Hi everybody,
One of the other topics we will be discussing tomorrow is the use of technology in ELT. Here are the link to two videos I'd like you to watch. Once you have watch them post your comments to the following question: Is the use of Educational technology taking us away from the real nature of teaching?
Keep the great work!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nA1Aqp0sPQo
http://www.ted.com/talks/ramsey_musallam_3_rules_to_spark_learning#t-381128
I think technology is a powerful weapon, that has to be used in a correct way. What I mean with this is that it depends of how we used technology to improve and enrich the teaching method; it is positive in my opinion, because it let us to access to information in a faster way than the traditional class environment for example, also we can learn anywhere we are without having to move from one place to another one, beside this, we can find topic of interests about what we want to learn and activities according to those topics. In a class, technology could give us different tools and fun ways of learning that students would enjoy, making the class dynamic and would keep the attention from them. On the other hand, it has negative aspects, one of it is that the information is not always accurate, because any person can post whatever they want, making hard the decision about which one is right and which one wrong. Technology grows in a speed that is almost impossible to catch, that’s why teachers need to be aware about finding ways to keep close to it, in order to improve the teaching method, being update and implementing the new gears as a helper but not replacing the knowledge that the teacher should provide to the students.
ReplyDeletei agree with you Cris, technology can be a really useful tool depending on how teachers use it in class and how they teach their students to use it outside the class. Teachers can teach the students to identify accurate information online, and can suggest interesting webpages that can help them to practice or increase their knowledge about the topics learned in class.
DeleteIn my opinion, technology is a great tool but can also be a tricky one. It is a great helpful hand in the class to do research and maybe answer some questions, however..I believe it should not replace a teacher or deprive students of what the TED talk video talked about, curiosity and engagement. I also believe that technology has made people lazy,students even more so. Students don't get involved anymore and try to truly exercise their brain when it comes to school and learning, now a days they just Google something and all the answers are right at their finger tips without having to really think about anything. As teachers, we are supposed to make students think and I believe that that is the nature of teaching. Technology, with measure, can be a wonderful element but I do not think that it should take over.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Aleja, because I think that if we use technology in a proper way, it’s a wonderful tool, but it doesn’t mean that the teacher is not need it anymore, otherwise the teacher is who has to engage the classes with technology and doesn’t letting the technology to replace him/her. It should be a help to improve our lessons giving variety to the activities in class but the knowledge the teacher has is the most important of all.
DeleteI also believe technology is making future generations a bit lazy. For example I read an article that many U.S. states have dropped cursive writing classes to make room for keyboard lessons, because a main focus is for students to be digitally literate, but now when students are asked to sign a document they are having trouble because they have no idea how to sign their own name. How can it be possible that something so basic (in my opinion), of taking a pen and signing is not possible but texting is a piece of cake?!?!
DeleteTanya what you say is very surprising to me. I can't believe people can't sign their own name with a pen because it is more important to know how to use a keyboard. It reminds me of something I read when I was in the university about how important it was years ago to be able to sign your name, just by doing that you were considered literate even if that was the only thing you could write. It also makes me think of how things are in Colombia, I remember that when I was doing my research for my thesis I had to go to different schools in the city and gave parents a questionnaire. I found in different occasions that some parents can't read and it was so surprising, it made me realize that in our country some people are very lucky and they don't even realize it, and some others do their best and work very hard to provide their children with education.
DeleteAll this makes me think that technology is present in our lives every single day in different devices, but it is not the same for every one, so as teachers we do have to be able to introduce technology in our classes as much as we can. I mean, it depends on the access we have to it in the place we are teaching and the access our students have to it.
It is very important that along with preparing students for this hyper connected, globalized and fast paced world we currently live in, they also have tbe tools to engage public social debate. As some of my classmates point out, there are cases where individuals are highly competent in regards to technology matters but lack certain social skills.
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ReplyDeleteThat's for sure ladies; technology makes people lazier,that's why We as Teachers should be smarter and know how to use it in our classes to make students think.
DeleteI really liked Ted's video, and completely agree with it. Now a days students don't question or challenge themselves that often to get answers, they want everything "easy" just by googling. Unfortunately, the use of technology without proper use makes this happen. Yes, they are great tools but I believe with moderate use.
