21st CENTURY April 10, 2010

THE IDEAL “CLASSROOM” OF THE 21^ST CENTURY

Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZkvmpE50GQ&feature=related

The 21^st century is full of social, political, environmental, scientific, and technological changes and innovations.  All these changes affect the educational context as well. The classroom of the 21^st century has to bear in mind aspects such as the space in which learning takes place, the population it addresses, and the literacies it is preparing with and for.

Before thinking in the ideal classroom it is important to think that we cannot think only in classrooms but in learning spaces. Traditionally, learning used to take place in specialized spaces such as the classroom and the library. Now, because of the multiple possibilities offered on the web and the technological devices, learning can take place anytime and anywhere (Brown, 2005). Learning can be in virtual and/or in physical spaces.

For me, the ideal classroom for the 21^st century is the one designed within the category of blended community. Blended is the category of –e-learning that incorporates face to face and online sessions (Siemens, 2004). Nonetheless, that classroom has to give also room to other categories: informal and networked. In this way, learning opportunities can be broaden. It also has to be a community that have common goals and/or practices, and issues of identity, and in which members depend on each other to achieve the learning outcomes. (Palloff, Rena and Pratt, 2007)

Now, I would like to describe the ideal classroom of the 21^st century, having in mind the population it addresses: the Net Geners.  According to Tapscott (2009), the Net Generation has eight norms: freedom, personalization, scrutinizes openness and integrity, entertainment, collaboration, speed, and innovation. For the norm of freedom, the classroom of the 21^st century has to offer learners variety of options from where to choose and allow them to make decisions. For instance, the resource they will use for a presentation, it can be a video, a PPT or even a podcast, etc. For the second norm, we can allow them to personalize the space in which they are going to sit down or even the classroom. For the norm of scrutinize, we must have network connections and internet access so that they can search any information they might need. For the norm of integrity and openness, we need to offer them what is really appealing for them and option for the future. For the norm of entertainment we only need to be more dynamic and allow them to play in the classroom, always with an educational purpose. For the norm of collaboration we need to allow them to work in groups, create blogs, forums, wikis, and even make use of facebook. For the speed, we need to offer them multiple activities in only one class and make sure activities are not too long and boring because they will get bored too soon. We also need to have high speed connection. Finally, for innovation, we need to explore all the resources offered and make constant innovations in class so that students can feel motivated for entering the classroom.

The classroom of the 21^st century has to have in mind the literacies it is preparing with and for. Classrooms cannot continue with the same traditional resources: the whiteboard and the markers they are used to work with. Daley (2003) stated that multimedia language is the current vernacular and I do agree. Hence, we need to be aware of this situation and start updating our knowledge and developing multimedia skills for being able to teach learners in the way they will really learn and face their daily life. We need to start working with new technologies and teach students how to use them in a proper and critical way. We need to have interactive boards and/or virtual boards to be displayed on students screen. Students need to have headphones to be able to record their voices and listen to their teacher, as well as record all that is said in class. We also need to have a video camera or webcam incorporated in the computers. All the students need to have their own work station, preferably laptops which are easy to move from one place to another. Connections need to be wireless to allow mobility.

Although, Net Geners’ naturality is to know how to deal with technology, our responsibility, as teachers, is to teach them to be critical and to learn how to deal with all the information offered on the web, so that they can make the best decisions.  The classroom of the 21^st century has to develop in students critical skills. Fjeldstead (1991) said “think critically about the meanings of what you are seeing, hearing, sensing, and experiencing” (as cited in Bamford, 2003). We need to make learners to see the different perspectives from which an image, movie, song, web page, and any content can be analyzed. By doing this, we are helping digital natives to be critical and be able to make informed and assertive decisions on what they can do with the multiple options from which they can choose and start constructing meaning.

