IICD/Resources/ICT4E Facilitator Manual

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(: This excellent resource needs wiki syntax for headings, so that the sections can easily show up in the table of contents. Randy Fisher 03:18, 21 December 2009 (UTC))

ICT4E Facilitator's Manual

DAY 1: UNDERSTANDING ICT AND ICT FOR EDUCATION

INTRODUCTION

The sessions of the day focus on the ICT for education, where activities are geared towards enabling participants gain an understanding of ICT of what ICT for education is; provide feedback to the questions such as: what can ICT do for me as a teacher?; how can ICT reduce the costs for doing things that I have been doing my usual way?; how does ICT free up time for me to do other activities and how does technology enable other activities?; will technology replace me as a teacher?

Participants will explore through discussion and sharing what changes the education system has gone through with the advent of ICT and uncover the adjustments they need to make in order to function well as teachers in a 21^st century environment.

The second session will explore further ICT tools that can be deployed to aid students’ learning and increase teachers’ productivity. Through discussion, participants will discover the various ICT tools that can be deployed in teaching and learning and give the possible situations when each tool can best be used.

In the third session, participants will explore, through interactive discussions and exploration: what digital content is; the different types of digital content; the opportunities digital content offers for teaching and learning and the challenges of using digital content.

Content outline:

1. Discussion of ICT and ICT for education
2. Identification of benefits of ICT for education and challenges
3. Discussion of characteristics of 21^st century learners and what skills teachers need to have to function in a 21^st century environment
4. Discussion of various ICT tools and resources that can help schools address education challenges
5. Discussion and review of various ICT tools available to teachers and schools
6. Discussion of the possibilities that these tools offers for teaching and learning
7. Definition and explanation of digital content
8. Listing of various types of digital content
9. Identification of characteristics of digital content
10. Discussion of the benefits of digital content in education
11. Identification of the challenges of using digital content
12. Hands-on experience of navigating the interface of the available off-line digital content

Instructional materials:

1. Flipcharts
2. Markers and masking tape
3. Computers with digital content
4. Projector
5. Training manual
6. Telephones (both fixed and mobile)
7. TV, VCR, Radio (for display and demonstration where available)

Training methodology:

1. Plenary discussion
2. Question and answer
3. Group discussion
4. Facilitator exposition
5. Plenary presentations
6. Hands-on activity
7. Reflection (minds –on activity)

THE SESSIONS AND SESSION OUTCOMES=

SESSION 1: INTRODUCTION (2 hours)

The mention of ICT- Information and Communications Technology is often associated with computers and computer skills. Secondly, many training courses often assume that learning to use computers (computer skills) is equal to knowing how to teach with computers. This is far from the truth. ICT is broader than that and this session will explore some aspects of ICT and ICT for Education.

When effectively used, ICT can provide teachers respite from daily routines and challenges. The availability of digital content and other ICT productivity tools can provide an enriching learning environment and improve students’ attainment. This often requires teachers changing their beliefs and the way they have been teaching. This session will explore some of the possibilities ICT offers and the changes that adjustments in skill, knowledge and perceptions that teachers need to make in order to make best use of ICT to meet the needs of the 21^st century learner.'

Session outcomes:

By the end of the session, trainees/participants should:# Identify characteristics of the 21^st Century learner and explain what teachers need to do to meet these characteristics

1. Define ICT for Education
2. Exhibit an understanding of the benefits of ICT for education by listing these benefits
3. Exhibit an understanding of the challenges associated with ICT for education by listing these challenges and offering possible mitigation to these challenges
4. List possible uses of ICT in their daily tasks as teachers
5. Identify the various ICT tools that can aid teaching and learning

SESSION 2: ICT TOOLS FOR EDUCATION (2 HOURS)

ICT tools exist in various forms and, when these tools are effectively deployed, they can provide an enriching learning environment and increase students’ attainment.

This session will explore further ICT tools that can be deployed to aid students’ learning and increase teachers’ productivity. Through discussion, participants will discover the various ICT tools that can be deployed in teaching and learning and give the possible situations when each tool can best be used

Session outcomes:

By the end of the session, participants/trainees should:

1. List the various ICT tools that can aid teaching and learning
2. List the possibilities for teaching and teaching that each identified tool offers

SESSION 3: DIGITAL CONTENT FOR EDUCATION (3HOURS)

Digital content comes in various forms. It can be custom-made as software by reputable firms or can be locally produced by teachers and students to enhance the teaching/learning process. Digital content can be available both online and off-line.

This session will explore, through interactive discussions and exploration: what digital content is; the different types of digital content; the opportunities digital content offers for teaching and learning and the challenges of using digital content.

Session outcomes:

By the end of the session, trainees/participants should:

1. Define digital content
2. List types of digital content
3. Exhibit an understanding of opportunities digital content has for teaching and learning by listing advantages of using digital content
4. Explain challenges associated with the availability and use of digital content
5. Use their mouse and keyboard skills to navigate the available digital content and be familiar with the content interface.

DAY 1: PROGRAM

TIME	SESSION			ACTIVITY
8:30 -8:35 am	I	5 Min		Introduction of session and session objectives by facilitator: Facilitator introduces the session and explains how the session is going to be conducted and gives what is expected of the trainees.
8:35 – 9:00 am	I	25 min		Interactive session (brainstorming): In a plenary session, Facilitator asks trainees to take 10 minutes to discuss in pairs (random pairing) and provide responses to the following questions: How were you taught when you attended school? What did you like about the way you were taught? What were your frustrations with the way you were taught? How are you teaching now? What things are you doing differently from the way you were taught? What characteristics of today’s student (21st century student) are different from the characteristics of yesterday’s student? What do you need to do differently in order to meet the needs of today’s and tomorrow’s learner? What challenges do you anticipate to meet in teaching today’s and tomorrow’s student? Facilitator then discusses further the concept of teaching in a 21st Century setting; facilitator discusses these 21st Century settings and their characteristics: 21st Century homes; 21st Century workplaces; 21st Century communities; 21st Century schools and students. The exposition should lead to the role of ICT that is discussed in the next group activity. [Note: Facilitator can refer to details notes section and use some of the ideas there for further guidance]
9:00 – 9:25am	I	25 Min		Group formation and group discussion: Facilitator puts participants into groups of about 5 or seven members each, trainees will discuss and provide feedback to the following questions related to the concept of ICT for education: (a) What is ICT? (b) What is ICT for education? Why is ICT for education important? (b) What are the benefits of ICT for education? (c) What are the challenges of use of ICT for education? What challenges are schools facing in providing education and how do you think ICT can help to address these challenges? What are the skills teachers need to function well in a 21st Century classroom environment with 21st Century learners who are exposed to ICT facilities? (: Facilitator should give a maximum of 5 minutes for discussion of each question and should keep reminding participants of time spent on a question and need to move to the next question.)
9:25 – 9:45 am	I	20 Min		Presentations and Plenary discussion: either group leaders or members of a group present their discussion findings in a plenary session chaired by the facilitator. The rest of the groups listen, provide feedback in form of supplements and questions. The facilitator should: Give each group a maximum of 5 minutes to present and take feedback Encourage collaborative presentations ie 2 or more members of a group co-presenting in turns (a 21st Century presentation skill) Emphasise to other groups that they need not present points already presented by other groups and only present anything new that other groups have not mentioned in each question.
9:45 – 10:00 am	I	15 Min		Harmonisation and exposition by facilitator: In a plenary session, the facilitator: Harmonises all the contributions from the group presentations Gives a detailed background and theoretical basis of ICT for education, importance, benefits and challenges [especially pertinent issues that may have been overlooked by trainees such as link of ICT to pedagogy. Facilitator should refer to detailed notes section for this] Expounds on challenges faced by schools in providing education and how ICT can mitigate these challenges [inadequate textbooks; school records keeping; preparation and storage of termly examination papers; preparation of end of term reports and mark sheets; school financial management etc. Refer to detailed notes section]
10:00 – 10:25 am	I	25 min		Reflection (Minds-on activity): Facilitator asks participants to reflect individually on key issues addressed during the session and write down their thoughts to the following questions: What new ideas/concepts have I learnt in this session? What special concept of ICT for education did I like and will use in my teaching? How will my work and role as a teacher in the classroom change with regard to today’s and tomorrow’s learners? How will ICT address challenges I face in providing education in my school and the classes that I teach? What are my fears in the 21st century environment and what help/support do I need to overcome these fears? Which 21st Century student-centred approaches am I most interested in using with my students. How might these approaches support student learning? Participants should share their reflections with colleagues at the plenary or at the start of the next session. However, it is very important for them to share their reflections. This provides evidence of understanding of concepts covered in the session.
10:25 – 10:30 am	I	5 Min		Recap by facilitator: Facilitator summarises what has been covered during the session and takes any further questions that the participants may ask and clarify any issues that may need clarification.
10:30 -11:00 am	COFFEE BREAK (HEALTH BREAK)
11:00 – 11:05am	II	5 Min		Introduction by facilitator: Introduction of session, session objectives and expectations by facilitator
11:05 – 11:15 am	II	10 min		Plenary brainstorming and group formation: The facilitator: Leads participants in a five minute brainstorming session to answer the question “what ICT tools to you know?” in order to generate a list of ICT tools for participants to use in discussing the next questions in their respective groups Puts participants into new groups (the composition of each group should be different from those of session I) to facilitate variety in collaboration. Each group should have a maximum of 5 members)
11:15 – 11:50 pm	II	35 Min		Group Discussion: In their respective groups, trainees will discuss and provide feedback about ICT tools for teaching and learning by answering the following questions: (i) What ICT tools do you have access to as a teacher, both at school and home? (ii) Of the ICT tools you have named (not necessarily those you have used), list the possibilities they have as tools for teaching and learning. (iii) Carefully analyze your list of ICT tools and possibilities they offer to teaching and learning. Design a simple table that maps an ICT tool against a teaching/learning activity and the possible effect of the tool on learning. The table should look like the one below: Teaching/Learning activity ICT TOOL Effect of tool on teaching/learning Lesson preparation and delivery * Digital content MS word TV Power point * Supports learning Transforms learning Extends learning Assessment and feedback Collaborative projects Teaching Listening Note: (i) Include as many teaching/learning activities as possible. Those given above are just a few to jump-start you. (ii) It is important the trainees complete this table. It gives feedback on whether trainees mastered or understood the ICT for education session. The thought process that is required in filling the table requires mapping learning styles and methods to ICT supporting the style of learning.
11:50 – 12:30 pm	II	40 min		Plenary presentations and discussion by Participants: Either group leaders or members of a group present their findings in a plenary session. Facilitator gives each group about 8 minutes to present their work (encourage collaborative presentation) Other group members provide critical feedback to the presentation.
12:30 – 12:45 pm	II	15 Min		Harmonization and recap by facilitator: In a plenary session, the facilitator: Harmonizes all contributions from the various groups Gives a detailed analysis of ICT tools and their most appropriate use in teaching and learning. (Facilitator should refer to the detailed notes section of this session for further information to aid exposition).
12: 45 – 1:00 pm	II	15 min		Reflection (Minds-on Activity): Facilitator asks trainees to reflect individually on the key issues addressed during the session. The trainees should write down their thoughts to the following questions: What new ideas/concepts have I learnt in this session? How will I use the ICT tools available to me in my school to support, extend and transform teaching and learning in my classroom? How will I need to organise my way of teaching in order to take advantage of the available ICT tools to enhance learning?
1:00– 2:00pm	LUNCH BREAK
2:00 – 2:05pm 2:05 – 2:35 pm	III III		5 min	Introduction of session by facilitator: Facilitator introduces the session by giving objectives, procedure of activities to be carried out during the session and expectation
30 Min	Interactive session (brainstorming): In a plenary session, facilitator: Displays digital content from Rachel portal and Cyber School Technology solution on screen for participants to view and have a sense of digital content leads the trainees through a brainstorming session after seeing digital content displayed, guiding them through the following questions: (a) What is your understanding of digital content? (b) What types of digital content do you know? (c) List the characteristics of digital content (d) What are the advantages digital content offers for teaching and learning? (e) What are the challenges of using digital content in teaching? Note: Facilitator, with the help of the rapporteur, take charge of the session, getting responses from the trainees and writing them on the flip chart.
2:35 – 3:10 pm	III		35 min	Harmonisation and exposition by facilitator: Facilitator harmonises the contributions from the question and answer step Facilitator expounds further the concept of digital content; gives types which may not have come up clearly from the participants; explains further the benefits of using digital content linked to theories of learning; discusses the challenges participants could have left out. Facilitator uses the digital content displayed earlier to reinforce explanation of types of digital content (Rachel portal, Wikipedia for schools, Cyber School Technology solutions, Learnthings, Microsoft Encarta ) Facilitator demonstrates what digital content is with available digital content. The focus of the demonstration is to illustrate the following: Login (where necessary) Navigation to illustrate content arrangement Characteristics of digital content: notes, assessment, animations, simulations, interactive activities In-built components such as search engines and printable worksheets Facilitator can refer to the detailed notes and guidelines section of this session to aid exposition.
3:10 – 3:30 pm	COFFEE BREAK (HEALTH BREAK)
3:30 – 3:35 pm	III		5 Min	Introduction to hands-on activity: Facilitator then introduces trainees to the hands-on activity. Gives guidelines of what they are expected to do: Explore the content Discover the learning path where necessary Use the search facility (where applicable) to locate content/topic of interest Use collaborative techniques to seek for help from colleagues first before seeking help from facilitator and technical assistants in case they need help.
3:35 – 4:40 pm	III		75 Min	Hands-on Activity: Participants explore the available digital content by navigating the interface. Through exploration and discovery, participants use their mouse and keyboard skills to find: (i) content notes (ii) assessments (iii) animations (iv) simulations (v) interactive activities (vi) in-built search engines to find topics of interest. Facilitator and other technical staff move around workstations providing support where needed and observe how the participants are navigating the software.
4:50 – 5:00 pm	III		10 Min	Wrap-up and take home exercise: The facilitator: draws the attention of the trainees to the main issues of the afternoon session highlights the importance of digital content encourages the trainees to note the various features of the digital content they have been exposed to and think of how they may use the content in their own subject delivery in the next day’s activities gives take home exercise Reflection (Minds-on activity): Take home exercise Facilitator asks trainees to reflect individually on the key issues of the day. trainees should write down their thoughts to the following questions and share these in the first session of the following day: (i) From my knowledge of digital content acquired during this session, what type of digital content can I create? (ii) What ICT tools will I use to create this content? (iii) How will I use the content I have created to enhance my teaching? (iv) How do I plan to use the digital content available in my school as software on computers for teaching?
5:00 - 7:00 pm				Participants continue to practice and explore the digital content available on the computers at their own time. Practice how to navigate, look for content, use copy and paste functions and generally familiarize themselves with the content in preparation for the next day activities.
END OF DAY 1

