“Group work is a form of cooperative learning. It aims to cater for individual differences; develop student’s knowledge, attitude, genetic skills such as communication skills, collaborative skills and critical thinking” (www.wikipedia.com)
In terms of group working, it is true that when you collaborate with other people you gain better output. Many agreed to the saying, “two is better than one”. More minds to think and more hands to work make the load easier. What is nice about group work is the cooperation of each member. The spirit of never giving up is there. Working as a group, you gain more confidence of doing something because you know that you have back-ups, that who will help you create a better output. “Cooperation is possible when there is easiness, not heaviness. Easiness means being sincere and generous of spirit. Such liberty makes one worthy of receiving cooperation from everyone. If one has faith and confidence in others, in turn, builds faith and confidence in others. Such feelings produce a comfortable environment of empowerment, respect, support and togetherness” (Tulio, 2008, p. 224). Working together involves teamwork. As defined by Carnegie, “Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. The fuel allows common people to attain common results (www.ask.com). It needs cooperation and unity to attain the certain goal. Each one should contribute and share what his ideas. As a team, everyone should agree and decide as one. However, sometimes we cannot avoid conflicts and misunderstanding. Moreover, the only thing we can do to avoid such argument is to respect individuals’ opinion. It should equally value everyone’s suggestion. As what Lombardi said, “the achievements of an organization are the results of the combined effort of each individual” (www.about.com).
In the making of our group task, we discussed first the main purpose of what e-learning community we will be doing. We had brainstorming and we shared different point of views. Then we divide the work so that each one should participate. Together we work hand-in-hand just to have a good product. As we go along, we decided to have Technology Express as an e-Learning Community. The content of this is all about expressing such emotions, ideas, talents, desire and experiences in life. The members will share their knowledge through posting comments and suggestions to every member’s queries. Through the help of the modern technologies, we are building learning community. Defining Learning Community, “Learning communities are developed where groups of people, linked geographically or by shared interest, collaborate and work in partnership to address their members’ learning needs. Learning communities facilitated through adult and community education are a powerful tool for social cohesion, community capacity building and social, cultural and economic development” (Department of Education, 2003, p. 12). To the definition, it explains that learning community is a great help to communicate with people who have different outlooks in life. There is an opportunity also to explore and socialize with people from the different walks of life and education can be more proficient and creative. Throughout the experience, I realized that it is good to have a group that would actively cooperate and I am thankful to have my team. Because with them, they would cheer you up. Even though we find it hard to design a web, still we did not surrender. In spite of the sacrifices, hardships and efforts, we are happy and proud to present our group work. “The best method of overcoming obstacles is the team method” (Powell, 2005).
On the other hand, Educational Technology is a new method of educating learners using the modern technology. New way of teaching that enhances the ability and skills of each learner. The main purpose of this subject is to let the students experience a new kind of learning. Through Edtech, learning is fun and exciting. It helps individuals to express their thoughts, share their expertise, associate with different people, and collaborate with the team. In this subject, the teacher will just facilitate the students to learn by their own. Aside from that, you will experience what we call as learning community. Regarding my experiences in Educational Technology, I would say that it was fun, challenging yet the learning experiences will be unforgettable. According to John Locke (as cited in Tulio, 2008) “no man’s knowledge here can go beyond his experience” (p. 80). Probably, the best part of it would be socializing and expressing my self; sharing the insights and ideas of one another and learning each other’s point of view. Moreover, this was the coolest and newest way of learning. I experienced a lot on engaging different sites like the Ning and Wiki that we have encountered. In addition, I am thankful to our teacher for the reason of sharing his great knowledge and powerful skills to all of us. I really appreciate his effort to teach us patiently. Because of Mr. Guevarra, many of us are now engaging to modern technology. As what I have noticed, the more we engage on the modern technologies we are updating and upgrading our selves. Unlike before, we are afraid to use the computer that is why not all of us are excellent in this field. However, this subject taught us to explore and to improve our skills.
As a whole, educational technology helps me to collaborate with other people. The presence of cooperation helps me to move forward in doing the project. (As cited in Tulio, 2008) “The constant aim of cooperation is mutual benefit in human interactions; it is governed by the principle of mutual respect. The method can be simple as providing an explanation, giving love or support, or listening” (p. 225) It provides me new knowledge and it adds to my skills as well. This time of globalization of education, teachers must enhance their skills in using the modern technologies. We are thankful for the reason that we are experiencing the advantages of having this technology in our lives. Technology helps in expanding learning opportunities to learner and computer will just an aid to enhance our learning not to replace teachers. As what Maria Montessori thought (as cited in Tulio, 2008), “education is a spontaneously carried out by the human individual and is acquired not by listening to words but by experiences in the environment” (p. 97). Learning can be fun and exciting with the help of such unique teaching strategy.
Reference List:
Powell, Collin. (2005) Nuggets of Wisdom. Manila, Philippines.
Tulio, Doris D. (2008) Foundations of Education (p.80, 97, 224,225). (2nd ed.). Philippines, National Bookstore, Inc.
Department of Education, 2003, p. 12. Retrieved from www.education.tas.gov.au/stateoflearning/issuespapers/aceissuespaper.doc
www.about.com
www.ask.com
www.wikipedia.com
