b.
Evaluating the Resources Used
It
is easier and more flexible to apply an evaluation to resources
than it is to apply one to lessons. You will have in mind what
you want resources to do, and the resources themselves often tell
you something about what you can expect of them. However, there
is danger in both of these positions.
First,
you should always be aware of how individual and subjective your
own expectations of ICT based learning resources are likely to
be. Secondly, you should be aware that ICT resources are often
'sold' as doing more than they can really be expected to do in
a real classroom situation.
Both
of these facts held true of the resources used in the case study.
In the case of the Internet, the teacher expected it to be easier
to use than it was, and expected it to do less in terms of providing
focused learning than they did. It was only after the first phase
of its use that the teacher became critically aware of the benefits
and shortcomings of the resources as methods setting tasks and
controlling the responses to those tasks. In the case of the use
of word processor software to present materials, and especially
the integration of images into resources that she has used in
the past, it was easier to evaluate resources because the teacher
had created them herself.
As
a form of guide, I would suggest the following range of questions
be applied to ICT based learning resources:
- How
much resource-specific learning do I as a teacher have to do
to make the resource work in the classroom, and is it worth
it in terms of time and effort spent and saved?
- How
easy is it for pupils to 'see through' the resource to the subject
specific learning I want them to experience?
- How
technically and practically robust and stable is the resource
when being used repeatedly under different circumstances and
by different learners?
- How
generally applicable is the resource-content, and can I adapt
it once I am familiar with the resource?
- How
well does the resource integrate with other resources and teaching
methodologies I use as a matter of course?
You
should apply these questions to all ICT based resources you use,
and especially, in this case study the Internet. As you become
more familiar with asking the questions, you will of course become
more effective in your use of resources, and they will in turn
begin to pay you back more quickly for the effort you put into
them.
 c.
Adapting the Resources for Different Learners or Work
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