Computer Aided Learning

 B. Ed. Spl. Ed. (M. R. / H. I. / V. I)- ODL Programme AREA - C C - 15 : TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATION OF THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED A COLLABORATIVE PROGRAMME OF NETAJI SUBHAS OPEN UNIVERSITY AND REHABILITATION COUNCIL OF INDIA 1  AREA - C DISABILITY SPECIALIZATION COURSE CODE - C-15 (V.I.) TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATION OF THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED Chairman Prof. Subha Sankar Sarkar, Vice Chancellor, Netaji Subhas Open University, Kolkata-64 Convenor Prof. Atindranath Dey, Director, School of Education, Netaji Subhas Open University, Kolkata-64 Course Writers Unit - 1 Mrs. Sohini Ghosh Unit - 2 Mrs. Sohini Ghosh Unit - 3 Mr. Pankaj Saha Unit - 4 Mr. Pankaj Saha Unit - 5 Mr. Pankaj Saha Editor Mr. Sunil Baran Pattanayak Processing General and Format Editing Ms. Antara Choudhury In-house Processing In-charg Ms. Swapna Deb The Self Instructional Material (SIM) is prepared keeping conformity with the B.Ed.Spl. Edn.(MR/HI/VI) Programme as prepared and circulated by the Rehabilitation Council of India, New Delhi and adopted by NSOU on and from the 2015-2017 academic session. All rights reserved. No part of this work can be reproduced in any form without the written permission from the NSOU authorities. Mohan Kumar Chattopadhyay Registrar  Netaji Subhas Open University From the Vice-Chancellor's Desk Dear Students, from this Academic Session (2015-17) the Curriculum and Course Structure of B. Ed.- Special Education have been thoroughly revised as per the stipulations which featured in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE). The newly designed course structure and syllabus is comprehensive and futuristic has, therefore, been contextualized and adopted by NSOU from the present academic session, following the directives of the aforesaid national statutory authorities. Consequent upon the introduction of new syllabus the revision of Self Instructional Material (SIM) becomes imperative. The new syllabus was circulated by RCI for introduction in the month of June, 2015 while the new session begins in the month of July. So the difficulties of preparing the SIMs within such a short time can easily be understood. However, the School of Education of NSOU took up the challenge and put the best minds together in preparing SIM without compromising the standard and quality of such an academic package. It required many rigorous steps before printing and circulation of the entire academic package to our dear learners. Every intervening step was meticulously and methodically followed for ensuring quality in such a time bound manner. The SIMs are prepared by eminent subject experts and edited by the senior members of the faculty specializing in the discipline concerned. Printing of the SIMs has been done with utmost care and attention. Students are the primary beneficiaries of these materials so developed. Therefore, you must go through the contents seriously and take your queries, if any, to the Counselors during Personal Contact Programs (PCPs) for clarifications. In comparison to F2F mode, the onus is on the learners in the ODL mode. So please change your mind accordingly and shrug off your old mindset of teacher dependence and spoon feeding habits immediately. 3  I would further urge you to go for other Open Educational Resources (OERs) - available on websites, for better understanding and gaining comprehensive mastery over the subject. From this year NSOU is also providing ICT enabled support services to the students enrolled under this University. So, in addition to the printed SIMs, the e-contents are also provided to the students to facilitate the usage and ensure more flexibility at the user end. The other ICT based support systems will be there for the benefit of the learners. So please make the most of it and do your best in the examinations. However, any suggestion or constructive criticism regarding the SIMs and its improvement is welcome. 1 must acknowledge the contribution of all the content writers, editors and background minds at the SoE, NSOU for their respective efforts, expertise and hard work in producing the SIMs within a very short time. Professor (Dr.) Subha Sankar Sarkar Vice-Chancellor, NSOU  B. Ed. Spl. Ed (M. R. / H. I. / V. I)- ODL Programme AREA - C C-15 : TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATION OF THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED 5  First Edition : February, 2018 Printed in accordance with the regulations of the DEB-UGC, Government of India  AREA - C Netaji Subhas Open C-15 (V.I.) : TECHNOLOGY University AND EDUCATION OF THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED C - 15 ❐ TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATION OF THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED UNIT - 1 : INTRODUCING EDUCATIONAL AND INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY 9-36 UNIT - 2 : ADAPTIVE TECHNOLOGIES 37-66 UNIT - 3 : ACCESS TO PRINT FOR THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED 67-95 UNIT - 4 : ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED WITH REFERENCE TO SCHOOL-SUBJECTS AND LOW VISION 96-119 UNIT - 5 : COMPUTER-AIDED LEARNING 120-151 7 UNIT - 5 q Computer-Aided Learning Structure 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Objectives: 5.3 Computer Aided Learning: Concept & Need 5.4 Social Media 5.4.1 Advantage of using social media in Education 5.4.2 Disadvantage of using social media in Education 5.4.3 Few Social Media Sites used in Education 5.5. Creation of Blogs 5.5.1 Blog: Concept & Classification 5.5.2 Blogging Platforms 5.5.3 Creation of Blog 5.6. Tele-Conferencing 5.6.1 Teleconferencing: Concept and Scope 5.6.2 Advantages of Teleconferencing 5.6.3 Limitations of Teleconferencing 5.7 Distance Learning and ICT 5.7.1 Distance Learning 5.7.2 ICT and Distance Education 5.8. e-Classroom: Concept and adaptations for children with visual impairment 5.8.1 e-Classroom: Concept 5.8.2 Objectives of the E-Classroom 5.8.2 e-Classroom: Adaptations for Visually Impaired 5.9 Let us sum up 5.10 Check your progress 5.11 References & Suggested Readings 120 5.1 Introduction Technology in the form of adaptive and assistive devices, plays a crucial role in the education of the visually impaired. This course brings into sharp focus the need and importance of such technologies both for the practicing teachers and the visually impaired learners. While highlighting the significance of addressing the users point of view/feedback and involving mainstream professionals in developing required technologies, the course also dwells upon on how best students with visual impairment get access to the printed text/material. The course also acquaints the student-teachers with various devices for making the teaching-learning process for important school subjects meaningful, exciting and rewarding for all concerned. The educational needs of children with low vision and related technological perspectives are addressed, too, along with critical contributions of computer-aided learning and interventions. 5.2 Objectives: In this unit we will explore the need, importance and components of computer-based teaching-learning processes. When you will complete this unit, you will be able to: l Sensitize about use of social media, teleconferencing and other tools in education of children with visual impairment. l Demonstrate understanding of computer-based teaching- learning processes. l Explain importance and components of social media, tele-conferencing and other tools of distance education for computer aided learning among students with visual impairment. l Illustrate how e-classroom could be useful for the children with visual impairment. l Understand the role of computer mediated learning among the children with visual impairment. 