The computer as a tutor
Computer-assisted Instruction (CAI)
The computer can be a tutor in effect relieving the teacher of many activities in his personal role as classroom tutor. It should be made clear, however, that the computer cannot totally replace the teacher since the teacher shall continue to play the major roles of information deliverer and learning environment controller. Even with the available computer and CAI software, the teacher must:
• Insure that students have the needed knowledge and skills for any computer activity.
• Decide the appropriate learning objectives.
• Plan the sequential and structures activities to achieve objectives.
• Evaluate the students’ achievement by ways of tests the specific expected outcomes.
On the other hand, the students in CAI play their own roles as learners as they:
• Receive information.
• Understand instructions for the computer activity.
• Retain/keep in mind the information and rules for the computer activity.
• Apply the knowledge and rules during the process of computer learning.
During the computer activity proper in CAI the computer, too, plays its roles as it:
• Acts as a sort of tutor.
• Provides a learning environment.
• Delivers learning instruction.
• Reinforces learning through drill-and-practice.
• Provides feedback.
CAI Integrated with Lessons
CAI computer learning should not stop with the drill and practice activities of students. In effect, CAI works best in reinforcing learning through repetitive exercises such that students can practice basic skills or knowledge in various subject areas. Common types of drill and practice programs include vocabulary building, math facts, and basic science, and history or geography facts. In these programs, the computer presents a question or problem first and the student is asked to answer to the question or problem. Immediate feedback is given to the students answer. After a number of practice problems and at the end of exercise, the students get summary of the overall performance.
The question is arises: when and how can teachers integrate drill and practice programs with their lessons. The following suggestion can be made:
• Use drill and practice programs for basic skills and knowledge that require rapid or automatic response by students
• Ensure that drill and practice activities conform to the lesson plan or curriculum
• Limit drill and practice to 20-30 minutes to avoid boredom.
• Use drill and practice to assist students with particular weakness in basic skills.
In integrating computer program in instruction used tutorial software associated with cognitive learning. While practice exercise or learning by doing is still the heart of each tutorial, the tutorial software should be able to:
• Teach new content/new information to students
• Provide comprehensive information on concepts in addition to practice exercises.
• Can be effectively used for remediation, reviewing, or enrichment.
• Allow the teacher to introduce follow-up questions to stimulate students learning.
• Permit group activity for cooperative learning.
SIMULATION PROGRAMS
Simulation software materials are another kind of software that is constructivist in nature these simulation software:
• Teaches strategies and rules applied to real-life problem situations.
• Asks students to make decision on models or scenarios.
• Allows students to manipulate elements of a model and get the experience of the effects of their decisions.
An example of such software is SimCity in which students are allowed to artificially manage a city given an imaginary city environment. Decision-making involve such factors as budget, crime, education, transportation, energy resource, waste disposal, business/industries available.
INSTRUCTIONAL GAMES
While relating to low-level learning objectives, instructional computer games add the elements of competition and challenge.
An example is GeoSafari which introduces adventure activities for Geography history and science. The program can be played by up to four players to form teams. Learning outcomes can be achieved along simple memorization of information, keyboarding skills, cooperation and social interaction, etc.
PROBLEM SOLVING SOFTWARE
These are more sophisticated than the drill and practice exercises and allow students to learn and improve on their problem solving ability. Since problem cannot be solved simply be solved simply be memorizing facts, the students have to employ higher-thinking skills such as logic, recognition, reflection and strategies-making.
The thinking things 1 is an example of a problem solving software in which the team learners must help each other by observing, comparing.
MULTIMEDIA ENCYCLOPEDIA AND ELECTRONIC BOOKS
The multimedia Encyclopedia can store a huge database with texts, images, animation, audio, and video. Students can access any desired information, search its vast contents, and even download/print relevant portion of the data for their composition or presentation. An example is the eyewitness Children’s Encyclopedia.
