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The role ICT has played in my teaching


Janos Blasszauer

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Dear All,

It was great to meet you all in Toulouse. I found the weekend highly inspiring and I learned a lot from you guys. Thanks a lot for the good company.

Here goes the outline of my presentation. You will find some useful links at the end of the document.

What I have done with ICT that has improved the quality of teaching/learning?

1 Background

1.1 1997 teaching journals

1.1.1 e.g. Tillyer, A. (1997) “The InfiNET Possibilities: English Teachers on the Internet.” Forum 35.1, pp. 16-25.

my philosophy

The guiding principle in my teaching is that teachers should seek to empower students with the necessary skills to take control of their own learning (i.e., the "tricks" of successful language learning), and, at the same time, emulate the behaviors they expect their students to acquire.

I strongly believe that the main goal in my teaching and project activities is that students can learn to function outside of the sheltered classroom environment, shifting the burden of learning from the teacher to the student.

I also believe that teachers should take charge of their own individual development as teachers, researchers, mentors.

1.2 a scheme founded by the Ministry of Education

1.3 to meet the requirements of communicative methodology and the project-based approach

1.3.1 Quotes

"The principal goal of education is to create people who are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what other generations have done."--Piaget

“Technology itself is not the curriculum. Technology is a key that opens opportunities for students to learn in the classroom. It is a way in which we can bridge what in the past have been large gorges that have separated students from opportunity.”

"The future belongs to those who give the next generation reason to hope." ~ Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

2 Theory and Practice

2.1 interactionist approach originally derived from Krashen’s (1985) Input Hypothesis.

2.2 both ESL and EFL, language exposure is artificial, limited, and anxiety often arises.

2.3 acquisition will occur when the input provided to learners is comprehensible, interesting and relevant, not grammatically sequenced, provided in abundant quantity, and in such a way as to promote self-confidence and self-direction, while arousing little or no anxiety.

2.4 wanted to encourage students to use English for pleasure outside class, and thought if I taught them the basics of e-mail and netsurfing, they would be likely to continue these activities during their free time.

2.5 I wanted students to be exposed to a range of English, wider than they usually encounter in their daily lives in Hungary.

2.6 History of CALL

2.6.1 behaviorist CALL

repetitive language drills, referred to as drill-and-practice

computer was viewed as a mechanical tutor which never grew tired or judgmental and allowed students to work at an individual pace

2.6.2 communicative CALL

computer-based activities should focus more on using forms than on the forms themselves

encourage students to generate original utterances rather than just manipulate prefabricated language

stressed that learning was a process of discovery, expression, and development

2.6.3 integrative CALL

shift from cognitive view of communicative teaching to a more social or socio-cognitive view

greater emphasis on language use in authentic social contexts

led to perspective which seeks to integrate various skills

integrate technology more fully into the language learning

students learn to use a variety of technological tools as an ongoing process of language learning and use

3 What I would like to be able to do in future with ICT?

See a good example of making use of oral history: education.html

3.1 planting the roots of CALL by training the future teachers in areas where schools are still waiting for CALL to arrive

3.2 blogs, wikis, mobile phones, online courses, MOOS, VLEs

3.3 According to Stephen Bax computers will be: "an integral part of learning and teaching" "... an integral part of every lesson, like a pen or a book. Teachers and students will use them without fear or inhibition, and equally without an exaggerated respect for what they can do. They will not be the center of any lesson but they will play a part in almost all. They will be completely integrated into all other aspects of classroom life, alongside course books, teachers and notepads. They will almost go unnoticed."

