{"id":4851,"date":"2012-12-20T21:14:33","date_gmt":"2012-12-20T21:14:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/eltchat.org\/wordpress\/?p=4851"},"modified":"2012-12-20T21:14:33","modified_gmt":"2012-12-20T21:14:33","slug":"the-future-of-teaching-is-it-only-online-teaching-an-eltchat-summary-22112012","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/2012\/12\/20\/the-future-of-teaching-is-it-only-online-teaching-an-eltchat-summary-22112012\/","title":{"rendered":"The future of teaching \u2013 is it only online teaching? – An ELTChat Summary (22\/11\/2012)"},"content":{"rendered":"

This summary was written by @wiktor_k and has been reposted here from his blog<\/a> with his permission.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Ulaanbaatar,<\/a>
\nPhoto Credit:\u00a0One Laptop per Child<\/a>\u00a0via\u00a0Compfight<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This post is a summary of another fascinating discussion on #ELTChat. If you\u2019re new to this,\u00a0head over to the website<\/a>\u00a0to learn more. The community is really supportive and I believe that every language learner would benefit from chatting to its members once in a while. In the meantime \u2013 read the summary below to see where, according to some bright language teachers, the future of education is headed!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1. Ummm\u2026no.<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

For a brief moment, it seemed that the discussion would be really brief here! Most ELTChatters agreed: online teaching will not be the only mode of delivering knowledge, at least not in language learning. Some quotes to illustrate this sentiment:<\/p>\n

– \u201cDon\u2019t believe that classroom teaching will give way to only online.\u201d (@MarjorieRosenbe)<\/p>\n

– \u201cI agree. People like being in face to face groups, it\u2019s a social thing.\u201d (@theteacherjames)<\/p>\n

– \u201cThe social face-to-face aspect is a great motivator for many ESOL learners.\u201d (cgoodey)<\/p>\n

– \u201cI think there\u2019s a hell of lot of progress to be made in the classroom before we even consider the future is only online.\u201d (@stephenburrows)<\/p>\n

– \u201cColor me skeptical. I remember when television was going to replace classroom teachers.\u201d (@12mandown)<\/p>\n

There were a lot of similar voices and comments made throughout the debate (you can view the entire transcript here<\/a>). Foreign language learning seems to be too dependent on the face-to-face aspect to afford moving into the digital domain entirely.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2. But, ummm\u2026yes.<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

That, of course, doesn\u2019t mean that the whole online thing is wasted completely on language teachers and learners. ELTChatters were quick to list the good and useful aspects of it:<\/p>\n

– \u201cOnline opens a great window of opportunity \u2013 which can be in ADDITION to f-2-f\u201d (@Marisa_C)<\/p>\n

– \u201cShouldn\u2019t underestimate what technology can do. It\u2019s hard to imagine what it\u2019ll be like in 30 years, & I\u2019ll still be working then!\u201d (@theteacherjames)<\/p>\n

– \u201cI can\u2019t wait for technology to take over those things I wish I didn\u2019t have to spend time doing\u201d (@KerrCarolyn)<\/p>\n

– \u201cThere are lots of possibilities online for extra practice and review but as a compliment to f2f\u201d (@edwinamwilliams)<\/p>\n

– \u201cPeople get hung up on online, f2f, blended [learning] etc. Access to information and phones mean teaching roles will change come what may\u201d (@EnglishOutThere)<\/p>\n

So, our feelings so far: Online teaching will not dominate foreign language education completely \u2013 but it has a lot to offer.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

3. Online teaching in languages \u2013 where it shines\u2026and falls short<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

The discussion developed into several strands after that \u2013 and it took a keen Twitter user to follow the exchange! One thread worth exploring involved the benefits and shortcomings of online teaching, with several choice contributions:<\/p>\n

– \u201cI think quieter, more reflective work suits online more. Less social pressure to \u2018interact\u2019\u201d (@theteacherjames)<\/p>\n

– \u201cYes \u2013 and students being able to see their own corrections instantly. No loss of face. No feeling of judgment.\u201d (@KerrCarolyn)<\/p>\n

– \u201cPersonally, I\u2019m more excited by how much more we know about learning & teaching now, than by new tech. This is the big change for me\u201d (@Wiktor_K)<\/p>\n

– \u201cA good point \u2013 the reflections about tech have regenerated interest in pedagogy\u201d (@Marisa_C)<\/p>\n

– \u201cLearning courses for professional development are very helpful as well as cutting down on travel.\u201d (@MarjorieRosenbe)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

However<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

– \u201c[Moving online is] impossible in Greece, as most schools still don\u2019t have interactive boards and internet connections\u201d (@shaznosel)<\/p>\n

– \u201cMost students don\u2019t know what an app is\u2026nor the parents \u2013 YouTube is seen as upmarket\u201d (@shaznosel)<\/p>\n

– \u201cHow much learner autonomy technique [about online study?] is taught?\u201d (@EnglishOutThere)<\/p>\n

– \u201cMost progress is possible by tech, but not all tech equals more progress. Sometimes, they\u2019re methodological blind alleys\u201d (@Wiktor_K)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

4. So it\u2019s not the medium, it\u2019s ______________?<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

This provocative question was asked by @Marisa_C but technical difficulties prevented it from appearing until the very end of the chat. One for you to ponder, definitely! If you want to take part in this or other discussions, visit the\u00a0#ELTChat website<\/a>\u00a0and get involved. The language you\u2019re learning will thank you for it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

5. Useful links \/ resources<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

– \u201cCPD for teachers<\/a>\u201d \u2013 lots of useful ideas for professional development of language teachers.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0EnglishClub<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 a place for your own English-learning website!<\/p>\n

–\u00a0The Future of Learning, Networked Society [VIDEO]<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 optimistic? Biased? You decide.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This summary was written by @wiktor_k and has been reposted here from his blog with his permission.   Photo Credit:\u00a0One Laptop per Child\u00a0via\u00a0Compfight   This post is a summary of another fascinating discussion on #ELTChat. If you\u2019re new to this,\u00a0head over to the website\u00a0to learn more. The community is really supportive and I believe that…
Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-summary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4851"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4851\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}