UNIT 2 : SCIENCE EDUCATION AND ICT

UNIT 2: SCIENCE EDUCATION AND INFORMATION AND

COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

Concept mapping

Science education and

ICT

What is ICT Different The purpose of

between ICT and ICT in science

2.1 Objective

This chapter facilitates critical reflection on information and communications technology (ICT)
in science education. More specifically, the chapter explores:

2.1.1 Some general and some specific ICT guidance;

2.1.2 Ways to organize and prioritize elements of your ICT learning;
2.1.3 Ways of avoiding some of the more obvious pitfalls in your early encounters with
some of the ICT equipment and software.

2.2 Introduction

Using computers and communications technology is not new to science teaching. A very

few schools still cherish venerable BBC computers., well over a decade old and still reliable

measuring the acceleration due to gravity. What is new, is the insistence by government, through

to Ministry of Education, that all teachers become equipped to use information and ICT. The full

list of equipments for trainee teachers on courses of initial teacher training is provided in Circulat

4/98. In addition, the new Science National Curriculum provides example of ICT use in sciene

lesson.

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This chapter will focus exclusively on those areas of ICT that have a bearing on science

teaching, in particular elements of word processing and electronic publishing, data recording and

spreadsheet, presentation, multimedia, network and Internet opportunities and communication.

2.3 ICT

The relatively recent change from term information technology (IT) to the new term

information communication technology (ICT) reflects the accelerating pace at which at which

modern technology is impacting upon teaching. ICT covers not just computers, but any

technology involved in communicating such as Software, CD-ROMs, The internet, Television

and radio, Image capture devices including still and video camera, Sensing, data logging and

control apparatus, And other equipment, for example even using a video recorder.

ICT is an important teaching tools. Used appropriately it will improve the quality and

standart of education in schools in a variety of ways. For example it can;

• Enrich the qualities pupil’s science classroom experience

• Support you through your continuing education and development.

• Make sure you more effective by reducing time used for administration

2.3.1 ICT and ITT

The importance the government attaches to ICT, both at primary and secondary

school level, is reflected in a number of ways. For the new science teacher perhaps the

foremost of these is the way ICT has been made a part of initial teachers teaching (ITT) it

is expected that every newly qualified teacher will have the knowledge, skills and

expertise to make a decision about the appropriate use of ICT in school. This will have an

impact on your personal and professional development both during and long after your

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initial training course. Naturally the government has not ignored teachers. Lottery money

is intended to help school teachers and school librarians to make effective use ICT. These

training aims are made explicit in the Expected Outcomes developed by the TTA.

2.4 ICT in school science

The ICT experience new science teachers can expert in school are very wide ranging.

Different schools vary enormously in their history spending on ICT provision. So, for example,

the number, age and location of computers can vary hugely. It is vital in your training year that

you do not allow this to be impediment to you. If your classrooms have a lonely ageing computer

in the corner then make sure your lesson make use of it. If the computing facilities are located in

a separate suite then make sure that some of your lesson use the suite – and get it booked.

2.4.1 ICT in class

You should become familiar with the ICT standards that you will be expected to

demonstrate as a new teacher. The exact manner in which you demonstrate the

achievement of these standards will depend on the course you are on and discussion with

your HEI tutors and school mentors.

2.5 The purpose of ICT in science class

2.5.1 The data collection

In science lessons you need to use computers to promote learning, not just for

their own sake, not just to improve presentation, and not just to entertain. A logical

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starting point is collecting data. Children at primary level learn how to enter their

findings into simple spreadsheet packages. At secondary level this should become

routine and science pupils should be able to enter results into a package like a Excel.

This can be done with a single, and even quite old computers. Then you as a teachers

must save the results. The results are available next lessons, when you come to revise

the topic, to compare wuth the following years result, or when a disaster strikes and a

practical goes awry. More importantly, a set of result gives you a means to discuss with

pupils how the results can best be displayed. Is a bar chart appropriate, a pie chart or line

graph? What scales are needed? A spreadsheet allows you to switch swiftly from one to

another and to discuss the merit of each. This approach should reduce the time waste by

pupil toiling to produce beautiful but inappropriate graphs. If you haven’t used the

spreadsheet before doing, so you should be a top priority.