3.4 Things to be done: - need for software and hardware - easy access to the technology - 'top-down decision to use computers' - provision of support (lots of support) - technical support should be aware of EFL methodology - personalization of technology (learners are comfortable with it / sense of ownership) - teachers should be "PC and Internet empowered" - training for teachers - involvement of teaching staff in decisions of implementation - some help with suitable material for integrating CALL into teaching (or teachers setting up their own virtual environments

3.5 "PEOPLE TRAVEL TO WONDER AT THE HEIGHT OF MOUNTAINS, AT THE HUGE WAVES OF THE SEA, AT THE LONG COURSES OF RIVERS, AT THE VAST COMPASS OF THE OCEAN, AT THE CIRCULAR MOTION OF THE STARS; AND THEY PASS BY THEMSELVES WITHOUT WONDERING." --ST. AUGUSTINE Now we have a powerful tool to make a difference in the world and we can get our students to discover their main potentials: they can communicate, collaborate, do research, share thoughts and feelings, furthermore we can make them more open-minded, getting them not only to tolerate but to even marvel at the multi-cultured and multi-ethnic Europe.

3.5.1 "All education springs from some image of the future. If the image of the future held by society is grossly innaccurate, its education system will betray its youth." ~ Alvin Toffler

4 Internet projects

4.1 engage students in authentic, real world tasks

4.2 Students generally work in co-operative groups

4.3 requires specific content knowledge and skills, and typically raises problems to be solved

4.4 may vary widely in scope and time frame, and the end products also vary according to the technology level.

4.5 research their topic, design their product and create a plan for project management. They then begin the project, solve problems and deal with issues that arise in production, and finish their product, reflecting on and evaluating their work

4.6 entire process is meant to be authentic, mirroring real-life activities and utilizing students’ own ideas and approaches

5 Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning

5.1 harnesses the main potential of the medium: that students can share thoughts and views on topics they are interested in, collaborate with partner classes focusing on a particular theme, and create online databases

5.2 Telecollaboration, or tasks completed in groups via the Internet, enables teachers and students to establish connections with other online citizens and engage in activities using the FL. Telecollaborational projects include e.g. keypal exchange projects and live chats.

Recommended Tools:

Photo Story can be downloaded free from http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/d...ry/default.mspx

Narration can be inserted over series of photographs, and is ideal for students to tell their own stories.

QuickTopic

http://www.quicktopic.com/

For any one-topic group discussion, use the QuickTopic free bulletin boards instead of just email! Your messages will be in a private central place, and each of your friends can opt to participate by email or just use the web forum. That's because QuickTopic's super-easy single-topic web bulletin boards are also fully email-enabled: you can get and post messages via email. Use it on your web site too.

3D Writer

http://www.3dwriting.com/html/download.html

3D Writer is a simple yet powerful writing tool with hypertext abilities.

InstantWebquest

http://www.instantprojects.org/webquest/

InstantWebquest is a web based software for creating WebQuests in a short time. When you use InstantWebQuest, you will not need any of writing HTML code or using any web editor software. InstantWebQuest creates all the necessary files and puts them into the server free. Hosting is FREE!

Backflip

http://www.backflip.com/login.ihtml

It's the easiest way to save and share important things you see on the Web. With Backflip's organization and powerful search, you'll never lose anything interesting again. You can use it from any computer. And it's totally free.

Gagglenet

http://www.gaggle.net/

There are dozens of free e-mail services, but Gaggle.Net is the only service designed specifically for classroom use. The biggest difference is that the teacher is in charge. The system automatically monitors message content. If a suspicious message is detected, it is sent to the teacher for review. The teacher decides whether to send the message on to the intended recipient. The monitoring controls can also be turned off or customized by the teacher at any time.

Noodle Tools

http://www.noodletools.com/

NoodleTools is a suite of interactive tools designed to aid students and professionals with their online research. From selecting a search engine and finding some relevant sources, to citing those sources in MLA or APA style, NoodleTools makes online research easier.

Filamentality

http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/

Filamentality is a fill-in-the-blank tool that guides you through picking a topic, searching the Web, gathering good Internet links, and turning them into learning activities. It combines the "filament" of the Web with a learner's "mentality". Support is built-in through Mentality Tips that guide you along the way. In the end, you'll create a Web-based activity you can share with others even if you don't know anything about HTML, Web servers, or all that www-dot stuff.

