Julia, Languages and the Digital Generation!
Archive for Reaction
November 1, 2008 at 12:28 am · Filed under Reaction, Unspecified
This is a reaction to Athina’s thoughtful blog on “Teachers and Students learn together”. Knowing of Athina’s “phobia” of all things technical, I can only say how happy I am for her that she’s coming to enjoy using it in her Greek classes. I am a big believer in lifelong learning (in fact that’s one of the reasons why I am retraining to become a teacher) myself and I believe that this attitude allows me to gain the respect of my students, as echoed by the quote by Mr Taylor. I haven’t had a chance to use Whiteboards again after my first practicum, but I am looking forward to (hopefully!) joining a school in which they’re part and parcel of the teaching approach. And who knows Athina…it may well be me asking you for help at that point…!
November 1, 2008 at 12:15 am · Filed under Reaction, Unspecified
This is a reaction to Matthew Kearney’s blog on the use of video in the classroom. Video capture capabilities provide exciting possibilities to be incorporated into our teaching programs. In today’s world literally every event may be caught and distributed on video (even mobile phone capturing devices offer high quality video and free software like iMovie enable users to produce near professional content). In a language classroom, learner produced video could be a fun way for students to use their language and at the same time monitor their progress and become aware of where they can improve in terms of pronouncitation, for example. I can see the potential for video based content in cultural contexts as well. The only concern I still have is the one raised elsewhere in this blog – and that is that not necessarily all students are equally tech-sazzy when it comes to manipulating video (even simple applications like iMovie require a) that the student has access to it and b) that they are willing to teach themselves how the program works). And when we’re marking their work, would be prone to giving higher marks to more accomplished results (which would not be assessing their language or cultural knowledge but their capability to create video output)? Nevertheless, I look forward to making use of my Camcorder in some way, shape or form next year.
October 26, 2008 at 12:58 am · Filed under Reaction, Unspecified
This is a reaction to Mich’s blog on Social Networking as a learning tool, which itself is a reaction to Maree’s blog on the same subject. I agree with both of them that “in theory” social networking sites are powerful tools in engaging today’s students – they are after all, “Digital Natives”. I am trying to think back to the time when I was a student of English at high school, and how much fun it was to exchange information with a penpal. I remember there were organisations that would match your profile to a person in any chosen country – of course from there onwards it was all pen and paper. I guess with social networking sites all of this is quicker and easier, but I do share Mich’s concern about monitoring what is actually going on. Kids are so clever – how do I know that they’re not ‘facebooking’ they’re boy/girlfriends instead of using their French or German? And how do we even find the French/German Facebook user on the other end who is willing to participate? (I am not even mentioning ensuring their credibility and good intentions). And I think that schools share this sentiment, too, which is why social networking sites of any description have been blocked at any Australian school I have set foot in so far. So – maybe best to keep that pad of paper in the drawer for a few years to come?
October 9, 2008 at 11:50 pm · Filed under Reaction, Unspecified
This is a reaction to Miao’s blog entry. I had never heard of SIMS or SIMS 2 and have spent the last 30 minutes on a brief research (”Google is your friend”)….I think I get it….whilst I have yet to actually download the game and give it a try myself, the links Miao provides are promising in terms of suitability for the LOTE classroom. But I see one major flaw in making any kind of game a rich, lasting and useful learning experience. In both my practicums to date, access to computer rooms was not readily available. In the first instance the room needed to be booked and it was often impossible to get 2 or 3 sessions in a row. In the second practicum the room was rostered out, so that gaining access for a series of reasons involved major shifting around (and causing inconvenience to other teachers, who, on top of it all may also need their session in the LAB.) So would SIMS work if it was played irregularly? And without the continuity, would the benefits hailed still hold? To get students started – prepare the games, provide language basics and set them up for real ‘playful learning’ (bearing in mind not everyone is a Digital Native and we would want to ensure that everyone gets the most out of it and isn’t just clicking buttons for the sake of it), I would say we need at least 1 or 2 full periods. But learning time (aka full periods without interruptions) come at a premium, especially in the schools that I did my pracs at, where music, cadettes, sport and drama all invariably cut into LOTE teaching time. So whilst I love the idea of making use of games, I fear unless I manage to create a true link back to the syllabus, it’ll remain an option for “what to do towards the end of term when we have finished the programme”. Albeit, I may surprise myself oncs I have downloaded the game and tried it out. So stay tuned……
