Tech Log Week 4

Another fabulous week! Time-consuming no doubt, but challenging!

After discussing the importance of technology to improve the aural and oral performance of EFL students, this week the emphasis was on reading, writing and vocabulary. As usual, the articles suggested were very well chosen, and the most difficult task was to leave some out. :-) There are always so many interesting things to discover in each article that it is a shame to be forced to dismiss some just because you don’t have time to read everything you wish. Sad, but true!

However, the ones I managed to read (and I did read a few!) gave me fantastic ideas to try in my future lessons. Keypals, skype, e-books, teaching writing genres using internet, multimedia glosses, internet projects will all definitely have a place in my lesson plans and my teacher sessions. What Donna stated in one of the comment threads or blogs, I don’t remember where, is true: we think we already have a pretty good mastery of technology but then we keep discovering things we had never imagined (I can’t wait for Web 3.0 and The Cloud!!) and new ways to use what we already know. That’s exactly the beauty of it! You may have the same ingredients but cook a completely different meal! :-)

The Project task we did this week was extremely important, not only because it represented one more step towards the completion of our Project Report/Plan, but because it made us look at our classes in a different way. We had to stop and reflect on our students’ needs that technology could help with. Although we didn’t have to comment on possible solutions it’s only natural that we did! So, we’re actually developing our critical awareness, by critical self reflection.

This leads me to the Week Task, which, for me, was highly motivating. I chose a lesson plan I had already used, because I wanted to improve it and make it more technology friendly. I created more opportunities for the students to use their laptops and I can’t wait to implement the new lesson plan. This is something I love doing. I never give two equal lessons; I always change something after reflecting on what happened. I try to get better and better and understand what the best options/solutions for my students are. They are my compass, in my voyage to become a better teacher!