My name is Luisa Umaña and this is my last semester at CSU Northridge as a double-major in history and English Option III. I recently returned from a summer in Turkey working with children in an English program and I am considering teaching English abroad as a profession. I am also considering teaching history. Regardless, incorporating media technology would be beneficial in either of these situations.
As a student at CSUN I have seen firsthand the benefits of media technology in the classroom. Many of my professors have used websites to provide students with syllabi and class descriptions. Others use powerpoint presentations regularly in addition to traditional lectures. These can be useful in providing additional resources for teaching, such as primary source videos, songs, and photographs. I definitely agree that media technology should be used in any kind of classroom as an additional tool for learning.
I recognize that there are also entire classes and universities that are based on communication through on line sources only. I agree that these options should be available for students, but seeing as I enjoy the classroom experience, it follows that I don't think on line communication should completely replace in-person class meetings. Maybe it's unnecessary for me to state my feelings on this topic but, hey, it's possible.
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Hi Luisa.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious what type of role media technology would play when you teach overseas, or specifically, what role did it play when you taught in Turkey?
Modern technology and gadgets are now such a part of American life, that we might automatically assume that it is the same for the rest of the world. I must admit that I am ignorant in this regard, since most of my travels have been limited to within U.S. borders.
I'm sometimes amazed by human interest stories that I'll occasionally read or see where some school in a third world country is donated a handful of computers or some such devices for the classroom when the living conditions outside of that school are sometimes dire. I suppose this raises the questions of what are the best ways or tactics to help educate youth across the globe, not just within the US, and what role does technology play in the foreign classroom (obviously "foreign classroom" is a pretty loose term here). I think you might have some great insight into this judging from your background and past experiences.
Hey Luisa,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your opinion regarding the concept of strictly on line classes, although I've never taken one myself. They seem to be beneficial for some people, while others, like yourself, prefer the hands-on training method. On line courses, from what I've heard, are beneficial in terms of convenience as well as easing the congestion of overcrowded campuses.
Electronic stimuli does take away the human feel and element, and it seems as though we've been headed in that direction for quite some time. Is this a good or a bad thing? I'd have to say "Yes" on both counts.
For some strange reason, the first thing that came to my mind was "cheating," but you know what's been said about cheaters.
Anyhow, it sounds like you have a healthy perspective on the perks of multi-media via the classroom, and I share your views.
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ReplyDeleteFirst of all, how exciting that you were able to spend time in Turkey teaching! I spent some time in the Dominican Republic this summer working with children and had the same thought about teaching abroad. I guess that wouldn't be a bad option considering the budget crisis in California!
ReplyDeleteI also completely agree with your opinion about the necessity for a personalized classroom environment. I think that the knowledge and experience that a professor can impart to their students is just as valuable as any textbook or online source. In addition, the social aspect of the classroom is a necessary environment for learning to work with all different kinds of people.
I heard a professor say this week that it seems as though the administration is heading toward a complete online classroom setting. If that is the case, I can only be grateful that this is my last year at CSUN. For the sake of my future children though, I hope that the in-person classroom can maintain its authority as the primary means of learning.
Hi! I've taken online classes and I have to admit, I like the interaction regular classes offer students. There's just something about being in an actual classroom with students that not only makes the experience more enjoyable but I feel like I can gain more by it because students are providing feedback to me face to face. Online classes are so helpful for people with extremely hectic lives but I feel like if people can really take the time to take a regular class then they should.
ReplyDeleteI also think that using media technology abroad is helpful but I think it would be much harder to incorporate media into classrooms if the students speak another language that the teacher isn't totally familiar with. The students might also feel overwhelmed if they don't use technology like American students do.
But I do like the fact that it's easy now to access a course syllabus with the few clicks of a button and also it's much easier now to communicate with teachers via email providing they check it on a regular basis.
Luisa - you have had such an amazing experience teaching in Turkey. I'm hoping to find something within 15 miles of my house and it looks unlikely in this economy. How exciting that you've already done something so extraordinary. We have similar views on the use of technology. I don't see how we could (or would want to) be without it in today's classrooms. But so much is lost when there is no classroom meeting. I took an online class my first semester at CSUN and, while we had a fairly large reading list with weekly "discussions," I always felt so much was lost with no face time between the teacher and other classmates. I fear that the generation that we will be teaching with be so tech-savvy that they expect less instruction and more computer-based assignments while I still hold that learning is strongly connected to the relationship between teacher and student. Good luck with your aspirations!
ReplyDeleteThank you all for your comments.
ReplyDeleteArt and Paula -
Both of you alluded to the question about whether you think media education would be useful in teaching English abroad and I actually think it would be very helpful in a setting where students don't speak English as their first language. Whenever we played movies in English at the Space Camp in Turkey, we played the movies with subtitles because usually it is a lot easier for people to read in a second language than to listen and understand because written language is more concrete. I might be mistaken.
Also, of course the resources available would depend on the place where one is teaching. Of course, every country has wealthy people in it and poor people in it and I will withhold my views on class division right here. But in other words, almost all countries have private schools where resources would be more readily available than more impoverished schools. I think it depends on where you are teaching as to whether students would be overwhelmed but I can say that all the students I worked with in Turkey were very good at working on our computer program and more than familiar with Facebook and other on line networking sites. But if I was working in El Salvador, it might be a different story. Again, it depends on a lot of factors. But I still believe that having some kind of written word supporting a teacher's speaking would be more than helpful in an ESL environment.
Luisa,
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you that teachers should utilize technology as a tool to assist them in teaching more quickly and efficiently. Tools such as Powerpoint definitely need to start being used to assist with lectures, especially because some teachers have abysmal handwriting and are using old used up markers thanks to budget cuts. Not everyone can sit in the first row. Seriously though, I have a strong opinion about this matter as a college student because in my opinion, college is not too difficult overall but there’s A LOT of note taking and when you have to struggle to keep up with the teacher because he/she talks too fast or you have trouble seeing what he/she writes on the board, it can get extremely frustrating. Also, I can’t believe what you said about there being classes in which the entire class communicates electronically. That kind of stuff is scary for prospective teachers because it almost feels like we’re slowly getting replaced by technology (gasp!).