I was sort of reassured after reading all the statistics about technology use in the U. S. higher education.
Before reading the article, I was expecting a more frequent and various use of technologies in the U. S. There are so many advanced labs at Penn. State University and Nikki has mentioned so many different kinds of technology terms that I have never or seldom heard of before. All this has led me to the conclusion that technologies are widely used at American universities now. The statistics show that similiar to the situation at Chinese higher education, only "convenient" technologies are used frequently, such as ppt. and various websites on the internet. Things like wiki and podcast are still new things for many American teachers. So this reassured me that I am not that far behind the up-to-date technologies and their usages in classrooms.
I still hold a somewhat doubtful attitude towards technology use in teaching now. I think technologies cannot take the place of teachers in teaching and learning, but I am afraid that they could some time in the future. But the statistics from the study reassured me in my own beliefs. My belief that technologies would only be helpful for ESL or EFL when it is appropriately used, which means they should be adapted to particular contexts and the teacher would be the one who is responsible for knowing his or her own students well and deciding how much technology should be used.
Great post! I am glad that you were reassured that you are "not that far behind." I have heard other instructors make similar observations about feeling overwhelmed by the new technologies that are constantly being developed. How can we keep up as teachers? I think you are on the right track when you mention using technology appropriately and in view of your own teaching context and students. I think that experimenting with new technology little by little will lead to a more balanced and informed use of particular technologies for particular situations.
ReplyDeleteI agree. You aren't behind! In fact, there's still time to be a trail blazer!
ReplyDeleteI cann't agree with you more! I have just the same feeling on technologies used in classes. As teachers, we are responsible for using the appropriate technology at the appropriate time.
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