5.3 Computer Aided Learning: Concept & Need It is widely accepted that the integration of modern Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) into the teaching learning process has great potential. In fact, it 121 could be the most important way by which schools and institution can meet students¡¦ educational aspirations within reasonable time and resources. The use of computers in schools is basically vision as a teaching and learning aid besides to develop computer literacy amongst the children. Computer aided learning will help us to make the present teaching learning process joyful, interesting and easy to understand through audio-visual aids. Teachers resourced with multimedia contents to explain topics better are being widely appreciated by students. Overall it helps to improve quality of education in long term. Computer Aided Learning is an integrative technology, which describes an educational environment where a computer programme is used to assist the user in learning a particular subject. It refers to an overall integrated approach of instructional methods. Computer aided learning is a device as well as a learning strategy to make teaching more interesting, joyful and sustainable. Any use of computers to aid or support the education or training of people may be considered under computer aided learning. Computer aided learning can test attainment at any point, provide faster or slower routes through the material for people of different aptitudes, and can also maintain a progress record for the instructor. 5.4 Social Media Social media are forms of electronic communication (such as websites for social networking and microblogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (such as text, pictures and videos). Social media has gained credibility over the years as a trusted source of information and platform where individuals or organizations can interact with other individuals. Social media infuses today’s society with millions of us engrossed, some would argue to the point of unhealthy addiction, in the latest happenings via apps such as Facebook and Twitter. The use of social media in education provides students with the ability to get more useful information, to connect with learning groups and other educational systems that make education convenient. Social network tools afford students and institutions with 122 multiple opportunities to improve learning methods. Students can benefit from online tutorials and resources that are shared through social networks. There is valuable knowledge to be gained through social media such as analytics and insights on various topics or issues for study purposes. Social media is also a medium where students can establish beneficial connections for their careers. 5.4.1 Advantage of using social media in Education 1) Connecting with experts: The great thing about using social media is that you soon learn who the experts are in particular fields and subjects. When you start following these experts you learn more and gain useful content from them, this empowers you to produce great results. Social media has the ability to broaden your perspective on various subjects and gives illuminating, instant content that is new. You have the opportunity of engaging experts to get answers on topics that you may need help in. Many institutions communicate with students via YouTube and Facebook. 2) Connect with Students: Learning colleges have the ability to connect with students through social media networks such as Facebook, Google Plus groups, and YouTube. These channels can be used to communicate campus news, make announcements and provide students with useful information. This builds engagement between the College and students which help tackle many student issues through the group interactions. 3) Institutions Resource Sharing: Institutions can share supportive and positive posts that reach all students that are connected to the networks and pages. You can initiate hashtags on social media to engage students and online 123 discussions that are helpful. Video is a prominent tool in social media trends that are effective and you can use it to share useful videos that inspire students and help them in their course subjects. Through social mediums such as YouTube, Facebook or Instagram live video the engagements between students and the institution can be sustained. It is advisable to be selective about which social platforms to use for the best practice. 4) It helps in Research process: Social media offers audience and subject monitoring tools that are useful and it is one of the best platforms to extract data. You can find out how the majority people feel about a particular topic or how experts perceive and advice on specific issues. This can help students compile and produce useful content for research. Whether students are working on an assignment,working on a project or trying to gain more insight on a subject, some of the best information and results can be extracted from social media. 5) Educational Tool: Today’s students arrive at school, fluent in Web and social networking technologies. Teachers can make use of this knowledge to enhance opportunities to learn. With social media, teachers can promote cooperation and discussion, create meaningful conversation, exchange ideas, and boost student interaction. 6) Enhance Student Engagement: Social media is an effective way to increase student involvement and build better interaction skills. Learners who hardly ever raise a hand in class may feel more comfortable on Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube. Social media systems enable instructors to identify ‘‘back channels’’ that promote conversation and surface ideas that students are too shy or nervous to speak out in class. 7) Improve Communication among Students and Teachers: Facebook and Twitter can improve interaction among learners and teachers. Teachers can respond to student’s, questions via a Facebook page or Twitter feed, post homework assignments and lesson plans, send messages and updates, schedule or announce upcoming events, and share interesting Web sites and multimedia content. Students can 124 use Twitter to get help from teachers or other students. A great way for teachers to give participation points in addition to in class participation is by having students tweet about something that was discussed in class. 8) Preparing Students for Successful Employment: Students entering the workforce can use social networking sites to network and find employment. With various social media, older students or alumnus can establish a professional connection with other students. Students could make web presence, post a resume, research a target company or school, and connect with other job seekers and employers. Career centres and alumni associations are using different social media (eg. Facebook & Twitter) to broadcast job openings and internships. Students could follow businesses or professional organizations on social media to stay updated on new opportunities and important developments in their field. 125 9) Social Media as a Tool to Develop Students s’ Voices: One of the major benefits of using social media with students is teaching them to communicate openly, honestly, and, above all, kindly with their peers. The perceived privacy or anonymity of being online is especially freeing for boys, who may otherwise feel it is uncool to engage in class discussions or to show their emotions. Therefore, it is imperative to use this teachable moment to promote empathetic communication. 10) Work More Effectively: Social media allows you to change the paradigm from teacher as expert to group as expert. Rather than asking around between classes or sending and tracking emails to multiple people who may know answers, you can ask a global community via social media. 