My ICT Journey

Tony Robbins once said "The only impossible journey is the one you never begin". How true these words have proven to be throughout my journey of growing and becoming an ICT support specialist. At first it seemed like a mountain to climb. However, I can now safely attest that there is nothing a positive attitude, motivating company and excellent lecturer coaches cannot help a student achieve. The following narrative is a reflection of my journey over the past two years as an ICT support specialist student.

My personal position when this learning journey began was that, having done CAT at secondary school, there was little this course was going to teach me which i did not know already. How wrong i was! I felt that we had already been introduced to most teaching and learning tools during our first and second year of ICT training. However, little did i know concerning how the Methodology and Practicum: Support role ICT 3A, 3B and 4 were going to expand my knowledge concerning how those tools could be applied and brought to good use in the real life classroom context. My knowledge base greatly developed for i soon realized that the MOFPIY 3 and 4 modules were fundamentally based on authentic learning principles. At first i had a problem with the "deliverable" tasks not being clearly explained, later however, i realized that the lack of concrete explanations allows me to challenge a task authentically anyway i see fit, and the results often exceed even my own expectations. From a child who expected a checklist of right and wrong answers, i have grown into an expert who challenges and critiques the very notion that there is ever right or wrong from a purely objective point of view.

Over the past two years, i have learnt the importance of creating usable artifacts . Often in most learning modules we are given very daunting and time consuming tasks which after submission become obsolete, projects which soon after grading find themselves in the nearest waste container. On the contrary, the tasks and outcomes of this modules over the past two years have been equipping me with all that i will need as a novice teacher and ICT specialist when i get to the work environment. The resources that I identified and collected whilst fulfilling my module requirements are invaluable. They will not only help me but also those who will come to me for consultations. As a support specialist, i realized over the past two years that, my goal is to ensure that whoever i help, does not refer someone with a problem similar to theirs to me but is able to provide them with the necessary help and equip them similarly to help others. Only having usable artifacts can help me reach that goal. Planning ahead and keeping up with those plans is also pivotal in reaching that objective. Looking at all the positives i have picked along the way in becoming a support-role specialist, it is easy that one may think there were no challenges. However, facts prove otherwise.

The first challenge i encountered was when we were introduced to a fully online teaching studies module in the second semester of last year. As was the case with most my ICT colleagues, we felt that the module was a complete setback and waste of financial resources for us ICT students. All the tasks that were given in the module we had done before and we saw little room for us to learn anything new. I ended up serving as a coach to the students who do not do ICT and even then I did not appreciate the fact that such coaching was preparing me to be a consultant later. Seeing how the module was structured and that i knew most of the work, I ended up neglecting it and that had a detrimental effect to my third year grades. Going forward, I do feel that the module could be better structured to suit students who are doing ICT. As a suggestion, It would most probably serve as a very motivating incentive if, from the start of the module they could be assigned as coaches to the other students and get marks for their efforts.

The past two years in the ICT methodology class has also equipped me regarding how i can teach my other major, physical science. Similar to all the other science based school subject is a very inquisitive subject. It requires that learners question and explore information for themselves. My ICT journey has made me believe that the use of a semi-guided inquiry based method of teaching with the use of interactive PowerPoint greatly enhanced content understanding for the learners. They greatly enjoy being hands on and responsible for building the knowledge they need to understand the subject matter. As a teacher I enjoy seeing improved enthusiasm towards the subject from the learners and a greater desire and drive to learn. ICT incorporation in learning physical science can help me achieve that. I have learnt never to take for granted the skills that learners bring to the classroom. For instance, in a CAT classroom learners sometimes know more than the teacher concerning computers. Similarly, learners who know more than others in a physical science classroom are useful teaching aids when serving as peer instructors.

Indeed, the past two years in my journey of becoming an ICT support specialist have not only been eye opening, but they have also given me pearls to take to the profession and make a difference. The world of resources and support tools that my eyes have been opened to, is a never ending gold mine that i am eager to go share with my senior colleagues. Not only share, but the past two years have made it clear to me that, even I can contribute to this vast body of knowledge and preserve my own footprint in the academic community.

MY JOURNEY CONTINUES...