Tech in teaching

All right, I'll give it a try then.

I'd like to start with an answer to one of the final questions in Alex's posting: "...how do you feel about contributing (publically) your thoughts in a public domain? How are you managing studying using technology?"

I guess my willingness to post my thoughts publicly depnds on the environment. I do not appreciate fora which are used to berate opinions, to discuss serious issues in a succinct manner or to simply argue pojnts for the sake of arguing. Given an evironment in which I can expect (as far as this is possible in a public domain) sensible comments and educated critique, I do not mind sharing my thoughts at all - as long as they are work/study related...

Concerning the use of technology for my stdies, well, I am writing this using an online computer. As well as that, I have done a lot of online research in my life, not only for the PGCTEAP, but also for my MA programme, half a lifetime ago. I thoroughly enjoy using the web and for example the University Online Catalogue and similar applications for research purposes, not because I am too lazy to go to the library, but simply because tools like this put a lot of useful materials at your fingertips. Also, one can save a lot of time by utilising technology in a sensible way. I still take my notes by hand, as I don't see how taking notes on the computer would really help improve the quality of my work.

As for teaching, I do expect a certain range of computer literacy from a student, as computer-related abilities are, in my opinion, a part of (modern) study skills. Correspondingly, I try to keep up to date with the developments in popular software applications that are commonly used by students and tutors alike. I am referring to Bill Gates's classics here.
Now, these software applications, in my opinion, do not really promote autonomy, they are merely tools of convenience; e.g. if I have a well-made and sensible Power Point presentation and some well-designed handouts for a certain topic, than I can keep revising them and use the material in the classroom.
But there are certain tools that can promote learner autonomy. Certain websites, like the BBC, IELTS, OWL etc. often yield good information and useful materials that both tutors and students can incorporate into their work. I always encourage students to utilise the Internet for all sorts of practice, but I also generally advise them to make use of other resources, as the Internet also contains, quite frankly, a lot of crap.
CDs that accompany textbooks, grammar books and dictionaries are frequently ignored, but if awareness is raised only a little, then they can become valuable aids for students.
Also, I think it is important that students are shown the possiblities that technology has to offer. If they can develop an interest, they may benefit vastly from the resources that become accessible to them.
The same is true for tutors. Being pressed for time due to marking, teaching and tutorials and developing good material simultaneously can be very daunting. Again, given the necessary background knowledge, technology could be utilised to make the life of a tutor a bit easier. I am aware that there are a lot of technophobes in this world (who still manage to check their emails regularly), and I do not tire of saying that it should be the emloyer's responsibility to provide training for those who need it.

One danger of advocating the use of technology, i.e. the Internet, is that if a student does not find the answer he or she needs, they could draw wrong conclusions and get confused. Similarly, a tutor cannot rely solely on websites or pre-gnerated material from books, no matter how good they usually are, to make up for his or her lack of preparation time.

But of course there are other technologies than the internet. I always encourage my students to record themselves to analyse their own language problems (grammar, pronunciation). I have the strong suspicion that nobody ever does it, but I would like to see efforts like this used in speaking classes. Using simple devices like MP3 players, iPods, whatever, chunks of speech or conversations could be recorded in groups and then be peer- and tutor-analysed. Also, this could lead to creating speech banks, in which students could check for correct pronunciation, intonation and speech patterns.
This is something that has been on my mind for a long time. I do not mean language labs, as these, to me, do not seem to allow for good group work. I remember sitting there with big headsets, answering questions from a tape. I have done this in various languages and I detested it every single time. What I mean are organised work groups that try to improve their overall speaking accuracy using recording technology. The progress could be rather easily monitored, and problem areas could be addressed in a targeted manner. The reason this will probably never happen is that speaking skills are usually not devoted a lot of time to in EAP, where the focus seems to be on reading and writing.

All in all, I do like using technology in certain ways for my studies and my work, but I also have certain limits. I cannot bear an overload of badly designed Power Point presentations, and I do not see the point in "technologising" everything. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with some solid old-school verbal teaching.
In terms of autonomy, technology can open a lot of opportunities for tutors and learners if it is made sure that it is used in a sensible manner - and that requires some initial guidance. I have already mentioned who I believe to be responsible for guidance/training, and I leave the definition of the term "sensible" up for discussion.
One more thing I need to make very clear though. I strongly oppose demanding students to be able to perform certain tasks, using technology, without their tutor being able to do the same thing. Again, someone will have to train the tutor to be in the position to utilise technology, thus enabling him/her to help their students and introduce technology for learning to them.

Anyway, these are my thoughts. I hope they make sense.

Klaus