Video Clips

I watched the videos on Learning Environment 1 (graphing calculator) and Learning Environment 2 (high school physics).

Teacher F sees the calculator as a mini computer. He sees the potential of the calculator to be more than just a tool to ease the drudgery of manual calculation, but he uses the calculator to empower the students to attempt problems beyond those that are normally covered in class. Technology thus augments the students’ natural abilities to allow them to explore and make advances in mathematics. I think this is a good use of technology in that students are empowered to make the leap from a learner to an explorer or researcher.

Teacher F is obviously a good planner in his teaching in that he knows what the scientific calculator can do and the type of problems that are suitable for his students. He is also very resourceful in the purchase and use of calculators to motivate his students rather than depending on the limited resource of computers in the school. His continuous use of calculators from Grade 8 to 11 allows the students to become familiar with this technology and this familiarity, in turn, allows them to make use this technology with comfort and without fear. Good use of technology also involves good classroom management where Teacher F uses teams to allow students to help each other.

One area that I like to explore is how to come up with good exploratory problems for the students that are appropriate for the technology that is available in the classroom. I am not sure if this is based on intuition or whether there is any scientific methods for doing so?

Teacher A in the science classroom uses technology beyond the technical lessons that he wants to teach. He also emphasizes on the transferable skills. I think he actually organized his class such that these transferable skills can be learned because of the technology used. Thus his labs are done in teams, where they have to set goals, manage time and resources, etc. One area I like to explore further is the type of transferable skills that different technology best promotes, and to experiment how this can be incorporated in the classroom.

Teacher B realizes that good use of technology requires good support so teaching and learning can be conducted smoothly. She also sees that both computer simulation and manual, hands on lab have their advantages and disadvantages. It is not clear which method is better under what circumstances or topics to be covered. One area I like to explore further is to do a comparative study on the use of the two methods for different scientific experiments.