7.0157 Rs: Teacher Training and Technology (1/219)
Elaine Brennan (EDITORS@BROWNVM.BITNET)
Mon, 6 Sep 1993 17:22:41 EDT
Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 7, No. 0157. Monday, 6 Sep 1993.
Date: 4 Sep 93 22:25:26 +0200
From: Andreas Lund <Slu@oscar.bbb.no>
Subject: teacher training and technology
Regarding Alan Fisher question about technology training and
future teachers:
I read the question (and the response so far) with great
interest. I am one of several co-ordinators engaged by the
Council of Europe to do research and development work. The
project is titled "The use of information and communication
technologies in the learning and teaching of modern languages
in vocationally oriented education [upper secondary (16-19)
and adult education]". Within this framework, several groups
are working on different aspects of information technology and
language learning.
The project I am working on is described below. The literature
on the subject is (as far as I know) sparse. I welcome
opinions, advice, tips etc. from anyone with an interest in
the field.
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PROJECT TITLE: WHETHER, WHERE, WHEN AND HOW TO USE IT
(information technology) IN VOLL (vocationally oriented
language learning)
At the time of writing, this project has been in process for a
year. The group members represent Italy, Switzerland and
Norway, hence the R&D work will bear evidence of learning
conditions in these countries although we believe the issues
involved are universal.
The work of the group has to do with methodology. We have made
the assertion that teachers are in need of a methodological
approach to the use of IT, technical know-how is not enough.
The aim is to furnish teachers, administrators and teacher
training colleges with methodological guidelines on how to use
and benefit from the powerful tools that IT represents.
The R&D work has concentrated on two major approaches:
A) Teachers in the three countries in question have filled in
and returned a rather extensive questionnaire. The results
have been analysed and will form the first part of the final
report. This part of the projects tries to uncover teachers'
attitudes and approaches to VOLL, to learners' needs, and
knowledge of, access to and influence on the use of IT in
VOLL. This analysis and our own ideas on the subject will form
the basis of a discussion on methodological guidelines for
teachers venturing into the IT/VOLL field. Talks with
business executives and teacher trainers will also be some of
the background for this section.
B) A set of quite different case studies will document and
concretize these guidelines. The case studies reflect
classroom experience, both from "ordinary" and experimental
forms. The idea is to present a top-down approach where
instead of starting with the software and looking for
possibilities, we start by looking at goals, learning
strategies and illustrate how they can (or cannot!) be
achieved through IT. A spin-off will be a list of software
used in the case studies, but again evaluated in relation to
their methodological possibilities and implications.
At present, the outline of the final document looks like this:
1. INTRODUCTION
Reasons for the project, discussion of teacher needs,
assertions
2. INTERPRETATION OF QUESTIONNAIRE
An analysis of data from the separate countries will be
followed by a comparison to highlight most important findings,
differences and similarities.
3. METHODOLOGICAL GUIDELINES
Various approaches to language teaching in the light of new
technology
4. CASE STUDIES
i) Written communication by E-mail
ii) Text construction in a Hypertext environment
iii) Workplace simulation in an IT environment
iv) Text manipulation through IT
v) IT as trigger for oral communication
vi) Differentiated learning through IT
5. REFERENCE LIST WITH TYPOLOGY
Software evaluated and described according to its use in the
case studies
APPENDIX: QUESTIONNAIRE (ORIGINAL)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
**************************************************************
That's it, I welcome any response from HUMANISTs.
Andreas Lund
Brekkeby vgs
N-3727 Skien
Norway
slu@bbb.no