That'SLife

I thought it was about time I looked at this question from a more positive angle, so here it is. I’m going to take some things as a given (including the fact that I understand that many people do not have access to the technologies I’m describing), at least in my world…

1) Many millions of teachers around the world are online, connected, have computers at work and home and use them in both contexts. Many of those people use them at home for a variety of activities which include: research, online shopping, online communities, keeping in touch with remote family and friends, continuous professional development… In doing so they engage with technologies on the ‘verb‘ level -- sharing, communicating, etc. When it comes to computers in their professional lives, however, many of these teachers engage with technology purely on a ‘noun‘ level: worksheets, timetables, emails and fail to implement the ‘verb’ way in their teaching. This has led to disillusionment amongst those who would like to use technologies in their classes, and ridicule from those who refuse to even consider them, for a variety of reasons.

2) Equally, many teachers around the world do engage with technologies on the ‘verb‘ level in their classes. These people are usually self-taught, active members of online teacher development communities and people who have spent a lot of their personal time (and sometimes money) on acquiring the skills that take them from the ‘noun‘ to the ‘verb‘. Few of them have received formal training in the application of technologies in teaching, but they have managed to get there and are doing amazing, creative work with technologies right around the globe. Their learners are the fortunate ones who are being given the opportunity to enhance their ‘tech-comfy‘ skills with a more useful ‘tech-savvy‘ set of skills which will have an enormous, positive impact on both their personal and prfoessional lives (from critical thinking skills, through online safety, through marketable practical skills which will help them in their professional lives).

2) Many millions of learners around the world are online, connected, have computers at work and home and use them in both contexts. Many millions of them also engage with technologies on a variety of levels including gaming machines, smartphones, virtual worlds, online communities, iPhones… Those of the younger generations who have grown up with these things do not see them as anything unusual, or anything special. In fact they don’t talk about technologies unless someone old like me asks them to -- they’re just there, get over it! They can’t imagine living their lives without these tools, and equally they can’t understand why anyone would not appreciate the potential of any of them -- or why they don’t pop up in their classes.

So, where does this leave us?

Well, we have a body of people teaching who have access to technology, use it regularly (but not in class) and see the value of it in all sorts of spheres -- and a body of learners who have access to technology, use it regularly (but not in class because they’re not allowed to by the teacher) and see the value of it in all sorts of spheres. sounds like a marriage made in heaven, really, if you just do away with the ‘not using it in class‘ bit, of course. But clearly there are some questions:

1) What can technology bring to my class?
Well, it can bring a number of things, but perhaps the most important one is that it can bring the outside world (outside the four walls, outside your city, outside your country…) in and allow your learners access both to other ‘experts‘ and to other people their age, with their interests, concerns and worries. You cannot do this -- you’re older (mostly, I suspect) than your learners and you don’t share a lot of what interests them in their lives, no matter how hard you try. It’s not a failing in you, it’s just how it is. In life we tend to spend a lot of time talking to our peers -- people our age, people who like what we like, etc. You are not that person to your learners -- so please let them talk to some of them. It can bring knowledge and culture, skills -- it can bring the opportunity to develop as a human being, to hone critical thinking skills, to learn to be safe, to question, to evaluate, to refine ideas and learn to distinguish riches from rubbish. It can help learners develop the ‘tech-savvy‘ side of their connected lives, help them use their ‘verbs‘ in ways which enhance their learning. Where do I begin? The list is long…

2) Why should I use it?
See, you don’t ask this question about lots of other things you take into class every day, do you? The main reason you should use it is that you have a duty of care to your learners -- not only pastoral care and ensuring that they learn whatever they’re there to learn, but also to ensure that their desires and wishes (within reason) are met when they’re with you. By not using technologies you’re effectively divorcing your classroom from the real world where people do use them a lot of the time. We speak often of our learner needs, of listening to the learner. If you listen to a lot of learners you’ll find that they want to use technologies with you -- really, they’d love to, if you just gave them a chance. It’s not enough to listen to some of their needs…

3) What if it all goes wrong?
A good question! Sometimes it will go wrong, just like cd players go wrong, electricity goes off and pencils break. But it’s alright, because you’ve got your ‘Plan B‘, right? As an experienced teacher you can walk into any substitution class and do a good job, because you’re talented, experienced and versatile. So if a disaster happens when using technology, use that talent to get on with the class. If small technical problems arise, or you’re not sure how to do something, you can always ask your ‘tech-comfy‘ learners to sort it out. Chances are they’ll simply switch the computer off and back on again -- but there’s a lesson learnt for you. In the wired class we can learn from each other, support each other and truly construct knowledge together. That’s modern learning and teaching.

