Read the texts below and share your ideas on it.
Which points do you agree/disagree with?
How could you incorporate these ideas in your EFL classroom?
http://education.mit.edu/papers/GamesSimsSocNets_EdArcade.pdf
http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky-ChangingParadigms-01-EdTech.pdf
Looking forward to your debate!
Cíntia
I read Changing Paradigms and I'm gonna write here my comments.
ResponderExcluirI agree with the author when he says that the problem of implementing technology has to do with changing educational paradigms, because to modify the you teach is hard and demands money and infrastructure. Teachers must be ready for this changing and to make it happen they need time and training to incorporate technology in class. Besides, the students have to see this "new" way of learning as something meaningful to their future.
I don't think I'm a tech savvy teacher. However, I try my best to incorporate technology in class. I've worked with Power Point to make my classes more dynamic. Although it's old fashioned concerning technology, it's still a simple tool to be used in class. Tools such as You Tube and Social networking are also used in my classes to practice English. Through You Tube I improve my classes with videos which provide their understanding about the subject we're studying. Social networking has integrated my teaching routine to share documents and leave messages to solve some doubts they may have.
To become a techie teacher I'm in need of time, patience and training to change old stuff into new one. It would avoid the boredom of teaching, sometimes.
Marcela Gomes - Turma 1962
I do agree with you in many aspects, Marcella.
ExcluirFirst, when you say that changing the way we teach/learn is a challenge. All changes represent a challenge as continue doing the same things we have always done is much easier and comfortable. Changing always make us a bit uncomfortable in the beginning, but it's really necessary. It also becomes more challenging when money and infrastructure are involved, as you mentioned, but it's really worth trying.
I don't think PPT is really old fashioned, and I do use it a lot. What is old-fashioned is the way most teachers use it to "transmit" content to students. If it's used with this in mind, then, it's really old-fashioned and "like writing on the blackboard" as Mark Prensky reports a student in one of this papers.
It is also a big challenge for teachers as it demands "time, patience and training" as you pointed out, and many times the educational systems expect that teachers incorporate technologies in their classrooms without providing them with one of these. What's a big shame! =(
Thank you for your contribution!
I agree with both texts, but the one I liked the most was " Changing Paradigms". It's our (teachers) biggest challenge. Even with all tools that technology offers, the educational system isn't prepared to receive and accpet this new way of teaching and it has to do with many factors, sucha as schools' structures ( no computers in the classrooms, just a pen ad a board), teachers (some of them are very traditional and don't like or don't know how to use technology) and mainly the vision that many teachers have: " J just have to teach my subject". Teaching goes beyond . We must motivate the students and engage them in the society and technology is everywhere, why not in the classrooms?
ResponderExcluirIn my EFL classes I try to incorporate some tecnological tools whenever it's possible. i teach kids in a public school and teens in a private one. With kids I usually use Youtube videos, songs and online games (Escola games). With the teens groups I also use videos, but they produce two videos during the year. It makes part of a projects we have at school. I also use social networking like Facebook to share materials and solve some doubts. But I know few technological resources, I need and i want to learn and know much more.
Mirella Finamora- Turma 1962
Thank you for your contribution, Mirella. Many points raised by you add to Marcella's comments. Changing paradigms is difficult and many times we may face lots of prejudice against innovative ideas such as the one presented by Prensky. But when we do our small part, as you're already doing in your schools, we are already contributing to this change, don't you think so?
ExcluirThank you for your contribution, Mirella. Many poins ou mentioned add to Marcella's discussion on the difficulties of changing and changing paradigms is really difficult, especiall when it also involves infrastructure problems and old teaching paradigms.
ExcluirThe new paraigm Prensky proposed faces a lot of prejudice as it changes the status quo of education and removes the power from the hands of the teacher, empowering learners with teachology.
However, when you're incorporating these technology in your classroom, despite all the problems you mentioned, you're already contributing to this change, don't you think so?
