Reflections on Loti Framework

https://www.loticonnection.com/loti-framework

 Reflections on Loti Framework

by Silvina Lopes Rossi

To start with, technologies are reshaping human life as we know it, in every single aspect so fast that makes us difficult to predict how those aspect of life will be like, especially education.  Children attending to school now will have to develop in a much more highly technological world that they know today. So, one of our main responsibilities as teachers is to provide them with essential tools to face the future. In order to do so, we should be updating our technological knowledge and using it in the classroom on daily basis to facilitate them knowledge access as well as to make them develop technological needs, they will be improving while growing up.

        Loti framework is an intent to make better education simple by implementing the use of technologies in and beyond the classroom.  We as educators are able to teach in new ways, with new tools, and students are able to begin working with computers and other devices being very young and they will have access to a high-quality education that puts the student at the center of the learning process.

Level	Category	Description
0	Nonuse	These teachers use technology as an aid for the traditional class, text-based. They use technology likewise they use chalkboards, textbooks and paper.
1	Awareness	These teachers use technology just to learn how to use the equipment.  Almost no instruction is provided by technological means at all.
2	Exploration	These teachers use technology just as extension activities (fillers) enrichment exercises to provide instructional programs to students.
3	Infusion	These teachers use technology as other tools in the classroom and to support already designed syllabuses and programs (databases, spreadsheets, graphing packages, probes, calculators, multimedia applications).
4	Integration	These teachers include tools integrated while providing students' understanding of concepts, themes, and processes. These teachers use technology to identify, explore, analyze, or solve authentic issues.
5	Expansion	These teachers use technology beyond the classroom. They use it to solve real problems or start new researches, business or applications. The student becomes very active to solve issues surrounding a major theme/concept.
6	Refinement	These teachers use technology as a process, product (e.g., invention, patent, new software design), and tool to help students solve authentic problems related to an identified real-world.  The students are really skillful and manipulate technology at a higher level, even developing software.

Further Reflections

My personal involvement with technology is really deep. I have been trying to cope with the challenges, technology poses daily.  Of the descriptions presented by the Loti framework, I think I am between the second and third stage.  I wish I were really developed in computer technologies, though I was not born in a digital era.  I personally consider technology as a facilitator in the classroom, and outside the classroom for me and the students.

I look forward to learning all I could about technology and its uses in teaching-learning.  So, a year from now, I am very likely to take a Master program in Virtual Environments just to learn more about developing instructional materials to be used later in the classroom. Besides, I would really like to learn programming to be able to develop applications.

I consider using technology in the classroom facilitates both teaching and learning.  I can experiment more in pedagogy while getting instant feedback.  Besides, technology is a plus to get the students involved in the real world.  Although they demand a high level of preparation, the products a teacher might develop can increase engagement. The teacher might regularly check in with students to get feedback on instruments or other resources.  Countless resources might be used to make learning more stimulating, interesting and challenging. I believe the main point is always having in mind clear learning objectives when using technology.

Other important aspects of technology are the free access to reliable sources of information for the students, (textbooks are no longer updated when compared to the resources available on the Internet).  And finally, by using technology in the classroom, students develop a deeper understanding of the digital environments, working with others in collaboration to resolve real-life problems.