Instruction = Communication
Global Trends Dictate: It's always going to be a trio love affair!
Ever since I had understood theoretical and pedagogical and Andragogical approaches for effective instruction, I began to view instruction as a purposeful communication that utilizes effective communication principles and strategies. Later though, as I continue on with my quest to enhance my skills in providing quality instruction, as I experience the joys and fulfillment in teaching not just on a face-to-face (f-2-f) classroom setting but also online, a new perspective on instruction glowed within me. I began to see clearly that global trends dictate that it is always going to be a “trio-love” affair among these three: instruction, communication, and technology.
Goals and objectives of instruction
The main goal in education embodies course specific objectives to provide students with theoretical and applied knowledge in their chosen fields or areas of expertise to prepare them for the jobs and careers they want to pursue. In other words, the academe serves as a training ground to prepare the students land their needed jobs in order to secure their future bright. Is it enough that we fill-up their minds with theoretical knowledge? Of course, we definitely say, "No." For our students to be employable, they must be able to apply the knowledge into the work place. Just how would they apply the knowledge? By re-telling what they know? Again, we'd absolutely say, "No." Rather, we clearly believe that by executing and applying the knowledge in order to produce the needed work output. In this regard, route memory quizzes and exams do not apply well as methods of assessments and evaluations for learning outcomes.
So, how can we truly prepare our graduates to the current and future job requirements? We can begin to answer this question by looking at job announcements that are looking for applicants with excellent communication skills, software skills, online gathering, searching, sharing, and collaboration skills. In a web seminar in July 2008 attended by CEO’s and company leaders of top U.S. companies, various technology skills are revealed to be important in making college graduates fully prepared for the current and future work environment.
With the global economic trends, effective communication is no longer confined to one’s ability to communicate and interrelate with people in the f-2-f environment but also in an online setting. The global trends dictate that many of us, currently and in the future, must work more with other people within the four corners of our computer screen. Again we will have to go back to question on how should we prepare students now to be highly employable? How can we make our students become globally competitive in the real world outside the academe?
Clearly, we can only say: There’s no other way we can teach and prepare students to the work force but to incorporate, integrate the use of technology in ways that we can truly develop in our students the knolwledge and skills needed in a technology driven global economy. Clearly so we can only conlude that global trends dictate for a trio love affair among these three: Communication, Instruction and Technology!