CREATING A TECHNOLOGY-RICH CONSTRUCTIVIST LEARNING ENVIRONMENT IN A CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT MODULE

One of the major shifts in education today under the influence of information and communication technologies (ICT) is that classrooms at all levels are becoming technology-rich learning environment. ICT has provided new opportunities for delivering instruction in innovative ways. The chapter describes an attempt to develop a technology-rich learning environment that delivers course materials to students in a variety of formats. An indigenous CD-ROM was developed as a comprehensive resource to facilitate learning the concepts and skills associated with classroom management. The CD-ROM was designed in a web-enable format so that it could interface with video clips and multimedia materials that are relevant to classroom management issues. Communication with the students was maintained through Blackboard communication tools. The students also had opportunities to interaction on a face-to-face basis with their peers and the tutors during tutorials. The students also have an opportunity to explore the necessary information, make meanings and construct their own knowledge. This chapter describes the application of the new technologies in delivering a teacher education module on classroom management and the perception of students who participated in the experiment.

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