ReplyDeleteI so agree with you Tanya! Technology can be a great tool but in moderate use. We as teachers must know and learn how to include it in a safe and helpful way and not rely on it completely.
DeleteI agree Tanya, relying on technology rather than allowing a good reasoning to find an answer is the easy way for many students nowadays.
DeleteYet I believe that it is the teachers responsibility to create an environment that allows for students to thrive and investigate different possibilities, using less technology.
I think the use of technology is a boon to teachers trying to teach modern, tech-savvy students. The use of social media and other tech-advancements is great for clarifcation, illustrating or exploring ideas, and peer support (just look at our WhatsApp group). But some teachers and schools rely too much on technology. They load complete lessons into slide shows, video lectures, and other tools that hinder learning more than assist.
ReplyDeleteThe chemistry teacher in the video noted 3 important things necessary for effective teaching and learning: 1) curiosity: any tech tool should be used to ignite interest, not replace the teacher; 2) trial and error: students need to make mistakes in order to learn, and overuse of tech that quickly or automatically corrects mistakes is detrimental to student progress; 3) reflection: students who reflect on the material presented are more likely to retain it, and students are more likely to reflect on activities they participated in (rather than on material they watched or read onscreen).
For sure, tech tools have a place and need in the learning environment to prepare students for the real world (which advances quickly), but teachers need to use them sparingly and adaptively.
Patrick, Not necessarily,materials that students watch or read on screen such as videos impede students participation. on the contrary, they can generate discussions in class and this is a way of engage students in learning.
DeleteThe way I see ,the tech is very useful, but it depends on the way how the teacher uses it.As Musallans said, The teachers should not place the techno before student's curiosity. one of the roles of the teacher is to spark interest in our learners and help them overcome their fears about make mistakes and guide students in their own reflection about what they have learned.
ReplyDeleteI agree in a certain sense with Erika, as it all depends on the use and the dosage of technology in the classroom. What's most important is to light in your students that internal candle that never ceases to be, called curiosity. Actually, this is a very powerful weapon. A student who is curious loves to learn, wants to understand what is all about, asks questions, is able to figure out things on his/her own and as Erika says, overcomes fear. All this is very positive and can make our students more ressourceful, more enthusiastic and even more intelligent.
DeleteI agree with the fact that technology deserves to be in the classroom as a tool since it is part of our lives by these days and it will continue like that, so students need to know how to use it and to be aware of all the kind of information they can find on it, as Cristina said, information is not always accurate.
ReplyDeleteAs we read in the last article, critical thinking is an important characteristic in the class. So, from my opinion, it is great that some programs are being created, like the one in Australia for students to learn through computers, but I do not think it means Educational Technology is taking teachers away from the real nature of teaching. As we learned in the last module, methods have changed from the very begining of teaching a language to our days, there are characteristics of some old methods that are used beacuse now we know the method didn't work but it is useful in a part of the class, so they have been modified and they are not the main approach used by the teacher.
According to this, everything changes (about teaching as everything in real life) and teachers are not the centre of the class anymore, they have moved to a "shadow" and they are the ones who guide students and students are the centre of the class because they are the ones who are learning. Therefore, in my opinion teachers need to be aware of the real life situations and to wake up in students (lazy students now a days) their desire to learn, to ask themselves "why", to be delighted towards knowledge, to be curious as Ramsey expresses in the video.
Jenn, "to be delighted towards knowledge"..that is a golden phrase right there! As teacher, we really must awaken this in our students and to always spark curiosity and such, even through the use of technology.
DeleteHey everyone! The question asked has two important concepts worthy of exploration for me. First, Educational Technology, what is it, how does it work, how is it changing both our teaching and learning patterns. Second, the real nature of teaching: how can we define it and wrap its essence into a common framework to be understandable by everyone. The first video about 21st century education arose mixed feelings in me. Of course, it’s made to make believe you that we’re living in an era of progress, open communication and infinite freedom of teaching.
