Visual Design Critique

1st slide:

Strength

• good to let the audiences know what they are in for (preview of the rest of the slides)
• having the frog image adds colours to the slides

Improvement

• feels that the audio effect(3 different frogs' sound) could have been better if placed at the next slide
• maybe the next slide can be in the form of a game with the students (see who can guess correctly which type of frog make that particular sound).

2nd slide:

Strength

• no fanciful fonts hence no distraction

Improvement

• there's no alignments of words which made the whole slide messy
• a bit wordy-reader's interest dropped
• fonts too wordy-pupils at the back may not see clearly
• points should be in point form instead of sentences

3rd slide:

• use of life cycle diagram suppose to enhance learning but the diagram has too many arrows which make the life cycle complicated
• promotes self learning with options for students to exercise.(to learn about
• instructions should be in small letters instead of capital letters

4th slide:

Improvement

• images at the bottom distract students
• 2 long points could be broken up into 3 points-easier for student to digest for information

5th slide:

Strength

• good to have grahics of tadpoles at different stages

Improvement

• the whole slide is too wordy,should divide the whole slide into 3 slides
• font size is too small

6th slide:

Improvement

• irrelevant to have the picture of the eggs and tadpoles at the bottom of the slide
• a bit wordy for each of the point;have it in point form
• inadequate line spacing

How does COTF promote student-centered learning?

Observation from COTF: The tour of COTF is divided into five parts (café, laboratory, MRT, home and classroom).
The café is a very conducive environment for pupils to meet up to discuss projects. The wireless network allows students to do research online, collaborative learning and sharing of information with their counterparts worldwide. I was very amazed by the voice translation. It has removed the language barrier by translating French voice to English subtitle. I find it really useful in student centered learning especially when you need to upload any videos in foreign languages such as spanish or korean for lesson.

As for the laboratory, the part that attracted me is the video conferencing with a professor and that so much information about the bacteria can be found within such a short time through sample analysis with the professor. The dialogue session keeps the students physically and cognitively engaged. This has once again demonstrates the importance of ICTs tools in student centered learning.

The use of UMPC in the MRT allows users to copy any materials needed into it simply by tapping. I find this very time saving as compared to downloading.

The lights in the house are voice-operated.Parents can be updated on their child's progress in school via sms or email alert.

In the classroom, attendance is taken electronically by putting UMPC on the lap. Students are assessed through online quizzes and explanation is done by using videos for pupils to be able to visualise the question.

In conclusion, COTF helps to promote student centred learning to a large extent but we should also consider the long term effects of studying in this type of environment. Examples of the effects includes exposure to radiation and ergonomic problems due to bending towards the monitor which is placed under the table.

Session 2: Differences Between Teacher-Centred and Student-Centred Learning Environments

Part 1: Examine at the case that you have selected. Jot down in this table what you notice about each of the 6 aspects of the learning environment in the left-hand column (Focus on the degree of teacher-centredness or student-centredness.) For each aspect of the learning environment, you are to indicate the degree (on the scale of 1 to 10) of Teacher or Student Centredness observed in addition to the observations that you will be documenting in the last column of the template.

Story 1: Geography lesson for upper secondary on environmental degradation.

At the end of the 1hr lesson, students are expected to:

• explore and synthesize information by conducting internet research on the topic
• listen and take notes using inspiration software during presentation by 2 groups on different issues pertaining to environmental degradation
• clarify and negotiate by posing questions to presenters
• decide on an issue by online discussion forum and poll the decision through online poll

Teachers role
9. The teacher merely acts as a facilitator. She leaves most of the work to the students (doing research, presentation of their findings).

Student roles
9.Students discussed in groups and each was assigned a role/responsibilies to develop their competence

Curriculum characteristics
8.Students challenge each other with questions follow by answers to the respective questions which I think foster higher level of thinking

Learning goals
7.Students are able to conduct research and carry out online forum independently. Nevertheless, they also show teamwork during presentation with some pupils taking notes and some working on Inspiration software.

Types of activities
9. Through projects, students were made to do their own research, have discussion/online forum, powerpoint presentation.

Assessment strategies
7. Assessment was done based on the questions raised and how it was answered, how extensive and relevant was the research and last but not least the mind maps.

Use of ICT
9.The teacher incorporate IT into her Geography lesson with the aim of helping students develop new skills to prepare them for engaged student centered learning. Students make use of powerpoint, Inspiration software, online forum

Part 2: Using the 4 shorts videos on IT in School (Sec)Video, answer the following questions in relation to the case study you have reviewed in part 1 of this worksheet:

a. Do you think the classroom environment chosen is appropriate for the learning activities? Explain why.

The classroom environment chosen is appropriate for all the 4 videos. For video 1 and 3, there are hands-on activities so that students are engaged. Instructions were given out in video 1 and 2 so that students can follow. This would not result in different pupils doing different things. As for video 4, students are engaged in game which often results in noise when they get over-excited. Since it is enclosed, other classes will not be disturbed.


b. The students seem to be focused and on task. What strategies do you think the teacher has used to achieve this outcome?

· assigning of seats reduce the chances of good friends talking to each other
· blue and red cups as signal to teacher eliminate the need for students to call for help
· assigning roles to different students eg IT representative to set up PC
· pre-lesson preparation eg Cd-roms were placed on the work stations. Hence, students need not collect themselves
· instructions given before the start of the lesson. Students know what they are expected to complete and how they should behave


c. What potential classroom management issues can possibly occur? What proposed solution(s) do you have?

I : A situation where there are many students who need assistance. Students who did not receive timely assistance may start making noise.
S: Station 2 teachers or 1 teacher and 1 IT officer

I : Students who are fast may have completed the given task and they start to talk
S: Let students who have completed surf the internet

I : Students get too excited over the game and make too much noise(beyond tolerance level)
S: Stop the game immediately. Students should be told of the consequences of making too much noise beforehand

I : Students who are slow cannot keep up with the class pace
S: Buddy system. Seating arrangement in such a way that a fast learner is seated beside a weaker student to assist him/her