Theoline Croft Module 2A-4 - Activity 4A & 4B - Gathering ideas and integrating the word processor

I particularly enjoyed the collaborative exercise in Activity 4A.  The word processor is truly an important devise used to achieve many of our day to day administrative chores. In this activity, many ideas were identified and from this collaboration we now have a wide range of ideas from which to choose.  It therefore adds to making our jobs easier as documents can be saved, retrieved, edited and the whole world is right at the finger tips in terms of the world wide web to conduct research on best practices and sharing ideas with a community of learners.
Activity 4B was even more interesting as I was able to integrate the word processor in creating and completing a lesson for students to have hands-on experience.  Reading the several documents on the lessons and the experiences of fellow group menbers exposed the variations of creative activities.
I was very pleased by the response of the students during this activity.  There was much excitement just knowing that the computer would be used in the lesson but yet again managing the use of the few resources would be the issue. Some students were doing things that I do not yet know how to do so it was a learning curve for me as well. In order to become proficient in many of these applications will require me to spend more time understanding them so as to improve on my practice.

Theoline Croft Module 2A-4 Group Activity 3 Classroom Materials

It was a good exercise integrating the Word Processor in creating the classroom material.  In using the several applications, students' work will become more alive and they (students) will be more interested in completing their tasks.  Students are looking for exciting work in school and these should be more learner-centered and learner- friendly.
From reading the several documents from group members, it is evident that many different applications were utilized with several variations in subject areas.
It is my intention to engage in more hands-on activity to have mastery of the several applications of the Word Processor.

Theoline Croft - Module 2A-4 Self Activity 2 Word Processor as an administrative resource

As an administrator, the word processor would ultimately make work easier if one understands how to use the various word processing skills.  The activity was quite enjoyable as it forced me to research additional skills in order to improve the presentation of the document.  The Microsoft Word 2010 enabled me to insert a graph without having to go to Excel, placing in figures and allowing it to generate the graph.  After this tedious process I would have had to copy and paste it into my word document. 
For the first time, I learned how to send a video clip via e-mail.  Nothing beats hands-on!  Wow! It feels great!  I won't have to call anyone (my children included) for assistance.  This is a great achievement.  I could go on and on to say how happy I am with my achievement.

Theoline Croft-Module 1B-3 Activity 1B Conclusions from the discussions on ICT integration in developing and developed nations.

Many valid conclusions have been reached by persons as to whether developing nations can compete with developed nations.  Even though developing nations have begun to put systems in place to compete, it continues to be slow and the developed nations will be far ahead in the game.  There needs to be the political will to allocate finance to create the knowledge base society and begin the process of integration  in all schools. A national policy to this needs to be in place.  We cannot always rely on donor agencies for support.  Maybe if we try to do something for ourselves then agencies will be willing to assist with our ICT integration and development which will cause us to be competitive in some areas.

Theoline Croft - Module 2A-4 Activity 1 Reflections on the roles of the teacher.

The educator's/teacher's role remains quite diverse which requires him/her to be fairly competent in computer applications and all forms of ICTs.  For those of us who may not be so knowledgeable or competent, it requires us to get the requisite training and skills for the tasks ahead.  Hence, computer literacy is key and rightly so. 
Todays student is technologically inclined and in order to meet the learner, his needs and the diversity of the class, and clearly, for teachers to fit into the changing world which is technology driven, classrooms and the way teachers engage in their craft must change.  Applying best practices requires the teacher to conduct research, collaborate with other teachers and avail oneself to professional development.  Parents too are asking for change and administrators ought to ensure that schools are accountable to clients.  Our world is one in which there is constant migration of people and our clients, the children, should be provided with an education which enables them to make contributions in a meaningful way wherever they live.  It behoves us to be a part of that change process for quality education.

Self Activity - ICT use in my school.

Educationally, ICT has limited use in my school.  Teachers, although personally competent in the use of some tools/programmes, have not reached the stage of fully integrating ICTs into the classroom.  It is used in some subject areas i.e mathematics, language arts.  There is a small computer lab of 8 computers and the Ministry of Information's mobile IT bus which visits, but these two sources are limited to teacher use and the students in Grades 5 & 6 respectively.  With reference to the mobile IT bus, the teacher aboard the bus exposes students to basic computer literacy and imparts and exposes them to the necessary skills required for use in secondary school.However, there is a limit to the use in classrooms as there is no Internet access. Teachers carefully select appropriate information and save them for future use in the classroom.   At times, students are given the opportunity under the guidance of their teachers to use the computer lab for research, but as one can imagine only a few students at any time can use the lab.
Administratively, it is used in the generating of reports and letters and to communicate with the Ministry of Education and other internal and external agencies.  Since the Government's initiative of Technology for Education 20/20, teachers are becoming more confident to use and take their laptops into the classroom. 

No connectivity

The day started out fine until everyone was asked to log in.  What a disaster!
It is now 3:37p.m. and I have just gained connectivity.
Althought the process was long, it was well worth it.  Our group was just bubbling with laughter throughout the entire exercise.