ReplyDeletePersonally, it makes me a little bit worried to imagine such kind of dystopic world (for me!) where we don’t use books anymore, where our teachers are just an image on a screen and our classmates are non-existent or maybe they are there, but glued to their tablets and i-Things. I understand that we need to adapt ourselves to the times we live in, we can’t be dinosaurs after all, but too much technology is really killing our spirits, not only in the classroom, but everywhere. If the context lets you, welcoming new tools to the classroom can really improve the quality or even the fun of what you’re teaching to your students. Maybe they will be even more receptive to certain things. But sometimes, too much technology can also impoverish what teaching is all about. The nature of it, right. What do we understand by that? Of course we are determined by the century we were born in. Long time ago it was normal to beat students or the gain of knowledge was only permitted to upper classes. Or the vogue was to learn Latin.
Times change. But there’s something vital in the teaching process, that has survived over time, its core: the human interactions between the teacher and his/her students. Those relationships and dynamics have certainly evolved but they are real. They exist. When you think about your life, you can tell stories about your teachers, your classmates, good or bad. What stories would people tell in a world governed by screens and tweets and too many images and videos… Too much ‘‘information’’ ceases to be information, because there’s not any real criteria nor any background to prove it’s true or false. People are just absorbing things that are mundane, trivial, useless. Do we want our students to be dominated by technology? I don’t! Even if I have to take a strong stance in the future world to defend real interactions in the classroom, I will do it. Nothing compares to learning face to face, to have someone by your side telling you if you’re improving, --and if you fail--, how can you do better next time. Having classmates to rely upon and having students learning thanks to you, not a machine.
I loved everything on the TED Talk; the speaker used the word ‘‘dehumanizing’’ to qualify the so-called 21st century education. I agree 100%. Excess of technology is misleading us about the real nature of teaching. We can’t let some good old ways die, even if people think we’re a little bit conservative, that’s my opinion. Teacher Ramsey Musallam also stated three good tactics for us teachers: curiosity comes first, embrace the mess, practice reflection. I’m fond of those ideas. To conclude, I will quote him, ‘‘the students’ questions are the seeds of real learning’’. So let’s keep alive real interactions between human learners and human teachers. Real materials like books and notebooks and pens, are not to be forgotten. We can try new methods and new tools, but never forget who we are and try to leave a positive footprint on our student’s paths.
Regardless our views about technology we cannot escape from its influence, and at some extend we have to adapt and embrace it. I hope the day will never come when technology take over and human beings are completely replaced by robots – I believe and hope this will never happen.
DeleteRegardless the kind of technology one embraces we (as teachers) ought to remember that the main focus is the student, and as Musallam suggests the student participation must be keep active to the maximum, the muddle up to be embrace as a positive tool and dialog and discussion for improvement.
Mariana, this is a well-structured, logical argument against technology. I especially like that you questioned what the "real nature of teaching" is and how this can be defined. Why would the use of technology be any less real than technology-free instruction? I know you ultimately think technology pulls us further apart rather than bringing us together (I agree to an extent: many people have hundreds of Facebook "friends" they never have spoken to or exchanged even an hello with), but I ultimately do not think technology is replacing human teaching. It is, however, making it fairly easy to become a lazy, ineffective teacher--but that is a character flaw of the teacher, not the technology itself.
DeleteBased on the question given “is the use of Educational Technology taking us away from the real nature of teaching. My answer is not. Teaching is evolving like any other thing is transforming and changing itself in the 21st Century.
ReplyDeleteFor instance, who would have thought many years ago that virtual teaching could have been a new educational technology? This technology in order to work needs a monitor or facilitator (teacher), so the real nature of teaching may be kept regardless the technology.
Constantly, there are new available theories and approaches that are keeping alive the real nature of teaching. For instance, Ramsey Musallam encourages us to move on and to take on a new fresh approach in teaching. I agree with his approach. He encourages us to implement in the classroom “curiosity”, “embrace the mess” and “practice reflection”. His approach brings a fascinating variety of activities by inducing more participation from the students, mistakes becoming a subject for improvement, and more dialog and constructive discussion in the classroom.
We as teachers must be wise in the use and implementation of technology - I believe that regardless the use of any technology the real nature of teaching will continue alive, but this will depend on how we approach it - at the end the main focus is the student, something that we must keep in mind.
I don't think Educational technology is taking us away from the real nature of teaching because technology is a tool that allow us to access to a lot of information and to communicate easily. Teachers can use this tool and teach the students to use it properly, to identify accurate information, and useful webpages that will help them do further research on the topics we teach about. Critical thinking and curiosity can also be develop through technology if the teacher knows how to guide the students to use it in the right way. So technology can be a really useful and interesting tool if the teacher knows how to implement it properly in the learning process of the students.
