how to use technology in public high school classrooms darragh o’grady
TRANSCRIPT
How to use Technology in Public High School Classrooms
Darragh O’Grady
Negative ideas teachers use to avoid using technology with their students
• High school students in Mexico don’t have access to the internet.
• They don’t like learning autonomously.
• Technology in the classroom is a distraction and doesn’t help the learning process.
Personal Study
Prepa 6 UNAM (AM) 18 5.5
CECYT # 3 Ecatepec (AM) 30 10
CECYT # 3 Ecatepec (PM) 12 6
CECYTEM Tecámac (AM) 20 2.5
Universidad ETAC Bachillerato 12 4
18.4 5.6
How many hours a week do you use the internet?
The teachers who say that it isn’t possible to use technology in the classroom should ask their schools to buy technology from funding and introduce it. It is not good enough to give up. If you leave high school and you can’t use technology you’re at a disadvantage. Everybody in Mexico should have access to technology.
PREPA 6 UNAM
Teachers are afraid educational technology might be a distraction but if you restrict the use of the internet you can use it for the classroom.
CECYT # 3 ECATEPEC (AM)
How could your teachers improve their classes?
More speaking in class 3
More interaction between the students 3
Use more technology in the language classroom 1
Use more technology for homework 1
More games in class 1
More class hours 1
More listening 1
How technology helps…
1. Using technology at home frees up more class time for speaking & listening
• (= “more class hours”, i.e. more efficient use of class time.)
2. Technology promotes social learning and interaction between students.
• Students learn to develop better comunication skills – participation in forums and chats mean that greater precision is needed with the language in order to avoid communication problems
• Learning occurs in a social, constructivist and participative way – learner as opposed to teacher centered
• Many virtual learning environments (VLEs) are asynchronous: learners need to organise their time in order to participate effectively
• Many VLE activities involve inductive learning (students discover for themselves)
How using technology fosters independent learning
Sound methodology tells us we should use technology.
Our students are telling us to use technology.
So why don’t we use it?
How can we use it?
Flipped Classroom
There is no need to use technology in theclassroom just because we can; it often makes sense to use it outside class.
Ben Goldstein
• http://usergeneratededucation.wordpress.com/2011/06/13/the-flipped-classroom-model-a-full-picture/
No internet at school?No IWB?No problem!
Personal Study
Prepa 6 UNAM (AM) 18 5.5
CECYT # 3 Ecatepec (AM) 30 10
CECYT # 3 Ecatepec (PM) 12 6
CECYTEM Tecámac (AM) 20 2.5
Universidad ETAC Bachillerato 12 4
18.4 5.6
How many hours a week do you use the internet?
WEBQUESTS with a communicative purpose
1. Teacher chooses a topic, e.g. “Best extreme sport ever”.
2. In class, present the topic to learners, brainstorm extreme sports and criteria we would use to decide what makes an extreme sport “good”.
3. Give students their task: to visit for homework a list of websites given to them by you and use the criteria set in class to decide on the best ones. In the next class, they will have to present what they’ve found and justify their decisions.
4. Next class, learners present what they’ve discovered to the group and there is a class debate on whether extreme sports should be banned because they’re too risky.
WiKis…
1. Decide on a topic, e.g. “A Virtual Tour of Paris”.2. Create a WiKi where they can upload their homework.3. In class, ask students to imagine what Paris is like, listing top 3
things to visit, weather, food etc. Would they like to go there? Why/why not?
4. For homework, ask them to create a page each in the WiKi on Paris using information they find in the Web.
5. For homework, ask them to check the WiKi pages created and decide which ones they like best. They have to justify their decisions.
6. In class, have a group discussion on which WiKis they like best. Were their perceptions from the first class true?