August 24, 2008 at 2:45 am · Filed under Reaction, Unspecified
This is a reaction to Kayla’s entry from the 11 August. I am not from the NET nation. I am from the generation that started playing ‘Snakes’ on Commodore 64s or Ataris that were owned by my friends’ bigger brothers. Computers were for nerds (even if they were good looking). My mum sent me to a typewriting course at age 15. We learned on old fashioned typewriters. A year later she announced I should expand that skill and start taking writing lessons on a computer. That was my first experience on a PC. Whilst I was cross with her at the time, I am today very happy she made me do it. In regards to Kayla’s questions why we are not ‘experiencing what we’re being told to teach’: compared to my own time at school (and first time round at university for that matter), I feel UTS is doing great in terms of digital delivery methods – I wouldn’t want any less face-to-face instructions or more e-readings (give me hardcopy book any time!) than we currently have. I guess because I don’t feel I have missed out by not learning with ICT in the classroom, my feelings towards inclusion take a midle ground approach. I do feel very computer literate and I thoroughly enjoy using multimedia and IT as part of my every day life and aim to do so in my teaching. Yet, I don’t think that Digital Resources are the only way to enable experimental learning and I would wish to be able to teach students the value of ‘real’ as well as ‘cyber’ life.
Digital resources enable experiential learning—something in tune with Net Gen preferences. Rather than being told, Net Geners would rather construct their own learning, assembling information, tools, and frameworks from a variety of sources.
August 24, 2008 at 2:12 am · Filed under Reaction, Unspecified
This is a reaction to Ming’s Blog “e-learning 7-12″ and the point she makes that in the traditional schoolong environment, the teacher has always sat/stood in front of the classroom, with the class facing the teacher. To me this is not necessarily contrary to the idea of constructinism. It seems the most logical room layout when you’re trying to reach 20 odd people at the same time, in terms of accoustic and visibility. However, there is plenty of opportunity to arrange the desks the students are on in a way that lends itself to group work and ‚exploring’. At my school in Germany, we voted at the beginning of every school year how we wanted the seating arranged – the U-shape was a favourite. But we also readily moved tables into other formations, depending on the task. In my last prac, the classrooms were a lot smaller than what I am used to from my own schooling and it would have been hard to change the seating on a regular basis – especially since there weren’t any breaks between lessons to change them back (in Germany we always had 5 minutes before the start of the next class). But I compensated for the inflexibility in the layout by making a point of walking around a lot and I think that we have moved beyond the classroom scenario depicted on a picture which Matthew showed in his first lecture. Generally, I think elements of constructionism need to be incorporated in some way, shape or form into any programme. In my opinion students should absolutley be encouraged to become independent, responsible and self-regulated learners, but I also believe they rely on proper teacher modelling and leadership.
August 14, 2008 at 10:42 pm · Filed under Reaction, Unspecified
This is a reaction to Virginie’s “Regular Posting 1″ (14 August 2008). Virginie has unearthed a little gem in cyberspace – a website of a French teacher in Korea, who seems to have set a benchmark in terms of what the ‘4th’ reality can do to LOTE teaching (and it’s got some great resources for teachers, too!). It’s an excellent way for students of French to write and publish in the target language. Browsing through Rodolphe’s site, though, I am wondering, if this was my blog, would I care about correcting everything that gets published? One great advantage that Internet technologies offer is ‘authenticity’ in that the material that can be accessed has not been ‘adapted’ or ’simplified’, so the students are encouraged to deconstruct meaning in their own time. But when they in turn publish something – would it be my duty to correct every mistake they make? Or do I let them get away with it on this platform? I am inclined to say ‘yes’ to my own question in this regard. A) to keep my sanity (if I am to believe Mark Prensky and my students spend every waking hour publishing stuff in cyber space, I may have to waive goodbye to my social life). And B) because knowing they won’t be ‘monitored’ may encourage a wider use and more adventorous endeavours. But on the other hand, isn’t it my duty to help them perfect their French and German? Has anyone else got an oponion on this? How can I sensibly incorporate blogs, wikis and social networking sites into my teaching and -correcting schedule without it taking over my programme? Maybe discussing ‘recurring’ errors at a specially dedicated hour once a month? Stay tuned. I may come back to this one…..
