LESSON 1

EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY

Objective:
What is Educational Technology?
What is the importance of educational technology in education?

What is Education Technology?

            To understand the meaning of educational technology, it may be good to begin
with the meaning of technology. The word “technology” comes from the Greek
word techne which means craft or art. Based on the etymology of the word
“technology”, the term educational technology, therefore, refers to the art or craft of
responding to our educational needs.
            Many people think that technology refers only to machines such as computers,
tv, videos, and the like. All these form part of technology but educational technology is
all these and more! Technology is not jut machines. It is a “planned, systematic method
of working to achieve planned outcomes – a process not a product. Technology is the
applied side of scientific development. “(Dale, 1969) Technology also refers to any valid
and reliable process or procedure that is derived from basic research using the scientific
method.” (http://en.wikipedia.org?wiki/Educational_technology//Perspective and
meaning) Technology refers to “all the ways people use their inventions and
discoveries to satisfy the
needs and desires.” (The World Book Encyclopedia, Vol. 19) So, educational
technology refers to how people used their inventions and discoveries to satisfy their
educational needs and desires, i.e. learning.
            Educational technology is “a complex, integrated process involving people,
procedures, ideas, devices, and organization for analyzing problems and devising,
implementing, evaluating, and managing solutions to those problems, involved in all
aspects of human learning.” (Association for Educational Communications and
Technology, 1977. The definition of educational technology: A summary. In the
definition of educational technology, 1-16, Washington D.C.: AECT.)
            Educational technology “consist of the designs and environments that engage
learners … and reliable technique or method for engaging learning such as cognitive
learning strategies and critical thinking skills.” (David II. Jonassen, et al 1999.)
            Educational technology is a theory about how problems in human learning are
solved. (David H. Jonassen, Kyle L. Pook, Brent G, Wilson, 1999). As a theory,
educational technology has an “integrated set of principles that explain and predict
observed events.”
            Educational technology is a field study which is concerned with the practice of
using educational methods and resources for the ultimate goal of facilitating the learning
process. (Lucido and Borabo, 1977)  As a field it operates within the total field of
education.
            Educational technology is a profession like teaching. It is made up of
organized effort to implement the theory. Intellectual technique, and practical application
of educational technology. (David H. Jonassen, et al 1999)
            From the definitions of educational technology given above, we can say that
educational technology is a very broad term. It is the application of scientific findings in
our method, process or procedure of working in the field of education in order to effect
learning. It embraces curriculum and instructional design, learning environment,
theories of teaching-learning. It is also a field study and a profession. It is the used of all
human inventions for teachers to realize their mission to teach in order that students
learn.
            There are other terms that are associated with educational technology. We
come across terms like technology in education, instructional technology and
technology integration in education books, educational media. Are they synonymous
with educational technology?
            Technology in education is “the application of technology to any of those
processes involved in operating the institutions which house the educational enterprise.
It includes the application of technology to food, health, finance, scheduling, grade,
reporting, and other processes which support educations within institutions.” (David H.
Jonassen, et al, 1999).
            Instructional technology is a part of educational technology. Instructional
technology refers to those aspects of educational technology that “are concerned with
instruction as contrasted t designs and operations of educational instructions.
Instructional technology is a systematic way of designing, carrying out, and evaluating
the total process of learning and teaching in terms of specific objectives.” (Lucido and
Borabo, 1997).
            Technology integration means using “learning technologies to introduce,
reinforce, supplement and extend skills.” (Williams, ed. 2000). Like instructional
technology, it is a part of educational technology. Technology integration is part and
parcel of instructional technology, which in turn is a part of educational technology.
            Educational media are channels or avenues or instruments of communication.
Examples are books, magazines, newspapers, radio, television, and internet. These
media also serve educational purposes.

LESSON 2
TECHNOLOGY BOON OR BANE?

Objectives:
What is Boon and Bane?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of boon and bane?

            Technology is a blessing for man. With technology, there is a lot that we can do
which we could not do then. With cell phones, webcam, you will be closer to someone
 miles and miles away, so far yet so close! That is your felling when you talk through a
cell phone to a beloved who is far away from home. Just think of the many human lives
saved because of speedy notifications via cell phones. Just think of how your teaching
and learning have become more novel, stimulating, exciting and engaging with the use
of multimedia in the classroom. With your tv, you can watch events as they happen all
over the globe. President Ramos had a lively interaction with his audience in Tacloban
in his tele-address without disrupting his work schedule in Manila, etc, etc.
            However, when not used properly, technology becomes a detriment to learning
and development. It can destroy relationships. Think of a husband who is glued to tv
unmindful of his wife seeking his attention. This may eventually erode marital
relationship. Think of the student who surfs the Internet for pornographic scenes. He will
have trouble with his development. The abuse and misuse of the Internet will have far
reaching unfavorable effects on his moral life. The teacher who schedules class tv
viewing for the whole hour to free herself from a one-hour teaching and so can engage
in “tsismis”, likewise will not benefit from technology. Neither will her class truly benefit
from the whole period of tv viewing.
In education, technology is bane when;
·         The learner is made to accept as Gospel truth information they get from the Internet.
·         The learner surf the Internet for pornography.
·         The learner has an uncritical mind on images floating on televisions and computers
that represent modernity and progress.
·         The tv makes the learner a mere spectator not an active participant in the drama of
life.
·         The learner gets glued to his computer for computer-assisted instruction unmindful of
the world and so fails to develop the ability to relate to other.
·         We make used of Internet to do character assassination of people whom we hardly
like.
·         Because of our cell phone, we spend most of our time in the classroom or in our
workplace texting.
·         We use overuse and abuse tv or film viewing as a strategy to kill time.
Let’s go back to the question asked at the beginning of this lesson. Is technology boon
or bane to education? It depends on how we use technology. If we use it to help our
students and teachers become caring, relating, thinking, reflecting and analyzing and
felling beings, then it is a boon, a blessing. But if we abuse and misuse it and so
contribute to our own ruin and down fall and those of other persons, it becomes a bane
or a curse.

LESSON 3
The Roles of Educational Technology in Learning

Objective:
    What are the roles of educational technology in learning?
 From the traditional point of view, technology serves as source and presenter of
knowledge. It is assumed that “knowledge is embedded in the technology (e.g. the
content presented by films and tv programs or the teaching sequence in programmed
instruction) and the technology presents that knowledge to the student (David H.
Jonasssen, et al, 1999).
            Technology like computers is seen as a productivity tool. The popularity of word
processing, databases, spreadsheets, graphic programs and desktop publishing in the
1980’s points to this productive role of educational technology.
            With the eruption of the INTERNET to the mid 90s, communication and
multimedia have dominated the role of technology in the classroom for the past few
years.
            From the constructivist point of view, educational technology serves as
learning tools that learners learn with. It engages learners in “active, constructive,
intentional, authentic, and cooperative learning. It provides opportunities for technology
and learner interaction for meaningful learning. In this case, technology will not be mere
delivery vehicle for content. Rather it is used as facilitator of thinking and knowledge
construction.
            From a constructivist perspective, the following are roles of technology in
learning: (Jonassen, et al 1999)
·         Technology as tools to support knowledge construction:
·         for representing learners’ ideas, understanding and beliefs.
·         for producing organized, multimedia knowledge bases by learners.
·         Technology as information vehicles for exploring knowledge to support
learning-by-constructing:
·         for accessing needed information.
·         for comparing perspectives, beliefs and world views.
·         Technology as context to support learning-by-doing:
·         for representing and simulating meaningful real-world problems, situations and
context.
·         for representing beliefs, perspective, arguments, and stories of others.
·         for defining a safe, controllable problem space for student thinking.
·         Technology as a social medium to support learning by conversing:
·         for collaborating with others.
·         for discussing, arguing, and building consensus among members of a community.
·         for supporting discourse among knowledge-building communities.
·         Technology as intellectual partner (Jonassen 1996) to support learning-by-
reflecting:
-           for helping learners to articulate and represent what they know.
-           for reflecting on what they have learned and how they came to know it.
-           for supporting learners ‘internal negotiations and meaning making.
-           for constructing personal representations of meaning.
-           for supporting mindful thinking.
            Whether used from the traditional or constructivist point of view, when used
effectively, research indicates that technology not only “increases students’ learning,
understanding and achievement but also augments motivation to learn, encourages and
collaborative learning and supports the development of critical thinking and problem-
solving skills” (Scharter and Fagnano, 1999). Russell and Sorge (1999) also claims that
the proper implementation of technology in the classroom gives students more “control
of their own learning and… tends to move classrooms from teacher-dominated
environments to ones that are more learner-centered. The use of technology in the
classroom enables the teacher to do differentiated instruction considering the
divergence of students’ readiness levels, interest, multiple intelligences, and learning
styles. Technology also helps students become lifelong learners.

LESSON 4
SYSTEMATIC APPROACH TO LEARNING

Objective:
What is a systematic or system’s approach to teaching?

            As depicted in the chart, the focus of systematic instructional planning is the
student. Instruction begins with the definition of instructional objectives that consider
the students’ needs, interest and readiness. On the bases of these objectives, the
teacher selects the appropriate teaching methods to be used and, in turn, based on the
teaching method selected, the appropriate learning experiences and appropriate
materials, equipment and facilities will also be selected.
            The used of learning materials, equipment and facilities necessitates assigning
the appropriate personnel to assist the teacher and defining the role of any personnel
involved in the preparation, setting and returning of these learning resources. (In some
school settings, there is a custodian/librarian who takes care of the learning resources
and/or technician who operates the equipment while teacher facilities.) the effective use
of learning resources is dependent on the expertise of the teacher, the motivation level
or responsiveness, and the involvement of the students in the learning process. With
the instructional objective in mind, the teacher implements planned instruction with the
use of the selected teaching method, learning activities, and learning materials with the
help of the other personnel whose role has been defined by the teacher.
            Will the teacher use direct instruction or indirect instruction? Will he/she teach
using the deductive of the inductive approach? It depends on his/her instructional
objectives, nature of the subject matter, readiness of students and the expertise of the
teacher himself or herself.
            Examples of learning activities that the teacher can choose from, depending
on his/her instructional objective, nature of the lesson content, readiness of the
students, are reading, writing, interviewing, reporting or doing presentation,
discussing, thinking, reflecting, dramatizing, creating judging and evaluating.
            Some examples of learning resources for instructional use are textbooks,
workbooks, programmed materials, computer, television programs, flat pictures,
slides and transparencies, maps, charts, cartoons, posters, models, mock ups,
flannel board materials, chalkboard, real objects and the like.
            After instruction, teacher evaluates the outcome of instruction. From the
evaluation results, teacher comes to know if the instructional objective was attained. If
the instructional objective was attained, teacher process to the next lesson going
through the same cycle once more. If instructional objective was not attained, then
teacher diagnoses what was not learned and finds out why it was not learned in order to
introduce a remedial measure for improved student performance and attainment of
instructional objective.

LESSON 5
THE CONE OF EXPERIENCE

Objective:
What is the Cone of Experience?
What are the differences of each kind of experiences in teaching?

