About Peseti!

 I am a Tongan and residing in Tonga now. I work for the Institute of Education (IoE), USP as a Fellow in Professional Development. I coordinate one of our qualifications, the Graduate Certificate in School Leadership (GCSL) program. 

I speak two main languages, English and Tongan. English is my second language and Tongan language is my mother tongue. While I was working in Japan from 2011 to 2016, I was exposed to the Japanese Language. I can speak a little Japanese.

Technologies is something that I didn't use in my high school teaching career, from 1998 to 2010. Even when I was in high school, I didn't learn about ICT, I learned typing basic skills using a manual typewriter.

When I went to University to do my first degree, I hand-written my first few assignments. It was the first time for me to use a computer. This was in 2001.

I need to know more about ICT and teaching!

I am based at Tonga Campus, Tonga.

Malo 'Aupito

I grew up in the post-technology era here in Tonga. This means I did not have the chance to access and use technologies at school. At Primary school in one of the outer islands of Tonga in the 1980s, there were no technologies at all. The only technology used was a radio. The Ministry of Education had daily broadcasting for all levels. This broadcast was transmitted from the main island- Tongatapu. At high school on the main island in the early 1990s, there were no new technologies yet. There were manual typewriters and basic typing skills were introduced as one of the subjects offered in the junior levels. I opted to take this optional subject and it was my chance to learn basic typing skills. At University in 2001, in New Zealand, I wrote my first ever university assignments and my exposure to new technologies slowly progressed.

When I started teaching the new technologies were a bit advanced but it was mostly used by the teachers in the staff room. It was not used as a teaching tool. I taught in Japan as an ALT- Assistant Language Teacher at Junior High Schools where I was exposed to how new technologies were incorporated well to teaching of English as a second language. New technologies such as Overheard Projector, electronic boards, and big TV screens to name a few. Teachers of English subjects were able to use these new technologies and classrooms were equipped with an Overhead Projector. I enjoyed seeing teachers teach their English lessons using these technologies. Students enjoyed learning English as a second language. The electronic board was shared by teachers of the same subject department. I envied the situation in Japanese schools and I thought of Tongan students a lot. I thought that it would be great to have these new technologies in the Tongan classrooms.

I am looking forward to learning a lot of new things about new technologies in this course. I am looking forward to getting exposed to a broader understanding of new technologies in terms of the following:

• Definition of new technologies.
• Examples of new technologies.
• Ways to use new technologies to support the teaching of English Language to Tongan students.
• Benefits of using new technologies
• Costs and how to minimize costs of using the new technologies

I am expecting to gain a better knowledge and understanding of new technologies from this course and much more.

https://aasoka.com/blog/what-is-the-role-of-technology-on-education/