Using Virtual Experiment To Teach Science Using ICT

Why use virtual experiment to teach science?

To take the advantage of using current technology to use the software environments which:
- mimic a real situation of interest,
- current computer technology allows the creation of special purpose,
- is accessible and rich environments that have, in the area of data collection and analysis,
- the potential to give learning experiences well beyond those of traditional textbook exercises.
- can be freely used over the web.

Another advantage is that some experiments are too dangerous to be demonstrated in the science lab, for example experiment that involves using fire, can be demonstrated using virtual experiment.

Virtual experiment allows the teacher to mimic the real situation virtually such as in teaching explosions and about the spread of infectious diseases.

The Activity:
Virtual Experiment on changing the state of water (liquid, solid and gas) and also some of the process that are involved in changing the state (evaporation, condensation, freezing, melting and boiling).






The pupil trying the virtual experiment on the IWB.


Another pupil trying the same activity.


The pupils answering the exercise sheet.


The Lesson Plan


LP virtual expt -

The Fill-in-the-blanks exercise

fill in the blanks exercise -

Report:
The activity was done in SR Katok, Brunei III on Monday, 19th October 2009 with Primary 5 pupils due to unexpected circumstances. The same activity was done by my group partner, Md. Suria bin K. Karim (08B1042) at SR Muhammad Alam, Seria on Saturday, 17th October 2009 with year 4 pupils.

Evaluation of the activity:
Most of the pupils enjoyed the lesson and some of them prefer this than using the actual manipulative in the science lab. This is reflected in their ability and understanding towards the lesson from the marks that they got from the exercise sheet that was given. On average, the pupils got 7 marks out of 10. although none of them got 10 out 10, the mode from the marks is 6.

How to use spreadsheet program in teaching mathematics and science?

What is spreadsheet?
A spreadsheet is a table which displays numbers in rows and columns. Spreadsheets can be used for a variety of purposes (accounting, budgeting, charting/graphing, financial analysis, scientific applications). Spreadsheets can exist in paper format but the electronic spreadsheets are able to perform automatic calculations on changing data. For example, a teacher who uses a spreadsheet to record student marks is able to determine student averages and class means. This can save users drastic amounts of time.

Uses in education
The popular spreadsheet program that is used extensively is Microsoft Excel. Excel has a lot of potential and uses. Some of the applications of Excel in schools are such as in calculating and visualising data, e.g. in calculating students’ marks, budgeting in accounts classes as well as charts and graphs in mathematics classes among others.

Excel can be applied to teach mathematics and science in the primary schools. One specific example is using spreadsheet i.e. Excel in teaching Science for the topic food and nutrition.



Food and Nutrition


Food Intake Diary

ICT in Primary schools - How the schools are doing it?

From my observation at SR Katok, Brunei III and by asking my other friends from various schools, last week, I found out that the primary schools in Brunei are following the basic directives from the ICT Department of the Ministry of Education. ICT as a lesson is provided for 1 period (30 minutes) weekly for both lower and upper primary classes while selected subjects such as Mathematics, English, Science and Bahasa Melayu have 2 periods weekly of ICT across the curriculum spread over the schooling terms.

ICT as a subject is handled by the designated ICT teacher, while ICT across the curriculum is handled by the subject teacher with the help of the ICT teacher.

The ICT teachers' roles are to help the children with the basic ICT knowledge such as typing skills, using the internet to search for references and components knowledge as well as assisting other teachers in conducting their lessons using ICT. ICT teachers also conduct some ICT workshops for the teachers in the school during the staff development.

Primary schools are now equipped with fast internet connections and also interactive white-boards (IWB) as well as computer projectors for use in classes. Various softwares are also provided for the teachers to use in their lessons such as the HotPotatoes and other interactive activities software. Teachers are encouraged to use the facilities in their lessons.
Some teachers use IWB in their lessons in place of flashcards. The use of powerpoint also helped a lot, especially in saving time for the teachers in which they don't have to write on the whiteboards anymore.

Teachers use ICT to help the children to link from the concrete manipulative to virtual manipulative and help them to think abstractly. Such examples are like using the Youtube to show video presentations on natural phenomena like the water cycle, rain processes and how things work. Some teachers also use ICT to conduct math quizzes and also use various websites for the children to play math puzzles and activities.

Instead of handing the work in written-form, children can now type their work and some of the best work are displayed at a blog so that the children can access it and share it with the others.

More over, with the introduction of MobiTel project, children are now introduced to using MacBooks. The children are exposed to other sort of programs to aid their learning.

Overall, ICT does help the children's learning to an extent as it helps in attracting the children's attention towards the lessons while the use of concrete materials is still needed because some children are not yet developed to think abstractly. Some problems that usually arise in primary schools usually due to the school being short-staffed in the ICT department and also due to the time constraints in handling ICT across the curriculum lessons.

How should technology be used in mathematic and science teaching and learning?

From the previous posts, I have written about the ways on how Science and Mathematics should be taught. Before we moved on further, the term technology is not strictly confined to the use of calculators, computers and any other sophisticated gadgets. Technology has been an essential tool in teaching and learning in which it simplify things that needs to be simplified while some other technology also expand things that needed further clarification, way back from the use of abacus!

The need to search for meaning, to resolve problems, to communicate findings, and to measure and to explain phenomena around us in teaching and learning science and mathematics also need the use of educational tools in which we can use to search, sort and create new information. This is further strengthened by the fact that humans have different ways of seeing things, thinking and solving problems in which the necessity to use the assistance of technology to measure, record, quantify, compare, classify, analyse data and link our ideas as well as to explain things in order to achieve the desired learning goals.

One of the important things in which technology contributes is helping the children to link what they have known and towards a more abstract thinking. Traditionally, geoboards have been used to represent geometrical figures while now ICT can continue on in which the use of geoboard is quite limited to 2-D figures. It has opened up new doors to the teaching and learning of science and mathematics with the use of multiple representations such as numeric, graphical as well algebraic mathematical functions.

The use of computer software to construct, compute and to visually represent any outcome also have open up new possibilities in teaching and learning science and mathematics. Thus this will also promote a higher-order thinking among the pupils.

Newer technologies such as the internet helps the students to achieve more by using it to explore by themselves further where knowledge or truth is no longer limited due to the time and distance factor. Old and new technologies have been useful in order to keep the lesson interesting, more hands on and giving more opportunities to the students. What I mean by giving more opportunities is that technology has helped in reducing learning impairments. The use of different media to teach science and mathematics has helped to facilitate many children in their learning because these children also have a variety learning styles and learning difficulties.

As technology has greatly enhanced teaching and learning, it is important for the teachers to embrace to newer technologies in teaching and learning mathematics and science and be prepared for any possibilities as well as carefully selecting appropriate technology as their tools. The school should also provide the children access to technologies in their learning. Why? The new curriculum is now not limited to the usual pen-and-paper type of assessment. Children can do more to represent their findings such as the use of mixed-media in which they can use words, sound, pictures, graphical information and video and the teacher can ask the pupils to do group projects during the lesson by using ICT.

Gone are the days of the chalk and talk, now pupils can click and surf!