Senior Teacher of English A.V.Yudintseva

Karaganda State Technical University

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES AS A SOURSE OF INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO LEARNERS’ MOTIVATION

In the modern world much attention is paid to the information and communication technologies which open the door to new possibilities in many areas of our lives. Education is one of the most important of these areas. It is not a secret that successful learning depends on a student’s motivation. What can motivate the contemporary learner? A good book? Games? Video? Maybe attractive visuals? The answer is evident – the combination of all the above and even more.

The main objective of modernization of education is to prepare competitive specialists. It means that the entire educational system of the country should move towards the innovative education. Thus the development and implementation of information and communication technologies in higher education is one of the components of modernization of Higher Educational Establishments. The main purpose of higher education modernization is to improve the knowledge quality of specialists through the introduction of new technologies, multimedia and telecommunications into the educational and scientific processes.

To innovative approaches in education it is possible to include multimedia projects. The goal of these projects lies in the fact that the method is focused on student’s independent project work, which involves the use of:

1. research and retrieval methods;

2. creative works of students;

3. work with a variety of sources which reflect different points of view.

Multimedia projects and intercultural communication is an integrated course at the intersection of computer science and foreign language, causing the increased interest of contemporary students.

The aim of this course is:

1. to educate the future leaders who will be able to use technological innovations effectively in their education and future work;

2. formation of ideas about the world as a united space in a variety of cultures, where language serves as a means of intercultural communication.

There is nothing as more important for a teacher as to see how students take an active part in the educational process and spend extra time to their individual work. Multimedia projects allow students to show their understanding of a topic in a variety of ways, and they provide students with the opportunity to explain their work and ideas to others.

Multimedia is a powerful source of communication and offers new ideas in organizing, synthesizing, and evaluating information. Multimedia has the potential to change the role of a teacher and a student and help students to develop their own interpretations of information.

In addition to content knowledge and skills, development of multimedia projects offers students the opportunity to work together, participate in numerous learning activities and to use constructivist approach to learning.

Multimedia projects encourage students to work in groups, to express their knowledge in different ways, to solve problems, to review their work, and to construct knowledge. Students have the opportunity to learn and apply real-world skills. They learn the importance of collaboration, influence and significance of various kinds of media, including copyright laws, problems of communication with different audience; the importance of research, planning, organization and skills; the value of presentation and speaking skills, and how to accept and provide constructive feedback.

Development of multimedia projects help students to reinforce their technology skills and to prepare them to the future career. It also invites them to work together and use different media to express their understanding of a topic. This process approach to learning encourages students to think differently about how to organize and present information. It supports collaborative work, self-reflection, authentic learning, and the use of technology as a cognitive tool. In addition, multimedia projects offer an alternative for assessing student achievement and provide students with a real-world learning environment.

One should not forget about multimedia learning games. Interactive multimedia games have extended into the educational arena. In the early 1990s the development of Interactive Whiteboards along with advances in computers and Internet use have opened avenues to reach and teach students. Whiteboards games created for all subject areas help students review, interact, create, observe, play and learn.

The majority of games are designed on Adobe Flash. Computer-based learning games involve students to play a game on their computer, complete with a visual-auditory experience. The student's game play influences the narrative direction of the game, based on their ability to apply new information. For example, flash-based learning games allow the visual environment to change, becoming more aesthetically pleasing as the student proceeds to the next level.

There are several types of multimedia learning games.

1. Simulating games are the logical tasks and adventures. Computer program is set a problem; students should solve it alone or in groups. Then computer shows the learner’s answer. In such kinds of games it is suggested, for example, to manage the company for several years, making decisions on how many employees you need to hire and how much money to pay them. Language practice in this case relates not to the reading of texts or entering the necessary information, but students’ discussion during each stage of the game. There are games where you need to enter a short answer. The main task of the student is to find the necessary form of expression that will be reviewed by computer and will allow moving to the next stage of the game.

2. Generating games. In these tasks, computer generates a paragraph of text based on a number of lexical items and grammatical forms. The task of the student is to study this paragraph, determine its meaning, and change the rules. For example, the program offers to a learner to find exceptions of these rules. The task of the student is make computer to make a mistake. It is not an easy task. Even students with high proficiency level perform a task with an interest.

