LESSON 10:

THE COMPUTER AS A TUTOR

The computer is one of the wonders of human ingenuity, even in its
original design in the 1950s to carry out complicated mathematical and
logical operations. With the invention of the microcomputer ( now also
commonly referred to PCs or personal computers), the PC has become the
tool for programmed instruction.
Educators saw much use of the PC. It has become affordable to small
business, industries and homes. They saw its potential for individualization
in learning, especially as individualized learning is a problem since teachers
usually with a class of forty one or more learners. They therefore devised
strategies to use the computer to break the the barriers to individualized
instruction.
Computer-assisted instruction (CAI)
The computer can be a tutor in effect relieving the teacher of many
activities in his personal role as classroom tutor. It should be made clear,
however, that the computer cannot totally replace the teacher since the
teacher shall continue to play the major roles of information deliverer and
learning environment controller. Even with the available computer and CAI
software, the teacher must:
Decide the appropriate learning objectives.
Plan the sequential and structured activities to achieve objectives.
Evaluate the students' achievement by ways of tests the specific
expected outcomes.
On the other hand, the students in CAI play their own roles as
learners as they:
receive information.
understand instructions for the computer activity

 retain/keep in mind the information and rules for the computer

activity
apply the knowledge and rules during the process of computer
learning.
During the computer activity proper in CAI the computer, too, plays its
role as it:
acts as a sort of tutor ( the role traditional played by the teacher)
provides a learning environment.
delivers learning instruction.
reinforces learning trough drill-and-practice.
provides feedback.
Today, educators accept the fact that the computer has indeed
succeeded in proving an individualized learning environment so
difficult for a teacher handling whole classes. This is so, since the
computer is able to allow individual students to learn at their own
pace, motivate learning through a challenging virtual learning
environment, assist students through information needed during the
learning process, evaluate student responses through immediate
feedback during the learning process, and also given the total score to
evaluate the student's total performance.
CAI Integrated with Lessons
CAI computer learning should not stop with the drill and practice
activities of students. In effect, CAI works best in reinforcing learning
through repetitive exercises such that students can practice basic skills or
knowledge in various subject areas. Common types of drill and practice
programs include vocabulary building, math facts, basic science, and
history or geography facts. In these programs, the computer presents a
question/problem first and the student is asked to answer to the
question/problem. Immediate feedback is given to the student's answer.
After a number of practice problems and at the end of the exercise, the

students get summary of his overall performance.

The question arises: When and how can teachers integrate drill and
practice programs with their lessons?
The following suggestions can be made:
Use drill and practice programs for basic skills and knowledge that
require rapid or automatic response by students (e.g. multiplication
table, letter and word recognition, identification of geometric shapes,
etc.)
Ensure that drill and practice activities conform to the lesson
plan/curriculum.
Limit drill and practice to 20-30 minutes to avoid boredom.
Use drill and practice to assist students with particular weakness in
basic skills.
In integrating computer programs in instruction, use tutorial software
associated with cognitive learning.
While practice, exercise or learning-by-doing is still the heart of each
tutorial, the tutorial software should be able to:
teach new content/new information to students (inasmuch as CAI
provides practice on old or already learned content).
provide comprehensive information on concepts in addition to
practice exercises.
can be effectively used for remediation, reviewing, or enrichment.

 allow the teacher to introduce follow-up questions to stimulate

students learning.
permits group activity for cooperative learning.
SIMULATION PROGRAMS
Simulation software materials are another kind of software that is
constructivist in nature. These simulation software:
teaches strategies and rules applied to real-life problems/situations.
asks students to make decision on models or scenarios.
allows students to manipulate elements of a model and get the
experience of the effects of their decisions.
An example of such software is SimCity in which students are allowed to
artificially manage a city given an imaginary city environment. Decisionmaking involve such factors as budget, crime, education, transportation,
energy resources, waste disposal, business/industries available.
INSTRUCTIONAL GAMES
While relating to low-level learning objectives, instructional computer
games add the elements of competition and challenge.
An example is GeoSafari which introduces adventure activities for
Geography History and Science. The program can be played by up to four
players to form teams. learning outcomes can be achieved along simple
memorization of information, keyboarding skills, cooperation and social
interaction, etc.
PROBLEM SOLVING SOFTWARE
These are more sophisticated than the drill and practice exercises and
allow students to learn and improve on their problem solving ability. Since
problems cannot be solved simply by memorizing facts, the students, have
to employ higher thinking skills such as logic, recognition, reflection, and
strategy-making.

The Thinking Things 1 is an example of a problem solving software in

which the team learners must help each other by observing, comparing.
MULTIMEDIA ENCYCLOPEDIA AND ELECTRONIC BOOKS
The Multimedia Encyclopedia can store a huge database with texts,
images, animation, audio and video. students can access any desired
information, search its vast contents, and even download/print relevant
portions of the data for their composition or presentation. An example is
the eyewitness Children's Encyclopedia.
Electronic books provide textual information for reading, supplemented
by other types of multimedia information. These are useful for learning
reading, spelling and word skills. Examples are just Grandma and Me
animated storybook which offer surprises for the young learner's curiosity.

Lesson 11:
The Computer as the Teachers Tool
Constructivism was introduced by Jean Piaget (1981) and Bruner (1990).
They gave stress to knowledge discovery of new meaning/concepts/principles in
the learning process. Various strategies have been suggested to foster knowledge
discovery, among these, is making students engaged in gathering unorganized
information from which they can induce ideas and principles. Students are also
asked to apply discovered knowledge to new situations, a process for making their
knowledge applicable to real life situations.
While knowledge is constructed by the individual learner in constructivism,
knowledge can also be socially constructed. Social Constructivism is the effort to
show that the construction of knowledge is governed by social, historical and
cultural contexts. In effect, this is to say that the learner who interprets knowledge
has a predetermined point of view according to the social perspectives of the
community or society he lives in.

The psychologist Vygotsky stressed that learning is affected by social

influences. He suggested the interactive process in learning. A more capable adult
(teacher or parent) can aid or complement what the learner sees in a given tasks or
project. In addition, John Dewey sees language as medium for social coordination
and adaptation. For Dewey, human learning is really human languaging that
occurs when students socially share, build and agree upon meanings and
knowledge.

The Computers Capabilities

Informative Tool
The computer can provide vast amounts of information in various forms,
such as text, graphics, sound, and video. Even multimedia encyclopedias are today
available on the internet.
Communication Tool
The computer has been used in communication as evident by social
networking sites as to facebook, twitter and friendster. We can even chat/talk
friends and families anywhere in the globe through yahoo messenger or the one in
facebook or view them through the webcam. We can send messages and
information through the internet in just seconds or minutes.
Constructive Tool

The computer itself can be used for manipulating information, visualizing

ones understanding, and building new knowledge. The Microsoft Word computer
program itself is a desktop publishing software that allows users to organize and
present their ideas in attractive formats.
Co-constructive Tool
Students can use constructive tools to work cooperatively and construct a
shared understanding of new knowledge. One way of co-construction is the use of
the electronic whiteboard where students may post notices to a shared
document/whiteboard. Students may also co-edit the same document from their
homes.
Situating Tool
By means of virtual reality (RS) extension systems, the computer can create
3-D images on display to give the user the feeling that are situated in a virtual
environment. A flight simulation program is an example of a situating tool which
places the user in simulated flying environment.