Constructivist teaching and learning is a theory that focuses on the involvement of Learners in the learning process through activities. It is an important concept for me as a teacher and student at the same time. In this short essay, I will talk about what constructivist teaching and learning environments mean to me. Also, I will talk about some social computing software that I will use to strengthen students’ learning in an Emirati constructivist teaching and learning context.
Constructivist teaching and learning theory, and social computing
“Constructivism is the belief that teachers need to do more than simply deliver information to students: they need to design activities which facilitate students’ engaging with and making sense of the content” (Sicilia, 2005, p. 13). This theory focuses on the involvement of students in classroom and allow them to solve real-life problems and situations. It depends
on the interaction and social communication with others. It is a change from teacher-centered approach to learner-centered one. It is an important theory for me as a teacher in the Ministry of Education in the UAE, and as a student at HBMSU. As a teacher, I use this approach to get involved with my students in the class. I believe that it is an effective way to know whether they understand the material and know their levels as well. It makes teaching more interesting and allows my students to know me as a teacher. As a student, it makes me more attractive to the materials given. When getting involved in activities related to a course and subject, I understand more, and I participate.
We are living in the world of computers and social media. We hear the concept of social computing in our field as teachers and in daily life as well. Social computing “shifts computing to the edges of the network and empower individual users with relatively low technological sophistication in using the Web to manifest their creativity, engage in social interaction, contribute their expertise, share content, collectively build new tools, disseminate information and propaganda, and assimilate collective bargaining power “ (Parameswaran, 2007, p. 3). It is a whole new concept that depends on interaction and involvement with others in all aspects of life. In the field of education, it is a must to use social computing in teaching especially after COVID-19 pandemic. For the Emirati environment, there are some considerations to be taken while using social computing in teaching. For example, not all families in the Emirati society accept the idea of sharing videos of their children on social media, especially for girls. So, as teachers, we have to consider what kind of social computing software are approved first by the institutions and trust-worthily. Also, we should consider some other ways to use social computing software without the need of videos. Moreover, some families are afraid to use the social computing software as they think they are not safe and might hack their privacy. Again, teachers must only use the software that are approved by the institutions to gain the trust of families in the UAE.
Suggestions of social computing software
As I said before, it is the trend to use social computing software to strengthen students’ learning. In this section, I will suggest four software I will use with my students in high school which also consider the Emirati constructivist teaching and learning context.
The first social computing software I will use is wikis. Wikis allow users to edit and delete the contents. The good feature of wiki is the history and rollback, “history function enables the users to develop different versions of the content, and the rollback function enables the users to restore the previous versions” (Hussein Kan, Arayici Y, Yousef Sam, 2013, p. 7). I can use a wiki project with my students by creating a wiki site and add them as users. They can collaboratively work in a project, especially writing project, in which all members can edit, add, and remove content. They can work with each other and see the contribution for each member individually. As a teacher, I will act as a facilitator to facilitate the communication process among students. I can also comment on their contributions. I believe that wikis work very well within the Emirati environment and are easy to use. There is no need to share videos with other, you can simply enter and add your contribution.
The second social computing, which I like the most, is using MS Teams software. This is an amazing social computing software that is approved by the Ministry of Education in UAE. I can use MS Teams to have synchronous classes with my students and explain the materials. Also, it allows me to make break-up rooms to allow students to have small and focused discussion groups. Moreover, I can download the worksheets and make quizzes. Next, the chat helps me to communicate with my students any time since I can download the software in my laptop and mobile with the same account. Students can share their videos and voices with me during synchronous classes and they can download their work in chats. This software supports the privacy in which I can make private channels with limited access, so I can ensure the privacy of any student if I have to conduct an exam with the camera to be turned on.
The third social computing software is podcast. It is an important social computing software nowadays that depends on audio content. I can use podcast to provide the lecture and they can listen to it anytime. Also, I can support them with extra learning materials. Moreover, I can ask the students to podcast and discuss real life issues and try to find solutions. They can tell stories of their own related to the situation or problem. Another way is to establish a podcast about the Emirati society and invite small group every time to discuss it. Podcasting is a very interesting activity for students and with simple equipment they can make a good one. Podcast is an asynchronous tool and depends on audio, so privacy of students is ensured since they make their own podcasting and share it directly with the teacher.
The fourth social computing software is e-portfolios. E-portfolio is an online profile for students’ work and progress. It is a unique way to show independence on one’s learning. I will ask my students to create an e-portfolio about their progress and projects during the course and publish it online. They can create their own one using any site they prefer. I will apply social communication by committing on their works and photos. Also, I will ask for peer feedback as a part of their assessment that will let them communicate together. As a teacher, I will make my own e-portfolio and ask my students to visit and comment on it. It is an excellent constructive learning tool that fits an Emirati environment because it has privacy, since each student chooses how he will conduct his e-portfolio. Also, they have the freedom to use videos and photos of their own.
Constructivist teaching and learning is a theory that focuses on the involvement of learners in the learning process through activities. In this short essay, I talked about what does the constructivist teaching and learning environment means to me. Also, I talked about some social computing software that I will use to strengthen students’ learning in an Emirati constructivist teaching and learning context. The four software are wikis, MS Teams, Podcasting, and e-portfolio. I am sure that there are many new ones available to use and I really need to know what they are and how I can use them in education. The most important consideration is using software that are approved by the institution to avoid any problem.
The blog article is submitted by Fatima Al Eissaee