2.5.2 Modeling and experimenting

Scientist make computer models as a way of testing their hypotheses. The result

of manipulating the model are compared with realities in order to test their theories.

People should be introduced to the idea of modeling in science and at the same stage can

be taught to create their own models. A useful introduction for this outlined by Cox

(1999).

Computer models have also been used extensively to allow pupils to do virtual

experiments. Computer models allow pupils to investigated systems which are too fast ,

too slow, too remote, too expensive – too anything for the classroom, eg studying ,

radioactive material, exploring a human body in 3D or trying out variation on an

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industrial chemical process. Many opportunities will come from specially written

software, often on CD-ROM. Visitors to the Association of Science Education annual

conference will know that a number a major public companies and utilities in the UK

have written software of allows pupils to do wide range of Dropsophilia breeding

experiments in minute rather than weeks.

You must be selective. The important point is to ensure that the software you are

contemplating really delivers the educational objectives you desire, and that these

objective is clear to pupils you are teaching. Pupils need to know why they are doing

activity and what they should learn from it. Another important point is that the computer

should not get in the way of the learning experience. Some pupils, particularly younger

pupils or those with SEN, may have very modest keyboard skills. For such pupils you

may wish to use software that takes advantage of simplified input devices, such as

concept keyboards.

2.6 Lesson preparation

Many new science teacher are attracted by the idea of using a computer to produce work-

sheets and transparentic for the overhead projector. This route will allow you to create

professional looking pages but, initially, it will probably take you quite a while. As you IT skills

improves you will get quicker, but think carefully about whether the computer is most

appropriate: cutting and pasting real paper can produce an acceptable product much more

quickly. The computer route really comes into its own when you need to produce a series of

similar pages, or where you wish to experiment with an idea perhaps over a series of lessons. If

you have chosen to use the computer to create documents cointaining pictures then you face two

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sets of problems. First you have to get the image and other components of the document into the

computer, the second, you may have to create the hard copy.

2.7 Multimedia

The term multimedia can mo be mean practically anything, from a computer that happens

to be equipped with a pair of speakers to a complex program capable of driving a laser dics or

DVD player and multiple screen and hi-fi quality sound. Multimedia is not an unalloyed joy.

CD-ROMs that employ the sound that can be prove to be distraction in the class. On the other

hand, every one who has seen a by-now famous clip of caesium being added to water will know

that the impact is lost if pupils cannot hear the splinting crash of the glass through breaking.

Multimedia, especially with a video projector, can provide real impact in a classroom as your

computer becomes a flexible blackboard, a movie clip presenter and more. In your training year,

the opportunities to explore this field will depend on the equipment in your placement school and

your HEI. However, in the next subsections discuss a nuber of areas you should actively

investigate.

2.7.1 Presentation application

Many school will have Microsoft Power Point, through are many more other

packages. For teaching purposes presentation pacakages have many strengths

including:

• They allow you to build sequences of image and text which will replace a

series of OHTs;

• They will be cheaper than OHTs as there no printing cost

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• Image or text can be build up in stages, relieving you of the need to use a

sheet of paper gradually reveal the contents of your OHt;

• The reduces cost diminishes the temptation to sequeeze more text onto a

screen than you should.

• They can incoprate sound and/or movie clips.

• People can easily be tought to incorporate text and image for presentation

purpose;

• Selected slides in a sequence can be print out.

• A good package like Power Point will enable you to print out a page of

thumbnails which will aid your audience in note taking.

Whilst there is no doubt that presentation packages have their place in school, the

number of occasions is fewer than one might imagine. With many groups of children the

linear approach demanded by the presentation sequence may not work, or may not suit

your style. The slides are difficult to alter as you teach, whilst you can easily write or

draw in an ad hoc fashion on a printed acetated sheet (or preferably on a plain one laid

over the top of your carefully crafted magnum opus).

On the other hand, when you become proficient, it is surprising how little time is

needed (eg over break) to add a few extra slides incorporating, say a pupils results or a

photograph of a group experimental set up. Another bonus is that power point is

relatively easy to learnt.

