Use of ICT in Learning and Teaching

Valour Circles in Schools Date: 14th November 2019/11:35 AM It has been long since I had time to write a blog about something very interesting, useful  and important in our lives, our emotions and how they effect us at times and how we take them for granted both in kids and adults. Emotions give us very important data not about ourselves but even people around us, what they are going through. I think it's very important for educators no matter what age group of kids they are teaching to be aware of not only oneself but others too. It's a common observation that students are told be rigid, strong and firm, and leave their emotions behind while making decisions. I wonder parents or even educators ever think, in doing so they are ripping apart their kid of a very unique ability, strength, which is god gifted. Acknowledging emotions is the first step to handling them. Dr Susan David, a Harvard Psychologist in her Ted Talk talks about emotions as data and not directives. She fu

Exploring Hello Ruby - a new way to learn Technology, Coding & Computers Date: 19th June 2019/Wednesday 21st June 2019/Friday  This blog post will give you an insight into an interesting way of learning algorithms in creative and artistic ways. This may sound weird but its interesting and engaging like anything. Linda Liukas who is the founder for the HundrED Innovation project Hello Rubi [1],  a children's author and illustrator, who has written 3 books about technology, coding and computers which is based on learning through play, creativity and imagination. This blog post explores Hello Rubi in detail and why there is a dire need to adopt the same approach in schools in Pakistan. So just for a moment think of the traditional and usual way of teaching technology, coding and  computational thinking in schools and classrooms. We usually begin with explaining technology terms  and concepts to kids on the white board, share examples, watch a video, read some text from b

Introducing Computational Thinking in Classrooms Date: 26th May 2019/Sunday/12:18 PM           27th May 2019/Monday/1:55 PM This blog post is inspired from my dive into my recent course i.e Computational Thinking for Every Educator Course offered by the ISTE International Society of Technology Education. It had a lot of insight to offer about Computational Thinking, its four key components i.e Decomposition, Pattern Recognition, Abstraction and Algorithms, its practical applications in classrooms, designing lesson plans and activities incorporating Computational Thinking in your classrooms. What amazed me was that its completely different to Computer Science, as educators we often confuse the two terms, though they are completely different from each other . Lets dive in and figure out how. So let's begin with our understanding of what is Computer Science ? Computer Science as per definitions explored onlin1 (1) its the study of information (data) and how it can be manip

Imagination Sparks Creativity - An Insight into the role Tech has to play Date: 11th April 2019/Thursday An interesting blog post inspired by my brief conversation with my psychologist about creating fantasies - something I believe has more to do with imagination and creativity. Imagination actually fueling creativity. In other words imagining realities that do not exist but in my opinion they pave the way for a more extra ordinary, innovative and a dynamic future. My blogpost tries to explore links between imagination and creativity and the role education technology can play to build and enhance creative thinking skills in children and adults both. So lets begin by exploring what is actually imagination and creativity. As per definition that I looked up on an online dictionary (1) imagination is the process of creating images that do not actually exist and your senses might not adhere too. Creativity on the other hand is the process of generating ideas that are both original

AI Artificial Intelligence and US Date:16th Feb 2019 Saturday -18:17 PM Long time but I was literally excited to write this blog post. This is inspired by my recent dive into a course on Artificial intelligence by ISTE International Standards of Technology Education.  The post will give you an insight into AI and types of AI (Assistive and Agentive), use of AI in daily life applications, its deep impact and the potential for schools etc. Though I have had an encounter with AI during my MS IT program some 10 years back but it never occurred the field would grow to this extent in just 10 years and have a profound effect on our future lives. What I remember from my course is the research I did about developing a traffic control system in Peshawar based on fuzzy logic and swarm intelligence, that aids in smooth running of the traffic and avoids traffic congestion on roads. The traffic model was designed using Matlab. It basically meant giving computer enough intelligence to sort