These questions are useful to consider:

1. What can computers help me do?
2. How can I use so few computers with so many students?
3. How can computers be used as part of what I already do in the classroom? How can I organise my classroom to include use of ICT?
4. Will these computers replace me as a teacher? Will my students lose respect for me if they think the computer knows more than me?
5. How can computers help my students learn in different ways? How can they support the curriculum? How should I teach using computers?
6. Will I take a shorter time to prepare my lessons or longer when using computers and other ICT devices?

These are real concerns and when adequately answered, the solutions provide a better understanding of the concept of ICT for education.

(b) Benefits of collaborative and social networking

In the context of the school curriculum, students 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-centred model to one that is more conducive to student problem-solving, written communication; creativity and collaborative skills – skills identified as necessary for 21^st Century success.

Therefore, teachers need to have an understanding and knowledge of how ICT integration can enhance teaching and learning. If done effectively, ICT can transform teaching and learning into a motivating and stimulating experience.

Some of the benefits of integrating ICT into teaching and learning include the following (not a conclusive list and facilitator should also draw attention to the list produced earlier in the discussions):

1. ICT caters for Different learning Styles of learners: Many learning styles exist and learners receive, process and retail information in different ways. There are those who are better at understanding information in visual form; while there are those who understand and retain information better when presented in audio form, while there are those who learn better by manipulation. Illustration: A lesson that incorporates digital content where learners are required to click on parts of the human body, revealing information for each body part; the learners then complete an interactivity; the teacher may then show them a video clip on the human body showing movement of different body parts. Such a lesson caters for visual and tactile as well as audio learners to understand concepts better.
2. ICT enables learners to play an active role in learning: For example a lesson that requires learners to search for information from various sources about environmental pollution. The learners could use digital content, internet, watch documentary programs on television or listen to radio program on environmental issues (all ICT tools). The learners actively learn by enquiring, investigating, discussing, debating explaining and brainstorming about the information they have gathered. In this way, they play an active role in the learning process. [Note: Facilitator needs to emphasise the fact that teachers need to design appropriate tasks for this active learning to take place].
3. ICT increases the attention span of learners: A lesson that incorporates ICT well has the ability of engaging learners and therefore tends to capture and hold the attention of the learners for a long time. This is especially so when the learners are using the manipulative tools to accomplish a task. For example using drawing tools to make geometrical shapes; editing maps copied from digital content; preparing class presentations using power point etc.
4. ICT can provide real-life experiences: ICT can help link the subject taught to real-world situations or examples. For example watching news item on TV about flooding caused by climate change in one part of the world is a real-life experience which can be applied to learner’s situation where they are; studying about other cultures from the internet, with accompanying pictures will give learners an understanding of that culture and draw comparison with their own culture.
5. ICT encourages collaborative learning: learners can work in groups to achieve learning objectives. Instead of working alone on projects and activities, learners share ideas, learn team work skills and help each other to accomplish tasks. Working collaboratively encourages learner-centred teaching, with the teacher being a facilitator, who simply organises the learning tasks for the learners.
6. ICT improves presentation of work: use of word processors and presentation software enables neat presentation of work. This boosts self-confidence among learners (and teachers).
7. ICT can support high order thinking skills: this is especially so when learning tasks are designed around use of ICT where learners are required to evaluate source of information; synthesise the information, apply as well as interpret and solve problems. These are elements of critical thinking.
8. ICT offers flexibility of anywhere anytime learning. ICT use during lessons provides a motivating factor for learners to continue learning outside school hours where ICT resources are available to them.

(c) Challenges of ICT integration in Schools

Some of the challenges identified from research include the following:

• Teacher’s limited access to computers and other ICT resources
• Teachers’ own fears and perceptions (fear of ICT replacing the teacher, students being more knowledgeable in ICT than the teacher and hence loss of control, fear of change of established and tested way of teaching; fear of loss of respect from students if the students think “computer knows more than the teacher” etc)
• Teachers limited ICT skills and knowledge of ICT integration
• Availability of ICT infrastructure versus number of students in a class or school
• Administrative priorities not geared towards ICT

(: Note to facilitator: The solutions to these challenges vary from school to school and situation to situation. It is best to get the challenges and solutions from the participants. This makes the solution more localised to their situation.)

(d) Challenges that Schools and teachers often face in providing education services and how ICT can help address the challenges:

Facilitator should rely more on the list that the participants generated in Step II. Some of the challenges may include the following, with the associated solutions that ICT can provide.

Challenge	ICT solution
1. Lack of adequate text books and other teaching resources visa-vie student numbers	1. Digital content on computers, TV recorded programs and internet where available can provide respite in this. Many students can access these various ICT resources at the same time.
2. Accomplishment of administrative tasks and retrieval of information takes long: tasks such as time-tabling; budget flow; students’ records management	2. Computer software such as excel and DBMS can solve some of these problems School Management Information systems can solve the information retrieval problems.
3. Making of School reports and students reports, including mark sheets is a daunting task	3. Excel and other School Management information systems can solve these challenges
4. Communication with Parents and guardians where at times written circulars are not delivered to the parents.	4. Radio announcement of school events; sending SMS to the parent directly; sending an e-mail where applicable to help relay a message very quickly without the risk of the message not being delivered.
5. Time taken in preparing schemes of work and lesson plans	5. Computers can aid preparation of schemes of work and lesson plans which are re-usable with little editing. Templates of lesson plans can be designed and stored in a computer and easily retrieved when needed.
6. Lesson notes preparation and storage: Often times, teachers keep very old note books and use them for teaching with little editing (commonly known as “yellow note”). When a teacher loses this book (“asset”) the teacher becomes powerless and incapacitated.	6. Teachers can type their notes and keep back-up copies in soft form. When need to edit arises, these are easily editable and it is also easy to make lesson handouts from these notes. [Site example of “Teach yourself Mechanics and Heat” by Kakinda as an example here]
7. Preparation of examination question papers. Often when a deadline for setting exams approaches, teachers are frantic, looking through very old files for past paper questions and marking guides	7. Keeping a digital question bank in a computer with marking guides can help teachers set very good papers in a short time. They will have a pool of questions to get exam questions from and edit these where necessary to prepare an examination rubric.
8. Difficulty in keeping track of students with difficulties and provision of counseling services.	8. Computerized record management systems improve pastoral care and behavioural management of students as the information about each student can be centrally located and retrieved at the click of a mouse.

(e) ICT for Education and 21^st Century skills for teachers and learners.

The students we teach nowadays live, stay and interact with people and peers who have varying degrees of exposure to information and communications technology. Computers, television, mobile phones, internet are available to some learners in their homes and in the communities where they stay. The exposure of the learners to these environs then requires teachers to acquire new skills in order to adequately cater for the learning needs of these learners. Some of the environs of the 21^st Century that learners and teachers find themselves living in are listed below and their characteristics:

1. 21^st Century homes and families: In these homes, families:

• Are entertained by watching, creating and participating in a variety of media
• Make consumer decisions by looking for information on the internet
• Stay in touch with friends and family members through various technologies

1. 21^st Century workplaces: In these workplaces, workers:

• Analyse, transform and create information
• Collaborate with co-workers to solve problems and make decisions
• Perform a variety of tasks using an array of ICT devices

1. 21^st Century communities: In these communities, citizens:

• Use the internet, TV, Radio and mobile phones to stay informed about local, national and global issues
• Communicate and persuade others about their opinion using different technologies
• Take active role in making decisions in how their community (including schools) is managed and governed.

As ICTs take over the routine tasks in the workplace, a greater proportion of employees are engaged in tasks that require them to be flexible and creative problem solvers. Home life is also more complex as technologies take over some tasks at home: entertainment, leisure-time activities and participation in community activities. Therefore, the 21^st Century schools must prepare students to work in today’s workplaces and teachers must stay current with the ways students and families use technology in their daily lives.

1. In a 21^st Century school, students:

• Work on complex, challenging tasks that require them to think deeply about the subject matter and manage their own learning
• Collaborate with peers, teachers and other knowledgeable people on meaningful tasks using higher-order thinking
• Use technology to enhance their learning, solve problems and create new ideas.

To help students achieve levels of full participation in their communities, teachers need to focus on the 21^st century skills, some of which are listed below, that will help students adopt to changing society and technology:

• Accountability and adoptability: exercising personal responsibility and flexibility in personal, workplace and community contexts; setting and meeting high standards and goals for one self and others; tolerating ambiguity
• Creativity and intellectual curiosity: developing, implementing and communicating new ideas to others; staying open and responsive to new and diverse perspectives
• Communication skills: understanding, managing and creating effective oral, written and multimedia communication in a variety of forms and contexts
• Critical thinking: exercising sound reasoning in understanding and making complex choices; understanding the interconnections among systems
• Information and media literacy skills: analysing, accessing, managing, integrating, evaluating and creating information in a variety of media
• Interpersonal and collaborative skills: demonstrating teamwork and leadership; adopting to varied roles and responsibilities; working productively with others; exercising empathy; respecting diverse perspectives
• Problem identification, formulation and solution: ability to frame, analyse and solve problems
• Self-direction: monitoring one’s own understanding and learning needs; locating appropriate recourses; transferring learning from one area to another
• Social responsibility: acting responsibly with the interests of the larger community in mind; demonstrating ethical behaviour in personal, workplace, and community contexts.