21^st century classroom need to be implemented with technological devices otherwise netgeners will choose not to learn with/from us. Classes must be student centered; it means we have to be aware of and address learners’ needs, likes, interests, and learning styles. Prensky (n.d.) said “most useful education for the future is not happening at school. It’s happening after school, particularly in personal robotics clubs, etc., and on the entire Internet – it’s happening in games. It’s not on a test…So they go to what is really turning them on.” We need to make of classrooms the place where they are turned on, the place in which they choose to pay attention, collaborate, construct meaning, learn and share “(learners’) attention spans are not short for games, for example, or music, or rollerblading, or for spending time on the internet, or anything else that actually interest them. It isn’t that they can’t pay attention, they just choose not to” (Ibid). The classroom of the 21^st century has to be designed having in mind learners and what they will really pay attention to.

The classroom of the 21^st century needs to change the organization and resources. It needs to have enough light, comfortable and mobile chairs, desks for group work. It needs to be big, warm and comfortable. Videoconferencing facilities, wireless networking connections, Internet access, projectors, and devices to capture and spread, for further reference, what happened in class; need to be implemented in physical and virtual learning spaces. The classroom of the 21^st century has to be flexible, collaborative, self-directed, autonomous, mobile, networked, interactive, and student centered. By doing this with the classroom of the 21^st century, we will have motivated students learning meaningfully because “when learning is pleasurable, it can happen even more rapidly” (The New Media Consortium, 2005).

References

Bamford, A. (2003) The Visual Literacy White Paper. Adobe Systems. Retrieved from http://www.adobe.com/uk/education/pdf/adobe_visual_literacy_paper.pdf

Brown, M. (2005) Learning Spaces. In Educating the Net Generation, Educause. Retrieved from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/pub7101l.pdf

Daley, E. (2003) Expanding the Concept of Literacy. Educause Review. Retrieved from

http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/erm0322.pdf

Palloff, Rena and Pratt, Keith (2007). Building Online Learning Communities, Wiley, Chapter 2.

Siemens, G. (2004) Categories of E-learning. Retrieved from

http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/elearningcategories.htm

Tapscott, D. (2009) Grown Up Digital How the Net Generation is Changing Your World. MacGraw Hill

The New Media Consortium (2005) A Global Imperative: The Report of the 21st Century

Literacy Summit. Retrieved from http://www.nmc.org/pdf/Global_Imperative.pdf

ARE WE READY??? April 4, 2010

ARE WE READY TO BE CHALLENGED BY CHANGES

When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.

Victor Frankl

Taken fromhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Fqg3sT37sc&feature=related 

Can you imagine ourselves still living as people used to live many years ago? Making fire with rocks?  Living in caves? Communicating through only signals? Every living thing is the consequence and cause of evolutionary changes and human beings are the heart of those changes. Why do changes happen? The principal cause of changes is the needs, when we need something we start exploring and testing new things to find out a solution. Human creativity and willingness to explore is huge, these aspects make everything that surround us to suffer a constant change.  Change is an essential and natural part of our life and without it we would be like rocks on a desert.

Technology is the aspect that most changes has had and has brought to us. In the last years technological inventions have grown like a weed and so our lives. TV sets, radios, computers, laptops, internet, mobile phones, video cameras, to mention some, are supplies that make of our life a new and lively experience.  Those new technologies make people interact, be informed, create, improve, negotiate meaning, and become active members of a world that never stops.  We are not any more passive receivers who used to take what was given by powerful people because now we can make ourselves powerful and empower others just by sharing our knowledge and taking the most from the tools that have been being invented through time.

Technology has also brought with it a new generation.  “Net generation” is the term given to those people who have grown up surrounded by every kind of technology; for them “technology is as natural as breathing” (Tapscott, 2009). According to Tapscott (Ibid) this new generation wants freedom and speed in everything they do; they like to innovate, collaborate, personalize, inquire and analyze. All of them are multi-tasking, it means that they can do many things all at the same time: they can spend hours and even complete days, in front of a computer chatting in the messenger, with many people around the world, watching videos in you tube, playing online games, having a look at the news, doing homework, downloading music, uploading photos, checking and commenting their social net lives, talking by their mobile phone, and watching TV. The Netgeners know everything about everything, they do not have barriers because all of them are connected and interacting constantly, constructing knowledge and cooperating with each other, “For the first time ever, we can speak of a worldwide youth generation” (Geraci, n.d.).

