The Digital Teacher Blog
– Learn from the experiences of fellow teachers as they experiment with technology in teaching.
Blog post List
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Managing digital distractions.
The use of personal devices in the classroom (laptops, tablets and smartphones) can offer exciting opportunities to deepen learning through research, creativity...
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Helping learners manage their digital footprint.
The emergence of the internet has created new and exciting opportunities for young people; they are deeply involved in social media creating content, expressing themselves and building communities like never before. But these very opportunities can also expose them to serious new hazards, such as creating a permanent record of negative content that might be impossible to remove.
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Improving speaking skills with smartphones.
I’ve been reflecting a lot on my teaching practice recently to identify ways I can help support learners develop their speaking skills, be more aware of their own strengths and weaknesses and become more confident communicators. This seems particularly relevant to exam preparation classes in which learners often seem reluctant to practise speaking skills in class out of fear of making mistakes.
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What to do when technology lets you down.
I learned to teach in Turkey and for my first teaching practice, I found myself teaching an evening lesson on the past continuous and past simple. As it was my first lesson, I was pair teaching with another student teacher, Liz. We hadn’t met the class before, but we had this great idea of doing a murder mystery lesson.
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Making the right digital choices.
I remember the days when we used to struggle to find authentic materials to use in our classrooms, like magazine articles or leaflets, and the endless hours spent creating beautiful flashcards and wallcharts. Luckily for us now, with computers and access to the internet, we have instant access to a vast number of resources to use in the classroom.
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Digital welfare and e-safety for learners.
Effective use of technology can revolutionise language learning and teaching allowing us to connect and share beyond the boundaries of the classroom. However, as well as increasing learning opportunities, it can also present very real and serious risks for the uninformed (Becta, 2005). A challenge for educators, therefore, is how to increase their learners’ learning opportunities without promoting potential risks associated with internet use.
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How AI will reboot language learning.
More people learn English through technology than by any other means. Out of 1.5 billion English language learners across the globe, only a fraction have the resources or access to learn the language through formal teaching.
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Learning with MOOCs.
When I first heard about Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) I became very excited and wanted to get to know more about them. After all, my first encounter with distance learning was when I was still a teenager and, as far as I remember, the experience had been mostly positive.
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How to use TechSmith Jing for feedback.
A useful tool I have experimented with to give feedback on student writing is TechSmith Jing, a free online video and screencasting tool that can be downloaded to Mac or PC.
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My quest for digital technologies to promote learner autonomy.
One of the great benefits of learner autonomy is that it allows learners to learn things that interest them without having to constantly rely on their teachers.
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How to choose digital resources and tools for your classroom.
Do you find it confusing to choose the best digital learning products and tools for your classrooms and your learners? English teachers invariably want to give their learners the best opportunities for learning, engaging with and using English.
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Opening up professional development.
Why is it that despite a having a plethora of electronic devices, apps and software at our disposal to facilitate global communication, our communication skills seem to have deteriorated considerably?
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Using WhatsApp as a motivational tool for FCE writing.
Take a look at any group of teenagers queuing outside the classroom and you’ll find them glued to their smartphones as if the phone were a biomechanical extension of their arms.
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Striving to embrace the digital classroom.
Many teachers get excited when they imagine the digital classroom and all the things that can be done in it, at the touch of a screen. I had the opportunity to use an iPad when I worked in a school, but I really didn’t like the experience at all.
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Empowering learners through Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL).
Digital technologies have changed the way we communicate, think, and most importantly, teach and learn. In a society that is now permeated with digital devices and technological advances, teaching professionals have been exposed to a plethora of materials and tools to support them and their learners in the language learning process.
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Learning from EdTech.
The field of English language teaching (ELT) could learn much from the successes and failures of EdTech innovations in the wider world of health, business and broader education. Trends such as speech-enabled technologies and augmented and virtual reality offer the potential to enhance authenticity in learning both inside and outside the classroom.