Electronic books provide textual information for reading, supplemented by other types of multimedia information. These are useful for learning reading, spelling and word skills. Examples are Just Grandma and Me animated storybook which offer surprises for the young learner’s curiosity
Computer-assisted Instruction (CAI)
The computer can be a tutor in effect relieving the teacher of many activities in his personal role as classroom tutor. It should be made clear, however, that the computer cannot totally replace the teacher since the teacher shall continue to play the major roles of information deliverer and learning environment controller. Even with the available computer and CAI software, the teacher must:
• Insure that students have the needed knowledge and skills for any computer activity.
• Decide the appropriate learning objectives.
• Plan the sequential and structures activities to achieve objectives.
• Evaluate the students’ achievement by ways of tests the specific expected outcomes.
On the other hand, the students in CAI play their own roles as learners as they:
• Receive information.
• Understand instructions for the computer activity.
• Retain/keep in mind the information and rules for the computer activity.
• Apply the knowledge and rules during the process of computer learning.
During the computer activity proper in CAI the computer, too, plays its roles as it:
• Acts as a sort of tutor.
• Provides a learning environment.
• Delivers learning instruction.
• Reinforces learning through drill-and-practice.
• Provides feedback.
CAI Integrated with Lessons
CAI computer learning should not stop with the drill and practice activities of students. In effect, CAI works best in reinforcing learning through repetitive exercises such that students can practice basic skills or knowledge in various subject areas. Common types of drill and practice programs include vocabulary building, math facts, and basic science, and history or geography facts. In these programs, the computer presents a question or problem first and the student is asked to answer to the question or problem. Immediate feedback is given to the students answer. After a number of practice problems and at the end of exercise, the students get summary of the overall performance.
The question is arises: when and how can teachers integrate drill and practice programs with their lessons. The following suggestion can be made:
• Use drill and practice programs for basic skills and knowledge that require rapid or automatic response by students
• Ensure that drill and practice activities conform to the lesson plan or curriculum
• Limit drill and practice to 20-30 minutes to avoid boredom.
• Use drill and practice to assist students with particular weakness in basic skills.
In integrating computer program in instruction used tutorial software associated with cognitive learning. While practice exercise or learning by doing is still the heart of each tutorial, the tutorial software should be able to:
• Teach new content/new information to students
• Provide comprehensive information on concepts in addition to practice exercises.
• Can be effectively used for remediation, reviewing, or enrichment.
• Allow the teacher to introduce follow-up questions to stimulate students learning.
• Permit group activity for cooperative learning.
SIMULATION PROGRAMS
Simulation software materials are another kind of software that is constructivist in nature these simulation software:
• Teaches strategies and rules applied to real-life problem situations.
• Asks students to make decision on models or scenarios.
• Allows students to manipulate elements of a model and get the experience of the effects of their decisions.
An example of such software is SimCity in which students are allowed to artificially manage a city given an imaginary city environment. Decision-making involve such factors as budget, crime, education, transportation, energy resource, waste disposal, business/industries available.
INSTRUCTIONAL GAMES
While relating to low-level learning objectives, instructional computer games add the elements of competition and challenge.
An example is GeoSafari which introduces adventure activities for Geography history and science. The program can be played by up to four players to form teams. Learning outcomes can be achieved along simple memorization of information, keyboarding skills, cooperation and social interaction, etc.
PROBLEM SOLVING SOFTWARE
These are more sophisticated than the drill and practice exercises and allow students to learn and improve on their problem solving ability. Since problem cannot be solved simply be solved simply be memorizing facts, the students have to employ higher-thinking skills such as logic, recognition, reflection and strategies-making.
The thinking things 1 is an example of a problem solving software in which the team learners must help each other by observing, comparing.
MULTIMEDIA ENCYCLOPEDIA AND ELECTRONIC BOOKS
The multimedia Encyclopedia can store a huge database with texts, images, animation, audio, and video. Students can access any desired information, search its vast contents, and even download/print relevant portion of the data for their composition or presentation. An example is the eyewitness Children’s Encyclopedia.
Electronic books provide textual information for reading, supplemented by other types of multimedia information. These are useful for learning reading, spelling and word skills. Examples are Just Grandma and Me animated storybook which offer surprises for the young learner’s curiosity
No comments:
Post a Comment