MEMOIRE

DEDICATION 

This work is dedicated first to God almighty for His inspiration and to my dearest mother Mrs. Aguh Grace Afor of blessed memory

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 

This work will never be a success without the collaborative support of my supervisor, Dr.Fouda Marcel for his criticisms, encouragement, remarks that gave this work a sense of direction

All they teachers of computer science department

To my darling husband for his financial, material and moral support throughout my educational career

To my in laws MR and Mrs. Awum for their parental care and all forms of assistance.

To my sister and Husband Mr. and Mrs Fonji Henry for their spiritual support

To Mr. and Mrs Enyih Atogho for their Love and enormous contribution to my success throughout this professional training

To Mr. Epalle of the computer science department for all his counseling and proof reading this work.

To my God given sisters Injeck and Lillian for their wonderful assistance

To my teacher trainer Madam Ngajie Berty for her wonderful cooperation throughout internship

To my children Precious, Winner, Prince and Wisdom for their special prayers of success

To Dr Bambot Grace of Dschang University for being a wonderful sister to me and moral support throughout my marriage life.

ABSTRACT 

The introduction of ICT in education is a response to present day changing intellectual world. There is need for the introduction of computers in the Cameroon secondary educational system to facilitate learning. This study uses a diversified environment to facilitate the teaching and learning of Geography in secondary schools in Cameroon. The traditional method of teaching does not give students a clear and practical knowledge of geographical concepts, limiting them to imaginary situations only. The absence of visual and practical teaching methods where the student can observe and experiment in class are drawbacks to the learning process. Equally, conducting physical experiments and field trips are expensive to most schools, given their meager financial resources. This study uses the Solar System Simulator to model the functioning of the solar system. It enables a teacher to use it as an example to mitigate the aforementioned limitations in the teaching and learning of geography in Cameroon secondary schools.

Key words: software, virtual laboratory, Geography, solar system                                                     

RESUME 

L’introduction de technologie d'information et de la communication (TIC) dans  le système éducatif est une réponse aux besoins actuels et futurs d'un monde changeant et intellectuel. Le système éducatif secondaire au Cameroun aujourd’hui requiert une intégration et l’utilisation des ordinateurs dans les salles de classe afin de faciliter le processus d'apprentissage. L'objectif principal de cette étude est d'utiliser un environnement diversifié pour faciliter et améliorer l'enseignement et l'apprentissage de la géographie dans les écoles secondaires au Cameroun. La méthode traditionnelle d'enseignement ne créer pas des conditions propices aux élèves d’avoir une connaissance claire et pratique de certains concepts géographiques. Ils sont à peine limités à des situations imaginaires et des connaissances superficielles en la matière. L'absence de méthodes visuelles et pratiques de l'enseignement où l'étudiant peut observer et expérimenter en classe sont autant des inconvénients du processus d'apprentissage traditionnel. De même, des expériences physiques et les voyages d’études sont chers pour la plupart des écoles, compte tenu de leurs maigres ressources financières. Cette étude utilise un simulateur pour modéliser le fonctionnement du système solaire. Il permet à un enseignant de l'utiliser pour atténuer les contraints d’enseignement et d'apprentissage de la géographie susmentionnées.  

Mots clés : Logiciel, laboratoire virtuel, géographie, système solaire

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 

ALT: Advanced Learning Technology

AMAS: Approved minimum Academic Standards

AVML: Advanced Virtual Machining Laboratory

CSS: Cascading Style sheet

DVHT: Dynamic Virtual human Technology

IBL: Inquiry Based Learning

ICT: Information and communication technology

HTML: Hyper Text Modeling Language

MMO: Massive Multiplayer Online environment

OLIVE: Online Interactive Virtual Environments

PPI: Participant Perception Indicator

VR: Virtual Reality

VRE: Virtual Reality Environments

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DEDICATION.. i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. ii

ABSTRACT. iii

RESUME. iii

List Of Abbreviations. iv

List Of  Figures. vi

INTRODUCTION.. 1

CHAPTER1: LEARNING THEORIES. 5

1.1 Definition of Learning Theories. 5

1.2 Behaviorism.. 5

1.3 Constructivism.. 6

1.4 Cognitive. 7

1.5 Experiential Theory. 8

CHAPTER 2:  DIDACTICS OF GEOGRAPHY. 10

2.1 Definition of Didactics. 10

2.2 Didactics Of Geography. 11

2.3 Contribution of  ICT To The Teaching and Learning of Geography. 13

2.4 summary. 15

CHAPTER3: PEDAGOGIC RESOURCES. 16

3.1 Definition of pedagogy. 16

3.2 Definition of pedagogic resource. 16

3.3 Types of computer based pedagogic resource (Educational softwares). 17

3.4 Characteristics Of Pedagogic Resources. 19

3.5 Summary. 23

CHAPTER 4: VIRTUAL LABORATORY. 24

4.1 Definition of a virtual laboratory. 24

4.2 Why virtual laboratory technology. 25

4.3 Brief history of a virtual lab. 26

4.4 CHARACTERISTICS OF A VIRTUAL LABORATORY. 27

4.5 Advantages of A virtual 29

4.6 Limitations of A virtual labs. 31

PART TWO.. 32

CHAPTER5 : 32

PRESENTATION OF PEDAGOGIC PROJECT (THE SOFTWARE SOLAR SYSTEM SIMULATOR FOR VIRTUAL GEOGRAPHY LABORATORY). 32

5.1 Justification. 32

5.2 Description of the Software. 35

5.3 Realisation of the software. 36

5.4 Cost and permission for Usage. 36

5.5 Limitations of the soft ware. 36

5.6 Maintenance. 37

5.7 Process of realisation of the software. 37

5.8 Recommendations. 39

CONCLUSION.. 40

List of references. 41

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Didactic triangle. 9

Figure 2: The Milky Way galaxy. 31

Figure 3: Telescope. 32

Figure 4: Solar system.. 33

Figure 5: The sun. 33

INTRODUCTION 

             There is growing need for the introduction of ICT in secondary education, considering the extensive use of information technology in today’s global world. Positive outcomes through the use of technology in education have led many governments to initiate programmes that involve the use of information technology in school curricula in the US where about $8 billion was spent on district schools in the 2003-2004 school years to improve ICT. According to Hew and Brush (2007), the computer/student ratio in the US in 2004 was 1:3. In developing countries such as Cameroon, the ratio is grossly disproportionate with a greater proportion of students having no access to the computer. Many studies report failure in different countries to incorporate ICT into educational systems (Eteokleous et al 2008). Despite reports of an increased number of computers in schools, they are not extensively used in classrooms in many countries (Eteokleous, 2008). Watson (2001) notes that, although teachers own and use computers for their own administrative work, many of them never use computers in classrooms. Studies show that merely making technology available to teachers and students in schools and classrooms is not sufficient to attain educational goals and to ensure that technology contributes to learning and teaching. What is needed is effective integration of ICTs in education   

This study lays particular emphasis on the teaching and learning of geography through information and communication technology. ICT was introduced in Cameroon secondary schools after the Head of State’s message to the youths in February 2001. The impact of this speech accelerated in 2002 with its introduction in general and technical secondary schools. Numerous schools have benefited from state support in terms of multimedia centres, most of which have internet facilities. Official ICT programmes were designed for secondary schools in 2003. The unasked question at this juncture, is whether ICT has been integrated into the teaching and learning of geography in Cameroon?  However, the introduction of ICT in the teaching and learning of the course requires first and foremost an in-depth knowledge and clear understanding of geography.                                                      

Education in geography provides the values, knowledge, concepts, and skills required to understand the relationship between man and the earth. Current teaching methods are intended to to bring learners closer to physical realities. Economically the cost of setting-up a laboratory where students can conduct experiments to improve their understanding of certain notions can neither be borne by students nor the schools.  In the learning process, it has been noted that a greater proportion of objects seen can easily be perceived than those that are unseen. The need of visual simulation methods of teaching and the use of abstract learning methods significantly affect the quality of teaching and the assimilation rate of students. Some students are often abandoned to themselves sometimes with bleak pictures or knowledge of certain geographic features. In the absence of visual simulation teaching methods, some barely imagine what these features look like. In the teaching of the solar system for example, students are told that planets rotate around the sun. Charts and pictures are used to illustrate this concept. They do not see such movement and therefore have no clear picture of what it is all about. As a result, they are driven into imaginary situations that render their understanding of the concept superficial. Since there are no simulations used as back-up for the theoretical explanation, the interpretation and imagination of each student differs from one person to another and from one school to another, depending on the description of the teacher.

