We have reached the final session in this module and this week we touch on technology. I use the term ‘touch on’ because, of all the areas studied in this module, technology has to be the most challenging to cover in just one session. The sheer number of different technologies available makes it difficult to know where to start.

Our reading for this week came from Mishan and Timmis’ (2015) book Materials Development for TESOL. They outline some of the risks associated with using technology in materials creation, for instance, the use of technology ‘just because’. In many contexts, technology will have no pedagogical advantage over physical materials. As with the use of video, we must be careful that the technology does not become the teacher. Remember, it’s just our assistant. They also list a variety of online technologies available with which to create materials. I found their suggestions interesting and relevant.

This week’s pre-session task was to choose an online tool, experiment with it and to then reproduce a task from our teacher-created materials in week 8. The nature of my week 8 materials meant that it was not possible to use one of the existing tasks. Instead, I created a new task.

Inspired by the reading, I chose a tool suggested by Mishan and Timmis (2015). Make Beliefs Comix is a very simple website that can be used to create professional looking comics with up to 18 pages. The fuss-free interface makes it extremely user friendly. After five minutes of experimenting with the tools, I was able to create the first half of my comic. In my opinion, ease-of-use is a high priority when choosing an online technology. Technology should be there to help, not hinder. If a tool is overly complex, it often takes longer to sufficiently master the technology than it would do to plan a class without it. This is in line with my fourth principle. That said, investing time and energy on acquiring new skills is professionally valuable, as demonstrated by Siân and Anna with their game. Not only are they in possession of some unique materials but they now also possess the knowledge of how to use the game-creating software, ready for next time.

 

The learning objective for this task is the same as it was in week 8: to practice asking open-ended questions and extending answers. This task would be done after the students had practiced the conversation again in various partners. Due to the simplicity of this tool, the aim is to actually demonstrate how to make a comic in the class and then let the students continue. They create a conversation, choosing their own characters and their own language. They then present their comics at the end of class. If the students enjoyed this activity, they could make a class comic book.

An interesting distinction made my Mishan and Timmis (2015) is between materials as products or as processes. The former denotes materials that have been made using technology: they are the product of said technology. This can range from very static, for example, a printed image, to very dynamic, such as online messaging. The latter denotes materials as tasks. The use of the technology is the activity. Looking back at Ellis’ (2011) conditions for true tasks, I can classify my comic strip task as a focused, output-providing, open task. It can be analysed as follows:

1. The focus is on meaning: yes, the facilitation of a fluid conversation.
2. There exists a knowledge gap: yes, when working together, students could assign themselves the roles of each character. The gap exists because they genuinely do not know what answers the other person might give. They will have to react to each answer accordingly, continuing the conversation.
3. Learners use their own resources: half-yes, although they are free to write anything they choose in the comic, they have already been practicing how to use wh-question words and add details, so it is expected that they will employ some of these tactics.
4. There exists an objective that is not language based: yes, to make a comic strip.

This session, I feel, is just the tip of the iceberg. It has introduced me to some basic concepts surrounding the use of technology in ELT that will stand me in good stead for the technology module I will be taking next semester.

 

Some concluding remarks

Reflecting on what I wanted to achieve from this module, I believe it has been a success. I now have a better understanding of why coursebooks are structured in a certain way, in terms of universality, and I can now employ various techniques to combat these issues. I have learnt about a variety of frameworks, one of which allowed to me to co-create some materials from scratch. This process was not nearly as lengthy as I had imagined. I now have a much better understanding of theoretical issues and have identified many areas that I would like to investigate further, namely the use of video and TBLT. Importantly, my faith in each of these methodologies has been restored and maintained. Lastly, I have most certainly expanded my knowledge base and feel more secure in my abilities to supplement, adapt and create materials myself. I look forward to employing the skills I have gained in my future teaching practice.

 

 

 

References

Mishan, F. & Timmis, I. (2015) Materials Development for TESOL. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, pp. 75-98.