Monday, February 21, 2011

Article # 18: What is an educational media center? What roles and functions does an educational media center perform to serve the teaching-learning process? What elements must an EMC have for it to effectively function as one?

An Educational Media Center (EMC) is a facility of the school system to acquire, maintain, care and promote the full effective use of educational media. An EMC renders various kinds of services. Its services boil down to improving the teaching-learning process by making it more interactive, collaborative, interesting and authentic.It houses both old and new technologies meant to make learning more efficient and effective. It facilitates and ensures the optimum use of all instructional media. It organizes learning activities for students and teachers alike for them to upgrade and improve on their technology manipulative skills all for the purpose of motivation them to keep on developing their communication, analytical, integrative, creative and collaborative skills for meaningful lifelong learning.

Article #17: Which form of assessment fits a constructivist technology-supported learning environment?

We should go beyond memorizing for tests and we should not study only for a passing score and a passing grade. Authentic assessment measures collective abilities written and oral expression skills, analytical skills, manipulative skills (like computer skills) integration, creativity, and ability to work collaboratively. The traditional paper-and-pencil tests are not adequate to assess learning in a constructivist technology-supported learning. The authentic forms, are more reliable and adequate to measure student's communication, analytical, integrative, evaluative and collaborative skills. In a technology-supported learning environment, the students are not only users of technology products, they themselves are authors of technology product.

Article # 16: What are the steps involved in the use of project-based multimedia learning strategy?

Goals and objectives are always the starting points of planning. When we plan a multimedia learning project as a teaching strategy. we begin by clarifying our goals and objectives. Determining how much time is needed and extent of student's involvement in decision making. Setting up forms of collaboration. Identifying and determining what resources are needed, and deciding on the mode to measure what student learns. So steps involve are 1. Planning, 2. Researching, 3. Organizing, 4. Developing, 5. Communicating, and 6. Evaluating.

Article # 15: What is project-based multimedia learning? What are the elements of project-based multimedia learning? Why use project-based multimedia learning? What are the disadvantages of the use of project-based learning and multi-media project?

Project-based multimedia learning is most of all anchored on the core curriculum. This means that project-based multimedia learning addresses the basic knowledge and skills all students are expected to acquire as laid down in the minimum competencies of the basic education curriculum. When using project-based multimedia learning, teachers face additional assessment challenges because multimedia products by themselves do not represents a full picture of student learning. In multimedia projects, students do not learn by using multimedia produced by others; they learn by creating it themselves. Project-based multimedia learning is value added to your teaching. It is a powerful motivation. Avoid the tendency to lose track of your lesson objectives because the technology aspect has gotten the limelight. Project-based multimedia learning does not only involve use of multimedia for learning. The students end up with a multimedia product to show what they learned. So they are not only learners of academic content, they are at the same time authors of multimedia product at the end of the learning process. The goals and objectives of a project are based on the core curriculum as laid down in the curricular standards and are made crystal clear to students at the beginning of the project.

Article # 14: What techniques can help us maximize the use of the overhead projector and the chalkboard?

Among the outstanding attributes of overhead projection are the many techniques that can be used to present information and control the sequence of a presentation. One of them is the "progressive disclosure", it can be achieved by placing a sheet of paper over the transparency and moving it down to expose succeeding lines of type, attaching strips of opaque paper to the sides of the mask in order to cover portions of the transparency image or placing over the transparency an opaque sheet containing a cutout slit which exposes lines or copy area in sequential order as it moved down or across the copy. Except in extremely deprived classrooms, every classroom has a chalkboard. In fact, a school may have no computer, radio, tv, etc. but it always have a chalkboard. Among all instructional equipment, the chalkboard is most available. The overhead projector is another versatile equipment that is quite common today. By learning how to use them properly and in an expensive way we are able to realize our instructional objectives. There are techniques of using the chalkboard and overhead projector proven to be effective by practitioners. Adopting them in our teaching spells visual and lasting learning for our students.

Article 13: What instructional material fall under this category? What are examples of each visual symbol? Where can they be integrated in the instructional process? What guidelines must we follow when we read charts, graphs and maps?

A drawing may not be the real thing but better to have a concrete visual aid that nothing. To avoid confusion, it is good that our drawing correctly represents the real thing. A first rate-cartoon needs no caption. The less the artist depends on words, the more effective the symbolism, The symbolism conveys the message. Like a picture, a graph and all other visual symbols, are worth a thousand words. The proper use of visual symbols will contribute to optimum learning. Visual symbols come in many forms- drawing, cartoons, strip drawing (comic strip) diagram, map, chart, graph. For these visual symbols to be at your finger tips, you ought to be skilled at making them. The collection, preparation and use of these various visual symbols depends to a great extent on your own resourcefulness and creativity. They may be used in different ways and in different phases of the lesson depending on your purpose. If you use them skillfully, your classroom may turn into a beehive of busy students.