5.4.2 Disadvantage of using social media in Education Any school and classroom need to have solid guidelines in place before you introduce technology. This keeps everyone safe and ensures your students only harness the power of social media for good. Some challenges are also associated with the use of social media, which can affect children with visual impairment and others significantly. Following are few major disadvantages of using social media in education: a) Social Media can be a Distraction: A common issue among teachers is that social media is distracting in the classroom. These teachers maintain that resources like Facebook and Twitter divert students' attention away from what's happening in class and can disrupt the learning process. With the possibility that the use of social media tools can be an invitation for students to play truant, teachers should make sure they won't be abused. b) Cyberbullying: While social networking sites provide a way for students and teachers to link up, they can be a tool for harmful behaviour- even at school. Teachers who use social media as part of their teaching should be wary of possible risks and plan to intervene on minor 126 incidents before they become more serious. c) Discouraging Face-to-Face Communication: Some educators are worried that while real-time digital stream may create a safe situation for students who are uncomfortable expressing themselves, learners are missing valuable lessons in real-life social skills. Students may find themselves at a disadvantage during university admission or job interviews when they need to command attention and deliver a coherent message. At public events and in personal relationships, they need to be able to effectively express themselves and connect with others. Ultimately, while the debate continues over what role social media should play in the classroom, no one can argue the influence that social networking has on today's students. The new generation is tech-savvy generation and they conduct much of their life through social media including sharing of emotions and achievements. They are already using various social networking sites (viz. YouTube, Facebook, Twitter etc.) as tools for learning and collaboration. They expect that their education will follow suit. With this in mind, it seems practical and sensible for today's institutions to get on the social media and explore ways to successfully integrate these tools into the learning of students with visual disabilities. 5.4.3 Few Social Media Sites used in Education We do have several social media platforms to connect and interact with educational purposes. Followings are few important social media platforms (other than popular Twitter and Facebook) through students and teachers could connect and interact with each other: a) Twiducate: The Twiducate platform is a free resource for educators. Objective of Twiducate is to create a medium for teachers and students to continue their learning outside the classroom. It is easily accessible and allows teachers to create a class community online using a class code rather than an email address. It also allows teachers to have total control over who is a member and what gets posted. b) Blackboard: This is a popular course management system as well as academic social media for 127 school community. It allows multi stage restricted permission to access, create and edit the content. The decision to use Blackboard is usually made at the top tier. Blackboard is an incredibly powerful, safe and comprehensive platform. It is not a free application. Rather, it is a very expensive platform. Again, it also lacks flexibility at higher extent. c) Wikispaces Classroom: Wikispaces Classroom is a free social writing platform for education. It is easy to create a classroom workspace where a teacher and students can communicate and work on writing projects alone or in teams. Various assessment tools allow teachers to measure student contribution and engagement in real-time. Wikispaces Classroom works great on modern browsers, tablets, and phones. Wikispaces Classroom is free for teachers and students. Over ten million registered teachers and students are available on the platform. Teacher can assign, collaborate on, discuss and assess projects all within the site. It can even handle multimedia. d) Edmodo: Edmodo is an excellent and free classroom management system. It includes news feeds, assessment tools, communication capabilities and security features. It connects teachers students and others for educational purposes. e) Skype: It is the one site that can bring the outside world right into your classroom. You can host authors, visit science labs or talk to resource persons from across the globe. It allows two way tele- conferencing among resource persons and students. f) Academia.edu: Academia.edu is a social networking website for academics. The platform can be used 128 to share papers, monitor their impact, and follow the research in a particular field. It was launched in September 2008. The platform website allows its users to create a profile, upload their research or academic works, select areas of interests and then the user can browse the networks of people with similar interests. As of January 2017, there were 47 million users from around the world. g) Researchgate: ResearchGate is a social networking site for scientists and researchers to share research papers, ask and answer questions, and find collaborators. It is believed to be the largest academic social network in terms of active users. People that wish to use the site need to have an email address at a recognized institution or to be manually confirmed as a published researcher in order to sign up for an account. Members of the site each have a user profile and can upload research output including papers, data, chapters, negative results, patents, research proposals, methods, presentations, and software source code. Users may also follow the activities of other users and engage in discussions with them. Users are also able to block interactions with other users. 5.5. Creation of Blogs A blog or, weblog is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries. These text entries or multimedia entries are known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order, so that the most recent post appears first, at the top of the web page. 5.5.1 Blog: Concept & Classification The emergence and growth of blogs in the late 1990s coincided with the advent of web publishing tools that facilitated the posting of content by non-technical users who did not have much experience with HTML or computer programming. Previously, a knowledge of such technologies as HTML and File Transfer Protocol had been required to publish content on the Web. Having a blog and making posts on blog 129 could be termed as blogging. Blogging can be seen as a form of social networking service. Indeed, bloggers do not only produce content to post on their blogs, but also often build social relations with their readers and other bloggers. Many blogs provide commentary on a particular subject or topic, ranging from politics to sports or education. A typical blog combines text, digital images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability of readers to leave publicly viewable comments, and interact with other commenters, is an important contribution to the popularity of many blogs. However, blog owners or authors often moderate and filter online comments to remove hate speech or other offensive content. In education, blogs can be used as instructional resources. These blogs are referred to as edublogs. There are different types of blogs, differing not only in the type of content, but also in the way that content is delivered or written: l Personal blogs: The personal blog is an ongoing online diary or commentary written by an individual, rather than a corporation or organization. While the vast majority of personal blogs attract very few readers, other than the blogger's immediate family and friends, a small number of personal blogs have become popular, to the point that they have attracted lucrative advertising sponsorship. A tiny number of personal bloggers have become famous, both in the online community and in the real world. l Collaborative blogs A type of weblog in which posts are written and published by more than one author. The majority of high-profile collaborative blogs are based around a single uniting theme, such as politics, technology or advocacy. In recent years, the blogosphere has seen the emergence and growing popularity of more collaborative efforts, often set up by already established bloggers wishing to pool time and resources, both to reduce the pressure of maintaining a popular website and to attract a larger readership. l Microblogging Microblogging is the practice of posting small pieces of digital content¡Xwhich could be text, pictures, links, short videos, or other media on the Internet. Microblogging offers a portable communication mode that feels organic and spontaneous to many users. Examples of these include Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr etc. 130 l Corporate or organizational blogs Blog is generally personal or private in most cases. But, it can be for business or not-for-profit organization or government purposes. Corporate or organizational Blogs used internally, and only available to employees via an Intranet are called corporate blogs. Companies use internal corporate blogs to enhance the communication, culture and employee engagement in a corporation. 