The above skills require teachers to teach differently from the traditional teacher-centred approach. Focus should shift to a more student-centred approach, with technology aiding this approach. For purposes of reflection and future reading, student-centred approach characteristics are listed in the table below, compared against teacher-centred approach. The teacher should be able to use both approaches where applicable, but aim at using the student-centred approach more.

Teacher-Centred Approaches	Student-Centred Approaches
Content
Content is established by the curriculum, and all students study the same topics at the same time	Students study topics based on curriculum and standards but are allowed numerous choices in a topic of study
Students have access to limited information, selected by the teacher.	Students have infinite access to unlimited information of varying degrees of quality
Topics of study are typically isolated and disconnected from other curriculum subjects	Students study content in a way that shows connection between subjects
Students memorise facts and occasionally analyse information critically. There is little focus on applying facts or concepts to a variety of real world situations	Students learn concepts as well as facts, and frequently engage in high-level analysis, evaluation, and synthesis of a variety of kinds of material. There is an emphasis on showing how concepts apply to a variety of real world situations.
Students work to find correct answers	Students work to construct any one of a number of possible correct answers
Teachers choose activities and provide materials at the appropriate level	Students select from a variety of teacher-provided activities and often determine their own level of challenge at which to work.
Instruction
The teacher is the information giver – the sage on the stage – helping students acquire skills and knowledge	The teacher is the facilitator – the guide on the side – providing opportunities for students to apply skills and construct their own knowledge
Learning starts with what the students do not know	Learning starts with students’ previous knowledge
Teaching is an instructive process	Teaching is a constructive process
Students complete short, isolated activities and lessons around specific content pieces and skills	Students work on activities and projects connected to long-term goals aimed at building deep conceptual understanding and proficient strategy use.
Classroom Environment
Students learn passively in an often silent classroom	Classroom environments are a beehive of activity resembling a workplace with various activities and levels of sound depending on the kind of work being done
Students usually work individually	Students often collaborate with peers, experts, community members and teachers
Assessment
Students take paper-and-pen exams, silently and alone. The questions are kept secret until test time, so students have to learn all the material even though only part of it will be tested	Students know in advance how they will be assessed, have input into the criteria by which they will be assessed, receive feedback from the teacher and their peers throughout a unit, and have multiple opportunities to assess their own learning.
Teachers are primarily accountable for student learning	Teachers and students share accountability for learning and achievement
Students are extrinsically motivated by the desire to get good grades, to please teachers and to gain rewards.	Students’ interests and involvement promotes intrinsic motivation and effort.
Technology
Teachers’ use of technology is minimal and is often limited to explain, demonstrate and illustrate various topics. Technology use is occasional.	Students use various kinds of technology to conduct research, communicate and create knowledge. Technology is used routinely.

Detailed notes and guidelines to the facilitator for session 2

The facilitator can refer to these guidelines as he/she provides harmonisation to the ideas generated by the trainees during the plenary discussion session.

There are very many ICT tools that are available to us as teachers, but at times, we do not recognise their potential as teaching and learning tools. Almost every home has a radio, and a mobile phone. But how do we often think of these tools as teaching and learning tools?

When ICT tools are used as teaching and learning tools, they should add value to the exercise. Research has shown that when carefully used, ICT tools have the capacity to:

• Support teaching, learning and management. Efficiency in teaching is increased when ICT tools are deployed. The content may not change, but the delivery method is better and process of preparation is improved. For example use of word processors to produce lesson notes, lesson plans and power point to deliver the lesson.
• Extend learning. The ICT tools used can change content considerably. Multi-media can be included in content to make it more appealing and capture learners’ attention. Overall effect is an improvement in students’ learning
• Transform teaching and learning. ICT enables better understanding of concepts; availability of content in a variety of forms enables learners to choose what they need to learn at their own pace; digital content with a variety simulations and graphics transforms presentation and delivery and at the same time transforms learning. The internet offers collaborating avenues for learners and teachers; mobile phones and other hand-held devices also provide collaborating avenues for learners and teachers.

(a) The ICT tools available:

The following are ICT tools that may be available to users today depending on location.

• Computers with software such as word, power point , excel, Photoshop, Corel
• Digital content available in software form installable on servers or individual workstations. Such software include Rachel portal; Encarta encyclopaedia from Microsoft; Learnthings Africa; Cyber school Technology Solutions Digital Science and Mathematics among others.
• Mobile phones
• The internet
• Digital cameras
• Camcorders
• Televisions and television programs
• Video Cassette players and recorders
• Transistor radios
• Printers

Note to facilitator: This list is not exhaustive. The facilitator should rely on the list generated by the trainees during the discussion. This gives a feel of how the trainees understand ICT tools. They could generate a totally different list, or could not have imagined that some of the above mentioned tools can be used to enhance learning. During harmonization, facilitator should draw the attention of trainees to this fact.

(b) Possibilities for teaching and learning offered by the tools listed above:

(i) Computers

• Provide productivity tools to write reports, make lesson plans, make presentations, design animations, build websites, and improve school record keeping and administration.
• Provide tools that promote higher order thinking (use of excel and DBMS)
• Provide environment for self-assessment
• Improve subject matter mastery through simulations offered by programs such as computer-Assisted Instruction
• Combines multiple media presentation platforms such as text, audio, video, animations and interactivity, which accommodate all learning styles
• Promotes collaborative learning where learners can work in groups on a project on different workstations
• May promote learner-centred and active learning methodologies

(ii) Radio

• Promotes teacher development through sharing best practices and demonstrations by replaying and listening to a lesson delivered by an expert
• Teaches learners listening skills
• Has the potential to reach large learner populations in different locations (addresses issues of access to learning and equity)
• May be implemented in situations where text books and other reading materials are scarce
• Address the learning needs of learners whose learning style is more audio
• Can address issue of shortage of teachers (this is can be debated)

(iii) Mobile phones

• Promotes collaboration among teachers and students
• Promotes better communication between the school and the parents
• Short messaging service can be used to send reminders to parents about teacher-parents meetings, school events, assignment due dates and examinations dates

(iv) Digital cameras and camcorders

• Camcorders can be used to record demonstration lessons and be played back to learners and even teachers to promote learning
• The play back controls such as play, rewind, freeze-frame can provide powerful tools that enable critical analysis of situations
• Promotes creation of local content which makes learning more meaningful. For example if a geography class went and filmed a market situation as part of a geography lesson on “economic activities in Uganda”, the video will make the learning of that geography concept more meaningful because of the relationship to reality the students relived.
• The video can be a powerful learning tool as it brings learners “live” to events and phenomena. This supports concept building and retention (addresses visual and audio learning styles)
• The pictures and video can be re-usable in different situations. They become learning objects.
• Motivates learners especially if they are involved in the production of the video and pictures. They tend to own it and have satisfaction in “seeing their work and themselves” in the pictures.
• Promotes collaboration and resource sharing among teachers and learners

(v) Television

• Provides teachers and learners learning resources that are located at distant places that may not be reached by some teachers and learners in their lifetime
• Powerful visual that brings learners and viewers “live” to an event which enhances understanding of concepts
• Provides demonstration of classroom management and best practices that help teachers to implement new techniques of teaching effectively
• Powerful audio and visual teaching and learning resource.
• Has potential of reaching large numbers of learners in variety of locations
• Promotes learning beyond normal school hours (promotes anywhere, anytime learning – a critical e-learning element). Teachers can give assignments based on a particular TV program that learners may be required to watch at home.
• Promotes content delivery and learning across curriculum. Eg. Watching a documentary on wildlife and interaction with the environment, one can learn biology (predator-prey relations) and geography.

(vi) Internet

• Has an array of content that can be used by learners and teachers eg lesson planes, lesson notes, simulations, digital content.
• Provides avenues for collaboration and peer support
• Provides sources reflection and critical thinking through the several discussion for a available
• Provides an avenue for research through the available search engines and online data bases.
• Promotes learning beyond the classroom (anywhere anytime learning)

(vii) Digital Content

Detailed notes and guidelines to the facilitator for session 3

Facilitator can refer to some of the guidelines and notes in this section during harmonisation of ideas generated by trainees during the question and answer plenary session.

(a) What is digital content?

Digital content is an array of content created either locally by teachers and students or custom made software produced by reputable firms that is stored in electronic/digital formats.

This content can be “digitised content” or born-digital” content.

(i) Digitised content comes from the concept of scanning printed content (text, graphics, photos etc) and storing a copy of the scan in digital format (soft copy). The content can then be used for a particular purpose it is intended for by the user. Digitised content typically follows a linear structure, with very little flexibility.

(ii) Born-digital content – is content conceived, developed and produced within the context of full range of features and capabilities that digital media can provide. These capabilities are:

• non-linearity
• flexibility
• interactivity
• Searchability.

Digital content can be on-line (available on the internet) and off-line.

Due to its ability to be interactive, with a number of multimedia embedded with it; flexibility and searchability, digital content can empower teachers to produce motivating lessons and design interactive lessons which engage learners. Some of the digital content is custom-made, with high quality curriculum content for classroom use. Examples of these include Cyber School technology solutions’ digital science and virtual lab; National Curriculum Development Centre’s biology content, Learnthings Africa content and the Rachel Portal content.

(b) Characteristics of good digital content:

Good digital content should have some of the following features:* Interactive activities that allow learners to work through processes

• Images (graphics) and animations which are colourful to captivate learners and further understanding of concepts
• Simulations that help in explaining abstract concepts better
• Immediate feedback capabilities so that learners do not wait to get feedback after completing a task
• Assessment included to enable learners carryout self assessment, which is a key element of a learner-centred approach of learning
• Worked examples for independent learning
• Sequential examples and exercises that allow learners to learn at their own pace, revisiting problems when necessary
• Lesson notes which can be copied or printed out as hand-outs
• Teaching units with specific objectives
• Search engines that help in locating content or topic of interest
• Clear navigation tools and prompts that direct a user as to how to navigate

(c) Benefits of digital content for teaching and learning:

• Learners with different abilities within a class can work at their own pace since the activities included enable self-paced learning
• Interactive animations and colourful graphics generate interest and captivate learners. This makes learning more interesting
• Can foster collaboration as some of the activities and projects can be worked on in groups
• Abstract concepts are easily explained using simulations and interactive objects. This enables teachers take a shorter time to explain an otherwise difficult concept.
• Promotes individual learning and also offers avenues for revision
• Learners can assess themselves at any point and time rather than wait for end of month or term. They get instant feedback
• Content from digital material can be copied or printed to prepare hand-outs or be incorporated in a lesson plan (copyright regulations permitting)
• The array of media within digital content carters for different learning styles. Therefore it promotes an all inclusive learning environment. The visuals, interactivities, voice and navigation prompts also help to capture the senses of vision, hearing, touch (manipulation) and the general linkage to the brain for understanding the concepts at hand. All these help to bring out a better understanding in one’s mind instead of imagining things happening.
• Can provide useful recourse in situations where printed textbooks are in short supply and there is no library space.

(d) Challenges of using digital content for teaching and learning:

• Sometimes the content may not be well linked to the curriculum and therefore sifting through a lot of digital content may prove a demotivating exercise
• Lay out of some content may be difficult and therefore navigation becomes a challenge, especially to a user with limited computer skills
• The very good digital content may be expensive for an average school to afford
• Sometimes, content may lack local examples and may thus appear not to have a bearing on local situations
• Availability of computers with the software within the school visa-vie the student numbers. The student number may be too big for the available computers in the school. This makes use of the content for self-paced learning, self assessment and extension work difficult.

Note to facilitator: The facilitator should rely more on the list the trainees will generate. The list given about is not exhaustive.

DAY 2: DIGITAL CONTENT ANALYSIS AND WORD PROCESSING AS A TEACHING TOOL

INTRODUCTION:

The sessions of the day build on the knowledge acquired from the previous day’s sessions. Having explored digital content and navigated the interface, it is expected that trainees have had an insight into the potential of digital content for teaching and learning.