Click Answers (downloadable tool)

http://www.answers.com/

Search engines are terrific when you've got a complex request; if you are trying to recall, say, the name of a Victorian Scottish woolen bonnet*, there's probably a page out there that you can dig up. But if you need to know what pie in the sky means, when Benjamin Franklin was born, or whether Aeschylating is a cromulent word, a search engine isn't your best bet. You need a FREE one stop reference tool. This is certainly a great tool to download.

Oral history sites

http://historymatters.gmu.edu/mse/oral/online.html

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/lesson...ist/ohhome.html

http://www.oralhistory.org.uk/advice/

[/url]http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/lessons/oralhist/ohhome.html

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/education.html

(scroll down on the landing page and you will find an overview of teaching Oral Histories, A Brief Guide to Developing Student Oral History Projects with Interviewing tips and more, and Lesson Plans and Activities that use Oral Histories.

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"The future belongs to those who give the next generation reason to hope." Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

"All education springs from some image of the future. If the image of the future held by society is grossly innaccurate, its education system will betray its youth." Alvin Toffler

Two very good quotes. I believe that teachers should not only be enthusiastic about the present but also optimistic about the future. Teachers who are apathetic and pessimistic do a great deal of damage to the minds of young people.

Although it can be painful to be enthusiastic about your subject material and have it rejected by the students. I remember a case of a music teacher who retrained in order to teach maths. The reason he gave me for this decision is that he loved music and could not take the constant rejection of the subject by his students. He did not feel passionate about maths and so he could teach it without pain.

Teachers who feel enthusiastic about their subject are often seen by the students as eccentric. However, they tend to prefer eccentrics to traditional teachers. After all, if the teacher is not enthusiastic about their subject, what message does that send to the student.

One of the problems of the education system in all countries is that it is constructed in such a way as to train the students for the present. In reality, it usually involves training them for the past. As Alvin Toffler points out, teachers should be focused on the future. More importantly, a future that is better than the present.

By the way, the reason I suggested you as a possible speaker at our conference was because I was impressed by the enthusiasm for education you showed at the Spring Europe meeting in Brussels.

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Thanks for such an excellent presentation. The links are really superb: http://www.answers.com/ is really useful.

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Thanks for these links Janos, I am also interested in the software package that you used for your presentation as I thought that it was really impressive. Could you post details of that too?

Thanks for your kind note. Here goes some info on the software I used in Toulouse.

Mindmanager X5 Pro

http://www.mindjet.com/eu/

It's a visual tool for planning and collaboration.

You can have a free trial for 21 days.

I'd alos like to call your attention to the Cmap tool which is a free software.

I can highly recommend it. :-)

Cmap tools

http://cmap.ihmc.us/

The CmapTools program empowers users to construct, navigate, share and criticize knowledge models represented as concept maps. It allows users to, among many other features, construct their Cmaps in their personal computer, share them on servers (CmapServers) anywhere on the Internet, link their Cmaps to other Cmaps on servers, automatically create web pages of their concept maps on servers, edit their maps synchronously (at the same time) with other users on the Internet, and search the web for information relevant to a concept map.

The CmapTools client is free for use by anybody, whether its use is commercial or non-commercial. In particular, schools and universities are encouraged to download it and install it in as many computers as desired, and students and teachers may make copies of it and install it at home.

NB.: I have put some materials online making use of this tool: http://www.eltandict.com/oral/erettsegi.html

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  • 3 weeks later...

I was extremely impressed by the energy, sophistication and humour of Janos' contribution in Toulouse. I am also very grateful for the large range of software tools his presentation introduced to us - many of which I hadn't heard of before.

One phrase in his presentation really resonated with me.

I strongly believe that the main goal in my teaching and project activities is that students can learn to function outside of the sheltered classroom environment, shifting the burden of learning from the teacher to the student.

This is a view I share and one which almost suggests that the real promise of the ICT learning revolution could be to "deschool" society. Elsewhere John Simkin has spoken of the authoritarian elements of the "hidden curriculum" in schools.

Is it possible that ICT could deliver education without schools??

