Developing collaborative skills among students today

There are many internet tools and technologies that can support collaboration among young people nowadays. But in a developing country like the Philippines, the use of these internet (or web tools) is still a big challenge especially in the countryside. Access to the web oftentimes is limited to the laboratories of the schools or colleges. To require students to perform online activities or interaction to enhance engagement skills is costly. To see our students become strong team players and learn to collaborate is the desire of the thriving and dedicated teachers. So what can our teachers do? How can they prepare our students, with limited ICT resources, limited internet access employ and perform strategies to enable our students become globally ready?

Here are some "collaborative" exercises and activities that can be horizontally integrated between the technology class and the major subjects.

1. A class video. In a session, ask the students to write on a bond paper an adjective or phrase that would describe their town or their school or their country. The teacher can set up the digital video camera on a tripod. Then the students will show their papers one by one, including a short opinion of what they wrote.

2. Interview of a tourist. Pair students or form small groups. Ask them to find a tourist and get their opinion of the town and the impression about the people and their ways. Use a template of questions for uniformity. Then the students can ask if they can have a photo with the tourist using the phone camera. This is the proof they have conducted an interview. Instruct students to extend courtesy and thank the tourist as well.

3. Here's another example of a fun collaboration, the frozen mob. - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwMj3PJDxuo The students can do a simulation of this activity in the plaza or townhall.

4. Storytelling in a blog or comics form. Form small groups. Each group can have a theme for their stories-- tragic, tales or legends, horror, mystery etc. Each one writes a story and the group decides to link each story. It can become a hyopernarrative, a series of stories with no beginning or end. It can be expressed in text or drawing form. Permit the students to create their stories using the local dialect.


Photo from some students doing an outreach teaching activity in a mission school.

5. A wiki portfolio of reflections. Upon reading a story or a novel, or upon watching a film, ask the students to create a wikipage and put their reflections. Here are some nice examples, reactions after an outbound trip.
a. http://isoyou.wikispaces.com/
b. http://siberiantigers.wikispaces.com/FIELD+TRIP+REFLECTION



It's kind of interesting to learn student reactions especially on collaborative activities. It's quite different from the individual work. Students become more conscious of the quality of their work, more interested to know the contribution of their classmate or teammate and the energy becomes very high among all the groups.

The Metaphor of the Course Card Day in the DLSU System

In the De La Salle University in Taft Avenue, Manila, it has been a practice at the end of the term that students meet their class adviser for the course card distribution. While it is an optional attendance for the students, it is necessary for the teacher or professor to be present at that time.

It is an opportunity for the students to get an understanding why she (or he) got a passing or failing grade, why she obtained better markings than her group mates or what were her shortcomings that prevented her to be in the dean's list.

Hence, there are many different kinds of reactions that can be observed during the course card day. Sometimes you hear crying and whining in the toilet. Sometimes you will just hear an outburst of giggle or sudden expression of relief like "Yes! I survived not only Math but Prof.__" The sound of satisfaction is there. I remember a student about to fail, his boyfriend who was also her classmate was trying to save her. He was giving a portion of his grade to save her girlfriend. In another instance, there was also this student asking for extra points. He was a graduating student and it was going to be the first time he will be included in the dean's list (a late bloomer I guess). If I give him the extra points he needed, he will make it to the dean's list, for the first time, on the last term of his stay in the university.

For the teacher or professor, in my opinion, the course card day is more than just making it clear to the students that she was fair and objective in giving the grades. It is also more than being responsible in the assigned schedule of distribution so the attendance checker will not mark her as absent.

The course card day carries a strong metaphor of what it is to be a teacher. It is a metaphor of HOPE. It allows the teacher to tell her students that good grades entail sacrifices, diligence and exerting efforts more than what is expected. It is a metaphor of COMPASSION. Students have different reasons for not being able to exhibit their best or perform well. Some of these reasons are true and some are evidently artificial. A teacher, with close communication with the students permit her to know if a student is being honest or not. And the teacher on this course card day, has also this opportunity to grant compassion to deserving students in various ways. The course card is also a metaphor of WISDOM. Students sometimes see only the list of requirements she has complied to. But the rationale of the teacher why she gave a low score or average score or an excellent score is part of the expertise and judgment of the teacher. The students oftentimes, cannot espouse this. So the teacher has to provide the objective explanation of all of these things. I also call it the wisdom of the guru. It is this wisdom that can appease the heart of a student in fire.