The second session will take participants through an evaluation of digital content software process, where they will analyse the content and map it to the curriculum of their respective subjects. They will complete a template to review the content, where applicability, relevance to curriculum will be the key areas of review. In their respective subject groups, participants will then identify specific topics and content that they can use in their own classroom practice.

In the third session, the participants will be expected to use digital content and their knowledge of word processing to develop productivity tools that enhance their own productivity as teachers.Content outline:

• Sharing of reflection thoughts on digital content
• Identification of key issues that need clarification
• Evaluation of digital content for relevance and relation to approved subject curriculum
• Completion of digital content evaluation table
• Identification of topics in digital content that can be used in lesson delivery
• Use word processing skills to prepare productivity tools such as ICT enhanced lesson plans, lesson notes and assessment rubrics.

Instructional materials:

• Flipcharts
• Markers and masking tape
• Computers with digital content and office application software
• Projector
• Training manual

Training methodology:

• Plenary discussion
• Question and answer
• Group discussion
• Facilitator exposition
• Reflection (minds –on activity)

THE SESSIONS AND SESSION OUTCOMES:

SESSION 1: Recap of day 1 and feedback on take home exercise (30 minutes)

This session provides an opportunity for trainees to share their thoughts to the reflection questions with the rest of the colleagues. Reflection is a critical aspect of critical thinking and trainees should be encouraged throughout the training to reflect and share their work. That way they will be able to encourage and use reflection and sharing approaches in their classrooms. By sharing, trainees will get useful feedback on what they should have done better and at the same time gives opportunity to share skills and expertise. This fosters collaboration offers opportunity for trainees to scaffold their efforts to accomplish future tasks.

Session outcomes:

By the end of the session, participants should explain their responses to reflection questions of day 1 session 3 in a plenary session.

Session 2: review and analysis of digital content for teaching and learning. (3 hours 30 minutes)

This session builds on the challenges of digital content identified in day 1.One of the challenges of digital content use is relevance to curriculum and applicability. As teachers, before you use any digital content, it is always important to review the content so as to pick what is relevant for your subject by mapping the content to the approved curriculum.

In this session, participants will analyse the available content in their respective subjects and complete a table that will give a picture of topics from the content related to the subject curriculum. The session will develop the participant’s critical and analytical skills.

Session outcomes:

By the end of the session, trainees should:

• Evaluate the digital content they explored in the previous session. The evaluation should focus on relevance of content in relation to curriculum and how it can be used in teaching
• Complete an evaluation table as evidence of task accomplished
• Explain their analysis tables in a plenary session and receive feedback

Session 3: Word processing as a tool for teaching

This session focuses on word-processing and application of word processing skills that participants have to produce productivity tools that increase their effectiveness as teachers. It will expose participants to capabilities of word-processing software and discover some of its limitations.

By the end of the session, participants should:

• Discuss some of the advantages of using word-processing software and its limitations
• Exhibit an understanding of the power of word-processing software as a teaching tool
• Use their word-processing skills to produce productivity tools which improve their efficiency as teachers. The tools include assessment rubrics; schemes of work and lesson plans; lesson handout etc.
• Use content from digital content to prepare lessons
• Collaborate in performing tasks as they go through processes of producing their products, using 21^st century approaches
• Reflect about their learning and the skills they have acquired as a result of collaborative work

DAY 2: PROGRAM

TIME	SESSION			ACTIVITY/
8:30 -8:35 am	I	5 Min		Introduction of session by facilitator: Facilitator introduces the session and expectations of the session: sharing of reflections and giving feedback
8:35 – 8:55 am	I	20 min		Plenary sharing and feedback by participants: Each participant shares their reflection thoughts to the 4 questions of the take home exercise of day 1 session 3 with colleagues. They receive feedback in form of questions and comments from colleagues and facilitator. Rapporteur captures these reflections as evidence of understanding of concepts of the previous session
8:55 – 9:00am	I	5 Min		Wrap-up by facilitator: Facilitator wraps up session by clarifying key issues which were raised by participants and need clarification.
9:00 – 9:05 am	II	5 Min:		Introduction and Group formation: Facilitator introduces the session and explains what trainees will be expected to do. The participants are then put into groups according to subjects. Each group should have 3-4 members. In case some subjects have less than 3, then consider grouping according to subjects taught ( eg Physics/maths group, History/Geography etc).
9:05 – 10:00 am	II	55 Min:		Brainstorming Activity: In their groups, participants analyse the content based on criteria they have to agree on. Facilitator leads groups in a brief discussion to agree on selection criteria. The criteria could be: relevance and relation to curriculum and table columns could include: Topic from digital content (DC) Related topic in curriculum What level is the topic covered? Comments and remarks The participants should record their analysis in a table that is similar to the template below: Topic in DC Related topic in curriculum Level Comments/Remarks Facilitator should encourage participants to list as many topics as possible depending on the relevance of the content they will be interacting with. Facilitator and technical support staff move from group to group monitoring the discussions and providing support on demand.
10:00 – 10:30 am	II	30 min		Presentations by participants: At a plenary session, groups present their tables and show an example of content they have selected, explaining the remarks they have made for a particular topic. (Why they chose some areas from the digital content and left others). Each group to take between 3 to five minutes. Other groups give constructive feedback.
10:30 -11:00 am	COFFEE BREAK (HEALTH BREAK)
11: 00 – 11:05 am	II	5 Min		Introduction to the next activity by facilitator: Facilitator introduces participants to the next task, by asking them to go back to their subject groups and explains the activity: For participants to identify content from specific topic areas earlier analysed and explain how the content can be used to enhance learning.
11:05 – 12:00	II	55 min		Brainstorming/Hands-on activity by participants: In their respective subject groups, the participants continue to analyse the content and specifically identify topics and content areas from their previous table that can be used to enhance teaching. They should classify the content according to whether it: Is used for individual learning Used to explain concepts better Is used for assessment Is used as a whole class lesson Is used as a reinforcement activity Is used to foster group work and collaboration. Note to facilitator: Facilitator should encourage participants to also use the brain storming session to reflect and write down their thoughts to the following questions as they classify the content for teaching and learning: Can the content be used entirely in its current form or not? Is there need for modification of the content? What modifications do suggest to best suit your lesson? Participants should modify the table to look like the one below: Topic Related topic in the curriculum How it is used in teaching Comments/ Remarks Facilitator and technical support start move around groups monitoring discussion progress and offering support when need arises.
12:00 – 12:40 pm	II	40 Min		Presentations by participants and feedback: In a plenary session, groups present their discussion results and explain to the rest of the trainees the rationale for the choice of how digital content selected would be used for teaching. They also share their responses to the reflection questions with the rest of the groups. The other groups give feedback and in turn present when it is their turn. Emphasis on the feedback should be on linkage between digital content and effectiveness of learning. Each group is given a maximum of 8 minutes for presentation and feedback
12:40 – 1:00pm	II	20 min		Summary/Recap: Facilitator takes participants through a brief question and answer session about the session: What new ideas and skills have the participants learnt during the session? What one thing would you like to do with digital content immediately after the training in your own classroom practice? How will your students best benefit from the available digital content? Facilitator highlights key issues addressed during the session, shows some specific examples of simulations, visuals and content that reinforce what digital content can do and clarifies where clarification is required.
1:00 – 2:00pm	LUNCH BREAK
2:00 – 2:20 pm	III		5 min	Introduction of session by facilitator: Facilitator introduces the sessions and explains what is expected of the participants. Facilitator emphasizes how activities are going to be carried out by participants during the session
10 min	Brainstorming activity by participants: Using random group generator, participants are put into 4 groups of a maximum number of 5 in each group. Each group is assigned one of the questions below to discuss. Each group is expected to present their feedback to their question in a plenary session. 1St Group: What tools are available to you as teachers that you can use to write reports or memos of any kind? What are some of the benefits of these tools? What are the short comings of these tools? 2nd Group: How does writing on a computer differ from writing on paper? What might be the advantages and disadvantages of each method of writing?3rd Group: What tasks or school-related activities or projects could you use word processing software to do? 4th Group: What are the challenges teachers face in using word processors and what solutions do you propose to overcome these challenges?
2:20 – 2:40 pm	III		20 min	Group Presentations by Participants: At the plenary, each group presents their work and receive constructive feedback (critical friend approach) in a maximum of 5 minutes. The facilitator should encourage collaborative/team presentation where possible.
2:40 – 3:20pm	III		40 min	Demonstration and exposition by facilitator: Facilitator: Harmonizes the contributions generated by participants during the discussion phase Reminds the trainees of the 21st century characteristics of learners and the need for teachers to adopt different styles of content preparation and delivery Points out some critical areas where word processors are important tools for teachers that the next exercise will dwell on: schemes of work and lesson plans; assessment rubrics; lesson handouts. Demonstrates characteristics of a good word-processed lesson plan which incorporates ICT, which is prepared by facilitator.
3:20 – 3:40 pm	COFFEE BREAK (HEALTH BREAK)
3:40 – 3:50	IV		10 Min	Introduction of Hands-on Session by facilitator: Facilitator: introduces the hands-on session and explains the expectations of the session: for participants to use their word-processing skills to produce at least two productivity tools namely scheme of work and lesson plan and an assessment rubric explains how participants are going to use plan, do, review and share approach to do the exercises Puts participants into groups according to subjects. Each group should have 3-4 members. In case some subjects have less than 3, then consider grouping according to related subjects taught (eg Physics/maths group, History/Geography etc).
3:50 – 4:30 pm	IV		40 Min	Hands-on activity 1: Creating a lesson plan from a scheme of work: Participants go into their groups and begin planning how to create their one week scheme of work and lesson plan. Facilitator asks them to think of the following guidelines: A scheme of work and a lesson plan should show the content you will teach your students when you will teach, methods you will use to teach what resources you will need the assignments or exercises you will give your students. Facilitator moves from group to group checking progress of the planning process and advises participants to write down your ideas on paper as a first step of planning. Participants encouraged to use or adopt the lesson plan template below: Teacher Class Subject Lesson Name Number of learners Length of lesson Learning outcomes * Curriculum standard addressed * Resources required (technology and others) * TEACHER AND LEARNER ACTIVITIES Starter activity * Main activity * Plan For Independent Practice and collaboration * Assessment strategy * Extension (activities for gifted learners) * Possible connections to other subjects * Lesson evaluation * Facilitator should encourage participants to review their product to ensure that they have included all elements. Note: Facilitator should ensure that the groups have saved their work in a folder they have created and given it an appropriate name. If need be, they should be taken through a two minutes’ session of basics of creating folders, naming files and saving documents in folders.
4:30 – 5:00 pm	IV		30 Min	Hands-on activity 2: Developing an assessment rubric: Each group agrees to put together an assessment rubric for their respective subject. Since the groups have different subjects, a standard template cannot be used by all. In the planning phase, facilitator should ask participants to think about the following questions and generate answers to help them put together their product: On what content might you assess your students? What multiple-choice, true/false, fill-in-blank and short answer assessment questions might you ask? Think of at least two of each of the four types of questions to ask your students in order to address various types of understanding. How might you use the computer to create your assessment rubric? The answers to those questions will give each group their template for the assessment rubric. Note: Facilitator can ask participants to get their past papers and use them as a resource for this exercise where these are available in hardcopy form. Facilitator should encourage participants to scaffold their different abilities in word processing to produce an attractive looking paper. Facilitator moves from group to group following progress of work and providing support where necessary. Those groups that will not have completed their product by 5:00pm should be encouraged to continue working to complete their work as a take home exercise. Those that have completed can also produce a lesson hand out of a topic of their choice that incorporates content copied from digital content, including visuals/diagrams/maps as part of their take home exercise.
END OF DAY 2

NOTES AND GUIDELINES TO THE FACILITATOR

Facilitating Collaboration among groups during group work and presentation

Facilitator should be aware that collaboration may not come naturally to students and teachers. It may require motivation, role modeling, direct instruction, and practice time.

