Fear factor

zoom

Mobile devices could become the next big thing in ICT integration.

In a wider context, blogs can be used to "open up classrooms around the world," he says. "A whole group can create an online diary, post it on the internet, and then link up with a school in another country. It makes for a really great cultural exchange."

Wikis, now made famous by Wikipedia, can be just as useful for building on writing skills. "The main thing for wikis is collaborative writing," says Sharma. "Students need to work together to create a text, but not in the classroom."

Students can be given a writing assignment, which can then be corrected or added to by their classmates. "The wonderful thing is that the teacher can just go in and look at the history of the wiki, and see what the students have changed." These changes will often give teachers an idea of the gaps in their students' knowledge, which can then be addressed during class.

Moving up the technology ladder, virtual learning environments (VLEs) are becoming a standard feature of universities' teaching tools. Used mainly to supplement face-to-face teaching, VLEs are an online platform that can be used to upload content, such as lectures and lessons; correct and return students' work; collect and organise student grades; allow communication between students and teachers; and monitor student activity.

With VLEs, university students need no longer worry about nodding off during lectures, Sharma says. "At the end of the lecture, the lecturer can post the PowerPoint presentation to the VLE, so students can access the information when they want to." This is called information-on-demand, he explains.

"Rather than sitting and forcing yourself to follow this lecture, you can get the idea and later focus on the bits you want by going to the VLE. It's actually having an effect on exam results."

Though designed to serve as educational platforms, VLEs can also provide an environment where educators can meet socially. Moodle, a free VLE used by many education professionals, provides a good example of how this can be done, Sharma points out.

"I went to a conference in Scotland, which was also held virtually on Moodle, for teachers who couldn't get there. These teachers could just go to Moodle, and see videos of the presentations at the conference." What happened then, he continues, is that teachers started to socialise with their colleagues.

"The whole idea of socialising in cyberspace really became a part of what Moodle can enable people to do."

Second Life, a virtual world, takes virtual learning environments to the next level. Through avatars, users can create three-dimensional versions of themselves, and engage in a world that has all the features of the real world, online.

More than 300 universities have already set up campuses on Second Life, a platform favoured for giving a personal dimension to distance learning.

For school teachers and students, the Second Life teen grid allows children to interact in a safe environment.  Though it's a bandwidth-hungry programme, Sharma doesn't expect this to pose many problems for schools. "School will probably be able to use it in the future, because bandwidth is always increasing," he says.

As well as countless other applications, the programme provides unique opportunities for language teaching, Sharma continues. "The main reason to use Second Life is because of the role plays. You can actually let your imagination go, and you can do much stranger role plays than in real life."

Realistically, he admits that Second Life is still not practical for everyday teaching. "I don't think classroom teachers need to get worried, because it's still something that one does away from the classroom - at the moment, anyway."

The arrival of ‘smart phones', such as the iPhone and BlackBerry, will probably propel mobile learning to the centre of ICT in the years to come, predicts Sharma. "I think it's going to take off to a larger extent, because you're going to be able to do more and more on these devices."

In the near future, he continues, "students in the classroom will ask the teacher if they can transfer the lesson onto their devices." They will then be able to take that information home, and study the parts they want.

Beyond a couple of years, it's nearly impossible to predict the technology that will shape ICT education, says Sharma. "Seeing into the future is really tough; all you can do is make bland statements like it's exciting and it will keep growing and so on; it's almost impossible to predict."

Whatever shape it takes, ICT presents undeniable opportunities for teachers to engage their students and make their lessons come alive. Once teachers embrace these opportunities, perhaps even maths won't seem so difficult.

Print | Email | Discuss this article

| Share |

READERS' COMMENTS

Click here to post a comment

Add your Comment All posts are sent to the administrator for review and are published only after approval. ArabianBusiness.com reserves the right to remove any comment at any time for any reason. Please keep your responses appropriate and on topic. Arabian Business would like to point out that only comments relevant to the story will be published. Any containing personal insults or inappropriate language will not be approved.
Name *
Remember me on this computer
Email *	(Your email address will not be published)
City
Country
Subject *
Comment *
Notify me of further comments
Enter the words above *
Please click post only once - your comment will not be published immediately.

MORE FROM ARABIANBUSINESS.COM