Priya Gopal by Priya Ray

Learning Diary Entry One for MOOC course: How to use Tablets Module One

priyamray — 2015-04-14 06:08:00 UTC

Hi, this is Mrs Priya Gopal. I am teaching at Good Shepherd School (India).

We are a CIS accredited school, IB DP and CIE school. I teach English Language and Literature (IB DP) &

IGCSE English.

Learning Diary Entry Two: Module One

priyamray — 2015-04-14 06:12:53 UTC

I have 30 students under my wing for the IB DP programme and 15 students for the CIE programme.

We do use technology in the classroom. I rely on the smartbook notebook, PPT and youtube. My students have a Toshiba laptop.

They are allowed to use the laptop to type assignments and conduct research for various subjects. Apart from that we have an audio visual theatre and a language lab to enrich

their learningexperience

Module One:

priyamray — 2015-04-14 06:57:28 UTC

Why do I want to use tablets? In other words what is the added benefit in general and more importantly what is the benefit for my own situation.
What do I need to consider at a more broader, whole-school level when using tablets?
What do I need to consider at a classroom level when using tablets?o

I want to use tablets in my classroom because we need to keep pace with the rest of the IB schools. I can see manifold benefits in using tablets: better retention of knowledge, combatting boredom in the classroom, better discipline, learners can be inquirers, thinkers, risk takers etc. These are also the IB student profile.

At the whole- school level I need to see whether the middle school, high school students will have access to these tablets; will their parents be willing to pay for it. Our school has made it compulsory for everyone to use Toshiba laptops, perhaps not all parents would welcome the added cost. When it comes to the whole school scenario - I need to make sure that systems are in place to prevent my students from using it as a device to stalk other kids or cyber bully them. Our pupils are addicted to Facebook and snapchat. I don't want to aggravate the problem. So far we don't have an intraschool monitoring body .

The factors that i need to consider while implementing tablets in my classroom are:

classroom size, digital literacy skills of the students, the tendency of my students to be focused on the task at hand, issues with network, TIME !!

Unit

priyamray — 2015-04-16 06:00:30 UTC

Hello !!

I teach in an internationsl school in india and we have the best infrastructure. We are probably one of the few private schools that has a computer lab, smart whiteboards in every classroom, the teachers have a personal laptop. We rely heavily on ICT but yes tablets are missing from our school. We do not have tablets for either the teachers or the pupils. In my classroom I have 15 students who are allowed to search for information on their laptop. Whatever they can do on tablets is actually being done on the laptop. But there are disadvantages in this.

If I were to use tablets, I can foresee the following advantages:

Note: I teach English Literature and Language

1) greater enthusiasm for the subject

2) enhanced motivation to learn new chapters, a new unit

3) a diverse variety of formative assessments

4) students will be able to hear and see the works in their original context. For example: we are studying Hamlet, so if I teach them a certain scene, my students can go online and experience for themselves what the actors sound like.

5) students take charge of their learning and thus can engage in collaborative learning.

6) Tablets provide multi-modal instruction. They can cater to the different learning style of students (auditory, visual, kinaesthetic etc)

7. Tablets can also tap into different paradigms of intelligence the student exhibits.

8. My English lessons can be made more interesting if I give them projects to do on their tablet.

thanks !!

Learning Diary Entry

priyamray — 2015-04-16 08:20:25 UTC

1.2

Hello !!

I teach in an international school in india and we have the best infrastructure. We are probably one of the few private schools that has a computer lab, smart whiteboards in every classroom, the teachers have a personal laptop. We rely heavily on ICT but yes tablets are missing from our school. We do not have tablets for either the teachers or the pupils. In my classroom I have 15 students who are allowed to search for information on their laptop. Whatever they can do on tablets is actually being done on the laptop. But there are disadvantages in this.

If I were to use tablets, I can foresee the following advantages:

Note: I teach English Literature and Language

1) greater enthusiasm for the subject

2) enhanced motivation to learn new chapters, a new unit

3) a diverse variety of formative assessments

4) students will be able to hear and see the works in their original context. For example: we are studying Hamlet, so if I teach them a certain scene, my students can go online and experience for

for themselves what the actors sound like.

5) students take charge of their learning and thus can engage in collaborative learning.

