MODULE 2: MOODLE QUESTIONS
Case Study 3: (Pages 59-61) Language teacher in Turkey integrated mobile phones in class
Questions
- How much planning was needed before being able to do each activity?
- Integrating mobile phones into a lesson takes a lot of planning. Firstly, because mobile phones are usually banned from use in schools and even high school students. So due approval must be sought so this can be a long process.
-because mobile phones are different in styles and brands, installing of required apps to use can be time-consuming.
-some students are not familiar with the installation of the required apps, therefore, enough time must be spent and dedicated to this
* So really it is a lot of planning required for the project to run smoothly.
- What needs did ICT serve for the learners?
- The ICT used was able to fulfil learners’ needs in the following aspects of English learning
- Listening, speaking/reading, writing, grammar, dictionary work, treasure hunt skills.
Also, the usage of ICT has helped to develop the character-building needs of the students such as relationship development, socialization, and so forth.
- In your own experience, have mobile phones also exponentially spread in your country?
-Yes, mobile phones have exponentially spread in my country- Tonga. There is one or even more than one mobile phone in a household depending on the number of people in a household. From young ones to older generation. Also, it is witnessed how smartphones- the updated version and most expensive ones are owned by anyone regardless of his/her economic background.
From the statistics provided here, in 2012= mobile phone use was 56000, and landline telephone was 30000. This is a huge difference. Image now, 2024, I am sure the number of cellphone use is either double or triple that of 2012.
The usage of Mobile phones in my country
- Could you see any potential use you could make of it with your learners?
-I think there are a lot of potential uses to make of it with the learners. My learners as mature students tuning in to class online, could use smartphones to join Zoom lessons. Very handy and portable to use, even carried around instead of using desktop computers, and laptops sometimes can be heavy to carry around.
-I could see Tongan students at high school with potential use of mobile phones. To do research and access different websites with English lessons.
2. Do you think your students already use mobile phones to support their learning (English and other subjects)? if so how?
-Yes, at home.
I think mobile phones can be used to support students’ learning if the right type with all the applications is available on their phone and if the internet can be afforded
3. What would be the limitations to using this technology in your context?
-some of the needed apps may not be available due to internet issue
-some of the apps are paid for, so some users may not be able to afford it
-instead of using it for studying and learning purposes- students may use it to access different social media- a waste of money and time
ICT and language assessment
Questions
- What are these benefits?
-the benefits include a variety of tools used to carry out assessment tasks, in a very fast manner, also easy to implement and easy to mark then feedback is given to students in a fast turnaround. “ICT and technology have also influenced assessment. It offers affordances that allow ways and means to assess students that we would never have been able to do even ten years ago” (p.g. 161).
There is a broader range of skills that could be assessed using ICT and new technologies. It might include the students’ abilities in the following:
-to participate in a pair work oral activity.
- to skim a text and quickly look for key information
-to tell a story
-to follow instructions
-to plan and organise an article
-to write for a specific group or genre.
- What are we trying to achieve in the learner via language assessments? Which qualities do we try to cultivate in the learner including in the way we assess them?
-As teachers, we always try to make sure that through language assessment learners show us that they learned and absorbed the contents taught. Assessments are implemented to provide us teachers with feedback on the learning experiences of the learners. To tell us where we should focus our planning.
We want to provide high-quality of learners’ performances, dedication, and commitment to their learning. These can be achieved through providing feedback, peer-evaluation and self-evaluation, and ICT or new technologies are capable of providing these.
- What do you think about this trend coming from Western countries? Are these the skills and qualities worth fostering in the young generation in your own country? Why?
-As a Pacific islander, I think this trend coming from the Western countries is something that we need to embrace. It is the skills and qualities worth fostering in this generation. This generation is well exposed to these ICT trends therefore, we need to embrace it and direct them in the right educational direction on how to use these tools.
-Time brings forth dramatic and global changes. We need to ensure we can re-adjust our schedules and plans quickly to suit the demand of these changes. ICT and New Technologies can help to cater for this. For instance, the Covid-19 pandemic shocked us to the core. The Covid-19 restrictions forced us to undergo urgent changes. Delivery of lessons was done virtually through Moodle. This was something a lot of us were not prepared for, but we learned as we went along (for my case).
This trend is important, it will help us a lot in educational assessments and work in general.
DOWNLOADED IMAGE
JOURNAL ENTRY 3: WEEK 5-6
Using new technologies in classrooms in the Pacific Region can both be a blessing and a huge challenge. Now, I am teaching online the Institute of Education (IOE) program- Graduate Certificate in School Leadership (GCSL) to students in Chuuk, FSM. It is a real blessing to be able to teach ONLINE using Zoom, this is a very cheap alternative to face-to-face teaching. This method of new technology requires a strong internet connection, a laptop or desktop, and electricity for both ends (my end and the students’ end).
The challenge that I often face is the internet and electricity. Often, the internet connection fails, and electricity outage. These two main challenges can be faced by both ends- Tonga and Chuuk. Some of the students enrolled at the beginning of the program had withdrawn due to poor internet connection. This makes me ask the question of, whether face-to-face delivery may be more efficient.
However, the Week 3-5 material for this course shows us a variety of new technologies more than Zoom. These new technologies are quite advanced, and I am learning about them for the first time. I view these new technologies as not only tools to use when teaching a lesson but also integrated tools that make teaching a language lesson more student-centered. For instance, Google Docs is used by students from Breens Intermediate, New Zealand, for goal setting and reflection: Literacy learning. The students report how these Google Docs help them with their writing skills, they can also edit for spelling errors or proofread on their own or check by friends or other students in their class. The students and new technologies can interact actively with minimal teacher involvement. To me, this is an excellent example of a student-centered approach. But, for this technique to be achieved fully, teachers and students must be fluent in the usage of new technologies.
Speaking of student-centered lessons or teaching pedagogy, the SAMR model takes my understanding of using new technologies for integrated education to a whole different level. SAMR- stands for S- Substitution, A- Augmentation, M- Modification, and R-Redefinition. Alongside the Bloom Taxonomy, the SAMR model re-enhances learning using new technologies. Each of the stages/steps of the SAMR model corresponds to the different stages/steps of the Bloom Taxonomy, both taken from this link https://www.schrockguide.net/samr.html
I also found some videos with links provided below that would enhance your understanding of the SAMR. Note- importing these links is something that I have never done before. This is a personal achievement for me with new technologies.
https://youtu.be/0QANy-Y1pjI?t=15
The main issue I discovered with these new technologies is that most of them are geared by Apple and therefore can only be used with iPhone and Apple iPad. This can be expensive which allows for the “technologies divide” and expands the dissemination of mediocrity about new technologies in the classroom particularly in the Pacific region.