3. Analytical games. These tasks are based on working with a text. The text can be analyzed by a computer on a high semantic level and elementary level, where words and phrases are based on punctuation. For example, during the first presentation of the text, the student sees eight possible options for the headline and only one word chosen by chance. Focusing on the word, he must choose the correct title of the text. Probably this information will be enough to understand exactly which title matches the text, but likely it will not be enough, and the student will ask for additional words. The words will appear as long as the student is able to choose the correct answer. The program encourages attempts to guess the correct answer, but for all wrong answers students will lose some points. During the work, the student gradually develops a strategy that allows him to get the right answer.

Among the advantages of multimedia learning games there is a principle when students take the initiative itself, which is not always possible with a traditional training. In a group of 20 students it is unlikely that each of them will be able to ask questions and immediately get answers, as well as carry out tasks which they want to work at the moment. That is why many students get used to their own passivity and not ask the questions, but only answer them. It is the different situation when students work at the computer. They cannot be passive anymore. The computer is patient and can repeatedly repeat the same actions and the student have the opportunity to try a variety of options as an explorer.

Multimedia learning games are very helpful. They stimulate interest in a subject and through this higher level of concentration, help children to achieve higher scores without a sense of hard work. For some subjects, such as language learning, this multimedia approach is particularly suitable. Situations can be rendered much more clearly than in language text book: sound and animation make nuances clearer, and the presentation can benefit from touches such as humor that can help keep students interested.

Language learning through multimedia learning games should be one of the main components of the educational process. A variety of multimedia learning games contributes to the expansion of vocabulary, better understanding of grammar rules, development of listening skills, and the correct spelling.

The advantages of multimedia learning games are also include:

1. improvement of the learning process;

2. alternative perspectives;

3. growing students’ interest;

4. retention and application of knowledge;

5. quality improvement of learning material;

6. accelerated learning;

7. learner-centered education;

8. active participation;

9. problem-solving and decision-making skills;

10. system understanding;

11. higher-order thinking;

12. autonomy and focus

13. control over pacing and sequencing of information

14. access to support information

15. avoidance of subjectivity.

Современные студенты - в основном сетевое поколение, для которых электронный способ получения информации (в данном случае именно учебной) является нормальной составляющей жизни. В целом высокие технологии в образовании приветствуются студентами, - знания, умения, навыки пригодятся в самосовершенствовании и карьерном росте. Информационные коммуникационные технологии стали их рабочим инструментом.

Contemporary students are mostly a network generation. The electronic way of receiving information for them is a normal part of life. In general, students like to use innovative technologies in education. Knowledge of Information and Communication Technologies and useful skills will help them in self-improvement and career growth.

Today Information and Communication Technologies have enormous opportunities for using them in the educational process. Digital Technologies with its resources are an essential means of achieving goals and objectives of the learning process. In the second half of the 20 century, actively developing digital technologies offer a new way to access information, new forms of communication such as email, chats and conferences. Computers have entered into all spheres of modern life. ICTs are changing the learning process and this is inevitable reality.

Thus, Information and Communication Technologies are regarded as a tool to increase motivation and improvement of strong language skills.

They also allow educators to create situations relevant to each student and make three channels of perception work: auditory, visual and kinesthetic. It increases the amount and retention of the studied material.

Information and Communication Technologies significantly improve the status of learner in the educational process, increase their cognitive activity and maintain the interest, as well as, expanding the student’s individual work.

The use of Information and Communication Technologies increases the dynamics and quality of the educational tasks, implementation process, and self-control and self-assessment; assesses the success of learning.

Sourses

1. Идилова И.С. Электронные образовательные проекты и межкультурная коммуникация//Иностранные языки в школе. – 2007. - №6.

2. John Higgins. Learning with a Computer Teaching and the Teacher, Modern English Publications, 1984, p.83-67.

3. Barron A., G.K.Ivers. 2002. Multimedia projects in education: designing, producing, and assessing (Second Edition). Greenwood Village, CO: Libraries Unlimited.