Lessons & Ideas:
Technology Tips
The Challenge
Imagine arriving at your base school in the summer of 2011, and seeing that the computer you're assigned to use is operating on Windows '98 (that was the case with an ALT I knew). It is not a surprise if you see classrooms filled with 40 students, and no projector or digital screens anywhere. Is there an electrical outlet in the classroom? You're not sure. You have some ideas for lessons, but you really want to use technology tools for it. You can either revise your ideas into printables, or you might want to consider some of these tips to use technology tools in the classroom:
Tip #1. Check out technology equipmentYou can ask someone, usually the tech guy or gal on the campus, or the assistant principal. I've been able to borrow portable projectors and screens in the past.
Tip #2. Find the technology roomIn high schools, there are usually large meeting rooms that teachers could check out. These rooms usually have white screens that you could pull down and use a projector with. Some of these rooms even have interactive projectors such as ELMOs or Lunas that project your writing onto a screen. In the past, I've organized digital content into DVDs, and used multimedia to support the lessons in these rooms. I've visited a few of these rooms, and they usually have air conditioning, which the students will love you for during the summers!
Learn more:Infographic: Is a Flipped Classroom Right for You? by We Are the Teachers
http://www.weareteachers.com/blogs/post/2014/08/11/the-flipped-classroom-infographic "Flipping" a class by the University of Texas at Austin Center for Teaching & Learning http://ctl.utexas.edu/teaching/flipping-a-class Tip #4. Use online (collaborative) toolsIf you're able to check out a computer lab or students have Internet access at home, you can assign online work through applications such as Google Docs or Microsoft OneDrive which store all documents, presentations, spreadsheets, etc. in a cloud. Once student's work settings are public, you can go in an add comments or suggestions to improve their work. I think Google Docs is excellent for English writing practice. By working online, students will have more resources such as online dictionaries and search engines to support and expand the content of their work. Although spelling is important in learning English, the spellcheck can do that, so that you can focus on the content and quality of student's writing. Once you go digitalband develop a grading system, you'll find giving feedback can be more efficient.
Learn more:Google for Education
https://www.google.com/edu/ https://www.google.com/edu/products/productivity-tools/
Tip #5. Make things available onlineLearning a foreign language is hard. Reduce barriers by making more resources available online. Students would no longer have to ask you for extra copies of missing printables if it's available online. You don't need to build a web site or wiki, unless you want to, but you can upload your files into a cloud drive and post the links to an online site, social media, or message board where students could follow. You also have an audio and video recorder in your pocket-- your mobile phone that you could use to record and upload the content online. Be careful when recording students' faces, because it can violate privacy.
Cloud storage:Google Drive - https://drive.google.com
OneDrive - https://onedrive.live.com/ Dropbox - https://www.dropbox.com Box - https://www.dropbox.com/
Learn More:22 Simple Examples of Social Media in the Classroom by te@chthought
http://www.teachthought.com/technology/22-simple-examples-of-social-media-in-the-classroom/ How to Use Social Media as a Learning Tool by Edudemic http://www.edudemic.com/how-to-use-social-media-as-a-learning-tool-in-the-classroom/ Tip #7. Use mobile technologyThis tip is related to tips 5 and 6. It is rare for public classrooms to provide tablets, but if you and your cooperating teacher are comfortable with students using mobile phones in the classroom, then the world is your oyster! One tool that you can try is Socrative, an online quiz and questionnaire tool that you can monitor in real-time. This can be used as a quick way to get a grade or review at the end of an English lesson. See my review here: http://lostteachertools.blogspot.com/2014/07/web-20-tool-review-socrative.html
Instead of using social media for online discussion, you can also use a digital wall that would do the same thing, but doesn't have the stigma of social media. Try Padlet:
Learn more:Mobile in the Classroom (Trends, Resources and How To's) by Edmentum
http://www.edmentum.com/sites/edmentum.com/files/resource/media/0384_01_Mobile_eBook.pdf |
Japan is a country where pedagogical ideas are still fairly traditional, so it might be a challenge to use online tools right away in a cooperating teacher's classroom. You just have to take baby steps, especially if you're also new at using online technology tools in the classroom. Sometimes, these tools may not be necessary, but they're worth thinking about if they could improve instruction.
I'd be interested to hear how you use technology to support English teaching and learning in a foreign classroom. Please send me a message or leave a comment to share what you did.
If none of these suggestions are an option at your school, try visiting my other webpages:
Lesson Planning Guide
Ideas & Downloads
Resources by ALTs
I'd be interested to hear how you use technology to support English teaching and learning in a foreign classroom. Please send me a message or leave a comment to share what you did.
If none of these suggestions are an option at your school, try visiting my other webpages:
Lesson Planning Guide
Ideas & Downloads
Resources by ALTs