Integrating Technology into College EFL Classes
Going through the four different models of language integration (supplemental, partially blended, fully blended, and full online), I have asked myself where I want to be a year from now. My own answer for this question is that I want to consolidate my role of partially blended instructor at Universidad Latina.
Based on my current teaching situation, I must say that this partially blended model is the one that fits my teaching scenario the most at the university. The reason for this choice is simple; our Learning Management System (LMS) platform is not at its best yet, and I do not trust it yet. I prefer to use free Wiki or blog’s hosting services that we can access through a common ground such as Google email accounts.
Analyzing my students’ learning situations and considering how best technology fits into our course syllabus, this partially blended model allows students to create their own online posts (blogs), become their own editors (blog’s posts), foster independent learning (learner autonomy), and work at their own pace (within deadlines and objectives). And once the course is over, their own products will continue being available for them, not like in the LMS scenario in which material gets “confiscated” by the Mooddle system.
In hindsight, the 2010 academic year became an interesting change in my teaching style at Universidad Latina. Our first term –January to April- marked the beginning of the use of blogs and WebQuests in my Reading Skills 2 classes in a supplemental integration of technology into this course. It was a nice try, but at the end, I felt I could have done more of what I implanted in class. Our second term –May to August- helped me consolidate my supplemental module and move into a “supplemental partially blended” way of integrating technology in two other courses I teach at the university: Pronunciation 1 and Reading Skills 1 with a class blog. This last term, -September to December-, marked my debut into a more partially blended approach to teaching and fostering learning.
Although I have not achieved all I want for my courses and for my students enrolled in those classes, all the ideas I have gotten through this course, Teaching with Technology, and the exchange of ideas with my course partners have marked me positively to venture myself into other technological ways next academic year. In the future, perhaps a year from now (or a bit more), I would be more than happy to move into a fully blended model of education. For this, which is my very personal dream, I would really like my colleagues at the university to take the next step in this technology integration for the sake of our students’ learning. In the meantime, I must wait for that day to come because the fear of technology that some college professionals still have is something that needs to be cope with somehow and sometime in the future.
Jonathan Acuña
Universidad Latina
Costa Rica
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