I don't know if technology enhances learning but it does engage the student.

Hi again, everyone,

It seems the debate on the use of technology, or on how to use technology is something that will still be around for a while. Well, at least as long as there are many teachers who are just getting to grips with with or whose schools still haven't got full access to it. The bottom line, IMHO, is that its effectiveness depends on the teacher. I believe we can all agree that technology such as IWBs (or whatever will replace them), use of the Internet, and content input being done by the students while surfing the web in class in order to understand a question, among others, will soon be ubiquitous. It will then only seem natural for teachers to make use of that. It's all a matter of how prepared we are to face this new reality, or how are we going to implement this into our teaching.

A good teacher is likely to succeed teaching in any kind of environment. It takes a lot more than learning a couple of techniques to be a teacher. Teachers are supposed to learn how to engage their students so that learning is effective. I feel that a great disservice to our profession was done due to the 'digital natives' theory. It's pretty much obvious that our kids are born in a completely different world - at least some of them. However, this doesn't mean that the only thing that will interest them is something that's related to technology, computers, and the Internet. I've been teaching mainly teenagers for quite a while now, and the thing is that they use technology with the same goals that previous generations used telephones, letters, or simply hanging out. Students are looking for ways to connect and interact with one another, being accepted is still a big issue, and so is the need for self-understanding. Every time I've held discussions with my teenage students in the past 5 years, they always said that that's the main reason they use the Internet for. And, on top of that, they're not that willing to experiment with lots of things on their own if their friends aren't also doing that. There are, obviously, some students who might do this, but this has always been the same - in the past, some kids would rather fly a kite than play football, or play RPG games. One thing, though, remains: the need for bonding with peers and feeling you're part of a group.

Then we think about teachers. As Jamie said in an earlier post, yes, there's a lazy teacher inside us all. This is particularly apparent when we realise that we're overworked and underpaid. It's tempting enough to believe that you'll be able to work hard only once preparing a neat present perfect PPT, or video, or whatever, and simply repeat it over the years. Yet, what about those who are actually there with you in the classroom? If we know that we can facilitate learning by making it personal and making it meaningful, the way to go is definitely by listening to our students and responding to their needs instead of expecting them to remember pre-fabricated examples that are not even close to their reality.

Phew, I think I said all this just to agree with Jamie: it's not about the technology, it's about the use that people make of it.

Oh, and here's a link to an article about teaching teens that was published a couple of days ago ob the Guardian. It was written by Herbert Puchta, and it certainly gives us a lot of food for thought. http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/jan/11/tefl1

Cheers,

Henrick