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For the past one and a half year, the tradition of the course card day was removed by the Registrar's office. Thanks to technology, the faculty inputs their grades and the students view them online. The students have a chance to ask about their grade breakdown on a consultation day, the day after they viewed their grades online.

While it is a convenient way perhaps for the university administration to take away a very busy course card day, it meant removing a university tradition.

The course card day is a very exciting day for the students and the faculty. It is the last meeting at the end of the term. It is the 'thank you', the 'good luck', the 'keep it up', 'have a pleasant vacation', or 'see you next term' events. It is a closure of the formal teacher-student encounter but may also be the beginning of a good friendship or acquaintance between the student and the teacher.

Many progressive changes are taking place in the university right now. But for me, it is sad to see we are losing some of the better traditions we have. The course card day is a tradition we lost. If Saint John Baptist de La Salle, patron saint of the teachers, is alive today, what will he say about this?

The Proposed 21st Pinoy Classroom: no more armchairs

With new administration, new secretary for the department of education, new budget for classrooms, these are all opportunities for positive change. Change can move in different facets, including a paradigm shift of what we have been accustomed as a local classroom.




Sources: http://newshopper.sulekha.com ; http://article.wn.com


Our old classrooms have a fixed blackboard, one or two doors, with the small rough, wooden armchairs. In some schools, there's the desk for two (often three) students.

Here's my idea of the primary and elementary classrooms in the public school. This time, let there be NO armchairs!



The Pinoy 21st classroom will have NO armchairs. The classroom do have rubber mats. It has oval low tables that can accommodate 8-10 students. The students, young boys and girls, sit on the floor with rubber mats. There are rolling blackboards and book shelves on the side. And of course, there is a small teacher's nook.

Outside the classroom, along the hallways, there will be open shelves for the shoes and slippers of the students. Removal of the slippers and shoes are a must before entering the classroom. This is the traditional concept of the Filipino homes. We respect our homes and keep them clean. So we also keep our classrooms clean.

Why not have armchairs or chairs for this matter? First, not having chairs or armchairs create a new, fresh mindset of our students (and even our leaders). So much learning can take place even in the absence of armchairs. This also allows more mobility and interaction among the students. They are not restricted with the convention of alphabetically arranged seats. Students who are bored can just drop on the floor to stretch or to sleep.

Having oval tables allow them too, to see the faces of their other classmates. This enhances transparency that make them aware of their classmates reactions and opinions. On the other hand, the setup also encourages high degree of peer learning and camaraderie.

There will be no concept of front and back, just sides. The teacher can use the two opposite rolling blackboards or even move them on the corners for a change of view. The blackboards can also serve as flipboards (or to hold the classic Manila paper). The clustered setup also allows the teacher to move around even with big classes. Modestly the setup can hold 48 to 60 students.

This is going to be fun! If the DepEd secretary will adopt this as an experimental setup, I am already volunteering to be the teacher to test it!

The Role of the Classroom

When the new secretary of the Department of Education sat on his position, Sec. Armin Luistro received the first assignment from the new president of the country, Pres. Noynoy Aquino, and that is, to increase the number of classrooms in the country for the next two years (http://www.malaya.com.ph/07122010/metro5.html ). Increasing the number of classrooms did not sound to be a direct education problem. It is more of infrastructure issue. But classrooms seem to be a glaring issue for a poverty-stricken country giving high premium to education. What is the role of the classroom (aside from the fact it serves as an evacuation center when there is a calamity or disaster).

While I follow some academics in their cry for stronger and empowered social learning and with our college dean emphasizing the need "to develop a culture of innovation in the College in relation to these new tools (Teaching 2.0)", a huge portion of the archipelago and the leaders of the country lobby for better classrooms. Do we really need a classroom? What for? And would classroom really provide conducive environment for learning to take place? Will the desire to learn remain unaffected even if our Filipino students do not have complete books, some do not have shoes to wear, some do not have food to keep their attention? These are fundamental realities our local situation has to deal with.

The classroom in my opinion, has still the primary role of being a second home. This is the second home of the primary students. This is the second home of the high school students. The classroom is the second home where young minds get their inspiration and drive to learn, striving to study even with absence of the mind-nurturing supplements. The classroom is where the young students find their identities, where they start to discover who they are or what they want to become.

