ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES REGARDING THE I.T.C. USE DURING TEACHING

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1 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES REGARDING THE I.T.C. USE DURING TEACHING Maria Ocnărescu Grup Şcolar Doamna Stanca, Bucharest Gabriela Jicmon Grup Şcolar Doamna Stanca, Bucharest Abstract: Introducing educational I.T.C. in schools has a strong impact on didactical strategies and on the development organizing types of training which are not allowed by the traditional methods and means. Learning process is no longer regarded as a consequence of the teachers activities, but the result of the interaction between students and the one which leads learning processes thru the computer, information sources at students disposal(internet, encyclopedias). I.T.C. implementation in physics lessons involves identification of the goals and of the competences requested by the curricula, electing appropriate didactical software and ensuring the necessary hardware. While the economical changes occur very often suddenly, in the educational one they are happening slowly and following different steps dew not only to subjective factors (human elements involved in it, both teachers and students), but also to objective ones (poor material base, long needed time for the teachers reinstruction, but not only). A.M. Hubermann [2] in 1978 announced the main types of changes made by the new discoveries in the communication and information fields as follows: - material changes (the use of modern equipments: computers, video projectors), - changes concerning conceiving the curricula and the teaching methods, - interpersonal changes( teacher- student, teacher- teacher, teacher- administrative staff). In the same time it can be said that the educational system can be influenced by the technological progress as follows: - as launching engine of the new educational system, - as way of improve the actual system. Learning means processing more and more complex in formations, and solving exercises and problems, in transferring new knowledge and elements in new terms. Like that learning becomes active, constructive, oriented towards a precise goal and cumulative, as Shell showed in Is active because the student works with the received information while some goals must be achieved and has to develop the requested tasks. Is constructive because there is an two way connection between the old knowledge and those knowledge which are supposed to be learned in order to ensure learning of more and more complex notions. Is oriented towards a precise goal, because motivation is one of the main elements of education, and students are answering better to tasks for which they know the final goal. Is cumulative because it s based on previous learned notions which represent the base of new cognitive achievements. In this way teaching became an open media, with high degree of independence and responsibility from the student point of view. They have to settle themselves a goal and follow it s achievement, to value the learned notions and to ensure an efficient feed-back (to verify the coincidence between goals and results). Thru this an educational ideal is reached: the engaged learning. Factors involved into influencing the effects of technological teaching media upon subjects and vice versa are: previous learned knowledge, motivation, learning style, self-control. In 1986 Wilson and Anderson believed that is as easy for someone to get more knowledge regarding a field as that person already possesses more knowledge and experience in that very domains. Previous learned knowledge allow a better selection between the essential and adjacent notions, as attributing more senses to the already known notions and a getting the new information better structured. They can be:- declarative ones( knowing something and why ) - procedural ones( knowing when and how ). Declarative knowledge is academically, concepts and the procedural ones are regarding the subjects competencies ( what is he/she capable to do ). Motivation is regarding the subject s disponibility of developing efforts in order to learn and involves some important characteristics, such as: - the needed time, - the subject s persistence in developing the requested effort,

