Blog 3

Blog 3: The Impact of the Master plan

When I was a student, my teachers did not use ICT much at all. This led to classes falling into the same routine and being pretty boring for the students. There was once, an NIE trainee who took over the lesson. He did something very different that I still remember today. While we were doing our worksheet, he suddenly played soft but audible classical music. At first, that created a lot of uproar and chatting amongst everyone in class. However, in the end, it resulted in each of us keeping quiet and completing the task efficiently. Little did we realize, that because of the music, we eventually all kept silent. It was not because we wanted to hear the music, but somehow it demanded attention and we gave it its needed respect. He also made the lesson different by bringing us to the AVA room to watch a mini lecture on Julius Cesar (the text we studied for Literature). It is because he broke the routine of the normal classroom, that I still remember his lesson.

Although what he did benefited the class in many ways, the possible pitfall of an increased use of ICT in the classroom would be that the school would constantly need to search for bigger and better ways to break the routined nature of lessons. If every lesson involved ICT or most, then that would become a expected norm and will be taken for granted by the students.

Based on my ESE experience, I feel very encouraged to use ICT in the classroom. As most of the teachers in Jurongville were amiable and friendly, they were easy to talk to and I got an idea of the ease with which ICT can be incorporated in the classroom. They all use ICT regularly and are very comfortable using it. This makes me feel a greater sense of responsibility to use ICT in the classroom to not only educate but inspire as well.