            The Cone of Experience is a visual model, a pictorial device that presents

bands of experience arrange according to degree of abstraction and not degree of
difficulty. The farther you go from the bottom of the cone, the more abstract the
experience becomes.

            Dale (1969) asserts that:

           
The pattern of the bands of experience is not difficulty but degree of
abstraction-the amount of immediate sensory participation that is involved. A still
photograph of a tree is not more difficult          to understand that a dramatization of
Hamlet. It is simply in itself a less concrete teaching            material than the
dramatization. (Dale, 1969)

            Dale further explains that “the individual bands of the Cone of Experience stands
for experiences that re fluid, extensive, and continually interact.” (Dale, 1969) it should
not be taken literally in its simplified forms. The different kinds of sensory aid often
overlap and sometimes blend into one another. Motion pictures can be silent or they
can combine sight and sound. Students merely view a demonstration or they may view
it then participate in it.
           
            Does the Cone of Experience mean that all teaching and learning must move
systematically from base to pinnacle, from direct purposeful experiences to verbal
symbols? Dale (1969) categorically says:
            …No. We continually shuttle back and forth among various kinds of
experiences. Everyday each    of us acquires new concrete experiences – through
walking on street, gardening, dramatics, and    endless other means. Such learning by
doing, such pleasurable return to the concrete is natural   throughout our lives – and at
every each level. On the other hand, both the older child and he      young pupil make
abstraction everyday and may need help in doing this well.
In our teaching, then, we do not always begin with direct experience at the base
of Cone.     Rather, we begin with the kind of experience that is the most appropriate to
the needs and abilities of particular learner in a particular learning situation. Then, of
course, we vary this experience with many other types of learning activities. (Dale,
1969)
            One kind of sensory experience is not necessary more educational useful than
another. Sensory are mixed experiences and interrelated. When students listen to you
as you give your lecture, they do not just have an auditory experience. They also have
visual experience in the sense that they are “reading” your facial expressions and
bodily gestures.
            We face some risk when we overemphasize the amount of direct experience to
learn a concept. Too much reliance on concrete experience may actually obstruct the
process of meaningful generalization. The best will be striking a balance between
concrete and abstract, direct participation and symbolic expression for the learning that
will continue throughout life.
            It is true that the older a person is, the more abstract his concepts are likely to
be. This can be attributed to physical maturation, more vivid experiences and
sometimes greater motivation for learner. But an older student does not live purely in
this world of abstract ideas just as a child does not live only in the world of sensory
experience. Both old and young shuttle in a world of the concrete and the abstract.
            What are these bands of experience in Dale’s Cone of Experience? It is best to
look back at the Cone itself. But let us expound on each of them starting with the most
direct.
            Direct purposeful experiences – These are first hand experiences which
serves as the foundation of our learning. We built up our reservoir of meaningful
information and ideas though seeing, hearing, touching, tasting and smelling. In the
context of the teaching-learning process, it is learning by doing. If I want my student to
learn how to focus a compound light microscope, I will let him focus one, of course, after
I showed him how.
            Contrived Experiences – In here, we make use of a representative models or
mock ups of reality for practical reasons and so that we can make the real-life
 accessible to the students’ perceptions and understanding. For instance a mock up of
Apollo, the capsule for the exploration of the moon, enabled the North American
Aviation Co. to study the problem of lunar flight.
            Remember how you were taught to tell time? Your teacher may have used a
mock up, a clock whose hands you could turn to set the time you were instructed to set.
            Dramatized experiences – By dramatization, we can participate in a
reconstructed experience, even though the original event is far removed us in time. We
relive the outbreak of the Philippine revolution by acting out the role of characteristic in a
drama.
            Demonstration – It is a visualized explanation of an important fact, idea or
process by the use of photographs, drawings, films, displays, or guided motions. It is
showing how things are done. A teacher in Physical Education shows the class how to
dance tango.
            Study trips – These are excursions and visits conducted to observe an event
that is unavailable within the classroom.
            Exhibits – These are displays to e seen by spectators. They may consist of
working models arranged meaningfully or photographs with models, charts, and
posters. Sometimes exhibits are “for your eyes only”. There are some exhibits, however,
that include sensory experiences where spectators are allowed to touch or manipulate
models displayed.
            Television and motion pictures – Television and motion pictures can
reconstruct the reality of the past so effectively that were made to feel we are there. The
unique value of the messages communicated by film and television lies in their feeling
of realism, their emphasis on persons and personality, their organized presentation, and
their ability to select, dramatized, highlight, and clarify.
            Still pictures, Recording, Radio – These are visual and auditory devices may
be used by an individual or a group. Still pictures lack the sound and motion of a sound
film. The radio broadcast of an actual event may often be likened to a televised
broadcast minus its visual dimension.
            Visual symbols – They are no longer realistic reproduction of physical things
for these are highly, abstract representations. Examples are charts, graphs, maps, and
diagrams.
            Verbal symbols – They are not like the objects or ideas for which they stand.
They usually do not contain visual clues to their meaning. Written words fall under this
category. It may be a word for a concrete object (book), an idea (freedom of speech), a
scientific principle (the principle of balance), a formula (e=mc )
            What are the implications of the Cone of Experience in the teaching-
learning process?
1.      We do not use only one medium of communication in isolation. Rather we use many
instructional materials to help the student conceptualize his experience.
2.      We avoid teaching directly at the symbol level of though without adequate foundation
of the concrete. Students’ concepts will lack deep roots in direct experience. Dale
cautions us when he said; “These rootless experiences will not have the generative
power to produce additional concepts and will not enable the learner to deal with the
new situations that he faces.” (Dale, 1969)
3.      When teaching, we don’t get stuck in the concrete. Let us strive to bring our students
to the symbolic or abstract level to develop their higher order thinking skills.

LESSON 6
Using and Evaluating Instructional Materials

Objective:
What is an instructional material?
What is the importance of fieltrip?

            One of the instructional materials used to attain instructional objectives is field
trip.
            It is not enough to bring the class out for a field trip and make them observe
anything or anything or use other instructional materials for no preparation and clear
lesson at all. Perhaps this is what happened to the field trip joined in by Linus, that’s
why he seems not able to cite something specific that he learned from the field trip.
            For an effective use of instructional materials such as field trip, there are
guidelines that ought to be observed, first of all, in their selection and second, in their
use.
Selection of Materials            
            The following guide questions express standards to consider in the selection of
instructional materials:
·         Do the materials give a true picture of the ideas they present? To avoid
misconceptions, it is always good to ask when the material was produced.
·         Do the materials contribute meaningful content to the topic under study? Does the
material help you achieve the instructional objective?
·         Is the material appropriate for the age, intelligence, and experience of the learners?
·         Is the physical condition of the material satisfactory? An example, is a photograph
properly mounted?
·         Is there a teacher’s guide to provide a briefing for effective use? The chance that the
instructional material will be used to maximum and to the optimum is increased with a
teacher’s guide.
·         Can the materials in question help to make students better thinkers and develop their
critical faculties? With exposure to mass media, it is highly important that we maintain
and strengthen our rational powers.
·         Is the material worth the time, expense and effort involved? A field trip, for instance,
requires much time, effort, and money. Is it more effective than any other less
expensive and less demanding instructional material that can take its place? Or is there
a better substitute?
                                                 P – Prepare yourself
                                                 P – Prepare your student
                                                 P – Present the material
                                                 F – Follow up
The Proper Use of Materials
            You may have selected your instructional material well. This is no guarantee that
the instructional material will be effectively utilized. It is one thing to select, a good
instructional material, it is another thing to use it well.
            To ensure effective use of instructional material, Hayden Smith and Thomas
Nagel, (1972) book authors on Instructional Media, advise us to abide by the
acronym PPPF.
            Prepare yourself. You know your lesson objective and what you expect from
the class after the session and why you have selected such particular instructional
material. You have a plan on how you will proceed, what question to ask, how you will
evaluate learning and how you will tie loose ends before the bell rings.
            Present your students. Set class expectations and learning goals. It is sound
practice to give them guide questions for them to be able to answer during the
discussion. Motivate them and keep them interested and engaged.
            Present the material under the best possible conditions. Many teachers are
guilty of the R.O.G Syndrome. This is means “running out of gas” which usually results
from poor planning. (Smith, 1972) Using media and materials, especially if they are
mechanical in nature, often requires rehearsal and a carefully planned performance.
Wise are you if you try the materials ahead of your class use to avoid a fiasco.
            Follow up. Remember that you use instructional material to achieve an
objective, not to kill time, nor to give yourself break, neither to merely entertain the
class. You use the instructional for the attainment of a lesson objective. Your use of the
instructional material is not the end in itself. It is a means to an end, the attainment of a
learning objective. So, there is need to follow up to find out if objective was attained or
not.

LESSON 7
Direct, Purposeful Experiences and Beyond

Objective:
What is the direct, purposeful experience?
What are the disadvantages of direct experiences?

            What ever skills or concepts we have did not come out of the blue. We spend
hours doing the activity by ourselves in order to acquire the skill. The same thing is
through with the (4) narrators above. They learned the skills by doing. The Graduate
School Professor had to do the computer task to learn the skill. The Secretary learned
from here mistake and repeatedly doing the task correctly enable her to master the skill.
The Grade IV pupil got a clear concept of the size of the elephant and giraffe. For the
Grade VI teacher, the statistical concepts of positive and negative discrimination indices
become fully understood only after the actual experience of item analysis. All these
experiences point to the need to use, whenever we can, direct, purposeful experiences
in the teaching-learning process.
            What are referred to as direct, purposeful experiences?
These are our concrete and firsthand experiences that make up the foundation of our
learning. These are the rich experiences that our senses bring from which we
construct the ideas, the concepts, the generalizations that give meaning and order to
our lives. (Dale, 1969). They are sensory experiences.
            These direct activities maybe preparing meals, making a piece of furniture,
doing powerpoint presentation, performing a laboratory experiment, delivering a speech,
taking s trip, or making a piece of furniture.
            In contrast, indirect experiences are experiences of others…people that we
observe, read or hear about. They are not our own self-experiences but still experiences
in the sense that we see, read and hear about them. They are nit firsthand but rather
vicarious experiences.
            Climbing a mountain is a firsthand, direct experience. Seeing it done in films or
reading about it is a vicarious, substitute experience. It is clear, therefore, that we can
approach the world of realty directly through the senses and in directly with reduced
sensory experience. For example we can make bake black forest cake or see it done in
the tv or read about it.
            Why are these direct experiences described to be purposeful? Purposeful
because the experiences are not purely mechanical. They are not a matter of going
through the motion. These are not “mere sensory excitation”. They are experiences
that are internalized in the sense that these experiences involve the asking of question
that have significant in the life of the person undergoing the direct experience.
            They are also described as purposeful because these experiences are
undergone in relation to a purpose, i.e. learning. Why do we want our students to have
a direct experience in conducting an experiment in the laboratory? It is done in relation
to a certain learning objective.
            Where should these direct, purposeful experiences lead us to? The title of this
Lesson “Direct, Purposeful Experiences and Beyond” implies that these direct
experiences must not be the period or the end. We must be brought to a higher plane.
The higher plane referred to here is the level of generalization and abstraction.
            The Grade IV pupil’s zoo experience of the elephant and giraffe as given in the
ACTIVITY phase of the lesson enables him to understand clearly and visualized
correctly an elephant and a giraffe upon reading or hearing the words “elephant” and
“giraffe”. The Cone of Experience implies that we move from the concrete to the
abstract (and from the abstract to the concrete as well.) direct experiences serve as the
foundation of concept formation, generalization and abstraction. John Dewey (1969)
has made this fundamental point succinctly:
             An ounce of experience is better than a ton of theory because it is only in
experience that any theory has vital and verifiable significance. An experience, a very
humble experience, is capable of generating and carrying any amount of theory (or
intellectual content), but a theory apart from an experience cannot be definitely grasped
as a theory. It tends to become a mere verbal formula, a set of catchwords used to
render thinking, or genuine theorizing unnecessary and impossible.
            If direct, purposeful experiences or firsthand sensory experiences make
us learn concepts and skills effectively, what does this imply to the teaching
learning process? First, let us give our students opportunities to learn by doing. Let us
immerse our students in the world of experience. Second, let us make use of real
things us instructional materials for as long as we can. Third, let us help the students
develop the five senses to the full to heighten their sensitivity to the world. Fourth, let us
guide our students so that they can draw meaning from their firsthand experiences and
elevate their level of thinking. As mentioned in lesson 5, let us not be tempted to get
stuck to the concrete and fail to bring up our students’ to the higher level of thinking
process.

