ICT as Mindtool

I would like to begin my reflection, by displaying below the concept map that I created using concept mapping software Inspiration 9 IE that assisted me in writing this reflection to demonstrate the concept of using ICT as MindTools:

In rote learning, students learn through repetition. For example, if they learn a new formula, they apply it to solve problems, recitation of multiplication tables…etc. In this type of learning, students tend to memorize more than understand, as a result, they are unable to depict connection in a unit of study or across the curriculum, cannot construct a meaning out of what they learn and forget what they learned once they leave school.

In meaningful learning, students learn by linking prior knowledge to new concepts to understand them. In contrast to rote learning, students are able to depict connection in a unit of study or across curriculum, can construct meaning out of what they learn and therefore they are not only able to remember what they learned once they leave school but also relate it to their lives.

Since students nowadays live in a digital society, there should be a connection between How students live and How students learn and this connection can be established by using ICT in their thinking and learning process. There is concept mapping software available for all school levels and easy to use. These software can help students create creative (incorporating pictures, videos, sound and text in the maps), organized (formatting tools) and editable (can be easily edited without recreating the concept map from scratch) concept maps.

WebQuest

Web Quest is one of the more recent activities that are used in educational work, which employs approved activities on the Internet in the classroom and it is a type of an inquiry-oriented activity in which some or all of the information that learners interact with comes from resources on the Internet .

It is educational model of tight organization of information makes it easier for the learner to explore and conclusion using the computer knowledge and sources of knowledge available on the Internet, and facilitate the assessment of learner performance and measure the evolution of higher cognitive skills according to Bloom's Taxonomy of the mental processes such as analysis, synthesis and evaluation.

In the recent period has been starting the project of King Hamad for Future School that has been distributed huge quantities of computers for public schools in Bahrain so it can be activated strategy of Web Quest much easier than in the past where previously public schools have only one computer lab but now most schools have three computer labs so the teacher can implement Web Quest more than before. So I will try to help my students develop important research skills by carefully structuring class webQuests .