mbetasolo@civil.unitech.ac.pg
The Papua New Guinea University of Technology, also known as Unitech, is the only technological university in the country and the Pacific (except Australia and New Zealand). Since its establishment in 1974 a slow progress of infrastructure development on technologies were observed. Previous Learning Management System (LMS) used is the File Transfer Protocol (FTP). The FTP serves as a depository of notes from teachers for students to collect and vice versa. When students submit their work, other students can see works of classmates and copying is inevitable. Aside from this problem, there is no interaction between students and teachers. Therefore to create communication, as an expatriate and my experience in using some technologies that enhance teaching, I use Google Groups to deliver messages and student collaboration in the year 2014. Students experience using these technologies tells me that they were able to save money on the printing of their outputs for submission, and better visuals of notes, and watching video clips posted in the FTP. The o limitation of FTP is that student and teachers alike have to connect to the university server.
To share my experience, I volunteered to train other teachers on the use of these technologies thru the Teaching and Learning Method Unit (TLMU) office of the university. The first training session in September of 2014 has poorly participated by the university teachers. The internet connection was not good too. The delivery of digital learning training was a frustrating experience due to the problem with poor internet services.
But it does not stop me to seek personal development in teaching tools and strategies by participating in and engaging myself in digital learning experience [1,2,3,4,5]. The technological, academic society provides free classes in MOOC's in which I had experience collaboration with other teachers from other universities, in particular from Ivanovo State University of Russia and a consultant from India [4,6]. Despite our poor internet connection, further collaboration with Ivanovo State University progresses and a course on Training Online on Cloud and Web Application for Blended Learning was made [3,6].
As Unitech goes into modernizing the classroom including digital or virtual classroom, modern technologies play a vital role in student engagement in a virtual learning environment productively. A new LMS was rolled out this year using Google Classroom. The utilization of Google classroom is not used in full in the first semester due to slow internet connection. A software Hot Potato was also used to deliver engaging activities such as crossword puzzle to recall lessons. For delivery of classes in blended learning, the portal of ProProfs was used to include online quizzes to deliver fast assessment results. Consequently, teacher's methods to deliver lessons depend on teacher's technological skill. Students reports on the upgrade of the LMS from FTP to Google Classroom says that they can access notes and discussion anywhere at any time as long that the internet is available. Students were able to get an on time assessment feedback from teachers in an online quiz, and they can retake the quiz for practice. One of their responses says that they were able to see the world and had an opportunity to connect with other student and teacher around the globe.
My experience tells a significant difference exists in teacher’s ability to improve student achievement among fully trained and experienced teachers. According to Teacher Matters [7], teachers influence is as much as three times impact than any other school factor. In implementing the curriculum, a teacher plays a significant role specifically in integrating technologies. In modernizing the classroom, a new curriculum or revising it is important to match the needed upgrading on a learner-centered (a best practice teaching) instructions. In theory, learner-centered instruction permits the student to grow in a way that respects the full range of individual needs. These instructions should meet to individual student needs that are conducive to the emergence of a personal synthesis of understanding, relevant to the learner's life and fully integrated into the individual's worldview.
An ideal learner-centered approach for the Papua New Guinean's student is a culture-educational paradigm shift learning method due to the diverse culture of students as the country has over 800 languages, and cultures according to their hamlets or villages practices [8]. The culture-educational paradigm shift learning framework adopts the concept of constructivism, where the desired outcome for the learner to construct personal meaning. It emphasizes on individuals forming their ideas and assessing the worth of these insights from their immediate life experiences. Culture-educational paradigm shift approach equips students with thinking skills (culture) and knowledge (educational). So, individualization of teaching to a variety of cognitive, developmental, socioeconomic, cultural, racial, and personality characteristics becomes a challenge [9]. In this challenge, the roles of technologies to provide support in the individual delivery of lessons and to attend to student learning needs are addressed.
