In teaching
issues, few tools have been explored by teachers by different reasons. Some
feel incapable of using technological devices such as the computer, some feel
struggled because of the time and some others simply do not want to make a real
effort to research and apply them in the classroom.
However,
once a teacher has tried to get immersed into the technological world and the
benefits for students and themselves, they think about the way they are
teaching and the great possibilities students could find in order to grow
academically and emotionally. What matters the most is the attitude, once
again, of the teacher and the open mind s/he has in order to foster technology
in the class.
E-mails, chats,
blogs, podcasts and wikis are useful tools not only to motivate our students
but to awaken the curiosity, inquiry, critical thinking and collaboration in
their minds, so that they become self dependant, critics and problem solvers.
It is important to take a quick look at each of them.
First, in
order for teachers to foster e-mails in the class is important to know how
exactly they work and be sure students know and apply the technical skills of
using them and the importance of rules of netiquette such as respect for
others’ opinions, use of capital letters and avoid flaming among others.
Besides that, teachers should organize e-mails either in a synchronous or in an
asynchronous way and give instructions the better possible to avoid confusion.
(Video)Chats
are not only motivating but useful in the extent that they can provide a lot of
opportunities to write or talk in a synchronous way. In the various ways they
are: text chat, audio or voice chat, public chat or private chat; they promote
communication skills. Chat classification must be taken into account for
teachers because chats can work for different purposes; for instance: free topic;
collaborative, task-oriented; informative or academic, and practice chats. One
of the most popular is skype.
Blogs,
wikis and Podcasts are examples of social software in which people interact,
communicate and collaborate online(Dudeney, 2008). Blogs can work as journals;
wikis is a collaborative web space and Podcasts are audio files to watch, share
or download. Blogs can help teachers to plan writing skills and the format of
different papers and students to improve technical and writing skills; wikis
can help students to interact with other and find solutions together. Finally,
Podcasts help students to improve and develop listening skills, even they mean
real medium or not.
To sum up, as teachers, we have a long way to go over in technologycal matters.
There is no doubt that the tools are on hand. However, we need a big change from
the top of our system to the tecniques used by teachers; even more, to the
teachers' minds.
Hi Ily!
ReplyDeleteAs you said, using technology in the class can be challenged; some teachers may be technophobic, others simply may do not want to invest more time planning their lessons using internet tools. I agree with you that what is missing is the attitude toward the improvement of the teaching methods. Teachers need to change their minds, understanding that our world is evolving every day, and education methods should evolve with it. Nowadays students have different characteristics and ways of thinking than students twenty years ago. For that reason we as teachers cannot keep using old teaching techniques that cannot be adapted to the current needs of students.
Ile,
ReplyDeleteI really liked the way you mentioned and went through all the different tools we have to work with the students and make their learning something interesting.
These tools can make them "grow academically and emotionally" as you say as well as to awake "the curiosity, inquiry, critical thinking and collaboration in their minds."
Once again, and as all of us know and have repeated during this course... teachers have to accept the challenge and foster technology in the class.
Hi Patricia, very nice summary of the last workshop. Attitude is all. What we need is to do it! Think-do! Sometimes we postpone these things and wait for too long. We can no longer do that, for students are stepping ahead of us.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful blog; nice reading.