(Picture taken from: http://science.education.nih.gov/supplements/nih4/technology/guide/lesson1.htm)
Technology as a complex phenomenon in language teaching
1 Koehler and Mishra (2008) describe
several factors that make the integration of technology into teaching complicated.
These are:
·
Digital technologies are
protean in nature.
·
Digital technologies are
functionally opaque.
·
Digital technologies are
unstable.
·
Teachers often have adequate (or
inappropriate) experience.
·
Technology is often considered
to be somebody else’s problem.
·
Classroom contexts are varied
and diverse.
Which one (s) of these factors, in your opinion, might more commonly challenge language teachers? And why? (Explain in relation to technological pedagogical content knowledge).
The fact that they are unstable is challenging for most of us. The tools that we use tend to change oftentimes. It takes us some time to find out about them but a new tool takes over or the very same tool is transformed into something we have no idea about.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you. Technology is an ever-changing tool, and teachers have to keep up with what's new and what's old-fashioned. So what do you suggest as a solution to such a situation?
DeleteAs far as I am concerned, one of the biggest challenges for most teachers is that teachers often have adequate (or inappropriate) experience. It goes without saying that the majority of teachers are digital immigrants trying to deal with digital natives. Teacher training programs should make sure that they address this issue thoroughly.
ReplyDeleteSelahattin and Merve, these are good, though provoking questions. Research also shows that teachers are still resistant to using technology in their classroom even though they receive training in technology.
ReplyDelete- What might be the major reasons for this resistance?
- Why do you think the most training that are given in Turkey are not sufficient and fail to equip teachers with the desire to use technology in their classes?
- What suggestions do you have? If possible, please refer to what research says about this issue.
To me, all these factors are interrelated and contribute to the challenge of integrating technology into teaching all together. Yes, digital technologies are unstable and this makes it difficult to keep up with them. Also, new softwares are developed every other day and as they are opaque in nature and are usually not developed for educational purposes only, we have to figure out the best ways of making use of them appropriately for pedagogical purposes. And this also takes us to the experience factor because no matter how much experience teachers gain, the next day it is inadequate.
ReplyDeleteHocam, i would prefer to call it "lack of institutional planning" or something like that, but not resistance. I'm convinced that teachers are actually aware of the importance of integrating technology into teaching and the amount of time their students already spend online. However, every institution has its own principles and regulations and everything from the coursebook you use to the materials you prepare, from the exams you administer to the homework you assign has to be in line with those. To give an example, in the institution I work for, we decide on and prepare everything I mentioned above together during summer and students' grades come from these things. If I were to integrate a technological tool, say a blog, into my teaching, no student would contribute to it as doing so will not affect their grades. Moreover, integrating technology requires a lot of efforts and careful planning by teachers so it is not something that you can start doing on the spur of the moment. For next year for example, I will suggest making changes in our curriculum and integrate some technological tools into it, but everyone including the management has to agree and know how to use the tools. And then another problem arises; which tool(s)? To be honest, at times, I feel like we're drowning in the sea of tools.
ReplyDeleteI believe that a combination of the following factors is what makes teaching with technology challenging:
ReplyDeleteDigital technologies are unstable.
Teachers often have adequate (or inappropriate) experience.
Technology is often considered to be somebody else’s problem.
Classroom contexts are varied and diverse.
Often, teachers don't have enough experience in using technology, and sometimes they don't really see its use. This causes them to stay behind in the developments, and when the technology fails, they don't know what to do, with lots of delay or cancelling the assignments. And that's when they find a good application of technology in the first place. Especially for language teachers, there's the challenge that classroom contexts are varied and diverse. There are lots of materials and tools, but they usually are not tailored to second language learners, so it's the teacher's job to find the best tools and materials for the aim of their lessons.