But how will these things happen? This is where the big role of the Filipino teacher comes in. The Pinoy teacher gives hope and motivation on how learning will help our lives. The Pinoy teacher strikes the balance of family and friends, the hard and soft skills to equip the students in their quest for knowledge. The Pinoy teacher is also strong on correcting misbehaviors with the hope she is molding good citizens of the country. She is making the classroom a true second home for the young minds. And because of this, we need inspirational, high-moral teachers as much as we need classrooms.

Practicing ICT among Filipino Teachers

To teach a subject matter is one thing. To use ICT to enhance teaching of a subject matter is another thing. To use ICT to allow enjoyable, authentic and empowered learning would be another challenging thing for our Filipino teachers.

So it is fundamental that a Filipino teacher to use ICT in teaching and for learning to take place requires her to practice ICT. Practice means regular use of ICT. This means she should take time from her busy schedule to-- read and respond to her e-mails everyday; use the computer (maybe the school computer or her netbook computer) in making her lessons and grades, read relevant news sites and blogs related to her subject area everyday. For a Filipino teacher to be able to apply ICT effectively requires deliberate practice. Here's a very good example of deliberate practice, how Benjamin Franklin developed his writing skills -- http://www.anecdote.com.au/archives/2010/08/benjamin-frankl.html .

What happens after practice? The teacher becomes comfortable on the use of the technology-- the computer, the internet, the e-mail, maybe even some games, thesaurus or translation program. But it does not end here. Comfort and confidence she has gained would allow her now to incorporate various ICT tools in teaching and learning. And with the resilient character of technology, experimentation on how technology will deliver better teaching and encourage progressive learning can be done by the teacher.

So practice, constant use, experimentation and whole lot of exposure to various technologies will make our Filipino teacher a confident ICT practitioner.

The curriculum - MINI CRITIQUE By Isagani Cruz | The Philippine Star Other STAR Sections Education and Home

The curriculum - MINI CRITIQUE By Isagani Cruz | The Philippine Star Other STAR Sections Education and Home

BASIC ICT TOOLS FOR THE FILIPINO TEACHER

As I promised, I will spend some time each week to write something about how ICT can help teaching and learning in our country.

I have been into the use of ICT teaching for over seventeen years now. I have always tried my best to be kept abreast of what’s happening in the IT and computing field and to use this knowledge to complement my teaching. Even with the advent of student or learner-centric approach to education, in the Philippines, in my opinion, before you achieve this, change will have to take place first among our beloved teachers.

For today I would like to start with what fundamental ICT tools a Filipino teacher would need. When we say Filipino teacher, she or he may be teaching in the primary school, elementary or high school or even tertiary school with no particular subject matter in mind. Here are my recommendations:

1. a netbook laptop. A netbook laptop is a tool that will allow her to do fundamental teaching work using technology. It will allow her to do her grades, make her lessons, and do online communication.

Why a netbook? A netbook is a standard 10” laptop with USB ports, audio ports, a built-in webcamera, a hard drive, it is lightweight, and has a battery life of 6-10hours. A Pinoy teacher usually has exam papers or book references in her bag. These are teaching materials she can’t just leave most of the time. So a lightweight netbook will provide more mobility for the teacher to do her work—in the campus, at home or in the park. (It is recommended to have two netbook adaptors, one to be used at home & another one in school).

2. a broadband connection. A Globe or Smart broadband connection is recommended. Together with mobility, the broadband connection allows cheaper internet access than going to the internet café.

I personally bring mine in my bag together with my compact powder. I don’t need to spend time finding a free slow wifi connection just to do my connectivity requirements. There are available software too that can make the broadband connection become telco agnostic. Just keep at least 3 extra sim card for connectivity use.

3. a Gmail or Yahoo e-mail account. A free email account that can be accessed anywhere 24/7 is very essential. Both Gmail and Yahoo allows a good size of working storage and a number of file attachments usually restricted in school or college servers. This allows her to communicate with other teachers, students, parents and even friends.

Constant use of email breaks the mindset barrier of hierarchy of communication. What do I mean with this? A Pinoy teacher does not have to make an appointment with her principal to discuss a class or student concern or to channel her concern first to the subject coordinator before elevating it to the principal. The beauty of the email allows the teacher to talk directly to the principal.
And promptness in communication too, can make a difference most of time especially for matters that require decision or resolution to problems.

4. a spreadsheet program. A spreadsheet program will permit her to make a transparent, referred computation of grades. A spreadsheet program also allows easy management of grades.

