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New ways of language learning in formal and informal educational contexts & the role of teachers
The use of ICT and social media are shaping new ways of language learning in formal and informal educational contexts. How do you think teachers can incorporate all these into their teaching? Please, express your thoughts. The floor is all yours!
Comments
Dear colleagues,
I totally agree with Stylianos and Pere in their opinion that technology is not the only answer and neither is having informal educational practices embedded in formal educational settings. To stress what Stylianos already said: the personalization and outer reach (both to more people and without the constraints of time and
space) that these tools can provide cannot be denied. And I believe that if our society does not find ways to grant everyone access to this new ways of education, the gap between the digital literates and non-literates will increase and lead to more social exclusion.
Siempre me ha parecido muy interesante la relación casi inmediata que establecemos, de forma inconsciente, entre tecnologia y aprendizaje informal. Posiblemente se deba a causas de cultura generacional. Estoy de acuerdo cuando se dice que nuestra generación ha tenido la suerte de vivir dos experiencias vitales: la analógica y la digital. En cualquier caso, nuestra generación tiene la tendencia a relacionar lo moderno con lo innovador, y por algun motivo poco explicable desde un punto de vista objetivo, relacionamos la modernidad con la tecnologia.
A menudo hablamos de educación informal como algo futuro y vinculado a la tecnologia, ignorando que la tecnologia sólo es un medio para llegar al objetivo. Y la clave nunca está en el medio, sino en el uso que se hace de él. Un software o una comunidad virtual no garantizan la formalidad o la informalidad de un proceso de aprendizaje.
La clave para una educación eficiente seguirá basándose en el método pedagógico. Por lo tanto, el futuro del aprendizaje, con o sin tecnologia, seguirá dependiendo básicamente de los educadores. De todos ellos: maestros, padres, entrenadores deportivos, líderes de opinión, estrellas mediáticas...
Otra cuestión muy distinta es que muchos de esos responsables en educación sean realmente conscientes de su rol social. En ese punto abririamos otro tema de debate.
+100!
Too bad I don't have an immediate way to show my appreciation to the wonderful issues raised during the discussion!
Personally I see high value of ICT and educational technology for
a) personalization of learning (e.g. according to students learning styles)
b) provision of learning opportunities before and after class meetings
c) implementation of pedagogical strategies that involve active learner participation, collaboration and even production.
Technology isn't a panacea, it's an enhancement opportunity and magnifying glass of our practice. If we're proficient teachers technology will make it more evident. Purpose, dedication, values, passion are irreplaceable 'analog' ;-) features/achievements.
There are indeed learning situations where students can assume and more active role in the syllabus design & curicullum but this should never seen as an excuse to ease on our responsibility for the quality of learning and the progress of the students.
Dear all:
A learning challenge is our canvass;
technology tools are our colours;
let's make masterpieces!
Thank you very much for your comments, Tatiana, Jun, Monica and Gossia!
I guess Gossia is right that our generation had the chance to live both types of education, which can be an asset in the current communication society.
Monica, I totally agree with the fact that most of the times policies in education do not keep pace with technology innovations. However I muss say that I noticed a recent interest in including technology in the school curricula; eskills are starting to be regarded as yet another essential skill to be developed in school.
Just a few more days left to contribute to our forum discussion. I hope to hear more of your thoughts!!!
Let mi join this discussion :-) I must say I'm always puzzled by how insecure many teachers are these days. Obviously, we're usually less skilled when it comes to computer-operating skills, but does it really matter that much? We still have so many intellectual skills to offer! I guess we are the last generation who knows all the blessigns of traditional literacy that only come with solid education yet we can easily combine them with technology use. For example, we understand the nuances of human communication better than the digital natives, since we learned them F2F. We can also stay focused on long passages of text and interpret them in the light of other texts. While our students are getting more and more addicted to the virtual world, very few of them know how to use technology for work or study. I believe we have a great role to play as those who can help them out :-)
Je suis d'accord avec les deux lignes de commentaires (responsabilité des enseignants / responsabilité des apprenants) dans la mise en place des nouvelles formes d'enseignement basées sur les medias sociaux. Ceci dit, il y a peut-être un autre facteur à prendre en compte, celui des politiques éducatives locales / nationales. Tant qu'il n'y a aucune valorisation des nouvelles pratiques au niveau institutionnel, tant que les différents systèmes éducationnels se définissent par les paramètres classiques liés aux méthodes d'enseignement formelles, à la progression et à l'évaluation, on restera - avec les nouvelles pratiques d'enseignement des langues basées sur les medias sociaux - dans l'événement et l'exception. La compétition des enseignants promue par ce projet a représenté, certes, un moment fort et très important pour montrer la créativité des uns et des autres, mais l'impact contextuel sur les modes de formation reste, pour le moment, à mon avis, très limité.
I believe the issue about " the role of teacher" was evoked during the last forum session after Lyon webinar " Teacher training in the age of web 2.0 era:The current situation and future persepectives". As we can see from Laia and Tatiana, this issue is still a lot to be discussed. Upon my expereicne in terms of teacher competition, teacher who adapt and use actively web 2.0 tools into the classroom context consider themselves as a facilitator or a guide in order to promote an active participation from their pupils. Yet, I agree also with Laia about the current situation about lacking teacher trainging in terms of new technolgoy and a propoer pedagogy. But then, does only teacher's and pupil's responsiblity to improve new ways of language learning? Any other elements to be considered?
You are right Laia. But if we encourage active learning, students can design and contribute to productive learning environments, creating vibrant learning communities. The teacher does not have to know everything about old or emerging technologies. In fact, it's very difficult to judge of the appropiateness of these (it has to do with user experience). My feeling is that we need a paradigm change in teaching/learning behaviour, where teacher merely serves as a guide. If students can be editors of their class/ online class, they can edit, customize, mashup, republish, share. We can learn from our students too :-)
Thank you for your comments Tatiana. My impression though is that some times it is not the students, but the teachers themselves who have a hard time using technologies. Some of them can even feel overwhelmed by the speed of technological development and it can become difficult for them to catch up, compared with their students, who are often more skilled in the use of new technologies.
I think that students have to be prepared to understand accelerating changes in our world. Their future is dependent upon teachers' ability to help them to adapt and become a part of it. Teachers and students alike can make decisions regarding the appropriateness and efficacity of teaching material, modufy content as appropriate.
any thought on this ? :-)