Sunday, November 13, 2011

Week 7: Reflections on Learner Autonomy and the One-computer Classroom

Avery hectic week for me. Not only the pressure of course work but also the biggest religious festival Eid-ul-Azha has brought a lot of religious and social responsibilities on me. Unfortunately, I missed the deadline for my mid-week post on nicenet for the first time. It was due to the technological impediment as my internet modem failed to perform in my village home even though there was complete network. This has upset me and spoiled the mirth and merriment of the festival. However, I'm now back again in the active zone. Thank God I could read some articles on 'Learner autonomy' and strategies on 'one computer class' which has drawn my attention a lot.

In this age of global communication, we as teachers are no longer in the role of a dominant sage in the class. Rather we tend to be guides and facilitators for our learners. So, giving freedom to them is one of our biggest concerns. In this regard articles on learner autonomy this week have once again disclosed the facts related to the present teaching environment. But the new concept for me this week is the one computer classroom. It is really interesting to read about the techniques of one computer class. I've been using a computer in my class quite often since 2008 but never ever I've used it for other purposes except for powerpoint presentation. This time I've got some new ideas of using computer in manifold ways. Recently, I've used a computer with internet connection in my class. This computer was connected with a multimedia projector which has made it much more visible to all. In one of my presentation classes, I've been able to show my students a model presentation and a presentation with many faults. Learners found it of interest and there were discussion sessions on the videos. The plus points of it were many. For example, students felt motivated and clearly saw what they should not do during presentation. They also visualized correct gesture, posture, voice quality, standing position, pronunciation etc. The minus point I found was that using internet takes a lot of time sometimes. So, instead of going live on internet, we should download materials and use them in a pre-planned way. Another problem is the frequent load shedding that completely stops the action. If it is a laptop, there is back-up energy, but what about the multimedia? That is why, it sometimes can spoil the whole plan. In this case, teacher should have some back-up plans on the same topic.

Finally, I'd like to say that I'm still finding it difficult to sign up for a partner as the link does not open in my computer. Hope to hear from Robert, my course teacher, about it.

1 comment:

  1. I agree with you when you say "In this age of global communication, we as teachers are no longer in the role of a dominant sage in the class. Rather we tend to be guides and facilitators for our learners". We, as teachers, should encourage ourselves professionally to promote as much autonomous learning as possible to the students. As the teaching paradigm has shifted from teacher-centered to student-centered, it's the time for teachers to be more student-centered in their teaching. It also means that we need to teach our students to be more independent and responsible on their process of gaining knowledge.

    Best wishes for you always..:)

    ReplyDelete