Teach English in ShuAngjie Zhen - Tianjin

New Technology in the ClassroomWith new technology being introduced every year, teachers and students are finding it easier to both obtain new information and retain that information. In the past year alone, students have been able to use the internet with devices such as personal laptop computers, school computers, and cell phones. In addition, new software technology has enabled students to interact with each other in ways not possible before this technology explosion. One such technological advancement is the internet. Schools, colleges in particular, are learning to integrate this giant networking device into their academic programs. The website iLearn, used by many college universities, is a portal to instructor lectures and PowerPoint presentations, assignments and digital submission drop boxes, forums, group projects and more. Using websites such as iLearn, TEFL instructors can digitally assign homework, saving on paper and printing costs that might be used for worksheets. In addition, the digital drop box helps to curb the tempting activity of plagiarism by comparing the submitted work against not only previously submitted works, but Google results as well. In particular, using the website like a message board allows the instructor to give information such as links and files to video/audio clips or passages to be read for the next lesson. One of the most glaring downsides with this method of teaching, however, is it assumes that students will have access to a personal computer. This problem is rectified by the learning center giving limited access to students to the website in a place such as a computer lab or library. Another important development is the usage of digital computer games. For the longest time in American history, video games have been the blight to the old ways of education. Instructors and parents both felt that time spent playing video games was time spent not studying. Only within the past fifteen years have teachers seen the ways that video games can not only help a student, but increase the amount of information retained. Adventure games, or ?Point and Click Adventure? games, are a particular style of video game that encourages students to extensively read the text in addition to using critical thinking to solve puzzles. These kinds of games can run the mill of being either very easy for Beginner level students or very difficult for those in Upper-Intermediate and above levels. The games often offer a bit of humor, and are colorful and animated so as to alleviate any boredom that might come about in typical text games. Since Adventure games often don?t require any of the complex reflexes often associated with more violent or Action games, they can be adapted for almost any age group. One of the final pieces of technology to be talked about in this article is fairly new, but gaining in widespread use. These are Tablet PC?s, and are basically laptops with a responsive display. They allow instructors to replace the overhead projector, plastic sheets, and markers with a simple machine that can be plugged into most display devices such as digital projectors and newer televisions. When used by an instructor, it can be an easy way to underline digital text, computer writing exercises for students to follow, or a visually stimulating way to introduce new material. When used by students, it can be a fun way to learn the lesson as well as help teachers keep a record of each of the student?s pen strokes via recording software. A major downside that is often overlooked with such technology is that when a computer is in the hands of a student, there is a strong temptation to procrastinate from learning and focus attention on the new ?toy.? To avoid this, instructors are recommended to use Tablet PC?s and other computer devices with adult learners who are more motivated to learn and less motivated to goof off. New technology is being invented every year, and the faster a class can adapt to it, the more powerful the instruction will be. Cassettes, which had to be replaced every few years, have been replaced with CD?s that are not only more portable, but offer a much longer shelf-life. Video cassettes, which required fast-forwarding should the teacher want to get to a specific part, have been replaced with DVD?s that offer a clearer picture and a ?skip? feature to help speed the class along. By utilizing new technology, teachers will find their classes to be more enjoyable and the information they teach better retained. SOURCE: ? http://education.mit.edu/papers/GamesSimsSocNets_EdArcade.pdf ? http://www.antimoon.com/how/advgames.htm