2 - the subjects wish to use new technologies. The row model of activity is a complex element that involves multiple learning activities and processes as well as the perception of the technology cal medium. The most representative learning styles are: 1. The dependent-independent style on the domain(a passive dependent person on the information and the medium offered support imposes his/hers own structure on the medium), 2. The analytical-integrative style (the person processes the hole or parts of information), 3. The profound processing style, 4. The verbal-imaging style(shows the tendency of one to represent to him/herself the learned information). Self control is the process thru which the students activate and sustain knowledge, behavior and effects oriented to goals reaching and it s referring to: a) adequate goal orientations towards the educations objectives and learning activities, b) appropriate teaching activities planning in order to mach the objectives, c) suitable selection of goals depending on the subjects skills and knowledge, d) knowing the subjects educational goals and why they are relevant, e) self motivation: self contained for the goals and the learning one, f) being capable to discover previous learned knowledge and relevant attitudes which can be used in the new learning process, g) attention, will and emotional strategies: starting activities, attention, self-respect, involvement. Explicit objectives defining is an important cognitive strategy, though Pask showed in 1976 that often the instructed ones don t use it likewise and that s why they might be disoriented. Those having learning objectives will probably have a more substantial involvement in self control activities like monitoring, planning and cognitive strategies. Once goals fixed, monopolization is used to organizes and guide learning processes and thinking, generating an internal feed-back. 1. CONTAINS ORGANISATION FROM I.T.C. STRATEGIES USED IN LABORATORY LESSONS PERSPECTIVE In the new pedagogical perspective promoted by the educational system reform developing skills and knowledge allowing the subjects to permanently instruct and form themselves. Internet and various educational soft integration in usual lessons like auxiliary didactical means can enlarge the learning concept thru new boundaries. Utilizing computes in laboratories, in the teaching process, allows a better use of the poor existing resources. Traditional educational system I.T.C. integrating educational system Student has passive participation to classes Active participation of students to classes Unidirectional students class activity. Interactive students class activity are becoming the beginning of an efficient and long lasting learning. Learning process is located in the classroom or laboratory. Learning process allows access to various information from different sources, especially if networking. Courses supports are identical (public) for all Courses supports can be adapted students. Teaching process is static and passive (students get contact to knowledge presented by the teacher or learning books) The blackboard, the chock, the books and copybooks, the pencil belong to a singular educational domain. The laboratory or the classroom represents as many restrictive conditions to the pupils. (personalized) to the students needs or level. The different multi-media used materials in the virtual laboratory have a dynamic character, and students are like that encouraged to improve performances and to involve themselves in the educative process. Multi-media resources are numerous and different, challenging the pupils mind. Space and time are no longer restrictive from the learning point of view, considering the Internet or the local network. The teachers task becomes the one of practically mediating the knowledge and skills acquisition in the modern based on I.T.C. didactics. The I.T.C. provided resources are numerous: articles, on-line applications and data bases, libraries and software encyclopedias, participation to different projects, studies, conferences, debates and didactical computerized games, which allow the development of more skills and open newer and larger perspectives than the classical papers or laboratory records. Ioan Cerghit (1997) [1] enumerated the most usual methods of using I.T.C. in the educative process.

3 Pedagogical methods Activities Educational and functional elements offered by I.T.C. Work organizing criteria Individual activity methods (self instruction and preparation for permanent education) Exploring Information Documentation Presentation Specific software (encyclopedias) Directories/ search motors Interactive data bases Visualizing Soft of Media Formats Communication Presentation editing Presentation applications ( Power Point) lists Computerized conferences News groups Direct conversations Videoconferences Fundamental function supplied in the teaching process by the different used methods Group or Team working methods Teaching methods Teaching results evaluation methods - thru practical actions - creative Knowledge transfer and achievement Habits and skills training Knowledge settlement Knowledge application Testing Presentation Exercises Public tutorial Data bases Virtual labs Simulators Exercises soft (drill and practice) Taking lists Computerizing conferences Visualizing media formats software Knowledge testing and evaluation software Evaluation tests(on-line) For physics classes, an experimental science, following methods are representative: 1. New knowledge discovering under teachers guiding, using previous learned notions and personal experience. Discovery art are: - independent, - guided. Discovers forms are: a) Inductive (singularity general), b) Deductive (general singularity), c) hypothetically deductive (students are formulating and verifying hypothesis). 2. Problematisation method: students are perceiving and trying to solve a problem situation. Finding a solution involves: problem defining, selecting and choosing information, processing experimental results(computerized preferably) finding applications for the founded solution. Tables of values, calculations, graphs, work papers can easily been made using Microsoft Word or Excel. 3. The experiment is an heuristically method of organizing and doing practical activities that are forming students skills and developing their intuition. Experiments can be classified as follows: real, virtual. The virtual ones are mostly using I.T.C. resources, but I.T.C. applications in the real experiments are various. The necessary steps to develop demonstrative experiments: demonstration motivation, attention orientation towards the essence of observation,

