Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Welcome to new academic course 2012-13

First of all, I would like to apologise by the fact of not having opened the blog entried for this academic year yet. We are living the Era of social networking and mobile apps. I would like you to think about these two topics while you read the textbook and feel free to ask me to invite you as a contributor to compose entries in relation to these two topics. Although this book may seem obsolete 20 years after being witten, it state the base of these two basic elements nowadays.

6 comments:

María Jordano said...

Hello...

Graciela said...

Hello...OK, it works now. I'll have to make up my mind again before posting a comment but yes, I'll do it very soon!

Graciela said...

Greetings to the followers of this blog!
The position of CIT for educational purposes in their origins and nowadays are poles apart. Obviously, the hardware and software chosen were then, and have always been, determinant in the results we can obtain but what Levy considered in Chapter I of ‘Computer-Assisted Language Learning’(1997) as limitations, mainly that the equipment could be superseded by the end of the course or that students might not have access to the materials because the cost of the equipment was prohibitive are now part of history, as technology is presently at hand for the vast majority of people, whatever their background; it can be used either by experts, undergraduates, children, housewives or farmers alike. And as a consequence, CALL has been absorbed into the mainstream thinking, education and practice.
But having at our disposal such an amount of electronic devices, computer–assisted methods and internet access everywhere I think there is one factor in the research of the conceptualization of CALL which needs to get more attention: the role of the teacher as a contributor. As a Secondary teacher, I think the learning goals in the classroom get sometimes lost -or at least they are not improved- because of the methodology used in the classroom. If Computer Assisted Language Learning is one of the advantages in the XXIst century, we should not forget that the teacher has to be the leader that will show the path to comprehension, so it is important that teenagers not only have access to technology tools but also have to learn when and how using those tools, so that they do not miss the numerous opportunities to learn through the computer.
In relation to the use of Technologies in the classroom, I have found a recent comment on the web, which can be read on the following link
http://smartblogs.com/education/2012/11/29/infusing-technology-right-way-nicholas-provenzano/

María Jordano said...

Hi Graciela!

Sorry, I have just read your comment. I have received any alert this time.

Thank you very much for your contribution ;) I will read t¡the link that you recommend.

María Jordano

Anonymous said...

Nowadays, as all of us known, we are living in the era of communication, so a current trend for social networking websites, such as Facebook Twitter, LinkedIn and many others, is to create mobile apps to give their users instant and real-time access from their device. That means, real-time search encourages real-time response. So we will probably think students are able to use their devices to learn each subject everywhere, but conform to reality the situation is seen in different views: students are provided with mobile apps to chat, to play games, to download music or movies and a long etcetera to make the most of a bit of free time, far away from a learning or educational purpose. I think four factors are essential to learning: drives, cues, responses, and rewards. Social motivations which are secondary drives include imitativeness, a process by which matched acts are evoked in two people and connected to appropriate cues. Therefore, it is necessary to encourage teachers’ technology use who will become the facilitators for their students who, as the same time, have to improve their skills not only for games but also for receiving new sources of knowledge. According to Levy, there is obviously an important connection between computer capabilities and actual CALL materials, and an acknowledgement of the "fit" of technology with language pedagogy should be considered from the outset of CALL materials production (p. 175). That is the challenge of education: being able to develop a CALL system available for everyone in our digital era. At this point, a question emerges; can interactive learning improve academic achievement?
I have found this forum discussion E-Learning: A Substitute for Classroom Learning? - Group Discussion www.indiabix.com/...discussion/

Maria said...

That´s Maria Carmen Pérez who has just written the above comment.