New Technologies and Traditional Values
Please view these slides before reading the article.
Computers will never fully replace teachers in the classroom, but teachers who know how to use computers and other forms of new technology will replace those who don’t.
I had frequently heard words to this effect said in university courses and the various seminars I attended, but I never quite believed it to be true. That was until I actually got centrally involved in education and got to experience for myself how quickly the profession is evolving. Now I do believe it to be true. Teachers who are unwilling to follow and adopt at least some of the novel practices made possible by advances in technology – the practices most suitable for their students at least – are going to be left far behind.
In the slides I’ve provided, I have tried to go beyond what is commonly said about EdTech by illustrating the ways I have employed it to encourage a traditional value: the reading of books in the foreign language. Yes, a technological innovation can and should be used to support a traditional value, such as the reading classical or modern English and American literature. Let me explain:
Why read books?
Because reading enables the learner to pay attention not only to each word individually, but also to the combination of words in a phrase and subsequently in a sentence. Learners do so at their own pace, which allows them to absorb new grammatical and lexical phenomena as well as consolidate the ones already seen. Through constant reading, not only do students practice the language, but they also sharpen their critical thinking skills.
Why teach reading by means of technology?
Because students, especially the younger ones, may not find reading English books to be the best pastime in the whole world! But what if this book is read on an electronic reader? Even better, it may be one of the new interactive kind of e-books which allow the reader to tap on the characters and listen to something or find out the meaning of an unknown word online. Then, book reading stops being a chore or dull homework and turns into an exciting game! An educational game, nonetheless.
How it all works.
The slides I’ve provided contain pictures and links to posts describing how the book reading experience can be enhanced by the use of social media and other Web 2.0 applications together with a mobile device — such as the iPad, in my case.
After choosing a suitable story or book for a particular reading stage and age group, teachers can urge students to:
Conduct online research before reading and try to predict what the story will be about
Exchange ideas through emails or blog/ wiki posts about which books to read next.
Post comments on the class blog while reading a story.
Narrate the story they have read on the class blog using as much of the new words as possible.
Participate in reading competitions (which could, for example, be organized together with their e-pals as we have done with our French friends and their resourceful teacher, Aniella Lebeau)
Record their voices when acting the story.
Collect links and thoughts in a wiki dedicated to that purpose.
Create projects which combine texts and images concerning the book (depiction and description of their favourite scene is one of my students’ top preferences).
Prepare activities on the story as if they were the teachers so as to test their classmates. These will be finally published on a wiki or Issuu, turning the document into a beautiful online magazine.
Fill in handouts describing cause and effect relationships, the course of the story and its climax, character qualities and so on which can and will be published on the class blog for further discussion
You can find most of the book activities I have implemented here.
I hope you will feel free to add your own ideas by leaving a comment. Use your imagination. Given your imagination combined with what’s possible with technology, there are no limits to how creative we can be in ELT.
I think we would agree that someone who appreciates books is someone who can experience the pleasure of the text – a pleasure that can be so strong that we would rather read a good book than watch “Ελλαδα Εχει Ταλεντο”. Question: do you think the new technology helps younger people experience that pleasure, or does it provide new sources of pleasure for people for whom the text remains mute and lifeless?
Hello Torn and thank you for the comment!
To answer your question, I think technology achieves both: the pleasure of traditional reading (since you have got e-paper in front of you) as well as new excitement for the younger generation. BUT: will youngsters be inspired to enjoy reading as such? Will they find their own meaning in a series of lines written by another person?
Technology is not the means to this end; parents and teachers are the ones who need to give a gentle push towards the right direction. Technology is a valuable tool- we are its users.
I wish I could waive your awesome post under the noses of everyone who says technology means the death of reading! Three cheers for you!
Naomi
Oh well, you are welcome to do it on my behalf, hehe! Thank you Naomi! Always a pleasure to read one of your comments! 🙂