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ResponderExcluirI read both of the texts and I agree with them. Implement technology in schools nowadays is not only been difficult because of lack of school resources but also because some teachers are still living in the past. These teachers think that teach is only a matter of transferring their knowledge into the students' head by using the old methods,like the books and board. The students we have today are more interested in learning new things by using thechnology, they are surronded by it, You Tube, the Internet, IM, chat, social networking, they want to be listened and share their ideas and goals for the future. So, only giving teachers a tablet won't make them use it in the classroon, they have to understand that twenty-first century technology, education no longer means the same thing as it did in the past, as it was said on the text.
ResponderExcluirAs a public school teacher and a private one as well,I'm trying to incorporate these ideas on my class, by using youtube videos and songs I also use social networking to make debates, chats and to solve some problems they have, but I also know that I still have a lot to improve.
Luciana Martins Turma 1962
Thank you for your contribution, Luciana! Definetely, students have changed (also because of technology) and we must accept and change as well. As you mentioned, twenty-first century teaching is/should be completely different with a new paradigm as proposed by Prensky and lots of different technological tools such as games, social networking sites and simulations as proposed in the other text. However, as you have mentioned, just providing teachers with the tools is not enough. They should be empowered on how to use them, so they can make the most of their potencialities. And this is what you're doing here, isn't it?
ExcluirPrensky’s Paradigm
ResponderExcluirIn his “Changing Paradigms”, Marc Prensky (2007) proposes disengagement with the traditional form of education. Lesson plans, textbooks, library, encyclopedia, assessment, and so forth, are old fashioned. He concludes that none of that is education to today’s kids.
According to Prensky, facts, explanations, tools and reasoning would prove worth learning if and only if they can support kid’s expectations about their future. In his view, the apprehension and the worthiness of meaning can be achieved through the connections children experiment daily, such as TV, You Tube, Internet, chat and social networking. From these media, they actually forge their future.
As he states, children want more than just sharing in community, they are avid to be challenged either by working together or by being asked interesting questions. They claim for a space where they could be heard and respected.
One can infer from Prensky’s paradigm that the way, rules, environment and resources definition is changing hands. Kids are in the control room. And the tech world constitutes the vehicle through which they can achieve their goals.
Teaching has an overseeing role: coaching and keep watching them learn. It aims to keep them motivated and on track, with all they need: TV, You Tube, Internet, smart phone, social networking, and search engines and so on. Cheating, plagiarism, memorizing… these are old fashioned. Sharing, that is what technology is for.
A reader’s perception of Prensky’s ideas
Undoubtedly, technology has a lot to contribute for the development of education, through the expansion of frontiers, the opening up of windows for discoveries and new achievements in the process of learning and the dissemination of knowledge, as well. But it is not an end in itself. In its proper place, it serves as an interface that facilitates these processes.
As it is expected, the coaching role to be effective must follow some rules, strategies and operating tactics. Being a coach implies the assessment of performance and behavior. The learning process requires contact with the old as well as new. It seems very contradictive the claim that traditional forms of education are somehow old fashioned.
A first reading of Prensky’s ideas leaves an impression that kids must be free to act in their “natural” habitat. No one denies the fact that to be creative, freedom is an imperative. But children should also learn that order is as necessary as freedom is. It would be unnatural leaving them by their own. Guidance implies regulations.
Developing critical pattern of behavior demands reflection. Sharing is good and it is part of the process of development. But TV, You Tube, Internet, social networking and the like are not enough to foster such character. Instead, flawed material can be found in large amounts on these medias. Are they capable of discerning it?
Apart from that, Prensky’s Paradigm serves a purpose: teachers must rethink the way they actually teach. Perhaps years of acting on the same stage, reading the same scripts, sitting the same bench have led them to a routinary life, even at school.
We live in an ongoing changing world. Methods and technologies change every single day. There is a wake-up call for this new era. The expectation is that teachers could answer it promptly. For the simply fact: they have the power to interact effectively for this momentum, since they know how to deal with knowledge. And technology is just a derivative of knowledge; it is its supportive poles.
There is a price to pay. Not paying it implies being legged behind others. Once left behind, you may be forgotten, lost and extinct like the dinosaurs. Between lines, Prensky is saying: recycle yourself! Learn and present something new, preferably daily.
