FREE online courses on the Basics of a Computer - COMPUTER APPLICATIONS - Education

 

The learning process can be enriched in many subjects because of the scale and range of information which a computer data bank can provide. Use in increasingly being made of the computer as a resource in teaching at all levels of education.

 

Instructional material can be prepared and stored within the computer system in the form of programs which are carefully structured to teach specific lessons. A student could then sit at a teletypewriter terminal or VDU and call in the program and participate in the lesson. This form of teaching aid has been used successfully to supplement more formal teaching methods and can be particularly useful for remedial purposes. A program can be used by many students, thus freeing the teacher to spend time on more personal tuition.

 

The computer can also be used to manage the learning process. Programs can be designed to test for particular skills and knowledge, and then to direct the student to the next learning phase depending on the individual's results. This may mean a step forward or several steps back to repeat a previous lesson. The managed system also records all results and provides up-to-date information for the teacher on each student's progress.

 

Computer programs can be designed to create 'models' for experimental purpose (e.g. simulation of experiments in physics) which a student can use, discovering for him what happens in given situation. The computer provides the opportunity for experiments to be carried out which would not be feasible in real life, because of dangers, costs, etc. The computer can also be used time and time again with different sets of data so that a variety of conditions can be studied.

 

Students, particularly in higher education and those studying science and technology, also benefit from being able to use the computer as a computation tool. They learn a programming language and write programs to solve some of their course work problems, treating the computer as an aid in much the same way as a slide rule or a set of mathematical tables.

 

The computer can relieve the teacher of some administrative duties, giving him more time to concentrate on teaching. For example, the computer can be used to assist in constructing timetables; to monitor and schedule teaching resources; to build up and maintain comprehensive student records, to provide a complete student profile; and to accumulate information, internal and external, for assistance in careers guidance.