Reflection on ICT as Situating Tool

Situating Tool

ICT as a situating tool is based on the theory that children learn when they find the concept taught to them purposefully. Using ICT as a situating tool help Children placed in a situation where they need to use the knowledge that they learned or need in life. For example, Children will understand as well as enjoy learning about the PH scale when they are made to use PhET simulation.

 

pH Scale Simulation

Just recently, my ICT tutor introduced us to a PhET simulation where we can experiment and explore the concepts. The simulation that we used helped me to understand the pH scale of different solution. This is because situating tools like PhET simulations provide us with real-life experiences which make it easier for us to understand the concepts clearly. 

 

So visual learners and kinesthetic learners like me will be benefitted from such tools because tools such as PhET simulations, and Google maps, make it easier for us to see things visually and we also get hands-on experiences from the tools.

Goggle Map

Satellite view (google map)

I knew that Google maps help in locating places but I also learned that we can teach about time calculation, landforms, mountains, continents, and about concepts like longitude and latitude which fascinated me because my idea of technologies and ICT seemed very less at that moment. Therefore, when I get into the teaching field, I want to explore such kinds of situating tools and make sure that my children learn by doing rather than learning by listening. for that, I am going to keep myself updated with all kinds of situating tools so that I can pass on the knowledge of using those tools to my students.

How can we use  in School?

Now, I realize that we can even use situating tool such as google map, PhET simulation as platform in teaching and learning across the curriculum to make teaching and learning fun. It is not necessary to attend real-time classroom for teaching and learning, even though it is deemed necessary. However, given the emergency situation like this pandemic, teaching and learning can be done through Google classrooms. 

Google Classroom

Goggle classroom has now become an essential tool for teachers around the globe due to the pandemic outbreak in the world. I always thought that Google classroom will have similar features like that of Zoom and Google meet. Turns out, I was wrong because when my tutor introduced the Classroom to us, I was dumbfounded to learn that Google classroom has got very organized and user-friendly features.

Sample Announcement in Goggle Classroom

As I explored the features in Google classroom, I learned that taking online classes using Google classroom might prove to be beneficial to students because there is a Streaming section for the teachers to post the announcements, we can also upload videos in the streaming section. I personally feel that such kind of features in google classroom makes it more inclusive. We can write the instructions as well as upload a video for those students who prefer watching and learning.

Sample Assignment provided in Goggle Classroom

Moreover, I was fascinated with the options provided in google classroom where we can even invite co-tutors, parents, and students in the classroom. This way, parents will be informed about the children and their learning progress, and I as a teacher will also get to invite my colleagues as co-teachers which is actually not possible in real classroom settings.

Sample invitation