Information communication technology has a great impact on the current teaching and learning process. The rapid growth of web-based instruction has raised concern about the quality of online courses new instructional strategies are emerging due to the growth in technology. One of the most important prerequisites of computer education is the formulation of effective instructional strategies.
Serious consideration needs to be given to the instructional strategies in order to achieve the desired goal in computer education. If the goal is to be achieved the information needs to be organized into learning activities that are consistent with the knowledge and skills that the participants are expected to acquire. Therefore the instructional strategies should be aimed at ensuring that equity is attained impacting knowledge to different categories of students and not to concentrate on the equal attainment of knowledge, (Williamson, 2006).
For an instructional strategy to be effective, a number of essential elements should be included. These include goal, knowledge structure, presentation method, the possibility of more exploration for example it should not be rigid, the practicability of the strategy, and learner guidance. They should address various aspects such as the learning style used. The learning style could either be visual such as seeing the teacher’s demonstration and pictures. It can also be audio such as discussion amongst classmates or kinesthetic which includes role-playing. The strategies should ensure that they leave room for help by the instructor so as to ensure the success of the learner. It should also help the learner to remain focused within the learning process and at the same time track progress, they should also enable the learner to understand the objective of learning is not perfection,(Calkins,1997).
The development of strategies should ensure that they motivate the learners and have the ability of the strategy to influence the attention of the learners in the process of transferring knowledge. This will help the learner towards coping with the changing environment, (Anstey & Bull, 2008).
In a learning environment, the first strategy is the determination of the key themes that relate to information communication technology. This enables the students to understand the objective of the learning. This will help the instructor to determine the relevance of the strategies that he or she intends to address. The themes illustrate the intended them that the ICT is desired to derive.
The instructional strategies put in place should address the trends and challenges within information communication technology and the effect that they have on e-learning.
To be relevant the instructional strategies should consider what is currently happening within the ICT so as to ensure that they are adjusted to cope with the dynamic nature of the technological environment. This will contribute to the addressing of the insatiable need for learning, which is the new philosophy of the new information age, and also the need for flexibility suiting the varied needs of career advancement of the learners.
The instructional strategies should contribute to the convenience of the learning process by enhancing the distance learning programs. At the same time, they should address the complications that are involved during the learning process due to group interactions such as the teacher-student relationship within the classroom environment, (Webb &Palinscar, 1996).
The strategies should address the effectiveness of the information communication technology in the transformation of the learning process. This will ensure that computer education contributes to the creation of a society of learners and practitioners who can facilitate the transformation of society by effectively contributing to solving real-world problems, (Scott, D.J &Steven, R.A., 2002).
The strategies should provide a link between computer educations and the environmental challenges that computer education is designed to address.
The instruction strategies present a guiding principle to help the facilitators in the creation of a learner-centered and collaborative environment that supports reflective and experiential processes. The instructor should not assume the role of knowledge giver but that of a facilitator.
The instruction strategies should consider the feasibility of integration of the ICT within the learning process and its effectiveness in the level of transformation of learning contributed by the ICT.
It should be noted that the instructional strategies put across should not only address the quantity of interaction enhanced through the ICT by measuring the number of hits within the Web-board but the quality of interaction should be stressed.
Computer technology has positively influenced contemporary instruction strategies by making it to be effective and efficient. This is through the process of invention and innovation that has led to the development of e-learning. Instructional strategy designers contribute towards the creation of online courses that are a conversion of the traditional type in their effort to revolutionize learning. The integration of instructional practices and internet capabilities has enabled the direction of the learner towards a specified and desirable level of proficiency and also improving the level of accuracy.
Computer technology has led to the development of synergistic effects by enhancing the adoption of the synthesized learning process which integrates contemporary and traditional learning theories into an online learning environment.
In consideration of the feedback, computer technology has contributed towards timely feedback thus enabling e-learning to be effective. This is due to the development of the internet infrastructure enabling the service providers to be reliable.
