In this topic, you will know about four types of IT-based projects which can effectively be used in order to engage students in activities of a higher plane of thinking. To be noted is the fact that these projects differ on the specific process and skills employed, also in the ultimate activity or platform used to communicate completed products to others.
Now you will see four IT-based projects conducive to
develop higher skills and creativity among learners.
I Resource-based
Projects
Here,
the teacher steps out of the traditional role of being an content expert and
information provider,and instead lets the students find their own facts and
information.
The general flow of events
in resource-based projects are:
1. The teacher determines the topic for the
examination of the class (e.g. the definition
of “love”)
2. The teacher presents the problem to the
class.
3. The students find information on the problem.
4. Students organize their information in
response to the problem.
The central principle is to make the
students go beyond the text
and curriculum
materials.
Inquiry-based or discovery
approach is given importance in resource-based projects. This requires
that all the students gathered information to the ‘real world’, the
process is given more importance than the project product. Though each group
comes up with a different answer to the problem, what matters are the varied
source of information, the line of the thinking and the ability to argue in
defense of their answers.
II.
Simple Creations
Students
can also be assigned to create their software materials to supplement the need
for relevant and effective materials and there are some available software
materials that may help. In developing software, creativity should not be
equated with high intelligence.
Creating is more consonant with planning, making, assembling, designing, or
building.
Creativity is said to combine three kinds of
skills:
1.Analyzing
-distinguishing
similarities and differences seeing the projects.
2. Synthesizing
-making
spontaneous connections among ideas in generating new ideas.
3. Promoting
-selling of new ideas
to allow the public to test the ideas themselves.
To
develop creativity, the ff. five key tasks maybe recommended:
1. Define the tasks
Clarify the goal of the completed project to
the students.
2. Brainstorm
Students will be allowed to generate their
own ideas to the project. The teacher encourages exchanging ideas.
3. Judge the Ideas
Students make an appraisal for or may against
on the idea, only when the students are off track and the teacher intervene.
4. Act
The students do their work with the teacher
as facilitator.
5. Adopt flexibility
Students should be allowed to shift gears and
may not follow an action path rigidly.
III. Guided Hypermedia Projects
The
production of self-made multimedia projects can be approached in two different
ways:
1. As an instructive tool, such as in the
production by students of a power-point presentation of a selected topic.
2. As a communication tool, such as when
students do a multimedia presentation (with text, graphs, photos, audio
narration and etc.).
IV. Web-Based Projects
Posting
of Webpages in the Internet allows the student a wider audience. They can also
be linked with other related sites in the Internet, which they are more exposed
on a wide range of in formations.
