Video Lesson

The Solar System (video)

Learning becomes a lot easier and students would appreciate learning of any concept and application when its being taught through convincing mode like adaption and application of ICT gadgets or tools. The young learners learn effectively when taught through the aids of audio visual that enable to enhance realistic learning. ICTs have the potential to innovate, accelerate, enrich, and deepen skills, to motivate and engage students, to help relate school experience to work practices, create economic viability for tomorrow's workers, as well as strengthening teaching and helping schools change (Davis and Tearle, 1999; Lemke and Coughlin, 1998; cited by Yusuf, 2005). The Solar System is one of the typical topics that demands a lot of patience of teachers and perseverance of students while teaching and learning alike. Essentially it requires a lot of visualization of the students and extensive deliberation and demonstration by teachers. 

 Therefore, I choose a video to teach on ‘The Solar System’ to my fifth grade students during the revision course lesson. The video was used in the follow-up phase of the lesson by playing it to the class through OHP. Students were made to watch the video for two times, thus, it enhanced the learners to see, hear, understand and remember the names of planets in a chronological order with ease like remembering their favorite movies. The students were full of curiosity and excitements to watch and learn about the solar system virtually with the help of video. 

They enjoyed watching the video that helped them learn the names of the planets and about the asteroids, comets, meteorites and other celestial bodies those make the solar system. Doubtless, the learning was full of fun, easy and purposeful. The importance of ICT and emerging roles of teachers using the ICT is well emphasized by Wheeler that the ICT shall become precursor determining and influencing/impacting lives of future generation and careers paths (Wheeler, 2001).

Further, Littlejohn emphasizes “Changed pool of teachers will come changed responsibilities and skill sets for future teaching involving high levels of ICT and the need for more facilitative than didactic teaching roles” (Littlejohn et al., 2002).

The catalytic roles of the ICT has been well emphasized by other academic personalities, Reeves & Jonassen when they express “ The use of ICT in educational settings, by itself acts as a catalyst for change in this domain. ICTs by their very nature are tools that encourage and support independent learning. Students using ICTs for learning purposes become immersed in the process of learning and as more and more students use computers as information sources and cognitive tools (Reeves & Jonassen, 1996), the influence of the technology on supporting how students learn will continue to increase. In the past, the conventional process of teaching has revolved around teachers planning and leading students through a series of instructional sequences to achieve a desired learning outcome.

Importance and application of ICT in teaching and learning domain is increasingly gaining ground across the globe and its advantage shall be exponential. Typically, Duffy & Cunningham expresses that “these forms of teaching have revolved around the planned transmission of a body of knowledge followed by some forms of interaction with the content as a means to consolidate the knowledge acquisition.

Contemporary learning theory is based on the notion that learning is an active process of constructing knowledge rather than acquiring knowledge and that instruction is the process by which this knowledge construction is supported rather than a process of knowledge transmission” (Duffy & Cunningham, 1996). Finally, Teaching and learning is interesting when ICT is integrated and made possible in the classroom teaching and learning. When planned with determination use of ICT can be made available in our classroom to our passionate 21^st century learners to learn social science with understanding.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzbCEF37MfU