          MOTIVATION AND JUSTIFICATION

Having read geography from primary school to the university, a lot of challenges as a student were observed. The lack of teaching aids in the study of the course hinders students from effectively understanding its basic concepts. After studying geography for several years with little or no visual aids and after receiving training on the effective use of ICT, a comparative analysis shows that students will deliver better results if teachers were to use visual aids as support tool. The cost of putting up physical laboratory where experiments can be carried out is too high for the Cameroonian standard. There is therefore impending need to research on how ICT through the use of the computer can be used as an observatory and experimental means to ameliorate the teaching of geography. In what way should the teaching of geography in secondary schools be improved in order to facilitate the learning process and the success rate of students?

The objective of this study is to diversify the learning environment by using information and communication technology like the computer to teach geography. This alternative learning mechanism imbibes them with better and more proactive skills. As a novelty that has brought the world and the universe into a global village, ICT through the use of this software will serve as a panacea to abstract and theoretical teaching of geography (solar system). Also to the teachers it will serves as a teaching tool that will permit him to better illustrate his lessons using less time. In what way should the teaching of geography in secondary schools be improved in order to facilitate the learning process and the success rate of students?  

The specific objective is to use ICT in the teaching and learning of the Solar System in Form one class of the Cameroon Educational system.

The results awaited will be to put at the disposal of form one students a solar system simulator. This will increase their success rate by being able make visual representations of the solar system through experimentation. This software was realized using learning approaches like the behaviorist where students observe and the constructivist and experimental where they participate.

This dissertation is made up of 2 parts .The first part is made-up of four chapters and the second part is composed of a single chapter.

CHAPTER1: LEARNING THEORIES 

Taking into consideration the fact that learning theories constitute a vital aspect in determining different methods of teaching and learning, this chapter throws light on the characteristics of different teaching theories used for this work. This part is divided into the following chapters:

1 LEARNING THEORIES

Learning theories describe the different methods used in learning and the way knowledge is actually transmitted.

1.1 Definition of Learning Theories 

   Learning is commonly defined as a process that brings together cognitive, emotional, environmental influences and experiences for acquiring, enhancing, or making changes in one's knowledge, skills, values, and world views (Illeris,Hurd 2000). Learning as a process focuses on what happens when learning takes place. Explanations of what happens constitute learning theories. A learning theory is a description of how people and animals reason, thereby helping us to understand the inherently complex process of learning. Learning theories have two chief values. One is in providing us with vocabulary and a conceptual framework for interpreting the examples of learning that we observe. The other is in suggesting where to look for solutions to practical problems. The theories do not give us solutions, but they do direct our attention to those variables that are crucial in finding solutions. Below is a list of some important learning theories with their different characteristics and how they view learning from different perspectives

1.2 Behaviorism 

This theory is based on the observable changes in behavior. Behaviorism focuses on a new behavioral pattern being repeated until it becomes automatic. The theory of behaviorism concentrates on the study of overt behaviors that can be observed and measured (Good & Brophy, 1990). It views the mind as a "black box" in the sense that response to stimulus can be observed quantitatively, totally ignoring the possibility of thought processes occurring in the mind. Some key players in the development of the behaviorist theory were Pavlov, Watson, Thorndike and Skinner. In essence, three basic assumptions are held to be true. First, learning is manifested by a change in behavior. Secondly, the environment shapes behavior and thirdly, the principles of contiguity (how close in time two events must be for a bond to be formed) and reinforcement (any means of increasing the likelihood that an event will be repeated) are central to explaining the learning process. For behaviorism, learning is the acquisition of new behavior through conditioning.

 Using this approach the teacher is being looked upon like a transmitter of knowledge while the student remains passive. The advantage of this approach is that it gives the learner an opportunity to acquire sufficient knowledge while spending little time trying to construct the knowledge. The disadvantage is that a child easily forgets what he has memorized immediately he stops practicing and this approach out rightly rejects any role of subjective experience in the learning process.

1.3 Constructivism 

The constructivism theory of learning is attributed to the works of John Dewey, Lev Vygosky, and Jean Piaget & Samara. They stipulate that knowledge is constructed in the mind of the learner (Bodner et al., 2001). Constructivism holds that individuals actively construct their own meanings and understandings of the world in which they live. Knowledge is not a copy of the external world, acquired by passive absorption, or simply transferred from one individual to another as is the case with the behaviorist. Knowledge is made, not acquired. Because of different experiences, upbringing, cultural backgrounds and personalities, each individual perceives the world differently. From the perspective of the constructivist theory, knowledge should not be judged in terms of whether it is true or false, but in terms of whether it works. It only matters whether the knowledge constructed functions satisfactorily in the context in which it arises (Bodner et al., 2001). Constructivism implies that learners are encouraged to build their own knowledge instead of copying it from an authority, be it a book or a teacher, in realistic situations instead of non contextualized formal situations such as propagated in traditional textbooks and together with others instead of on their own. (Kanselaar, et al 2002) Constructivism's central idea is that human knowledge is constructed, that learners build new knowledge upon the foundation of previous learning. This view of learning sharply contrasts with one in which learning is the passive transmission of information from one individual to another, a view in which reception not construction is key.

1.3.1 CHARACTRISTICS OF THIS THEORY

One aspect of constructivism is that, it is distinguished from other theories in its growth of followers within the organization. list the following principals as a foundation for all constructivist leaders:

• Learning is an active rather than a passive process
•  Learning is by nature social and is most likely to occur when learners share ideas, practice appreciative inquiry, and solve problems in a social construct

 Learners, to go beyond rote learning, must have opportunities to make sense of new knowledge and create meaning for them based on individual and shared experiences through application and experiential activity

• Reflection and metacognition contribute to the construction of knowledge and the process of sense-making
• New learning is mediated by prior experience, values and beliefs. The advantages here is that since learner construct knowledge it cannot be easily forgotten. The disadvantage is that learners spend a lot of time trying to construct the knowledge

                            1.4 Cognitive

This theory was founded by father Jean Piaget and it’s based on the thought process behind the behavior. Changes in behavior are observed, and used as indicators as to what is happening inside the learner's mind. Cognitive theory describes how learners think and process content and learning experiences. Following an information processing model of instruction, cognitive centers on concepts like attention, cognitive load, encoding and schemata. Cognitive seeks to identify ways to minimize the cognitive load of learners and assist them in encoding (converting to memorable units) what they study Content is presented in chunks which facilitates comprehension and memorization. In Cognitive theory, learners are encouraged to apply principles of the content to real world examples, and to critique relevant viewpoints, principles and tenets (Bates & Poole, 2002).Cognitive theorists recognize that much learning involves associations established through contiguity and repetition just like the behaviorist do. They also acknowledge the importance of reinforcement (make knowledge durable and concept operational), although they stress its role in providing feedback about the correctness of responses over its role as a motivator. However, even while accepting such behaviorist concepts, cognitive theorists view learning as involving the acquisition or reorganization of the cognitive structures through which humans process and store information." (Good and Brophy, 1990, pp. 187). Gestalt views of learning have been incorporated into what have come to be labeled cognitive theories. Two key assumptions underlie this cognitive approach: (1) that the memory system is an active organized processor of information and (2) that prior knowledge plays an important role in learning. Cognitive theories look beyond behavior to explain brain-based learning. Cognitivists consider how human memory works to promote learning. For example, the physiological processes of sorting and encoding information and events into short term memory and long term memory are important to educators working under the cognitive theory. The major difference between Gestaltists and behaviorists is the locus of control over the learning activity: the individual learner is more key to gestaltists than the environment that behaviorists emphasize The advantage of this approach is that the learner in this approach reflects and obtains a reason for doing a particular thing and actually takes part in the operation thus gaining experience. Why the disadvantage is that the memory of the child is over worked upon. 

