7.5.5: BYOD any device can do

I have had a two prong experience in the use of BYOD any device can do in two different contexts with two very different results.

 One experience was with teacher trainees at the National Teachers’ College where we started with a 1:1 desk tops with the trainees. The basis was that each trainee was to have a google account to enable uniformity and ease of access to the class blog. After having  created  a google account and also after having the link to the class blog, each student was free to use any device anywhere anytime to access the classroom blog and write a constructive blog post while ‘listening’ to others as well.

This was at Kaliro National Teachers’ College. I was in Kampala. I monitored their responses. I guided their learning. I encouraged collaboration and the refining each other’s posts. (From the comfort of my office)  Each student was working on their own but under one platform- the class blog. At the beginning their blog posts were messy and rambling but their writing improved progressively into writing short sharp formulaic blog posts.

The teacher trainees enjoyed this new experience in which they felt responsible for  their own learning, collaborative spirit replaced the competitive one, they listened to their own and to other students voices and in doing so built their knowledge  co- constructively. Theirs was a hands- on experience with BYOD any device can do.

At one institution of Higher Learning I had been tasked with teaching English to students from the Francophone countries. I opted to use the mobile phone in the class with each student using their own. We downloaded the Merrian Webstar dictionary which formed the basis of learning English in the classroom.

Here too the students worked a lot on their own, collaboratively navigating, comparing the words or phrases in French and English, and checked pronunciation and spelling, I was a guide, nudging the students on.

Alas! My class had to be stopped because I was not ‘teaching!’

BYOD in the classroom is possible only if the Head of the institution believes in student-centred learning and appreciates the 21^st Century learning.

7.4.4 TECHNOLOGY AND LEARNING SPACES

My experience with the consensus-building process is that it placed knowledge construction/building among us participants within the two groups of Technology group and Construction group rather than between us and the tutor.

Consensus building encouraged each of us  to coordinate different points of view, which in turn enhanced reasoning, higher order thinking skills and self-reflection  that promoted shared knowledge construction since we had to ‘actively listen’, be ‘listened’ to, and reach consensus. Consensus building promoted a ‘group- as –a - whole’ collaboration growth and learning. It is a great way to learn.

On the other hand, technology in the hands of our students means that the classroom walls become almost theoretical; no longer would each room need to contain them and their learning, they would have access to everything and everyone that could possibly help them along in their learning journey.

I will illustrate using three examples:

With devices like iPads for example, students are no longer confined to a computer lab. As soon as an assignment is available students can work on it inside their classroom, at home, while waiting on the bus, in between classes, etc. Mobile classroom technology can bridge the gap between classroom and home learning.

 Skype can connect one classroom with any other. It can connect the learners to individuals, experts or colleagues that can offer them insight to without them (experts) having to leave their own workplace. The teacher could take the opportunity to make connections with schools from around the world and benefit from an exciting mutual relationship. The teacher in Uganda could ask American students how they are taught about The Great Gatsby or slavery or civil rights, or ask South African students what it is like to live day to day, post-apartheid. These first-hand cultural experiences and reflections could be invaluable to Ugandan students, and more importantly it helps reinforce the idea of global citizenship.

YouTube for example, allows students voice an opinion or an idea to the rest of the world, and it is just possible, (Check my latest video on this link: https://youtu.be/KTEtGK2wxNk) that if they get it right, the rest of the world might respond. This kind of global feedback is utterly incredible and frankly inspiring, and the power of something like this as a learning tool cannot be underestimated.

Technology used well can be inspiring. Technology used well can break down boundaries.

However, what is harder to achieve in the delivery of online learning, is to harness that element of social support that many students need as they hit challenges. It is hard to find the online equivalent of the individual chat /face to face interaction at the end of a class with a struggling student or the group of students who naturally have a face to face discussion over an issue , and take solace in discovering that they are not the only ones who find a topic difficult.

7.3.4 Technology: Change :Learning spaces

This unit has forced me into evaluating how far our own Ugandan education institutions are moving away from the basic classroom and towards embracing new technology tools in teaching and learning. I will show case four  types of technology embrace and use:

Kyambogo University has developed an e learning Management system (KELMS) which encourages all trained staff to develop content for at least two course units in their area of expertise and upload it in the e-platform. As a result of this, quite a number of working class students have already expressed interest to study online.

Makerere University is using technology to augment traditional teaching materials and methodologies through using the net as a major teaching aid – supplementing texts which are costly, in short supply and often out of date.

 As a result, Makerere now has a large number of web-based courses available from reputable universities. As an example, over 900 courses from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are available for web based learning (http://ocw.mit.edu/). The set of courses includes a wide range of disciplines from Aeronautics to Writing (almost A–Z). This OpenCourseWare is freely available, and Makerere has mounted a local mirror copy18 of the entire set of courses.

Facilities such as MIT’s I-Labs (online laboratories) is helping to relieve the pressure and deliver world-class instructional materials (I-Labs are now in trial and will be widely deployed with the help of MIT and Carnegie grants). Students of Architecture no longer use drawing tables – They do all of their work using CAD/CAM software tools and facilities.

At a broader level, a  robust Teacher training in the integration of ICTs in teaching and learning sponsored by the Commonwealth of Learning (CCTI) and  using  the Learning management systems (LMSs) is currently on going. Through this platform the participants (as I am doing here) are able to access the platform using a password. CCTI works modules with our instructor based in South Africa the instructor selects and presents the material to us. Sometimes we work individually sometimes we are organized in groups with opportunities for (online) discussion, we work through the materials at roughly the same pace, reflect on our blogs and assessment is by end-of-course tests.

The advantage of using an LMS (CCTI) platform here is the nature of its multimedia content. Text, video and audio are fully integrated. Also the online discussion is mainly asynchronous and the course content is available at anytime from anywhere with an Internet connection.

Above all, the CCTI platform is also flexible enough in many ways that break away from the traditional classroom model.

Finally, The British Council together with the Uganda National Teachers Union (UNATU) and the Ministry of Education organized the third Teachers Forum  26th- 28th October 2016 , with the theme “Digital Literacy: The Effective Use of ICT in Enhancing the Quality of Education.”

Gayaza High school attended the forum and show cased how ICT integration is working for them. The deputy Head Teacher had this to say

"Technology helps us as teachers the way we deliver information in the classrooms. It is a great teaching aid in creating of content by not only the teachers... but thanks to ICT students too can." 

Gayaza High School has proven that ICT can be used in making learning practical and activity based. As an example, through Video shooting, students visited the market and designed marketing tools. As a teaching aid, peer learning is more simplified and exciting. Here is the link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKUYrGJbkZM

See how far we have come?