One-computer Classroom, Learner Autonomy, Mobile Technology and Padlet

Have you ever gone to class, planning to engage learners interactively through technology but then realize you have only one computer and wonder how to go about it? Can one computer be effective in engaging students to engage in collaborative learning? As a teacher, how best would you just try not to survive in a one-computer classroom but instead thrive? These are questions worth reflecting on our teaching practices, especially considering the teacher – students’ ratio in the Ugandan classroom contexts. Limited technology in the classroom is a one way to test the teacher’s innovative and creative abilities. Can the teacher improvise? Can the teacher devise appropriated mechanisms for the technology to be shared by learners? This week offered great ideas which directly linked to the ideas of handling large classes. Even in one-computer classrooms, learning can still be made interactive and enjoyable. A teacher could use this single computer  to give learners group tasks to enter a summary of their respective groups’ views on a topic before displaying the work using a projector. The teacher could also use PowerPoint to thrive throughout the lesson. An article from Education World provides various strategies that one can use while using a one-computer classroom. Moreover, in his article Tech Alternatives for the One Computer Classroom, Richard Byrne suggests different activities a teacher can use to effectively utilize a single computer in the classroom.

 

 

The core and most controversial issue is about Learner Autonomy. A teacher, who believes he/she knows it all and that the learners know nothing at all, will see Learner Autonomy and a means to make education lose direction. A teacher who is liberal will understand and embrace learner autonomy because in the end, little can be done by the teacher regarding intrinsic motivation. The incompetent teacher or the money-minded teacher will always see learner autonomy as a threat to his job, thinking that it will become a substitute to his/her profession, which is not the case. As I read the article Emerging Technologies Autonomous Language Learning, I got clearer views about learner autonomy. It is completely different from independent learning. Teaching and learning do not need to be necessarily teacher centered and not entirely learner autonomous! There’s need to strike a balance between the two.

Ever thought about using your mobile phone beyond receiving, making a call and texting? Mobile technology is one effective and manageable way for a teacher to integrate technology into his/her classroom as elaborated by Hayo Reinders. A teacher could use a phone to record audio or visual material, as well as use it to play music for instructional purposes. 

As I wind up, this week I learned another interesting technology tool, Padlet. This is an online wall for sharing resources! I will use Facebook wall to explain: There are pages on Facebook that post information on their walls for their audience. The same is similar for Padlet except that Padlet is designed for sharing online resources – articles, videos and links. A teacher can create a class padlet to share resources for a particular subject or topic!

Overall, this has been an exceptional week: productive and essential!