Situating Tool

Situating Tool

The fifth tool of ICT is situating tool. It is a tool which enables the teacher and the learner to situate in an environment to experience the context. Using of ICT as a situating tool in the learning classroom will helps the users to experience a virtually real environment mostly in a 3D image. Some of the examples of situating tools are simulation, virtual reality and CD-ROM.

Using of simulation is very helpful in the classroom. It helps the teacher to provide the learners with certain real-life environment which is difficult or impossible to attain. As for the learners, it helps them to experience those real-life situations which they have never been to. In this way, it increases the students’ interest to learn more.

Some of the importance of situating tools are, it helps the user to situate in that particular environment. It also helps the learner to comprehend and manipulate variables and communicate with another user login. While using situating tools, the learner can foster their creativity and visualize different skills.

If I cite an example, the use of Google Map was interesting. I could see the visual 3D form of different places which I have never visited. By sitting in the lab room of Paro college of education, I could go to my village and see the visual representation of my own house. It was very amazing and interesting to explore more. If we use this tools, I am sure that the students would be more curious and interested to learn.

Use of Google map as a situating tool

Co-constructive Tool

ICT as a co-constructive tool

The fourth tool of ICT is co-constructive tool. It is a tool which enables the learner and user to support the knowledge through collaboratively sharing their ideas for a particular topic. If we use ICT as a co-constructive tool in the learning classroom, it helps the users to obtain a validate and various information from others. Moreover, upon constructed knowledge and ideas by others, the learner can edit, add new ideas and give constructive feedback so that the work becomes very informative.

There are many applications which enable the learner to co-construct the ideas and knowledge. They are Google docs, electronic whiteboard, blogs, wikis and discussion forum on portals. These provide platforms for the learner to gets more opportunities to work collaboratively and interactively with other users.   

To elaborate about benefits of using ICT as a co-constructive tool in the lesson/classroom, it provides a platform for both the teacher and the student to read the information, give supportive feedback and edit for better comprehension. For the teachers, it gives new ideas on how to go about the lesson and how to make the lesson more interactive. When it comes to students, it provides a forum to share their ideas and knowledge with each other. It allows the student and the teacher to analyze and synthesize the information. Therefore, it’s very useful for both the teachers and the students in working collaboratively.

The other importance of using ICT as co-constructive tools are, it enhance collaborative learning environment through exchange of ideas and information. It helps learners to actively engage in explanation, problem solving and upcoming new ideas. Through these, the learner can develop themselves as expertise and identify the areas they can improve with the help of others.   

Example of co-constructive tool

Reflection on constructive tool

Constructive tool

From various tools of ICT, here I will more reflect on ICT as constructive tools in the classroom. this is an application which allows learners to research on their studies using wide range of resources from the internet. Therefore, the teachers’ role is to guide and facilitate where as learner actively engage in constructing their own knowledge and making meaning of on their own.

There are many examples of constructive tools such as, electronic bulletin board, MS publisher, multimedia authoring tools, simulation and social networking sites. The social networking site consists of blogs, facebook and twitter. Those applications allow a learner to manipulate the information from the internet. Moreover, it helps in visualizing learners understanding of the information so that they can construct their meaning and knowledge.

Teacher can integrate the ICT in the classroom to construct the knowledge and idea through the use of various applications. For example; word, spread sheet and PowerPoint helps learner to organize, record, manipulate and present their ideas in an attractive forms of report, letters and presentation through the use of desktop publishing. Furthermore, if we integrate the ICT in the classroom as a constructive tools, students will be fully engaged and actively participate in the learning. This keeps the learner to generate new ideas and knowledge on their own.

As 21^st century pedagogy emphasize on student centered learning, the ICT as a constructive tools helps in constituting a shift from teacher to learner centered pedagogy. Here students can learn through exploration and hands in experience rather than memorizing and rote learning. In this way, learners are the creator of their own ideas and ICT helps them to construct more complex and critically challenging ideas to work on. 

Example of simulation 

reflection of ICT as informative tool

ICT as an informative tool

The ICT can be integrated in our classroom as an informative tool. Example; television, radio and the very popular one internet. There are many informative tools and it’s very important to know or select the right informative tool because when we are unable to differentiate those, we usually end up misusing it. If used properly, these applications provide us with vast repositories of information/content to learners’ activity in the form of graphic, sound, text, audio and video.

ICT as an informative too in our lesson/classroom provides an information for both the teacher and the student. Teachers’ can get new ideas on how to teach the lesson and how to make the lesson more interactive and when it comes to students, it provides additional information on the lesson taught by the teacher. After obtaining information, it is important for the student to analyze, synthesize and manipulate the information.

Let me talk about some of the benefits of using informative tools, it helps us to integrate our idea with the relevant idea from the source. For example, after extracting relevant ideas from the source, we need to analyze the information to make it easier. Even when we search for information online, we get new skills such as critical thinking skills through analyzing the information. Finally, we can also learn how to sort information by evaluating resources according to their validity and reliability.

Therefore, until and unless we don’t misuse the informative tools, there are unlimited advantages of using ICT as an informative tool. Such as, for those visual learner’s ICT provides information in a graphic form, for auditory learner’s, it provides information in a recorded audio form. For kinetics learner, ICT provides videos on different activities to carry out and they can learn by doing. Therefore, if we use ICT properly it can provide us with unlimited knowledge and information which can be very useful for our day to day life.

Example of VLE as an informative tool

Reflection on Communicative tool

Communication tool

Teacher can use ICT in the classroom as various tools such as informative, communicative, constructive, co-constructive and situating tool. Here I will more reflect on ICT as communicative tools in the classroom. Communicative tools are ICT application which enables teachers and students with easy communication. Teacher can give the task with the instruction through mail, call, video conferencing, wechat and VLE discussion. Moreover it is easy for students to summit the task and clarify the doubts. Therefore, teacher can use ICT to communicate with the students easily through various forms.

Fig: Using VLE to communicate between students and teacher

As a teacher, if we use ICT in the classroom as a communicative tool it has lots of benefits to both students and the teachers. For example, teacher can post the questions in the VLE discussion forum and all the students respond to it. Then the teacher can read and give immediate feedback where we can save time and the resources of both learner and the teacher. Moreover, students will get lots of information from the peers. It also minimizes the teacher’s workload. For students, it helps to solve the urgent issues or problems through call and video conference.  In addition, it focuses on all the language skills; reading, writing, speaking and listening.

Fig: Clearing doubt through wechat

Despite of having all the benefits of using ICT as communicative tool, there are still some limitations. Students who are with little knowledge will misuse the ICT in the classroom. For example; instead of using ICT in learning, they might use in playing game, chatting and watching videos. Moreover, ICT application consumes lots of data charge and students with poor background might fail to effort in learning through chat, audio and video conferencing. 

There are two types of communication tools. Those are asynchronous tool where people are not required to be logged in at the same time. It can be applied to those activities that requires more time in thinking before responding. Other one is synchronous where people need to be online at the same time. It provides immediate response from the peers and teacher. So, I would prefer asynchronous tool where students and teacher need not have to be online at the same time. They can respond at anytime and anywhere. It also helps student to analysis the information before responding.

Example of communication tool