1.5 Experiential Theory 

Experiential Learning Theory (ELT) provides a holistic model of the learning process and a multilinear model of adult development, both of which are consistent with what we know about how people learn, grow, and develop. The theory is called “Experiential learning” to emphasize the central role that experience plays in the learning process, an emphasis that distinguishes ELT from other learning theories. The term “experiential” is used therefore to differentiate ELT both from cognitive learning theories, which tend to emphasize cognition over affect, and behavioral learning theories that deny any role for subjective experience in the learning process. Another reason the theory is called “experiential” is its intellectual origins in the experiential works of Dewey, Lewin, and Piaget. Taken together, Dewey’s philosophical pragmatism, Lewin’s social psychology, and Piaget’s cognitive-developmental genetic epistemology form a unique perspective on learning and development. (Kolb, D.A1984).Experiential learning theory defines learning as "the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience. Knowledge results from the combination of grasping and transforming experience The ELT model portrays two dialectically related modes of grasping experience -- Concrete Experience (CE) and Abstract Conceptualization (AC) -- and two dialectically related modes of transforming experience -- Reflective Observation (RO) and Active Experimentation (AE). Each dimension of the learning process presents us with a choice. Since it is virtually impossible, for example, to simultaneously drive a car (Concrete Experience) and analyze a driver’s manual about the car’s functioning (Abstract Conceptualization), we resolve the conflict by choosing. Because of our hereditary equipment, our particular past life experiences, and the demands of our present environment, we develop a preferred way of choosing.

SUMMARY

Having seen in the preceding chapter the different learning theories which include behaviorist, constructivist, cognitive, and experimental affect teaching methods due to their different characteristics.

The   proceeding chapter is going to analyst the didactics of geography. To this effect we shall first of all see how geography is being taught traditionally and how the advent of ICTs have ameliorated this to the benefit of the teacher and the learner

CHAPTER 2:  DIDACTICS OF GEOGRAPHY 

Didactics of geography is the instructional manner in which the subject is transmitted to students. This chapter examines the traditional methods of teaching geography and the improvements ICT has brought to this method.

2.1 Definition of Didactics 

According to Chevalard Yves (2007) Didactics is a science that describes teaching and learning in an educational context. It involves instructing activities that impact knowledge or skills. Today, teaching in most cases serves as a medium for the teaching of the course content in an abstract manner, in form of various theories, laws and concepts, with the intention for students to use their knowledge in their future personal or professional lives (Resnik Planinc, 2001). There therefore exist a vital connection between a teacher’s didactics and the learning process. It is therefore imperative to talk about didactics with respect to what is being learned (content) , the teacher and the student. The teaching and learning process can therefore be seen to develop from a mutual interaction between the teacher, the student and the course content as represented by a simple didactic triangle in figure 1 below:

                                   Content                               

      Student                                    Teacher

           Figure 1: Didactic triangle

Showing interaction between content, teacher, and student. Didactics can be general in which case it is applied to all disciplines and specific when applied to a particular discipline. When specific, it takes into consideration the objectives of teaching of the particular discipline, the epistemological obstacles of that particular discipline, how to tackle the problem, and transmit the information in a manner students are able to understand. It also involves knowing the objectives of teaching a particular discipline and how to obtain positive results. Thus in geography, didactics of geography takes into consideration the above mentioned.

               According to (Resnik Planinc, 2001). Geography is the science of place that is the study of the surface of the earth, the location and distribution of its physical and cultural features, they are also patterns or places that they form, and the interrelation of these features as they affect humans. In order to transmit geographic knowledge, different methods are used

2.2 Didactics of Geography 

The teaching of geography is done by secondary school teachers using different approaches, all of which require the use of instructional materials). Amongst these approaches are the transmissive approach, the demonstrative, interrogative, and active approaches which use methods like the lecture methods, inquiry methods). Other methods include discussion methods, text book methods, problem solving methods, field trip method, question and answer method, dramatization, laboratory and experimentation and discovery method .Amongst these methods are also traditional methods which use the transmissive approach.

2.2.1 Traditional Methods of Teaching Geography

According to David (2002), one of the common teaching methods that geography teachers prefer today is the lecture method in which the teacher transmits knowledge to the students who sit passively in the classroom and listen. Considering the abstract nature of some of the major geographic concepts, the teacher spends time recounting complex physical concepts with the use of maps, drawings, or the use of charts which remain abstract and are not easily assimilated by them. Other methods used to teach geography are going on field trips. This is not often feasible as cost and distance are always a big hindrance particularly in developing countries like Cameroon where the student is supposed to bear the costs. Thus, with this constraint, the only feasible method is the lecture method. This indicates that today the geography teacher is seen as ‘a god’ so much so that whatever he says is final and the gospel truth. This sometimes makes the class boring and discouraging especially with an untrained teacher. When this happens, it is dissipated by some teachers by introducing the question and answer approach to provide a more efficient and interactive learning environment. With this method of teaching a lot of difficulties are faced by the learner and the teacher

2.2.2 Difficulties faced by the learner

• Geographic concepts are abstract in nature and lead to misconceptions and errors concerning the criteria attributes. For example, students may say that a volcano erupts, yet they are unable to identify a physical volcano and may not be able to name landforms found near their own residences. 
• The use of maps, charts, and diagrammes with the traditional method have failed to give substantial explanations that could enable the learner assimilate and build mental structures to give a better perception of the concept taught. For example, the map of a county fails to illustrate the land surface, population and other aspects of that particular country.

       Field trips could have been a good method for experiencing the notion explained                      in class but fieldworks may at times depend on students' contribution through levies and the meager departmental contribution. Therefore all other internships involving field trips would be hinged on the fund available for the programme. The duration of the trip, the distance to be covered and other logistic problems such as the quality of the data could be affected. Akin to the above is the socio-political situation in most developing countries. Political and social unrest characterize some African States to the extent that any strange move within peoples" territories are viewed with dangerous suspicion and fieldwork activities such as questionnaire survey, land mapping are viewed as social or tenure infringements.

• Another difficulty faced in the lecture or traditional method of teaching is the lack of communication of students in contrasting locations to get more information and also the lack of observation and means of analysis

2.2.3 Difficulties faced by the Teacher

• Limited course content
• Lack of didactic material
• Overpopulated classes
• Time constraint

2.3 Contribution of  ICT To The Teaching and Learning of Geography

 ICT has gone a long way to ameliorate teaching and learning in geography. Most of the difficulties faced by the teacher in the traditional method have been resolved by the integration of ICT in the teaching and learning of geography for it has brought many advantages both to the learner and to the teacher. The use of ICT across the geography curriculum is varied and as with ICT more generally, its impact depends on the context and the ways in which it is used.

Although it is often difficult to draw clear conclusions, some of the areas where ICT has been found to have positive effects are described below.

