ED636 MILESTONE #2

September 26, 2006 is ED636 Milestone #2

SIGH...
So far, the struggle to complete all the requirements have been daunting. Thanks to St. John's School, I am able to access the Internet with ease and convenience. There were so many pages to read, and so many thoughts to type. Well, no complains. This is the price for my commitment to professional development.

WHAT HAVE I LEARNED?
Having read over photocopied pages on Chapters about Visuals and Visual Principles, I have discovered some ideas that can enhance my teaching.

ON VISUALS
Images are powerful instructional media. They are not to be taken for granted. With creative preparation and purposeful planning, I can use them to teach Math and Science in a more effective way.

My students can analyze pictures to draw the concepts that are the objectives of the lesson. I do not have to neccessarily do the usual lecture and presentation thing. They can enhance their learning by using their critical thinking skills. Such is an inductive approach that uses their skills and interest in viewing pictures or video segments.

St. John's has a lot of digital gadgets available for instructional use. I can design their use to make my lessons engaging and interesting. We have cameras in handhelds that I can use in Science to make the students illustrate the concepts of evaporation, condensation, and others. These are not the normal classroom procedures but surely will make the lesson relevant to their everyday life.

ON VISUAL PRINCIPLES
Of all the ideas that were mentioned, I was interested on the importance how we present our visuals. I was curious about following the Rule of Third when designing posters, bulletin boards, or taking pictures. There was the guidelines on font sizes and line spacing. Designing visuals is not at all done at random. These are proven guidelines that will make the message be understandable to the learners. I guess it is just a matter of practice as to how they will be done. For now, I must make sure to practice (one guideline at a time) them when creating visuals for my lessons.

ON INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY - MILESTONE #2
Classroom instruction have become more sophisticated because of the technological advances. Students have also become technologically literate. They cannot anymore be treated like the students a decade ago. Instruction must suit their capacities inorder to achieve learning success. There is a great competition of the way messages are delivered in today's television and film to the way messages are delivered in the classroom. Hence, upgrading and updating the teaching style according to technology is necessary.

This Instructional Technology course is truly relevant and is a must for the effective teacher!