Micro Computer Based Laboratory

  For this entry, I will recap on what had been presented by our group during the sixth week class. This time around, we had discussed on the advantages and disadvantages of  Micro Computer Based Laboratory in teaching science. 

Our group had chosen to do an experiment on the device to measure magnetic field. The reason for us to test this device was to identify whether this kind of probe was suitable to be use in teaching or not. 

We had discovered that, there are advantages and disadvantages of using this device.

ADVANTAGES

>>>The tool can be used effectively to collect, analyze and display data in the form of graphs and charts, showing relationships that change as the values of the variables change.

>>>Data can be stored in computer’s memory.

>>>Students’ ability to interpret graphs is improved

>>>It saves time if the lesson is aimed to finish in a very limited time.

>>>It is suitable for independent learners that are very proficient in science.

DISADVANTAGES

>>>As data collected is transferred into graphs, the   students might not be able to see the relationship between the diagram of the magnetic field and the graphs collected.

>>>It is not suitable for the primary school learners as they need to master the science process skills first.

>>>Even though, students of level 2 can grasp abstract concept, but in learning science, their scientific and manipulative skills are still developing at this time

>>>The discourse used by the device is considered to be complex.

       All in all, we think that, this device was not suitable for the primary school students and it is more likely to be useful for the secondary school students. We did agree that this device has its own benefits, but if we wish to implement it in our primary classroom, we were still not ready to go for it.

Strategies use in teaching SCIENCE

This is the fifth week of the class. For this week, we had learned about 7 strategies that could be implemented in teaching science. 

The 7 strategies are: 

a) MBL ( Computer-Based Laboratory)

b) Drill and Practice 

c)  Tutorials

d) Simulations

e) Problem-solving

f)Educational Games

g) Informational retrieval

a) MBL ( Computer-Based Laboratory)

MBL is a computer based learning that utilized data collection through certain software that allows students to accumulate data and graph in a short period of time. MBL also could reduces distractions and lower-level student chores during the laboratory.  The immediacy of feedback allows students to "self-regulate their learning" and to readily select information so as to construct appropriate mental structures. 

b) Drill and Practice 

Drill and Practice is a directed technology integration software method that helps students practice very structured problems. Students answer a question and get immediate feedback. Feedback can be as simple as “correct” or “incorrect”. Drill and Practice software creates motivation in students because it is in a different format and offers immediate feedback unlike paper graded assignments. Branching drills allow students to move quickly past problems they understand and to a new set of problems based on their skill levels. Teacher grading is reduced and that allows them to individualize attention better.

c) Tutorials

A computer tutorial is an interactive software program created as a learning tool. Tutorials help people learn new skills by using a step-by-step process that ensures the user is following along and comprehending the material

d)  Simulations

Acting out or mimicking an actual or probable real life condition, event, or situation to find a cause of a past occurrence (such as an accident), or to forecast future effects (outcomes) of assumed circumstances or factors.

e)Problem-solving

Describes the process of working through details of a problem to reach a solution. An individual seeking to solve a problem will have to identify the most important elements that influence the answer and then work through a series of operations to determine a logical solution. 

f) Educational Games

An educational game is a game designed to teach people, typically children, about a certain subject or help them learn a skill as they play. Some people call these types of games edutainment because they combine education and entertainment.

g) Informational retrieval

Information retrieval (IR) is the science of searching for documents, for information within documents, and for metadata about documents, as well as that of searching relational databases and the World Wide Web.

It is noticeable that, these 7 strategies are very helpful to get the students engaged with the learning especially when learning science. So, it is depend on the teacher to implement it in the class or not. For me, I am pretty sure that, I will use this strategies in my teaching later because, I could feel that, it will benefits me and my students. 