Therefore in assigning group work, facilitator should ensure that ways to work together should be discussed, including taking turns, listening when others are speaking, and being responsible for one’s learning.

When participants are collaborating and working together, facilitator should ensure that:* All group members participate and feel include

• All group members agree to their goals and their plan for making the project
• All group members work on their assigned parts to complete their product
• All group members review their work together to see how to make it better
• All group members talk about their work and help each other as they go along (scaffolding)

Sharing is an important part of collaboration. Facilitator should encourage task sharing, collaborative presentation of group work and giving and receiving feedback in all group activities.One of the aspects of sharing is the concept of “critical friends”, in providing useful feedback.

What does being a critical friend mean*?

Throughout the planning, doing, reviewing process of your task, you often sought advice from others. Think of the time when a colleague asked your opinion about something he or she said or did. Did you like or approve of what was said or done? Giving constructive feedback is easy when you like or approve of what was said or done. However, being a critical friend can be difficult when you do not like or approve of what was said or done. Knowing how to give feedback without hurting another person’s feelings in an important skill for teachers, as hurting the feelings of your students can have an everlasting effect on the learner.

As a critical friend, the feedback that you give must be presented in such a way that is helpful and kind. Before giving feedback, think about the following questions:

• Did I listen well?
• Do I understand all the ideas and information being communicated?
• Do I need to ask any question before I give feedback?
• What specific aspects do I like?
• How might the ideas or products be improved? Should any elements be changed or added?
• How can I make my comments sound positive?

While giving feedback, you should start by saying what you like about someone’s work or idea. You might begin your statements in the following manner:

• I like how you……………………..
• You really did a great job with……………………..
• I was really impressed with….

After saying what you like about someone’s work or idea, you can nicely say what you do not like. The best way is to offer specific suggestions about how the ideas or the product could be improved. You might starting your statements with phrases such as:

• I am not sure I understand…
• I see what you are trying to do, but you might want to…..
• I would have liked it better if you had….

It helps to remember that your opinion is only one opinion, and others may have different opinions. Most importantly, be kind when giving feedback. Think about how you would feel if you were hearing your feedback about your ideas or product. Consider the following:

• Could your tone of voice or choice of words make a difference?
• Why should you say what you like about someone’s work before saying what you think could be improved?
• What other suggestions do you have for being a critical friend?

[*Adopted from Intel Teach Program manual for Senior trainers 2007]

Facilitator should make participants aware of these feedback techniques in order for groups to learn from others and feel they have gained from the group tasks.

Digital content analysis and use in teaching:

Facilitator should emphasise the transforming capability of digital content when properly infused into a lesson. During the analysis of digital content topics for teaching and learning session after break, facilitator should draw the attention of trainees to the fact that classrooms which will adopt a fully integrated technology (including digital content) will consequently experience the following changes:* From whole class to small-group instruction;

• From lecture and recitation to coaching (teacher’s role from ‘sage on the stage’ to ‘guide on the side’);
• From working with better students to working with weaker students, facilitated by student-directed learning;
• Toward more engaged students;
• From assessment based on test performance to assessment based on products, progress and effort;
• From a competitive to a cooperative social structure;
• From all students learning the same things to different students learning different things; and
• From the primacy of verbal thinking to the integration of visual and verbal thinking, with organizational, artistic, leadership and other skills contributing valuably to group projects.

Therefore, in the analysis exercise, facilitator should direct trainees to identify what digital content topic identified can be used to do in teaching and learning, bearing in mind the above changes. Some of the things digital content can do in order to cause the above changes include:* Use as a class lesson: teachers and learners can work through a lesson as a class in situations where the content topic is structured to follow the curriculum

• Use for individual learning: learners can follow logical progression of topic units and work through lessons on their own at their own pace
• Use for group work: learners can work collaboratively on tasks and projects designed within digital content
• Used as a starter activity to introduce a concept: part of digital content identified can be used to introduce a lesson or concept
• Use for reinforcing a concept: once a concept has been taught, digital content, especially the animations and simulations can be used to consolidate the facts and concepts
• Extension work: if learners have completed work assigned before assigned time, or for those who are faster learners, they can use digital content to move ahead as the teacher concentrates on those who have not completed. This has a benefit of ensuring that the faster learners do not become a distraction to the others. [Note: This is Applicable in situations where learners as well as teachers have access to digital content during a class when it is used as a class lesson. Trainees can be made aware of this even though the content to be used during the training may not be accessible to both teachers and learners. This can prepare them for the future when this may be possible]
• Use to carter for different learning styles: the variety of media appeal to learners who have different learning styles and therefore promotes an inclusive education
• Use to explain abstract concepts: animations and simulations can ease the burden of explaining abstract concepts. This enables the concept to be understood in a shorter time.

Note: During exposition and demonstration stage by the facilitator, facilitator should show specific visuals, simulations and clips that reinforce these points from the resources available for the training. [Will be available as training power points by the facilitator in softcopy format and not part of the manual]

Word processing and lesson plans:

Facilitator can use the points below in harmonising discussion on advantages of using word processors and computers.

In your daily work as a teacher, you are bound to be required to present a report of any kind that requires writing. A useful tool that can help us teachers is the computer and specifically word processing software. Word processing software allows us to make fast and easy changes to the way our words look, as well as add graphics to our reports and write-ups to make them more interesting.

Computers and word processing software can also be used to ease the process of preparing written assessment questions. Some of the advantages of the computer in generating assessment rubrics may include ability to easily copy and paste; the ability to store and keep the questions for use several years later (creation of question banks); ability to easily insert graphics which may be difficult to draw by hand.

Another use of word processors is in making schemes of work and lesson plans. Schemes of work and lesson plans are an integral part of teaching. These help a teacher plan how to teach in a term, a month, a week and daily. Often times though, teachers find these requirements a daunting task to prepare. Schemes of work and lesson plans are a requirement for every teacher. They help a head of department follow syllabus coverage and also help a substitute teacher in the absence of a particular teacher, to know what to plan to teach and what work to assign students to do.

However, often time’s teachers do not write schemes of work and lesson plans, citing lack of time as a reason. Computers can be used to make easy, re-usable and ICT-enhanced lesson plans and handouts.

Characteristics of a good ICT-enhanced lesson:A good technology enhanced lesson should have elements that serve a function and supports learning that you would like to take place.

Careful thought (planning) must be put into the selection and arrangement of the various lesson elements.

Your lesson plan should have:

1. Content arranged so that learners are involved in discovering and constructing knowledge. Avoid presenting information to learners; rather let them work it out themselves

1. Procedures or activities designed to enable learners deduce meaning. This is the best way to ensure that learning will be meaningful and that the learners will retain knowledge gained during the lesson.

1. Activities that require learners to apply their minds – apply critical thinking skills: analysis, synthesis, application and interpretation

1. Room to allow for collaboration and discussion amongst learners

1. Applications or tools to help conceptualisation of difficult concepts. The activities should be designed to allow learners to manipulate the tool in order to internalise learning.

1. Interactive elements to reinforce learning.

During the exercise to produce a lesson plan, facilitator should remind participants to ensure that their lesson plans have incorporated those aspects characteristics listed above.

SOME IDEAS FOR TEACHERS WHEN USING IDGITAL CONTENT AND WORD PROCESSORS IN A LESSON PLAN

• Use the information in a lesson to produce a “checklist” of work to be covered. This is also a useful resource for learners working independently
• How much do you know already? Ask learners to use the prior knowledge and the interactive activities to test their knowledge
• Copy and paste key points into MS Word. Print and use as a revision aid for learners
• Ask learners to work in pairs through an activity, lesson or task.

• Ask learners to copy and paste a graphic or diagram into MS Word. They can then type in all the facts below the diagram or graphic that has been inserted.
• Print an offline task and use it as a homework or extension activity
• Ask learners to use the glossaries (where available) as a quick reference point for working through the lessons or when preparing for exams.
• Project the animations onto a screen in class. Use as a basis for class discussions or a quiz.
• Ask learners to gather views and factual evidence about an issue of their choice. Ask them to present their findings and conclusions.
• Ask learners to use ICT to produce a leaflet, draw an annotated map or produce a piece of persuasive writing on a geographical issue.

DAY 3: PRESENTATION OF PARTICIPANTS’ PRODUCTS PRODUCED USING WORD AND INTRODUCTION TO SPREADSHEETS AS AN ADMINISTRATIVE AND TEACHING TOOL.

Content Outline

• Presentation of participants’ products produced using Word.
• Participants’ reflection on Word.
• Brainstorming on Teachers’ administrative tasks
• Introduction to Excel functions commonly used by teachers.
• Hands-on activity – Using Spreadsheets for administrative tasks
• Converting Worksheet data into graphical form.
• Using Spreadsheets as a teaching tool
  

Instructional Materials

• Computers with Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel.
• LCD Projector
• Facilitator’s manual
• Flip Charts, Markers and Masking tape.
• Participants’ administrative works (e.g. departmental budgets, mark sheets) in hard or soft form.
• Sample mark sheets prepared by Facilitator (to be used in case participants don’t bring theirs.)

Methodology

• Group discussions and brainstorming.
• Facilitator exposition.
• Hands-on activities.
• Plenary presentations and discussion.
• Reflection (minds-on activity).

SESSION 1: PRESENTATION OF PARTICIPANTS’ PRODUCTS DONE IN MICROSOFT WORD

This session is aimed at providing an opportunity for the participants to share knowledge (information, skills or expertise) with peers. Peer teaching and learning also creates confidence among the participants.

By the end of this session participants should:

• Be more confident in using Microsoft Word as a teaching tool in their daily work.
• Work cooperatively; be critical of other’s work and willing to receive critical appraisals of and feedback on their own work.
• Exhibit a better understanding of Microsoft Word as a teaching tool.
• Be more respectful of others after finding that peers are capable of producing thoughtful innovative products using Spreadsheets.

SESSION 2: SPREADSHEETS AS A TOOL FOR ADMINISTRATION (2 hrs)

Teachers deal with administrative tasks involving several figures e.g. tests & exam results, school fees, staff records, departmental inventories, school & department budgets etc on a regular basis. Sometimes decisions are delayed or wrong decisions are taken due to failure to manipulate, interpret and present data accurately and timely.

A lot of time is wasted with manual repetitive calculations with the end results being low productivity of the teachers.

Spreadsheets provide teachers with tools which not only increase their productivity but also free them from repetitive manual administrative tasks so that they can concentrate on academic tasks.

Session Objectives

By the end of this session, participants should:

• Be able to use a Spreadsheet to perform simple mathematical calculations.
• Be able to use some of the Excel functions which are commonly used by teachers.
• Appreciate the usefulness of Spreadsheets as tools for simplifying teacher’s administrative tasks.
• Use a Spreadsheet to produce a students’ mark sheet.

SESSION 3: GRAPHS/PICTOGRAMS USING SPREADSHEETS

Educators need to present information in different visual forms to enhance the teaching and learning process e.g. presenting information in a chart or graphical format.

Charts or graphs can convey much more than numbers alone because charts present data in a visual way that makes it easier to see the meaning behind numbers. In addition to graphs being an important part of data analysis, they can be a very effective way of communicating numerical data.

Spreadsheets provide a very easy and fast way of converting and displaying numerical information in chart or graphical format with the added advantage of the graphical display changing automatically as the data is changed.

The educator however, has to decide in each case, the most appropriate graphical display or chart layout to use.

Examples:* When investigating a relationship between two variables, a scatter graph is most appropriate.

• When comparing different sets of data, a bar graph is most appropriate.
• When comparing frequency data, a bar chart or a pie chart are appropriate.

Session Objectives

By the end of this session, participants should:

• Exhibit the ability to choose the most appropriate graph for a given set of data.
• Be able to convert Spreadsheet data into appropriate graphs or charts.
• Be able to communicate numerical data in different subject areas in graphical format.