LESSON 8
Teaching with Contrived Experiences

Objectives:
What are contrived experiences?
What are varied types of contrived experiences?
Why do we used contrived experiences?

The model of the atom, the globe, the planetarium, the simulated election
process and the preserved specimen fall under contrived experiences, the second band
of experiences in Dale’s Cone of Experience.
What are contrived experiences? These are “edited” copies of reality and are
used as substitute for real things when it is not practical or not possible to bring or do
the real thing in the classroom. These contrived experiences are designed to simulate to
real-life situations.
The atom, the planetarium are classified as models. A model is a “reproduction of
a real thing in a small scale, or large scale, or exact size-but made of synthetic
materials. It is a substitute for a real thing which may or may not be operational.”
(Brown, et al, 1969)
The planetarium may also be considered a mock up. A mock up is “an
arrangement of a real device or associated devices, displayed in such a way that
representation of reality is created. The mock up may be simplified in order to
emphasize certain features. It may be an economical reproduction of a complicated or
costly device, to be observed for learning purposes. Usually, it is a prepared substitute
for a real thing; sometimes it is a giant enlargement. (Brown, 1969). The planetarium is
an example of a mock up, in the sense that the order or the arrangement of the planets
is shown and the real processes of the planets’ rotation on their axis and the revolution
of the planets around the sun are displayed. A mock up is a special model where the
parts of a model are singled out, heightened and magnified in order to focus on that part
or process under study. The planetarium involves a model of each of the planet and the
sun but it focuses on the processes of the planets’ rotation and revolution and so is also
considered a mock up.
            The preserved specimens fall under specimens and objects. A specimen is any
individual or item considered typical of a group, class or whole. Objects may also
include artifacts displayed in a museum or objects displayed in exhibits or preserved
insect specimens in science.
            The school election process described above is a form of simulation. Simulation
is a “representation of a manageable real event in which the learner is an active
participant engaged in learning a behavior or in applying previously acquired skills or
knowledge.” (Orlich, et al, 1994). In addition to the election of class and school officers
given above, other examples of these are fire and earthquake drills which schools
usually conduct. Organizers of earthquake and fire drills create a situation highly similar
to the real situation when a building is on fire or when an earthquake happens.
            Another instructional material included in contrived experiences is game. Is
there a difference between a game and a simulation? Games are played to win while
simulations need not have a winner. Simulations seem to be more easily applied to the
study of issues rather than to processes.
            Why do we make use of contrived experiences? We use models, mock ups,
specimens and objects to: 1) overcome limitations of space and time, 2) to “edit” reality
for us to be able to suggested that similarly, you could select some classic quote, for
example, the opening paragraph from A Tale of Two Cities by Charles’ Dickens, “It was
the best of time, it was the worst of times” and ask the students to stimulate a plot, a
story line, characters and location. Use the current year. How closely do you think the
students might parallel Dickens? After the simulation, A Tale of Two Cities could be
read both for knowledge and for comparison to the student outlines.

Games
            Games are used for any of these purposes: 1) to practice and/or refine
knowledge/skills already acquired, 2) to identify gaps or weakness in knowledge or
 skills, 3) to serve as a summation or review, and 4) to develop new relationships among
concepts and principles.
            If you want a class that is fully alive, think of how you can integrate native games
in your lessons. Refers to Science and Mathematics of Toys, a sourcebook for
Teachers, published and printed by the Institute for Science and Mathematics Education
Development of the University of the Philippines.

            Here is a game that you can play at the beginning of the year, the Human
Intelligence Hunt. Armstrong (1994) suggests that you use this when you are
introducing Multiple Intelligence Theory at the beginning of the year. How is it played?
            Each student receives a list of task like those below. On your signal, students
take the task sheet along with a pen or pencil and find other students in the room who
can do the tasks listed. There are three basic rules:
1.      Students must actually perform the task listed, not simply say they can do them.
2.      Once a student performs a task to the hunter’s satisfaction, he or she should initial
the bank space next to the appropriate task on the hunter’s task sheet.
3.      “Hunters” can ask a person to perform only one task;

LESSON 9
Teaching with Dramatized Experiences

Objective:
What is dramatized experience?
What are the advantages of using the dramatized experiences in teaching?
What are the uses of different kinds of dramatized experiences?

            Something dramatic is something that is stirring or affecting or moving.

A dramatic entrance is something that catches and holds our attention and has an
emotional impact. If our teaching is dramatic, our students get attracted, interested and
affected. If they are affected and moved by what we taught, we will most likely leave an
impact on them. So, why can we be dramatic all the time?
            Dramatized experiences can range from the formal plays, pageants to less
formal tableau, pantomime, puppets and role playing.
            Plays depict life, character, or culture or a combination of all three. They offer
excellent opportunities to portray vividly important ideas about life. Pageants are
usually community dramas that are based on local history, presented by local actors. An
example is a historical pageant that traces the growth of a school. Play and
pantomime require much time for preparation and so cannot be part of everyday
classroom program.   
            Pantomime and tableaux, when compared to a play and a pageant, are less
demanding in terms of labor, time and preparation. These are purely visual experiences.
A pantomime is the “art of conveying a story through bodily movements
 only”. (Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary). It’s effect on the audience depends on
the movements of the actors. A tableau (a French word which means pictures) is a
picture like scene composed of people against a background. A tableau is often used to
celebrate Independence Day, Christmas, and United Nations Day.
            Dale (1996) claims that puppets, unlike the regular stage play, can present ideas
with extreme simplicity – without elaborate scenery or costume yet effectively.
            As an instructional device, the puppet show can involve the entire group of
students – as speakers of parts, manipulators of the figures, and makers of the puppets.
Types of Puppet
            Puppets come in different kinds. These are the most common:
·         Shadow Puppets – flat black silhouette made from lightweight cardboard and shown
behind a screen.
·         Rod Puppets – flat cut out figures tacked to a stick, with one or more movable parts,
and operated from below the stage level by the wire rods or lender sticks.
·         Hand Puppets – the puppet’s head is operated by the forefinger of the puppeteer,
the little finger and thumb being used to animate the puppet hands.
·         Glove-and-finger puppets – make use of old gloves to which small costumed figure
are attached.
·         Marionettes – flexible, jointed puppets operated by strings or wires attached to a
cross bar and maneuvered from directly above the stage.
What principles must be observed in choosing a puppet play for teaching? Dale, (1996)
quoting from the Puppeteers of America offers many suggestions, among which are
the following:
·         Do not use puppets for plays that can be done just as well or better by other dramatic
means.
·         Puppets plays must be based on action rather than on words.
·         Keep the plays short.
·         Do not omit the possibilities of music and dancing as part of the puppet show.
·         Adapt the puppet show to the age, background, and tastes of the students.

            Another form of dramatized experience is role-playing. Role-playing is an

unrehearsed, unrehearsed and spontaneous dramatization of a “let’s
pretend” situation where assigned participants are absorbed by their own roles in the
situation described by the teacher.
·         How is role-playing done? It can be done by describing a situation which would
create different viewpoints on an issue and then asking the students to play the roles of
the individual involved. Any kind of conflict situation, real or potential, is useful for role-
playing or any situation in which real feelings are concealed. Consider situations in
school, at home, on the playground, at work, in government. The role-playing has to be
followed by a discussion. Among the questions that may be ask are:
·         How did you, as actors, feel? Would you act/think that way in real life?
·         As observers, would you agree with what the actors said or did?
·         Any lessons learned?
 LESSON 10
Demonstration in Teaching

Objectives:
To be to define what does the demonstration means?
To be able to identify how should demonstration be done to make it work?

In a demonstration of a new product, the speaker show the product, tells all
the good things about the product to promote it in order to convince that the product is
worth buying.
            In the activist’ demonstration, the activists air their grievances and publicly
denounce the acts of a person or of an institution, like government, against whom they
are demonstrating.
            When a Master teacher is asked to do demonstration teaching on a teaching
strategy, she shows to the audience how to use a teaching strategy effectively.
            In all three instances of demonstration, there is an audience, a process of
speaking, and a process of showing a product or a method of proofs to convince the
audience to buy the product, use the strategy or rally behind their cause.
            What then is a demonstration? Webster’s International Dictionary defines it
as “a public showing and emphasizing of the salient merits, utility, efficiency, etc,
of an article or product…” In teaching it is showing how a thing is done and
emphasizing of the salient merits, utility, efficiency of a concept, a method or a process
or an attitude.
            What guiding principles must we observe in using demonstration as a teaching-
learning experience? Edgar Dale (1969) gives at least three:
1.      Establish Rapport. Greet your audience. Make them feel at ease by your warmth
and sincerity. Stimulate their interest by making your demonstration and yourself
interesting. Sustain their attention.
2.      Avoid the COIK fallacy (Clear Only If Known). What is this fallacy? It is the
assumption that what is clear to the expert demonstrator is also clearly known to the
person for whom the message is intended. To avoid the fallacy, it is best for the expert
demonstrator to assume that his audience knows nothing or a little about what he is
intending to demonstrate for him to be very thorough, clear and detailed in his
demonstration even to a point of facing the risk of being repetitive.
3.      What for key points. What are key points? Dale (1996) says, “They are the ones at
which an error is likely to be made, the places at which many people stumble and
where the knacks and tricks of the trade are especially important”. The good
demonstrator recognizes possible stumbling blocks to learners and highlights them in
some way. What are usually highlighted are the “don’t’s” of a process or a strategy.

