ICT tools

ICT:
"...Components of ICT
- Information
- Communication
- Technology" (slide 2)

**Information is colour-coded according to the question it answers
Red- ICT tools used in the childcare centre
Green- How they are used to enhance the learning process of students
Blue- Role of the teacher in sustaining the use of ICT in teaching and learning

"Communication Tools...
- Email..." (slide 5)

Can be used by teachers to communicate with other teachers and parents about issues concerning children and their learning.

From experience, it is very difficult sometimes to ensure that this tool can be effective, because it is often left up to the individual to use this particular tool. I believe, therefore, that it is the teacher's responsibility to explore ways which will ensure that she uses this tool regularly to communicate with teachers and parents, having a clear understanding the the child's learning is at stake if she chooses not to use this tool well. From experience, an organisational commitment to use this tool well does help members in the organisation to view the importance of this form of communication.

"- Presentation software..." (slide 6)

Can be used as a teaching aid when presenting the curriculum to children, helping in aborbing and retaining information. Can also posibly be used by children themselves in making presentations.

Teachers should make the effort to ensure that these softwares are used wisely, and take time to figure out if these tools can possibly be helpful to their teaching, and how the curriculum can be presented using these softwares

"- e-Portfolio " (slide 8)

"...allows them to assess children's individual learning styles...(Polakowski, 1993). Implemented well, portfolios can ensure that the focus and content of assessment are aligned with important learning goals" (para 5) http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/earlycld/ea5143.htm

From experience, I have observed, heard about and written about how it is common to hurry through preparing this tool at the end of every semester, which i believe is not fair on the children. I therefore think that the first step in the role of every teacher is to commit in doing this regularly. The principal or senior teachers should also be commited to checking on newer teachers to ensure that this commitment is being kept.

"Components of ICT...Technology...
- Portable Video Player" (slide 2, 13)

Children will again be able to have a different medium to gain information, and can this be used to play educational videos and even suggest the creation of the children's own videos with softwares available.

Teachers should be willing to explore tools like these to understand how to use it wisely (not too little and not too much) to ensure that children really retain and use the information that they are being taught in class.

"Components of ICT...
- Information" (slide 2)
"commonly used in education...radio and television" (para 2)

Based on experience, these can be used as a teaching aid (to play songs while teaching concepts) or as an information source (e.g. storytelling or concepts learnt through educational programmes), which help children learn new information differently.

Teachers should ensure that there is an inclusion of ICT tools in their lessons. I believe that it is also the teacher's responsibility to collaborate with parents and other teachers on what programmes are the best for a particular class of children in their learning.

Information italisied and in quotation marks taken from:

http://www.slideshare.net/rc_sharma/tools-of-ict

Information bolded and in quotation marks taken from:

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/ICT_in_Education/Definition_of_Terms