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The CmapTools program empowers users to construct, navigate, share and criticize knowledge models represented as concept maps. It allows users to, among many other features, construct their Cmaps in their personal computer, share them on servers (CmapServers) anywhere on the Internet, link their Cmaps to other Cmaps on servers, automatically create web pages of their concept maps on servers, edit their maps synchronously (at the same time) with other users on the Internet, and search the web for information relevant to a concept map.

The CmapTools client is free for use by anybody, whether its use is commercial or non-commercial. In particular, schools and universities are encouraged to download it and install it in as many computers as desired, and students and teachers may make copies of it and install it at home.

NB.: I have put some materials online making use of this tool: http://www.eltandict.com/oral/erettsegi.html

I'm really interersted in the potential of using Cmap, especially in "collaborative" mode. Has anyone used it in this way, and coudl they tell me how I'd go about doing so - for instance, would I have to set up a cmap server, or are there public ones?

thanks

Ed.

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I'm really interersted in the potential of using Cmap, especially in "collaborative" mode.  Has anyone used it in this way, and coudl they tell me how I'd go about doing so - for instance, would I have to set up a cmap server, or are there public ones?

I think the phrase is RTFM. :ph34r:

Anyway, I think this software has enormous potential for use in the classroom and for CPD, because maps can be shared online and edited by different users or communities of users.

As an experiment I've created a folder on a public Cmap server and made an attempt to map good history teaching.

If you're interested and want to contribute to the mind map, please download the software and under "shared Cmaps in places" visit the IHMC Public Cmaps (2) server. You will find (in alphabetical order) a folder called "History Teaching and Learning". In this folder there's a map called "History Teaching Activities". Please feel free to add anything you want to this map.

I'd welcome contributions from non-history teachers, as everything overlaps to a great extent in education.

many thanks

Ed.

p.s. if anyone can help me to stop my head being so squashed in my educationforum avatar I would be really grateful! :)

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I was  extremely impressed by the energy, sophistication and humour of Janos' contribution in Toulouse. I am also very grateful for the large range of software tools his presentation introduced to us - many of which I hadn't heard of before.

One phrase in his presentation really resonated with me.

I strongly believe that the main goal in my teaching and project activities is that students can learn to function outside of the sheltered classroom environment, shifting the burden of learning from the teacher to the student.

This is a view I share and one which almost suggests that the real promise of the ICT learning revolution could be to "deschool" society. Elsewhere John Simkin has spoken of the authoritarian elements of the "hidden curriculum" in schools.

Is it possible that ICT could deliver education without schools??

Thank you for your kind words, Andy. I have tried to do my best to come up to expectations. I am awfully sorry for not having been active on this list lately but I am snowed under with work. The large-scale European Schoolnet project, called Spring Day in Europe (more than 6000 schools have registered to it) is taking place this week and as the Hungarian advisor on the international advisory board I have a lot to do. But soon we will have Easter break and then I will write an article about some free online tools that could be exploited by educators. I have been on a constant lookout for such goodies for a while. :(

And let me reflect 'briefly' on your thought-provoking question:

I really think that a teacher's job is to raise curiosity towards the subject area/discipline he/she teaches.

As Clay P. Bedford put it: "You can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity, he will continue the learning process as

long as he lives."

I firmly believe that by using eclectic teaching methods and having a wide repertoire of tricks and techniques we can avoid our lessons to get in the rut. To my mind, technology can help break the monotony of teacher-centered instruction and allow the students to take charge for their learning. I firmly believe that with the help of ICT we can create such a supportive, inspiring, exciting atmosphere in the classroom -and even out of the clasroom- in which learning can take place. And I think that's the main point.

I think by making use of ICT we can help our students to become more successful learners, even life-long learners.