Great summary and critical comments, Carlos! I particularly liked when you said "Apart from that, Prensky’s Paradigm serves a purpose: teachers must rethink the way they actually teach. Perhaps years of acting on the same stage, reading the same scripts, sitting the same bench have led them to a routinary life, even at school." and "There is a price to pay. Not paying it implies being legged behind others. Once left behind, you may be forgotten, lost and extinct like the dinosaurs. Between lines, Prensky is saying: recycle yourself! Learn and present something new, preferably daily." This is exactly the idea we have been discussing. I do agree that technology is not an end in itself, it is a means fosters and enhances these changes. The most important thing is not the simple use of technology in the classroom, but the change of paradigms in education, when the teacher is not the owner of knowledge and responible for transmiting it to students, but the one who can guide them, as active learners, to learn by themselves with the help of technology and the guidance of the teacher. Thank you for your great review!
ExcluirCíntia,
ExcluirThanks for the comments. I'm flattered!
All the best,
Carlos Eduardo
Education and the scope of new technologies
ResponderExcluirIn “using the technology of today, in the classroom today”, Klopfer et al. (2009) highlight the instructional function and the benefits of digital games, social networking and simulations for the learning process.
Relying on the I5 framework, Kropfer and his colleagues present a tool to help educators successfully integrate new technologies into their teaching practices.
It is subsumed that in order to foster higher-order thinking skills and have pupils prepared to deal with complex problems and address them appropriately, teachers should reassess their views about popular technologies.
As posed in the paper, these learning tools are themselves very effective in the sense that they have driven us to reshape the way we think, learn and socially interact within and out of the virtual community.
According to Klopfer et al. (2009), educators, somehow, still show reluctance to embrace these technologies.
Against all the odds, teachers are expected to bridge the gap between children and this new social ecology into which they are inserted. Stepping into this brave new world is a rather systemic and gradual pace than a revolutionary one.
It is advocated that the actual learning process should embed the values such as collaborative interaction, knowledge-sharing and the increase of student’s capability, something companies have already discovered.
After incorporating them into their routine, those companies afforded much better results. Thus, it is crucial to reduce the existing abyss, once similar performance is expected to be produced in the educational environment.
Communicative skills as well as cognitive abilities are among the benefits gotten by the adoption of these technologies, according to the paper. It is also reported that the use of games, social networking and simulations tend to facilitate collaborative work and a problem-solving environment. Such pattern is seen as form of social constructivism, so essential to the pedagogical process.
My views on the paper
It seems to me that Koepfer and his colleagues have adopted a less normative and a non-radical approach in dealing with the theme discussed on the paper, despite the fact they acknowledge the relevance of new technologies to the enhancement of education.
At the same time they explain the theories that support their views, they present a plethora of factual data which help to consolidate how the process occurs in practical terms.
The approach relies on constructivism, anyway. It exploits the enhancement of cognitive, communicative and collaborative skills in its scope, something really appeasing. However, since constructivism implies somehow in excess of flexibility, it is suggested to be parsimonious in implementing these technologies in class.
Thank you for the great review, Carlos. If you were teaching in a school, do you think you would incorporate any of the tools/approaches suggested in the article? Which ones and why? Why not?
ExcluirEste comentário foi removido pelo autor.
ExcluirCíntia,
ExcluirThanks for the comments.
Regarding your inquiry, I would choose and apply games in class.
I tend to agree with those who consider that playing games has a positive side effect.
Broadly speaking, gaming has the power to enhance cognitive skills, allowing players to think quickly, rationally and effectively – a must-have portfolio of competencies companies are looking for nowadays.
Implementing games in class seems to be a challenging task. On the other hand, however, it also portrays a pleasurable opportunity to delight cleverness. In fact, it is an intriguing dualism that will involve teachers and students as well.
All the best,
Carlos Eduardo
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ResponderExcluirI guess when we say that technology should be implemented in class, some teachers tend to go crazy about it but they get cold feet when the time to use it comes. Searching for new tools and trying to use them whenever it's possible is an idea that crosses their minds. Most teachers are still afraid of using technology because of the fear of the unknown. But we do need to go with the flow and lose this fear. As Prensky says, we need to create, invent, using tools, videos, arts, videos, programs, simulations etc. This teaching style makes our class less boring, even though there some students who are really hard to please. As I work in an English course, and I have access to lots of tools, I've been trying to implement them in classroom. Some tools, such as Etherpad and glogster were really successful with some groups and I'm still going to try others. That's why I intend to keep losing my fear and being a twenty first century teacher.
