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DATA ANALYSIS USING EXCEL

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Give your thoughts on the ICT Teacher Professional Development Programme, sharing the areas you felt were more significant in helping you to use technology in your teaching and learning strategies.As previously mentioned I am a dinosaur in this technological era. Therefore, the ICT Teacher Development Programme  has been ,to coin a better phrase “a whole new world for me”. This Programme has been eye opening for me and has afforded me the ability to move from  simple applications to more complex ones. One of the areas which I gained knowledge was the use of Excel which I had little used quite sparingly in the past. However my instructor Ms. Rampersad , did a stellar job of explaining and showing me the use of this program. Additionally, I was able to use two of the Assessments tools (Quizzes & Socrative) to test my classes. In the future I hope to use Edmodo when doing my SBAs with my Form 4 class. In conclusion I definitely gained knowledge from this Programme and hope to use much more of it once our school solves the problem of connectivity.

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Give your thoughts on the ICT Teacher Professional Development Programme, sharing the areas you felt were more significant in helping you to use technology in your teaching and learning strategies.As previously mentioned I am a dinosaur in this technological era. Therefore, the ICT Teacher Development Programme  has been ,to coin a better phrase “a whole new world for me”. This Programme has been eye opening for me and has afforded me the ability to move from  simple applications to more complex ones. One of the areas which I gained knowledge was the use of Excel which I had little used quite sparingly in the past. However my instructor Ms. Rampersad , did a stellar job of explaining and showing me the use of this program. Additionally, I was able to use two of the Assessments tools (Quizzes & Socrative) to test my classes. In the future I hope to use Edmodo when doing my SBAs with my Form 4 class. In conclusion I definitely gained knowledge from this Programme and hope to use much more of it once our school solves the problem of connectivity.

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REFLECTION 5SHARE YOUR PERCEPTIONS ON TEACHING STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS.HOW CAN YOU/YOUR SCHOOLPROVIDE GREATER ASSISTANCE TO SUCH STUDENTS. DISCUSS THE CHALLENGES POSED TO TEACHERS AND STUDENTS BY THE USE OF ICT TOOLS FOR DIFFERENTIATED LEARNING.I believe that at most traditional schools teaching students with special needs poses a tremendous challenge for all those involved. Most teachers are not trained to teach students with special needs and this can lead to frustration for both the teacher and the students. At my schools we have experienced such setbacks and have tried to implement measures such as Professional Development Training to better prepare and assist teachers in educating their students .However it must be noted that there have been students who we have been unable to “bridge the gap” with and have in the past suggested alternative programmes for these students. We have also made numerous requests to  the Ministry of Education to  have some students evaluated professionally, but because of a shortage of these individuals in the country, this has also posed a problem. Additionally, there are challenges involved with the use of ICT for differentiated learning, for both teachers and students. One of the main issues is the lack of connectivity coupled with the lack of infrastructure(laptops & desktops) at schools in my country .Another issue that exists is the lack of teacher training in the use of ICT tools.I believe that should these issues be addressed we can move forward to differentiated learning  with the use of ICT.

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REFLECTION 5SHARE YOUR PERCEPTIONS ON TEACHING STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS.HOW CAN YOU/YOUR SCHOOLPROVIDE GREATER ASSISTANCE TO SUCH STUDENTS. DISCUSS THE CHALLENGES POSED TO TEACHERS AND STUDENTS BY THE USE OF ICT TOOLS FOR DIFFERENTIATED LEARNING.I believe that at most traditional schools teaching students with special needs poses a tremendous challenge for all those involved. Most teachers are not trained to teach students with special needs and this can lead to frustration for both the teacher and the students. At my schools we have experienced such setbacks and have tried to implement measures such as Professional Development Training to better prepare and assist teachers in educating their students .However it must be noted that there have been students who we have been unable to “bridge the gap” with and have in the past suggested alternative programmes for these students. We have also made numerous requests to  the Ministry of Education to  have some students evaluated professionally, but because of a shortage of these individuals in the country, this has also posed a problem. Additionally, there are challenges involved with the use of ICT for differentiated learning, for both teachers and students. One of the main issues is the lack of connectivity coupled with the lack of infrastructure(laptops & desktops) at schools in my country .Another issue that exists is the lack of teacher training in the use of ICT tools.I believe that should these issues be addressed we can move forward to differentiated learning  with the use of ICT.

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Give your perceptions of how ICT should be used in your subject area. Is there merit in using ICT for substitution and augmentation? How do you see yourself using ICT more meaningfully in the future?

