Lesson 10: The computer as a tutor

                   The computer is one of the wonders of human ingenuity, even in its original design in the 1950s to carry out complicated mathematical and logical operations. With the invention of the microcomputer (now commonly referred to PCs or personal computers), the PC has become the tool for programmed instruction.

                Educators saw much use of the PC. It has become affordable to small business, industries and homes. They saw its potential for individualization in learning, especially as individualized learning is a problem since teachers usually with a class of forty or more learners. They therefore devised strategies to use the computer to the break the barriers to individualized instruction

Computer-assisted instruction (CAI)

                The computer can be a tutor in effect relieving teacher of many activities in his personal role as classroom tutor. It should be made clear, however, that the computer cannot totally replace the teacher since the teacher shall continue to play the major roles of information deliverer and learning environment controller. Even with the available computer and CAI software, the teacher must;

·         Insure that students have the needed knowledge and skills for    any computer activity

·         Decide the appropriate learning objectives

·         Plan the sequential and structured activities to achieve objectives

·         Evaluate the students’ achievements by ways of tests the specific expected outcomes.

On the other hand, the student in CAI play their own roles as learners as they;

·         Receive information

·         Understand instruction for the computer activity

·         Retain/keep in mind the information and rules for the computer activity

·         Apply the knowledge and rules during the process of computer learning

During the computer activity proper in CAI the computer too plays its roles as it:

·         Act as a sort of tutor (the role traditional played by the teacher)

·         Provides a learning environment

·         Delivers learning instruction

·         Reinforces learning through drill and practice

·         Provides feedback

     Today, educators accept the fact that the computer has indeed succeeded in providing an individualized learning environment so difficult for a teacher handling whole classes. This is so, since the  computer able to  allow individual student to learn out their own pace, motivate learning through a challenging virtual learning environment, assist student through information needed during the learning process, evaluate student responses through immediate feedback during the learning process also give the total score to evaluate the student’s total performance.

CAI Integrated with Lesson

                CAI computer learning should not stop with the drill and practice activities of students in effect, CAI work best in reinforcing learning trough repetitive exercise such that student can practice basic skills or knowledge in various subject areas. Common types of drill and practice programs include vocabulary building, math facts, and basic science, and history or geography facts. In these programs, the computer presents a question/ problem the first and the student is asked to answer the question/problem. Immediate feedback is given to the student’s answer. After the number of practice problems and at the end of the exercise, the students get a summary of his overall performance.

                 The question arises: When and how can teacher integrate drill and practice programs with their lessons? The following suggestion can be made:

·         Use drill and practice programs for basic skills and knowledge that require rapid or automatic response by students (e.g. multiplication table, letter and word recognition, identification of geometric shapes, etc.)

·         Ensure that drill and practice activities conform to the lesson plan/curriculum.

·         Limit drill and practice to 20-30 minutes to avoid boredom.

·         Use drill and practice to assist students with particular weakness in basic skills.

        In integrating computer programs in instruction, use tutorial soft ware associated with cognitive learning. While practice exercise or learning by doing is still the heart of each tutorial, the tutorial software should be able to:

·         Teach new content /new information to students (in as much as CAI provides practice on old or already learned content)

·         Provide comprehensive information on concepts in addition to practice exercise

·         Can be effectively used for remediation, reviewing or enrichment

·         Allow the teacher to introduce follow-up question to stimulate student learning.

·         Permits group activity for cooperative learning

SIMULATION PROGRAMS

                Simulation software materials are another kind of software that is constructivist in nature. This simulation software:

·         Teacher strategies and rules applied to real-life problems/situation

·         Ask students to make decision on models or scenarios

·         Allow students to manipulate elements of a model and get the experience of the effect of their decisions

           An example of such software is SimCity in which students are allowed to artificially manage a city environment. Decision-making involve such factors as budget, crime, education, transportation, energy resources, waste disposal, business/ industries available. (Note: soft ware may not be available on local computer shops. Still concept-learning is helpful).

INSTRUCTIONAL GAMES

                While relating to low level learning objectives (e.g. basic spelling or math skills), instructional computer games add the elements of competition and challenge.

                An example is GeoSafari which introduces adventure activities for Geography History and Science. The program can be played by up to four players to form teams. Learning outcomes can be achieved along simple memorization of information, keyboarding skills, cooperation and social interaction, etc.

PROBLEM SOLVING SOFTWARE

                These are more sophisticated than the drill and practice exercises and allow students to learn and improve on their own problem solving ability. Since problems cannot be solved simply by memorizing facts, the students have to employ higher thinking skills such as logic, recognition, reflection, and strategy-making

                The Thinking Things 1 is an example of a problem solving software in which the team learners must help each other by observing comparing.

MULTIMEDIA ENCYCLOPEDIA AND ELECTRONIC BOOKS

                The Multimedia Encyclopedia can score a huge database with text, images, animation, audio and video. Students can access any desired information, search it vast contents and even download/print relevant portions of the data for their composition or presentation. An example is the eyewitness children’s encyclopedia.

                Electronic books provide textual information for reading supplemented by other types of multimedia information (sounds, spoken words, pictures, animation). These are useful for learning reading, spelling and word skills. Examples are Just Grandma and Me animated storybook which offer surprises for the young learner’s curiosity.