To ensure that the demonstration work, we ought to plan and prepare very well before
we conduct the demonstration. In planning and preparing for demonstration, Brown
(1969) suggests methodical procedures by the following questions:
1.      What are our objectives?
2.       How does your class stand with respect to these objectives. This is to determine
entry knowledge and skills of your student.
3.      Is there a better way to achieve your ends? If there is a more effective way to attain
your purpose, the replace the demonstration method with the more effective one.
4.      Do you have access to all necessary materials and equipment to make the
demonstration? Have a checklist of necessary equipment and material. This may
include written materials.
5.      Are you familiar with the sequence and content of the proposed demonstration?
Outline the steps and rehearse you demonstration.
6.      Are the time limits realistic?

            You have planned and rehearse your demonstration, your materials and
equipment are ready, you have prepared your students, then you can proceed to the
demonstration itself. Dale (1969) gives several points to observe:
1.      Set the tone for communication. Get and keep your audience’s interest.
2.      Keep your demonstration simple.
3.      Do not wander from the main ideas.
4.      Check to see that your demonstration is being understood. Watch your audience for
sings of bewilderment, boredom or disagreement.
5.      Do not hurry your demonstration. Asking questions to check understanding can serve
as a “brake”.
6.      Do not drag out the demonstration. Interesting things are never dragged out. They
create their own tempo.
7.      Summarize as you go along and provide a concluding summary. Use the chalkboard,
the overhead projector, charts, diagrams, power point and whatever other materials are
appropriate to synthesize your demonstration.
8.      Hand out written materials at the conclusion.

What questions can you ask to evaluate your classroom demonstration? Dale (1969)
enumerates:
·         Was your demonstration adequately and skillfully prepared? Did you select
demonstrable skills or ideas? Were the desired behavioral outcomes clear?
·         Did you follow the step-by-step plan?
·         Did you make use of additional materials appropriate to your purposes chalkboard,
felt board, pictures, charts, diagram, models, overhead transparencies, or slides?
·         Was the demonstration itself correct?
·         Was your explanation simple enough so that most of the students understood it
easily?
·         Did you keep checking to see that all your students were concentrating on what you
were doing?
·         Could every person see and hear? If a skill was demonstrated for imitation, was it
presented from the physical point of view of the learner?
·         Did you help your students do their own generalization?
·         Did you take enough time to demonstrate the key points?
·         Did you review and summarize the key points?
·         Did your students participate in what you were doing by asking thoughtful questions
at the appropriate time?
·          Did your evaluation of student learning indicate that your demonstration achieve its
purpose?

LESSON 11
Making the Most of Community Resources and Field Trips

Objective:
What is fieldtrip?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of fieldtrips?
What is the use of community resources in teaching?

            The teachers’ comments given above indicate failure of the field trips conducted.
This is definitely the consequences of no planning or if ever there is, panning was done
poorly.
            What procedures must be followed to avoid the failed study trips described
above? Let’s plan. Planning field trips includes these steps: 1) preliminary teaching by
the teacher, 2) preplanning with others going on the trip, and 3) taking the field trip itself,
and 4) post-field trip follow up activities.
            For preliminary planning by the teacher, Brown (1969) proposes the following:
·         Make preliminary contacts, a tour on final arrangements with the place to be visited.
·         Make final arrangements with the school principal about the details of the trip: time,
schedule, transportation arrangements, finances, and permission slips from parents.
·         Make a tentative route plan, subject to later alternation based on class planning and
objectives.
·         Try to work out mutually satisfactory arrangements with other teachers if the trip will
conflict with their classes.
·         Prepare preliminary lists of questions or other materials which will be helpful in
planning with the students.
·         Preplanning with joining the trip.
·         Discuss the objectives of the trip and write them down. The main objectives should
be included in the permit slip given to parents and should be consulted later when the
trip is evaluated.
·         Prepare a list of questions to send ahead to the guide of the study trip.
·         Define safety and behavior standards for the journey there and for the field trip site
itself.
·         Discuss and decide on the ways to document the trip. Everyone is expected to take
notes.
·         List specific objects to be seen on their way to the site, on the site of the field trip and
on their way home from the site.
·         Discuss appropriate dress. Comfortable shoes for walking are important.
·         Before the trip, use of a variety of learning materials in order to give each student a
background for the trip. For example, by viewing a film, a slide set, or a still picture unit
dealing with housing standards and conditionings, a class maybe better prepared to
learn through a visit to an actual slum area.

Preplanning with Others Joining the Trip

            Other people accompanying the group need to be oriented on the objectives,
route, behavior, standards required of everyone so they can help enforce these
standards. These may be parents who will assist teachers and/or school administrator
staff.

Taking the Field Trip

·         Distribute route map of places to be observed.
·         Upon arriving at the destination, teacher should check the group and introduce the
guide.
·         Special effort should be made to ensure that:
·         The trip keeps to the time schedule.
·         The students have the opportunity to obtain answers to questions.
·         The group participants courteously in the entire trip.
·         The guide sticks closely to the list of questions.

Evaluating Field Trip

            These are questions we can ask after the fieldtrip to evaluate the field trip we
just have.
·         Could the same benefits be achieved by other materials? Was it worth by the time,
effort, and perhaps, extra money?
·         Were there any unexpected problems which could be foreseen another time? Were
these due to guides, students, poor planning or unexpected trip conditions?
·         Were new interest developed?
·         Should the trip recommended to other classes studying similar topics?

Educational Benefits Derived from a Field Trip

            Field trips can be fun and educational when they are well executed. They offer
us a number of educational benefits:
1.      The acquisition of lasting concepts and change in attitudes are rooted on concrete
and rich experiences.
2.      Field trips bring us to the world beyond the classroom. The real-world connection is
more work but the benefits of broadening teaching beyond textbooks far outweigh the
little bit of time it takes from a teacher’s schedule.
3.      Field trips have a wide range of application. It is not meant only for children. It is for
adults also. It is not only meant for the social science subjects. It is for all other subjects
as well.
4.      It can bring a lot of realization which may lead to changes in attitudes and insights.
Field trips “can nurture curiosity; build a zest for new experiences, and a sense of
wonder.” (Dale, 1969). Here are some realization students had after joining a field trip to
the following places:
·         A school for the blind “I’m glad, I’m blind. What can we do to prevent blindness?”
·         An automobile factory: “More and more factory work is automated. How will we have
three working days and four days off the job? What will people do with their time?”
·         A museum: “There is so much to be known and I know so little!”

Disadvantages of Field Trip

            These educational benefits can compensate for the drawbacks of field trips,
some of which are: 10 it is costly, 2) it is involves logistics, 3) it is extravagant with time,
and 4) contains an element of uncertainty.

Community Resources
            A field trip may be a visit a scenic spot or to a historical place. What community
resources can we use for learning?
            These can be persons and places in the community. For persons, let us not go
too far. Let us begin with the parents of our students. Many of them can be resource
speakers in their fields of expertise. A dentist may be invited to talk to the children on
how to care for their teeth. A journalist may serve as resource speaker on the parts of a
newspaper and how to write an editorial. A dynamic teacher will find a way to have a
record of parents’ names, contact number, occupation, and other pertineny data she
needs.                     
            There are other people in the community who can be excellent resource
speakers. A senior citizens and a war veteran in the community may be invited to class
for an interview on a topic of which he is expert, say for example, his memories of World
War II. A barangay captain may be asked on what the barangay intends to o to curb the
rampant alcoholism among the youth in the community.
            As the places to visit, popular destinations are museums, zoos, botanical
gardens, historical places, places of exhibits, scenic sports. Performances like a play, a
concert, and
            Public libraries and private libraries (some private schools, colleges and
universities allow outsiders to research in their libraries on special arrangements) can
also be community learning resources. Maybe classes are not brought to these libraries
for a field trip but students can go there for research and learning.

LESSON 12
The Power of Film, Video and TV in the Classroom

Objective:
Why are the films, video and tv powerful in the classroom?
What are the advantages of tv, video and film in teaching?
What are the some disadvantages or limitations of the use of tv?

            The film, the video and the tv are indeed very powerful. Dale (1969) says, they
can
·         Transmit a wide range of audio visual materials, including still pictures, film, objects,
specimens and drama.
·         Bring models of excellence to the viewer. We can see and heat the excellent
scientist like John Glenn, the excellent speakers and Master teachers who lecture and
demonstrate a teaching method for professional development of teachers.
·         Bring the world of reality to the home and to the classroom through a “live” broadcast
or as mediated through film or videotape. Not all of us have the opportunity to see life
underneath the sea. But with tv, we are able to see life at the bottom of the sea right
there in our sala or bedroom through Discovery Channel, for example.
·         Make us see and hear for ourselves world events as they happen. With a sense of
helplessness, we witnessed the fire that engulfed homes in San Diego, California last
year as it happened through tv. When the strong earthquake shook Baguio, Agoo,
Dagupan and Nueva Ecija, Philippines on July 16, 1990, the aftermath of the
earthquake was shown live in tv.
·         Be the most believable news source.
·         Make some programs understandable and appealing to a wide variety of age and
educational level. Literate and illiterate, young and old – all benefit from the common
experiences that the tv transmits.
·         Become a great equalizer of educational opportunity because programs can be
presented over national and regional networks.
·         Provide us with sounds and sights not easily available even to the viewer of a real
event through long shots, close ups, zoom shots, magnification and split screen made
possible by the tv camera. Afraid of the mammoth crowd every time. Baguio celebrates
the Panagbenga (Flower Festival). I prefer to stay home and watch it in tv. With the
versatile camera. I can have more close up view than those watching it from Session
Road.
·         Can give opportunity to teachers to view themselves while they teach for purposes of
self-improvement. – Teachers can’t view themselves while they teach but with video
cam and tv they can view themselves while they teach after.
·         Can be both instructive and enjoyable. – With sights and sounds and motion, tv is
much more enjoyable.

