ASSIGNMENT COVER

REGION HARA RE
PROGRAMME: BECD INTAKE: 10
FULL NAME OF STUDENT: PHILLIPA MATONHODZE PIN: P1825659R
MAILING ADDRESS: WARREN PARK 1 HARARE
CONTACT CELL: 0776955565 I.D. NO: 27-017008M70
COURSE NAME: MEDIA SCIENCES COURSE CODE: BECD 401
ASSIGNMENT NO: 1 DUE DATE: 07/03/22

ASSIGNMENT TITLE: ANALYSE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES LIKELY TO BE

FACED IN THE USE OF MEDIA IN TEACHING AND LEARNING IN ANY ECD CENTRE .
MARKERS’S COMMENTS:

OVERALL MARK: MARKER’S NAME:

MARKER’S SIGNATURE: DATE:
INTRODUCTION
The use of media usually motivates and stimulates learners. Media makes it
possible for learners to have experimental learning. The media should be safe for
both teachers and children. Use of media comes with a number of challenges
especially at ECD centre or primary schools. The challenges emanate from lack of
material and equipment, lack of knowledge, time limitation and lack of knowledge.
The writer will define media, teaching and learning as key words.
Definition of words
Media- refers to channels, objects, materials or tools that teachers use in order to
help learners understand concepts that are being taught (Mayer, 2001). Therefore,
media can be defined as materials and technologies that accompany an
instructional program so that the teaching and learning becomes easier, quicker,
more enjoyable and better understood. Whatever subject and level of learning one
teaches, the use of media is always superior to not using them.
Teaching- is a profession of people who give instructions especially in elementary
school and secondary. It is a process of carrying out those activities that experience
has shown to be effective in getting students to learn. Cummins (2000) simply
defines teaching as an act practice, occupation or profession.
Learning-involves acquiring new or modifying and reinforcing knowledge
behaviors, skills and values or preferences and may involve synthesizing different
types of information, Cummins (2000). Learning produces changes in the
organisms and the changes produced are relatively permanent. In ECD play has
been seen approached by several theorist as the first form of learning. Children
experiment with the world, learn the rules and learn to interact through play.
Teaching and learning go hand in hand because whilst the teacher teaches, the
learner will engage in activities which enable them to gain knowledge value and
skills.
Lack of media, be it non-projected or projected is a challenge faced by teachers.
Example, for a lesson to be well conducted the media used should be adequate and
relevant for the class. Teacher has to prepare the media before lesson and learners
should not fight for the media. Learners at ECD level are curious, active and enjoy
experimenting. Once media is inadequate, they are not motivated at all. At this
level they enjoy concrete media to be on ground. They want to touch and feel the
media. Every child needs his/her printed flag on paper. The crayons needed for
coloring should be available. Having inadequate prints and crayons for the class
makes a challenge just like media. Each child deserves his/her own media thus
enhance experience.
The schools may not have enough funds to purchase these materials to be used as
media by teachers and this will prove to be a challenge.
In Zimbabwe, we have adopted use of ICT computers in our class. According to
Flanagan and Jacobsen, technology integration is meant to be cross-curricular
rather than become a separate course or topic itself. The use of media and
technology ensures that all aspects all of the learner (cognitive, psycho-motor and
effective) are well developed.
Secondly, lack of knowledge among teachers is a challenge. Technology should be
used as a tool to support educational objectives such as skills for searching and
assessing information, co-operation, communication and problem solving which
are essential for preparation of learners for the knowledge of society.
In fact, innovative use of ICT can facilitate learner centered learning. Hence, every
classroom teacher should use learning technologies to enhance their learner
learning in every subject because it can engage the thinking decision making
problem solving and reasoning behavior of learners. ICT may facilitate
independent self-paced learning, the potential of ICT may not be optimized.
Blamine and Kefala argue that although educators appear to acknowledge the value
of ICT challenges continue to exist during lesson delivery.
The act of integrating the use of ICT into teaching and learning is a complex
process. TO integrate the subject is directly related to teacher confidence. In
Zimbabwe for example, lack of technological competence has been citied as the
main problem of using ICT in teaching and learning. Most of the teachers do not
have knowledge on the ICT and skills. This is a serious obstacle to using ICT in
educational institutions. The other challenge behind teacher’s failure to use of
modern technology for effective teaching and learning process is job
dissatisfaction. Their initiative, creativity and inventiveness become indolence
because of the job satisfaction.
Poor network provides unreliable and slow internet connectivity thus making it
difficult to use ICT and affect the teaching and learning process. Unreliable power
supply and too much power fluctuations also interrupt teaching and it is worse to
when doing practical lesson.
Lack of confidence is a problem that prevents teachers from using their ICT
knowledge. Most teachers never trained in ICT and this is the reason for teachers’
lack of confidence with the use of media and fear of failure makes them feel
unskilled when it comes to using media.
In Zimbabwe, not all schools have resource personnel who can help with technical
problems. Technical issues are major challenges that teachers come across when
delivering a lesson using media. A difficulty in addressing this is that it is not
always known whether the technical issue resides at the development end or at the
school. Often curriculum developers do not learn about problems and the variety of
hardware configurations and operating systems makes it difficult to provide
generic solutions.
Computers in the laboratory are limited thus limit the number of learners attending
the lesson as per time-table. The pupil –teacher ratio is too much. A class of sixty
learners cannot be in a laboratory that has fifteen computers. Learners are to be in
groups and at some point they can miss the lesson.
Time limitation has proven to be a challenge. Time allocated for ICT is very
limited. There is only one laboratory at the school. Most of the time is wasted
when learners move from their class to the laboratory. No running is allowed in the
laboratory. Strict rules are to be followed. A number of teachers indentified time
limitations as one of the challenges in scheduling enough computer time for classes
as a problem in their use of ICT. Sharing of the laboratory is where the major
challenge is. Those in may not leave until their task is completed thus consuming
time for another lesson leading to time limitation.
However, if all colleges and universities could effectively train teachers on ICT
they would produce good students and everyone would be computer illiterate. Thus
makes it able for children along with teachers to understand technology and be able
to move along with changes of modified technology that are being invented on
daily basis.
Conclusion
Challenges met in the use of media have serious consequences on the teaching and
learning of learners at ECD level.
References
Alexander, N. (2000). Early Childhood: Workshops that work. Beltsville, MD:
Gryphon House.
Cummins, J. (2000). Language, Power and Pedagogy: Bilingual Children in the
Crossfire. Clevedon, England: Multilingual Maters, Ltd.
Flanagan, L. and Jacobsen, M. (2003). Technology Leadership for the Twenty-first
Century Principal Journal of Educational Administration, 41(2), 124-142.
Mayer, R.E. (2001). Multimedia Learning. New York: Cambridge University
Press.