The Net generation is changing the role of teachers as well.  Teachers used to be the authority inside the classroom, but as everything change, we need to start thinking that “each one of us is, in some way, an authority in some domains and a student in other domains. We must be prepared to learn major things from our subordinates and vice versa” (Seely, n.d.). As digital natives, the netgeners are expert on everything regarding technology, we, as digital immigrants have to take advantage of that expertise to enhance our teaching practice and our students’ learning process.

We need to start implementing technology in our teaching procedures otherwise netgeners will choose not to learn with/from us. Classes must be student centered; it means we have to be aware of and address their needs, likes, interests, and learning styles. Prensky (n.d.) said “most useful education for the future is not happening at school. It’s happening after school, particularly in personal robotics clubs, etc., and on the entire Internet – it’s happening in games. It’s not on a test…So they go to what is really turning them on.” We need to make of our classroom the place where they are turned on, the place in which they choose to pay attention, collaborate, construct meaning, learn and share “(learners’) attention spans are not short for games, for example, or music, or rollerblading, or for spending time on the internet, or anything else that actually interest them. It isn’t that they can’t pay attention, they just choose not to” (Ibid).

As we start implementing technology, there arise another change and so another need: literacy is not any longer what we thought it was and we need to start learning  multimedia language. “Change increasingly defines the nature of literacy and the nature of literacy learning. New technologies generate new literacies that become important to our lives in a global information age. We believe that we are on the cusp of a new era in literacy research, one in which the nature of reading, writing, and communication is being fundamentally transformed.” (Leu, n.d.). Before technology, a literate person was the one who could read and write. Now, a person might be considered illiterate if he/she is not able to use a computer and all the multimedia resources available. The term literacy has changed for multiliteracies because there are multiple ways people can communicate and perceive ideas, feelings, and knowledge. Now, people can not only learn from a book or state in a book what he/she knows but write a blog, access e-libraries, collaborate on the construction of knowledge, becoming active rather than passive members of a community.

What does it all mean? It means that we, teachers, need to be aware of this situation and start updating our knowledge and developing multimedia skills for being able to teach learners in the way they will really learn and face their daily life. We need to enable creativity and start maximizing the potential digital natives already have. We and learners need to take risks, experiment and learn from those experiences. Let’s include digital native tools in our teaching practice and we will have motivated students learning meaningfully because “when learning is pleasurable, it can happen even more rapidly” (The New Media Consortium, 2005).

Nonetheless, we cannot deny that the variety of content, images, tools, perspectives can also be prejudicial for children. Here it is where the role of the teachers is of vital importance on developing in students critical skills. Fjeldstead (1991) said “think critically about the meanings of what you are seeing, hearing, sensing, and experiencing” (as cited in Bamford, 2003). We need to make learners to see the different perspectives from which an image, movie, song, web page, and any content can be analyzed. By doing this, we are helping digital natives to be critical and be able to make informed and assertive decisions on what they can do with the multiple options from which they can choose and start constructing meaning.

We have been challenged by changes!!! Let’s take the risk to change and improve our teaching procedures so that we can challenge our learners and give them what they deserve; opportunities to learn in a netgeners world.

References

Bamford, A. (2003) The Visual Literacy White Paper. Adobe Systems. Retrieved from http://www.adobe.com/uk/education/pdf/adobe_visual_literacy_paper.pdf

Tapscott, D. (2009) Grown Up Digital How the Net Generation is Changing Your World. MacGraw Hill

The New Media Consortium (2005) A Global Imperative: The Report of the 21st Century Literacy Summit. Retrieved from http://www.nmc.org/pdf/Global_Imperative.pdf

Multiliteracies April 4, 2010

Video taken from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvQicn2WwTo&feature=fvsr

IMPLICATIONS OF MULTILITERACIES IN THE LANGUAGE LEARNING CONTEXT

Traditional literacy, as many other fields, has been facing changes because of technological innovations. Before technology, a literate person was the one who could read and write. Now, a person might be considered illiterate if he/she is not able to use a computer and all the multimedia resources available.

