Teach English Now! Technology Enriched Teaching

In this module, learners are introduced to a young teacher who is hesitant to incorporate technology into the classroom. On his journey, we will be introduced to reasons teachers avoid technology as well as suggestions for how to overcome some common technology difficulties. In particular, learners will be introduced to the concepts of alignment, learner control, and the importance of being outcomes driven.

In this module, our young teacher learns about creating a learning management system (LMS) to assist him in the classroom. We are also introduced to nine different categories of technology as well as 6 events of instruction. Events of instruction are introduced to help teachers recognize the need to examine different technologies according to how they can be useful during the lesson planning process.

In this module, learners are introduced to the interaction between teaching, content, and technology, using the acronym TPACK. Through this acronym, teachers are invited to recognize the ways in which different types of knowledge work together. We are also introduced to an additional acronym: SAMR. This acronym invites teachers to consider how essential the tool is to achieving learning outcomes, and whether it simply replaces an older type of technology, or if it transforms the learning process itself.

In this module, our young teacher encounters a final test in the form of marketers that attempt to push technology tools on him and his classroom. We give some final advice about how to deal with the massive numbers of tools that are currently available, and what to do to ensure that the tools that are chosen will truly benefit students.