2.3.1 Advantages of ICT to the student

Geographical enquiry and skills

• Students’ understanding of specific topics such as erosion and agriculture can be enhanced by using simulations and other multimedia resources. There is evidence to show that the use of these resources can enhance students’ reasoning, decision-making and enquiry skills. ICT has changed the roles of the teacher and the learner, with increased interaction between them and between pupils (Cox and Abbott, 2003; Cox and Webb, 2003).
• The use of digital photography allows learners to reflect on their work in the field after returning to the classroom. Photographs can be shared with students in other localities to allow comparison of place. Digital photography has an advantage over conventional photography because it is cheaper, quicker and more flexible, allowing it to be an everyday aspect of teaching and learning (Storey, 2002). Pupils’ thinking about cause and effect also appeared to be enhanced when working with examples sent electronically by pupils from other schools, such as Australian pupils providing their own evidence of their families’ concerns about ozone depletion and what they did in order to minimize the risks of exposure to the sun (Halocha, 2002)
• Using GIS software enhances spatial awareness and decision-making skills and using modeling tools can lead to enhanced understanding of geographical topics such as erosion and agriculture (Cox and Abbott, 2003)
• Interactive ICT such as email enables the exploration of a sense of place, through communicating with people as well as through pictorials. Using emails alongside postcards to make comparisons of places helps pupils to gain a better appreciation of other cultures (Storey, 2002)

              2.3.2 Advantages of ICT to the Teacher

• Teacher-researchers on the Teacher Training Agency (TTA) Best Practice Research Scholarship initiative reported greater levels of primary learners understanding of time zones and climates. Although teachers had previously taught these topics using traditional resources, they found that live information received through email, webcams and video conferencing helped pupils understand concepts more easily. ICT enabled pupils to work with live information through video conferencing, and very quick response times through the use of emails increased students’ motivation (Halocha, 2002).
  • ICT enables teachers to engage and motivate pupils about geographical concepts to a greater degree (Halocha, 2002; Taylor, 2003)
  • Using GIS software to produce and manipulate maps at a range of scales can save lesson time and give better quality results (Taylor, 2003). The internet increases access to authentic geographical data and information sources IS software can enable teachers to focus more closely on teaching geographical skills in addition to developing a sense of location and place

 2.3.3 Disadvantages of Using ICT in teaching geography in secondary schools

• Limited time spent in ICT suites is used well to reinforce ICT skills, but there is too little focus on enhancing the delivery of geography. Lack of access at a required time is often discouraging geography departments from using ICT (Ofsted, 2004a)
• Although there are signs that GIS technology is beginning to be found in the field of geography at all educational levels, there is still some way to go before it is an accepted and integral part of teachers' pedagogy (Kerski, 2001). A survey of secondary geography teachers in Finland (Johansson, 2003) revealed that teachers’ knowledge of GIS and its use in the classroom was not extensive. Curriculum areas that would benefit from embedding GIS include initial teacher education and secondary school geography teaching (Hendrickson, 2001). However, it is also argued that the educational benefits of using GIS in secondary education have yet to be proven .Some of the disadvantages include:
• minimizes teachers
• Absents from class
• encourages promiscuity through watching of pornographic films
• piracy as students turn to use the work of others without acknowledgement

 2.4 summaries

An attempt to explain what the didactics of geography is, by first defining Didactic and giving the different method of teaching geography and how the integration of ICT have ameliorated teaching and learning and also the disadvantages of ICT were the preoccupation of the preceding chapter

 The next chapter deals with pedagogic resources, different computer assisted soft wares and the different theories they apply to and how they can be used to facilitate the teaching and learning process. Also, we will see how software’s (pedagogic tool) can be used with the aid of ICT to facilitate teaching and assimilation.

CHAPTER3: PEDAGOGIC RESOURCES

Pedagogic resources are of different types.Inorder to see how useful they are in the educational domain, we shall analyse this chapter as thus: This chapter makes a review on pedagogic resources (tools).The different types of pedagogic resources which include soft wares used for teaching and learning and their different characteristics

3.1 Definition of pedagogy

According to the national board for professional teaching standards (2000), Pedagogy is the study of being an instructor. The term generally refers to strategies of instruction, or a style of instruction. Pedagogy is referred to as the correct use of instructive strategies The Latin-derived word for pedagogy: child-instruction. In English the term pedagogy is used to refer to instructive theory; trainee teachers learn their subject and also the pedagogy appropriate for teaching that subject. The introduction of information technology into schools has necessitated changes in pedagogy; teachers are adopting new methods of teaching facilitated by the new technology. The late Malcolm Knowles reasoned that the term andragogy is more pertinent when discussing adult learning and teaching. He referred to andragogy as the art and science of teaching adults

       TO  Paul Andrew(2007) pedagogy includes didactics, which comprise the strategies and warranted approaches to subject teaching, and learning which may vary from one subject to the other but will necessarily include consideration of sequencing of ideas and the extent to which the sequence is intellectually coherent

3.2 Definition of pedagogic resource

Pedagogic resources also known as pedagogic tools are tools (materials, resources) that instructors use to enforce the concepts taught.The new teaching-learning models of using tools must promote the acquisition of cognitive and metacognitive strategies in order to favor the pupil’s reflection and his or her learning’s self-regulation. Teachers must provide them with proper tools to enable the access to information. Likewise, these tools must permit the selection, analysis and transformation of data into knowledge. With this approach, teacher’s function is that of providing these cognitive tools, teaching pupils to use them autonomously until they become assimilated in their knowledge schemes. These designs for learning must be done according to teaching-learning constructivist principles (flexibility, fragmentation, multidimensionality, interaction, helps’ graduation and adjustment, progressive pupils’ control over his or her learning process, attention to diversity, etc). The traditional teaching-learning methods are no longer able to deal with the current needs and schools, being the responsible institution in the education and training of citizens-to-be, should overcome these limitations and contribute to the development and evolution of society. Teachers resort to the use of different educational software such as tutorials, simulators, intelligent tutors, educational software, hyper media, and exercisers

3.3 Types of computer based pedagogic resource (Educational software)

There exist different types of pedagogic resources depending on the objective of the lesson or competence expected at the end of the lesson .For De Vries (2001) he proposed a taxonomy constituting of eight types of educative soft ware which are classified according to the pedagogic function played by the software. Examples of pedagogic resources (educative software) are:

3.3.1 Tutorials

Tutorials are a Self-paced instructional program that provides step by step information in presenting a concept or learning unit. Computer based tutorials use interactive methods such as hyperlinks, and audio and visual presentation of the subject matter, and provide feedback through question-answer exercises.

  A computer tutorial is an interactive software program created as a learning tool. Tutorials help people learn new skills by using a step-by-step process that ensures the user is following along and comprehending the material. For example, a Web development tutorial may begin with instructions on how to create a basic Web page. This page might only include the words "Welcome to my website" on it and use the minimum HTML required in order for the page to load in a Web browser. Once the user is able to create a working Web page, the tutorial may explain how to add other features, such as styled text, table layouts, and images, to the page. Then the tutorial may provide instructions on how to publish the Web page to the Internet. Tutorials are in line with the cognitive theory of learning. Some software
tutorials provide testing features to ensure comprehension of the material, while others may be simple walkthroughs of a software program.

3.3.2 Exerciser

They are software whose principal function is to stock and distribute multiple exercises. The task proposed to students here is to do multiple exercises. The objective is to facilitate the rapid understanding of the lesson. The pedagogic approach adopted here is the behaviorist approach "practice makes perfect". Most commonly, practice is the act of repeating something over and over for the purpose of learning and gaining experience,

3.3.3 Educative games

These are software generally used to captivate attention of students by furnishing them with motivation. Didactical games are interactive and are supported by computer’s multimedia abilities (text, picture, sound and animation).

The functions of didactical games in the software are:

• Detecting of knowledge
• Detecting of new references
• Verification of knowledge
• Repetition
• Development of logical abilities
• Development of mechanical abilities

A game can take the form of a series of questions and response, search for an object or resolution of a problem. The theory attached to it is that of behaviorist

3.3.4 Hyper Medias

This type of software recommends the computer to render disponible text, songs, images and video. The role of the computer is to furnish children with an explorable space corresponding to the lesson taught and the role of the student is to navigate in this space. The order in which information will appear on the screen depends on the student. The theoretical approach is cognition based on the constructivist.

