After reading the article A Social History of Media and Technology in Schools and Chapter two in Rethinking Technology in Schools I have come to realize how great of a role computers have played throughout the years. Not only computers themselves, but the world wide web has played an important role both positive and negative. In one aspect it has a negative role because students are using it for pleasure rather than for learning. When it is time to use a computer for learning purposes the students may not understand the task and the expected outcome of the teacher for the activity may not be accomplished. In the article, Grace states that some teachers were using computers as a prize for doing their work. She said that she does not think "it is an appropriate message to send to our students—that if they complete the “boring” schoolwork then they can play “fun” video games" (Domine 48). This proves my point because she is stating that when a computer is put in front of a student, they just want to play games and have fun.
However when it comes to my content area, the internet plays a very positive role in helping students learn. When learning a new language, it is not only the language that you are learning, but you are learning a whole new culture. It is hard to be able to fully understand a culture without being in that certain country. When I become an Italian teacher I can use the internet to my advantage to help the students almost "emerge" into that culture by looking at pictures and watching videos. It will give them an even better idea of what they are learning rather than to just lecture about a certain culture they can actually experience certain aspects of the culture. Also, Chapter two talked about many social networks that young people use daily. Social networks can become a key aspect of learning a new language because students are able to interact with people from all over the world. As a teacher I can use a strategy such as a virtual pen pal. This can allow students to have someone who speaks the language perfectly as a friend and this person can assist with their learning process.
During the time period that we are focusing on for this interactivity however we must remember what the teaching of foreign languages was like. It mainly consisted of conjugations and readings from a book. When the language labs and audio was introduced they were still focusing on the core aim of conjugation and repetition. Only recently have the other values of fluency, comprehension, and cultural understanding been deemed important. This is why we use computers, films, videos, and other forms of media.
ReplyDeleteThe way we teach our language has gone through major changes throughout history.
Melissa,
ReplyDeleteI love your image and agree that to a certain extent computers can allow us to get lost in other cultures. Do you think there are any other technologies that can allow us to submerge ourselves within another culture (especially its language)? Does a novel not allow us the same experience? If so what are the benefits and flaws?
Melissa, I completely agree with your views regarding the use of the language lab. I think the fact that students are able to re- listen to their recordings as well as do exercises based on their level of knowledge is crucial to learning a foreign language. I found it interesting too that you talked about how much information a student can gain about a culture, country, language, etc. through the internet without actually traveling to the country. This , along with the language labs go hand in hand to truly give students the best environment to learn a foreign language without actually traveling to the country. The use of social networks that you talked about is also important. This allows students to have a more direct experience with the language, having the opportunity to speak and practice with a native speaker.
ReplyDeleteMelissa, interesting photo. Can you help me understand your choice of technology?
ReplyDeleteThe technological resources of the language lab have certainly facilitated the learning of a foreign language for students. The interactive programs and useful materials that can be installed in the language lab offers students increased practice options in the target language. Features such as pronunciation correction, image-word matching, and authentic videos truly do allow the language learner to immerse him/herself in a rich target language environment. If the student moreover has the option of engaging in virtual communication with an actual native speaker of the target language, this would be a phenomenal source of genuine exposure and application
ReplyDeleteMelissa, I studied Italian for five years and I never was given the option of a language lab. Now, through reading your post, I realize what a great tool a language lab would have been in my Italian classes. I do agree with you in that perhaps language labs could in fact ease the process of learning a new language. Also, in my own Italian classes, I do remember loving to go to the media center and doing research on places in Italy, the Italian culture and on the food. Besides the fact that through what I found I learned many things about Italy that I would not have learned if I had not done the research on my own, doing work on computers also served as an escape from the classroom. Using computers instead of sitting in my desk, listening to a lecture or Italian class, made me feel like I was doing something fun and non school related, even though in fact I was doing something educational. Because of this personal experience with these types of technologies in your content area, is that I really think that language labs and computers with internet would be great and helpful tools in a language classroom, that like your quote states, could emerge the students into the culture they are studying.
ReplyDeleteMelissa, good choice of technology. I couldn't agree more that computers have given students an amazing opportunity to more easily learn a foreign language . Students of today are becoming more and more tech-savvy and since they are more computer literate, they will have a good background in making use of this technology. With this literacy, they will be able to use foreign language learning software with ease. Your statement of using computers to immerse students into other cultures is so true because people can explore the world by simply clicking a button. I has explored the world via YouTube and Google and have absolutely learned much by doing so.
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