Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Are teachers making the most of new technology in language learning?
An international study of the use of new technologies and ICT in language teaching and learning recently published reveals common themes across Europe.
The research, "A study on the impact of ICT and new media on language learning" was commissioned by the European Commission and conducted by Ellinogermaniki Agogi
The study consisted of a review of research literature, an online survey and teacher interviews in eight countries between 2007-2009. The eight countries were: Cyrpus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Spain and the UK.
The research reports that across Europe, pedagogical opportunities do not keep pace with technological innovation and change and pedagogy is rarely incorporated into new teaching and learning tools. The report concludes that programmes of professional development rarely encompass current technologicsl developments.
Link Pedagogy and technology innovation
The report recommends that future training should make the link between pedagogy and technological developments.
“The application of new technologies in learning implies fundamental changes for the role of the teacher. These changes are often not addressed in professional training programmes or in continuing professional development. “
Set up networks
Alongside this, the research revealed that a lack of awareness of existing resources, funding and support was common among teachers.
These findings led to one of the key recommendations of the report to be to set up local, regional and national networks “to address the lack of awareness of both possibilities and routes to funding.”
Prioritise Training
The third key recommendation the report makes is to prioritise training for teachers .
“A key message that emerged from both the qualitative and quantitative surveys in the study was the importance of ensuring that teachers have access to appropriate training, development and support in using ICT and new media.”
Experiment and practice
The research revealed many teachers lack confidence in their own abilities to use new media and technologies to improve teaching and learning in their classrooms and makes a recommendation that opportunities are created for teachers to try out ideas with new technologies and rehearse them. Opportunities need to, “enable teachers to learn via experiential tasks within a personal, confidential and non-threatening environment “
Evidence from the study found that schools often do plan or evaluate how best to make changes in the use of new technologies in teaching and learning. “Evidence from the study showed that little or no attention is paid to effective factors in embedding changes in teaching or in the uptake of new media and ICT.”
To read the report in full click here.