ResponderExcluirThank you for your contribution, Raquel. I do agree with you when you say that "most teachers are still afraid of using technology because of the fear of unknown". We do have to lose tis fear and help other teachers to do the same by sharing ideas and experiences so that they may feel more comfortable to experiment new possiilities with the use of technology.
ExcluirRaquel Vital (1962)
ResponderExcluirTatiana Caldas de Almeida (1962)
ResponderExcluirTechnology is present in everyone’s life. It interferes in many aspects, including education. Education in the past followed some models which don’t fit with the paradigms of nowadays. Students nowadays need some changes in education in order to really learn. The use of new technologies in the classroom has brought meaning to this process of knowledge acquisition. It wouldn’t be different in EFL classrooms. Teachers have been challenged to change their approaches and methods to teach in order to make education more relevant to the students. English teachers can use these resources to develop their ways of teaching and make their classes more attractive to their students. Some of the ideas suggested by http://education.mit.edu/papers/GamesSimsSocNets_EdArcade.pdf are simulations, digital gaming and social networking. I think they are nice ideas but I don’t know if they would fit to classes directed to teenagers from the 7th to the 9th grade of “Ensino Fundamental”. I guess the biggest problem is they don’t have enough maturity to understand when they have to focus on the classes. Using social networks such as Facebook is something great when we talk about university students who are mature enough to understand when they can use it to have fun or when they have to use it to learn something. I tried to use Facebook with my students but it didn’t work. Some of the students didn’t even access the pieces of information I had written there. Other students accessed my profile to leave messages which had nothing to do with the subjects I had posted or to chat with me about different topics, except school. Just a small group of students accessed my profile to draw their attention to what I had posted. I guess social networks are not appropriate for students from the 7th to the 9th grade of Ensino Fundamental. I have never tried games and simulations. But I would like to try a blog to interact with my students, to debate with them. I would like to post links and interact with them, to hear my students’ opinions. But I have two problems to make it work: lack of time to prepare and try this new stuff and students’ immaturity. I would have to work a lot on it, to attract them to the classes instead of other things offered on the Internet. I would like to try some of the suggestions given in the text in the classroom. I guess I’m still afraid of it, though.
Thank you for your contribution, Tatiana. I agree with you when you say "I guess I’m still afraid of it, though." and it's perfectly normal to feel that way as technology and relationships related to it change very fast. It's a shame your experiencewith facebook didn't work out as planned. You mentioned students' immaturity and I do believe this could be the case, but thi an be worked out, don't you thnk so? Mabe some discussions on how and why to use social networks for learning before actually using it could avoid the problems you mentioned. WDYT? Hope to hear about the blog soon!
ExcluirI would like to say that both texts are extremely interesting and useful.Sometimes, it´s very difficult to change old structures and develop new ones.Students are too much interested in technology,and teachers may use it to contribute in the process of learning.
ResponderExcluirHowever,teachers sometimes are not prepared to do so.They don´t feel comfortable enough and prefer to repeat old approaches.Besides,many schools,especially public ones,aren´t sufficiently equipped.
Since there are many challenges concerning this subject,I believe all the changes will come not so fast.We need evolution in thinking,in putting new attitudes into practice and in providing the structures which can turn everything possible.I try to implement online activities in my classroom.I can see how well my students recieve them and how much interested they are.I would like to feel more confident,but I´m still a little afraid of it.Reading and listening about new technologies have helped me to improve my performance and take risks.I wish I had started this course before.I´m always aware of my students´needs and I think technology turns the lessons more attractive and pleasant.
Thank you for your contribution, Valéria. I am really glad you are improving your performance and taking risks. Although we do fear technology sometimes, being able to take risks is one of the mos mportant skill 21st century teachers must possess!
