We met like anxious students ready to learn at the beginning of the school year. There were enough teachers to form three groups of two. We worked individually and in pairs. Then we grouped together and had an open discussion using think-pair-share technique. Our discussions ranged from defining I.C.T. in the school context to the newest technologies available and how we can guide our students into making good decisions when using the Internet as a tool for learning. We all exchanged ideas.
One activity we did required us to participate in a discussion about reliable and unreliable information and sources found on line. We found a mind mapping software and did a collaborative session on brainstorming. The site is known as
Mindmeister. It was awesome! The features allowed us to edit the page simultaneously. There is also a chat feature that facilitated ongoing communication while we added our ideas to the mind map. We could also assign tasks for members of our group. There is also a monitoring device that helps us as teachers to see who contributed to the page or tasks and the dates.
Following that we used the information in a table format on the SMART board to evaluate whether the sources were reliable, maybe reliable and not reliable. That was an interactive activity. This activity is one that I would like to use in my classroom.
I think ICT as an excellent information resource. It consists of sources that we may use to help our students to access, evaluate, synthesize and create. It provides resources that I can utilize in my classroom to help students to understand authentic sources as well as those that are misleading. The most powerful lesson I can take back with me today is the fact that we need to teach our students how to search for, evaluate and synthesize Internet resources.
After collaborating with my colleagues, I realize that collaborating online is a necessary tool and avenue that teachers should utilize to enable sharing of ideas. I think overall, the brainstorming went well. The session was engaging and the activities can be practised in our classrooms. Our students will be excited to participate in learning activities.