ReplyDeleteAngie, these are all very good examples of technology being used as an effective tool. The key is balancing the use of tools so that they do not "replace" the teacher.
DeleteIn many ways this is very relevant to language learners as more virtual learning platforms emerge claiming you can learn fluency all through computer-interactive programs (Rosetta Stone, Duolingo, Memrise, Babble, Fluencia, etc). These apps and software eliminate the interaction of student-to-teacher and reduce learning to it's most simplified form.
But can we really learn the complexities of language with these apps? At some point it seems we still need that human teacher/student paradigm to achieve mastery of a language. The one app I know of that comes closest to blending technology with human teachers is Hello Talk--a language learning app that pairs native speakers of two languages (the L1 & L2) so that they can teach each other. I actually think this would be a great way to learn in the classroom, and technology would definitely be an apt fit for augmenting the learning opportunities in such an environment.
I agree with the premise of the TED talk by Musallam: "Teachers must be cultivators of curiosity". Using technology must be balanced with the teacher's ability to create lessons that encourage students to think.
ReplyDeleteI believe there is a strategic value in finding ways to encourage students to investigate different possibilities, by engaging more with students interests and less lecturing.
A good point brings about the idea of embracing the "mess" and celebrate curiosity. For instance, an effective teacher embracing the "mess", could use Total Physical Response (TPR) in a rambunctious class. And explore different venues to allow creativity in the classroom.
Mauricio, I really like your idea of using TPR with very active kids, it had not crossed my mind and I have some kids that might benefit from that approach. As I have said in almost all my comments so far, way to be repetitive, I think that the best to make your students learn is to engage and acknowledge what it is that make your students think. Can you incorporate your students passions to the lesson? Go for it. But I do believe if very important to train them and help them become critical thinkers. Why do they like the things they do? What to they find enjoyable in their hobbies? What are their goals? Is this relevant for what they are pursuing? All of these are questions worth reflecting on, and much better if you can make your students do it themselves.
DeleteI do agree with you Mauricio because by engaging more with students interests and less lecturing, builds confidence on students and the learning process will be facilitate.
DeleteHi, so I want to star my comment with a bit of an anecdote, if you can call it that. I work in a catholic school, as in the headmistress and deputy director are both nuns, so it's easy to come to the conclusion that they are most often than not conservative and set on their ways. Of all the staff I would say I'm the youngest and the less experienced, so I don't always agree with my colleagues, and I find it much easier to relate and understand the needs of my students (even if that might sound a bit arrogant). The point is: cell phone use is strictly prohibited, and it's like a sin to just dare to have a peak at it BUT, and here comes the irony, the school has the goal that at graduation all their student will be certified by the SENA as system technicians. I find this ironic, not only because they are forbidding them to use the gadgets they are teaching them to fix, but because there's this segregated idea that technology, right now, can be disjoined from their integral learning.
ReplyDeleteAntagonise the process of human communication is laughable at best, ill advised at the worst. I'm one of those people who believe that students shouldn't adapt to the old ways their teachers might be accustomed to but vice versa. The need to incorporate technology to our classroom is greater each passing day, you can try and avoid it but it's inevitable that you shall lose. Embracing it, and tailoring their use to the needs of our classroom is, I believe, the way to go. Of course, I don't believe that one should make use of technology in the classroom every single second, but I do encourage people to at least give it a shot.
Hi Mar,
DeleteI hope you are doing better. I heard you are a bit sick. Please check the entry on web-sites so you can start working on your final assignment.
Take care
I think technology is a great material for teachers such as students,if we apply it properly we will have a powerful weapon on ours hands.Technology facilitate the life of many teachers and students and technology will always help us to facilitate everything.
ReplyDeleteI definitely believe that as educators we have a responsability to, at least, keep up with the technological advancements that are becoming popular at any given time and incorporate them in our lessons. As discussed in previous classes, it is important to keep lessons diverse in order to suit different learning styles. This means new technologies must be given an opportunity inside the classroom in order to find the most effective ways to reach students.
ReplyDelete