4 results verification, practical application of the results. The other specifically steps (proceedings analyze, new knowledge assimilation, conclusions formulation) do not have I.T.C. specificity. 4. Modeling is the method of accurate reproducing reality in order to formulate theoretical and practical conclusions of real phenomena. Main characteristic of models are: a. simplicity of the reproduced phenomena, b. indirect research of reality, c. formulating scientifically work hypothesis supposed to be verified, d. conscientious systemizations of some scientifically conclusions. This strategy is regarding the subjective knowledge of reality. Efficientisation of models is involving: fidelity, simplicity, functional analogies with the objective reality. During the physics classes we try to combine all those strategies and to integrate like that computers in lessons using: - educational simulation soft of different virtual experiments, - Java applets, - informatical encyclopedias and libraries, - Internet, etc. 2. I.T.C. USE ADVANTAGES Computers use in school is directly connected to superior type skills training, ask by the young integration in their future profession. Psycho educators are quoting the following advantages regarding computer use during teaching process: strengthening internal motivation of the students during individual learning processes, developing technical creativity and inventively of students, logical thinking stimulation(analogical, algorithmically, heuristically) introducing an efficient cognitive style of independent work, introducing competitively and overtaking climate, psychometrical functions mobilization (aspects regarding fine coordination of the eyes and hands movements and the manipulation) visual culture development, useful practical skills training, ensuring a permanent feed-back, teachers having the option to reschedule activities depending on previous sequences. Introducing educational I.T.C. in schools has a strong impact on didactical strategies and on the development organizing types of training which are not allowed by the traditional methods and means. Learning process is no longer regarded as a consequence of the teacher s activities, but the result of the interaction between students and the one which leads learning processes thru the computer, information sources at student s disposal (Internet, encyclopedias). I.T.C. implementation in physics lessons involves identification of the goals and of the competences requested by the curricula, electing appropriate didactical software and ensuring the necessary hardware. Among the goals and skills requested by the Physics and Informatical and Communication Technology curricula are: describing, analyzing, experimental investigation of physics phenomenal and relationships in between, forming / developing skills of applying I.T.C. for studying also other subjects in schools. Reaching them raises the following issues: - scientifically investigation skills consolidation, - scientifically information access, selection, analyze and share, - more profound understanding of scientifically ideas, - developing the skills of collecting and processing experimental data, - modeling/simulating real or imaginary phenomena, - considering I.T.C. from the impact upon society point of view, in general and upon sciences study in particular. As consequence of the experience gathered in the past years in the every day activities in our school, we think as major arguments in favor of computer assisted learning can be mentioned: 1. stimulating the capacity of innovative learning, adapted to the circumstances of rapid social changes 2. regarding teaching from the usefulness of the future to be learned knowledge 3. individualization of the learning thru programmed learning, increasing the rate of conscientious learning of the notions by immediate evaluation of the students answers,

5 4. accomplishing interdisciplinary, interactive, centrated on student learning using heuristically methods, 5. reducing the learning time and rising the quality of learning, consideration the reduced number of classes reserved for sciences study in the today curricula(real experiments do need more time), 6. students creativity development which learn to use the educational soft, 7. using a complete verification system of knowledge verification dew to the facilities offered by the automatically data analyses, to the automatically command of some systems. In physics lessons, the every day activities which can benefit from using computers are: virtual experiments, collecting, representing and analyzing experimental data, collecting information from Internet and on-line encyclopedias, elaborating and analyzing papers, essays, scientifically works, etc. computing results in order to allow the students to develop data computing skills, gathering and using data bases(stoking information in a way allowing finding specific information in precise conditions) evaluating as objective as possible the pupils knowledge, doing small programs under the informatics and physics teachers guidance. CONCLUSIONS Introducing computer into daily class activities has a reason only by increasing learning quality, reduces the learning time and the educational costs. Some authors have doubts regarding the success of the computer assisted learning, especially because on long term experiments students present alienation tendencies, dew to low interpersonal contacts and to a strong computer communication. According to those the result of such experiments is a programmed person, one side educated, unprepared un unarmed for the social life integration. Those which directly work on computer lack practical skills and efficiency in social-life improvement. The information cult, expressed thru computer idealization, is only a trap between man and its creative strength. Like that moderate I.T.C. use is recommended in order to allow humans to self discover themselves, to allow avoid repetitive efforts for the human mind which stressed people until now, to allow human consciences to express their essence. BIBLIOGRAFIE 1. Cerghit I., - Metode de învăńământ, Ed. Polirom, 2006; 2. Hubert A. M., - Understanding and Preventing Teacher Burnout, Cambridge University Press, 1999;