While the film, video and tv can do much, they have their own limitations, too.
·         Television and films is one-way communication device consequently, they encourage
passivity. Today, however, we talk about and work on interactive classrooms for
effective learning is an active process and so the learner must be actively engaged. Go
back to # 1 in the Activity phase of the lesson. Any comment?
·         The small screen size puts television at a disadvantage when compared with the
possible size of projected motion pictures, for example. With new technology, how is
this remedied?
·         Excessive tv viewing works against the development of the child’s ability to visualize
and to be creative and imaginative, skills that are needed in problem solving.
(http://www..publicschoolreview.com/articles/21)
·         There is much violence in tv. This is the irrefutable conclusion, “viewing violence
increases violence”. (American Psychological Association Youth Commission)
 Basic Procedures in the Use of TV as a Supplementary Enrichment

            For enrichment of the lesson with the use of tv, we have to do the following:
·         Prepare the classroom. (If your school has a permanent viewing room, the classroom
preparatory work will be less for you.)
·         Darken the room. Remember that complete darkness is not advisable for tv viewing.
Your students may need to take down notes while viewing.
·         The students should not be seated too near nor too far from the tv. No student
should be farther from the set than the number of feet that the picture represents in
inches. A 24-inch set means no student farther than 24 feet from the set. (Dale, 1969)
·         Pre-viewing Activities
·         Set goals and expectations. Why are you viewing the tv? What is expected of your
students? State clearly.
·         Link the tv lesson with past lesson and / or with your students’ experiences for
integration and relevance.
·         Set the rules while viewing. Will you allow them to take down notes? Or are you
providing them with notes afterward?
·         Point out the key points they need to focus on. It helps if you give them guide
questions which become the foci of post-viewing discussion. Omit this, if you are using
an interactive video and the resource speaker himself/herself gives the questions for
interactive discussion in the process of viewing.
·         Viewing
·         Don’t interrupt viewing by inserting cautions and announcement you forgot to give
during the pre-viewing stage. It disrupts and dampens interest.
·         Just make sure sights and sounds are clear. You were supposed to have checked on
these when you did your pre-viewing.
·         Post-viewing
·         To make them feel at ease begin by asking the following questions:
1)      What do you like best in the film?
2)      What part of the film makes you wonder? Doubt?
3)      Does the film remind you of something or someone?
4)      What questions are you asking about the film? (Write them down. You have not to
end the class without answering them to make your students feel that everyone and
everything matter. Nothing or nobody is taken for granted.)
·         Go to the question you raised at the pre-viewing stage. Engaged the students in the
discussion of answers. Check for understanding.
·         Tackle questions raised by the students at the initial stage of the post-viewing
discussion. Involve the rest of the class. If questions cannot be answered, not even you
can answer them, motivate the class to do further reading on the topic and share their
answers the next meeting. You will not be exempted from the assignment.
·         Ask what the student learned. Find out how they can apply what they learned.
Several techniques can be used for this purpose. A simple yet effective technique is the
completion of unfinished sentence. E.g. From this film I learned_____. I can apply the
lesson I learned in/by______.
·         Summarize what was learned. You may include whatever transpired in the class
discussions in the summary but don’t forget to base your summary on your lesson
objectives.

LESSON 13
Teaching with Visual Symbols

Objective:
What is teaching with visual symbols?
What are examples of visual symbols?

            Your experience of the words and the graphs convinces you that a graph is
easier to understand than the words of a paragraph. A graph is “worth a thousand
words”. A graph and any visual symbol for that matter such as drawings, cartoons, strip
drawings, diagrams, and maps are worth a thousand words. They are more clearly
understood than mere words. Let us learn more about each of them and find out where
they can be used n our lessons.
A.DRAWINGS
A drawing may not be the real thing but better to have a concrete visual aid than
nothing. To avoid confusion, it is good that are drawing correctly represents the real
thing.
            One essential skill that a teacher ought to possess in order to be understood is
drawing. It helps you a lot if you are capable of doing simple freehand sketching. You
will find out that as you lecture you need to illustrate on the chalk board. So, better start
learning how to draw. The only way to learn it is to do the sketching yourself and devote
some time to it. There is no nothing so difficult that is not made easy when we spend at
least forty hours learning and mastering it.

B. CARTOONS
            Another useful visual symbol that can bring novelty to our teaching is
the cartoon. A first-rate cartoon tells its story metaphorically. The perfect cartoon needs
no caption. The less the artist depends on words, the more effective the symbolism. The
symbolism conveys the message.

Source of Cartoons
            You can easily collect cartoons for instruction. They appear often in newspapers
and magazines. In class, you can give it to individual study or project it by an opaque
projector. Depending on themes for the week or the month, you can display these
cartoons on the bulletin board. One creative teacher arranged for a “cartoon of the
month” and displayed and changed her display every end of the month.

Sketching Cartoon
·         Start with simple shapes and add details. Note changes in expression.
·         Side view starts with same basic shapes.
·         Most cartoon figures are about four heads tall. Keep them simple.

Where to use Cartoons in Instruction

            You can also use this as a springboard for a lesson or a concluding activity. It
depends on your purpose.

RBEC Competency
            Go back to the RBEC. Which can be taught with the use of a cartoon? Come up
with a cartoon for a particular lesson.

C. STRIP DRAWINGS
            These are commonly called comics or comic strip. Dale (1969) asserts that a
more accurate term is strips that are educational and entertaining at the same time.

TYPES OF DIAGRAM
            Find out what these other diagrams are. You may need them as you teach and
as you go about your other teaching-related tasks.

·         Affinity Diagram – used to cluster complex apparent unrelated data into natural and
meaningful groups.
·         Tree Diagram – used to chart out, increasing detail, the various tasks that must be
accomplished to complete a project or achieve a specific objective.
·         Fishbone Diagram – it is so called cause-and-effect diagram. It is a structured form
of brainstorming that graphically shows the relationship of possible causes and sub-
causes directly related to an identified effect / problem. It is most commonly used to
analyze work-related problems.

E. CHARTS
            A chart is a diagrammatic representation of relationships among individuals
within an organization. We can have a: 1) time chart, 2) tree or stream chart, 3) flow
chart, 4)organizational chart, 5) comparison and contrast chart, 6) pareto
chart and 7) run chart or trend chart.

Examples of Chart
·         Time Chart – is a tabular time chart that presents data in ordinal sequence.
·         Tree or steam Chart – depicts development, growth and change by beginning with a
single course (the trunk) which spreads out into many branches; or by beginning with
the many tributaries which then converge into a single channel.
·         Flow Chart – is a visual way of charting or showing a process from being to end. It is
a means of problems.
·         Organizational Chart – shows how one part of the organization relates to other
parts of the organization.
·         Comparison and Contrast Chart – used to show similarities and differences
between two things.
·         Pareto Chart – is a type of bar chart, prioritized in descending order of magnitude or
importance from left to right. It shows at a glance which factors are occurring most.
·         Gannt Chart – is an activity time chart.

RBEC Competency
·         Find out which of these charts are appropriate for any lesson in the RBEC or for any
teaching-related task.

F. GRAPHS
There are several types of graphs. They are: 1) circle or pie graph, 2) bar graph,
3) pictorial graph 4) line graph.

·         Pie or Circle Graph – recommend for showing parts of whole.

·         Bar Graph – used in comparing the magnitude of similar items at different ties or
seeing relative sizes of the parts of a whole.
·         Pictorial Graph – makes use of picture symbols.
·         Graphic Organizers – you meet several organizers in your subject, Principles of
Teaching. Here is another graphic organizer, or information organizer.

RBEC Competency
            In which lesson can you use each of these graphs?

G. MAPS
            A map is a “presentation of the surface of the earth or some part of it
…” (Dale, 1969)

Kinds of Map
·         Physical Map – combines in a single projection data like altitude, temperature,
rainfall, precipitation, vegetation, and soil.
·         Relief Map – has three dimensional representations and show contours of the
physical data of the earth or part of the earth.
·         Commercial or Economic Map – also called product or industrial map since they
show land areas in relation to the economy.
·         Political Map – gives detailed information about country, provinces, cities and
towns, roads and highways. Oceans, rivers and lakes are the main features of most
political maps.

Map Languages
·         Scale – shows how much of the actual earth’s surface is represented by a given
measurement on a map. The scale must be shown so that the map reader can use the
distances and areas shown on the map measuring or figuring out the real distances and
areas on the earth’s surface. On some maps, scale is shown graphically. In others the
scale is expressed in words and figures. e.g. 1 inch = 15 statute miles.
·         Symbols – usually a map has a legend that explains what each symbols means.
Some symbols represent highways, railroads, mountains, lakes and plains.
·         Color – the different colors of the map are part of the map language. What colors
represent the bodies of water? What about contours of the earth and railroads,
highways and other cultural features? Get a physical map and study it.
·         Geographic Grids – the entire system of these grid lines are called grid lines. These
grid lines are called meridians.

LESSON 14
MAXIMIZING the USE of the OVERHEAD PRO MAXIMIZING the USE of the
OVERHEAD PROJECTOR and the CHALKBOARD JECTOR and the
CHALKBOARD

Objectives:
What techniques can help us maximize the use of the overhead projector and the
chalkboard?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of overhead projector?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of the chalkboard?
The Chalkboard
            Except in extremely deprived classroom, every classroom has a chalkboard. In
fact, a school may have no computer, radio, tv, etc, but it will always have a chalkboard.
So why not make optimum use of what we have, the chalkboard? The following
practices of dedicated professional teachers may help us in the effective use of the
chalkboard:
1.      Write clearly and legibly on the board. Take note that there are children in the last
rows.
2.      It helps if you have a hard copy of your chalkboard diagram or outline. That helps you
to visualize the diagram or outline you like to appear on the chalkboard. That clean
diagram and organized outline must match what you do on the chalkboard.
3.      Don’t crowd your notes on the board. By overcrowding your board work, your
students may fail to see the key ideas. They may not see the trees because of the
forest.
4.      Make use of colored chalk to highlight key points. Color will also make your board
work more appealing. I witnessed one good teacher who had no other visual aid except
herself, the chalkboard and her colored chalk.
5.      Do not turn your back to your class while you write on the chalkboard. Write side view
as you talk. Don’t lose your eye contact with your class.
6.      For the sake of order and clarity, write from the left side of the board going right.
7.      If you teach the Grades and you think the lines on the chalkboard are needed for
writing exercise, then provide the lines for your board.
8.      Look at your board work from all corners of the room to test if pupils from all sides of
the room can read your board work.
9.      If there is glare on the chalkboard at certain times of the day, a curtain in the window
may solve the problem.
10.  If you need to replace you chalkboard or if you are having a new classroom with new
chalkboard suggest to carpenter to mount the chalkboard a little concave from left to
right to avoid glare for the pupils benefit.
11.  If you need to have a board work in advance or that need to be saved for tomorrow’s
use (say a quiz or a sophisticated diagram), write “Please Save” and over the same with
a curtain.
12.  Make full use of the chalkboard. It may be traditional educational technology but it
serves its purpose very well when used correctly.

Here are some more chalkboard technique, from James w. brown (1969).

CHALKBOARD TECHNIQUE
A.     Sharpen your chalk to get good line quality.
B.     Stand with your elbow high. Move along as you write.
C.     Use dots as “aiming points.” This keeps writing level.
D.     Make all writing or printing between 2 and 4 inches high for legibility.
E.      When using colored chalk, use soft chalk so that it can be erased easily.

The Overhead Projector (OHP)

            There are other kinds of projectors like opaque projector and slide projector. The
overhead projector seems more available in schools. It has a lot of advantages. Brown
(1969) cites the following:

·         The projector itself is simple to operate.

·         The overhead projector is used in the front of the room by the instructor, who has
complete control of the sequence, timing, and manipulation of his material.
·         Facing his class and observing students reactions, the instructor can guide his
audience, control its attention, and regulate the flow of information in the presentation.
·         The projected image behind the instructor can be as large as necessary for all in the
audience to see; it is clear and bright, even in fairly well-lighted rooms.
·         Since the transparency, as it is placed in the projector, is seen by the instructor
exactly as students see it on the screen, he may point, write, or otherwise make
indications upon it to facilitate communication.
·         The stage (projector surface) of the projector is large (10 by 10 inches), thus allowing
the teacher to write information with ease or to show prepared transparencies. Is work
appears immediately on the screen.
·         It is especially easy for teachers and students to create their in materials for used in
the overhead projector.
·         An increasing number of high-quality commercial transparencies.

