I personally have very mixed feelings about this video. I definitely agree that we should use a variety of methods to engage our students, and that more modern methods may make them more interested in the material that we are teaching. The problem is that it is very difficult to create new methods using technology, that are effective. I am not saying we should not, but that we need to be careful in how we construct our classrooms. I admit I am also very skeptical about the idea of students making their own homework or lessons. I know there are schools where this works, but I feel like some students would purposefully make their work way too easy. Plus, I feel like learning a foreign language specifically requires structure that individual learning has a hard time providing.
Despite this technology can provide experiences that traditional teaching could never provide. With technology students can be exposed to so much more of the language and culture than they ever could otherwise. My favorite example is a website from the University of Texas that has native speakers from a variety of Spanish speaking countries talking about various topics ranging from food to what life would be like without electricity. Language learners at any level can use this tool to work on their pronunciation, accent, and listening skills all at once.
http://www.laits.utexas.edu/spe/
There are countless online tools that can be used and they are great to engage the attention of students. Seeing the target language being used within the culture is an eye opening experience that students will enjoy, and validate their language learning with.
As for various forms of social media, I think blogging and skype are both useful. Blogging is good for writing and reading skills, while Skype can be used for speaking skills, listening skills, and for cultural exchange with native speakers. In the article I read blogging was used to reflect on the study abroad experiences of students in Spain, and I thought it was a great use of technology. Students were forced to talk to Native Speakers for interviews, evaluate the culture, and practice their writing skills. I honestly can not think of how you could use Twitter or Facebook, so I would avoid them. I also feel like they could easily turn into distractions with their own personal accounts.
Technology being a distraction is honestly my biggest worry. There are so many factors that could make technology a hindrance in the classroom, including technological problems, students misusing it, and time spent trying to teach students how to use the technology are my first thoughts. Once again, teachers just have to very careful with what kind of technology they use, and how they use it.
Maybe we are using too much technology. I don't believe teachers should use technology for interactive or communicative-based activity in class. Blog, Skype, Facebook or Twitter should be used outside of class to reinforce not to teach students' language skills. Teachers should do their job well by teaching students in class. They are paid to teach not to use technology in class. As much as I enjoy using technology to supplement my teaching and student learning, I strongly believe that face-to-face instruction is still the BEST!
ReplyDeleteYes, totally agree. I think that well managed use of an online/tech component can be a good way to add to classroom instruction— but nothing eats up more time than trying to implement it in the classroom! It is a good way to carry on with interactive learning because it always seems that there is not enough class time.
DeleteFirst, I agree with Lina that teachers are paid to teach and NOT to use technology in the class. Using technology in the classroom is obviously very innovative and perhaps captures the attention of otherwise bored students, but this also seems like a huge distraction, especially among younger students. I really cannot imagine what would happen if an instructor opened facebook or twitter as in-class teaching tools in an elementary or middle school classroom. the technology would likely be far more of a distraction than it would be a teaching tool. Even in high school, I do not that that using social media in the classroom would be an effective strategy.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, I absolutely LOVE the link you shared from UT that features native speakers. I really want to put the links on blackboard so that my students can use them as additional resources. Listening is a very hard skill for beginner language students to develop, and so having that sort of resource, which offers written transcripts in both Spanish and English, is an incredible asset. In this case, technology is being used very effectively, as it connects beginner students to native speakers with whom they otherwise would have no contact. Especially on the UNH campus, where we have a relatively small population of native Spanish speakers, this sort of resource has the potential to really enhance a student's learning experience.
I definitely agree with both of you that technology can be a huge distraction in the classroom, but balance is necessary. That is the tough part of incorporating technology in the classroom. Tess, I love that link too. I sometimes just listen to some of them to work on understanding different accents. It's pretty fun.
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