Blog

Blog is a kind of social media tool that allows one to share ideas with authentic audience and engage the audience in conversation. It falls under communicative tool. Blogging is used to showcase individual work by enabling them to publish text, video clips, audio clips, maps, images and many others on a particular subject. For example, bloggers like Wangchu Sangay blog, Tshering Blog, and Passang Tshering blog whereby the authors share relevant articles depending upon the situation in a county.

My blog page

Even we were asked to create a blog in ICT module and start blogging on different ICT tools in teaching and learning environment. Exploring blogs was challenging as being a beginner. However, with the guidance from the tutor and exploration through internet helped me to operate the features of blog and post reflection on ICT tools successfully. Blogging is quite interesting as it present, organize, and protect our work as digital portfolios and we can communicate with each other, post images, videos, audios of our work as well. Moreover, the feedbacks that I received from the viewers in the comment section helped me to refine my writings and produce a good quality write-ups. Blogging for almost more than two months motivated me to read more and write again.

It is widely popular in education. Blogs are useful, not only as a teacher-student and student-student interaction tool, but they further develop student’s skills in their interaction outside of the classroom framework. It provide a space where teacher and students can work further develop writing and other skills with advantage of instant audience. It’s an excellent opportunities for students to read and write. It can be used as an instructional resources, in which educator can post tips, explanations or samples to help students learn and students can practice and benefit from peer reviews.

Blogging can be used in a classroom environment for reflective writing or any other journal entry as a tool to link communication between author and audience. Blogging provides opportunity for students to discuss topics outside of the classroom. With a blog, each individual has an opportunity to share their thoughts and opinions. Giving students a peer of audience for what they write and asking students to respond with comments to what their peers have written promotes the active discussion among students. Thus, it promotes autonomous learning by providing opportunities for students to take more control of their learning.

Communicative Tools

Online Chats

Communicative tools are the latest devices which are used by the teacher and students now a days to enhance teaching and learning. It promotes easy communication among the students as well as between the teachers and students beyond the physical barrier either by space, time or both of the classroom. Communicative tools includes e-mail, chats, video conferencing, electronic bulletin board and many others which helps in exchange of information and assist interactive and collaborative teaching and learning environment. For example, in current situation in our country due to COVID 19 pandemic, most of the teaching and learning are taking place through communicative tools helping both the teachers and students to continue with their lessons.

Video conference

I came to know the two modes of interaction and communication in online learning: synchronous and asynchronous communicative tools. Synchronous communicative tools such as chat or video conference enable real-time communication and collaboration (face-to-face) in the same time but different place mode. In other words, participants communicate at the same time from different locations using the same communication tools. For instance, we had a video conference in ICT class where we could have a face to face interaction with sir and friends who all are residing in different places. Here, the teacher communicated directly to the group of students whereby it allows immediate feedbacks and meaningful interaction.

Vle discussion forum

However, while using the tools of asynchronous system (eg. email, vle discussion forum, wechat and whatsapp) in which exchange of information between people are not live but enable communication and collaboration over a period of time through a different time-different place mode. Asynchronous tools are easy to use as it is primarily text based system and allows the people to connect together at each person’s own convenience and schedule. Therefore, it makes possible for the learners to log on to an e-learning environment at any time and download the documents or send messages to teacher or peers.

Thus, online teaching and learning has transformed the role of a teacher from being the sole body of knowledge to being facilitator of the learning process. From my perspective, I think effective e-learning courses should include both synchronous and asynchronous tools which allows both the students and teachers to benefit from the different delivery formats regardless of their preferred schedules or preferred learning methods. Therefore, those two tools should not be evaluated in isolation instead it should supplement one another. If the teacher relies primarily on the use of asynchronous communication students may feel less engaged with the course but this approach provides with access to immediate help, while still giving them time the ability to learn at their own pace.

Informative tools

Information and communication technology (ICT) in education is the mode of education that use information and communication technology to support, enhance, and optimize the delivery of information. It consists of various tools such as informative tool, communicative tool, situating tool and constructive tool that can be used by the educators and the learners to improve teaching and learning environment. Out of five categories of ICT tools I’m going to reflect on what I have learned on ICT as an informative tool highlighting on some of my experiences and its importance in the field of education. 

Internet as a source of information

Basically, informative tools are application that provide vast amount of information in various format. For example, reading a text or information online, listening to an audio, simply looking at an images and making meaning out of it or watching a video lessons are all receiving information on a particular topic but through different means based on learner’s choice. For example, while designing a PowerPoint presentation on “Should women play Khuru”, I explored through internet to make m presentation more effective and informative one. Unlike past, where traditional methods of teaching and learning which existed for many decades where teacher is the only source of information. So with the help of such tools it provides a space for learners to learn independently whereby they get an opportunity to explore, think critically, activate their knowledge and develop research skills and learn to integrate authentic information. 

                                                                                                                                                                  

Web evaluation

Internet is one of the most popular informative tool. I realized that that internet is like a virtual textbook, reference library, virtual tutor or virtual study groups whereby it act as a guiding principle for learners to get access to work or explore by their own. However, one must know how to access the authentic information from various sources. In order to retrieve the most relevant or authentic information one must evaluate the sources which comprises of five criteria which is accuracy, authority, objectivity, currency, and coverage because anyone can put anything on the internet. Moreover, to facilitate students to make best use of it, educators need to provide information or content in the beginning, middle and after the activity allowing them to analyse, synthesize and manipulate the information. 

learners serving internet for information

Further, I get to know that learning is effective when those tools are explored efficiently rather than just depending upon the teachers. Reflecting upon my teaching practice, I realized that letting children to explore on the given topics through internet or other sources whereby they were asked to watch videos, listen to audios and refer different text before the actual lesson begins was all about using informative tools. In a way, it helped students to enhance their higher order of thinking skills or comprehension skills when the information from various sources is being synthesized effectively. Thus, learning in technology-enhanced environment is more stimulating and engaging than in a traditional classroom environment.

Link for the presentation on women playing khuru in Bhutan

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/13gWne08lUG_J3u3LxvKgUpGL4onldU7XJriW13SR0Ts/edit?usp=sharing