Thursday, 19 December 2013

EDT6203 : WEEK 14 (FINAL EXAM DISCUSSION)

Dr. Rose started the class by asking us on how the last week's Field Test went on. We had told her and the class about our glitches. This time around Dr. Rose made a strong point of our courseware direction. Is it for student (self-access) use or the teacher use (in classroom). We actually served for both use as one can have a flexibility to do a web-based activities on internet connectivity and paper-based activities, if the internet is not available. Everyone should be able to benefit a thing or two out of our courseware. 

Another thing we discussed was on the emphasis of Content-Based Learning (CBL) vs. Outcome-based Learning (OBL) in most of our education system. I think why we'd place a great interest in highlighting the contents are because: (i) we want to let the students to see the immediate purpose of their learning or doing of something. Some students failed to see the importance of the skills, that they started to get worried about their exams and everything must have direct relations to what will be tested at the end of the course. (ii) CBL amplify the learning and testing what they already know and to ensure they are on the right track. (iii) CBL may not offer the students with new knowledge but some like the idea to attempt to different types or variety of questions.

From the discussion, we moved on to the software development. 
First and foremost,  instructors must define the skills that our trainers should master. When we develop a software from there, the process will be more efficient and we can strategize better.

Dr. Rose asked how countries from Singapore (Salam), Acheh (Asma) and Maldives (Solih) different from us in Malaysia. They answered that their countries also have a very similar system where the education system mostly based on content-driven.

We were introduced to a term "studio school" in the UK and USA. The Studio School is a new concept in education, which seeks to address the growing gap between the skills and knowledge that young people require to succeed, and those that the current education system provides. Studio Schools pioneer a bold new approach to learning which includes teaching through enterprise projects and real work. This approach ensures students' learning in is rooted in the real world and helps them to develop the skills they need to flourish in life. Studio Schools are designed for 14-19 year olds of all abilities. They are small schools for 300 students; and with year-round opening and a 9-5 working day, they feel more like a workplace than a school. Working closely with local employers, Studio Schools will offer a range of academic and vocational qualifications as well as paid work placements linked directly to employment opportunities in the local area. Students will gain a broad range of employability and life skills through the CREATE skills framework, and will have the option to go on to university, further training, and into employment.

This is a totally awesome idea. It reminds me the kids playcenter in Damansara "KidZania" . Anything that resembles the real world setting is very helpful to their experience and paper description eventually comes to life.

Finally, we have the insight to our Final Examination questions. So basically our 14-weeks relied heavily on the Instructional Design System: ADDIE Model and it is as expected that we will be tested on it. There will be 4 questions that carry 25 marks each.

The details of examination are as follows:
Date: Thursday, 26/12/13
Time: 9.30-12.30 noon
Venue: Lab 4   

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