Comment on another blog

I commented on http://jacalynv.blogspot.com/2011/09/vels-statement.html

Saying "I too can struggle with ICT at times, but also believe its important to persist with technology as it is becoming increasingly more important over time, especially in the classroom.

Doing the same methods I have also seen how valuable ICT can be in a business classroom, currently my yr 11 accounting class is doing an assignment which requires them logging on to the ASX to do research."

VELS and ICT

VELS statement: ICT provides a rich and flexible learner-centred environment in which students can experiment and take risks when developing new understanding.

The ICT domain is organised into 3 dimensions, these dimensions are:

• ICT for visualising thinking
• ICT for creating
• ICT for communicating

The statement above fits into the first domain ICT for visualising thinking. This statement encourages teaches to use ICT in the classroom to help in showing students patterns in their work and to encourage students to code their work. This helps a student to have a more structured and clear understanding to be able to sort their work into section based up their allocated code. Another benefit in using ICT to visualise thinking is it aids students to create links between past and current topics.

For example in my Business method, I have observed and used ICT to educate students about given topics. Such as in my Year 11 Accounting class I have been teaching whilst on placement I used PowerPoint to introduce the new topic of Cash flow statements to the class, through the use of PowerPoint I was able to show students the structure of a Cash Flow Statement and relate Cash Flow statement to what they have previously studied. I then went on to in the class to use Microsoft excel to work with the students to do an example question; I found this helpful as it makes structuring the Cash Flow statement much easier and gave the students a clear example.

The other 2 domains, ICT for creating and ICT for communication encourage teachers to use ICT to solve problems and to aid students in the problem solving process. As ICT for communication encourages teaches to use ICT to communicate with other people to present ideas and knowledge. This can be helpful in especially in the business as there is a lot of content to cover in a short period especially during VCE. I also found using ICT for problem solving to be helpful as it allows you to work through a problem as a class and it gives the students a better understanding of the thinking you go through in the process of solving the different types of problems.

Wordle

After the block . . .

It is now after the block placement, during the block I used ICT whilst teaching my classes. Most commonly I used PowerPoint when teaching my students about a new topic and also Excel. Excel I found to be especially helpful in Accounting as it assists students in structuring and setting up their work in the correct manner. I also found Excel helpful in tracking Students and were they were up to with their work. I also used You Tube clips in class to help demonstrate and / or show students different items in class. I think ICT benefits the classroom as it helps students engage in the class and students to gain information.