My quest to understand student at their level without compromising the quality of teaching and learning, the andragogy principle developed by Malcolm Knowles matches our university student learning. He identifies six principles of adult learners such as internally motivated, self-directed; they learn by doing; they need informal guidance and respected. My study with my student is that they resist instruction when they feel their teacher is imposing information, ideas or actions on them [8]. Adult learners desire to see the relevance of what they are learning to their experience. Thus, blended learning requires re-design of curriculum and integrating curriculum with technologies. The integration of technologies in the curriculum and into the new Learning Management System (Google Classroom) need specific skills that teachers need to bring their student to a meaningful classroom journey. Now that O3B facility of the Papua New Guinea University of Technology is in place, it can support fast internet requirement by both student and staff in accessing a network from any device such as laptop's, computer, and mobile phone.
This year 2015, when Google Classroom Learning Management System (LMS) was launch, I run the LMS fully in class. As mentioned earlier, there is a familiarity to the Google Classroom LMS since I am already using Google applications in my classroom last year. Three training on Google Classroom this year were conducted by me (two of which are co-trained by Dr. Ty Jones). The Google Classroom training gain more participants including the Department of Open and Distance Learning (DODL) of the University. However, participants of about 11.1% experience dissatisfaction during the third batch of training due to a problem with internet connectivity, including Wi-Fi access and watching and creating videos despite the new O3b facility.
To enhance the training experience of teachers, the administration of the Papua New Guinea University of Technology, had proposed for continuous training by creating a certificate course on IT Enhanced Teaching. The program will start in the year 2016 which I will be part of the team. The keen interest of the administration to train teachers in the application of teaching technologies signals a brighter future for teachers in upgrading their technological skills. These technological skills will create an avenue for enhancing interaction in the classroom between student and teachers according to best pedagogy to the Papua New Guinean student.
1. Betasolo M., Nilova S.V. Professional and personal development of the teacher and student: tradition, problems, prospects. The II All-Russian scientific and practical Internet-conference with international participation. Tambovsky State University named after G.R. Derzhavin. 2014. URL: http://www.tsutmb.ru/nekotoryie-aspektyi-lichnostno-professionalnogo-razvitiya-prepodavatelya-universiteta
2. Betasolo, Mirzi L., Nilova SV. Personal and professional development of future specialist: Articles XI International scientific-practical konferentsii. Tambovsky University State named after GR Derzhavin. 2015. Pp. 280-285.
3. Betasolo M.L., Nilova, S.V, Rao S. International Networking Co-creativity: Experience and Possibilities. 2015. URL: http://www.tsutmb.ru/international-networking-co-creativity-experiences-and-possibilities
4. Nilova S.V., Rao S., Betasolo M. Virtual team of participants of MOOC as a form of effective cooperation in online learning//Education as a factor of development of intellectual and moral potential of the personality and modern society: materials of the international scientific conference. SPb.: Pushkin Leningrad State, 2014 pp.45-51. URL: http://elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=2180890
5. Llego-Betasolo, Mirzi D., Sandhya Rao. Smart-ism: Key to success for effective online collaboration. GV 2015 (Global Virtual Conference) ISBN: 978-80-554-1003-6, GV cd ISSn:1339-2778, GV e ISSN:1339-9373, vol.3, issue 1, pp. 19-22, online archive: http://www.gv-conference.com/archive/?vid=1&aid=2&kid=30301-695
6. Nilova SV, Betasolo M. Docena-Llego. The international co-creation as a way modern of development: the case of networking between the two universities // Teaching information technologies in the Russian Federation: Materials Thirteenth All-Russian public. Conf. (Perm, 14-15 May 2015) Perm. State. nat. issled. Univ. Perm, 2015. C. 63-65.
7. Teacher Matters: Understanding Teachers' Impact on Student Achievement. Rand Corp. Retrieved July 6, 2014, from http://www.rand.org/education/projects/measuring-teacher-effectiveness/teacher-matter.html 1/
8. Betasolo, Mirzi L. Axiomatic Design to Assess Influences Affecting Pedagogic-Learning in the Courses Engineering Materials and Fluid Mechanics. ICAD (International Conference on Axiomatic Design) 2014. 24-26 September 2014, Faculdade De Ciencias eTechnologia Universidade Nova De Lisboa, Portugal. http://run.unl.pt/handle/10362/13764
9. Darling-Hammond, L, G. Griffin, and A. Wise. Excellence in Teacher Education: Helping Teachers Develop Learner-Centered Schools, ed. R. McClure Washington, D.C.: National Education Association, 1992.