Let’s learn how to use it properly so we also minimize its use in the classroom. Brown
(1969) gives us several techniques:

Overhead Projection Techniques

             Among the outstanding attributes of overhead projection are the many
techniques that can be used to present information and control the sequence of the
presentation. As you plan your own transparencies, keep in mind these features of
overhead projection:

·         You can show pictures and diagrams, using a pointer on the transparency to direct
attention to a detail. The silhouette of you pointer will show in motion in the screen.
·         You can use a felt pen or wax-based pencil to add details or to make points in the
transparency during projection. The marks of water-based pens and pencils can be
removed with a soft cloth so that the transparency can be reused.
·         You can control the rate of presenting information by covering a transparency with a
sheet of paper or cardboard (opaque material) and then exposing data as you are ready
to discuss each point. This is known as the progressive disclosure technique.
·         You can superimpose additional transparency sheets as a overlays on a base
transparency so as to separate processes and complex ideas into elements and present
them in step-by-step order.
·         You can show three-dimensional objects from the stage of the projector in silhouette
if the object is opaque, or in color if an object is made of transparent color plastic.
·         You can move overlays back and forth across the base on order to rearrange
elements of diagrams or problems.
·         For special purposes you can simulate motion in parts of a transparency by using the
effects of polarized light. To do this, set a Polariod glass spinner over the projector lens
and attach a special plastic element to parts a transparency for which motion is desired.
·         You can simultaneously project on an adjacent screen over visual materials, usually
slides or motion pictures, which illustrate or apply the generalizations shown on a
transparency.

Other reminders on the effective use of the OHP are:

·         Stand off to one side of the OHP while you face the students.
·         Don’t talk to the screen. Face the students when you talk, not the screen.
·         Place the OHP to your right, if you are right handed, and to your left, if you are left
handed.
·         Place the OHP on a table low enough so that it does not block you or the screen.
·         Have the top of the screen tilted forward towards the OHP to prevent the “keystone
effect” (where the top of the screen is larger than the bottom).
·         Avoid the mistake of including too much detail on each image. A simple layout
makes an effective slide. If an audience needs to be given details, provide handouts to
be studied later.
·         Avoid large tables of figures. Come up with graphics presentation.
·         Don’t read the text on your slide. Your audience can read.
·         Avoid too much text. Rely sparingly on printed text. Come up with more graphs,
charts, diagrams or pictures.
·         Your presentation must be readable from afar.
·         Simple use of color can add effective emphasis.
 We can learn from the experiences from others. Brown (1969) enumerates
effective practices. Let’s learn from them.

·         In primary grades, simple object like keys, leaves, and cutout paper shapes can be
placed directly on the projector to stimulate children’s imagination and encourage
discussion.
·         In English composition lessons, student themes or writing exercises can be
reproduced in film by means of the heat or photo copy process. The teacher and
students can analyze the writing for style and grammar as each example is projected.
·         In arithmetic, blank sheets of acetate and grease pencils can be given to selected
students. Have them prepare solutions to homework problems so the class may
evaluate and discuss their results.
·         In geometry and trigonometry, two and three \-dimensional diagrams can be built up
gradually with carefully prepared transparencies involving color and separate overlays.
Geometric theorems and complicated problems can be separated into single
components and presented systemically. In other mathematical and technical subjects,
plastic objects like some rulers and compasses can be shown to a group and
discussed.
·         In physical education and team training, plays and game procedures may be
analyzed through the use of plastic or opaque moving symbols on a transparency which
shows the court or field design.
·         In homeroom activities, the secretary can use a cellophane roll (accompanying most
projectors) or blank acetate sheets in write nominations, lists, motion for all to see and
react to.
·         In a primary reading class, a picture-transfer transparency can be made from a
magazine picture. Project this transparency and ask the class to identify major items
shown. Then place a clear piece of acetate over the picture and’ with a felt pen, write
the name of each item identified. Later remove the picture and discuss the moves that
remain on the screen.
·         In art classes, a teacher can sketch on clear plastic with a felt pen. The entire class
sees the results. Similarly, transparent water colors, colored plastic shapes, finger paint,
inks, or grease pencil may be used.
·         In science, iron filings dusted on a clear plastic sheet over a permanent magnet can
be projected clearly to illustrate lines of force. Leaves, with chlorophyll removed, can be
projected to show veins and the general leaf pattern. Clear glass Petri dish can be
placed on the projector platform and used to show chemical reactions when changing
colors reveal interactions of translucent fluids.
·         In social studies, all types of maps can be enlarged after accurate but easy
presentation. Overlays show key facts about particular regions
§  In many classes, testing and evaluation materials can be used with a large group. Test
items written on slides can be projected for the entire class.
·         The “progressive disclosure” technique mentioned previously can be achieved by
(1) placing a sheet of paper over the transparency and moving it down to expose
succeeding lines of type, (2) attaching strips of opaque paper to the sides of the mask in
order to cover portions of the transparency image, or (3) placing over the transparency
 an opaque sheet containing a cutout slit which exposes lines or copy area in sequential
order as it is moved down or across the copy.

The overlaying technique to do progressive disclosure is illustrated below.

·         After making a sketch of the content for the transparency, decide which parts will be
the base and which will be used for each overlay.
·         Prepare a master drawing for each separate part.
·         In two corners on each master, make register marks that match marks previously put
on the sketch. This will ensure proper registration of each overlay.
·         Prepare the transparency from each master.

LESSON 15
Project-based Learning and Multimedia: What it is?

Objective:
What is Project-based Multimedia Learning?
What are the elements of Project-based Multimedia Learning?
Why use of Project-based Multimedia Learning?
What are the disadvantages of the use of Project-based Multimedia Learning?

            A class that effectively employs project-based multimedia learning is highly

animated and actively engaged. Together with other students, every student is
absorbed in a task in line with the goals and objectives made clear at the start. Time
has wings. It flies so fast that students don’t feel the passing of time. Teacher does not
just stay in the front of the class lecturing. She monitors students as they work. Student
consults her for guidance and comments. She does not impose her will on students.
With her guidance, she allows students to make decisions for themselves. She has
more time for those students in need of greater help and attention. By going around,
she can sense if students are on the right track and if the goals and expectations set at
the start are not set aside but remain to be the governing factor behind every activity.
The students’ intellectual power are very much challenged as they read, research for
basic information and as they analyze and organize these bits of information. Much of
their technical skills learned from their computer courses and creativity and imagination
are demanded when the students produce multimedia presentation by using multimedia
produce by others.
            A question that may be asked at the point is: won’t the content be sacrificed? I
don’t think so. This project-based multimedia learning is most of all anchored on the
cure curriculum this means that project-based multimedia learning addresses the basic
knowledge and skills all students are expected to acquire as laid down in the minimum
competencies of the basic education curriculum.
            Let us know more about project-based multimedia learning in the paragraphs
that follows.
            Project-based multimedia learning is a teaching method in which students
“acquire new knowledge and skills in the course of designing, planning and producing
multimedia product.” (Simkins, et at, 2002.)

Dimensions of Project-Based Multimedia Learning

            Project-based multimedia learning has seven key dimensions: core curriculum,
real world connection, extended time frame, student decision making, collaboration,
assessment, and multimedia. Simkins (2002) explains each of them briefly.

            Core Curriculum. At the foundation of any unit of this type is clear setoff
learning goals drawn for whatever curriculum or set of standards is in use. We use the
term core to emphasize that project-based multimedia learning should address the
basic knowledge and skills all students are expected to acquire, and should not simple
be an enrichment or extra-credit activity for a special few. Often, these projects lend
themselves well to multidisciplinary or cross-curricular approaches

Real-World Connection. It seeks to connect students’ work in school with the

wider world in which students live. You may design the feature in to a project by means
of the content chosen, the types of activities, the types of products, or in other ways.

Extended Time Frame. A good project is not a one-shot lesson: It extends over
a significant period of time. The actual length of a project may vary of the age of the
students and the nature of the project. It may be days, weeks, or months.

            Student Decision Making. In project-based multimedia learning students have

a say. Teachers look carefully at what decisions have to be made and divide them into
“teachers” and “students” beads on a clear rationale. For example, a teacher might limit
students to a single authoring program to minimize complications that might arise where
students are allowed to use any software they chose. And yet she can also give
students considerable leeway in determining what substantive content would be
included in their projects.

            Collaboration. We define collaboration as working together jointly to

accomplish a common intellectual purpose in a manner superior to what might have
been accomplished working alone. Students may work in pairs or in teams of as many
as five or six. Whole-class collaborations are also possible. The goal is for each student
involved to make a separate contribution to the final work and for the whole to be
greater than the sum of the parts.

            Assessment. Regardless of the teaching method used, data must be gathered

on what students must learn. When using project-based multimedia learning, teachers
face additional assessment challenges because multimedia products by themselves do
not represent a whole picture of student learning. Students are gaining content
information, becoming better team members, solving problems, and making choices
about new information to show in their presentation. We consider assessment to have
three different roles in the project-based multimedia context:
·         Activities are developing expectations:
·         Activities for improving the media products: and
·         Activities for compiling and disseminating evidence of learning:

Multimedia. In multimedia projects, students do not learn simply by “using”

multimedia produce by others; they learn by creating it by themselves, the development
of such programs as Hyperstudio, Kid Pix, and Netscape Composer has made it
possible for students of all ages to become a authors of multimedia content. As student
design and research there projects, instead of gathering only written notes, they also
gather-and create-pictures, video clips, recordings and other media objects that will later
serves as the raw material for their final product.
The Black Plague Project was exemplary in terms of the seven (7) dimensions
given in the foregoing paragraphs. It addressed the standards set by the state and
districts (in our case, by the Department of Education through the Re-structured Basic
Educational Curriculum) in social studies, sciences, and technology.
Why use project-based multimedia learning? Because it is “value added” for
your teaching it is a powerful motivator as proven in the classes of Teacher Nachielle
and Teacher Nicolle described above. It actively engages students in the learning task.
Students are likewise engaged in the production of multimedia production.
What can be some limitation of the use of project-based multimedia learning
strategy?
One limitation that we see is the need of an extended period of time. You need
time to orient the students on what are expected of them, guidelines, goals and
objectives of the project, and more so for your students to gather and organize their
data, work on their presentation and the like. This strategy requires technical skills on
your part and on the part of your students.

LESSON 16
Using the Project-based Learning Multimedia as a Teaching-Learning Strategy

Objective:
What are the steps involved in the used of project-based multimedia learning?