4) Where do I start?
The first thing involves a slight attitude change for some teachers -- it’s the change from ‘I don’t see why I should use computers so I don’t use them and therefore they’re not an effective teaching tool‘ to ‘I respect my learners, I see the potential value of computers, I see their love of technologies and so I’m determined to get to grips with it all and see if I can apply my considerable teaching experience to engaging with my learners through the tools they like. In that way they might find my classes more engaging and I might pass on some of my other skills and experience to them. If I’m lucky, they might teach me something about the technology in return.‘ Or something along those lines. The next thing to do, armed with this positive, open action, is to get some training. There are many ways of doing this, from formal training courses (disclaimer: my company runs some of the more established certified courses in technology) to joining online development and support communities such as the Webheads. Taking the first step is the most important one. Are there any other teachers in your centre using technology? Perhaps you could get together regularly? Or write to me and I’ll be happy to help…. Or read Nik Peachey’s blog and see if anything takes your fancy. The important thing is to get started and work out how your skills and strengths can fit into the new teacher you.

5) If it’s so important, why isn’t it in official training qualifications?
That’s an excellent question, when (as one example) all teachers in the UK get technology training before they start work -- and not of the ‘noun‘ kind (presentations with PowerPoint), but of the ‘verb’ kind. But to do that for ELT would mean major steps: training up all the trainers to actually use technology, ensuring that all certifiec training centres have the facilities, re-writing the curricula, training examiners to be able to grade papers about technology… Hasn’t happened yet, but we live in hope. In that sense, Trinity College London certifying one of the courses my company runs [ there's a vested interest in this debate, if ever I saw one! ] is a major step in that direction. I hope many more follow it in the next few years.

6) What does the future hold?
Despite my fairly good success rate in predicting where technologies are going, I’d say this is the hardest of the questions. Until initial and in-service professional qualifications include as an integral part of the curricula a section on the effective application of technologies in teaching, then we’re not going far. Until schools and school directors recognise the need for conmistent technology training to equip their ageing workforce with the skills they need to survive and do their job properly in the 21st century, we’re a bit stuck. Whilst industry professionals embrace and use technology effectively, we are being left behind -- and it’s not all our fault. It’s the fault of those who promote teaching qualifications firmly stuck in the pre-Web 2.0 era, and the fault of the schools who do not encourage their teachers to skill up and keep with the times. It’s not the teachers that suffer, it’s the learners. We should be demanding training and facilities -- in the ‘verb‘ sense, and -- frankly -- they should be providing it. But unfortunately most centres are happy with what they have -- bums on seats, cash rolling in and the same photocopies on the third conditional since 1992. It’s not all teachers’ fault, it’s part of a bigger set of events that keep teaching firmly in the last century.

I’ve never been a fan of the ‘technology will not replace teachers, but…‘ quotation because it’s trite and patently not true IF the whole industry comspires not to let it happen. But I am tired of being proved right (sic!) in terms of what happens. Thirteen years ago I was introducing teachers to email and the web and being met with ‘hmmmm… interesting, but I can’t see it taking off‘. Now I find myself doing the same thing with Twitter, Second Life, etc., and meeting the same reactions. I look forward to living another thirteen years and seeing 3D worlds firmly embedded in the daily use of technology of plenty of people, and large groups of people saying that the next big thing will never take off. At least I’m guaranteed a job for life!

And a job I love -- half of it is spent travelling the world to work with teachers who are interested in using technologies in their classes, but haven’t quite got past the ‘noun‘ stage, and working with them is a great and rewarding experience. The other half? Well that often involves working with techno-sceptics who have little knowledge or experience, but the will to try it out, and that perhaps is the best part of the job. On completing one such course recently with a group which included someone who was solidly sceptical and a little, shall we say, grumbly, her final posting to her reflective journal was ‘I have seen the future of education‘. Now I don’t usually go that far in terms of hyperbole (and in fact the rest of the posting was more tempered and critical), but there’s something very satisfying with working with people on that level, and seeing the process unfold to a critical analysis of what technology can bring. I just wish everyone would give it a go…

In another thirteen years’ time IWBs (which will surely cost $30 each by then…) may be more commonplace than chairs, and teachers will all have been trained to use them constructively and communicatively and all the rest, and we’ll all be ‘positively beaming‘ stuff onto walls, or maybe directly to the cornea of our learners. Well, maybe not…