LOCAL schools are now using computers as an effective teaching aid to enhance the learning skills and knowledge of schoolchildren and allow them to reach out to their counterparts across the nation.
At San Antonio Elementary School, every classroom of each grade level has a set of computers.
Third graders under teacher John McGuire are already accustomed to using computers when doing research, assignments or simply to learn about new things.
At McGuire’s class of 20, two students share one computer or a ratio of 1:2. This is even better than the student-computer ratio in the U.S., which is 1:6.
McGuire said the computers were purchased to give each class a chance to conduct research without leaving their classrooms.
In the past, San Antonio has only one computer lab so each class interested to learn more about computers had to leave their classrooms.
“Our goal is actually to get away from a computer lab so we don’t have to get away from our classrooms to bring students to a computer lab to have access to information or research,” McGuire said.
Education experts are still studying the relationship between a child’s learning ability and a computer. But in McGuire’s case, he finds computers effective teaching tools.
“I found that there’s a high degree of motivation with having computers. The greatest thing is having access to information. They don’t have to go to a library since we have Internet on all the computers,” McGuire said.
“We’re also reaching out to other schools…in Hawaii, or any public school in the CNMI which has a video conference setup,” he added.
Meagan Ito, 8, one of McGuire’s students, said she finds computers very informative. Through it, she said she learned that “cats once ruled in Egypt.”
Eight-year-old Wilden Mangahis, another student, said he’s interested in math and finds the computers very helpful.
“You can look at sites that can give you lots of information,” Mangahis said.
Mereylen Denora and her classmate Allison Dela Cruz, both nine years old, said they like computers a lot and are hoping that their parents would buy them one.
“We get to do lots of fun stuff in a computer. It’s fun. We play games,” the two said.
