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Teaching With Technology - A Basic Checklist
Diarmuid over at Management's Pique challenged people to come up with a basic checklist for teaching with technology yesterday, so here's my offering:
Click on the image to view the full-size version.
Click here to download it as a PDF file
Any comments? Feel free to add them.
Click on the image to view the full-size version.
Click here to download it as a PDF file
Any comments? Feel free to add them.
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30 comments:
I love it! And may well distribute it to the teachers whose main contribution to technology is taking classes into the computer room (where we have Windows 2003) and introducing them to something called Microsoft Word.
I notice that the students' views are not represented in this draft. Clearly an oversight...
Cheers Diarmuid, & LOL!
It seems to me that if the students are in charge of using the technology, then they are the ones who get to decide how, when and even if it is used... I'm not sure that it needs to be spelled out any more explicity than it already is, though feel free to disagree with me if you think that I'm wrong on this.
I've added a link to a PDF version of it, so that people can download it or print it off if they think it may be of use :-)
Sue
Very succinctly put - excellent!
I like the mention of thinking about putting the students in charge! But we also then have to ask if they can use the technology or if learning the technology is then the point.
I'd also suggest that a teacher reflect if they themselves have the training or competence to use the technology. Shouldn't be a deal breaker but we should ask that, I think.
David
Thanks for your comments!
On many of the courses I teach, both subjects are bundled together David, and so learning to use the technology is also the point in that case... though even on the courses where it isn't, I still think that it is a very useful skill to have, as it empowers students and enables to learn independently in ways that they perhaps wouldn't otherwise have considered.
I think lack of training and competence in using technology can be a problem, but it doesn't necessarily have to be, as if you apply your mind to using it and have enough confidence, you can get there yourself.
There are lots of great, free tutorials out there which will walk you through how to use apps and websites, and help you get up to speed; for example, Russell Stannard's Teacher Training Videos here:
http://www.teachertrainingvideos.com/
A much bigger problem I think is the fact that many teachers don't understand how to use technology in a pedagogically sound way, and that is something that is more difficult to address. I get the impression from talking to people who train teachers that educators who are at home with using technology and who are in a position to pass on those skills to others are still pretty thin on the ground.
Marisa Constantinides (who runs ITT courses that do offer training in how to use technology effectively) gave a very interesting talk at IATEFL Brighton about competencies and attitudes towards the use of technology on initial training courses. You can find the abstract and summary of her talk here:
http://bit.ly/hOSw8I
Sue
Will you allow a two-minute 'facebook' break in the middle of the lesson?
I'd suggest you all consider that option. Try to incorporate it into your plan if you can.
All of my students are given Macbooks when they come to University. So, my own venture into using technology in the classroom is to counteract the computers being used for Facebook or something else. It is my own way of trying to avoid stopping every 5 minutes to rebuke someone for having their computer open. Any thoughts on this issue?
Oh yeah, try to avoid making vague, nonsensical generalizations like this chap* does...
http://www.twitvid.com/MPUDT
*It's me and this isn't meant to be serious
Thanks, Sue - this is brilliant - I have downloaded the pdf file and will use it in my methodology classes, if I may!
These questions are eminently sensible and practical. Thank you for sharing them.
Here’s to the day when all EdTech is grounded on Sue's “YES” choices. I wonder how many educational software companies use a list like this?
This is excellent, Sue, and it's come at just the right time in the debate as to whether and when to use technology in language teaching - great work!
Thanks for stopping by & commenting!
I think the best way to approach things with regards to breaks and such probably depends on the types of groups you get to teach, Adam.
I teach teenagers and adults, and if we are working in a computer suite I'm pretty relaxed about them checking their email, Facebook status, etc, between tasks... assuming the college hasn't blocked them, which quite often is the case!
If you are working on computers then it's good practice to take a short break every 20 minutes or so to rest your eyes, stretch your legs, etc... I often email students during lessons where we are working online with comments, questions, suggestions, etc, so they would more than likely be some point in a lesson where I'd be asking them to check their email, anyway.
I've never found myself in a situation where learners brought in their own high-end mobile devices kylieliz, though many of the classrooms I teach in have a one-to-one ratio of desktop computers.... (not that I always switch them on ;-)
Where classroom distractions are concerned, I think one of the main challenges we face as educators is to ensure that what is happening in the classroom is engaging enough to grab the learner's attention and filter out any distractions... something which I think applies as much to teaching without the use of technology, as it does to teaching with it.
I find asking learners to work in small groups to complete online tasks works better than having them work individually, more often than not; it allows for interaction and communication, and there's less likelyhood of students becoming sidetracked and branching off to do their own thing.
Sue
Thanks for stopping by & commenting, Scott! Made my day! :-)
I've attached a Creative Commons, non-commercial, attribution licence to it, so you're very welcome to use it in your classes or adapt it if as you like.
Sue
Cheers, Tony!
