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.
Sugata Mitra’s “Hole in the Wall” experiment (1999) aimed to prove that children nowadays do not need teachers to enable them to learn. Mitra claims that, with motivation in place and working collaboratively, children can learn from computers. Although these ideas (Mitra, 2003) have been criticised, particularly with regard maths and other skills, the fact that children needed to gain an understanding of English in order to navigate the kiosk computers does add weight to his claim that if children have interest and motivation, education will happen with or without a teacher. In Hyderabad, Mitra conducted an experiment to prove that computers can be used to adapt pronunciation. Children were observed learning to modify their speech in order to interact with the computer. Compared with the behaviourist activities of model and drill in the ELT classroom, this perhaps offers a much more effective, constructivist way to engage learners? Mitra's TED talk is very interesting...
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.
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.
I've been teaching ELT since 2002 and over the years have accumulated a significant amount of paper:
My groaning resource shelf!
Does my ELT resource shelf need to go? These resources have been collected over 12 years and I'm questioning whether they continue to have any relevance in the digital world. Getting rid of these is going to be hard - they've served me well over the years. When I was a CELTA trainee I was shown how to use photos and pictures to elicit response and bring out language and I would spend hours browsing magazines to pull out suitable images. Thankfully, I've been able to ditch all of these dog-eared pictures, thanks to the vast image bank on the Internet. It's so easy to find stimulating visual resources that also fit into the Equality & Diversity agenda.
The question is....
...will the digital tools and resources that we are about to be introduced to enable me to replace these old resources? It will be nice to clear the shelf and get rid of clutter, but can all of these be replaced in a way that ADDS VALUE to my lessons? My techno-sceptic self thinks not.
