ICT in the classroom - why bother?!

Is it worth the effort?

Before exploring this, please answer my extremely simple survey.

Imagine it's your birthday and you have two packages to open.  Don't think too deeply about this question....

Which would you be more excited about?

Package A                                                                                 Package B

                                  

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey , the world's leading questionnaire tool.

Survey Results

Thank you to everyone who took part in my survey.  I had 22 responses and here are the results:

I have to admit, I'm rather surprised at these results and really intrigued to know the reason for your choice.  I opted for Package A, because, for me, it promises something special inside, as whoever wrapped it up took time and effort to do so.  What informed your choice? 

My thinking was tied up with theories that assume that all 21st century learners are interested in, motivated by and experts at using digital technology.  (see my earlier post of Heidi Hayes Jacob's talk).  These theories are underpinned by the assumption that technology in the classroom excites and engages students.  Package A could represent a digitally-rich lesson, making use of different tools to present and play with language.  Package B is the session which does not make use of technology.  Does that make the content any less valuable?  Does it mean that 21st century students will not be stimulated or fully engaged?  As you can see from the results of the survey and the comments that have been posted, a large percentage are wary of ostentation.  It brings Shakespeare to mind:

All that glitters is not gold

This means that not everything that is shiny and superficially attractive is valuable.  Shakespeare demonstrated this in 1596 in The Merchant of Venice. It resonates today with my thoughts on ICT in the classroom. It cannot be used in isolation, but needs to be aligned to learning objectives.  Lessons of true value aim to accommodate all preferred styles of learning by following the teaching and learning cycle:  identifying needs, planning, implementing, assessing, evaluating.  All domains of learning need to be satisfied; cognitive (knowledge), psychomotor (skills) and affective (emotional).  If digital tools can assist in achieving this, then they are adding true value to the teaching and learning experience.  However, the "wow" factor does not need to be present in a lesson in order to motivate the students and promote learning.  It's structure that makes a lesson great, not 'pizazz'! 

Asking the right questions

A lightbulb moment (thanks to Russell Stannard)

I think my acceptance of the implementation of new technologies into the classroom has been hindered by the need to justify it with proven added value.  Why bother, for example, to use "Tricider" to elicit ideas and promote discussion, when a simple low-tech brainstorm using post-it notes could produce the same results?
Russell put forward a very interesting idea on Friday regarding the questions we should ask ourselves......

The question shouldn't be whether or how technology improves learning.
The question should be how technology makes learning relevant for today's learners.

This is very helpful for me and I believe I can move forward in a much more positive way.

Education for the 21st Century

How we need to re-think pedagogy

Heidi Hayes-Jacobs is an American educator, who in this clip maintains that we are still teaching within 19th century conditions, using low-tech materials (pen and paper) in a standards-driven climate that cannot prepare students for jobs in the 21st century and beyond.  Curriculum design is currently based on the assumption that learning is taking place and assessment serves to validate this by measuring achievement.  An upgraded curriculum should be mission-driven, reflecting the new literacies (digital, global and media-related) and be immediate and authentic in order to respond in real time to any gaps or repetitions.  Jacobs is an inspiring speaker and I particularly like her comment "people do dumb things with smartboards". The most important thing with digital tools is knowing how to use them in a way that adds value to the learning experience.   If I'm being honest, I currently only use technology to enhance presentation: a PowerPoint is more vivid than a whiteboard, and YouTube provides entertaining clips to give students an experience upon which they can reflect and subsequently work with and build on.  I use these resources to introduce new vocabulary, model pronunciation and demonstrate intonation and stress - but these are all forms of presentation.  Entertained they might well be, but are the students are still just passive recipients?   The new generation of learners live in a world where social networking prevails and they are comfortable with this form of communication and able to make immediate use of new, innovative technology and web-based applications.  The challenge for the language teacher is to align new technologies with theories of language learning. This blog will evaluate different tools, considering both the practical aspects and the benefits they offer to the language learning experience.  

Rethinking Pedagogy for the Digital Age

Changing Paradigms in Education

Let's begin by defining "to teach".

www.oxforddictionaries.com provide the following definitions:

1.  impart knowledge to or instruct someone how to do something.

2.  give information about or instruction in (a subject or skill).

Oh dear!  If this is the definition, then we're all potentially redundant!  A teacher cannot be a source of knowledge and instruction - everything anyone needs to know (and more) is available on the Internet.  I fully accept that our roles need to change.  Teaching needs to respond to the new needs of the millennial generation, who are growing up in a digital world.  This is why I have begun my journey to see how new technologies can be incorporated into my practice in ways that ADD VALUE to the learning experience.

My inspiration

This talk by Sir Ken Robinson started to get me thinking about the way we educate.  This was my starting point, and the reason I have embarked on my techno-journey.