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Module #7
Part#1 Challenges faced by teachers and students in relation to Web tools 2.0

Web based tools an be very effective within the classroom once administered appropriately.
Web 2.0 technologies encourage and enable teachers and learners to share ideas and collaborate in innovative ways. They also force educators to rethink the way we teach and learn and to transform our education practices so that we can support more active and meaningful learning that involves “learning to be” as well as “learning about.” Web 2.0 has the potential to create more interactive and powerful learning environments in which learners become knowledge creators, producers, editors, and evaluators (Richardson, 2009). Learners’ critical thinking skills can be enhanced through the opportunity to regularly compare their own contributions to those of their peers, and the affirmation of their relative standing in the class may be powerful motivation for learning (Hurlburt, 2008). Thus, Web 2.0 technologies has the ability to “support active and social learning, provide opportunities and venues for student publication, provide opportunities to provide effective and efficient feedback to learners, and provide opportunities to scaffold learning in the student’s Zone of Proximal Development” (Hartshorne & Ajjan, 2009; Vygotsky, 1978). In addition, Web 2.0 provides numerous opportunities for social interactions and collaboration among students, teachers, subject matter experts, professionals in different fields, as well as a host of others with related interests. The pedagogical benefits of Web 2.0 have been well documented in the literature.
Among barriers to effective use of web 2.0 tools for instruction is the challenge of creating meaningful assignments to promote desired learning outcomes. Ill-designed assignment with no visible connection to the overall purpose of the course not only frustrates students, it decreases students’ interest in using the tool, and results in little or no learning (Reynard, 2009). Moreover, educators needs to be conversant of the fact that the social nature of Web 2.0 tools which makes them attractive as potential learning tools is also one of its drawbacks. “The very key to the success of a blog assignment structure, then, is fundamentally counter intuitive. In order to take advantage of the virtual social space that is spontaneously created in the natural blogosphere, course work must dictate the precise level of engagement of the participants, must make the class blogosphere entirely unnatural … not spontaneously social…” (Hurlburt, 2008, p. 184).
Part #2
https://sway.office.com/1CKBn6CAomX79ofH?ref=Link

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Reflection #6
Module #6
Teaching students with Special Needs.

I have worked with a vary small number of students with learning disabilities of some form. Some of these students have openly communicated as well as their parents have shared their issues to me during the term.  I, however, recently learned a valuable lesson on separating the heart and mind in the classroom when it comes to helping students with disabilities reach their educational goals.
teaching students with special needs can be very difficult sometimes as well as time consuming. In order to effectively teach children within this area, teachers must be trained and be equipped with the proper materials to help children. Children must be properly diagnosed in order to understand and cater for their needs.

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Module#5 ICT Integration

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Module # 4
E-Testing CXC
Today in this session my understanding with E Testing by CSEC was further enhanced as in the previous teaching term our school carried out its first demo class in Maths and English CSEC testing. I applaud the idea by CSEC to introduce this type of testing as we are moving with the age of technology. Our students are vastly intrigued and into the age of technology. Therefore I support CSEC with this initiative. Exams are no longer boring with just pen and paper, students are motivated with this type of testing as they can obtain their results in mere minutes and just the idea of using a computer extrinsically motivates students to try the exams. As a teacher, I'm excited to try out this type of testing in my class. I instantly acquired a love for Quizalize, it made setting an exam so easy and interesting. The other apps were interesting but they took awhile for me to understand their workings.
The advantages of technology enhanced assessment includes 1) improving student engagement and reinforcing student learning,2)helps in clarifying making criteria, saves time and more efficient in correcting exams. Added to that capture of skills and attributes not easily assessed by means. Example through simulations and e-portfolios, innovate approach based around the use of creative media and online peer and self- assessment.

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Reflection #3
Complex Tools 2

Well what a day! 🙄. At the end of this session I thought I encountered a cognitive overload. However, I really enjoyed using Powtoon, Prezi and Sway. Sway turned out to be the best. I like the fact that I can assess my work especially my PowerPoint anywhere I go without the use of a flash drive. For a person like me, who always misplaces flash drives.
Also, imagine being in the classroom, teaching and correcting papers at the same time through the use of technology. These tools have really made me excited about using them in my classes.
However, at one point it made me think if in the future my job as a teacher would become redundant. 🤔. That made me a little scary but on the 🤬 side these Ict tools can really enhance my teaching skills. I really want to encourage learning and student participation in my classes. I am really hoping that our school can be Ict ready to foster and encourage learning in my classes. It has been far too long using white board and markers in the classroom.

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Assignment #2 Spreadsheet

Give your reflections on the utility of spreadsheets. How could the use of technology enhance your productivity and creativity?

Being a Form teach is tedious and difficult job sometimes. At the end of the term form teachers are bombarded with reports, mark books, mark analysis sheets. The use of spreadsheet enhancing a teachers’ productivity in terms of time allocation. Besides using a Mark book or Record given to teachers by the Ministry of Education, spreadsheets can be modified in ways that bound gradebooks cannot. Extra columns can be added in (for new assignments) extra rows can be taken out (when students drop a class), you can link spreadsheets together (so you can view and pivot things based on assignment, date, or student). It is sometimes difficult trying to squeeze everything in to a notebook, while it is much easier to search and scan than a Word document. For teachers and students who are not mathematically inclined, spreadsheet is a life saver.

Added to that the use of spread sheets helps in creating the budget for both personal life as well as projects within the classroom such as field trips. Also, Candidate Information sheet to enter the students for an examination and large amounts of data can be stored in legible and concise method.

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Significance of educational polices

Educational policies help to provide guidance upon a teachers’ pedagogy. This helps to shape the methodology teachers use within their classrooms. Polices also provides structure and what goals are to be achieved at the end. Educational policies help to provide a reliable and productive workforce for a country. Within the schools’ curriculum, there is a hidden curriculum, which prepares students for the work of work.

Due to the growing complexity of education systems in the contemporary era, this has placed greater pressures for accountability in all dimensions of teachers' professional work. Several researchers have highlighted that the role overload, complexity and tension teachers are experiencing arise from introduced educational reforms (Bell & Stevenson, 2006;Cardno&Howse, 2005;Stevenson, 2007;Sungalia, 1990). To illustrate the range of changes occurring in teachers' work and in turn their workload, researchers in developed countries have framed relevant themes such as intensification and accountability. Schools are highly complex and create standards of quality for learning and safety, as well as expectations and accountability. Without these, schools would lack the structure and function necessary to provide for the educational needs of students.

Impact of educational policies upon my teaching practices

In reference to ICT educational Policy, for the past two years I have tried to include ICT in my lesson plans, although it has not been fully implemented. I continue to include videos, online worksheets, whatsapp group chats and sometimes the use of the cell phone in the classroom to do research. In addition in terms of Gender Equality, I chose activities that include both gender example role plays in some topics such as the Labour Force allowing females to be Human Resource Managers or Supervisors where society did not allow women to hold such positions in the workplace for decades. The materials used in the classroom should not bring about discrimination or stereotypes. In terms of Cyber bullying, my Health and Family Life Education lessons incorporates ways of helping students to cope and adapt to negative influences within the social media. Students are taught about the negative effects of cyber bullying upon oneself and others.