5.5.2 Blogging Platforms There are several blogging platforms. Followings are some important blogging platforms (other than Facebook and Twitter) where user can create their blog and post text, picture, videos etc. accordingly for educational purpose: 1) Word Press: Word Press is a Downloadable blogging (and website management) software, as well as of of the most popular blogging platform. Currently 25 percent of the entire web blogs are powered by Word Press. The software you get from WordPress.org is a downloadable package, which you then have to upload/install on a web server you already manage. WordPress is very easy to use and need not any specific training for using it. Only having basic computer skills are enough for use blog managed by WordPress. Once, blog is being created, using this blogging platform on a daily basis to publish your posts is very straightforward and easier. There are more than enough free themes in the official directory at WordPress.org. 2) Google Blogger Blogger is one of the oldest blogging platforms and owned by Google. The separate login account is not needed for creating a blog on blogger. One need to sign 131 up with his/her standard Google account, similarly to WordPress.com. Blogger takes care of all the technical heavy lifting, allowing you to just focus on creating content. Blogger platform is free but, personalized web domain and hoisting may lead to additional payment. When one creates blog on blogger, individual gets a subdomain like example.blogspot.com. You can change your custom domain too. Basic computer skills are enough to start blogging under Blogger. 3) Tumblr A trendy micro blogging hosted platform with a social network aspect. Tumblr is a great blogging platform optimized specifically for bloggers who want to publish short-form content, such as micro-blogs, quotes, images, videos, and animated pictures. Tumblr is also a community of users, ready to promote and comment on each other’s work. Tumblr hosts your blog for no additional cost. No specific skills are required to start and run a Tumblr blog. The interface is user-friendly Tumblr blogs are easy to set up and easy to run afterwards. 4) Medium A publishing platform for your blog posts, stories and articles. Medium has grown in popularity a lot during the last couple of years (more than a million people have joined Medium). In short, it¡¦s a community of writers and bloggers, all using the same looking site design to share their opinions and stories on various topics. l Wix: Wix is very easy to use when it comes to launching a new website. However, you do need to go through a couple of additional steps to add the blog module. Nothing too difficult but still. Overall, Wix provides a step- by-step wizard to get through the whole process. More than 500 designs available. There’s a number of essential site management features built-in. 132 5.5.3 Creation of Blog Each platform does have certain specification and a certain path to create a blog on that. It is very difficult to discuss creation of blog on each and every blogging platforms. We are taking Google Blogger as an example to create a blog and use the same. Following are the steps to create a bog with help of Google Blogger: To set up a blog of your own Ø Go to https://www.blogger.com/start and Click the orange ‘‘Create a Blog’’ button. Ø Fill out the registration information, click that you accept the terms of service, then click ‘‘continue.’’ Ø Fill in the information on the next screen, officially opening a Google account, then click ‘‘continue.’’ Ø Give your blog a name (remember–it should suit your chosen character!) and choose a unique URL address. Check the availability on the URL you have chosen, and once you find an available one, click ‘‘continue.’’ Ø Now comes the fun part: scroll through the available templates and select one you think would appeal to your character. Click ‘‘continue.’’ Ø Congratulations! You should see the ‘‘Your blog has been created’’ screen. Click ‘‘start blogging now.’’ To make a post Ø The most recent posts will always appear at the top of your blog. Ø Sign in to your blog at https://www.blogger.com/start2 with the e-mail and password you gave during set-up. Ø Now you will see your dashboard page, with many options for what to do. Click the blue bubble that reads ‘‘New Post.’’ Ø Type in a title for your post- this will show up above the text in your blog - then enter whatever text you wish in the box. You may also add images, videos, or links (see below). The menu across the top will allow you to alter the font, size, and color of your text, should you wish to do so. Keep your graphic design interesting, but remember that the text of your posts is more important than changing each letter into a rainbow of color. Try to make design decisions you believe your character would make. Ø Click ‘‘Publish Post.’’ You will now be able to choose to ‘‘View Blog,’’ ‘‘Edit Post,¡¨ or ‘‘Create a New Post.’’ Select an option. 133 To add an image to a post Ø Save an image to your desktop. If it is not an image you took, be sure to write down the source information and include that in a Sources Cited section on your blog. continued Blog Creation Steps (continued) Ø On the ‘‘New Post’’ page run your mouse across the menu of option icons just above the text box. Click on the little blue box with the mountain in it that reads ‘‘Add Image’’ when your mouse crosses it. Ø In the new box, click ‘‘Browse’’ and then choose the picture file from your desktop. Choose to place image in the left, center, or right of the screen. Choose to make image small, medium, or large. You may format and add up to five images at a time. Ø Click ‘‘I accept the terms of service’’ and then ‘‘Upload Image.’’ Your images should soon appear in your post. To add a video to a post Ø Save a video file to your desktop. If it is not a video you took, be sure to write down the source information and include that in a Sources Cited section on your blog. Ø On the ‘‘New Post’’ page run your mouse across the menu of option icons just above the text box. Click on the little film strip that reads ‘‘Add Video’’ when your mouse crosses it. Choose the file from your desktop, give the video a title, accept the terms of service, and then click ‘‘Upload Video.’’ To add a link to a post Ø Copy the desired URL from your web browser. Ø Copy the link into your post, and then highlight it again with the mouse. Ø Run your mouse across the menu of option icons just above the text box. Click on the one with a green circle that reads ‘‘Add Link’’ when your mouse crosses it. Paste or retype your link into the box and click OK. Ø Your text should change color and become a link. To edit or delete a post Ø From your main blog page (you can always access this page by choosing ‘‘View Blog’’), choose ‘‘New Post.’’ On the new post page, just above the main box, choose the link ‘‘Edit Posts.’’ 134 Ø This will take you to a page showing all past posts. You may click the box for any post and then choose ‘‘Edit’’ on the far left. This will take you back into the page as if you are still continued. Blog Creation Steps (continued) working on the post for the first time. You can make any changes you wish and then click ‘‘Publish Post.’’ The new post will replace the old one. Ø If you prefer to erase the post altogether, simply click ‘‘Delete’’ on the far right of the ‘‘Edit’’ page for the chosen post. To add a group of links, text, survey, or image to the sidebar Ø From your main blog page (you can always access this page by choosing ‘‘View Blog¡¨), choose ‘‘Customize’’ in the upper right corner. Ø From the ‘‘Customize’’ page, you can add any number of page elements. On the upper right, choose ‘‘Add a Gadget.’’ Ø Scroll through your gadget options, selecting the one you wish from: ‘‘Poll,’’ ‘‘Link List,’’ ‘‘Picture,’’ or ‘‘Text.’’ You can also try adding other gadgets’ Xexperiment! Ø Follow the instructions for the gadget you choose and then click ‘‘Save’’ to put the gadget into your sidebar. This will return you to the layout page. Ø Back on the layout page, you can click ‘‘Preview’’ to see what your new gadget looks like, or you can click ‘‘Save’’ to make it part of your blog. Ø You can always delete gadgets from the layout page, simply by clicking ‘‘Edit’’ in the gadget’s box, and then choosing ‘‘Remove.’’ Ø You may also rearrange your page elements in this page by clicking and dragging any element to a new location. To add a footer image or quotation Ø From your main blog page (you can always access this page by choosing ‘‘View Blog’’), choose ‘‘Customize’’ in the upper right corner. Ø From the ‘‘Customize’’ page, you can add any number of page elements. On the bottom of the page choose ‘‘Add a Gadget.¡¨ You may now add a picture or text across the bottom just like you did in the sidebar in the previous menu. 135 5.6. Tele-Conferencing From the points of view of the teaching functions, interactivity and user friendliness, tele-conferencing emerges as an appropriate technology for reaching varied clientele groups in diverse settings. Teleconferencing means meeting through a telecommunications medium. It is a generic term for linking people between two or more locations by electronics. This technology is famous in open and distance learning modalities. With the advancement of communication technologies and reduction of costs, various organizations are also opting this technology in their education and training programmes. 5.6.1 Teleconferencing: Concept and Scope The word ‘tele’ means distance. The word ‘conference’ means consultations, discussions. Through teleconferencing two or more locations situated at a distance are connected so that they can hear or both see and hear each other. It allows the distant sites to interact with each other and with the teaching end through phone, fax, and e- mail. The interactions occur in real time. This means that the learners/participants and the resource persons are present at the same time in different locations and are able to communicate with each other. There are three following essential features of teleconferencing: Ø Learners/participants present at particular time and in dispersed places Ø Resource persons present at the same time at the teaching end or different teaching ends. Ø Interactions between: Ø Learner–resource persons/AV materials at the teaching end(s). Ø Learner–learner at the learner center Ø Learner–facilitator/materials/activities at the learner center Ø Learner–learner at/between other learner centers 136 Ø Resource person–resource person. Tele-conferencing (especially video-conferencing) increases efficiency and results in a more profitable use of limited resources. It is a very personal medium for human issues where face-to-face communications are necessary. When you can see and hear the person you are talking to on a television monitor, they respond as though you were in the same room together. Videoconferencing maximizes efficiency because it provides a way to meet with several groups in different locations, at the same time. The communication in teleconferencing is both vertical and horizontal, and the emphasis is on interaction at all levels. Meaningful interaction in real time is the strength of teleconferencing, and this sets it apart from other technologies used in education. The one-way limitation of educational broadcasting is overcome through the technology configuration. Stimulating responses to visuals, situations, dialogue, discussion, sharing, active experimentation, project work, etc. encourage interactivity. Some of other features of tele-conferencing are as follows: Ø Move Information, Not People or physical things. Ø Electronic delivery is more efficient than physically moving people to a site, whether it is a faculty member or administrator. Ø Save Time: Content presented by one or many sources is received in many places simultaneously and instantly. Travel is reduced resulting in more productive time. Ø Lower Costs: Costs (travel, meals, lodging) are reduced by keeping employees in the office, speeding up product development cycles, improving performance through frequent meetings with timely information. Ø Accessible: Through any origination site in the world. Ø Larger Audiences: More people can attend. The larger the audience, the lower cost per person. Ø Adaptable: Useful for business, associations, hospitals, and institutions to discuss, inform, train, educate or present. Ø Flexible: With a remote receive or transmit truck, a transmit or receive site can be located anywhere. 137 Ø Security: Signals can be encrypted (scrambled) when it is necessary. Encryption prevents outside viewers. Ø Unity: Provides a shared sense of identity. People feel more a part of the group...more often. Individuals or groups at multiple locations can be linked frequently. Ø Timely: For time-critical information, sites can be linked quickly. An audio or point-to-point teleconference can be convened in three minutes. Ø Interactive: Dynamic; requires the user's active participation. It enhances personal communication. When used well for learning, the interactivity will enhance the learning and the teaching experience. Ø Concretization of experience Ø Reflective observation Teleconferencing could have different technical configurations and applications. It includes use of telephone for audio conferencing, graphics in addition to audio for audio-graphic conferencing, television and/or computer for video conferencing. Following are different types of Teleconferencing: Ø Audio Teleconferencing: Sometimes, it is called as Voice-only conference or, conference calling. Interactively links people in remote locations via telephone lines. Audio bridges tie all lines together. Meetings can be conducted via audio conference. Preplanning is necessary which includes naming a chair, setting an agenda, and providing printed materials to participants ahead of time so that they can be reviewed. Distance learning can be conducted by audio conference. Ø Audiographics Teleconferencing: Uses narrowband telecommunications channels to transmit visual information such as graphics, alpha-numerics, documents, and video pictures as an adjunct to voice communication. Other terms are desk-top computer conferencing and enhanced audio. Devices include electronic tablets/ boards, freeze-frame video terminals, integrated graphics systems, Fax, remote- access microfiche and slide projectors, optical graphic scanners, and voice/data terminals. Ø Computer Teleconferencing: Uses telephone lines to connect two or more computers and modems. Anything that can be done on a computer can be sent over the lines. It can be synchronous or asynchronous. An example of an asychronous mode is electronic mail. Using electronic mail (E-Mail), memos, reports, updates, 138  newsletters can be sent to anyone on the local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN). Items generated on computer which are normally printed and then sent by facsimile can be sent by E-Mail. Computer conferencing is an emerging area for distance education. Some institutions offer credit programmes completely by computer. Through computers, faculty, students and administrators have easy access to one another as well as access to database resources provided through libraries. Ø Video Teleconferencing: Combines audio and video to provide voice communications and video images. Can be one-way video/two-way audio, or two- way video/two-way audio. It can display anything that can be captured by a TV camera. In two-way audio/video systems, a common application is to show people which creates a social presence that resembles face-to-face meetings and classes and enables participants to see the facial expressions of participants at remote sites. Video conferencing is an effective way to use one teacher who teaches to a number of sites. It is very cost effective for classes which may have a small number of students enrolled at each site. Rural areas benefit particularly from classes provided through video conferencing when they work with a larger institution. 