3.3.5 Micro worlds

These are software manufactured to bring the students to discover abstract domains. These environments can be assigned to objects of behavior which are not necessarily in elation with reality. The task proposed to students is to construct and manipulate objects. The pedagogic theory is that of the constructivist. The student learns to construct and interprets the actions. Abstract knowledge is rendered tangible and materialized by the environment

3.3.6 Collaborators

These are software used to furnish communication space and exchange between students. The computer serves as a medium of communication between students. The task proposed to student is to dispute, argue, describe the text and resolves problems together. The pedagogic theory is that of the social constructivist

3.3.7 Intelligent tutors

These are software used for real teaching. An informatics tutor posses the knowledge of the domain to teach. He can adapt to the errors of the student, adopt pedagogic strategies to communicate with the student. This software exalts artificial intelligence. The pedagogic point of view is that of constructivists as this approach is based on the fact that we can represent the knowledge of the expert in a manner that can be manipulated by the computer.

3.3.8 Simulators

These are educative software used to make students to discover natural laws by themselves. This soft ware imitates part of reality. Student agitates in a simulation similar to the reaction in a real situation. He can change variables and observe the effects of the other variables. The pedagogic approach is that of cognition associated with the constructivist

3.4 Characteristics Of Pedagogic Resources

Learning’s self-regulation implies that students must assume an active or self-directed role in the learning Process, be able to detect deficiencies, think about different possible ways to overcome them and choose the most suitable one for each situation (Alianza. Madrid, 2001) In other words, the teacher, and in this case the software we are introducing next, should favor the development of cognitive and metacognitive strategies in the students. In order to achieve these objectives, the software’s design has to move away from the behaviorist tendencies which it characterizes, and follow a constructivist approach so that students have the possibility of building their own learning Process. The following ones are some of the constructivist principles assumed in the software’s design aiming at promoting self-regulation in learning:

3.4.1 High interaction level

Interaction does not refer exclusively to an action-reaction dynamic. It does not have to do with the fact that the program reacts to every answer given by the pupil or each action executed; it consists on analyzing the type of reaction appearing as a consequence of each action (. Fernandez and I. Cuadrado). If, when an error is detected, the mascot reacts encouraging the pupils to try it again, replacing this indication by visual or sound effects, eliminating some response options to make the task easier and increasing the success possibilities, we cannot affirm the program shows a high level of interaction. It rather follows a trial and error pattern. However, if facing a failure the mascot reacts by providing indications to promote the reflection about the process followed during the task, this helps students to identify errors and correct them. Moreover, these are specific indications in accordance with the error committed, then, we certainly can talk about real interaction. According to this line of argument, we can state that the software we deal with is highly interactive.

3.4.2 Implication in the learning process

It is no use having an attractive accessible interface or a constructivist educative design if the activities we set out are boring. In order to achieve this involvement, the tasks is therefore presented in a “problem” format (I. Cuadrado and I. Fernandez,(2008). That is the activities dealing with concepts such as the human beings’ classification or the learning of contents

Related to spelling, are presented in the form of problems or basic riddles that pupils will have to solve to continue the game. These riddles are related to the themes of the game and represent simulated situations of a reality which students can easily feel identified with, which gives them the required contextualization. On facing the task, students not only solve the riddles on the screen but also learn to solve a situation they probably have already faced before or will have to cope with in the near future. In as much as the activity arouses the pupils ‘curiosity and shows itself to be relevant and useful in fields that are of interest to them, it will increase their willingness to take a real part in carrying it out. The idea is not for the child to learn a set of formulas or concepts and be able to reproduce them faithfully, but rather to be able to apply that knowledge to real specific cases, that are, in so far as is possible, close to his or her socio cultural context.

3.4.3 Active learning

Using educative software the child is given the possibility of finding out and experiencing different response options while carrying out the activity (I. Cuadrado and I. Fernandez May 2008). The dynamics of solving the different problems is open to different strategies that the child might use. That is one does not oblige the child to follow a certain path to do the activity, but makes almost all the possible ways of solving a problem available for the child to choose the one that is best adapted to his or her thinking. This involves including all the variants consistent with resolving some given exercise, from the more pictorial to the more algebraic or abstract, or from those in which the student chooses to first construct a conceptual map and then to use its content to solve the task, to those in which the pupil decides to answer the questions directly. But in addition, the design of these materials allows the child to choose even a path that does not lead to a satisfactory or correct resolution of the task. Sometimes one needs to make mistakes to detect which conceptual relationships remain to be established, what previous knowledge was wrong or incomplete. Experimentation fosters the awareness of the steps or procedures to follow that are Research, Reflections and Innovations in Integrating ICT in Education

3.4.4 Flexibility

Flexibility involves the software should adapt to the educative needs demonstrated by pupils. In this case, it takes into account a series of precise measures to deal with specific disabilities. In the case of hearing impaired children all the activities as well as the indications have been planned to offer a written resolution on the screen. In the case of visually-handicapped pupils, they can perceive the instructions by hearing them and, in addition to this, we designed a tool which allows to enlarge the size of the elements on the screen. Finally, in the case of pupils with mental handicap or severe developmental delay, we have elaborated the same type of activity but with three different levels of difficulty. Thus, at first sight, it gives the impression that all the pupils are working in the same task since their instructions and screens share the same

Illustrations, videos and protagonists. However, the resolution will imply in some cases putting into practice more complex cognitive strategies and previous information than in other cases. That is. at the content of Environmental Knowledge, although the task deals with animals classification, some pupils will be asked to carry it out by paying attention to their physical

Characteristics (simple level) whereas some others will have to classify them taking into account non observable characteristics such as the way of reproduction (more complex level).

3.4.5 Reflexive learning

Whereas some programming materials promote a superficial learning style based on memorization of indications which enables the pupils to guess the right answer, the software should bets on a reflexive learning style aiming at establishing significant relations between the pupils’ previous knowledge and new learning contents. The material which adopts a trial and error pattern as their working system, do not guarantee that the right answer given by the pupil is the result of a reflexive process or the comprehension of the concepts studied in the classroom (Alianza. Madrid, 2001), In the same way, if once the child has made a mistake, he or she guess the answer successfully in the next attempt, this does not either assure that the pupil has understood this error or if the correction is due to information restructuring. Their objective is not to ask the child to try it again but to elicit the pupil's met cognitive awareness by indicating which is the mistake detected, why it is considered to be a mistake, and inciting reflection on which strategies or procedures should be used to correct this error and finish the task. This involves foreseeing the possible mistakes that the pupils may make during the activity, and providing for each of them the relationship of the given information with the pupils' prior knowledge. In the case of a successful response also, this type of relationship is established in order to eliminate the effects of chance and to explain to the pupil why the given answer is correct and what part of his or her prior knowledge is related to it. Moreover, in this case we have double the number of clues foreseeing the child may fail repeatedly in the same part and the first given indication may not adjust completely to the needs required at that moment. The software should ensure the pupil has read the problem comprehensively, and understands what is asked, by means of a series of questions that vary according to the data involved. Secondly, it will check the child's degree of understanding of a certain concept or item of curricular content. If the answer was wrong, the mascot will go back to earlier concepts to check the child's previous knowledge and then relate that knowledge to the content and activities now being presented. And thirdly, the pupil is

presented with activities of progressive difficulty specifically aimed at dealing with the conceptual and procedural errors that he or she has made previously. In this way we try to assure the pupil is acquiring the cognitive tools that he or she needs to face more complex tasks successfully.

3.4.6 Process-centered assessment

It is not a question of including the number of errors and right answers but a question of describing the process used, indicating the specific moments in which the errors took place. Technically, the software provides the teacher with a detailed graphic about the phases of the process in which the pupil needed some assistance to go on with the activity or in which moments the mascot had to solve the problem to continue with the task. With this information, the teacher will analyze the causes originating the error and may activate a strategy in order to

help the pupil to overcome specific difficulties. Likewise, the system enables the teacher to check whether after various activities referred to the same concept, the detected problems still persist or if they begin to be solved.