2.6.2 Multiple package

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Serious multimedia authoring package can be extreamely complex and difficult to

learnt. However a few are simple enough to be used by primary school children.

An analogy is a series of post cards in a pack. Each card can contain text,

images or even a short movie clip, plus one or more button. When clicked, using the

mouse, the botton will navigate you to a new card – not necessarily the next in the

pile. The actual authoring – completing the cards and writing instructions for the

buttons – can be simple but the result can be astonishingly effective. The user need

not be aware that the card has changed: instead he or she may get the impression that

his or her button click is simply adding atoms to a molecular model that is on the

screen- or won’t grow if the wrong type of atom selected.

2.6.3 Digital cameras

Digital cameras take photographs and store the information as computer file. Though

relatively expensive to buy, the cost of taking a single photograph is is negligible. The

allow the science teacher a fanastic range of oppurtinities. In addition to their use as a

mean of transferring data onto the computer, the cameras are also useful:

• In field work, eg directing pupils to a scientific place.

• In creating assembly instructions such as for a motor;

• In creating records of pupils work;

• For monitoring the progress of a project

• Simply for making a set of photos af a class to learn their names.

Better digital cameras take larger pictures (usually measured in pixels). These bitmap

files may be very large – sometimes too large to fit on a floppy disk. Once taken, a photo

can be ‘squirted’ into your computer and then saved, freeing up space in the camera for

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more snaps. Many digital camras connect via computer’s serial port. Downloading via the

how long a set of class snaps will take. Many camera have quicker ways of downloading,

for example the Koda cameras use small flash card to store the image.

Question

1. What is meaning by ICT?

A. Information Communication Technology

B. Information cumunnication of Thailand

C. India Company of Technonlogy

D. A world without booundries.

1. The technology gadget is involve in communication are:

i- Software iii- Television

ii- CD-ROMS iv- Radio

A. I, ii, and iii

B. I, iii and iv

C. Ii, iii, and iv

D. All above

1. What is the purpose of ICT in science class?

A. As a references

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B. Just used in teaching

C. Do as data collection

D. Be as lesson preparation

1. List down are telling about the benefit of using of multimedia presentation EXCEPT?

A. To make a teaching become more interesting

B. To gain interest towards student

C. To make teaching become easier

D. To give the student lot of assignment

1. The benefit teaching purpose presentation packages are:

I- They will be cheaper than OHTs as there no printing cost

II- Image or text can be build up in stages, relieving you of the need to use a sheet of

paper gradually reveal the contents of your OHt;

III- The reduces cost diminishes the temptation to sequeeze more text onto a screen than

you should.

IV- They can incoprate sound and/or movie clips.

A. I, ii, and iii

B. I, iii and iv

C. Ii, iii, and iv

D. All above

References

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Amritage, Philip and Fasemore, Johnson. (1977). Laboratory Safety: A Science

Teacher’s Source Book, Heinamann Education Books, London.

Chisman, Dennis (1987) Preliminary Issues, Practical Secondary Education:

Planning for Cost- Effectiveness in less Developed Countries, Commonwealth

Secreteriat, London.

Fahkru’l-Razi Ahmadun, Chuah Teong Guan and Mohd Halim Shah. 2005. Safety:

Principles & Practices in the Laboratory, Penerbit Universiti Putra Malaysia,

Serdang.

Hegarty-Hazel, Elizabeth (1990), The Student Laboratory and the Science

Curriculum: An Overview, The Student Laboratory and the Science Curriculum,

pt.1, pg.3.

McGrath, Dennis M. (1978), Some General Considerations, Laboratory

Management and Techniques For School and Colleges, Anthonian, Kuala Lumpur-

Ipoh-Singapore.

Woolnough, Brian E. (1991). Setting the scene, Practical Science, pt.1, pg.6.

Woolnough, Brian E. (1991). Setting the scene, Practical Science, pt.1, pg. 13.

Woolnough, Brian E. (1991). Setting the scene, Practical Science, pt.1, pg. 14.

K. Guy. Laboratory organization and administration. London Butterworths

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