LESSON 10

The Computer as a Tutor

The computer is one of the wonders of human ingenuity, even in its original design in the 1950’s to carry out complicated mathematical and logical operations.

COMPUTER – ASSISTED INSTRUCTION (CAI)

The computer can be a tutor in effect relieving the teacher of many activities in his personal role as classroom tutor. Even with the available computer and CAI software, the teacher must:

·         Ensure that students have the needed knowledge and skills for any computer activity

·         Decide the appropriate learning objectives

·         Plan the sequential and structured activities to achieved objectives

·         Evaluate the student’s achievement by ways of tests the specific expected outcomes.

DISCUSSION

1.       Do you believe CAI in some future time can replace teachers in a classroom?

·         No, I don’t believe that CAI can replace teachers in a classroom in some future time. Because as what I’ve said, computers can never replace a man especially, a teacher. Computer can’t respond to the needs of the learners both physically and mentally. Teachers are still best for a classroom. CAI can only provide some knowledge that a learners needs but teacher is the best I fulfilling the needs of a learner

2.       Since it is admitted that CAI relates to lower learning skills (behaviorist and cognitivist learning), what grade levels would CAI drill-and-practice software materials be useful? Do you think those in college will still want drill-and-practice learning activities that provide plain memorization (behaviorism) and brain processing like a mere computer (cognitivism)?

·         It could be in Grade VI levels since they have enough knowledge and they have more retention to computer than in the lower grades.

3.      What problem can be encountered if a school (such as in poor countries) cannot afford to provide enough computers to students? Will CAI work at all with a whole school using single computer?

·         The problem that can be encountered by poor countries if they can’t afford enough computers perhaps the students in that certain country will be having a difficult in coping up about information on how to use and manipulate computers and so that this poor countries have no ability to produce a globally competitive students in terms of computers.

I think CAI will still work but it will not enough and perhaps it will contain poor quality when it integrates in education.

4.      What can the school neighborhood community or non – government organizations do to put public schools on a fast track for the integration of technology in public education?

MULTIMEDIA ENCYCLOPEDIA – can store a huge database with texts, images, animation, audio and video.

ELECTRONIC BOOKS – provide textual information for reading, supplemented by other types of multimedia information (sounds, spoken words, pictures, animations)

The computer is a tutor in this new age of learning. It does not replace the teacher, although it assumes certain roles previously assigned to teachers who now has to take the new role of facilitator and guide.

DISCUSSION

1.       Many software materials available in developed countries are not yet available in developing countries. Do you think awareness of the existence of these materials can still help teachers in developing countries?

·         Yes, it can still help teachers in developing countries but still they should not only aware, but also these software materials must be available also in those countries to help better the teachers.

2.       Students play games at home and nearby school computer cafes. How do these games differ from instructional computer games?

·         Games that are being played at home and nearby school and nearby school computer cafes are differ from instructional computer games because this games which are being played at home are not instructional already because as we play it every day, it will store already in your mind and as if it already registered that every time you play those game, you know already what is the first thing to do. And this game has no direct instruction to follow.

While instructional games, you have to follow specific instructions.

3.      Discuss the difficulties of using software: number of school computers available, need to evaluate these software materials, need to find ways to integrate them into lessons/ curriculum. How futuristic are computers as tutors in our Philippine educational scenario?

·         When a school has lack of this kind of software, teachers will get difficult to integrate with the learner the ICT and of course if we are planning to use software in our classroom, we should conduct first a deep evaluation on the software that we are going to use to avoid unnecessary accidents when we are using it. And as a future teacher, we should know how are these software integrates with our lesson. It should not be integrate without a plan. Because we should integrate this kind of software base on our lesson objective. We should find or use appropriate software in our lesson to meet your target lesson objective. We are not using software just to consume time rather we use it to motivate our learners to target also their own learning objective.

Computers can fast track the lessons.