Blog and its benefits

A blog is an online diary maintained by an individual or small group, which can be used for personal use or to fulfill a business needs. I personally feel that becoming a blogger is one of the best ways to get ourselves exposure to the wider world and broader audience.

Since I was not a blogger before but after having exposure to this module, I even created my personal blog through facebook page where I have started composing articles and sharing my little knowledge with others and receiving the comments from the broader audience which in turn helped me to  come up with a better composition. Beside this, I have learned that the blogs help us to refine our writing kills, help us to earn more exposure as well as  express ourselves and share our passions to the wider audience.

Figure 1: Image of my personal blog.

Moreover, after having learnt about blog, I came to understand that blogs offer many benefits for education. The uses of blog promotes independent learning by providing opportunities for each individual  to take more control of their learning. Since blog is Web page where an individual share their personal composition,  so it motivates an individual to become better readers and writers. In addition , it also encourages the use of the internet and the web among their friends and teachers enhancing both technological skills as well as academic achievement through interaction.

Figure 2: Blog created in reflecting our reflection on different ICT tools.

Uses of Camtasia studio

Camtasia is a software suite, created and published by TechSmith,for creating video tutorials and presentations directly via screencast or via a direct recording plug in to Microsoft PowerPoint.
The Camtasia studio is used in designing and for creating online training videos such as tutorials, software domos, as well as online training courses. Moreover, the camtasia is popularly used in educational field in creating videos tutorials in any subject areas.

Figure 2: Video tutorial made using Camtasia studio. 

The video tutorials that are created using camtasia have the advantages such as transferring knowledge to others which was a part a learning process. The use of camtasia video tutorials are more interactive and specific than a book or a lecture as it seeks to teach by example and supply the information to complete a certain task. The visual and auditory nature of the videos appeals to a wide range of audience and allows each user to process information in a way that is natural to them. Morever, the use of camtasia videos in teaching and learning serves to not only benefit students,  but also teachers and their affiliated institutions.

Reflection on Co-constructive tool

The fourth ICT tool that we have learned is yet another important tool known as the co-constructive tool. During the discussion, we looked what the definition of the co-constructive tool is, some of it's examples and the importance and applications of co- constructive tool in teaching and learning process. Then we have concluded our discussion by creating our own Google docs in a group of three and planned an ICT integrated lesson.

Figure 1: ICT intergated lesson plan using                              Google docs,2020

Through this discussion, I came to know that co-constructive tools or collaborative tools are the applications that support the construction of knowledge through a shared understanding that is consolidating the ideas. Some of the examples of co-constructive tools that we have learned are Google docs, electronic whiteboard, blogs, wikis and the discussion forum on portals (pce.edu.bt). Moreover, we have also learned that Google docs is a word processor which is included as part of a free, web-based software office suite offered by Google within its Google Drive service. On the other hand, the electronic whiteboard is a hardware device that is similar to a whiteboard that is found in schools and business. All these co-constructive tools are used in teaching and learning process allowing our students to work collaboratively through online.

When it comes to the importance of using Co-constructive tools, by using the co-constructive tool, the students can co-edit the same document from their homes, they can communicate their ideas with each other, which in turn will them to develop their collaborative learning. Beside this, when they take part in exploring and sharing their views in terms of learning, they are involved in series of high-level cognitive processes such as explanation, problem finding and problem solving. The co-constructive tool also helps students to have an active and intentional learning progress because students participate to edit, refine and construct their work jointly.

Figure 2: Co- Editing the same document from their respective homes.

We have also discussed about the advantages of using Google docs. The three features of Google docs; edit, can comment and can view, gives the user full right to change the setting. Moreover, the user can give right to the viewers to edit if he/she is competent enough to do so, select who can comment and select who can just view their work on Google docs .After creating the Google docs, I also learned that any kind of changes that we made on Google docs gets automatically saved. To access Google docs, we can either use Google ID and login www .docs.google.com or login usig an Gmail account which will directly take us to Google docs.

Figure 3: Sharing it with other members  with "can edit"access ,2020.

Figure 4: Loging into Google docs using Google ID, sample 2020.

Figure 5: Loging into Google docs using Gmail acoount, sample 2020.

Therefore, I feel that it is very imperative for the teachers to make use of the co-constructive tool in teaching and learning process. Through co-construction, the teacher can let his/her students to explore and share their views in terms of learning. The teacher can act as a facilitator in providing the comments on the progress of the students achieving high quality of learning through collaborative work.

Reflection on Constructive tool

Having learnt anout ICT in teaching and learning, I knew that the knowledge of ICT is mandatory for pre-service teachers like us during our training program because such integrated technological knowledge help us to become a prospective teacher to know the world of technology in a better way by which we can apply it in future for the betterment of the students. Keeping all this  importance of technologocal skills in the back of my mind, I understand  that the ICT can be used as a tool in different forms according to the requirements of the learners/students for their better learning and comprehension. In lune with this, today I will be reflecting on ICT as a constructive tool in the teaching field.

The constructive tool is based on the constructivist approach to learning which was emphasized by Piaget. After learning about the constructivist approach, I came to know that the constructive approach is an approach which allow an individual learners  to construct their knowledge and meaning through hands on learning experiences. Moreover, the meaning that the learners have constructed should be influenced by the interaction of their prior knowledge and new events. This approach solely emphasizes on students’ needs to construct their own understanding and make meaning and knowledge from it. Here, the students/learners takes an active role collecting and exploring information based on the topics of their interest, enhancing their  critical thinking, and motivate them to become an active independent learners. The knowledge is built by the learner as they reconcile new information with past experiences, analyze various source materials, and then work collaboratively with others.

After having discussion on the constructive tool, I came to know that the constructive tools are the applications that help our learners to manipulate information, visualize one’s understanding and construct one’s own knowledge. We learned that electronic bulletin boards, MS publisher, DPT, Multimedia authoring tools, social networking tools such as Blogs, Face book, Twitter and simulation are all examples of constructive tools. To have the in depth comprehension on constructive tool ,we were even asked to design one page simulated advertisement in order to attract visitors to our locality which in fact helped us to search and collect relevant information on our locality using the range of sources on the net.

Figure 1:Simulated advertisement designed using PowerPoint, 2020

The use of word, spread sheet and power point help us to organize record, manipulate and present our ideas in an attractive ways such as in the form of memos, reports, letters, presentation and record routine

information.Following are the few examples that i have prepared using word, spreed sheet and PowerPoint.  

Figure 2: Microsoft Word on Math Assignment,                       Isometric Drawing, 2020.

Figure 3: Spread sheet on Action Research                              Data Analysis, 2020.

Figure 4: PowerPoint presentation on  English                       lesson plan,2020.

Therefore, I feel that teachers should explore more and have the knowledge of ICT so that they can make good use of the ICT in their teaching and learning process. This will in turn benefit our students at the maximum level and also provide opportunities for them to explore and be connected with such technologies.