            Goals and objectives are always the starting points of planning. When we plan a
multi media learning project as a teaching strategy we begin by clarifying our goals and
objectives. From the list of objectives and content found in the RBEC, we select which
ones will lend themselves to a project-based multimedia learning strategy. Since this
strategy requires much time, we need to be realistic in the amount of time we have to
spend as seen against time available or run the risk of failure and disappointment
afterwards.
            Another important thing is to determine the resources available- from the library
materials, community resources both material and human, Internet, news media – since
this project calls for multimedia. To trim down time devoted to a multi-media project,
Simkins et al (2002) suggest the following:
·         Use technology student already know.
·         Use time outside of class where ever possible.
·         Assigns skills practice as homework.
·         Use “special classes (like art or music) as extra time.
·         Let students composed text and select and prepare graphics and sounds as they
plan.

Consider the possibility of your student doing original researches themselves. Let
us make clear to our students our policy on decision making and collaboration for
smooth working relations. Finally we must have a plan on how we are going to evaluate
learning.
            So you have decided on the objectives and content with which to use the
project-based multimedia strategy and have determined resources available. What are
you going to do next? Simkins, et al (2002) suggest the following:

BEFORE THE PROJECT STARTS

1.      Create project description and mile stones. Put in a nutshell what your project is all
about. Describe your project in forty (40) words or less. Include your instructional goals
and objectives. Include the project components students will be responsible for and due
date. Set deadlines. By writing a brief abstract of your project, you have a full grasp of
the essence of your project and that your focus will not get detailed.
2.      Work with real-world connections. If you have people outside the classroom involved
as clients or assessors (evaluators) work with them to make an appropriate schedule
and include their ideas to activities.
3.      Prepare resources. Seek the assistance of your librarian or school media specialist.
4.      Prepare software and peripherals such as microphones. Ask the help of your
technical people.
5.      Organize computer files. Finding files eats most of your time if you are not organized.
Naming files and folders after their file type and section title helps to keep things
organized and makes it easier to merge elements later on.
6.      Prepare the classroom organize books, printer paper and any other resources so
students can assess them independently. Make room in the bulletin boards for hanging
printouts of student work, schedules, and organizational charts.

INTRODUCING THE PROJECT (ONE OR TWO DAYS)

            Help the students develop a “big picture to understand the work ahead. Make
clear what they will be making, who their audience will be and what you expect them to
learn and demonstrate in terms of the RBEC.
1.      Review project documents. You can ask students to work with the project documents
you have produced. Encourage tour students to ask questions to the project to clarify
what you have written.
2.      Perform pre-assessments. Your students can write pre-assessment question based
on your learning goals to further clarify expectations.
3.      Perform relevant activities. You can show students anything you can find that is
similar to what they will be producing such as a Web site or your own mini project you
 did to learn the technology. You can also brainstorm for topics, organizational ideas,
and design ideas.
4.      Group students. Form small students from three to five students per group. Here are
some grouping strategies.
·         By topic interest.
·         By student talent and expertise – This works for a balance of talents and skills in the
groups.
·         Randomly – This fine to enable them to develop the skills to work with others.
5.      Organized materials. Give each group a folder that stays in the classroom. All their
group work such as storyboards, journals, and research notes goes in that folder.

LEARNING THE TECHNOLOGY (ONE TO THREE DAYS)

            Give a chance for the students to work whatever software and technology they
will be using. If some students are already familiar with the tools and processes ask
them to help you train the others. If students are new to multimedia, then begin them
lessons that involve using the different media types. Remember, you and your students
are co-learners and you both learn as you go.

PRELIMENANARY REASEARH AND PLANNING (THREE DAYS TO THREE WEEKS,

DEPENDING ON PROJECT SIZE)
            At this stage, students should immerse themselves in the content or subject
matter they need to understand to create their presentations. Students will engage in
relevant experiences or conduct research to collect information and gather ideas. Field
trips, teacher-guided lessons, student research, interviews, observation, and
questioning are all activities that might occur during this stage.    
            Students can tag and collect information they think might be valuable for their
presentations: compelling photographs, quotes, sounds, and other media they
encounter in their research. During field trips, they can take photographs for their
presentations. Students can keep lessons of URLs (uniform resource locators or Web
addresses) and content of Web sites they find. This is a good time to emphasize fair-
use and plagiarism issues, as well as the importance of crediting sources.

CONCEPT DESIGN AND STORYBOARDING (THREE TO FIVE DAYS)

            After collecting initial information, hold a brainstorming session where the whole
class or a subgroup defines a tentative approach to the subjects and discusses some
preliminary design ideas. Now that the students know something about the subject
matter, what do they want to say? How best they can address their clients or audience’s
needs interests? What is the primary message, and how they organize their information
to present it?
            Now is the time to talk about organizing a presentation to make it useful to the
audience. Your students probably have a quite a bit of experience with how Web sites
are usually organized and can tell stories of interfaces that caused difficulties.
            As a class or in groups, sketch out your over all designs for the presentation.
Then have groups created their storyboards.
             A storyboard is a paper-and-pencil sketch of the entire presentation, screen by
screen or, in the case of video, shot by shot. Each pane of the storyboard shows what
text, images, sounds, motion and interactivity buttons will go on the screen and how
they will be arranged. There should be no design. This is a quick sketch time spent
making it beautiful is time wasted. The panes are with lines in show how the
presentation flows. For example, a home page with six buttons for six topics connects to
six topic screens from each buttons. See appendix a for Butterfly Project Storyboard.
Requiring a storyboard a natural check-in point for you and gives your students
an opportunity to plan ahead. Then, when other questions arise, the flow chart or
storyboard becomes a concrete reference point for what to do next.
Here are a few design tips to keep in mind throughout storyboarding and
production:
·         Use scanned, handmade artwork to make a project look personal and to manage
scare technology sources. Student artwork is unmatched as a way to assure a project
has heart. Keep clip art or stamps to a minimum-they make a presentation look canned.
·         Keep navigation – the way users of your presentation will get from one screen to the
next – consistent throughout the whole presentation. “Black” and “Next” buttons, if you
have them, should appear at the same time on each screen (for example, the lower
right corner). Always include the way to get to the home page or the beginning of the
presentation.
·         Organize information similarly throughout to users can find what they are looking for.
·         Care for collaboration. Check in for groups to make sure they are collaborating
successfully and that conflict is not derailing their productivity.
·         Organize manageable steps. Break down the project’s steps into manageable daily
components considering that the project requires comparatively more time to succeed.
·         Check and assess often. This is to ensure that mistakes are seen early enough and
therefore can be corrected before the final product is produced.

ASSESSING, TESTING, AND FINALIZING PRESENTATIONS (ONE TO THREE

WEEKS)
            There are two kinds of testing to think about functional testing and user testing.
Functional means trying all the buttons, taking all the possible path through the
presentation, checking of errors missing images and the like User testing means using
the presentation to members of the target audience and finding out if they can
successfully navigate it and understand it. For example, if your target audience is
younger students, users testing would include watching those students go through the
presentation and making sure the text is appropriate for their reading level.
            Assessment means critical evaluation of your presentation. Ideally this comes
from more than source. Possible assessors include your students, you, members of
your target audience, content experts, and design experts,
            The key idea about testing and assessing is this: You have to do it while
students still have time to fix the problems they find, or students will find the enterprise
pointless and demoralizing. And they will be right.
            After assessment and testing, your student will be revising and making a
“release candidate,” a version everyone thinks is just about perfect. The release
candidate is tested further, and at this stage no new content or features are added. Only
 things like crashes, mortifying factual errors or offensive materials, and typos are fixed.
After a round of fixes, you make a new release candidate and test it. This process
continues until the deadline. If you’re out of time, you’re out of time, so stop! The last
release candidate becomes the final version, which you post, copy, archive or deliver as
appropriate. If there are serious problems with the final version and you have a client or
real-world audience, just add a “read me” file or page that warns the users about these
problems and (if you know) explains how they might be fixed.
           
CONCLUDING ACTIVITIES (ONE TO THREE DAYS)
            Allow time for students to present and show off their hard work. You and they
will be proud to what they have done and will want to make share it with others.
Concluding activities make a memorable project even more present.
            Often there is an obvious, authentic concluding activity related to your real-world
connection. You will present to your target audience and celebrate your
accomplishment. You can also think about scheduling your project so the end coincided
with the school event, such as Parents’ Night or a year-end party. You can organize an
exhibition day or a multimedia fair with other teachers where the school views all the
multimedia projects for the semester. (See Chapter 9 for more about multimedia fairs.)
You might also consider submitting the project to a multimedia competition.
            Remember to take time to review the ups and downs of the project to the
students and anyone else who participated. Take notes on suggestions for things to do
differently next year.

LESSON 17
ASSESSMENT in a CONSTRUCTIVIST, TECHNOLOGY-SUPPORTED LEARNING

Objective:
                Which form of assessment fits a constructivist technology-supported learning
environment?

From the conversation we gather that some students:

·         memorize very much for the test
·         fit their style of test preparation to the kind of test and
·         study only for passing score and a passing grade

The questions we raise are: “Is it really bad to memorize for the test?” and “is it
not good to study for a score and for a grade?” The answer to the both questions is
a NO. It is not bad to memorize for the test. Examinees even take in Memory Plus food
supplement to increase their power to memorize. Neither is it bad to study for scores
and grade. However, we should go beyond memorizing for tests and we should not
study only for passing score and a passing grade.
 In a constructivist classroom, learning transcends memorization of facts. It is
putting these isolated facts together, form concepts and construct meaning from them. It
is connecting the integration of these facts and concepts to daily life. It is seeing the
relevance of these facts and concepts to what we value and treasure in life. If this is
what learning is from the eyes of the constructivist, then definitely, the pure
memorization (sometimes without understanding) done for a mere recall test does not
jibe with such belief.
What then is the assessment practice that will be congruent with the constructivist’s
thinking? It is a higher level form of assessment that will require the display of the basic
skills of writing and speaking, computing and the more complex skills of applying
concepts learned, analyzing, integrating and creating, critiquing and evaluating and the
social skills of working with others. Such higher level form of assessment will call for
alternative forms of assessment. The traditional paper-and-pencil test will prove to be
inadequate to measure basic skills integrated with higher-order-thinking skills and social
skills.

Authentic Assessment is most appropriate for the constructivist classroom. (You

will learn more about authentic assessment in your two subjects on assessment.)
Authentic assessment measure collective abilities, written and oral expression skills,
analytical skills, manipulative skills, (like computer skills) integration, creativity, and
ability to work collaboratively.

In authentic assessment, students perform real world “authentic’. It is an

assessment of a process or a product. That is why authentic assessment includes
performance or product assessment. The performance is a reliable measure of skills
learned and the product are acquisition of skills. These performance and product are
assessed. Again the mere paper-and-pencil test cannot evaluate these. So what do we
need? We need to observe and evaluate and, to do it more objectively, with the aid of a
scoring rubric. (You will be taught how to make a scoring rubric in your assessment
courses.) For now it may be sufficient to see a sample of a scoring rubric to get an idea
of what it is about and to see its place in assessment.