Could be wrong, but I suspect that if some educational software houses did provide this kind of checklist, they might not shift many copies ;-)
Sue
Thanks, Graham!
Like you & many of the other people I've enjoyed catching up with at conferences recently, I'm glad to see that the debate as to whether and when to use technology in language teaching has been revived, and that it has moved on and become less polarised of late.
Been mulling this one over for a while, but Diarmuid's challenge the other day struck me as an opportune moment to release it into the wild ;-)
Sue
Hi Sue, I've just been inspired by your checklist to write a blog post of my own about the subject, so thank you http://blog-efl.blogspot.com/2011/05/better-five-ws-than-because-its-there.html
Hi Sue,
Nice timing and a grand, measured input to the discussion.
I'm just about to write an initial staff development workshop on using technology in teaching this very hour. The main focus will be on those the initial three stages you mention when assessing whether to use technology.
Of course, there are many ways in which learning value can be added and this isn't simply in terms of language. For my young learners, living away from home, the ability to put their work out there where friends and family back home can see it is a huge motivational factor.
I suppose I don't even see it as part of a separate 'tech' argument or debate. I simply believe it's important for the teacher to be conscious of everything they do and how it aids learning. I don't see that there should be any bias one way or the other before making that judgement whether technology is used in the process.
I do tire of straw man, anti-tech arguments, however. A great deal of old 'technological software' is, indeed, little more than glorified gap fill exercises on screen. My flipping school in Vietnam wasted tens of thousands of dollars on such 'technology'. The thing is, the good stuff is out there. We just need to find it, judge it and, as you say, if it fits the purpose...knock yerself out fill yer boots using it. :-)
Victoria B
Thanks once again for your comments! (blogger doesn't do comment threading unfortunately, so apologies for replying out of order...
Agree with what you say Victoria, and great that that it inspired you to blog something on the subject yourself, Graham... will swing on over and take a look!
Sue
Great! Nutshell! Bingo!
Great chart Sue, thank you for sharing! I would also add the pleasure principle, i.e. learners have a lot of fun when using tech to create something, whether a wordle or glog (or any other tool) to embed in their blogs and share with others.
Thanks for stopping by Anne & Ana!
The pleasure principle is something to take into account certainly, but is it enough of a factor on its own to justify the use of technology?
I think if technology is being used as a vehicle for learning then the more fun we can inject into an activity the better, but I also feel that we need to watch out for the danger of being led up the garden path and seduced by bells and whistles... :-)
Sue
Hi, Sue.
Congrats on the way you put this summary. Straightforward, no-frills, honest. At the school I work in Brazil(Cultura Inglesa Rio) we deal with Technology in the classroom on a daily basis, and the topics you pinpointed are sources of worry for us, especially the very first one: will technology be used to support and enhance learning?
This is indeed the great divide in the use of technology. I'm aware that there are many people everywhere who still use it just for the sake of it, but they need to wake up. Students are no dummies and can clearly see when a tool is being well used or is just a prop.
As a teacher trainer myself, I'll definitely use your chart in our meetings to make that a starting point for all of us when deciding to use a technological tool in class.
Thanks for the great contribution.
Regards,
Elisabete Thess
Didn't get to this earlier Sue, but crackerjack posting and excellent basic framework for using/not using tech.
Whizz-kid!
Candy
Thanks, Sue, this is really helpful,
Just posted a link to it on the TeachingEnglish facebook page http://www.facebook.com/TeachingEnglish.BritishCouncil if you'd like to check for comments.
Best,
Ann
Hi Sue,
I add my voice to all the others. I really like this checklist and I'm passing it on to my Celta ttainees, too. It's just the sort if thing they need. Technology can actually help so much in learner centred teaching with wikis and blogs etc. On discussion groups: all spaces where learners can express themselves in a natural way. It's such a shame to think of it being used purely for the novelty value :-)
Hi Sue,
I really like this flow chart you've made. The only part I got a little stuck on was the second "Will it do something that couldn't otherwise be achieved?" Even if an outcome could be achieved equally without the use of technology, does it make the use of technology less preferable? More options for achieving the same outcomes is a good thing, I think, as long as tech's complexity doesn't overpower the investment of time using it.
Hi Sue,
I've posted a few ideas about your checklist over at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dogme/message/16237
Regards,
Rob
Many thanks for your comments!
I will be adding a follow-up post shortly, to address the points you've raised and also points that people have made on other blogs & elsewhere about the list.
Sue
Many thanks Sue. I've added it to my Scoop.it topic, which I've just started as a resource for teachers in our department:
http://www.scoop.it/t/english-for-international-students
Hi Sue
Thanks for this. I have shared it on my blog. I liked the fact that it is straight forward and brings us back to what is the intent. It is so important that when we use technology that it has purpose and is powerful, otherwise it is no more than a time filler or a way making it look like our classes are engaged.
Cheers
Donelle
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