3.7 Summary

The chapter above saw a detail analysis of pedagogic resources, the different types of pedagogic resources and their characteristics

                  The chapter that follows is going to talk about a virtual laboratory what actually is a virtual lab?

CHAPTER 4: VIRTUAL LABORATORY

A virtual laboratory is an example of software that can be used to facilitate laboratory experiences for a better understanding of students. There are some concepts that cannot be illustrated in a normal laboratory but can be simulated and presented to students in a virtual lab.

4.1 Definition of a virtual laboratory

 According to Rahman, Turkur and Khan (2002), a virtual laboratory is a computer programme that allows students to run simulated experiments) via the web or as a stand-alone application. The experiments, traditionally conducted in physical labs can now be performed on a computer. This allows the students to perform the experiments remotely at any time. In addition, experimental-oriented problems can be conducted without the overheads

Dailey and Knode (2004) define a virtual laboratory as an artificial environment created with computer

hardware and software and presented to the user in such a way that it appears and feels like a real environment. This technology has been applied in all walks of life especially in education where it is used to simulate learning environments. So many universities and military establishments had adopted this technology and this had improved the learning capability of users. The lack of laboratory experience is a major problem associated with learning sciences in general and geography in particular.  Due to the numerous problems incurred in maintaining a physical laboratory the virtual laboratory technology is used to simulate virtual reality. A virtual lab is also particularly useful when some experiments may involve hazardous chemicals and risky equipment

       A virtual laboratory yet is defined as a highly interactive, computer-based multimedia environment in which the user becomes the participant in a computer-generated world (Kim, Park (2000). It is the simulation of a real or imagined environment that can be experienced visually in the three dimensions of width, height, and depth and that may additionally provide an interactive experience visually in full real-time motion with sound and possibly with tactile and other forms of feedback.

             Imagine you are inside a car driving without actually being inside that car; you as a pilot is undergoing training, flying, landing and crashing a plane without actually being inside that plane; you as a computer engineer, diagnose faults and assemble computer systems without actually working with the real physical components. Imagine yourself as a surgeon, walk into an operating theatre, cut open the heart of a patient to change a defective valve. The scenarios described have been made possible through a technology known as virtual reality (VR). There were no real plane, real computer systems, real car and real patient. Everything was a computer simulation (Dailey, and Knode)

         Visualization and conducts of laboratory experiments are the most effective ways to simplify and clarify the comprehension of complex theory. Learning in engineering and science like geography, physics, biology, is a combination of understanding, conceptualization and practical experience. Therefore, learning in these fields today has been hampered by the absence or inadequacy of equipped laboratories, which no doubt have pitfalls such as constraints of time schedule, supervision, materials and cost. One way to overcome these difficulties is to use simulation programmes to create learning environments such as VR laboratories. Computer-based virtual learning environments (VLEs) physical sciences and engineering among others.

4.2 Why virtual laboratory technology

A virtual laboratory acts as a teaching supplement to help students understand the fundamental concepts operation. This laboratory uses computer aided design, or CAD tools, which allow students to simulate the complete process including fabrication and device testing. CAD tools can be used to simulate the design process because of its cost effective and time efficient nature. Traditionally, fabrication requires the use of a large processing laboratory, which is expensive to setup and operate; the equipment alone costs hundreds of thousands of dollars, not including the cost of the perishable materials, and the need for proper disposal procedures for chemical wastes.

         A virtual laboratory setup includes a workstation with software that simulates semiconductor device fabrication and device modeling. This setup is simple and inexpensive, and allows users with no experience to effectively participate in the design process.

    This technology has been applied in all walks of life especially in education where it is used to simulate learning environments. This work presents lack of laboratory experience as the major problem associated with learning in science and engineering in and the way to overcome the problem through the use of virtual reality technology to simulate virtual reality laboratories .Lab utilization models can be clustered into three groups as defined by Savery (2005):

1. Blended learning where instruction is primarily face-to-face with lab experiences to supplement the classroom learning.

2. Hybrid format where the class meets face-to-face but the majority of the activities are online.

3. Online format where there is no face-to-face component and all learning takes place in the online environment.

   VR permits humans to visualize, manipulate and interact with computers and extremely complex data. VR is computer-synthesized, three-dimensional environment in which a plurality of human participants, appropriately interfaced, may engage and manipulate simulated physical elements in the environment and, in some forms, may engage and interact with representations of other humans, past, present or fictional, or with invented creatures (Ramakrishna, Cheng (2001). It is a Computer-based technology for simulating visual auditory and other sensory aspects of complex environments .VR incorporates 3D technologies that give a real-life illusion. VR creates a simulation of real-life situation (Park et al 2000). VR technology has strong benefits in science education not only by facilitating constructivist learning activities but also by supporting different types of learners such as those who are visually oriented and disabled. In recent times, VR technology is steadily finding its way in all areas of human endeavors most especially in education. VR has extremely wide applications across a whole range of disciplines. It has reached a sufficient level of maturity, which has led to its application in education, training, and research in higher education. Virtual Chemical Reactors developed at the University of Michigan in the department of Chemical Engineering was meant to teach students catalyst decay, non-isothermal effects in kinetics, reactor design and chemical plant safety since they believe that humans retain up to 90% of what they learn through active participation (Hites, Several and Sanders, 1999). At the Kongju National University in Korea, a computer-based virtual reality simulation that helps students to learn physics concepts was developed. This virtual laboratory has helped students to gain laboratory experience and thus improved their performance (Lee, 2001).

4.3 Brief history of a virtual lab

Virtualization was first widely employed by IBM in the 1960s to enable a single mainframe computer to host multiple operating systems and their users. The idea fell out of favour in 1970s as computers became less expensive and as single-user computers emerged. Virtualization reappeared in the 1990s and found wide application in the 2000s as a way to consolidate many servers on fewer computers, thus reducing support costs and providing deployment scalability and flexibility. Virtualization also found use in software development for testing new software on multiple operating system and hardware platforms. As virtualization technology improved it found increasing application as a key component of cloud computing models and in educational settings to support distance learning and advanced study in computer science. Under virtualization, a single physical computer (the host) simulates the hardware of one or more other computers, the VMs. The host computer dedicates a portion of its own hardware resources to each host computer including processors, memory, disk storage, and input/output devices. The ‘disk’ of a VM is simply a large file on the host. When the VM is active an operating system and other software are installed on its ‘disk(s)’. Other host files describe the configuration of the VM including its processor type(s), allocated memory, installed operating system, and connected input/output devices. The files that describe VM configuration and disk contents can be copied to create VM clones or moved across computer networks to redeploy VMs. With the right software, a VM can run a different system than the host computer and the host computer can simulate hardware devices that may or may not actually be installed on the host computer.

4.4 CHARACTERISTICS OF A VIRTUAL LABORATORY

There are different types of virtual laboratories though they differ in scope but they have the same purpose to simulate or virtualized experiments. Nance and Hay (2008) of the Methodological Innovations online virtual laboratories have the different characteristics for a virtual lab.

 4.4.1 Active process

  One characteristic of a virtual lab is what we call active process, which largely addresses how students form knowledge and decisions in virtual experience. Five distinct yet related Psychological activities occur in a virtual experience: attention, evaluation, association, Questioning, and processing. These activities demonstrate that students are active learners when examining virtual products. Virtual experience is similar to indirect experience in that both are a mediated experience (Heeter, 2000). It also resembles direct experience because both are interactive in nature (Hoch & Deighton, 1989). Thus, virtual experience should possess advantages of direct and indirect experience for consumer empirically tested the impact of virtual experience on virtual experience simulated in 3-D environments than from indirect experience created in traditional advertising when visual cues,

4.4.2 Presence

The sensation of physical presence is perhaps one of the most difficult characteristics of virtual experience to establish. It is because the feeling of “being there” indicates a state of consciousness that the consumer normally perceives in the physical environment. In fact, feelings of physical presence with that seemed to be tied to the specific action of pressing the power button. In virtual environments, patterns of energy that stimulate the structure to those experienced in the physical environments are used to activate the same automatic perceptual processes that generate our stable perception of the physical world.” Thus, it is reasonable to expect that visual, tactile, and behavioral simulations in 3-D visualizations are likely to create a sense of presence, which in turn can enhance richer consumption experiences. In other words, presence may be a mediating factor; affecting the degree of a virtual experience simulated in 3-D environments.