In a recent posting on the WAOE list (World Association for Online Education) Gianni Marconato have touched upon some issues we have also raised. I have highlighted the text which I've found highly relevant to our ongoing discussion. Here goes the text:" Within our group of 'learning with technologies' practitioners, we have been debating the use of the term 'e-learning' to designate the educational use of technologies. As members of many international mailing lists in the field, we realised that the term 'e-learning' is now much less frequently used that it once was. We have also noticed that within the titles of journals (printed and

online), conferences, books and portals the term is disappearing and terms such

as 'learning', 'teaching' and 'technology' are being employed instead. What are

your thoughts on this phenomenon? If you agree with our perception of this,

what is the cause of this change in terminology?

Our view is as follows. - The failure of the 'e-learning approach' to enhance

the learning experience (to use technologies for delivering contents/learning

materials; to substitute analogical teaching/learning tools with digital ones)

has created the change in terminology;

- Within the 'community of practice' of the people who use technologies to

improve the learning outcomes at the individual and the educational systems

levels, there is a growing awareness of the necessity of adopting a more

pedagogically-based approach than the technologically-based one adopted in the

early e-learning era;

- To demonstrate a tangible added-value in the use of technologies to justify

the added-cost, it is necessary to adopt an operational model which uses

technologies not only in the online/distance learning settings, but also in

face-to-face learning settings;

- The use of technologies to enhance learning does not have to be based on the

use of costly courseware, but rather on simpler and cheaper digital documents

(for organising and delivering contents) and on communications and

collaboration tools not necessarily arranged under the form of a complex LMS."

In the article I'll soon write I'll try to make it a point to argue for this very last remark Gianni Marconato made. And of course I will give brief descriptions of all the free educationals tools that I have found out there. :D

Finally two quotes:

”Technology will not replace teachers, but teachers who use technology will probably replace those who do not” --Ray Clifford

“Technology itself is not the curriculum. Technology is a key that opens opportunities for students to learn in the classroom. It is a way in which we can bridge what in the past have been large gorges that have separated students from opportunity.” --John Dossey, Illinois State University

Edited by Janos Blasszauer
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I'm really interersted in the potential of using Cmap, especially in "collaborative" mode.  Has anyone used it in this way, and coudl they tell me how I'd go about doing so - for instance, would I have to set up a cmap server, or are there public ones?

I think the phrase is RTFM. :(

Anyway, I think this software has enormous potential for use in the classroom and for CPD, because maps can be shared online and edited by different users or communities of users.

As an experiment I've created a folder on a public Cmap server and made an attempt to map good history teaching.

If you're interested and want to contribute to the mind map, please download the software and under "shared Cmaps in places" visit the IHMC Public Cmaps (2) server. You will find (in alphabetical order) a folder called "History Teaching and Learning". In this folder there's a map called "History Teaching Activities". Please feel free to add anything you want to this map.

I'd welcome contributions from non-history teachers, as everything overlaps to a great extent in education.

many thanks

Ed.

p.s. if anyone can help me to stop my head being so squashed in my educationforum avatar I would be really grateful! :D

I'll definitely add my contribution to your map soon. Meanwhile seeing that you show great interest towards Mindmapping tools let me call your attention to another great free mindmapping tool called FREEMIND. You can get info (and download) on this tool here: http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

Have a good exploration!

Edited by Janos Blasszauer
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  • 2 weeks later...

I like your choice of quotations. All of them are very clever things said by very cleaver thinker. They sound good and they raise hopes within the reader.

Many teacher colleagues around me described their short run despair when teaching but at the same time their hopes that they anyway succeeded to changed minds of the kids in a long run. Probably they are right.

It happened quite often than we remember some of our own teachers equipped by a special mentality and difficult to swallow teaching technique with a kind of warmness today.

I will also use some of your suggested tools in my daily teaching. Thanks for them.

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I'll definitely add my contribution to your map soon. Meanwhile seeing that you show great interest towards Mindmapping tools let me call your attention to another great free mindmapping tool called FREEMIND. You can get info (and download) on this tool here: http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

Have a good exploration!

Thanks for making a great contribution to the map Janos, and for teaching me a couple of new things about using the software. Your contribtion has convinced me that collaboration tools like this can offer us useful new ways of getting pupils to work together across a classroom or across a continent!

thanks again

Ed.