5.6.2 Advantages of Teleconferencing Ø It provides learning to large groups, which are geographically dispersed. Ø For organizations, delivery costs are reduced with resultant cost benefit in terms of time, travelling and spread of resources over large groups Ø It makes the best use of the available resources by expanding them learning opportunity and taking the resources to the learners. Ø It overcomes time or scheduling problems for the learners who can assemble at a learning centre for a limited period only because of their full time or part time work, and family and community commitments. Ø It can be designed to meet local specific requirements of training in terms of content, language and conditions. 139 Ø There is greater appeal, motivation and retention of information as a variety of teaching methodologies are used. Ø By using animation, graphics and other techniques, teleconferencing is good at showing processes for demonstrations and experiments, thereby concretizing learning. Ø By conveying sights, sounds, and the spirit of the subject, it provides a more rounded view of an issue. Ø It provides uniformity of training, which is interactive. On the basis of feedback, instructors can make appropriate shifts in the teaching strategies to meet learner needs. Ø The element of interactivity in teleconferencing is encouraged through dialogue and by stimulating responses to situations and visuals. The opportunity of dialogue allows the learners to discuss, question, and challenge issues. Stimulating the learners to respond to situations and visuals leads to higher processes of learning. As the learners become familiar with the technology and its practices, their communication and learning skills are enhanced. Ø Interactivity gives a sense of participation and an active environment for learning. Ø The learners may feel themselves to be a part of the ¡¥real-life¡¦ learning situation, and though located on different sites they feel they are connected. Relationships are established as in a group situation. Ø For the field functionaries in remote rural areas, it reduces the sense of isolation, encourages sharing of concerns and ideas, and helps solve their problems. 5.6.3 Limitations of Teleconferencing Teleconferencing has its limitations, but these can be overcome to a great extent by corrective measures and using appropriate content, planning, organization and management. Ø If the number of centers is increased, time for interactivity for each center is correspondingly reduced. Ø Since teleconferencing demands real time interaction, the learners are required to be present at particular times and places. Otherwise it will not work. It may be difficult for learners to do so because of logistics problems and other regional reasons resulting in poor attendance at the sessions. 140 Ø Evaluation of learning could be a challenge in tele-conferencing. Ø Teleconferencing to be effective for any type and purpose would require planning, teaching strategy, development of content and materials, presentation techniques and evaluation. 5.7 Distance Learning and ICT Technology is not limited to the use of machines, and the aim is to apply the scientific knowledge in order to obtain a practical result. The humankind has created science and technologies, from the wheel to the computer, and the changes were significant in their relations between the human beings and the nature, overcoming the traditional learning and teaching process. We cannot simply use a resource. It is important that all the pedagogical action is previously prepared, using structured objectives and allowing students to keep in touch with new and different contents. By doing it, learners are stimulated to build new relations with themes previously acquired. The teaching work makes use of a pool of technological assets, aiming the learning appropriation according to the mediation of the educator, with diversified resources and from different methodological procedures. Technology becomes the mediation for Distance Education and the technology serves as a vehicle through which the course is conducted. 5.7.1 Distance Learning In conventional system of education teaching-learning takes place in classrooms, where the students and teachers meet regularly at fixed timings. Distance education was an educational mode supplementary, complementary and alternative to conventional/ traditional system of education, depending on the situation it was practised. Today it has evolved into an independent system of education. The growth of communication technologies and the cognitive sciences which are flexible enough to use the technologies for pedagogic purposes have key roles in distance education. The term open and distance learning and its definition are 141 relatively new in the field of education, having gained prominence only in the past 20 years. The language and terms used to describe distance learning activities can still be confusing, and geographical differences in usage. There is no one definition of open and distance learning. Rather, there are many approaches to defining the term. Most definitions, however, pay attention to the following characteristics: Ø separation of teacher and learner in time or place, or in both time and place; Ø use of mixed-media courseware, including print, radio and television broadcasts, video and audio cassettes, computer-based learning and telecommunications. Courseware tends to be pre-tested and validated before use; Ø two-way communication allows learners and tutors to interact as distinguished from the passive receipt of broadcast signals. Ø Communication can be synchronous or asynchronous; Ø possibility of face-to-face meetings for tutorials, learner¡Vlearner interaction, library study and laboratory or practice sessions; and Ø institutional accreditation. 5.7.2 ICT and Distance Education Distance education is an educational innovation to meet the ever increasing and diversified educational needs and demands of the society which are sequel to changing social, economic, and other conditions on one hand and technological developments on the other. Information and communication technology has widened the scope of educational technology and enhanced the efficiency of educational communication coupled with accuracy and speed of feedback. As a result of this, it has become possible to offer a variety of educational programmes to different sections or groups of people through various media of communication. Distance Education follows the evolution of the communication technologies, which gives support to this kind of education. In this context, the teacher may understand that technology contributions as a pedagogical resource will occur continuously. Then, he/she needs to act according to this possibility, planning his/her practices and organizing the pedagogical actions as a mediation for this learning process, trying to 142 overcome expectations and, consequently, the appropriation of knowledge. The development of new technologies, which has instigated a revolution in our society and in people¡¦s jobs, has permitted other possibilities for teaching and learning process. It has also provided the development of new alternatives for the Distance Education modality, combining the familiar educational resources with the tools of the Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs). These directions point to the renovation of teaching by formulating a wider conception of the educational process in order to meet the demand of the society. In doing so, the ICTs can be used by the higher education institutes aiming to adequate and make their contents available, then giving rise to a greater flexibility of access to the distance courses. 