MULTIMEDIA PROJECT and PERFORMANCE RUBRIC

4 3 2 1
Organizer Student Student Audience has difficulty Audience
presents present following presentation cannot
information in a information in because students understand
logical, a logical does not consistently presentation
interesting sequence that use a logical sequence because there is
sequence that the audience no sequence of
the audience can follow. information.
can follow.
Subject Student Student is at Student is Student does
Knowledge demonstrates ease and uncomfortable with not have graphs
 full knowledge provides information and is able of information;
(more than expected to answer only student cannot
required) by answers to all rudimentary question. answer
answering all questions but questions  about
class questions fails to subject.
with elaborate.
explanations
and elaboration.
Graphics Student’s Student’s Student occasionally Student uses
graphics explain graphics relate uses graphics that superfluous
and reinforce to text and rarely support text and graphics or no
screen text and presentation. presentation. graphics.
presentation.
Mechanics Presentation Presentation Presentation has three Student’s
has no has no more misspellings and/or presentation
misspelling or than two grammatical errors. has four or more
grammatical misspellings spelling errors
errors. and/or and/or
grammatical grammatical
errors. errors.
Eye Contact Student Student Student occasionally
maintains eye maintains eye uses eye contact but
contact with contact most still reads most of
audience, of the time but reports.
seldom frequently
returning to returns to
notes. notes.
Elocution Student uses a Student’s Student’s voice is low. Student
clear voice and voice is clear. Student incorrectly mumbles,
correct, precise Student pronounces terms. incorrectly
pronunciation of pronounces Audience members pronounces
terms so that all most words have difficulty terms, and
audience correctly. Most hearing    speaks too
members can audience presentation. quietly for
hear members can students in the
presentation. hear back of class to
presentation. hear.

·         You and your students may develop a rubric. It can be a collaborative effort for both
of you – teacher and student – in line with the practice of self-assessment, which is
highly favored and encouraged. In fact with scoring rubric, standards are clearly set at
the beginning for you and your students and with that rubric your students can assess
their own progress. In this case, the much of the fear for tests gets dispelled.
Assessment is accepted as a natural and normal part of the learning process. There are
 no more secrets on how the students will be tested, what kind of questions will be
asked. The students themselves know how their progress gets assessed.

            Assessment in technology-supported environment necessarily includes

display of skillful and creative use of technologies, old and recent, because that is what
is naturally expected of us in the real world, a technology-dominated world. In this
present world, we need to be computer literate and fluent or we get lost or become
helpless. These technology and integrative skills are demonstrated when our students
present answers they have found to two or more assigned problems or present the
group project they have worked on for a purpose with the use of various technologies.
These presentations need performance-based assessment or product assessment. It is
a direct assessment. We do not test their computer and creative skills, their analytical
and integrative skills by way of a multiple-choice-type of test or test their computer skills
alone. Instead, we measure their computer skills directly in an authentic or real-life
setting. Where do they need to use their computer skills in life? That becomes the
natural setting of the test in computer skills.
            A technology-supported classroom maximizes the use of old and new
technology. Students are expected to demonstrate learning with the use of both old and
new technology. For instance, students may use transparencies and OHP to
demonstrate the learned skill of topic presentation or may choose to use powerpoint
presentation. To assess their manipulative skill, we conduct direct assessment with the
help of a scoring rubric. From the eyes of a constructivist learning is an “active,
constructive, intentional, authentic and cooperative process, so should the ways in
which we assess learners and criteria that we use to evaluate them. Obviously the
traditional paper-and-pencil that cannot assess this type of learning. If we believe that
the ways that we assess learning should change, so we also need to rethink the ways
that evaluate learning, asserts Jonassen (1999)

            How then should we evaluate learning? Definitely, the paper-and-pencil test
won’t fit. If it is the meaning and interpretations of experiences that individual students
and groups construct that we have to evaluate, there will be different answers and there
may not be one right answer. So what we assess should be the process that occurs.
Assess learning as it is occurring. This is process or performance assessment. How do
we assess if our students have learned the constructivist’s way of thinking, behaving
and living? The rubric for understanding and improving meaningful environments may
give you an idea?

Rubric for Understanding and Improving Meaningful Environments

Assessing  Activity
To what the extent does the environment you have created promote manipulation of
real-world objects and observations based on these activities?

Learning Interaction with Real-World Objects

         Little of the learner’s time is spent engaged with tools and objects found outside
 school.
         Learners are often engaged in activities involving tools and objects found outside
school.

Observation and Reflection

         Students rarely think about or record the results of actions taken during activities.
         Students often stop and think about the activities in which they are engaged.
         Students share frequent observation about their activity with peers and interested
adults.

Learning Interactions
         Students manipulated none of the variables or controls in environment.
         Students manipulated some variables and controls in environment.
         Students manipulated all or nearly all variables/controls in environment.

Tool Use
         Students used no cognitive tools.
         Students used some cognitive tools to support explorations/manipulations.
         Students used nearly all cognitive tools effectively.

Assessing Construction
To what extent does the environment you have created cause learners to perceive
puzzling dissonance and form mental models to explain the incongruity?

Dissonance/Puzzling
         Students engaged in learning activities because activities are required, rather
than being an intrinsic interest.
         Learners frequently seem to be operating based on a sincere curiosity about the
topic of study.
         Learners are consistently striving to resolve disparity between observed and on a
sincere desire to know.

Constructing Mental Models and Making Meaning

         Learners rarely create their own understandings of how things work.
         Learners are often expected to make sense of new experiences and develop
theories.
         Learners routinely wrestle with new experiences, becoming experts at identifying
and solving problems.

Assessing Cooperation
To what extent does the environment you have created promote meaningful
interaction among students and between students and experts outside of school?
To what extents are learners develop skills related to social negotiation in learning
to accept and share responsibility?
 Interaction Among Learners
         Little of the learners’ time is spent gainfully engaged with other students.
         Learners are often immersed in activities in which collaboration with peer results
in success.

Interaction with People Outside of School

         Little of the learners’ time is spent gainfully engaged with experts outside of
school.
         Learners are often involved in activities in which there is significant outside of
school.

Social Negotiation
         Little evidence that learners work together to develop shared understanding of
tasks or of solution strategies.
         Learners are often observed in the process of coming to agreement on the
nature of problems and on best courses of action.
         Learners collaborate with ease. Negotiations become almost invisible, yet the
ideas of all team members are valued.

Acceptance and Distribution of Roles and Responsibility

         Roles and responsibilities are shifted infrequently; most capable learners accept
more responsibility than the less capable.
         Roles and responsibilities are shifted often; and such changes are accepted by
both the most and least capable.
         Students make their own decisions concerning roles and responsibilities, freely
giving and accepting assistance as necessary.

Assessing Authenticity
Complexity
         The tasks learners face have been designed for schools (i.e.’ separated into
“subjects” and developed to simplify learning).
         The tasks learners face are embedded in theme-based units that cross
disciplines and present issues in context.
         Students accept challenges as they exist in real world using languages, math,
science, and technologies to. Accomplish important tasks.

High-Order Thinking
         A large percentage of what is expected is memorization. Students are rarely
asked to evaluate, synthesize, or create.
         Students are often asked to develop ideas and solutions, often in groups, and
demonstrate the abilities to create and lesson.
         Learners routinely generate hypothesis, conduct investigations, assess results,
and make predictions.

Recognizing Problems
         Students are not expected to be problem finders, but are instead expected to be
able to solve occasional well-structured problems.
         Students occasionally face ill-structured challenges and are expected to refine
their problem as well as solve it.
         Students frequently face ill-structured challenges and develop proficiency in
identifying and defining problems.

“Right Answer”
         The “problems” presented to learners tend to have “right answers,” “correct”
solutions that the students are expected to eventually reach.
         The problems presented are new to the learners, and generally involve complex
solutions of varying quality, rather than “right answers.”

Assessing Intentionality
To what extent does the environment you have created cause learners to pursue
important, well-articulated goals to which they are intrinsically committed? To what
extent can learners explain their activity in terms of how the activities relate to the
attainment of their goals?

Goals Directedness
         Learners are often pursuing activities that have little to the attainment of specified
goals.
         Learners are generally engaged in activities that contribute to do with the
attainment of specified goals.

Setting Own Goals

         Learning goals are provided by the educators.
         Learners are sometimes involved in the establishment of learning goals.
         Learners are routinely responsible for developing goals.

Regulating Own Learning

         Learners’ progress is monitored by others.
         Learners are involved as partners in monitoring and reporting progress toward
goals.
         Learners are responsible for monitoring and reporting progress toward goals.

LESSON 18
ROLES AND FUNCTIONS OF AN EDUCATIONAL MEDIA CENTER

Objective:
What is Educational Media Center?
 What are the roles and functions does an EMC perform to serve the teaching-learning
process?
What are the elements must an EMC have for it to effectively function as one?

                                    An EMC is a facility designed for the housing and utilization of all
educational media within the school. It is a basic requirement of the school to render
quality service. It is not independent of the school. Rather, any part of the human body,
it is a unit in the school that cooperates with other units or department that help the
school fulfill its mission and realize its vision by living up to the school’s philosophy and
aims. It is serves a myriad of roles, among which are: 1) center of resources,
2) laboratory for learning, 3) agent of teaching, 4) service agency, 5) coordinating
agency 6) recreational reading center, and 7) a stepping stone to other resources
of the community.
                                    An EMC renders various kinds of services. Its services boil down
to improving the teaching-learning process by making it more interactive, collaborative,
interesting and authentic.
                                    What must an EMC have to be a functional EMC?
                                    The evaluation questions for a functional EMC (Lucio & Borabo,
1997) give the following elements.
1.      The institutional media services.
·         Is the administration committed to a media program?
·         Is the program of media services administrated by a media specialist through media
center?
·         Is the center operating at the same level as other major institutional services of the
school?
·         Are there clearly defined policies, procedures, and plans for short, medium and long
term coverage?
·         Is the center provided with appropriate facilities, finances (a regular budget) and staff
(both technical and clerical)
·         Is the center capable of giving media and/or educational media technology
advises/assistance to the faculty?

2.      Media and Instruction

·         Are the faculty encouraged to use media as an integral part of instruction?
·         Are classroom equipped and/or adapted for the best possible use of educational
media.
·         Is the media center accessible to all classroom and lecture/conference rooms?
·         Is there educational media technology information dissemination?
·         Is there a proper cooperation between faculty and the professional media staff in the
planning, developing, and using media for instructions?
·         In particular, are faculty members assisted by the media center staff in analyzing
teaching needs and in designing, selecting and using educational media to meet these
needs?  
·         Is there an adequate storing, filing and retrieval/borrowing system for instructional
hardware and software/materials?
·         Is the center capable of technical operations relating to technical assistance,
equipment repair and cleaning, continuous upgrading of facilities?
·         Is there a capability for production of graphics, audio, visual and other media
materials for instruction?

3.      Classroom Facilities
·         Are classroom designed for and provided with essential facilities for effective use of
educational media?
·         Specifically, are classroom equipped for full light control, electrical outlets,
appropriate ventilation and media operations space?
·         Are classroom equipped with a bulletin board, chalkboard, projection screen, map
rails, etc. for instruction using media?

4.      Media Program
·         Are their clear-cut administration policies on the media program?
·         Is there an adequate source/system of funding?
·         Is there a personnel, consultants and clerical staff?