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  • 3 years later...
Recommended Tools:

Photo Story can be downloaded free from http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/d...ry/default.mspx

Narration can be inserted over series of photographs, and is ideal for students to tell their own stories.

QuickTopic

http://www.quicktopic.com/

For any one-topic group discussion, use the QuickTopic free bulletin boards instead of just email! Your messages will be in a private central place, and each of your friends can opt to participate by email or just use the web forum. That's because QuickTopic's super-easy single-topic web bulletin boards are also fully email-enabled: you can get and post messages via email. Use it on your web site too.

3D Writer

http://www.3dwriting.com/html/download.html

3D Writer is a simple yet powerful writing tool with hypertext abilities.

InstantWebquest

http://www.instantprojects.org/webquest/

InstantWebquest is a web based software for creating WebQuests in a short time. When you use InstantWebQuest, you will not need any of writing HTML code or using any web editor software. InstantWebQuest creates all the necessary files and puts them into the server free. Hosting is FREE!

Backflip

http://www.backflip.com/login.ihtml

It's the easiest way to save and share important things you see on the Web. With Backflip's organization and powerful search, you'll never lose anything interesting again. You can use it from any computer. And it's totally free.

Gagglenet

http://www.gaggle.net/

There are dozens of free e-mail services, but Gaggle.Net is the only service designed specifically for classroom use. The biggest difference is that the teacher is in charge. The system automatically monitors message content. If a suspicious message is detected, it is sent to the teacher for review. The teacher decides whether to send the message on to the intended recipient. The monitoring controls can also be turned off or customized by the teacher at any time.

Noodle Tools

http://www.noodletools.com/

NoodleTools is a suite of interactive tools designed to aid students and professionals with their online research. From selecting a search engine and finding some relevant sources, to citing those sources in MLA or APA style, NoodleTools makes online research easier.

Filamentality

http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/

Filamentality is a fill-in-the-blank tool that guides you through picking a topic, searching the Web, gathering good Internet links, and turning them into learning activities. It combines the "filament" of the Web with a learner's "mentality". Support is built-in through Mentality Tips that guide you along the way. In the end, you'll create a Web-based activity you can share with others even if you don't know anything about HTML, Web servers, or all that www-dot stuff.

Click Answers (downloadable tool)

http://www.answers.com/

Search engines are terrific when you've got a complex request; if you are trying to recall, say, the name of a Victorian Scottish woolen bonnet*, there's probably a page out there that you can dig up. But if you need to know what pie in the sky means, when Benjamin Franklin was born, or whether Aeschylating is a cromulent word, a search engine isn't your best bet. You need a FREE one stop reference tool. This is certainly a great tool to download.

This seminar provides some excellent links to useful tools on the web. It was originally written in 2005. Are there anymore tools that you could recommend that have become available over the last three years?

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Although it was over 3 years ago, I still vividly remember Janos' s presentation at Toulouse. Partly it was the inspired idea of using 'Inspirations' mindmapping software instead of (like nearly everyone else on the planet) PowerPoint, but also, the creativity and imagination in the way the software was used, using it to make the audience think, rather than just to transmit/bombard them with information. It was great to meet up with him again at the Bratislava seminar, and as at Toulouse, he had lots of good ideas about how to use ICT to improve teaching and learning in history.

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  • 3 weeks later...
Although it was over 3 years ago, I still vividly remember Janos' s presentation at Toulouse. Partly it was the inspired idea of using 'Inspirations' mindmapping software instead of (like nearly everyone else on the planet) PowerPoint, but also, the creativity and imagination in the way the software was used, using it to make the audience think, rather than just to transmit/bombard them with information. It was great to meet up with him again at the Bratislava seminar, and as at Toulouse, he had lots of good ideas about how to use ICT to improve teaching and learning in history.

Yes, I agree and once again in Bratislava, Janos was full of good ideas and recommendations. I have been uploading the original Toulouse presentations and as a result had cause to watch Janos's presenentation again. One of the best we had I think.

http://www.vimeo.com/1982805

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