5.8. e-Classroom: Concept and adaptations for children with visual impairment Teaching without chalk and blackboard made possible through technology that serves as fundamental structural changes as integral to achieving significant improvements in productivity. It used to support both teaching and learning, technology infuses classrooms with digital learning tools, such as computers and hand held devices. Student engagement and motivation; and accelerates learning. Technology also has the power to transform teaching by ushering in a new model of connected teaching. This model links teachers to their students and to professional content, resources, and systems to help them improve their own instruction and personalized learning. 5.8.1 e-Classroom: Concept E-classroom as part of our educational technology eliminates the barrier to quickly access new information and it bridges the gap between the rich and the poor and urban 143 to remote areas to quest for quality learning. This type of learning creates opportunities to teachers and pupils/students to use the educational resources and other technologies that can increase educational productivity by accelerating the rate of learning reducing costs associated with instructional materials and better utilizing teacher¡¦s time. E- classroom has also the potential to improve educational productivity by accelerating the rate of learning, taking advantage of learning time outside of school hours, reducing the cost of instructional materials, and utilizing teacher¡¦s time. It also helps to develop the mindset of the students towards positive thinking and quest for more learning towards excellence. These can be particularly useful in rural areas where online learning can help teachers and learners accessible to information and to overcome distance. Digital resources like electronic grade books, digital portfolios, learning games, is a powerful tools to help teachers create more engaging and interactive teaching ways of learning on teacher and student performance, are a few ways that technology can be utilized to transform learning. 5.8.2 Objectives of the E-Classroom There are a number of pedagogical methods and models of instruction. Rather the goals of the electronic classroom focus on the support of a wide range of instructional and classroom activities. The high level goals of the electronic classroom are as follows: Ø To provide a more interactive learning experience than is generally possible in the traditional classroom. Ø To provide interactive and hypermedia technologies during classroom interaction. Ø To increase student-to-student and student-to-teacher interaction and collaboration. Ø To provide students with an integrated learning environment with access to hypermedia databases, telecommunications, and simulations. One primary theme running through these objectives is interactivity, to involve the student actively in the learning process. The other primary theme is to enrich the educational environment. Hypermedia provides a way to bring text, graphics, audio, and video together; 144 telecommunications opens up a window to the world; and simulations provide dynamic, graphic models of abstract systems and theories. These technological objectives, however, should in no way obscure or take precedence over higher educational objectives. A good lecture devoid of technology may be necessary to engage students in a theme. Face-to-face, unmediated interaction may be necessary to drive a point home. Only when it proves beneficial should the instruction turn to the electronic media. The narrow view of the electronic classroom is that it is a room with computers and multimedia displays. The broader view is that it is an electronic environment that supports the many processes of classroom education. But to provide such an environment the classroom must have some combination of the following elements: Ø A computer workstation for the instructor. Ø A multimedia system capable of presenting a variety of types of information (e.g., text, graphics, animation, audio, and video). Ø A database of educational materials within the classroom. Ø A computer workstation for each student Ø A local area network that allows communication among all of the workstations, and the viewing and sharing of screen images. Ø A system that provides storage, sharing, and transfer of documents. Ø A telecommunication system to link the classroom to external educational resources. 5.8.3 e-Classroom: Adaptations for Visually Impaired The Internet and internet based learning are tremendously important, including the lives of people who are blind or visually impaired. The world-wide-web makes daily life a lot easier for most of us but there are also people who cannot fully take advantage of the benefits of the web such as blind people. Not every e-classroom platform is optimally designed for use by individuals with visual impairments. When an e- classroom is built without regard to proper web design, they become inaccessible by people with vision loss who use access technology. Fortunately, things are changing and blind people can use the web just like everyone else although web accessibility for blind people is far from ideal. Everyone could be benefited by accessible e-classroom. The same good techniques that 145 make platform accessible to those of us who use access technology benefit users of other devices as well. For example, people with slower Internet connections and those using devices such as cell phones or tablets that have smaller screens. Since the web and computers are primarily a visual media, blind people obviously cannot use it without specially designed technology. They typically use web browsers which are specially designed for blind people or the so-called screen readers - software programmes which work by speaking the text. Some, however, also use the refreshable Braille display which, like its name suggests, converts textual information into Braille characters. In addition to enabling blind people to understand the content on a particular website, screen readers can also ‘‘detect’’ text that is highlighted or differently coloured, read pre- selected text on demand, ‘‘determine’’ the location of the cursor, etc. by which they make the web fully accessible to blind people but only under condition that the websites they are accessing are designed with the use of codes that can be ‘‘read’’ by screen readers. Despite the ethical standards, not all website and web based platforms are fully accessible for blind or visually impaired people. This is partly related to the fact that blind people form a small percentage of disabled web users and partly due to misconception that making proper adjustments to improve web accessibility is complicated and expensive. But it is not complicated nor expensive. It is important to mention that web accessibility for blind people does not affect the attractiveness or usability of the website for non-disabled people in any way. And proper adjustments that make a website accessible for all users regardless of their disabilities are not expensive nor complicated. 5.9 Let us sum up Computer Aided Learning is an integrative technology, which describes an educational environment where a computer programme is used to assist the user in learning a particular subject. It refers to an overall integrated approach of instructional methods. 