Nowadays, as well as multi-tasking skills, multi-communicating skills have arisen. Therefore, the term literacy has changed for multiliteracies because there are multiple literacies: visual, media, computer, critical, among others. There are multiple ways people can communicate and perceive ideas, feelings, and knowledge.  Now, people can not only learn from a book or state in a book what he/she knows but write a blog, access e-libraries, collaborate on the construction of knowledge, becoming active rather than passive members of a community.

Do multiliteracies have any implication in education, particularly in language learning?  One of the main functions of education is to prepare people for the future; that is why I decided to teach English rather than Latin. Daley (2003) stated that multimedia language is the current vernacular and I do agree. Hence, we need to be aware of this situation and start updating our knowledge and developing multimedia skills for being able to teach learners in the way they will really learn and face their daily life.

We need to start allowing students to begin to collaborate in the construction of knowledge, meaning and content. We need to enable creativity and start maximizing the potential digital natives already have. We and learners need to take risks, experiment and learn from those experiences. Let’s include digital native tools in our teaching practice and we will have motivated students learning meaningfully because “when learning is pleasurable, it can happen even more rapidly” (The New Media Consortium, 2005).

Nonetheless, we cannot deny that the variety of content, images, tools, perspectives can also be prejudicial for children. Here it is where the role of the teachers is of vital importance on developing in students critical skills. Fjeldstead (1991) said “think critically about the meanings of what you are seeing, hearing, sensing, and experiencing” (as cited in Bamford, 2003). We need to make learners to see the different perspectives from which an image, movie, song, web page, and any content can be analyzed. By doing this, we are helping digital natives to be critical and be able to make informed and assertive decisions on what they can do with the multiple options from which they can choose and start constructing meaning.

Resources

Bamford, A. (2003) The Visual Literacy White Paper. Adobe Systems. Retrieved from http://www.adobe.com/uk/education/pdf/adobe_visual_literacy_paper.pdf

Daley, E. (2003) Expanding the Concept of Literacy. Educause Review. Retrieved from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/erm0322.pdf

Lima, C. (2006) A Brief Introduction to Critical Literacy in English Language Education. British Council Brazil. Retrieved from http://www.criticalliteracy.org.uk/images/cleltbooklet.pdf

The New Media Consortium (2005) A Global Imperative: The Report of the 21st Century Literacy Summit. Retrieved from http://www.nmc.org/pdf/Global_Imperative.pdf

Awakening to a new teaching world! February 16, 2010

Fisch, C. (2008, November 7). 2008 Latest Edition – Did You Know 3.0 – From Meeting in Rome this Year [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpEnFwiqdx8

Edwards Educational Services Inc. (2008, December 20). 21^st Century educational reality [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vc1hgMl3uUk

WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE…

Technology is a jungle “the jungle provides an endless source of sustenance and delight to those who know their way in it. To those who do not, it is a dark and impenetrable maze, full of danger and unpredictable menace. In like manner, the internet (technology) offers infinite resources to those who can navigate its limitless pathways. For those unfamiliar with it however, it can be a threatening presence, characterized by total lack of structure, full of potential predators” (Lewis, G. 2004)

The metaphor above is showing us that technology is making us to belong to a global jungle in which it becomes necessary to learn and teach international competences. We are habitants or immigrants of that digital jungle, asking for an urgent education and training on how to survive on it and help others (students) to be ready to start walking through its unpredictable paths.

Nonetheless, the need for education is not totally fulfilled because the government prefers to “invest” money on war rather than in education. Now the question is; should we be prepared for a war or for facing a near future? I think it is better to be ready for facing those predators that did invest money on education and know how to success in a jungle. What do you think?

“Students (people in general) need to be prepared for change above all else” (Benson, 1995) and the new technologies as well as the developed critical skills will help us face any change. We need to be critical of what surround us, start questioning, giving opinions, reflecting and exploring alternatives to make informed and assertive decisions when facing any change.

If we do not want to be erased by technology we must learn how to deal with it and be updated every single minute of our lives otherwise we will be just part of a forgotten history.

References

Benson, P. (1995).  A critical view of learner training. Learning Learning, 2/2. Retrieved April 8, 2009, from http://penta.ufrgs.br/edu/telelab/7/phil22e.htm

Lewis, G. (1994).The internet and young learners. Oxford, UK. Oxford University Press.