As an English Language teacher ICT can be used for substitution and augmentation, especially given the inclusion of the School Based Assessment(SBA), to the CSEC syllabus. Students are now being tasked with the responsibility of producing both a hard and soft copy of their SBA portfolio. This is where the implementation of the substitution and augmentation component of the SAMR model is beneficial. Students can now use a Word Document to type and manipulate their SBA presentations. This therefore shows that there is merit in using ICT for substitution and augmentation. Additionally this serves to show that the scope for future ICT use in the classroom is vast and as teachers we must prepare ourselves for this usage. I, for one believe that ICT can be utilized in my teaching by the use of ICT teaching tools such as Edmodo and Sway, which will help to engage the students more and also allows for easier communication between teacher and students. In conclusion it is without doubt that the integration of ICT within each subject area is here to stay and that the merits it brings to the classroom can not be questioned.

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REFLECTION 3REFLECTION 3 –Share your thoughts on ways in which greater use of electronic assessment can impact teaching and learning in schools.

As an educator, you are taught that any lesson or assessment you create must cater to the multiple intelligences of students in a classroom. Therefore, the use technology to teach and evaluate students is a step in the right direction given that we now live in a technological era.

These technological tools, provide a fun and stimulating method of evaluating students rather than the alternative(paper tests and quizzes), which are limited. Instead students can now engage in interactive, colourful games, which cater to a range more multiple intelligences rather than paper tests. Many of these tests also provide real time test scores, which is not only advantageous to students but to teachers as well, who usually must do a juggling act to have papers marked in a timely manner.

Some of the more popular online assessment sites are Quizzes which is extremely interactive and offers many colourful quizzes to choose from or create. Socrative and Kahoots are also both teacher and student friendly with their ability to get real time test results after the test is completed. These electronic assessments also afford students the ability to complete assignments not only at home or school but at any time during their day, as it is easily accessible at their fingertips.

In conclusion these electronic assessments are both advantageous to students and teachers alike as they cater to the varying abilities of students , thus ensuring that a

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REFLECTION 2HOW CAN I UTILIZE COMPLEX PRODUCTIVITY TOOLS IN MY CLASSROOM?

I was born in the 80’s and raised in the 90’s. During this time the burgeoning of technology began to take shape and has today exploded with a variety of gismos, tools,and apps that leave a tech dinosaur such as myself quite bewildered. This is perhaps the same feeling my students experience, as they have been born in a technological era and are more comfortable navigating a new operating system rather than stepping foot in a library. This therefore brings me to the point that the didactic way of instructing students is no longer relevant and teachers such as myself must embrace the use of these new productivity tools in order to engage the attention of our students. Tools such as Moxtra, Edmodo, Padlet and Powtoon can be utilized in the classroom to deliver lessons as well as to stimulate the creativity of our students. These tools can also be a forum for students to keep abreast of lessons they may have missed , thus offering them another form of communication besides Whatsapp  and Facebook. In conclusion, it is therefore imperative that all stakeholders move from the old method of teaching and embrace these new tools to better facilitate our nation’s youths.

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REFLECTION 1

The Education policy of Trinidad and Tobago is a well thought out document that cites the basis for educational provisions for the children of our nation. The foundation of this document states that all children must be provided with an education regardless of race,religion, class or socio economic standing. It further states that those with disabilities are also entitled to the same. These fundamental provisions must be adhered too, as Trinidad and Tobago is one of only a few  nations which provides free education from the elementary(preschool) level until tertiary . The policy also  talks about the types of instruction that are taught at these institutions, especially those that full fledged Government run schools as oppose to those that are Government assisted schools , who are still overseen by a religious board. Intrinsically linked with the education policy of Trinidad and the Tobago is the Concordat of 1960 which gives the various Denominational Boards a certain amount of power with regards to their curriculum and the appointment of teaching and administrative personnel in their schools. It should also be noted that the Education policy has been tweaked over the years in order to adhere to international standards though the fundamentals have stayed the same.

In my view the first class was more interesting than I expected especially as I am not big tech person. The old adage that knowledge is power was proven true, as I found myself excited to learn and explore these new teaching tools that I hope can one day be used at the school where I teach, as I believe that a vast majority of the kids will enjoy using these programmes.I also enjoyed the animated and lively Ms.Rampersad and I eagerly await future sessions.

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Letter of notification to parents along with consent forms.

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Letter of notification to parents along with consent forms.

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Disclaimer letter, if the items are lost the school is not responsible.

Teachers inform HODs about the date and time of use of the devices.

Devices must be logged with subject teacher.

Log sheets are to be developed to properly tag devices to show ownership. Secure area with restricted access to be designated for storage of items.