TWENTY-FIRST century information technology (IT) provides us increased learning gains while at the same time learning can be fun depending on how we utilize this technology. Availability of Wi-Fi services to teachers and learners in and outside of campuses offers a variety of instructional approaches considering various learning styles of students which nowadays is more visual whether instruction occurs in real or virtual time. IT makes possible more contact between teacher and learner, an easier access to study materials, submission of course assignments and development of learners’ ability for independent study. Various web applications, office software suites for word processing, spreadsheet, database, presentation, email applications, video technology, Aviary, icloud, CD-Roms and a host of other applications – all these can respond to students’ interests and raise the level of learning as well. However, over-use of such apps could in themselves distract students from their studies.
In the initial years of IT, my graduate students used power point to present oral reports. I noticed that reports were mere “cut and paste” products. Also, fonts used were the fancy types and written on backgrounds that made the text difficult to read, such us blue text against a purple background. When animation apps were available, there was over-use of motion. Images to embellish the slides did not have any relation to the text on the slide. We sought an intervention from the IT department – for students to be taught proper use of power-point and appropriate presentation apps. On the part of our class, we coached students how to outline the report instead of the cut-and-paste of journal articles or book excerpts etc. They synthesized lectures in outline form marking a principal concept with a bullet instead of having complete sentences. They were taught where to secure images proper to the text on the slides – which helped them present their ideas loud and clear. Learning proper slide preparation also developed their creativity, a sensitivity to harmony of text, sound and color. Along with this related learning on slide presentation, they prepared side by side a text of their report using word. Later, they advanced in their digital utilization by including notes below the slides. Obviously, such learning responds to the higher levels of cognition (analysis, synthesis and creativity), the affective level shows in their feeling of accomplishment; the psychomotor domain, in their “fingertip dexterity.”
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