Naomi’s Digital Life

I have read Maree’s posting. How to use developed technology is a challenging issue for teachers. And even if teachers know that is hard, they know they have to try because technology which gives students much more opportunities for learning needs to have an applier who has a responsibility of whether the students’ learning is going to be successful or not. During my prac, I had two opportunities to joing their professional development for ICT. One is about how to make film and the other is about the presentation of how technology affects students’ learning. The first one was really practical and we faced each computer and IT teacher actually instructed us to let us know how the software for film making was working. Both of schools I joined as a student teacher provided these opportunities. Unfortunatelly, I did not have chance to create film in the school but from observing of the other class teachers lesson, some teachers apply to take film as a part of students’ learning.  

I would like to introduce an Interesting blog from one of biologist teachers, Ms,Baker by podcast.

Reaction for Ms.Bakers Blog

I read this article. This article talks about What WebQuest is. According to March, a real WebQuest is a scafollding structure for learning by linking resources from Internet and subjects’ tasks. It motivates students’ question solving skills, technological expertise and working in a group by transforming what internet says to what they contract new information based on the information from internet.

I think WebQuest is a useful way for students’ learning. During my prac, I saw my teacher using WebQuest. At that time, it was first time for me that all students participated their learning. How technology motivated students and that made me think that whether students participate the lessons or not is really depending on whether the lesson is interesting for them or not. In other words, if the lesson is attractive, all students actually wanted to join that. This experience taught me how important teachers’ planning for lessons is and I came to believe that no students want not to join the lessons.   

I read this article. This article tells us the strategies for applying concept mapping called semantic webs or mind maps and also discusses some disadvantages from using concept mappings in learning.  Basically, the researcher stated concept mapping as a tool for prewriting activity and concept mapping can be used for an improvement of students’ brainstorming and synthesizing information. From my experience, I actually did mindmapping for this digital asaignment and that was first time for me. And I found that although brainstorming and synthesizing information are outstanding advantages by using mind mapping, I really enjoyed doing the mind mapping because they had color selections and made the form whatever I like. I used “bubbl” and I think for visual learners (research shows most of learners has visual intelligence), mind mapping is one of the most beneficial tools to organize not only for their learning items but also their daily items because learners can choose which color they use in one column (I think at that time, they also see own hierarchy in colors) and also they make the mindmapping formation whatever they think it is easy for them to follow or remember. Therefore, students can use those by their own way even if they have the same purpose to do. 

I read this article. This article shows some failure through creating WebQuest. Four failures are introduced.

• Step&Fetch it-WebQuest is a scafollding, so there is no right or wrong answer required.
• Hip Hop Homework- WebQuest is has to promote students’ new thinking toward the item they got from Internet rather than tranffering information directry from Interenet.
• Anything Goes- WebQUest has to have a set of criteria for students’ creation.
• Tag team PowerPoint – WebQuest must have group process to synthesize for creating new thinking when they are doing groupwork.

To keep these point seems challenging for me as a begginer to create WebQuest. And make me realize whether use of not only technology but also other materials is effective and successful to work or not is really depending on teachers’ application. Especially, research and availability of technology changes in daily basis, so we as a teacher always need proffesional development.

I read this article. Johnson describes two opposite viewpoints, 1. technology as one which reproduces the power of white, middle-calss, educated, well-paid males, and 2. technology as one which provides sites for the transcendence of traditional hierarchies and inequalities. Comparing with those two points, Johnson concludes that the issue of equality of technology may not be gender but rather technological efficacy, such as acccessing to computers and using computer with inclination, skill and confidence.  Unequal access explained by gender, ethnicity, race, and socio-economic status invigorates individual prior “marginalisation and exclusion” because there is no way to access the discourse of power for them.

I agree this view. In japan, it is normal that one family has more than one computer. Actually, my brother has 3 computers in his room and that is common phenomena for young people in Japan. On the other hand, my friend from different country hardly find internet cafe near his house. That is the truth and the gap, of course, provides not only unequal amount of information they got but also limited social communication they had and provided through technology. I think this technological issue can make the serious gap between poor and rich and people in developing and developed countries wider and deeper.   

I have read this article. This article mainly focuses on the advantages and disadvantages of learning with computer in SLA as title shows and that’s interesting because 1, I am a LOTE teacher and this article is dealing with spcifically the field of SLA and 2, I have rarely heard the disadvantages of using technology in learning. This article tells me four disadvantages using computer in learning.

• increase of educational cost – when computer is become a basic requirement, lower-budget schools and low-income students can not afford a computer  ->Unfair education
• Basic technology knowledge required before applying technology in SLA learning
• Imperfection of effective software
• Difficulty to handle unexpected situation of students – technology is unable to deal with learner’s unexpected learning problems and response to learners’ question immediately

I actually can understand what this article is saying. And I agree some points, especially first item. However, some points makes me think about role of technology. I personally believe that technology or computer is only a tool which a lot of literature have mentioned. Even if the tool has difficulty, do user stop using or are they dismotivated? No. For instance, we use a pencil even if the pencil has a disadvantage that a pencil needs to use a sharpner. From this point of view, the last two items in disadvantages seems to me too much expectation put on technology, although I can understand those are disadvantages and it is ideal to develop those points. For me, the important thing is how an individual teacher apply existing technology, even if use of the technology is still limited, to improve students’ learning because even if one day, technology is going to be a perfect tool for students’ learning, if teachers’ application of technology in classroom is not effective, the tool can not lead students’ success learning.    

I have read Shelly’s posting about one website called Learn-hiragana-katakana.com and foud interesting because I did not actually know about this website before. I had a look and for begginer of Japanese learner, I think this site meets their level. Moreover, for me, that website expands my teaching strategy for teaching Japanese scripts because before reading this posting, if I hear “teaching hiragana”, I automatically think about “oh, need flashcards!” However, this site will become one option to practice scripts for my students in future. By the way, here are the websites I used in my prac. The purpose of these websites are not for practicing scripts but for more understanding Japanese culture. They have Game as well.

Online Language Resource

KIDS WEB JAPAN

Does anybody know about more websites relating to Japanese teaching resource, please let us know!! I would appriciate it!!

I read Tanja’s posting about cyber nightmare. It was interesting because my selection for article which I have read were described positive aspects to use technology in classsroom, so I re-realized the disadvantages about applying technology in education. As Tanja mentioned, although this bulling is hard to control by other factors such as teachers and parents, there are many students suffering this issue. Especially, in my opinion, when using technology, some people tend to loose their politeness. They can write down their opinion and idea on website without their name, so they tend to loose their responsibility for what they have written down. I agree with Tanja’s solution for this kind of bulling such as holding more campaings and educating students about this bulling. In addition to that, I also believe that the manner and moral about using technology, such as how to write e-mail and how to put their idea appropriately, has to be taught to students by teachers.

I read a posting by Lisa. Her point that it is also important to let students know what knowledge and skills they are going to use througn the constructive approach makes me re-realized the importance to let students’ know what they are going to do, why they are going to do, and how they are going to do. Papert mentioned in his report that if a computer becomes only a tool, students do not say “I am using a computer” when they are drawing pictures through a computer. Students must say “I am making flower pictures!” That is true. However, when subjects, Math or Languages, become tools for students like a computer does to construct something as Papert mentioned, if students are unaware of what or how they are using to construct something, they might miss something important to improve their subject knowledge and skills. For example, in terms of languages, I think unawareness to use languages as a tool to construct students’ own things can enhance fluency of students’ use of languages. On the other hand, students’ accuracy migh not be considered through students’ unawareness use of languages.