Tutors and Student Teachers
who participated in the training of integration ICT in teaching have applauded
the innovation as enriching. This was revealed at Canon Apolo Core PTC in Kabarole District by the participants
during the 3 day Training from 18th-
20th June 2013. The participants were college Tutors, student
teachers and supervisors. The trainings was conducted by Rwenzori Information
Centers network [RIC-NET]
and Computers for Schools Uganda [CFSU] under the theme; “ICT ENABLED INNOVATIVE TEACHING METHODS OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE”
ICT for Education (ICT4E)
refers to use of ICT devices and tools to support teaching and learning across
the curriculum. ICT is not the main focus of learning, but supports the
learning process. This refers to the use
of technical aspects of ICT to extend and enhance the pupil’s learning in
English and other subjects. The use of ICT however, makes new activities and
approaches to the teaching of English possible.
In the context of the
school curriculum, students/tutors are expected to explore, conduct research,
write reports, do assignments, carryout personal revision and participate in discussions
and present their individual or joint assignments. Computers can aid all these
tasks and can move instruction/teaching away from the teacher-centered model to
one that is more conducive to student problem-solving, written communication; creativity
and collaborative skills – skills identified as necessary for 21st Century success.
Some of the benefits of
integrating ICT into teaching and learning include the following; ICT caters for Different learning Styles of learners, it enables learners to play an active role in learning, it increases the attention span of learners, it provide real-life experience, it encourages collaborative approach to learning, it improves presentation of work, as well as
offering flexibility of anywhere anytime learning during the teaching learning process.
ICT innovations also involve “Digital Storytelling,” it
involves combining the art of telling stories with a variety of digital multimedia,
such as images, audio, and video. Digital stories bring together some mixture
of digital graphics, text, recorded audio narration, video and music to present
information on a specific topic. As is the case with traditional storytelling,
digital stories revolve around a chosen theme and often contain a particular
viewpoint. The stories are typically just a few minutes long and have a variety
of uses, including the telling of personal tales, the recounting of historical
events, or as a means to inform or instruct on a particular topic.
The potential for
integrating speaking and listening, reading and writing can be enhanced by use
of interactive multimedia resources. Most importantly, ICT engages pupils to
work actively on language both when reading and writing and has the potential
to highlight the way in which meaning is constructed.
After the training
the Deputy Principle who closed the training thanked the training team for the
good work in trying to simplify teaching learning process and pledged total
support to the innovations. She asked those who have acquired the knowledge to
pass it over to others properly and keep applying regularly.
