Teaching Aids
Friday, February 9, 2007 6:40Umair Naeem takes a look at the teaching aids around us!
A natural synergy is often said to exist between teaching and technology, whereby computers and the Internet can take great steps towards the two-fold goal of making learning more interactive and fun for children, and easier to impart for the teachers. Unfortunately though, this synergy is difficult to obtain, especially in countries such as ours where computer aided teaching is something that is yet to take off. Add this to the existing lack of resources and education in Pakistan and it is difficult to see how the future could see technology and education moving together. Still though, it takes a few people to take up something before the rest can follow, and so it’s always a good idea to have a look at some of the ways in which technology can be used with teaching.
Pakistan Studies
Let’s start with one of the core subjects of most students’ school life, Pakistan Studies. Pakistan Studies is a course that encompasses the Geography and History of Pakistan, along with taking a slightly briefer look at Geography and History of the World. On the surface, it appears that these are subjects that are miles apart from technology usage, but then things are not always what they seem.
There are a number of ways in which the teaching of Geography can be made easier and more fun. One unique and interactive way is via Google Earth. Google Earth is a free software from Google (earth.google.com) that provides a view of the globe, which can be zoomed in and out. The globe can be zoomed into a particular country, region, city, and even a particular neighborhood. This could be the ideal way for the students to get a first hand look at the physical features that they have been reading about, such as the K-2, the Indus River or the Thar Desert. The most recent updated version of the software has to be bought, but the free version is adequately stocked to help the teachers and students interact in various activities. As an example, the class may be divided into four groups, and each group may be asked to find a particular city using the software. The first ones would be winners, and not only will this inspire confidence in the students, but also breed a spirit of exploration and competition. As a fringe benefit, they would also be learning about computers and how to use them.
Another fun activity is to use the Internet to search out different types of rock and soil samples to improve the students understanding of the country’s soil/rock structure. Pictures that can be obtained from Google Images can showcase the various types, and it would allow the teachers to improve the students’ concepts of silting, sedimentation and erosion. As an example, the teacher can ask the students to look at photos of different types of the soil/rock, and identify them. The pictures can be printed out and pasted onto charts and cards as well, to create a more interactive learning environment.
For teachers of younger classes, Geography is largely generic; and in many cases deals simply with the Solar System and an overview of the earth and the various countries. Again the Internet can be a great resource for obtaining star maps and the structure the Solar System. Teachers can ask the younger students to give presentations on their favorite planets using photos obtained from the Internet. This would also help develop their speaking skills and self-confidence from a very young age. One very interesting website for younger students is http://www.missmaggie.org/. This website offers work plans and tools for teachers; and highly interactive and fun Flash based games for the students. One game, to give an example, shows the map of the world, and asks the students to identify a continent, and then identify all the countries in it. The colors and the sounds used are terrific, and the overall effect seems to compliment the aim of fun learning. Another good website to visit for teachers is http://www.teachingideas.co.uk/geography/contents.htm. This website gives a number of methods and ideas for class activities and projects for teaching Geography to younger students.
Staying with younger students, History taught to them largely deals with what happened in and around the Sub Continent. It could be a good idea to infuse a bit of the Greek and Romans too in the teaching plans. One innovative idea is to have Role-Play activities in class, pertaining to any relevant events that are being taught. As an example, interactions between Jinnah, Gandhi and the British hierarchy could be acted out in class. The scripts and conversations can be easily located online; and this would again provide the students with a good first-hand view of events as they occurred. Activities such as these could also be arranged for students of higher grades. Another interesting way to learn about History is to retrace the journeys of the great explorers through photos and maps. As an example of this, the website http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/Marco/journey.html should be looked at. This website interactively charts the journey of Marco Polo, and provides and interesting and fun way for personal learning for the students.
Another idea utilizes the research potential of the Internet and can also be used with teaching Geography. Envision an online scavenger hunt, through which students are made to search for photographs of particular artifacts/maps/people/places/rocks/planets online. Students could be made to locate precise articles about certain people. For example, one item in a scavenger hunt may include the complete text for Chaudhri Rehmat Ali’s pamphlet, Now or Never. If done in a supervised environment in the class, this activity could prove to be highly challenging and educational tool.
Chemistry
Chemistry is considered by many students to be the bane of their existence, so any help that the teachers get with respect to making the course more fun and easy to understand would be very valuable. At its core, the basis of Chemistry is the study of elements and their interactions. It would be apt to call it a mostly practical course, but here again it is a good idea to look at technology and the Internet to obtain unique ideas for a way forward.
One issue that is often faced by students of chemistry is the lack of visual experience with respect to the various chemicals, apparatus and reactions. A number of schools in our country are unfortunately not well stocked with lab equipment to assist the students. One way around this is to use the Internet to obtain first hand information regarding the various chemicals and reactions that are being studied. One good website is http://www.chem.leeds.ac.uk/delights/ from the School of Chemistry in the University of Leeds. This website offers a magnificent library of photographs which deal with the structure and reactions of various chemicals. The website also offers a number of lecture and class project ideas that have been implemented by the teachers in England. This is also a unique opportunity for teachers of science to younger children. What better way to whet the appetite of the children with respect to chemistry, than by preparing them for their practical chemical experiments by getting them to understand simple concepts using these photos.
Another way to make the subject more fun is by making one of the essential parts of Chemistry more fun. The topic in question is Organic Chemistry, complete with its array of complex bonds and structures. The Internet can again be used to obtain actual 3-D animated models of the various compounds. By allowing the students to interact with these models and to view them from different angles, not only will their concepts be further cleared, but it would allow an element of fun to enter the study. As an illustration, the class could have a lot of fun learning from a 3D model of Ethanol if they are given the ability to rotate the structure, add or remove bonds, and to enter the deep recesses of the structure. There are a number of website which offer varying degrees of interactivity. http://www.knowledgebydesign.com/tlmc/tlmc_cg.html is one site which offers Shockwave and Quicktime files of various molecules, such as Aspirin and Ethanol. Another good website is http://www.worldofmolecules.com/. This website has a huge library of various molecules, and these can be viewed and enlarged as per requirement. Getting print outs of the illustrations and using them as teaching aids could again be useful technique. A similar website is http://www.3dchem.com/.
As discussed earlier, it could be a good idea to get the students to give presentations on a pre-decided molecule or chemical reaction. The students could be made to come up with interactive images and photographs which they could use to enhance their own understandings and their peers understanding as well.
One of the most basic things taught in chemistry courses is the Periodic Table, and instead of the bland boring tables that we have seen in books, http://www.chemicalelements.com/ offers a uniquely colorful look at the chemical table. The best thing about the site is that the table can be modified as per information requirement. You can get it to display all the elements along with various classifications, which can range from the simple atomic/mass numbers to the more complex electron configurations, melting and boiling points, number of neutrons and the crystal structures. The table can even be modified to showcase certain groups of elements, say the Noble Gasses. These modifications can again be printed out and used as aids, or be made to be explored by the students themselves to aid in their self-discovery.
So, as we’ve seen, there is great potential in computers and related technology in terms of aiding teaching and learning. A few will have to be bold enough to take the steps required to start using such innovative ideas, and the rest will follow. The synergy we spoke about earlier would be able to be exploited. If the said happens, it could be a huge boost towards moving Pakistan towards a more literate age.
