| Technology skills As a teacher you will need to become familiar with whatever tools are available in your organisation, both the hardware and software. You will then need to decide which of those tools will help your students achieve their learning goals. Here is a very brief introduction to the hardware and software which might get you started. Remember that this is an area which changes very quickly, and you will need to talk to your technology support people to find out what tools your organisation has available or needs to acquire. The hardware As a minimum, teachers and students need access to a computer and modem. If the Internet is going to be used extensively, there needs to be a broadband connection. In most organisations, there is likely to be a network with all computers linked together. The software A Learning Management System (LMS) such as Moodle is a complex package which enables an organisation to manage and deliver all aspects of teaching and learning online from enrolment, to participation in discussions to assessment. Most larger tertiary institutions in NZ are using an LMS system, which is installed on a web server and which is accessed by tutors and students using a standard web browser. In addition to learning to use the Learning Management System to set up learning materials and activities, tutors will typically need to develop skills in using a range of desktop application software: - Word processing packages (such as MS Word) for creating handouts and resources to download.
- Other standard applications (such MS Excel) for creating specialised resources such as spreadsheets.
- Presentation packages (such as MS PowerPoint) for developing class presentations and handouts. In an e-learning environment, presentations are often made available via the LMS for students to donwload.
- Graphics packages may be needed to create, edit or prepare images (from a digital camera, say) to be used on the web.
- Other specialised packages may be needed to create and edit animations, videos and sound.
 Effective e-learning environments tend to engage learners in active learning, so they will often be using exactly the same types of software to create and publish their work!
Here, Nina is using MS Excel to develop a budget for running a small business. It's part of a business planning project she needs to submit to Phil for assessment. As well as the budget spreadsheet and the written plan, she'll use Powerpoint to create a presentation about her chosen business to the rest of the class. |