DAY 3: PROGRAMME

Time	Session		Activity	By Whom
8:30 – 9:30 AM	1	# Min	Facilitator reminds the participants how they agreed (on Day 2) how to “assess” each others’ product and the criteria they will use to give each other feedback on the effectiveness of their products.	Facilitator
55 Min	Presentations by groups of the products they developed with Microsoft Word. Each presentation should last for not more than 5 min with 3 min between the presentations for feedback.	Participants
9:30 – 10:00 AM	20 Min	Participants’ Reflection on Word Participants:# Share experiences and lessons learned as they put and presented their Word products. Discuss how they will apply these experiences and lessons learned in their daily work. Discuss the challenges and possible solutions of using Word for teaching.	Participants
10 Min	Recap and Summary: What are the key points coming out of this session? How else can teachers use Word?	Facilitator
10:00- 10:10 AM	2	10 Min	Facilitator presents introduction and objectives of the session 2: Introduction to Spreadsheets as an administrative tool.	Facilitator
10:10- 10:40 AM	30 Min	Group Brainstorming and sharing: At a plenary session, participants brainstorm and share: # What administrative work/tasks like departmental budgets, mark sheets they do and how they these currently. The challenges they face in doing their administrative work like preparing students reports especially in computing marks and positioning. What they would like to learn linked to their administrative tasks to make their work more effective and efficient. The facilitator needs to ask probing questions to help participants realize the challenges of using manual methods for doing their administrative tasks.	Participants Facilitator
10:40- 11:00 AM	HEALTH BREAK
11:00 AM – 11:40 PM	2	40 Min	Group Brainstorming and sharing: At a plenary session, participants brainstorm and share:# How they have been using Spreadsheets for administrative tasks like mark sheets and/or how they think Spreadsheets can help them in their administrative tasks. If the participants have no ideas, the facilitator should show some examples of how Spreadsheets are used for managing administrative tasks in teaching and have them choose what (administrative tasks) they would like to focus on during the training.	Participants Facilitator
		Demonstration Session: At a plenary session, the facilitator introduces the participants to some of the functions (simple ones to begin with) needed to perform the administrative tasks the participants agreed to focus on during the training. These simple functions may include any or all the following: SUM(), AVERAGE(), MAX(), MIN(), LARGE(),SMALL(), IF() etc	Facilitator
11:40- 12:20 PM	40 Min	Hands-On Activity: In small groups (2-3 people), participants use Spreadsheets to accomplish their own administrative work (they came with to the workshop). Facilitator moves around giving help on a need basis and checking on participants’ progress.	Participants
12:20 – 12:50 PM	30 Min	Sharing and Minds-on Activity: At a plenary session, participants share their experience working with Spreadsheets. Participants also discuss:# The advantages and disadvantages of using Spreadsheets. How they would apply the newly acquired skills in their administrative work. What else they would like to do using Spreadsheets.	Participants
12:50- 1:00 PM	10 Min	Recap: Facilitator recaps on what has been covered during the session.	Facilitator
1:00 – 2:00 PM	LUNCH
2:00 – 2:40 PM	3	40 Min	Demonstration Session: At a plenary session, facilitator introduces participants to two functions they will find very useful in preparing mark sheets; the RANK() and VLOOKUP() functions.# The RANK() function which can be used to position students in large classes doing many subjects like the S1 & S2 classes. The VLOOKUP() function which can be used for grading students based on an agreed standard grading system like in the S3, S4, S5 & S6 classes.	Facilitator
2:40- 3:20 PM		Hands-on Session: In small groups (2 or 3), participants practice using either the RANK() function for those teaching S1 & S2, or the VLOOKUP() function for those teaching S3, S4, S5 or S6 in a simple Mark sheet having few entries. Facilitator moves around giving help on a need basis and checking on participants’ progress	Participants Facilitator
3:20 – 3:40 PM		20 Min	Minds-on Activity: At a plenary session, participants reflect on their experience during the session on using Spreadsheets as administrative tools and how they will use their newly acquired skills in their administrative work.	Participants
3:40 – 4:00PM		BREAK
4:00 – 4:10PM	3	10 Min	Facilitator presents introduction and objectives of the session 3	Facilitator
4:10 - 4:30PM	20 Min	Group discussion and Minds-on Activity: In two groups ( the Science group and the Arts group ) participants discuss:# What subject information they normally present graphically. How they have done this so far. What kind of graph (if possible they should collect or put together some examples). What they would like to learn. Each group should choose a person to make a 5 min presentation at the plenary	Participants
4:30 – 4:40 PM	10 Min	Group Presentations: Each group is given a maximum of 5 min to present group discussions at the plenary session.	Participants
4:40 – 4:55 PM	15 Min	Demonstration Session: At a plenary session, facilitator demonstrates how to convert worksheet data into appropriate graphical form. Facilitator should use examples from different subjects.	Facilitator
4:55 5:00PM	5 Min	Take-home Exercise: Facilitator introduces the take-home exercise to the participants to be presented the next day. In small groups (3-5) people , participants choose one of the two questions below: Either: Identify what information in your subject area you would like to present graphically and make a graph you can directly use in your class. OR: Make a complete mark sheet for your class.	Facilitator
END OF DAY 3

Notes and guidelines to the facilitator

1. Some of the Microsoft Excel functions commonly used by teachers.

Function	What it does
SUM(range)	Adds a range of cells. It treats blank cells as zero. The SUM() function can be used by the teacher to get the student’s total score.
AVERAGE(range)	Calculates the average of a range of cells. It ignores blank cells. The AVERAGE() function can be used by the teacher to get the student’s average score.
MAX (range)	Gives the maximum value of a range The MAX() function can be used by the teacher to get the highest score in a test.
MIN(range)	Gives the minimum value of a range The MIN() function can be used by the teacher to get the lowest score in a test.
SMALL(range, n)	Gives the nth smallest value in a specified range The SMALL() function can be used by the teacher to get the worst scores in the class (e.g. worst 5 scores)
LARGE(range, n)	Gives the nth largest value in a specified range The LARGE() function can be used by the teacher to get the best scores in the class (e.g. best 5 scores)
IF(logical_test, value_if_true, value_if_false)	Performs conditional calculations. Limited to either TRUE or FALSE The IF () function can be used by the teacher to decide whether a student is promoted to the next class or should repeat a class based on a given pass mark.
VLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, col_index_num)	Looks for a value in the leftmost column of a table and then returns a value in the same row from a specified column. The VLOOKUP() function can be used by the teacher to get the grade of a student where the grading is based on a certain mark range.
RANK(number, ref, order) Order = 0 for DescendingOrder =1 for Ascending	Gives the rank of a number in a list of numbers; its size relative to other values in the list. It takes care of duplicate positions. The RANK() function can be used by the teacher to get the positions of the students in a test on the marks obtained by the students. In this case order = 0
.................	.........................................

It is extremely important that the facilitator and all those to assist the facilitator in conducting the session, to practice using all the above functions before running the session. The RANK() and VLOOKUP() functions in particular require special practice since they involve absolute cell referencing.

1. How to use some of the Microsoft Excel Functions

The facilitator must emphasize that all formulas and functions in Microsoft Excel start with an equal “=” sign. It is also important for the facilitator to discuss the difference between relative and absolute referencing and when to use each.

(i) Using the IF() function

The IF() function enables specification of two different calculations based on a certain condition. It takes the form: =IF(condition, calculation if condition is true, calculation if condition is false)

Example: =IF(score greater or equal to 50, PASS, FAIL) assigns a PASS to all scores equal or greater than 50.

Suppose the score was in cell B3 in the worksheet, this would be entered as; =IF(B3>=50,"PASS","FAIL")

[[Image:]]

Note the formula,  =IF(B3>=50,"PASS","FAIL) in C3.

The IF() function though useful is limited to either TRUE or FALSE outcomes. In many classroom situations you need to use a function that handles multiple outcomes.

Though it is possible to handle multiple outcomes using the NESTED IF(), some learners with poor mathematical background find it challenging. The facilitator is encouraged to use the VLOOKUP() function instead. # Using the RANK() function

The RANK() function can be used by the teacher to get the positions of the students in a test based on the marks obtained by the students.

The RANK() function returns the rank of a number, i.e. its position within a list of numbers. It is based on the value of a number, relative to the other numbers in the list.

The list evaluated by the rank doesn’t have to be sorted, but to get the idea of how items are ranked imagine that the list is sorted, and then each item is given a rank depending on its position in the list.

The RANK() function takes the format: =RANK(number, ref, order)

Number: is the number whose rank you want to find.

Ref: is a reference to a list of numbers (specified using absolute reference).

Order: is a number specifying how to rank number.

If order is 0 (zero) or omitted, Excel ranks number as if the list is sorted in descending order.• If order is any nonzero value, Excel ranks number as if the list is sorted in ascending order.

Note: The RANK function gives duplicate numbers the same rank. This however will affect the ranks of subsequent numbers. For example, if we have two numbers both have the rank of 5, then no number will have a rank of 6. The next number in the list will have a rank of 7.

The facilitator may use the data in the table below or develop any other example to demonstrate the use of the RANK() function.

Name	Math	Geog	Chem	Hist	Agric	Biol	Phy	Eng	Total	Aver	Rank
John	56	35	90	65	88	67	69	72
Peter	43	67	34	77	62	43	45	83
Alfred	12	93	62	52	89	72	76	45
Allen	63	39	29	78	66	90	67	65
Paul	56	62	55	49	92	55	40	92
Jane	52	77	92	29	56	88	40	83

Note that there are two students with rank =3, then no student has rank =4. The next rank =5.

[[Image:]]

Note that ref is column for the totals and is specified using absolute reference.

$K$6:$K$11 in =RANK(K6,$K$6:$K$11, 0)

Also note order is 0 (zero) in =RANK(K6,$K$6:$K$11, 0). This is because when ranking students based on marks obtained, the one with the highest mark gets the lowest rank. It is as if the list has been sorted in descending order.# Using the VLOOKUP() function

VLOOKUP() -  (short for vertical lookup). This function allows specification of multiple outcomes. It allows creation of a formula that assigns letter grades or remarks based on a student's numeric score. (e.g. a score of 95 could be a D1 with a remark Excellent)

Mark Range	Grade	Remarks
0 - 39	F9	Very Weak
40 – 44	P8	Weak
45 – 49	P7	Rather Weak
50 – 54	C6	Fair
55 - 59	C5	Fairly Good
60 – 64	C4	Quite Good
65 – 69	C3	Good
70 – 74	D2	Very Good
75 – 100	D1	Excellent

VLOOKUP() looks for a value in the leftmost column of a table and then returns a value in the same row from a specified column. By default, the table must be sorted in an ascending order.

To use the VLOOKUP() function, one must first create a LOOKUP table with a range of values. The VLOOKUP() function takes the format:

=VLOOKUP(lookup value, lookup table range, value column)

The lookup value - is the value you wish to look for in the lookup table, in this case the student's score.The lookup table range is the range (specified using absolute reference) on the worksheet that contains the lookup table.

The value column tells which column of the LOOKUP table to use for the actual r

[[Image:]]

Day 4

PRESENTATION OF PARTICIPANTS’ PRODUCTS PRODUCED USING SPREADSHEETS AND POWERPOINT AS A TEACHING TOOL.

Content Outline

• Presentation of participants’ products produced using Spreadsheets.
• Multimedia tools used to enhance teaching and learning.
• PowerPoint as Presentation Software.
• Adding Multimedia into PowerPoint Presentations.
• PowerPoint as a teaching tool.
• Planning and developing visually enhanced subject lessons with PowerPoint Software.
  

Instructional Materials

• Computers with Microsoft Excel and Microsoft PowerPoint Software.
• LCD Projector
• Examples of PowerPoint enhanced lessons
• Facilitator’s manual
• Flip Charts, Markers and Masking tape.
• Microphones
• Digital cameras
• Mobile phones
• Video camera

Methodology

• Group discussions and brainstorming.
• Facilitator exposition.
• Hands-on experience.
• Plenary presentations and discussion.
• Reflection (minds-on activity).

