In-put dated April 15,2013

Learning with Traditional Technology

I Introduction

   Traditional technology points to any instructional media and tools that do not necessarily require the use of an outlet. These refer to real objects and the real thing that makes classroom activities interesting, engaging and intriguing on the part of the students. 

II In-put

A. Learning Centers

•  is a combination of learning/instructional material and a display
• self-contained environment designed to promote individual and small-group learning
• it is a simple table and chairs which students discuss or sophisticated several networked computers used by a group for collaborative research or problem solving.
• this highly encourage active participation of students into the learning tasks assigned

Advantages of Learning Centers:

• Self-spacing: students to take full responsibility for their own learning and allow them to learn at their own pace
• Easy Monitoring: minimize possibility of failure and maximize likelihood of success
• Active Learning: it ensure student participation, student response can easily be observed and feedback made simple and direct.

 Limitations of Learning Centers: This model is part of the so-called classroom of the future. Though, its educational value is already tested by studies and research the following obstacles make it difficult for schools to have this kind of facility:

• Cost. This requires space and equipments which is a common dilemma of schools.
• Management. This requires excellent organization and management. Hence, additional staff is needed.
• Student Responsibility. The student culture of ownership need to be established because a learning center holds valuable equipments for operation and manipulation of students and teachers with of course extra care.
• Student Isolation. This considers the psychological make-up of students. There are students who prefer to learn or do a learning task alone.

Types of Learning Centers:

• Skill Learning Center. This LC intends to reinforce student learning.
• Interest Learning Center. This LC intends to deal with student interest to enhance creativity and allow students to pursue what they wanted to learn.
• Remedial Learning Center. This LC intends to help students diagnosed to have difficulty in accomplishing a learning task. This could be done by students who learned the assigned task for cooperative learning opportunity or the teacher himself/herself.
• Enrichment Learning Center. This intends to enrich classroom instruction like film-showing, simulations, etc.

 B. Traditional Media

Reflect on this: :"There is no substitute for the real thing when learning some content"

Realism is major school of though adhered by teachers who confidently believed on the instrutional value of real objects inside the classroom. With industrialization, some school children do not actually see a real squash or a water melon for that matter since buying it in the supermarket, it is already sliced and thereby they have a distorted concept of it. Hence, traditional media will highly add color and meaning into teaching. Traditional media has the following characteristics:

1. manipulatives: can be viewed, touched and handled in a learning setting (e.g. toys, books, atlases,etc)
2. real objects: this is the most accessible, intriguing and involving materials. it could be a: a.) specimens: actual plants and animals for demonstration, b.) exhibits: collection of artifacts (mostly with scientific or historical value) brought together with printed literature/information.
3. models: three dimensional representations of real objects (e.g. dioramas, poster, etc.)

4. mock-ups: complex devices in industrial training like mock bridge, simulators, shooting range, etc. This mock ups usually provides a learning experience of the important aspect of a real life activity by avoiding its risks.

Suggestions and hints for Teachers:

1. Familiarize yourself with the object or model.
2. Practice your presentation.
3. Be sure audience get the correct impression of the size, color, shape of the real object.
4. Encourage student responsibility to handle and manipulate the objects and models
5. Store objects properly for future use.

Traditional Media: common and familiar tools

1. Printed Materials
2. Display Surfaces
3. Exhibits