The Wight way to blog - Education Guardian

Being described in the Education Guardian as probably one of the most influential language teachers in the country, by virtue of this blog is flattering to say the least and proof of how individual teachers can make a difference by sharing their ideas on the web.

The Wight way to blog from today's Link supplement is a glowing report of my personal views on how technology can impact on teaching and learning in languages, the influence of this blog on the MFL community at large and the altruistic nature of The Isle of Wight Conference 2007 which John Bald the author attended himself.

In preparation for the post-conference interview, I wrote the following notes to summarise some of the main points I wanted to make which I've now reproduced here to encourage you to share your thoughts too.

ICT has had an impact on teaching in many different ways:

For the teacher

• it has increased the pace of lessons
• teachers now can have all the resources at their finger tips on their computer and no longer need to use an OHP, tape recorder, video recorder etc to deliver lessons
• teachers can more easily personalise the learning of their pupils by making their own multimedia resources tailoured to individual needs
• flexible digital resources can be built up over a period of time and easily shared with colleagues
• teachers can track individual pupils more easily and set them personal targets for improvement

For the pupils

• they can be more independent in their learning by completing rigorous interactive exercises in a computer suite and receive immediate individual feedback
• they can make their own resources to reinforce language covered in class by using technology they are already familiar with and that they enjoy using in their own time.
• they take ownership of the resources they produce, particularly when they are published to a real audience via the net.
• they learn how to work collaboratively on a project
• they can deepen their understanding and improve pronunciation by recording and editing a podcast having first written their own personalised transcript

What it lets us do?

We shouldn’t use ICT for the sake of it, only when it enhances traditional good practice.

• whole class teaching using presentation packages such as PowerPoint or the software which comes with an interactive whiteboard can raise standards by catering effectively to different learning styles, auditory, visual and kinaesthetic
• colour coding can help pupils’ understanding of gender and adjectival agreements as a visual hook
• animation helps to capture the pupils imagination and can be used to reinforce grammatical concepts
• ICT has huge potential for personalising learning and creating written or audio resources for pupils to download outside of school hours so they can choose to learn whenever and however they wish at their computer or on a mobile device such as a mp3 player or mobile phone
• blogging and podcasting can promote global citizenship, create learning communities, offer assessment for learning opportunities and allow for pupil voice

What it doesn't let us do?

It allows us to experience a foreign country and its people virtually, but not in reality. Of course, there is no substitute for visiting the country whose language you are learning.

How far it's tackling the crisis in the subject?

In the Languages Review of March 2007, Lord Dearing referred to the fact that ICT offers a great opportunity to language teachers and I think we need to try and put into practice his recommendations with the aim of encouraging more young people to continue studying languages into Keystage Four and beyond. We must try and find ways of convincing pupils of the importance of language learning to properly prepare them for adult life and to raise their awareness of other cultures and people around them. To reverse the present drop out though is not going to be easy.

What the snags are?

• finding funding to pay for new hardware and software and training teachers on how to use the technology they already have
• trying to change the common perception that studying languages is more difficult or that pupils will do less well at GCSE compared to other subjects
• dealing with local authorities blocking many of the sites teachers want to use

What it might let us do in the future?

• The potential of collaborating and forging links across classrooms, schools and countries, breaking down the walls of the classroom
• further developing mobile learning and gaming technology

Have I forgotten anything?

Further info

Below is a picture of my 'beautiful wooden calendar' mentioned in the article as well as some other shots from Link.

Comments

[Paul Harrington]

Excellent - well done Joe - you see the recognition will come. I am really pleased for you, it must give you a feeling of achievement :-) I look forward to meeting up on Friday at the TeachMeet.... Paul

[Marie]

Well done Joe. John Bald is right, you have shown that so many things are possible with ICT. Your ideas have certainly enhanced some of my teaching.
Marie-France

[Linda Bilak]

Joe,
I will be using this blog post to help underscore what should be happening in every foreign language program worldwide. I was recently informed my district will be making me use a TEXTBOOK to teach Spanish-that is a 20 year setback as far as I am concerned.I am trying to bring everyone on board with web 2.0! I also doubt there is any evidence of communicative proficiency/mastery in a second language tied to text driven teaching. If that were the case, anyone who had ever studied a language in school would be able to effectively communicate in it.
Glad to have found your blog!

[Joe Dale]

Hi Linda,

I think the key is to use a blend of actvities. Textbooks have their place for ready made exercises as does ICT for whole class teaching, interactive exercises, blogs, podcasts etc.

Web 2.0 tools are great for engaging pupils and enhancing learning opportunities, but I don't think we should forget traditional methodology as was highlighted in the above article.

Thanks for your comment.