Hi everybody,
One of the other topics we will be discussing next Tuesday 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
One of the other topics we will be discussing next Tuesday 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
Hi everybody! I would like to start with one question: what other “real nature of teaching” has existed if it´s not to cultivate curiosity in our students? Maybe, the simple role as disseminators of content (like Ramsey Musallam said) has made to believe to some teachers, that´s their “real nature”.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to this, I think that Educational technology gives you more tools as a teacher, to encourage in your students the basis of the learning process: inquiry. However, for me there´s a difference between information and knowledge. I know there are some people that learn by themselves (self-taught), but it would be great that the teachers give the students a small but not restricted guide, before they go to several websites, because this guide is going to help them in many ways: save time, look for a specific subject, among other things. So, with a structure, the information becomes in knowledge. This doesn´t mean that the students can not search things by their own; the idea it´s just to adapt the searching to the class´ context. Finally, I think is very important what Musallam said about the teachers: “if we embrace a new paradigm as cultivators of curiosity and inquiry, we just mind bring a little bit more meaning to their school day, and spark the students´ imagination”. Take care.
The reality is that some teachers don't care and just teach what they've told you, it is why the internet has turned so important because it gives you the answers that sometimes your own teachers are not willing to give us. A very popular example is Math, nowadays you can look for an explanation online and it might better than the explanation you received in class.
DeleteI agree with Camila...not all the teachers but some they just dont really care and might use technology in a way they dont really have to make an effort to teach, just that the student even though they go to the school have to be self-taught which is very sad. Because technology should be more focus in a way to be a aid for a teacher not the teacher it self.
DeleteI totally agree with Gerencia Medica, We should use technology as a teaching tool, not as a way of getting us off the hook. Technology, if used right, is a great way of learning and interacting with students
DeleteWell, Camila has a good point, but i think there are many reasons why this happen. First one, i may say, the fact that some people become teachers because it is the only job the could actually get. Not all educational institutions take the time to do a good search nor look for adequate profiles. Not every person is cut out for teaching, not all teachers are good, and not all teachers care about student´s learning process.
DeleteYujad mentioned something really important; education has become a business nowadays. It is true that some people teach because it is their only option and they don't realized the impact they have on student's lives. A school or an institute can make their best effor and have a very strict selection process, but only with time they can realize if the person they chose was appropriate. That's if they care about it because otherwise they just hire someone who speaks really good English but doesn't have any training. That's why I think that teaching training should be continuous in any institution. It should be part of its policies.
DeleteNot to mention more student involvement in their own learning abilities. I agree that technology is an enhancing tool inside and outside of the classroom. I think that when students are given tools to use outside of the classroom to explore areas that THEY are interested in gives them more confidence as well. They are not just limited to learning inside the classroom. They can take lessons from the classroom and continue them at home and take their skills to a higher level at the same time.
DeleteGood night to everyone, I think that the world such as languages as itself are constantly changing every moment, always, the using of internet and websites it´s happening now and 24-7 and that's no changing.The technology has become a huge part of our lives even if we are having a good time in you tube, or working in some website reading some article, and we can't take that away from our students, we have to use that as a tool as the video says, we have to build 21st century skills, besides that, the technolgy makes our lives easier because we can search for everything at any moment whenever we want but that´s when we go in action, internet is a huge place and not everything that´s in it is "nice" or "good" and we cannot use it at everymoment for example in the middle of a class in the university searching funny cats videos in youtube, we have to teach them how to use it and how to make a good management of it, and we can do that using strategies in the middle of the class, like songs in a computer for the listening or movies in a t.v, or even their cellphones for an activity. the internet and globalization can be a double-edged sword but we have to teach them right because that´s our world nowadays.
ReplyDeleteIf we make educational technology part of our teaching, it will sure help us and improve us as teachers. Nowadays it seems impossible to away from technology and internet. Educators should adapt to those new techniques and make them their own in order to stay relevant and updated with the new information that is always coming out about what they're teaching.