6) Tablets provide multi-modal instruction. They can cater to the different learning style of students (auditory, visual, kinaesthetic etc)

7. Tablets can also tap into different paradigms of intelligence the student exhibits.

8. My English lessons can be made more interesting if I give them projects to do on their tablet.

1.3

priyamray — 2015-04-16 08:24:29 UTC

I have learnt a lot from the 3 videos. For my school the following would be the most challenging:

1) providing a stable wifi network. Our network is strong but gets slower as the traffic increases

2) Technical support - we have a team of IT personnel who are stretched to the limit and they may not be too happy if they are given one more responsibility :(

3) We could appoint 2 students to be Tablet experts but unless our e-safety mechanism is vault-like solid even they would take liberties

4) It will take us months and months to frame a school wise standard on

the use of tablets

5) Teachers own laptops but if you ask them to own their own personal tablets they would resist!!

Our management needs to give us the tablets for free :) .

I would counteract most of these issues by garnering support from the parents and having the students frame an open letter for the Principal

For my colleagues on this course: my sincere advise is to persevere in their attempts to bring about a change. A lot of the private schools in India are more obsessed with marks.

we are taking baby steps but we will get there eventually.

Learning Diary of 1.4

priyamray — 2015-04-16 08:39:23 UTC

I haven't had the opportunity to u se tablets in the classroom but I can anticipate that the tablets will be misused to access social networking sites, skype with their family and friends and to watch movies. Social networking sites are banned in our school. We arent allowed to move the students out of the classroom so that means the students will not have access to an alternative learning space. I will not be allowed to change the layout of the classroom since I share the classroom with other teachers. We don't have a school policy on how to use tablets. Our student council needs to be given the power to set ground rules of using the tablet. We are always struggling for time since we have a plethora of duties apart from classroom teaching.

Learning Diary Module 1, last activity of this module:

priyamray — 2015-04-16 12:15:57 UTC

Added reflections:

I do not know when our school will incorporate the use of tablets. As I was reading the various sources listed on the 1.6 Additional resources page I realised that there is no clear cut link between enhanced pupil performance and the use of tablets. The feel good factor is evident. As an international school we are 'behind' the schools in the West (very generally speaking).

Personally, a teacher cannot be replaced by technology. I want to make my lessons interactive but at the same time I do not want my students to get lost in the endless abyss of information. However, I am more motivated to complete the modules than I was at the beginning of the course.

Welcome to Module 2

priyamray — 2015-04-23 10:59:27 UTC

2.3 Hello everyone

I created this online blog as my module project

Module 2 Activity

priyamray — 2015-04-23 11:32:43 UTC

An idea for a piece of content you can produce with your class that has a purpose beyond the classroom activity (see 2.2)
An actual piece of content that you can use as an example for a content creation project in your classroom (see 2.3)

1. I am planning to teach my children how to construct a blog and embellish it with various social sharing links, embellish it with videos, graphics and a user comment section.

2. Yes I can use content taken from my English textbook and have the students explore the format, layout of a blog. The students can be as eye catching as possible and they must incorporate hyperlinks, user comments, interactive graphics and links to other projects. This is part of their IB English syllabus requirement.

Module 3 Activity

priyamray — 2015-05-01 08:28:05 UTC

How do you form groups of students for group work and why do you take this approach? Based on your experience what strategies of forming groups work and which do not work? Why?
How do you keep your students focused and on track during collaborative projects? How do you ensure all students contribute to the task?
What strategies have you used to assess group work? What are the main challenges for you when it comes to assessing group work?

Answer 1) Groups are formed on the basis of ability levels. I make sure that they are also on 'talking terms'. I form groups of four. Based on my experience, the freeloaders cannot be paired with a hard working student. I also make sure that my groups comprise both genders.

Answer 2) I keep my students focused and on track through the use of interim peer evaluations, on the spot questioning and their ability to meet deadlines, they are given marks for meeting deadlines

Answer 3) I use rubrics, video recordings to assess group work. I take rounds in the classroom.

I found the following webpage very helpful.

My Lesson Plan for the course:

priyamray — 2015-05-08 04:20:04 UTC

http://v.gd/jTcfIF

Hi,

priyamray — 2015-05-08 05:02:35 UTC

I will use the following app

Module 4

priyamray — 2015-05-08 05:06:24 UTC

Finally, in the Padlet below, reflect on how you gather information about the learning styles of your students. How do you know what types of learners there are? What are good strategies to identify this? Is it enough to simply ask the students as is done in the video above? Are the students, are we, always fully aware of how we learn best?

We have a counselor who conducts paper tests for all the pupils and she gives us the results. we put up the findings in the classroom and the teachers retain a copy. We have many types of learners. We distinguish them on the basis of their learning styles - visual, auditory, kinaesthetic and also Gardner's multiple intelligences.

There are diagnostic tests to identify the learners. The learning styles also changes. Routine tests have to be administered on the students and the teachers have to be very keen observers. Yes our students are aware how they learn best and we make sure that the activities are suited to their learning styles.