Computer technology develops rapidly and has exerted an immense impact on people, particularly the youth's lives. As a matter of fact, many college students are more familiar with the use of it than the teachers. And the application of technological tools has become an important part in students' learning process and in their personal lives. So exploring this potential in students and enabling them to use these technological tools in and outside the classroom is increasingly significant. But it must always be reminded that not all the tools are helpful for all the classes. Teachers, when deciding to use these tools, must find the better ones for certain courses in which technological tools are accessible and not occupying too much of regular class observation time. And in the implementation of these tools, teachers need to guide the students when problems arise. Furthermore, supervision and assessment are necessary.
Personally I think, technological tools could be versatile and helpful, and make language teaching more flexible and effective, but it is also a time and mental consuming process on the part of the teachers for all taken into consideration.
Great post! Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I agree with the emphasis that you place on the teacher's responsibility to choose and implement technology wisely in the class. I think this is crucial.
ReplyDeleteYour post brings to mind what Heather said today about the students being more savvy about technology than the teachers! I think we need to allow them to help us more by tapping into their expertise. Getting students to help out in class also helps them build autonomy.
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