Learning Theories~

For the third class, we had been taught on the learning theories. There are three major LT, which are:
a) Behaviorism

b) Constructivism

a) Behaviorism is a worldview that assumes a learner is essentially passive, responding to environmental stimuli. The learner starts off as a clean slate and behavior is shaped through positive reinforcement or negative reinforcement. Both positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement increase the probability that the antecedent behavior will happen again. In contrast,punishment (both positive and negative) decreases the likelihood that the prior behavior will happen again. Positive indicates the application of a stimulus; Negative indicates the ignoring of a stimulus. learning occurs when students are just to follow the teacher's instruction and they are just focusing on the product, not the way the product was made. this is more likely a teacher -centered approach. 

b) constructivism can be define as, a philosophy of learning founded on the premise that, by reflecting on our experiences, we construct our own understanding of the world we live in. Each of us generates our own “rules” and “mental models,” which we use to make sense of our experiences. Learning, therefore, is simply the process of adjusting our mental models to accommodate new experiences. for that reason, there are lots of activities that require students to discover on their own on how something works or most likely to occur. Those activity could generate the discovery of new knowledge and its fit the meaning of constructivism. 

After we understand the meaning of those two learning theories, we were given a task to identify some website which used both of the learning theories. From there, we discovered that, the website that contain experiment in it, served the students with the constructivism learning approach whereas the website that given steps for students to follow, most likely applying the behaviourism learning theory. 

2nd Week Reflection

Salam 1UM..Hye everyone. This was my second post in this blog which thats mean, it was my second week reflection on PMEY3104 class. This class was held on Thursday because Prof. Rohaida was not around on the usual class on Tuesday. It was a bit disappointing moment for me because I had missed an hour lecture with her because, I had to attend my elective class before that. When entering the class, I was a bit blur because i did not know what was going on during that time. However, I am very lucky because my friends did explain to me about that day's lesson.
    On the second class lesson, we had been explained about "Brief History of the use of Technology". We had been explain about the history of the earliest usage of technology since 15th century and the development of technology up to 20th century. Besides that, we were also learnt about the common terms related to the computers such as CPU, Software, Memory and so on. After the lecture finished, we were asked to work in group and discussed on the topic on artificial intelligence and virtual reality. 


My group was presenting the topic artificial intelligence. From my understanding, artificial intelligence or (AI) refers to the science of making machines do things that would require intelligence if done by men. It means that, AI act as the tool to take the role of human which could think, create and learn same as human do. This could benefits human's life such as it could accomplish task without being tied with the time limit means that, they could work 24/7. Therefore, , it could be easily use, and  could be used to share knowledge and information within and across organizations , which is highly important in today’s integrated information world.


All in all, after knowing about AI, I realized that, the technological world had grown widely and it didn't cross my mind that AI could become a powerful machine that can take the role of human.


I think I'll stop here. See you in the next entry...

Week 1-Introduction to Early Technologies in Science Education

Salam 1 UM...Hye everyone..On 20th of July it was my first week attending my science class. The class PMEY3104 INTERGRATION OF TECHNOLOGY IN PRIMARY SCIENCE TEACHING was conducted by Professor Dr. Rohaida Bt Mohd Saat.
    On the first class, we had been explain about the course proforma, the assignment and the course information for this semester. It is noticeable that, we are going to learn about how technology could enhance the students potential in learning science. From my opinion, its really amuse me. This is a new experience for me as back in Maktab, I'm not expected to learn science through ICT. I need to create a blog which I need to reflect what I had been taught, and during the class, I need to use Internet to find sources and evidence before presenting the task given.
    Talking about presentation, on the first class, me and my group had been given a task to discuss and present on the topic Introduction to early technologies in science education-Visualizer. Do you ever heard about visualizer before this? Do you how its work?


"A Visualizer is the most flexible presentation tool of our times. It can pick-up any kind of material (books, photos, 3-dimensional objects etc.) quickly and easily and provides a high resolution output signal for video/data projectors, monitors, interactive whiteboards or videoconferencing systems" (Wolfvision, 2010) click to see the link. 


In other words, visualizer is a brand new Overhead Projector (OHP). Through Visualizer, we could project the image in a 3D form. The pictures above could explain more about the visualizer. 

As you can see, the object were put under the visualizer, and in the larger image projected by it, the image formed was very clear, precise and free from reflection. By using this in the classroom, it will make the teacher's life become more easier. This is because, the teacher just need to project anything related to the learning process and there's no need for them to bring a lot of materials into the classroom. However, this tool is quite expensive and it not everybody could have chance to use it. From my opinion, this tool is very useful if we apply it in the classroom because, the students will understand better and grasp the gist of learning in a meaningful way.