4.4.3 Affordances

Consumers inspect products in the conventional store following norms. When they select a computer, they may turn it on to see the color of the monitor screen or launch a program; however, they normally do not request to open the case to see what is inside. When consumers select chairs, they are likely to sit on

them but less likely to stand on them. This type of expected interaction between consumers and the set of possible actions is called the affordances of the object.  In the design of objects, real affordances are not nearly so important as perceived ones. it is the perceived affordances that tell the user what actions can be performed on an object and, to some extent, how to do them difference between virtual affordances and physical affordances is the tactile simulation. While a 3-D product is able to simulate many aspects of a physical product, consumers who prefer the tactile affordances of a product may perceive a hindrance within a virtual experience.

4.4.4 Involvement

Another characteristic of a virtual experience is involvement. We observed spontaneous comments indicating a participant’s perception of the relevance of a product or product attribute to themselves or other individuals when examining the 3-D products. Product involvement is not unique to a virtual experience and is often associated with traditional advertising. However, the high frequency of mentions for self involvement and third-person involvement suggests that virtual experience is quite similar to direct experience in this regard.

 4.4.5 Enjoyment of virtual experience

A characteristic of this new kind of consumer experience, which may come from two sources. First, many participants had never interacted with 3-D virtual products. The innovative nature of the design and interactive experience indeed pleased many of them. As 3-D simulations become popular in e-commerce, this innovativeness may fade. The second reason for enjoyment of a virtual experience may reside in the fact that virtual affordances exceed physical affordance. When consumers shop for a wedding ring in the store, they do not expect to see what the engraving will look like on the inner side of a ring. However, when some participants experienced the customization ability and interface in this

Study, they were pleasantly surprised. Such affordance- based enjoyment will endure as virtual

experience has potentials to induce

4.5 Advantages of A virtual

• Significantly Lower Cost

The cost of running a virtual laboratory is significantly low compared to a physical laboratory for example in Perdu.The hydraulic virtual lab software was purchased from Lab-Volt for $4,085 in April 2006. This included 15 seats of the software, which is managed from a central server. Individual seats can be checked out on machines throughout the facility. All of the 15 seats are permitted to add operational pressure gauges, flow meters, and tachometers to the hydraulic circuit for the buck than purchasing real hardware. Given the limited resources of the MET program in Columbus, however, it has been an effective investment. Lab activities. And, ultimately, a mix of virtual lab software and real hardware in all fields is the desired objective.

• Safety and Convenience

Of the numerous advantages of using the virtual lab software for fluid power, safety and convenience is at the top of the list. With physical equipment, students and instructors are required to wear gloves, coats, and safety glasses or helmets with face guards. The danger of high pressure oil always exists, and it leads to tentative behavior by the students that wastes time

during lab assignments. Accidents, such as a failed quick-disconnect coupling, lead to dangerous

situations and unfortunate messes. None of these are a concern with the virtual lab software. As

mentioned previously, others have reported that virtual lab activities take less time, and the experience here has been no different. Also reported in the study at the University of South Florida [8 was that virtual lab activities actually improved knowledge retention more than physical lab activities, and students engaging in virtual lab activities reported a more positive attitude than those in physical lab activities. Since the MET program does not have actual fluid

Power equipment, these types of comparisons are not possible in this work

• The benefits of virtual reality tools in computer engineering laboratory will among other things:

Give the capability to really have a laboratory experience with the students and provide motivation for learning, Can illustrate some features, processes etc. more accurately than by other means, and allows extreme close-up examination of an object and allows observation from a great distance.

• Allows the disabled to participate in an experiment or Learning environment when they could not have been possible and also allows the learner to proceed through an experience at his own pace. Allows the learner to proceed through the experience during a broad time period not fixed by a regular laboratory schedule and Provides experience with new technologies through actual use.
• Requires interaction. Encourages active participation rather than passivity. It is cost effective as in the case of the electronics laboratory; students will deface and damage the virtual Printed circuit board (VPCB) without actually doing any harm to it. There will be no risk of electrocution/electric shock even if there are mistakes made by a student.
  • Physical phenomena that are neither easy to perceive nor to measure in usual experiments can be presented in a virtual world and can be viewed in many different perspectives in a VR laboratory.
  • In addition, dangerous, high cost, and complicated experiments can be realized in a VR system. Overcoming health and safety problems and access to the place and instant, special attention to the needs of disabled students, access to the physics laboratory of a growing number of students. Synchronous learning of theory and experimentation, all students can do simultaneously the same experiment, reduction of residuals (sustainability. possibility to combine real and virtual experimentation.

    4.6 Limitations of A virtual labs.

 No learning system is perfect, and maximal learning is best achieved using a variety of approaches. We therefore encourage teachers to also include learning. The Science Education Review, 2005 experiences other than virtual labs in their programmes. Any completely computer-based learning approach must sacrifice the tactile and kinesthetic aspects of a traditional laboratory, and with it some learning opportunities. Students will not feel, taste, or smell the experimental materials. For example, feeling the resistance of large masses to efforts to move them promotes an understanding of mass and inertia. Tasting baking soda and vinegar can help to develop an understanding of acids and bases. No matter how many experiments have been prerecorded for a lab, a situation may arise where students desire a parameter set that has not been included. Of course, feedback to the lab developer may result in the addition of more experiments but not in time for present students.

• Impossible to acquire the corresponding abilities of manipulation of laboratory instruments, impossibility of evaluating other aspects of the formation. work in group minimum relationship teacher-student and student-student

CHAPTER5: PRESENTATION OF PEDAGOGIC PROJECT (THE SOFTWARE SOLAR SYSTEM SIMULATOR FOR VIRTUAL GEOGRAPHY LABORATORY)

5.1 Justification

The lesson to be considered here is the solar system. This lesson is prescribed in the official Cameroon educational programme for form one. The goal of the lesson is to enable the learner at the end of the course to be able to:

• Define the solar system
• Name the different planets within system
• Know the distances between the sun, moon and the stars
• Know the differences between the sun and the planets

To attain the goal, the following resources (pictures) are expected to be used as didactic material for the learner to have a clear representation of the concept.

The milky way

Figure 2: The Milky Way galaxy

The solar system which includes the sun, earth, and other planets is just a tiny part of the Milky Way. Thus the picture of the Milky Way enables the student to understand where the solar system is found.

THE TELESCOPE

Figure 3: Telescope

The telescope is a device that permits distant and faint objects to be viewed as if they were much brighter and closer to the observer. Astronomers use telescopes to observe thousands of stars, planets, moons, and many other extra ordinary objects like comets and asteroids. The use of the telescope is to obtain the objective of the students being able to observe the sky in order to observe planets, noon and stars

The solar system

Figure 4: Solar system

Such a picture gives learners a clearer understanding of the solar system. It enables them to easily define the solar system. It equally enables the student to be able to know the different planets, name and determine the approximate distances from the sun.

THE SUN

.

