Transformative learning’: The developmental processes of L2 teachers as
effective users of online resources for language learning and teaching.
I liked the idea from the beginning , being able to share with other teachers and learn together and eventually form a community sounds really appealing .
The question of how electronic literate I consider myself has been pondering my head . To make sure, I took a test, but to my surprise the terms and the content were already obsolete ( it mentioned MP3, what is that ?? ! ) and well, according the results, I am quite good in the field.
As a second language teacher one has to be innovative, one of the ways of keeping up with the times and with our students, who seem to one step ahead of teachers all the time related to technologies, is by the use of technology in the class.
We live surrounded by technology and most of our students were born next to a computer and can not recognise a "diskette" if shown one, or have never looked for information in a library like we did.
Unfortunately, I might be very fond of using technologies in my classroom and I am certain my students would really appreciate it, but there is a program to follow and colleagues to work with that might be reluctant to make the transition from paper to digital. When the curriculum is organised centrally and not locally to meet the needs of our students, and when teachers have cero o very little influence on it, the only changes that you can do as a teacher are in the way you present activities and material. In our case, the program indicates the methodology and the way the students will be assessed. To think of anything else will be out of the question.
On the other hand, I don't consider my students digital natives, although they were born in this era, but the only know how to move around Facebook and are not even able to set a good privacy setting. There is a lot to learn, one might think they will be comfortable using technologies, but they are more engaged in been presented technology than using them themselves .
In my context, to achieve my goals with these 21st century students, I am doing my best. I teach trainee teachers , therefore I share my digital literacy with them so they can use it in their own lesson planning and classes. It is also a good idea ,especially working with young people, that they can see the importance and the benefits of incorporating technology in their practices
Here , there is a video of what I try to teach my students, they need to make a change :
Hi Valia,
ReplyDeleteYou wrote in your reflection that you did not consider your students digital natives. I think that is very relevant in all this discussion, as it is usually taken for granted that all students are natives nowadays. Perhaps in your case, 'learner training' would be beneficial when using technology in your class. You can start by developing strategies for:
1.organising their learning (what they will learn and how)
2. comment on their learning (describe and exchange ideas with you or peers)
3. reflect on their learning (how they felt learning a specific content using a technological tool)
all this for them to see the benefits of using technology other than for social networking on Facebook on a non educational basis. Hope this is useful :)Looking forward to your next post!