Friday 8 February 2013

Education 2

Education 2
In today’s society, can you imagine school without the use of ICT? Imagine teachers teaching without the use of ICT? I guess your answer is no. Education has drastically changed throughout the year due to the change in ICT. ICT had a massive effect on how we learn today these changes the way we live and additionally it opens up opportunity for others to change their lives
Smart Boards
ICT facilities are used in at least 45% of lessons nationwide every day. This does not have to be just online facilities but rather the technology that can be incorporated into a lesson such as a 'smart board'. A smart board is a large screen that has a computer system projected on it and allows data input via plastic pens that contain no ink, a mouse or by the user's hands. Although smart boards only first appeared in the computer rooms in my own school, they are now available throughout the entire school from R.E to Maths lessons. These benefit the teachers as they can access online software and educational games and also demonstrate information for the whole class to see clearly. Teachers can also use ICT facilities to communicate with students through a VLE which allows information such as homework tasks to be sent to the students. If a student is unwell and not in the lesson, the teacher can also have the option to send helpful websites link and even assign tasks so that they do not fall behind on the work.
Within my school we use a VLE system called FROG which came into good use especially on the 'snow days' because teachers set work for all students to do as there would be no lesson to teach; I received four pieces of work over the days and this benefitted my learning thoroughly. VLE can be unreliable on occasions because the system can run down and information may not be visible to some; leaving them to be told off for uncompleted work.

VLE

The system is secured by username and password which can then access an individual VLE with their timetable, personal information and all files uploaded to it. When logging onto frog I personally access my timetable, check I have been marked present to my lessons, and access files especially to do with ICT on the VLE.
VLE's should and will be most definitely introduced into many schools as it is an extreme advance of education compared to chalk and blackboard!
There is also a location called shared drivers on ‘FROG’. It is a piece of software that allows students and/or staff to access the work saved on the school computer from home. When carrying out my ICT studies I prefer to log on to ‘FROG’ and do my work this way rather than using a memory stick or emailing work home.


Laptops
Although some schools have usual computers others may have laptops available for use. This technology can be used in lessons such as 'English' classes and is simply allowing a different aspect of learning to gained; also keeping students engaged. Once at higher level of education a vast majority of students decide to bring their own laptops into school so that all information is kept on one system, although this is at the students own risk and can be bad because if the laptop gets broken all work could be lost. Furthermore to prevent this, memory sticks are used by almost all students and teachers as a backup and transporter of work.

Computing
Computing is an umbrella term describing any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computers. For example, computing includes designing and building hardware and software systems; processing, structuring, and managing various kinds of information; doing scientific research on and with computers; making computer systems behave intelligently; creating and using communications and entertainment media etc. Subfields of computing include computer engineering, software engineering, computer science, information systems, and information technology.


Main Advantages of ICT Facilities in Education:
·         Brings interactive learning to lessons
·         Keeps students easier engaged in the learning
·         Gains students essential skills for an I.C.T society that is forming
·         Teachers can use software and online resources
Main Disadvantages of ICT Facilities in Education:
·         Cannot be relied on because if a server is down the whole lesson plan will be ruined and a teacher will have to create a new one to the detriment of the students education
·         Students can use 'loss of internet connection' as an excuse as to why they haven’t completed a task set on the VLE


I use ICT in everyday of my school life; ICT has a tremendous effect on students. With me being a student, I could easily list what kind of technologies or ICT tools we use in school and how these affect our learning.  The uses of ICT help the work rate go higher