Week 3 - CALL Course - Technology in Education Blogs

I was actually really into Steven Wheeler's latest blog entry, the interview with Rosie Jones about open universities and the future of libraries moving beyond physical space, and designing digital library environments! It's pretty wacky that so many people still say they prefer physical books, but Dr. Jones suggests that this is not especially useful, so universities may have a role in helping students move beyond the physical book and more and more into the digital. I think it's at best odd, and at worst unethical, that students have access to all these physical resources AND all these digital resources (e.g. academic journals, scholarly articles, search engines, periodicals) while they're enrolled, but then once they graduate they can no longer access these resources.

Dr. Jones makes a great point that digital capabilities are not as much about teaching students how to use a particular tool because "software doesn't stay" (07:59). She argues that digital literacy involves training students to stay informed about digital tools and evaluate tools as they become available and determine what is worthwhile to learn how to use. I see a similar strategy being employed in this very course, in fact. :)

Technology Tailgate hasn't been updated since the last time I checked it, and Cool Cat Teacher had a couple of posts about gifts for teachers that seemed a little silly but cute. The post on CCT that seemed to have the most substance was about teaching empathy and empowerment in the aftermath of tragedy. The point that teachers are teaching more than content but also morals and values and feelings is well taken; this past Tuesday was the culmination of a food drive conducted at our school, and it was a great way for students to get involved in something meaningful and connect with their communities. Perhaps a good way to make a foreign language activity out of this is to do a pen-pal project or a greeting card project, where students send cards or letters (digital or paper) to people in need.

Week 2 - CALL Course - Technology in Education Blogs

The three technology in education blogs that I've decided to follow are:

• Cool Cat Teacher
• Technology Tailgate, and
• Teaching with 'e's

I'm also going to be following Adele Raemer's blog Digitally Yours, even though it hasn't been updated in a while, because she came to Be'er Sheva to do part of our group's pedagogical training. I'm now a member of the facebook group she administers called "EFL Digital Pedagogy in Israel," which is worth checking out if you're interested. It also appears to be updated more regularly than the blog.

Part of what I'm hoping to get from these blogs is the beginnings of a toolbox. While I'm moderately interested in pedagogical theory, what really revs my educational engine is usable materials, lesson plans, activities, and tools!

Cool Cat Teacher has a tab called "Cool Stuff" that links to How-Tos and Lesson Plans. So far the lesson plans seem more like interviews with teachers about the tools they use but I'm keeping an open mind. The blog also has a subject area grouping specifically for foreign or second language teachers, which looks like it will be helpful in narrowing down activities that we can reasonably expect our students to be able to do in a foreign language.

I found an entry on Technology Tailgate from August that outlines some of the tools available through Class Dojo, a classroom management app (and more). My roommate introduced me to the app but I hadn't really looked into all the features, and I'd love to be able to start using some of the tools in class. I worry that I won't be able to take full advantage of this because the English corner where I usually work with students is by the shelter and thus does not have reliable wifi connection, but I'd like to look into which tools are available offline.

Learning with 'e's is a bit more theoretical and scholarly. It's updated regularly but I can't tell exactly how relevant it's all going to be to me in my role as an English teacher of small groups and language partner. Nevertheless, it's not a bad idea to keep up with a perspective on the issues facing the field and the historical underpinnings of those issues.

Week 1 - CALL Course

I remember in the summer of 2005 my friend Chris told me I had to get a gmail account. He was so adamant that gmail was going to be "the next big thing." Too bad that never took off; I was really rooting for those cats....

JK, still using the same gmail account he made me get that day to do basically everything!

Props to blogger for still having all my old posts from 2008 to 2012. I love strolling down memory blog. Mostly the entries are me promising to blog more. As if the universe were just screaming for that. I especially love how inauthentic my blog voice is. I wonder if my Xanga is still out (in?) there somewhere.

The note in the Prologue about computer tasks taking a long time really resonated with me. I always had this issue playing Pokemon on GameBoy Color, right, because my sister would be cities ahead of me, even if we started playing at the same time! I was still back there shaking the trees and fighting every last trainer because I just couldn't bear the thought of missing something. Spoiler alert: did eventually beat the Elite Four. So no worries.

I think of technology as something that doesn't come quickly to me but that I don't mind reasoning through, even if it means a lot of doubling back and re-reading and second-guessing.

In this course, I'd love to gain some familiarity with nifty, user-friendly language teaching/learning tools. My school does not have a wifi network -- at least not an active one that I can use on my personal devices -- and the English corner itself has little to no 3G connectivity, so off-line tools would be extra helpful. The computers in the computer lab have internet access, though, so online formats could work as well. I'm interested in using ICT creatively and interactively.

I feel wary of using "technology" for its own sake, because if the kids are doing a task that could just as easily be done on pen and paper, how integral is the "technology" to their learning? Or maybe it is just as important to do even basic things digitally, because that's how we do most things.

In any case, if you read this and you come across any of my old posts, please tell me. Because I tried to take all that nonsense down, and I don't know if I did it right. Thanks!