Sessions and Session Objectives

Session 1: Presentations of assignment and recap of the previous day.

This session is aimed at providing an opportunity for the participants to share knowledge (information, skills or expertise) with peers. It also builds a foundation for a community of practice which will continue to support each other and learning from one another even after the workshop. Peer teaching and learning also creates confidence among the participants.

By the end of this session participants should:

• Be more confident in using Spreadsheets as teaching tools in their daily work.
• Be able to examine and think critically about their learning.
• Work cooperatively; be critical of other’s work and willing to receive critical appraisals of and feedback on their own work.
• Exhibit a better understanding of Spreadsheets as a teaching tool.
• Be more respectful of others after finding that peers are capable of producing thoughtful innovative products using Spreadsheets.
• Be able to apply the judging criteria objectively to their own work in order to facilitate their continuing learning.

Session 2: Introduction to PowerPoint software as a tool for teaching.

This session is designed to give an opportunity to the participants to reflect on the use of visual aids in their teaching, expose teachers to PowerPoint presentation software and to add multimedia to PowerPoint Presentation.

By the end of this session, participants should be able to:* To exhibit an understanding of why it is important to incorporate multimedia tools in teaching and learning.

• Make presentations using PowerPoint Software.
• Incorporate multimedia (photo, video) into PowerPoint presentation.
• Exhibit elements of good presentations in their PowerPoint Presentations.

Session 3: Hands-on session on using PowerPoint software for teaching.

This session is designed to:

Give an opportunity to the participants to discuss the potential of PowerPoint as a teaching tool.

• Inspire them to use the Multimedia Presentation to enhance teaching and learning
• Develop participants’ skills to produce original visual elements like photos, video and sound clips.
• Develop participants’ skills to produce visually enhanced lessons using PowerPoint Software.

By the end of this session, participants should be able to:

• Exhibit an understanding of the potential of PowerPoint as a teaching tool.
• Take photographs using digital cameras and to download them on the computer.
• Use Video cameras to take video clips and to download them on the computer.
• Use PowerPoint to produce visually enhanced lessons.

DAY 4: PROGRAMME

Time	Session		Activity	By Whom
8:30 – 9:30 AM	1	# Min	Facilitator reminds the participants how they agreed (on Day 3) how to “assess” each others’ product and the criteria they will use to give each other feedback on the effectiveness of their products.	Facilitator
55 Min	Presentations by groups of the products they developed with Spreadsheets. Each presentation should last for not more than 5 min with 3 min between the presentations for feedback.	Participants
9:30 – 10:00 AM	20 Min	Participants’ Reflection on Spreadsheets Participants: Share experiences and lessons learned as they put and presented their Spreadsheet products. Discuss how they will apply these experiences and lessons learned in their daily work. Discuss the challenges and possible solutions of using Spreadsheets for teaching.	Participants
10 Min	Summary: What are the key points coming out of this session? How else can teachers use Spreadsheets?	Facilitator
10:00- 10:10 AM	2	10 Min	Facilitator presents introduction and objectives of the session 2: Introduction to PowerPoint as a tool for teaching.	Facilitator
10:10- 10:40 AM	15 Min	Group Brainstorming: Participants are divided into three groups. Each group discusses one of the question: Group 1: How are the teachers currently preparing and delivering their lessons and any possible challenges? Group 2: What multimedia tools are using to enhance teaching & learning and any possible challenges? Group 3: How are the teachers currently using PowerPoint in their teaching and any possible challenges?	Participants
15 Min	Group Presentation: At the plenary, each group is allowed a maximum of 5 min to present their work.
10:40- 11:00 AM	HEALTH BREAK
11:00 AM – 11:40 PM	2	40 Min	Demonstration: Introduction to making presentations and adding multimedia using PowerPoint Software. Facilitators should also give some guidelines on key steps to making an effective PowerPoint Presentation.	Facilitators
11:40-12:40 PM	40 Min	Hands-on Activity: In small groups (2 or 3), participants practice making multimedia PowerPoint Presentations on any topic/issue of their own choice e.g. presentation about the workshop or about their school or department. Facilitator moves around giving help on a need basis and checking on participants’ progress.	Participants
20 Min	Presentations: At a plenary session, some groups are given a maximum of 3 min each to present their products.	Participants
12:40 – 1:00 PM	20 Min	Recap & Reflection: Participants also reflect on what they find good and not very good about their presentations. Facilitator uses participants’ products and “bad presentations” made by the facilitator to discuss what participants should avoid when putting together their products e.g. too much animation, too much text, poor choice of colours.	Participants Facilitators
1:00 – 2:00 PM	LUNCH
2:00 – 2:15 PM	3	15 Min	Minds-on Activity: At a plenary session, participants discuss how PowerPoint can be used to enhance teaching and learning. Facilitator should have a discussion with participants about the fact that presentations should be driven by pedagogy and not by technology.	Participants
2:15- 2:50 PM	35 Min	Facilitator Exposition: Facilitator demonstrates some examples from different subject areas how the Multimedia capabilities of PowerPoint can be used to enhance teaching and learning.	Facilitator
2:50 – 3:00 PM	10 Min	Facilitator explains the purpose and methodology of the project work: Developing a multimedia lesson presentation.	Facilitator
3:00 – 3:40 PM	40 Min	Minds-On Activity: In small subject groups (3- 4 people), each group should identify a unit within the curriculum and draws a plan of how the unit can be enhanced using the multimedia features of PowerPoint. The group should also identify the multimedia elements e.g. photos, video clips they want to use in their presentation. The facilitator should move around the groups participating within the group discussions to have a sense of the group ideas and giving some guidance where necessary.	Participants Facilitator
3:40 – 4:00PM	HEALTH BREAK
4:00- 4:30PM		30 Min	Demonstration and Hands-On Activity: Each group should produce the multimedia items to be integrated in the presentation. These items may include diagrams, graphs, photographs, video clips, sound files, web links etc. The facilitators should demonstrate on a need-basis how to use digital camera, video cameras and how to: Download photos and videos from the camera to the computer. Use the microphone to record sound clips and save them on the computer.	Participants Facilitator
4:30 – 4:40 PM	10 Min	Criteria for assessment and feedback At a plenary, participants discuss the criteria for assessing the effectiveness of their PowerPoint products for teaching.	Participants
4:40 – 5:30 PM	40 Min	Hands-On Activity: Each group should then put together their ICT enhanced lesson, to be presented to the rest of the participants at the plenary session the next day. Those participants who are not able to complete the work continue with it as take home exercise. Facilitators should move around the groups giving help on a need-basis.	Participants
END OF DAY 4

NOTES AND GUIDELINES TO THE FACILITATOR

Introduction

Presentation software is basically a computer generated slide show and is a wonderful tool for enhancing both teaching and learning. One such presentation software is PowerPoint Software. The strength of PowerPoint lies in its ability to visually convey information. It adds a new dimension to teaching and learning through the combined use of text, graphics, sound and video. The use of visuals offer increased comprehension and retention.

The appropriate use of visuals (pictures, charts, graphs, video clips) allows teachers to explain abstract concepts while accommodating the different learning styles or preferences.

In order to use PowerPoint to enhance teaching and learning, the teachers also need skills of:

Taking digital photographs and downloading them on the computer.

Recording video clips and downloading them on the computer.

Using LCD projectors for presentations.

Recording, saving and playing sound clips and video camera

Key Steps to an Effective Presentations

1. Know Your Subject Matter

The ability to present a subject with confidence directly affects the audience’s impressions and will help keep their attention.

1. Know Your Audience

This will help you to decide on the depth of subject coverage and the most effective visuals to use in your presentation.

• Who is your audience?
• What is their background?
• How much background information about your topic can you assume they know?
• What is the purpose of the event? Is it to inspire? Are they looking for concrete practical information? Etc
• Why were you asked to speak? What are their expectations of you?

1. Develop a Theme

All presentations are designed with a single purpose. State this purpose to yourself at the beginning and keep it in mind throughout the development process.

1. Prepare Your Script

Any presentation script should consist of four basic parts; an opening, body, summary and closing.

OpeningThe opening of the presentation sets the stage for what is to follow. The audience is introduced to the theme and purpose of the presentation. A very brief summary or outline of the points to be covered is presented. This helps to keep the audience oriented to the flow of the presentation.

Body

This is the part of the script in which the bulk of the subject matter is presented. The body is broken into smaller easily assimilated modules with each module making a single point or conveying one idea.

Summary

Very briefly emphasize the key points and main ideas of your script to reinforce the central theme and purpose of your presentation.

Closing

Allow for a question and answer session. End by thanking the audience for their time and attention.

There is an old axiom that says ... "Tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you told them." This pretty well sums it up.# Select or Produce The Proper Visual Aids

The audience has ears and eyes and would like to see what you are talking about. People learn more readily and retain more information when learning is reinforced by visualization. “A picture is worth a thousand words.” When properly produced and used, simple visuals (charts & graphs, pictures, video clips) not only add professionalism and enhance teaching and learning.

Using video clips to show concrete examples promotes active cognitive processing which is a natural way people learn.

Numbers in tables are both hard to see and to understand. Data often only means something when it is compared and contrasted to something else. The use of graphs can show relationships between data very easily.

1. Put Together The Presentation

With the visuals ready, the presentation is put together in accordance to the presentation script. It is important to note that presentations for lessons must be driven by pedagogy and not by technology. The teachers must refrain from incorporating features of PowerPoint which may look exciting and amusing but are pedagogically disrupting. Used properly, PowerPoint can be one of the most powerful tools for teaching. Employed inappropriately, PowerPoint could potentially confuse the students and make learning a difficult process. Check spelling and grammar errors.

1. Rehearse – Rehearse – Rehearse

It is extremely important to rehearse your presentation at least two times to ensure it effects in the time allowed and achieves the purpose for which it is made. Rehearsing also helps to reduce anxiety and nervousness. Check the equipment and do the rehearsal using the equipment (computer & projector) you will use for the presentation. A well–prepared and enthusiastic presentation will help you convince the audience and maintain their attention.

1. Use colours well

Colour is emotional and colours evoke feelings. The right colour or colour combination can help persuade and motivate. Right colours can increase interest and improve learning comprehension and retention. If you plan to present in a dark room then a dark background (dark blue, grey etc) with white or light text will be fine. If you plan to keep most of the lights on, then a white background with black or dark text works much better.

1. Presentation

Speak your presentation don’t just read. Be sure to explain the contents of your presentation thoroughly and with eye contact to the audience. Speak clearly and with authority. Be passionate and enthusiastic about the topic of your presentation. Use logical progression in presenting your thoughts.

Humans have short attention spans when it comes to passively sitting and listening to a speaker. Audience attention peaks between 5 and 7 minutes and then just before they think the presentation is about to end.

[[Image:]]

You need to take advantage of this by starting with the strongest points and ending with a brief summary of the main points you would like the audience to remember. Use a conclusion slide to summarize the main points of your presentation.

Some of the DON’Ts of PowerPoint Presentation

• Don’t put too much text on a slide. The audience is going to make a huge effort to read the text which will distract them from paying attention to what you are saying.
• Don’t use clipart. Use real visuals relevant to your message. The audience wants to see what you are talking about.
• Avoid using a font colour that does not contrast with the background colour as it is hard to read e.g. white and yellow, red and green.
• Don’t use animations or sound effects unless they are crucial to your presentation. These features may seem impressive at first to people new to PowerPoint but get old quickly and are a distraction to the audience.
• Don’t use too many graphics on a slide. Your audience will spend more time looking at them rather listening.
• Never read your slides word by word. Just talk freely. Remember that your slides are only there to support not to replace your talk. If you are just reading your slides, the audience will get bored and stop listening.

Supervision of participants’ work

The facilitator should ensure the participants groups are formed according to the subjects they teach, so that teachers of the same or related subjects work within the same group but with no group having more than four people.

