Embracing it!

While I was searching the web I bumped into this video and couldn't help but share it with you all.

What drag my attention instantly was that despite being a rather simple presentation, it definitely leaves a message concerning the use of technology inside the classroom. The reality is that the way in which human beings connect each other and exchange information is global, fast, and above all, enjoyable. So, when it comes to teaching and learning one should, at least, wonder if the lessons we prepare are not falling short of ideas or components.

This video also made me recall an instance when I was doing my observations last year, in which the teacher told students to work with an article that contained vocabulary they did not yet know and they were supposed to use the dictionaries from the library. Instead, they used their cell phones as dictionaries; this came as a shock to me since I was quite reluctanct to believe that they could be used as an actual tool to fulfill the activity proposed. My experience at secondary school was a bit different, I remeber being told off if I used my phone in class. Amazingly, I was proved wrong when I saw learners working energetically and enthusiastically looking up the words on the on-line dictionary. That got me into thinking it would have taken ages for them to look for each word in a book-like dictionary, and to tell the truth, the overall task would have been quite boring and time-cosuming as well. The teacher also gave them permission to do the activities proposed while listening to music in a low volume, so as not to disrupt the classroom environment. I considered this behavior to be disrespectful towards the teacher and not appropriate for an institutional context. We are institutionalized human beings because we need to learn certain rules and norms that enable us to live in a dignified and harmonic way; there are places in which we cannot and shouldn't do what we please.

This video illustrates the need for us teachers to articulate our practices by using technological devices together with the fact that we cannot expect to entertain learners and have their undivided attention with a piece of chalk and a blackboard on a daily basis. 

Hope this will get our brains in gear or at least plant the seed of curiosity ;)