AS Level ICT - Topic 6b Uses of ICT in Education

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  • Created by: Dan 8888
  • Created on: 21-05-15 13:56

Uses of Computers for Teaching and Learning

CAL (Computer Assisted Learning)

- CAL can be run straight from a CD/DVD, it can be installed and run from a network on its own or in conjunction with a VLE and it can be run over the Internet

 - Features include tutorials, simulations, animations, drill and practice, tests and games

Computer-based Training (CBT)

- Uses ICT systems for training in the workplace via PCs / portable devices

 - It doesn't only train people to use computers, it is also about using computers to train people to do different tasks and also to train them how to react in different situations

 - Examples of what CBT can be used for: Health and safety training, how to perform a particular job etc.

Features of CAL / CBT -> Highly interactive, tutorials, revision, models/simulations, games to make learning fun etc.

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Advantages of CAL / CBT - Students have flexibility as to where and when they want to learn, materials are provided in many ways, access to material via different hardware etc.

Disadvantages of CAL / CBT - Software is usually complex and makes use of lots of animation and graphics making it expensive, students often need interaction of their classmates to learn, present an opportunity to have a break and it is hard for teachers to see how much progress has been made

Distance Learning

- Learning that happens away from teachers or lecturers in a room teaching

 - Makes use of videoconferencing

 - It is done is some schools where only a handful of students take an AS or A2 course and the school doesn't see the point in hiring a specialist teacher

 - Makes use of all the latest ICT developments like e-mail, chat rooms and videoconferencing

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Videoconferencing

- Allows two or more people in different locations to see and talk to each other and exchange audio, video or any other digital file (can share computer applications and work with each other on the same file)

 - Used in schools for distance learning, conferences for schools, virtual trips to places of interest and collaborative working

On-line Learning / E-learning

- Whole variety of courses on-line like GCSE and A-Levels, degree courses, language courses, courses for professional qualifications and job-based courses

 - There are usually knowledge, revision and testing sections

Advantages - Work at your own pace, can fit learning around work and family commitments and there is a variety of subjects

Disadvantages - No social side, expensive, self-motivation, self-control etc.

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Chat Rooms for Discussion with Tutors / Experts

- Carefully controlled and moderated chat rooms are very useful for students who are learning a subject on their own

 - Chat rooms can be used for asking questions to an expert, to hold tutorials with course tutors and for foreign languages too

Features of Software Packages

 - Types of software package used for teaching and learning -> Presentation, software to be used with interactive whiteboards, tutorial and revision

Revision Programs

- Helps you revise for your exams and they can come either on a CD or on a website

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Authoring Software

- Authoring is where a multimedia product is created like a website

 - Multimedia products are combined to produce a multimedia product

 - You can create a multimedia product by designing the product and then using a programming language to produce it or by using authoring software

Advantages of using it - Anybody can really use it, no programming is required, faster to develop an e-learning product and they automatically add the background programming code

Disadvantages of using it - Not as flexible and not able to perform certain tasks

Interactive Whiteboards

- Large interactive display using a computer and a projector and the user uses a special pen, their finger or another input device

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Use of Computers for School / College Administrati

Paper - based Registration System

 - Marks used to be made on a sheet of paper (register) containing a list of student names

 - Then the marks were completed by the form teacher in the morning and after lunch

 - The registers were then collected and kept in a place

 - The marks were added up by the form teachers every term so attendance could be calculated

 - Problems included: pupils could easily change things (left unattended), mistakes meant registers were hard to understand, attendance only used to be done each term, responsibility fell on the teachers and students could register themselves and then not turn up to lessons

 - Then registers were processed by computers and someone had to enter all the marks from the register into the computer (other direct methods of input were used which removed need to type in the marks

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Computer-based Methods of Registration

OPTICAL MARK RECOGNITION (OMR) - Teacher marks a student's attendance via shading boxes using a pencil -> These forms are then collected, batched and processed using an OMR -> Problems - Not checked in real time, leave them on desks, can be changed, have to be physically passed and if they are folded or not filled in correctly, they are rejected

Wireless Systems

- Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) collects data stored on a tag using radio signals meaning that the reading device and tag don't have to come into contact with each other

 - No need to remove the card from your pocket or bag as the tag can still be read

 - The cost of the system is very expensive

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Smart Cards

- Contain a microprocessor and memory chip or just a memory chip

 - They contain mucho more information than cards that only only have a magnetic *****

 - Sometimes carry out encryption so if card is lost or stolen it cannot be misused

 - Can be used in schools for monitoring attendance, payment for meals in the school canteen, for registration, for access etc.

Swipe Cards

- Used for registration and they are a plastic card with a magnetic ***** containing a limited amount of data on it

Advantages - Costs are low compared to alternative methods and readers can be made that are almost vandal proof

Disadvantages - Cards are often lost and students can be swiped in by someone else

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Biometric Methods

 - Make use of a feature of the human body that is unique to a person to identify them e.g. fingerprint recognition and retinal scanning

 - Ideal for primary schools

FINGERPRINT RECOGNITION – Lots of schools use fingerprinting systems in a scheme that has government approval to improve attendance in schools

 - Student places finger into the fingerprint scanning device

 - The scanner acts as an input device and stores some of the features of the fingerprint as a mathematical code

 - Compares code with all fingerprint codes previously stored

 - Person whose finger has been entered is identified from the student database

 - Details of attendance are recorded

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RETINAL SCANNING - Blood vessels can be used to identify a person -> Retinal scanners send a low-level light beam into a person's ey and then analyse the reflected pattern -> Pattern is coded in a similar way to the fingerprint scanning and then it is stored on a computer database

Advantages of using ICT systems for registration - Details are recorded in almost in real time, burden removed, not possible for students to abuse the system, promotes health and safety etc.

Disadvantages of using ICT systems for registration - Biometric readers are dear, human rights issues when fingerprint systems are used, readers must be kept clean or false reads can be created, faults can occur etc.

OTHER USES FOR BIOMETRIC SYSTEMS IN SCHOOLS - Recording borrowing and returns of library books or other equipment, recording use of photocopiers, recording cashless meals for pupils and entry control

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Student Record Keeping

- Large amounts of information stored about each student and lots of this is sensitive personal information

 - School has a responsibility under the DPA 1998 to esnure the privacy and the security of the information it holds about its students

Schools Information Management Systems

 - There are lots of different pieces of information stored by a school

Advantages of using them - Reduce workload for teachers in classroom and in school office, provide up-to-date information for parents, support decision making, tackle truancy effectively etc.

Use of ICT Systems to Support Administration in Schools and Colleges

- Internet, Intranet, Word-processing, spreadsheet, presentation software, electronic data interchange and timetabling software

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