DeleteNice comment Manuel since technology become a huge part of our live, we have to use it in a way will be beneficial for our students and included in a class depending on the lesson we are teaching. Also introduce our students the best way or maybe the websites they could use depending on what they are trying to reinforce, technology is an amazing tool. And we should be always update in order to have updated information.
DeleteI think that students will always drift-off the things they do, it always happens, you start by grouping them and asking them to talk about what they will do next vacations, and then eventually the gossiping about the new video game will pop up, it's the same on internet, you start by looking at a video where "how to greet" is taught, then by recommendations you wind up looking a video of funny cats, however as teachers it is our responsibility to get our students back to the track. Distractions are everywhere and cannot be erradicated, so we indeed must know how to handle them in class.
DeleteIt's because of this constant change in language, both the use of it and in technological advances, that we should be able to access different areas of technology to help us in teaching and in learning. We, as teachers, should keep in mind that both are constantly changing. We, as teachers, should be required to take a refresher course every once in a while to keep us on top of our game.
DeleteEducational technology has opened the door to this new era where everything can be found online, you can go to YouTube and look for videos of a teacher explaining math, talking about history, explaining grammar; it is a huge advantage for the learners and for us as teachers too because there are also a bunch of websites where you can find topics, lesson planning, a guidance to teach a certain topic. Educators should not feel left behind because of Educational technology, even when there are a lot of self-taught people, most of them will need a teacher to review what they’ve learnt and tell them if they’re doing it correctly, in this case that’s when the teacher becomes part of the process.
ReplyDeleteHaving access to so much information is really good but also really confusing to understand for some learners, that’s when teachers should take advantage of this curiosity that made them go online and look a topic up and explain them better. Educational technology has also given the opportunity to people learn more, to not depend on a teacher, educators should embrace that instead of making themselves the only source their learners can use to learn and get information from. As Ramsey Musallam said “student questions are the seeds of real learning, not some scripted curriculum that gave them tidbits of random information.” We should make our learners wonder, encourage them to question what they learn and get their conclusions.
There are so many tools we can use nowadays to make our classes better, more entertaining and easier to catch for learners. I’ll use textbooks as an example, textbooks should not be your main source of information as a teacher, they shouldn’t be used as the main focus of the classes neither but they do help educators with useful exercises they can use for their classes. I think the same about Educational technology, it is a tool for both educators and learners to improve every day, it won’t take us away from the real nature of teaching if we make it part of our classes and use it to benefit ourselves and our learners.
Excellent Camila, i really liked how you mentioned some teachers may feel threatened by technology and that they can easily be replaced (not exactly those wors, but i understood it that way), which is totally untrue, the teaching role functions too as a guide/mentor and if our students voluntarily interest about something they looked up on internet why not helping them and contribute to that first "curious situation" our student had. Technology is an ally, and we must learn how to use it wisely to get our students to the place we want them to be, or even better to the place they themselves want to be.
DeleteI'm totally agree with you Camila, when you say that we can find everything in the internet and we have access to it, but it is not always easy to understand for some of us and there is when we use that curiosity of them to make the students learn with this tool with our help as a guidance.
DeleteExactly Yujad, there are really cool things we can do using technology, it can really help us improve our teaching skills and make our classes better. There is no need to feel threatened by something we can sure use as a tool.
DeleteThat is exactly what I meant Manuel.
Exactly Cami! Technology is not only useful for students, but also for teachers. It is an excellent tool to be updated and incorporate new methods and activities in our classes.
DeleteI agree with you completely. I have been exploring ways to enhance my teaching abilities and skills using different technologies but still am not sure how but this class is definitely showing me ways to do just that.
DeleteGood Morning Everybody!!! I think Educational technology is great if we as a teacher knows the best way to use it for example: in the different classes we have, also to advice our students on how every tool could help them to complement a lesson given in a class, maybe to do some research for a homework, for practice the language!!! But also is good to keep in mind the we as being their guidance should be the main thing, I do respect a lot self-taught but it is so much better for me when someone could help me or introduce me to something a which to learn. The benefits of educational technology are so good for many countries that impact in a very good way to the whole world. Finally we as teachers should promote the curiosity in our students so they can use their imagination just like Musallam said, that is the beauty of teaching to help other people not just learn but use it in a way of improve their selves and other people too.