Computer technology has enabled the ease of addressing individual differences within the learning environment. These differences are manifested in various areas such as the aptitude level, information processing capacity, practical application of information to real-life situations, and in their ability to perform education and real-world learning tasks.
To address these individual differences, computer technology has enabled the formulation of strategies that ensure the provision of content in varied formats such as the use of various communication technologies i.e. where lectures are designed to be audio and synchronized with applicable PowerPoint presentations. It has also enabled the formation of web broad discussion groups where individuals can conveniently share their views.
The technology enables the access of various websites from which various resources can be accessed which act as supplements. Despite enhancing group discussion through the website, computer technology enables individual ideas and perspectives to be collectively considered.
Computer technology has also enabled freedom of navigation within the course outline allowing the student to be either systematic or random as they desire by accessing materials within the course outline.
It has also enhanced the level of motivation during the e-learning process. It makes it possible to provide variety and a livelier online atmosphere by having multiple speakers interact during sessions. Contemporary instructional strategies such as radio talk shows can be boring due to listening to one voice for a long time.
It has improved the motivational capacity of online courses through graphic images, video clips, and photographs which have verbal and visual stimulation characteristics averting the monotony of textual-based forms of instructions.
In the formulation of instructional strategies, the instructional strategy designers must consider their traditional perspective to help in the effective adoption of the new philosophy of teaching and learning. This will ensure that the instructional strategy is appropriate for online instruction. This means that in the incorporation of computer technology into contemporary instructional strategies, the instructional developers should ensure that the traditional theories are considered for the instructional strategies to be comprehensive.
Computer technology enables the combination of contemporary instructional strategies with the traditional theories thus reducing the possibility of consideration of only one perspective.
It has also led to the aversion of information overload resulting from the provision of too much information compromising the retention capacity. This is through for instance breaking of lecturers into sessions of 10-12 minutes which are recorded and delivered in small chunks to the students enhancing concentration and also enabling the instructors to deliver only the main concepts.
It has also made it possible for the provision of a graphic organizer i.e. visual presentation for the course reducing the chances of confusion as the learner navigates through various portions of the course.
Information communication technology has contributed towards the promotion of the social learning objectives of contemporary instructional strategies.
This is through the creation of a personal connection with the students. The instruction strategy that enables this is that it is possible to fit each course with audio systems that transfer the message which helps the learner to put interacts with the instructor. It has also enabled the personalization of examples, addressing students by name, praising, questioning which encourage discussion and encourages feedback enhancing the connection, (Scott, D.J &Steven, R.A., 2002).
The social objective of contemporary instruction strategies is also influenced through the posting of questions prior to the sessions so that students can research the topic and be ready for discussion when the session is to be held.
Information communication technology enables e-learning to relate to contemporary information technology by incorporating comprehensive contextual learning. Various strategies are put in place to promote online learning in the virtual environment.
ICT has made it possible to simulate reality by enabling the use of appropriate case studies. This is due to the improvement in the development of programs that enable the instructors to provide students with case studies that describe relevant situations for students to evaluate.
Contextual learning has also been enhanced through the instructional strategy that allows students to develop projects that are within the context of their work environment. These are shared with other students who are online, (Garrison, D.R 1987).
This shows that computer technology enhances the collaboration of projects from varied fields such as educational institutions and businesses.
Computer technology has led to the bridging between the traditional resources such as the use of libraries with web resources. It has also enhanced the development ease of reciprocity and cooperation amongst students i.e. encourages collaborative learning.
In conclusion, educators should be concerned about the instructional strategies they use and identify which strategies are the best regardless of the technology used, for the specific audience and which technologies are best for supporting those the formulated strategies. The instructional strategy developers should investigate the relationship between faculty and students and the instructional strategies that are used rather than considering the impact of the technology alone. They should also be concerned about how they use the technology to influence learning outcomes.
For effectiveness, computer-based educators and researchers should forecast the future implication of the instructional strategies used and how they can use computer technology to support the strategies.
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