How Technological Tools Boost the English Class
Mind up created by Patricia López
Licda. Ana Patricia López Quirós.
High School Teacher and University Professor.
Saturday, March 2nd, 2019.
Are you a teacher and feel overwhelmed by the fast speed growth of technology in our society? Well, just calm down and take a deep breath to look the wonderful technological tools you can find around the corner. Actually, teachers should see the full part of the glass instead of the empty one; what I mean is that teachers should analyze the effectiveness of including certain technological tools in their classrooms instead of rejecting them. Although there are thousands of tools that teachers can find on Internet, there are three that are not only appealing for the students, but also easy to use for the teachers. These tools are Blogger, Diigo and Mind up.
As an immigrant in technology, I personally consider these three tools very useful to apply at work because I can use them for different reasons. First, it is important to mention that these three tools are Web 2.0 tools, which means that what you do with these tools are not static, they can be modified by the users of the web. In other words, the teacher is able to turn the class more interactive and collaborative among the participants of the activity with the use of them.
Second, Diigo is a website that I can use to keep all thematerials I am interested in the only in one site. It is used as a bank of links that you can use in future classes. Besides, Diigo can be given to the students for the same purpose, or both teacher and students can have one in common in order to keep what is interesting for the objectives of the class. Then, Mind-Mup website is a great tool that can be used in different ways. I can use it to prepare attractive presentations for my students, or I can assign students a work that has to be done using this tool. This is an excellent way of working on the analysis cognitive skill because, for example, students really need to understand an article to find the different ideas portrayed in it in order to do the mind up properly.
Last but not least, there is a tool named blogger. For me, this is a great triggering tool to encourage students to write. This is a great combination between technology, which is what teenagers love, and writing skills. By using this tool, students will be willing to write, even without noticing that they are in the process of doing it.
As a teacher, I am always looking for strategies that can catch the students’ attention. Besides, if students get into the use of technology in class, they will be able to develop other competences apart from learning the language properly. In other words, by creating a blog, for instance, they will be able to develop this technical skill not only for the English class, but for other opportunities in which they have to use technology; even for work.
In fact, technology is here to stay, even more, it will be improving and changing year by year; so let us take the bull by its horns and start getting inserted into this incredible world of successes and challenges, but of many errors as well. One thing is clear, the use of technology in class is a thing that will be changing all the time; thus, I will always have to be dabbling in this challenging field.
that´s right Patri technology is here to stay but not only to stay is here to change everysingle aspect of our lives, we need to be aware of that and continue preparing ourselves for the upcoming future, education is going to be totally digital in some years and it is important for us to continue practicing and learning as much as possible about the new technological advances and how to take advantage from those advances and aplied them in the class.
ResponderEliminarPatricia, all of us have to start our migration into more digital worlds due to the students we get in our classrooms nowadays. All these examples of technology can make our lives easier if we now how to work them around with our students.
ResponderEliminarGlad that you are in class learning so much!
Patricia, I must confess that reading your entry is not only a way of reflecting on technological tools but also to learn from the language you use. It is motivating to see how you talk about the demanding necessity of migrating to a more technological environment at work. We as teachers should accept the there is a changing world and we have to learn to be updated and mutate to the new era advancements. The three tools you mention are wonderful to start fight away all those fears that we may have about, to use your words, the overwhelming fast speed as technology grows.
ResponderEliminarPatricia,
ResponderEliminarEveryone is learning not just the students. As teachers, we learn from students day by day.
Students can be more technological than us but we can not give the chance to do not integrate technology in our lesson plans. I know that you have enjoyed to learn about all these tools and every day you can continue learning more about them. It is really important to let technology be part of our daily routine, so we can integrate it naturally in our classes.