ReplyDeleteAs educators, we teach everything, not only English in our case, as Willy said, we teach ethics, we teach history, we are somehow psychologists or we turn into one.
DeleteIt seems like the best reward to me to see my students so interested in what I've taught that they look for more information, that I've helped them to wonder and not just think that what I say is the ultimate truth.
By the way Gerencia Medica is my work email address is Audrey by the way!!! I dont know how to change it to my personal account.
ReplyDeleteIs the use of Educational technology taking us away from the real nature of teaching? I don't think so, "real nature of teaching", in my opinion, is how we give the information to be learned to the students, technology, if anything, is giving us tools to make teaching fun, exciting and interactive.
ReplyDeleteNowadays, it is impossible for us to turned students away from technology, so, why not use it to our advantage.
I'm not saying everything has to be done with or by gadgets, we also need to take part in the teaching process.
This also depends on what part of the world we are talking about, some countries and schools, for example, don't have all the resources that a country like the United States has, here, we would have to rely on our own knowledge and creativity to plan a class. Bottom line is, we need to work hard and prepare well, and make sure everyone involved has fun
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DeleteI think you have said a very important thing. You said "We also need to take part in the teaching process". So, technology is one of the ingredients in that process and as teachers, we must use it. But the most important thing that you wrote was: sometimes we talk about technology, pretending that everybody has it, and it´s not like that. As teachers, I think we have to give credit to some other teachers that have done a very good job with some students without all the technology that we have (for example, I know some teachers from Tacueyó or Toribio that have been doing an excellent process with the students without a computer). Take care New Jersey.
DeleteWe shouldn't depend 100% on any kind of tool we have access to, we should be able to create a class, teach properly either way.
DeleteI totally agree with you guys, as teachers we have to be able to adapt to the different situations we can find: technology, culture, religions and others.
DeleteHi everyone,
ReplyDeleteSince i started this course i have questioned myself over and over "have i been doing things right?, have i achieved meaningful learning with at least one student of mine?...",
and many more questions but one thing is certain and is that we as teachers must worry about our students learning and everything that is involved with it. It is not new for us
that times have changed A LOT, that access to information is at the distance of a click or a glance at your phone, and that with technology we're all at a constant process of getting new
information. So yes, i certainly believe Educational technology has a big role in teaching these days, not only because it is the new generation's daily bread but also because we can't
pretend our students will learn the way we did, acknowledging that our current world is completely different from years ago back when we were pupils. Something i really loved from the first
video is that it says we should be mentors and supervisors, i relate this to the matter that Teacher-student hierarchy is no longer as it was seen before, when teachers were the ones that
were always right. I see our professions as guides where our main goal, as it is proposed by Ramsey Musallam, should be for us to become "cultivaors of curiosity and inquiry" where "student's
questions are the sedds of real learning". Now, how is "become mentors and supervisors" connected to "educational technology use"? some may wonder, in my opinion teachers must caught
student's attention through their interests and knowing that technology cannot be avoided nowadays, we should take advantage of it, i've seen how some collegues use videogames, some others
movies, some others apps, some others virtual conferences, some others virtual platforms and more, to create a stronger intention and vary their teaching activities. I'm not saying old
fashion aids don't work nor they should be erradicated, i'm just saying we should give technology a try since our students use it on a daily basis and it may have a bigger impact on them.
In conclusion, our job is to plant curiosity in our students so they can voluntarily "geek out" later on their own and we definately can acomplish this by using updated and current
technologies that are used by our students.
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DeleteGood point man. I think that if you don´t ask to yourself about the students´ joy and interest in their learning process, you are in the wrong profession. Many teachers ask to themselves: How did I feel with this class? But the real question should be: How did the students feel with the class? Take care british guy.
DeleteVery nice comments!!! I think that overall we are or we will be the kind of teacher that will care about our students, since we are in the process of learning how to become a good teacher using every tool we could to make a great class, it shows already that we are interested in our current or future students!!!
DeleteYuhad mentioned an important point about constantly asking ourselves if this or that is making a breakthrough in the students, to be able to process the feedback from each class and put in a larger context.
