virtual

Examples of informal forms of E-learning:

 Databases, which can be consulted
 Professionals who maintain a website to reflect their work
 Online community where people can learn from each other’s experience



Advantages and disadvantages

E-learning has a few advantages and disadvantages. Besides, it does not mean that all of the following advantages and disadvantages are valid for every situation, but these are the most common ones.

Flexibility

Due to E-learning, students have access to a learning environment 24/7. Not only students but also employees have access to trainings possibilities where and whenever they want, at home or at work. The learning material can be separated easier whereby the student is able to get a better overview of the material. They are time and place independent and they can learn exactly the kind of subject material that they need, at the moment when they need it.

It saves time

At first with classical teaching, every student had to spend the same amount of time on studying. Now, with E-learning students can learn in their own speed and spent the time that they need to study on a subject. An advantage is that quick learners will have to spend less time on learning and other students can take as much time as they need.

Up-to-date

It is easier for teachers to keep the subject material up-to-date and to integrate it into the network, whereby the students have access to the latest information. Another advantage is that students get the same information presented.

Learning and working in a team

Thanks to E-learning, students can work at different locations on a common project and they can use ICT tools to communicate with each other from a large distance. Learning is also a social process whereby interaction, communication and collaboration play a crucial role in the capitation of knowledge and development of the students. Besides that, it is important that learning takes place in a relevant, complex and flexible environment. Therefore, students can transform their knowledge to other relevant situations. Due to E-learning, powerful and flexible learning environment can be created wherein students together can study.


Disadvantages

Studying by means of E-learning requires a great sense of discipline due to the fact that everything is aimed on self-study. In other words you have to be very motivated to study with E-learning. You also need to have a great knowledge of computers because everything goes by computers.

Resistance

The implementation of E-learning leads to another type of learning. Teachers and trainers have to changes their way of teaching and they are not always willing to do that. Sometimes it is because they do not belief in the new methods and they think it will cost more, than it will gain. Furthermore, the introduction of E-learning will lead to higher work pressure, due to the fact that with E-learning you can give more lectures to students.

Saturday, 8 May 2010

Education World Citizens for the 21st Century

How can our educational system evolve to meet the challenges of the 21st century? How will we educate people to be compassionate, competent, ethical, and engaged citizens in an increasingly complex and interconnected world?

The urgent challenges of a globalized and interdependent world demand a new vision of world citizenship that is not confined to national boundaries, but encompasses moral and ethical responsibilities to all humanity.

The Dalai Lama participated in a Mind and Life Conference on the theme of Educating World Citizens in the 21st Century. The conference featured educators, scientists and contemplatives discussing issues on education for the new generations.

Here is a video from the conference. This video has been capture from the TV Programme 'Redes'. I wanted to highlight the intervention of His Holiness Dalai Lama which has made me to consider and think more in deep about the necessity of changing the recent approach of education, in order to get a much more ethical approach.





In addition, this second video exemplify the concern of these educators who are investiganting how to improve the education. I agree the idea that educators should know their students´concerns. In this way, the students will receive a more quality individual attention, because all of us are different and equal at the same time.