ExcluirAfter reading both text , I can say that they very interesting and totally true. Kids nowadays "born" knowing technology, very young child knows how to use tablets and smartphone. Of course when they get the school age, they are already immersed in this technology world, and they want to use it in class! As teachers we have to be updated to what are going on. I mean there is the "old" method, sitting on a chair, copying, having texts, but for this new student, this kind of class is boring, the teacher is boring. So we have to change our class a little, not always, but some classes, that we could call a different class.
ResponderExcluirWe need to explore this new technology approach.Why not take the computer to class? Why not create a facebook group to share things with our students?Why not do online activities? The fact is students are connected, and sometimes they are doing this during the class, by the cellphone and not paying attention at all, so let's bring this to class.
I totally agree with the texts, this new generation desires technology. I have to say that I actually need to use more this in my classes, and now I've just created groups using facebook, where students will post their activities, that a task using songs and Glogster to create posts, I'm really excited to see the results!
And so am I, Tamires. Please share the results with us. I do agree with you that our digital natives are mostly bored in our "old-fashioned classrooms". We do need to use their tools, as Prensky says in one of his articles and start using tools such as Facebook and games to enhance heir learning and you're doing your part to make this change happen. Thank you for your contribution!
ExcluirIn my opinion, the technology is dominating the word in all aspects, principally at school that for kids is the first step at their life and for teenager and adults school is the principal stage at their life. The kids, teenager and adults get so involve with technology that they don’t know what they really expect from the school, as the example at the “Changing Paradigms” text: “Some teachers make a PowerPoint…” some students love and some hate.
ResponderExcluirFor education is really hard to follow the technology, it grows up really fast without a time to brief. Teachers need always update their classes, being in touch with their students, talking and researching with them and at the internet to be update. They need to make their classes interesting, so the student can learning what really is important to their life, not only what they think is important.
Since, I'm not a teacher I believe that Interactive classes with music, games, research at internet will always be interesting class.
Fernanda da Rosa Barros
Turma:1962
It's really nice to have your view as a learner, Fernanda and I do agree with you that although it's hard to keep updated with all the advances of technology (it's really fast), we do have to try to update our classes and make sure we use these tools learners are so involved with! Thank you for your contribution!
ExcluirI read the both texts, but I really liked “digital games, social networking and simulations, from Eric Klopfer, Scot Osterweil, Jennifer Groff, Jason Haas. I realized the text is very useful for my reality, because my students always says, that they learn English because of the games, but I have never believed them.
ResponderExcluirIt is obvious that games, simulations, and social networking technologies have much to offer to our students and we teachers. Providing the way we think, learn and interact in classroom.
I know many kinds of using technology in classroom, but I do not disposal much of them in my EFL classes, so I usually try to adapted some of them to my reality, such as You Tube, power point presentation, movie maker, piece of movies and pieces of speeches.
I recognize the efficiency of facebook, but I do not use it yet with my students.
CARINA MAGALHAES - TURMA 1962
Why not, Carina? Social networks are a great way of involving learners as the article advocates. In relation to games, I also do agree with their potential for learning, especially English. As students are motivated to play, they learn the language, many times without realizing it. It's really worth trying!
ExcluirI read both texts, but I appreciate the second one: Changing Paradgmas". The challenge of the XXI century teacher, goes beyond methodologies studied. The large accumulation of information, the speed with which it is presented makes our work more difficult, because we compete with an engaging technology. Today the teacher has to catch up with the new pradgmas, those that are part of a technological world, active and strong. We have to engage our students in older subjects with a newer guise. Even with technological advancement because it is easy to get any kind of information and it also becomes a problem, because depending on how they are inserted, may suffer badly interpretation and misuse. So even with all this progress, the teacher's role in the formation of the citizen and the acquisition of knowledge is still central. We are experiencing with our students these new experiences, bringing the old to the present way of engaging and enjoyable.
ResponderExcluirGisele
Thank you for your contribution, Gisele. I do agree with you that "the challenge of the XXI century teacher, goes beyond methodologies studied". What about you? How are you incorporating/could you incorporate these ideas in your EFL classroom?