DeleteYes, students live in a technology era, that’s their context. So if we want to give meaningful lessons, we should definitely take advantage of it.
DeleteI agree with the first part of your comment. I am also constantly questioning whether I am teaching my students the correct way or is there another way that is better. That is one of the reasons for taking this course. If technology can help me with my students then why not implement it in your classroom? After all, students have different ways of learning and not to mention different areas that they want to explore. On their own time as well.
DeleteTechnology is a super powerful and wonderful tool that can be used to motivate, as one of the sparks to initiate curiosity in our students. A whole world of knowledge is out there! But as teachers we should guide this process with an educational approach and embrace new techniques. So in my opinion, it's a combination of technology and knowledge that internet is offering us as well as the knowledge and expertise as teachers.
ReplyDeleteIt is quite impossible to pretend it is not there, that the students won't reach to this source.
DeleteHi evrybody,
ReplyDeleteIt is great to be online reading all of the great comments you have posted. Educational Technology has impacted different areas of knowledge and ELT is no exception. I am very happy to read you guys agree with the fact technology is a great complement for teaching. I'm sure your creativity is going to help us get great products from the combination of technology and that teaching spirit you have all showed.
Technology is a blessing if we find the right balance and the right activities to foster our students desire of learning.
Let's get ready to learn more about it. See you next class.
I'm eager to learn the most educational technology as the 21st century tool to help me gain experience as a rookie teacher 😊
DeleteIn an ever changing society, technology plays a big role, but let us not forget something, students will always look for someone to guide them, and that is where we, as teachers, come in, to give them guidance and reassurance.
ReplyDeleteIt is why I think educators should be always in constant improvement so we can cover our students' needs and help them.
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DeleteI agree with you guys! As we have discussed before, teachers become in psychologists, friends, mentors and even parents for their students. That is something technology lacks of. And it is also why we need to be in constant analysis of how to do better what we do, how can we motivate them to not settle, to keep learning and improving in other aspects of their lives.
That is the only problem I have with becoming a teacher and that is being a psychologist and a social worker for some of these kids. We are severely underpaid when it comes to everything that we have to pay attention to, in and out of class, but that is the nature of the beast.
DeleteI think that the use of Educational technology is not taking us away from the real nature of teaching, instead, is giving us the opportunity to share our knowledge as teachers with more a more people. I think it is wonderful that learners have access to different points of view or methodologies just with one click. It gives them autonomy to decide what option is better for them and even create their own theory or method. The information that is uploaded on internet was created, processed and analyze by someone who tried to make it easier to understand. Somebody developed the content that is being used by students on the cloud, which means we are not being replaced. On the other hand, the relationship that grows by the personal interaction between students and teachers cannot be obtained with technology.
ReplyDeleteA good point to keep in mind is that teachers will always be needed for guidance and direction. There will always be a need for human interaction, anyway, at least in my opinion.
DeleteExactly Maira, they will still need someone to practice with and I'm sure they will have a lot of questions once they are done looking at a video about a certain lesson or grammar. We have to grow as teachers, we shouldn't think of technology as a bad thing, we have to be like it, that is, update ourselves with new knowledge and ways to teach.
ReplyDeleteNo, it is not taking us away from the real nature of learning. I think it is enhancing it. It expands the mind. It allows us to explore other things or specific things that we would want to learn on our own. An example, though some of you may think it's an entirely different situation, is a study abroad programs at universities in the states. You are allowed to study in other countries which gives you another culture to explore when you aren't studying. You could visit different cities of the country while you were studying on your own time and YOU were able to go where YOU wanted to go because it was on your free time, which is what I did. Not everyone wanted to go to the places that I wanted to go so they went where they wanted to go and so did I. At the same time, you are able to explore local culture and language, to do things that I wanted to do, in conjunction with other students or alone. I am drawing a contrast between this and technology. Using technology you can explore different areas not covered in class on your own time, when you have time and in the specific area in which you are most interested in exploring, for example.
ReplyDeleteKeep in mind that the teacher will always have to be there for some guidance.
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