146 Computer aided learning is a device as well as a learning strategy to make teaching more interesting joyful and sustainable. Social media are forms of electronic communication (such as websites for social networking and microblogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (such as text, pictures and videos) Social media has gained credibility over the years as a trusted source of information and platform where individuals or organizations can interact with other individuals. Social media infuses today¡¦s society with millions of us engrossed, some would argue to the point of unhealthy addiction, in the latest happenings via apps such as Facebook and Twitter. The use of social media in education provides students with the ability to get more useful information, to connect with learning groups and other educational systems that make education convenient. Social network tools afford students and institutions with multiple opportunities to improve learning methods. A blog or, weblog is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries. These text entries or multimedia entries are known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order, so that the most recent post appears first, at the top of the web page. The emergence and growth of blogs in the late 1990s coincided with the advent of web publishing tools that facilitated the posting of content by non-technical users who did not have much experience with HTML or computer programming. Blogging can be seen as a form of social networking service. Indeed, bloggers do not only produce content to post on their blogs, but also often build social relations with their readers and other bloggers. Many blogs provide commentary on a particular subject or topic, ranging from politics to sports or education. A typical blog combines text, digital images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability of readers to leave publicly viewable comments, and interact with other commenters, is an important contribution to the popularity of many blogs. However, blog owners or authors often moderate and filter online comments to remove hate speech or other offensive content. In education, blogs can be used as instructional resources. These blogs are referred to as edublogs. Through teleconferencing two or more locations situated at a distance are connected so that they can hear or both see and hear each other. It allows the distant sites to interact with each other and with the teaching end through phone, fax, and e-mail. The interactions occur in real time. This means that the learners/ participants and the resource persons are present at the same time in different locations and are able to communicate with each other. Tele-conferencing (especially video- 147 conferencing) increases efficiency and results in a more profitable use of limited resources. It is a very personal medium for human issues where face-to-face communications are necessary. When you can see and hear the person you are talking to on a television monitor, they respond as though you were in the same room together. Videoconferencing maximizes efficiency because it provides a way to meet with several groups in different locations, at the same time. The communication in teleconferencing is both vertical and horizontal, and the emphasis is on interaction at all levels. Meaningful interaction in real time is the strength of teleconferencing, and this sets it apart from other technologies used in education. The one-way limitation of educational broadcasting is overcome through the technology configuration. Stimulating responses to visuals, situations, dialogue, discussion, sharing, active experimentation, project work, etc. encourage interactivity. E-classroom as part of our educational technology eliminate the barrier to quickly access new information in the field of research and it bridges the gap between the rich and the poor and urban to remote areas to quest for quality learning. This type of learning creates opportunities to teachers and pupils/students to use the educational resources and other technologies that can increase educational productivity by accelerating the rate of learning reducing costs associated with instructional materials and better utilizing teacher’s time. E-classroom has also the potential to improve educational productivity by accelerating the rate of learning, taking advantage of learning time outside of school hours, reducing the cost of instructional materials, and utilizing teacher’s time. 5.10 Check your progress 1) Computer aided learning is to make teaching more: a. interesting b. joyful c. sustainable d. all of the above 2) Computer aided learning is a ________to make teaching more interesting: a. device b. learning strategy 148  c. Both d. None 3) Social media are forms of a. electronic communication b. face to face meeting c. Personal meeting d. Sharing papers 4) Major disadvantages of using social media in education: a. It may create distraction b. Cyberbullying c. Discouraging Face-to-Face Communication d. All of the above 5) Wikispaces Classroom is a free social writing platform for a. Education b. Industry c. Movies d. Games 6) In blogs posts are typically in a. reverse chronological order b. chronological order c. random order d. increasing post size 7) Essential features of teaching through teleconferencing: a. Learners present at particular time at dispersed places b. Resource persons present at the same time at the teaching end c. Interactions between them (a & b) d. All of the above 149 8) In e-classroom technology contributions are as : a. learning barrier b. content facilitator c. pedagogical resource d. readiness 9) e-learning creates opportunities to teachers and pupils to a. Use the educational resources b. Use other technologies that can increase educational productivity c. Accelerating the rate of learning d. Reducing costs associated with instructional materials. 5.11 References & Suggested Readings Ø Asian Blind Union (2009). Proceedings: Asian Conference on Adaptive technologies for the Visually Impaired. New Delhi: Asian Blind Union Ø BBC (2010). How social media is changing education. Retrieved from http:// www.bbcactive.com/BBCActiveIdeasandResources/ Howsocialmediaischangingeducation.aspx Ø Biwas, P.C (2004). Education of children with Visual Impairment: in inclusive education. Delhi: Abhijeet Publication. Ø COL (2000). An Introduction to Open and Distance Learning, The Commonwealth of Learning. Retrieved from http://oasis.col.org/bitstream/handle/11599/138/ODL Intro.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y Ø Daniels, L. (2016).10 Social Media Sites for Education. Retrieved from http:// www.teachthought.com/the-future-of-learning/technology/10-different-social- media-sites-for-education/ Ø Hersh, M.A & Johnson, M (Ed.) (2008). Assistive Technology for Visually Impaired and Blind People. London: Springer „h Leoncio, C. M. (2013). Importance of e-Classroom in Teaching and Learning. Retrieved from http:// www.deped-ne.net 150 Ø London College of International Business Studies (2017). The Role of Social Media in Education. Retrieved From https://lcibs.co.uk/the-role-of-social-media-in- education/ Ø Mening, R. (2017).How to start a Blog: Learn how to create a blog (step-by-step, with images). Retrieved from https://websitesetup.org/start-a-blog/ Ø Mukhopadhyay. S., Jangira.N.K., et.al. (1987). Source Book for Training Teachers of Visually Impaired. New Delhi: NCERT. „h Nielsen, L. (2015). 7 Ways Social Media Has a Role in Education. Retrieved from http://www.techlearning.com/ blogentry/9084 Ø Norman, K. L. (1997).Teaching in the Switched On Classroom: An Introduction to Electronic Education and Hyper Courseware. Retrieved from http://lap.umd.edu/ soc/ch1/ch1.html Ø Punani, Bhushan & Rawal, andini.(2000). Handbook for Visually Impaired. Ahmedabad: Blind Peoples¡¦ Association Ø Sadao, K. C. & Robinson, N. B. (2010) Assistive Technology for young children: creating inclusive learning environments. Baltimore: Paul H Brooks. Ø Scholl, G.T. (1986). Foundations of the education for blind and visually handicapped children and youth: Theory and Practice. New York: AFB Press. Ø Singh, J.P (2003). Technology for the Blind: Concept and Context. New Delhi: Kanishka Publication Ø UNESCO (2012). The role of Social Media in Teaching and Learning. Innovative ICT Practices in Teaching and Learning: A Regional Seminar, 9-11 October, 2012, Seoul. Retrieved from http://www.unescobkk.org/fileadmin/user_upload/ict/ Workshops/regionalseminar2012/ppt/workshop_5_- _The_Role_of_Social_Media_in_Teaching_and_Learning.pdf Ø W3C (2016). Accessibility. Retrieved from https://www.w3.org/standards/ webdesign/accessibility 151 Notes 152