A Reflection…. INTEGRATING ICT IN TEACHING

It was my first time to be using the computer lab to present an interactive lesson using ICT so I talked with the coordinator about using the network system in the computer lab earlier that day but was not given a hands-on practice due to time constraint. He told me that whenever I would be using the network, students could not access the computers and would just serve as monitors for the presentation. Students could only use them interactively if the network will be off and learners can work at their own pace. The lesson ran very smoothly. We did not have any trouble finding enough working computers for each student to work individually. The students were contained in the media center and all focused on each monitor for the presentation. This I found out was just a calm before the storm. The problem arose when I turned off the network for them to work at their own pace in answering the activities, so while waiting for their other classmates to finish the activity, and since most of my students were really good in using computers, I could not contain them to just focus on the lesson but wander their ways in clicking to some areas they are familiar with in which I was caught dumbfounded. They were utilizing the chat box and kept on sending me some messages. Had I just known of this, I could have maximized the use of it and they could have sent their answers through the chat box. My students expressed to me that they enjoyed the chance to work on computers for this lesson although some students did have a hard time since some did not follow the instructions given to them. Lesson learned: It is important that there should be strict rules to be followed in whatever undertakings that must be done to avoid confusion or drifting.