I am studying to be an English as a second language educator, I realize that some of my students will have been raised here, simply in homes that speak other languages. There are others whoever who would not be familiar with such technology and could easily be overwhelmed by it especially during the acculturation process. During my senior year for undergraduate school, I had an internship which put me in the position to interact daily with refugees; for this I feel privileged. A job fair was taking place at one of the local malls so I accompanied several refugees there to fill out applications. Since we were there already, I figured it would be alright to walk around the mall, try and provide them with a new experience. It back fired! They were extremely intimidated and wanted nothing more than to sit on a bench.
While this may not be entirely related, I feel that if such lessons where students are required to participate in activities dominated by technology were used in the classroom they could prove to be counterproductive. Many ESL students, especially the refugee population are not familiar with texting and creating an environment where this would generate a grade could cause unnecessary stress. I do believe that if baby-steps were to be taken then students would benefit tremendously since technology and being able to manipulate it are requirements for success in professional settings.
One segment in the film that most bothered me was that students get to ask one question per 10 hours. I do not understand how that is possible, but then again I am lacking experience in the field. Either way, I find it extremely upsetting if a student has a question and is unable to ask it. I do believe that students' lack of self-confidence prevents the asking of questions; in that respect I can understand once every 10 hours; some students do not want to share personal information, such as not understanding a concept, with classmates. This would be a wonderful opportunity for teachers to take advantage of technology in the classroom. Let the self-conscious students send e-mails, or maybe post anonymously to a discussion board any questions or clarifications needed about lessons.
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Your post shows a real concern for a specific population, but I believe that you have found what would be very beneficial,that is "baby steps." As you say, "if baby-steps were to be taken then students would benefit tremendously since technology and being able to manipulate it are requirements for success in professional settings." The keys would be to finding which aspects of technology would be most beneficial to specific populations and what methodologies would be the best introduction to those tools. Here is where a good personal learning network would be very helpful, since the teacher could take advantage of the experiences of other professionals who have been or are in the same situation.
ReplyDeleteDr. Burgos