Initial Philosophy Statements Detailing my Beliefs About the use of ICT in the Science Classroom.

This article was written at the begining of the course EDSC 6004.

The use of technology in science teaching will allow teachers to serve contemporary students effectively. Apart from enhancing the teaching and learning environment in our schools, the use of ICTs are important in many entry level employment and essential to the future development of our society. If Trinidad and Tobago is to effectively compete in the global environment our ICT training should begin in the classrooms. The use of ICTs for teaching and learning will aid Moruga Composite School in achieving the mandate of the Ministry of Education.

The use of technology is more pervasive today than at any point in history. ICT is significantly enhancing and altering human activity, and has tremendous potential in teaching science. The use of ICTs in the science classroom can develop inquisitive, reflective, discerning and caring lifelong learners. It is only natural that schools effectively adopt and incorporate technology into their curriculum. ICTs can be used to model abstract concepts and enhance students’ experiences in the science classroom.

Some of the benefits which can be derived by the effective implementation of ICTs at our school are:

1. The school day can be extended beyond its normal hours. It is possible to effectively deal with students via the internet, pda’s etc. A new realm of opportunities will be open to me as a teacher/facilitator and to my students.

2. My students will use technology to conduct research, develop and deliver presentations, write reports, search my website (which I hope this course will help me develop) for information and assignments and keep in contact with each other.
These are skills that required in the world of work.

3. The use of technology can make my lessons more interesting. It will appeal more all learners. Students will be able to research, prepare and deliver their own lessons through the medium of technology and save these for revision. Students’ can take responsibility for their own learning. The internet will become a tool for learning for my students.

4. My role as a facilitator and guide may not change much with the adoption of technology in the classroom. The use of ICTs will offer different tools for curriculum delivery, assessments, evaluation and feedback. I will definitely be spending more time interacting with students online so our contact hours will increase. The nature of assignments may change to facilitate the use of technology as interactive online lessons and quizzes will become a feature of my practice. I will also let students develop electronic portfolios and use these as an assessment tool. Students’ progress reports can also be sent electronically to parents and feedback obtained promptly.

5. Students will now be able to submit assignments in an electronic format (and waste less paper) receive instruction at their convenience, access and revise work already completed. Parents and students can monitor performance at any time.

In order to be effective in teaching and learning, ICTs must be implemented across all subject areas in the school. This may be problematic because some teachers have already indicated their dislike for the use of technology and resist its use in their lessons. Strong leadership is required to bring everyone on board.

The proper implementation of technology in our school will be costly. Our facilities are not adequately configured for the effective implementation of ICTs. We have installed computers but adequate maintenance of the hardware continues be a problem. The system is frequently inoperative and presently we have no internet access.

Our vision as teachers must be to enhance students’ experiences in the classroom and ICTs must be viewed as tools which can achieve this objective. Consequently I envision the effective use of ICTs in my lessons and in my school as one of my major objectives in the years ahead.