Figure 5: The sun

The Sun is a star at the centre of the solar system. Like other stars, the Sun is a huge ball of hot burning gases. Other stars look much smaller than the Sun because they are farther away. Heat and light from the Sun help support life on Earth. This picture of the sun helps us to attain the goal of knowing the difference between the sun and the earth. Its colour and burning nature indicate the heat and high temperature it generates. Life on earth is possible because of energy from the sun

With this method of teaching the solar system, a lot of inconveniences are encountered both by the teacher and the learner. The learner can barely imagine and does not perceive the reality since he lacks a visual support of the solar system. Visual learning requires less concentration and makes assimilation faster. Often times, the teacher lacks didactic material with which he can use to illustrate the functioning of the solar system to show how it actually works. This makes the teaching and learning of the solar system difficult.

This problem is tackled by proposing a method of teaching and learning that is more success oriented in the sense that it is beneficiary both to the teacher, the learner and the establishment. While it serves as a didactic tool to the teacher, it offers the student the opportunity to observe, experiment and self evaluate his understanding of the concept.

5.2 Description of the Software

The software is a solar system simulator that uses virtual products in the virtual laboratory to model the concept and enables the learner to:-

Observe how the planets are rotating round the sun, discover that they rotate on their orbits and experiment how to simulate their own solar system and be tested if they have understood. Evaluation is in the form of a game and does not only permit the student to make a self evaluation but also to draw conclusions.  It gives a learner multiple choice answers to different questions. Hints are also provided on how to find the correct answer.

The questions found in the game help in interpreting certain aspects like the shape of planets and the number of moons. The movement of planets round the sun permits them to have mental representations of the phenomenon. The software is quite interactive as the student is not passive and tries to create his own solar system.

They learning methods that support the realisation of this software are the behaviorist approach, the constructivist approach and the experimental approach. Being in form 1 the learner possesses some characteristics which are taken into consideration before choosing the soft ware.

Learners of this category fall between the ages of 9-11years. It is an age group at which learners are naturally, physically and intellectually dependent. They learn more through observation and listening.

Pedagogically, this method is chosen because apart from observing as earlier mentioned, the learner is actively involved. He gets things done, and sees the results of his performance. He is being given instructions on what to do and in case the answer is wrong, the programme signals. Through this method the learner is evaluated in a manner that requires less concentration and makes it an enjoyable the process.

  Ergonomically learners of this age love and are attracted by colorful environments. Therefore the choice of a software, where different planets are represented by different colours to enable the student differentiate them is essential. Technically the software is user friendly.

  5.3 Realisation of the software

It was obtained from URL Shock wave flash (swf) files. Given the fact that we are in the behaviorist, constructivist and experimental approach, it provides the opportunity to the learner to be able to observe, experiment and auto- evaluate

At the observation stage, the learner uses both the behaviorist and the cognitive approach .In the former approach the learner is passive. He barely watches silently as the planets rotate round the sun and in the latter approach he reflects, questions and understands.

To experiment, a learner applies the constructivist approach where he creates and develops his own ideas personally. Based on instructions given, he creates his own solar system and sees the results of his ingenuity.

In evaluation, the software highlights key notions like the number of planets and their names. Questions asked include the position of each planet with respect to the sun, identification of their different orbits and general questions on the concept of the solar system.

5.4 Cost and permission for Usage

 It is a free ware, developed by the Russian scientist Alexander E. Zavalishin Voronezh in 2007. Below is the license and the conditions for its use

“This software is FREEWARE. It may be used FREE of cost for personal or non-commercial public use. It may NOT be used for commercial purposes, distributed for payment or modified in anyway whatsoever. The software may be freely distributed without any prior permission. Disclaimer of Warranty. IN NO EVENT SHALL ANY LIABLITY BE HELD FOR DAMAGE OF ANY KIND, LOSS OF DATA, AND LOSS OF PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION OR OTHER PECUNIARY LOSS ARISING DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY. FREE Software License Agreement: This is FREE software. Subject to the terms above, you are hereby licensed to use this software FREE of cost for personal home use or non-commercial public use”. 

5.5 Limitations of the soft ware

Since this software has animations, it is not possible to use it on a computer where a flash has not been installed. Therefore in the absence of macromedia flash, the software cannot function, thus students are not able to get in contact with the real products .They cannot observe since all products are virtual and nothing can be modified. They barely have to work on the software without adding or subtracting anything. Also in the software the colours and shape of the planets do not correspond to that in the legend

5.6 Maintenance

Where the soft ware is installed, the computer has to be constantly updated for antivirus. The software should be coded so that it should have limited access and made available only for practical.

5.7 Process of realisation of the software

This software  is elaborated using pictures that have been simulated fromURL of the solar system from the shock wave flash (swf)file .The file format SWF stands for "Small Web Format" or "Shockwave Flash". It is a partially open repository for multimedia and vector graphics, originating with Future Wave Software and comes under Adobe control. Intended to be small enough for publication on the web, SWF files can contain animations or applets of varying degrees of interactivity and function. It currently^[update] functions as the dominant format for displaying "animated" vector graphics on the Web. It may also be used for programs, commonly games, using Action Script.SWF files can be generated from within several Adobe products: Flash, Flex Builder. After conceiving this soft ware, it was stored in a virtual laboratory that also contains soft wares both for Anglophones and francophone. Subjects involved are biology, physics, chemistry and geography. Below is the architecture of the laboratory.

      LAVIS/VIL

BIOLOGY

SOLAR SYSTEM

POLLINATION

FRANCOPHONE SECTION

      ANGLOPHONE SECTION

ANIMATION

EVALUATION

GEOGRAPHY

        SOLAR SYSTEM

LABORATOIRE VIRTUEL DE SCIENCE  DE LA VIE ET DE LA TERRE

VIRTUAL LABORATORY OF LIFE AND EARTH SCIENCE

The architecture shown above describes the process through which a student can take in order to access the soft ware where he can observe, experiment and self evaluate. The name of the laboratory is inscribed above in French LABORATOIRE VIRTUEL DE SCIENCE DE LA VIE ET DE LA TERRE and in English VIRTUAL LABORATORY OF LIFE AND EARTH SCIENCES.

Below, the different sections both for Francophone and ‘Anglophones are indicated. A click on the Anglophone section takes you into the home page where you have ‘LIFE AND EARTH SCIENCES’ ascribed above. Below are two boxes: The one on the right is indicated ‘Evaluation’ and below it, we have ‘pollination’ and ‘solar system’. The box on the left is for biology (pollination) and Geography (solar system and create solar system). In-between the two boxes is written “form 1” to specify that it is meant for form1 students only. For geography students in form 1, a click on the “solar system” takes them into the software for observation. In order to experiment, click on the “create solar system” For self evaluation in the solar system, the learner goes to the evaluation section and clicks on “solar system”

 5.8 Recommendations

This software should be included in the official program as a didactic material to teach the solar system and disseminated within secondary schools. It can be tried alongside other soft wares for other courses. Other soft wares should be included for the teaching of related concepts in physical, urban and rural geography. The state should increase spending on equipping schools especially in rural set-ups where didactics are limited. Regular workshops for the training of teachers in the different disciplines should be organized at divisional or regional levels to on the use of ICT in teaching.

Summary: This chapter gives an insight on the description, application and maintenance of the Solar System Simulator.

CONCLUSION

The need to integrate ICT in Cameroonian secondary schools is imperative. Current teaching and learning methods are not in line with present day global methods. Today’s global world is highly competitive requiring additional effort and perfection in every endeavor in order to succeed.   The economic standards of Cameroon does not permit us be able to obtain the expensive equipment that are required to carry out such experiments in the real laboratory. The absence of visual and experimental learning methods significantly affect the quality of teaching and the assimilation rate of students as they are abandoned to imaginary scenes and pictures that vary based on the explanation of each teacher and the perception of each student.

The major objective of this study was to use ICT to diversify the teaching and learning environment in order to improve learning and performance of students. This tool equally serves as teaching aid to teachers particularly for illustrations.

The major result of this study is the use of the Solar System Simulator to illustrate the functioning of the solar system. The use of pictograms and videograms facilitates the teaching and learning process. It also provides a means through which students can experiment by manipulating the soft ware on their own.

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