The facilitator should ensure the participants are not carried away by animations forgetting the pedagogy and content of the lesson. This is something very common to people who are new to PowerPoint. Participants should avoid becoming a victim of triple "P" (Power Point Paralysis). Triple "P" can be defined as the overzealous concentration on the utilization of Power Point, while concurrently disregarding the content of the lesson. Animations and transitions must be used for a pedagogical purpose and not simply for fun or because it can be done.

It is important that each group does the lesson planning before putting together the PowerPoint lesson, otherwise a lot of time will be wasted without proper planning.

Take home exercise: Participants need to finalize the lessons that will be presented the following day.

Criteria for assessing and giving feedback to participant’s products produced using PowerPoint Software.

The facilitator need to ensure the participants discuss and agree on the criteria they will use to assess and feedback to their presentations of the PowerPoint products the next day. Possible criteria may include; Content, Clarity, Style & Delivery and Expertise.

Below are some of the things many listeners want from a presentation talk:

1. Content

• Conveys new information
• Poses an interesting question
• Conveys how people in another field think
• Describes important ideas.

1. Clarity and Organization

• Understandable
• Avoids jargon
• Uses clear and simple visual aids
• Well organized
• Inspiring
• Does not run over time

1. Style and Delivery

• Keeps audience awake
• Varies voice and is audible
• Conveys enthusiasm
• Does not stay in one place
• Friendly and approachable
• Effectively uses the body language.

1. Expertise

• Credible
• Inspires trust and confidence
• Answers questions clearly

DAY 5

PRESENTATION OF PARTICIPANTS’ LESSONS PRODUCED USING POWERPOINT, WAY FORWARD, ACTION PLANS AND TRAINING EVALUTION

Content Outline

• Presentation of participants’ lessons produced using PowerPoint.
• Strategies for the introduction of ICT in the classroom.
• Scenarios for transferring the knowledge and skills acquired in the training to other teachers.
• Developing action plans.
• Evaluating the Training
• Completing IICD Capacity Development questionnaire

Instructional Materials

• Computers with Microsoft PowerPoint Software.
• LCD Projector.
• Participants’ lessons produced using PowerPoint.
• Facilitator’s manual.
• Flash disks.
• Flip Charts, Markers and Masking tape.
• Template for the Action Plan
• Certificates
• CDs with all exercises and training content
• Copies of IICD Capacity Development I questionnaire.

Methodology

• Plenary presentations and discussion.
• Group discussion and brainstorming.
• Facilitator exposition
• Reflection (minds-on activity).

Session and Session Objectives

Session 1: Presentations of lessons produced using PowerPoint and Recap of previous day.

This session is aimed at providing an opportunity for the participants to share knowledge (information, skills or expertise) with peers. It also builds a foundation for a community of practice which will continue support each other and learning from one another even after the workshop. Peer teaching and learning also creates confidence among the participants.

By the end of this session participants should:* Have presented their lessons using multimedia tools.

• Be able to teach using PowerPoint software.

• Exhibit a better understanding of PowerPoint as a teaching tool.
• Exhibit better communication and presentation skills.
• More respectful of others after finding that peers are capable of producing thoughtful innovative products using PowerPoint.

Session 2: Way Forward and Action Plans

This session is aimed at helping the participants think through what is need to be done after the workshop to insure successful introduction of ICT for education in their schools.

By the end of this session, participants should:

• Exhibit an understanding of the challenges associated with introduction of ICT in the classroom by outlining these challenges and offering possible mitigation to these challenges.
• Have elaborated an action plan on how they will be using ICT for teaching.
• Exhibit an understanding that successful implementation of ICT in education required a well articulated shared vision and the involvement of all stakeholders.

Session 3: Evaluation of the Training

This training offers teachers professional development in the use of ICT for education. Like any training, it must provide a structure that supports participants without restricting their growth, presenting opportunities for them to reflect upon their learning and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the training. Furthermore it must hold the facilitators accountable without regulating their every action.

By the end of this session, participants should:

• Have evaluated the strengths and the weaknesses of the training.
• Made suggestions of how future trainings can be improved.

Day 5 Programme

Time	Session		Activity	By Whom
8:30- 8:40 AM	1	10 Min	Recap: Facilitator reminds the participants how they agreed (on Day 4) how to “assess” each others’ lesson produced using PowerPoint and the criteria they will use to give each other feedback on the effectiveness of their products.	Facilitator
8:40-10:10AM	90 Min	Group Presentations: Presentations by groups of the lessons they developed with PowerPoint. Each presentation should last for not more than 7 min with 3 min between the presentations for feedback.	Participants
10:10-10:30 AM	20 Min	* Participants’ Reflection on PowerPoint Participants: Share experiences and lessons learned as they put together and presented their PowerPoint lessons. Discuss the challenges and possible solutions of using PowerPoint for teaching. Discuss how they will apply these experiences and lessons learned in their daily work.	Participants
10:10-10:40 AM	10 Min	* Summary: What are the key points coming out of this session? How else can teachers use PowerPoint?	Facilitator
10:40-11:00AM			HEALTH BREAK
11:00-11:20 AM	2	20Min	Small Group Brainstorming: Strategies for introduction of ICT in the classroom Participants are divided in small 5 groups. Each group is required to brainstorm the challenges they anticipate in the introduction of ICT in the classroom and the possible strategies for mitigating those challenges under one of following 5 areas/topics: Group 1: School ICT Policy. Group 2: Teacher Professional Development Group 3: ICT Infrastructure Group 4: Use of ICT for administrative tasks Group 5: Use of ICT for teaching and Learning Each group should select a chairperson who will be responsible for moderating the brainstorming and a secretary who will be responsible for presenting the group’s report at a plenary section. Facilitators should move around the groups participating in the group discussions and ensuring the participants don’t go off topic.	Participants
11:20-12:10 PM	50 Min	Plenary Group Presentations: 5 min should be given for each group presentation. 5 min should be allowed after every presentation for questions, feedback and additional suggestions from the rest of the participants. The facilitator should note down the key challenges and possible strategies to mitigate these challenges on a flip chart during the brainstorming.	Participants Facilitator
12:10-12:30 Noon	20 Min	Facilitator recap and Harmonization: The facilitator should give a summary of the participants’ discussions sharing some best practices and personal experience (where possible).	Facilitator
12:30-1:00 PM	30 Min	Plenary Discussion: Participants discuss scenarios for transferring the knowledge and skills acquired during the training to other teachers.	Participants
1:00 –2:00 PM			LUNCH
2.00-3.00 PM		Minds-on Activity: Participants brainstorm and put together a draft Action plan for the ICT integration in the school for the next two years. They should choose a chairperson and a secretary for the session. The action plan is to be presented at the closing ceremony. Facilitator provides the Action Plan template and guidance where necessary.	Participants
3:00-3:30PM	3	30 Min	Plenary Exchange: Participants share their personal evaluation of the training: What one thing have you liked most at the workshop? What did you dislike most at the workshop? What one recommendation would you make for better future workshops?	Participants
3:30 -4:00PM	30 Min	* Participants will fill out the IICD Capacity Development I questionnaire. If the computers are connected to the Internet, the survey should be filled online at www.survey.iicd.org otherwise a paper versions of the capdevI questionnaire should be used. Facilitator provides and collects the capdev1 questionnaires in case a paper version is used.	Participants
4:00-4:20 PM			HEALH BREAK
4:20-5:00PM		40 Min	Closing Ceremony: Closing remarks from the facilitators. Presentation of Action Plan by participants. Closing remarks by Computers For Schools Uganda. Closing remarks by Headteacher of the school. Remarks by Guest of Honour and award of certificates.
	END OF WORKSHOP

NOTES AND GUIDELINES TO THE FACILITATOR

Strategies for introduction of ICT in the classroom

Introduction of ICT in the classroom requires a holistic approach. The school has to look at 4 broad areas including School ICT policy, Teacher Professional Development, ICT infrastructure, ICT for administrative tasks and ICT for teaching and learning.

Some of the key indicators of successful introduction of ICT in the classroom include:

1. School ICT Policy: A school ICT policy is a document that informs and directs the integration of ICT within the school. It provides a framework for:

• What is taught and how it is taught
• The rationale for what and how it is taught
• How progress will be assessed (monitoring & evaluation of impact)
• What equipment will be required (present and future), funding, how and when it will be maintained.
• Different roles and responsibilities (leaders, parents, teachers, students, ICT coordinator, technician)
• How ICT will be integrated into other subject areas
• Staff development opportunities (what, when, how?)
• Equal opportunities for students and teachers to access ICT regardless of gender.

In effect, the purpose of the ICT policy is to provide the school

1. Teacher Professional Development: For ICT to be successfully delivered across the curriculum, it is vital for the teachers to develop their personal ICT skills and pedagogical skills to integrate ICT in the teaching and learning process.

A number of strategies can be used to build teachers’ capacity:

• All teachers are encouraged to ask for ICT support and training from the ICT coordinator.
• Teachers are encouraged to attend ICT related school-based workshops organized with the purpose creating awareness of the potential of ICT in education, building ICT skills and pedagogical skills for integrating ICT in education.
• Teachers are encouraged to liaise with other schools to learn collaboratively and share ideas with regard to ICT use in the classroom.
• Teachers are encouraged to join national and international ICT in education professional networks like the Microsoft Innovative Teachers Network, iEARN (International Education and Resource Network).
• Teachers are encouraged to attend ICT in Education conference and experience.
• Teachers are encourage to use online resources and to attend online professional development courses e.g. http://us.iearn.org/professional_development/online_courses/index.php
• Have a budget line for teacher professional development.
• Set ICT in Education competency levels to be achieved by teachers.

1. ICT infrastructure : For teachers to be able to use ICT in their teaching there is need to ensure:

• All teachers have adequate access to ICT facilities before, during and after school hours.
• Technical support is available on a timely basis.
• All areas where time taken setting up an ICT-enhanced lesson is minimized.
• There are a reasonable number of ICT resources for the students e.g. a small student to computer ratio.

A number of strategies can be used to ensure acquisition and maintenance of ICT facilities:

• A school policy of buying some ICT facilities every time.
• A budget line for hardware and software maintenance and servicing.
• A school policy on access for teachers and students.
• A maintenance contract with an external organization or company.
• Technical capacity building for the teachers.
• Employing an in-house computer lab technician.

1. Use of ICT for administrative tasks: One of the reasons teachers normally given by teachers for their slow uptake of ICT is lack of time. Effective use of ICT for administrative tasks would not only provide useful accurate data but would reduce the time they spend on these administrative tasks.

Strategies for using ICT for administrative tasks include:

• Training teachers how to use productivity tools like Spreadsheets for students’ grade book and for budgeting.
• Purchase of off-the-shelf school management and students’ report making software.

1. Use of ICT for teaching and Learning: The core function of the school is to improve the teaching and learning process. ICT has the potential of making learning more interesting, increasing the teaching and learning resources available to both teachers and students.

Strategies for using ICT for teaching and learning include:

• Training teachers how to use productivity tools like PowerPoint to enhance lessons.
• Using Internet and offline Digital content for research.
• Training teachers on how to produce multimedia digital content.
• Purchasing off-shelf subject specific content like the Cyber Technology Solution Science content, Learnthings Interactive content etc.
• Using free open education content like Wikipedia for Schools Wikipedia for schools (both primary and secondary education): www.schools-wikipedia.org, Rachel portal (online books, links to other free educational content): http://rachel.worldpossible.org. These can be hosted on a local server.

Action Plan

An action plan is a written document that describes the steps that the school will complete after the training to help integrate ICT in teaching and learning. In developing the action plan, participants should keep in mind the following points:

• Write activities as discrete steps that are realistic, measurable and attainable.
• Identify the responsibilities.
• Develop specific time schedule for completing the activities.
• Identify resources necessary to complete the activities including plans for acquiring these resources.
• Identify the evidence to show successful completion of the activity.

Template for the Action Plan

	Activity	By Whom	When	Evidence
1.	Develop a School ICT Policy	ICT Coordinator and Senior School Management to develop a policy which shows how the ICT vision of the school will be achieved	April 2010	A School ICT Policy which has been shared and ‘taken’ in by whole community.

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