Sometimes I get really frustrated with technology. Honestly. There is a fine line between using technology for proficiency and using technology for the sake of using technology. There are so many options for apps to incorporate technology, but one cannot simply take an assignment he or she has been using for years and just throw in technology and make it work. How are we thinking as teachers and leaders? How are changing the delivery of content to keep up with the times? Throwing technology in for technology's sake is not truly facilitating learning. How can a proficiency based classroom incorporate technology that pushes students to seek understanding? I think those questions are tough and I kind of just laughed to myself in writing them because in conjuring up my answer, I realize just how different my lessons today are from 10 years ago. Reflection. What a beautiful thing. I was going through my desk drawer the other day and came across a lesson I had video-recorded for my undergraduate career. HOLY GUACAMOLE! What was I wearing and why was my hair so short?!?! Also- what was I actually doing? I was standing in front of the class. I played a recording of a story in Spanish, I gave the kids like 30 seconds to look over the comprehension questions and then I asked the questions aloud eliciting response from a group of reluctant high school sophomores. They answered, I praised them in Spanish, and moved on to the next. This 10 year veteran is looking at that young teacher cringing. Where is the wait time? Why did I not give them more than one pass at the story? Why didn't I offer a chance for students to interpret meaning from the story alone? Then maybe with a partner? It was a straight interpretive, mechanical-esque activity that had SO much potential and I just left it there. 31 year old me wants to go back and save 21 year old me from that lesson. But what I realized was that I really was using what I had. I had a chalk board, an overhead projector, a VHS player, a boombox, and students. I had a recording of the reading. I played it using my technology. I could have structured the lesson to be more meaningful and communicative but as far as technology went, I used it. I guess my point is that I used the technology, but it didn't mean anything because the lesson wasn't beneficial. I thought I was doing something awesome by playing the recording of the reading and using that technology, but it wasn't awesome at all. In my classroom, not only have I come leaps and bounds in terms of the technology I use, but the best practices that come with it. Language learning isn't about answer questions, conjugating verbs, responding to multiple choice questions, or translating. It is about communication, interpretation, presentation, and interaction. It is about traveling, exploring cultures, understanding the lives of others, appreciating diversity, and using that experience to inform the way you live and what you do. When we throw technology in to substitute for something, we are doing a disservice to our students. When we plan meaningful interactions that guide our students to communicate within and beyond the classroom via technology, we are showing them the power of understanding the ever-shrinking global society. Here's to technology and TEACHnology! -Caroline
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Author14th year Spanish teacher Archives
June 2020
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