5. a word editor program. A word editor program allows her to make her lessons, notes, exams (in different versions) and even her personal essays like this one.


These are the basic tools needed. And our Pinoy teacher is headed to becoming a very good ICT teaching practitioner. Have a great week!

For the Filipino Teacher

I spent a brief time in Camelot Hotel yesterday afternoon in Quezon City giving a lecture on Communities of Practice (COPs). I was moved by the simplicity of the delegates and the warm hospitality of the professors from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. And one of the questions thrown to me really struck me (not exactly to this statement but to this effect)-- Given my exposure on various uses of technology in education, what is the topmost problem we have locally and how can this be addressed?

And so I answered that I still consider economic problem as the primary issue. It was concurred by Dr. Lorenzo of PUP. But I guess economic issue should not hurdle us from building a COP for that matter. I also would like to dedicate extra time starting this week to post something to support the idea of ICT use in teaching--for my dedicated teaching colleagues in the country.

I will share different creative ways of using ICT in teaching as I have done them.

The 3rd Annual Conference The Philippine Association for Business Educators, (PAFBE) Inc

My supervisor was one of the speakers in the 3rd Annual Conference The Philippine Association for Business Educators, (PAFBE) Inc held last July 30 and 31. Unfortunately, he had a sudden important engagement and I agreed to pitch for him. Dr. Lorenzo of PUP, the convenors, the officers, the teachers and delegates of PAFBE gave a warm response to my presentation.

Here are the excerpts of my presentation---

"Even with late notice, I tried my best to prepare something that you will bring home as part of a solution instead of posting many issues and concerns that may drag your weekend of pondering whether there is an answer to the never ending question of how do we implement technology.

For this afternoon, I am bringing to you a not very young idea. This is an idea typically used in business organizations in the light of sustaining the use and application of technology. And I will put this in the context of education. The title of my presentation is Creating Communities of Practice (COPs) through Practical ICT and Web 2.0."

"Context is putting and using technology on the right perspective of the subject matter. And the knowledge and skills of the business educators or even the teachers will be very important in this situation. Context is not using technology as suggested in the software tutorial. Context is making the students realize to use or apply the right technology as prescribed by the situation, the problem to be solved or the project to be done. And this is one of the creative challenges among teachers".


I hope I was able to inspire them of the idea of Communities of Practice. I have shared with them the concept, the characteristics as posted by Etienne Wenger, the proponent of the COP and I gave my own examples situating it to the local setting. I also hope that introducing Web 2.0 gave informative insights of various alternatives on how to use them in teaching. Some of these are--

Web 2.0 Teaching & Learning Tools
These are some of the common examples. There are still many tools and solutions.

Youtube – to showcase student experiences; to reuse good howto videos
An anthropological introduction to Youtube by Michael Wesch -- http://www.grokdotcom.com/2008/08/04/1462/
An ethical behavior and social responsibility video by Louie Sioco, James Sy & Johann Go http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EJW89mUagA
Blogs – to extend class discussions; to extend student interactions
http://whymanagetech.blogspot.com/2007/05/notes-on-external-business-environment.html
Forums, e-groups & social network sites – to post announcements; to share files; & to encourage healthy dialogues and responsible online behavior among students
Google maps – to visually enhance geography concepts
Online News – to know what is happening in the world
Wikis – to encourage collaborative writing and research
Photos – to encourage artistic expression and develop digital art skills
http://mobilemartha.multiply.com/photos/album/12/EM-TECH_Technology_Exhibit
Skype & yahoo messenger – to facilitate online discussions
Second life – to enhance remote role-playing activities

I also mentioned to them that mobile phones and music players are useful ICT tools--
o To capture proof of data gathering (e.g. interview)
o To capture procedures of the experiments
o To capture board notes
o To listen about the lessons or to produce outputs through podcasts
Podcasts are audio files in MP3 format that is used to hold various content like discussions, interviews, opinions or meetings.
Of course, PRACTICE makes PERFECT or EFFECTIVE OUTCOMES.

Very important hindsights to bring home---
1. Don’t get immersed in the technology, context is more important!
2. Make it a rule of thumb to apply your teaching techniques and styles.
3. Discuss your methods openly to your colleagues. It encourages “shared practice”.
4. Encourage student participation and collaboration.
5. Institutionalize “best practices” and build a “Community of Practice”! 