ExcluirI read "Changing Paradigms" text and I agree with the author. We (teachers) have to learn how to adapt our classes to learners' needs and expectations. Use their owns lives and experiences to prepare and lean our classes on it. However, I think some students are not yet prepared to use all the technology they have at their disposal. Specially the ones who do not have technology at home and at schools (I can speak on behalf of my students from the public state schools). In this case, the teacher has to teach the students how to use and what they can and can not do regarding technology. On the other hand, when students are use to all these changes that have been happening, they are the ones who teach the teacher and this is exchange is not only interesting but also very rewarding.
ResponderExcluirThank you, Clarisse, for your contribution. I do agree with you that we, teachers, have to teach students (een thought they're digital learners) digital literacy and make them explore all he potencials these tools may offer them. I also liked when you said "On the other hand, when students are use to all these changes that have been happening, they are the ones who teach the teacher and this is exchange is not only interesting but also very rewarding." We should not be afraid of having students teach us how to use some tools. How about you? How are you incorporating these ideas in your EFL classroom in state schools?
ExcluirI read both texts and I agree with them when they say that technology is an issue that everybody has to think about, not only for the future, but also for the present. Our world today is surrounded by it in every way possible. We can make the most of it in education too. Something that has been already happening for some years is the use of technology in classrooms. Schools, in general, are worried with this new way of teaching, so they're changing paradgims. Teachers are using other ways to teach and reach their students, through social networking and games, since these 21st century students are already born in this era in which technology is very "normal" for them. They urge for something new in terms of education, they are free to look for the answers they don't know, sometimes they don't even ask their parents or teachers for them, they simply click to find it. So, we teachers have to understand it and immerse in ways to update ourselves, qualify ourselves, and that's what I see most teachers do. What we have to keep in mind is that using 100% of technology in class today is impossible. We have to mix the traditional with the modern because there are many things that prevent us from doing it, principally in public schools: our infrastructure is still poor, schools don't have classrooms prepared to receive technology and we have problems with the connection too. It would be perfect, faster, and more interesting if everybody could use all types of technology in education.
ResponderExcluirI already incorporated some technology in my EFL classes. Students have been using CALL at the course where I work as a way of reinforcing their studies home and we've been using the computer and the TV for some time. In public schools they now have connection with the internet, a datashow, and a netbook for the teachers to use. So, we're asked to access the site they prepared for us to use in class. I use them whenever it's possible. We have to try to incorporate all kinds of technology in class, keeping in mind our groups and our aim for doing that.
Thank you for your contribution, Simone. I do agree with you that alhough we do have to incorporate new technologies in teaching and change the old paradigm, we shouldn't be using new technologies 100% of the time. Not only because of infrastructure problems, but mainly because we should not smply replace one technology by another. We should mix "old" and new technologies so that our learners have plenty of tools to work with: blackboards and chalk, paper and pencils, books and tablets, computer and internet, dictionaries and websites, etc.
ExcluirThank you, guys, por your participation and contributions. I guess we had a great discussion on the urgent necessity of changing educational paradigms and how new technologies can help us achieve that. Looking forward to the results and changes!
ResponderExcluirThese two disciplines helped me a lot. I was frightened about new technologies, because I had a thinking that students could not learn with many new things.
ResponderExcluirI have seen education as transferring “stuff” (i.e. a textbook) into students’ heads. "But to today’s kids, none of that is education. To them, education is getting
prepared for the future – their future. “Some teachers make a PowerPoint and they think they’re so awesome, - "Alguns professores fazem um PowerPoint e eles pensam que são tão incrível." says a student. “But it’s just like writing on the blackboard,” says another. “And then they read it to us,” says a third. “why should we go to hear it read?”" (Eric Klopfer, Scot Osterweil, Jennifer Groff, Jason Haas (in the article The Instructional Power of digital games, social networking, simulations and How Teachers Can Leverage Them)
Students could not learn using resources beyond a book and notebook, I am of the age that there was no technology in the classroom and how I could learn a lot, I thought my students should learn the same way. But I was impressed how tasty learning using new features! Right now I'm just giving private lessons, because I'm realizing a dream: to be pregnant and therefore being a mother. But I have already started thinking about applying new technologies learned in the two courses taught by the great teacher Cynthia Rabelo at those classes. And when I return to work in schools - my expectation for 2014 - and I want to implement new features that will bring satisfactory learning and classroom dynamics.