In the year 2001, I graduated from Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) with a Diploma in Digital Media Design (DMD). Recalling how grueling these 3 years of studies had been for me, I am proud to had survived the strict criteria to attain the Certificate. However, this entry is not an account of how many cans of red bull I drank in a single night while rushing my assignments or how skinny I became by the time I graduated from the course. Instead I would like to share with you on my witnessing of the evolution of technologies. Which is my journey through the transitions of floppy disk to zip disk to cd rom to rewritable cd to dvd to rewritable dvd to portable hard disk and thumb drive. Now before I further elaborate on this, I am sure you might be running through your thoughts on the relevancy of this in correspondence to the questions posted by Dr Ashley Tan. Now I would say without this personal account and the training I received (I was the third batch of student to have graduated from DMD and back then NYP was the first Polytechnic to teach 2d/3d animation and also one of the first Polytechnic to actively used technologies to aid the teaching). I would not be so comfortable with using technologies and softwares in my everyday life.
Now let's turned the clock backwards to sixteen years ago, which would brings us back to the year 1994. I recall staring at the projection from the overhead projector while watching the repetitive actions of my secondary science teacher, Mr Ngaa. Who is swopping transparencies after transparencies and trying his best to deliver his lessons while perspiring profusely under the old ceiling fan in my classroom. The only sound you can hear is his loud voice, the creaking sound produce from the ceiling fan and the scribbling sound of pencils from 38 entice learners who tried so hard to keep up with his pace. Back then, this was the only method where learning would take place and every student would be vying to operate the overhead projector at the start of the lesson when Mr Ngaa asked for volunteer.
These are fond memories that I would recall every now and then when I am delivering my lesson in class during my contract teaching days. The format is still the same, a classroom with a ratio of 1 teacher is to 38 students. However what have changed is the fact that I am using a macbook instead of an overhead projector and I need not require any assistance. With the experience I gain from my 3 years of tertiary learning and another 5 years of working in the digital media industries. I would dare say that I am much at ease with the usage of technologies as compared to many teachers in the schools.
Upon stepping into my school on day one, I have been involved in many projects and situations such as setting up a google sites for E4 cluster, teaching fellow colleagues how to use Mac during PLC sharing, doubling up as a TA to help maintain the 40 iMac in the computer labs etc. Sometimes I find myself volunteering, other times I found out that I have been volunteered. Nonetheless it was good to be able to contribute and collaborate with others to further brush up my skills.
In class, I would also make use of technologies to deliver my lessons and this are what I did:
I personally find that the students of today are definitely exposed to technologies at a very young age. The amount of time they spend in front of a computer are increasingly getting longer as compared to the time they spend reading a textbook. They would learn better if they can interact and receive feedback instantaneously. Hence the evolution of teaching methodology is required so that we will be able to teach effectively and most importantly engage them through a platform they are much familiar with.
Now let's turned the clock backwards to sixteen years ago, which would brings us back to the year 1994. I recall staring at the projection from the overhead projector while watching the repetitive actions of my secondary science teacher, Mr Ngaa. Who is swopping transparencies after transparencies and trying his best to deliver his lessons while perspiring profusely under the old ceiling fan in my classroom. The only sound you can hear is his loud voice, the creaking sound produce from the ceiling fan and the scribbling sound of pencils from 38 entice learners who tried so hard to keep up with his pace. Back then, this was the only method where learning would take place and every student would be vying to operate the overhead projector at the start of the lesson when Mr Ngaa asked for volunteer.
These are fond memories that I would recall every now and then when I am delivering my lesson in class during my contract teaching days. The format is still the same, a classroom with a ratio of 1 teacher is to 38 students. However what have changed is the fact that I am using a macbook instead of an overhead projector and I need not require any assistance. With the experience I gain from my 3 years of tertiary learning and another 5 years of working in the digital media industries. I would dare say that I am much at ease with the usage of technologies as compared to many teachers in the schools.
Upon stepping into my school on day one, I have been involved in many projects and situations such as setting up a google sites for E4 cluster, teaching fellow colleagues how to use Mac during PLC sharing, doubling up as a TA to help maintain the 40 iMac in the computer labs etc. Sometimes I find myself volunteering, other times I found out that I have been volunteered. Nonetheless it was good to be able to contribute and collaborate with others to further brush up my skills.
In class, I would also make use of technologies to deliver my lessons and this are what I did:
- Using Adobe Flash to deliver my lesson on colour theories and also to teach animations.
- Using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator to teach students how to create publicity materials such as logos, poster, flyers and picture books.
- Using Wacom tablets to teach them digital paintings.
- Using Photography to teach them composition and framing.
I personally find that the students of today are definitely exposed to technologies at a very young age. The amount of time they spend in front of a computer are increasingly getting longer as compared to the time they spend reading a textbook. They would learn better if they can interact and receive feedback instantaneously. Hence the evolution of teaching methodology is required so that we will be able to teach effectively and most importantly engage them through a platform they are much familiar with.
K: What I already KNOW
I already know that wiki is a platform which allows multiple authors to access, modify and stored informations collaboratively. At the same time, wiki is also able to house in other forms of online tools such as videos, slideshows, images, forms etc.
W: What I WANT TO LEARN
I hope to be able to learn the pedagogy and the proper usage of ICT in the context of educations. And also how to resolve issues such as copyrights, plagiarism when using online tools and applications etc.
L: What I LEARNED this week
I learned that just by using a simple tool such as mind map, it is able to entice the class to participate actively. At the same time through my discussions with my classmates, we are able to address on the issues of how students of today learn and behave.
Q: What Questions I still have
Is it required for us to purchase the textbook?
Thanks for sharing and for setting up your group blog.
ReplyDeleteTo answer your question:
You may opt to buy the textbook, share it, or rely on Web resources that can more or less get you the same content.
Dr Tan