My first lesson learned at abla 2016

Taken from http://www.relacionesculturales.edu.mx/abla-2016/

My First Lesson Learned at ABLA 2016 “Living and Learning Online”

By Prof. Jonathan Acuña-Solano, M. Ed. School of English Faculty of Social Sciences Universidad Latina de Costa Rica Friday, August 26, 2016 Post 285

Is education keeping up with the new technologies that are available for us to boost student learning? In spite of the fact that we are now living in a technologyrich environment, we teachers constantly ask ourselves whether students are ready to use technology to learn autonomously or if instructors are also ready for the quantum leap towards the integration of technology for teaching and learning purposes. My very personal position has always been that learners are quite good at smartphone use and apps but not necessarily savvy when technology is used for other purposes than social media. At the ABLA Convention in Houston I met many other Latin American teachers who agree that learners are not fundamentally ready to utilize technology to further their learning.

A Technology-Rich Virtual Environment Education and technology, especially in the 21st Century, walk hand in hand to promote and sustain learning. Our learning and teaching realities imply living in a technology-rich environment that is here to aid learners in the building of their knowledge and use of that knowledge to speak a foreign language, to develop skills and competencies to perform new jobs, and so on. But how is technology used by teachers and learners nowadays? Experience shows us that entertainment and communication peak the uses of technology by either group. But how about learning? It is undeniable that many people do use virtual environments accessed through smartphones, tablets, or any other portable technology to learn autonomously. However, a vast majority still uses technology for very trivial, trifling, and shallow purposes.

Many educators have the pervasive assumption that students will use technology for learning. As Bernáldez (2016) stressed during her ABLA presentation abstract, “just because today’s students have grown up in a technology-rich world does not mean that they know how to effectively and responsibly utilize technology” for learning. But the same is true about educators who may not know how to “effectively and responsibly” use technological resources to boost learning. “It is a common misconception that today’s learners can seamlessly transition from the routine use of devices for personal reasons to using them for learning, research, and enhanced productivity” [ CITATION Ber16 \l 5130 ]. But it is also a “seamless” assumption that teachers can also start using devices such as tablets and phones to potentiate learning.

Prof. Jonathan Acuña in his five minutes of fame during Bernáldez’s “Living and Learning Online” presentation

A Quantum Leap in Learning: Are We There Yet? During Bernáldez’s presentation, the adience was asked whether they had a Facebook user’s profile. The answer from the audience in the ballroom was an almost resounding yes. Bernáldez changed her question and re-stated it by asking the audience who did not have a Facebook profile, and being there myself, I had to raise my hand to stand tall for those of us who do not believe in a social media network as Facebook. When I was asked to share with my peers in the room why I refused to join this kind of social media, I got immediately reminded of the way people are living their online lives. “What kind of online imprint are you leaving online,” I asked the audience. “If your name were typed on Google, what kind of result would we get? And would you like your students to see that information regarding your personal life?” were two other questions I asked participants. In this business of education, it is a better idea to have a professional online imprint that can speak better of who you are and not of that other imprint that taken out of context can be interpreted wrongly by learners and contractors.

But more importantly than what Facebook represents for many people is the lack of self- and instructor-oriented training that teachers deserve to make learning take place with technology. What has been done by instructors to use technology “effectively and responsibly?” Based on what I was able to discuss with many of the ABLA participants, some instructors have been diligently working on their development, but this does not apply to all the people who teach in their binational centers. And what has been done by these institutions? In the cultural center where I work, we have done a lot, and still we are not satisfied with the results we are getting. Other binational centers are in the planning phase to approach personnel who deals with students, learning objectives, and the use of technology. But still the question that needs to be posed is, “how can our learners be trained to use the gamut of technology that can be used to foster and boost learning?”

Some Simple Conclusions There is no doubt that the potential that social media has is immense. We need to question ourselves why it is this boundless amount of technology underused by students and teachers to make it work for learning. The trifle use of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and so on will not produce any good learning in our students if their mindset is not changed. The need for a more in-depth comprehension of online and mobile learning is needed by binational centers, teaching personnel, and learners as well. If binational centers such as the one in Uruguay and Chile do use this technology-rich environment to help their learners improve their English language skills, one gets to question oneself what “magical solution” they were able to find to boost autonomous learning in hybrid language programs.

Reference

Bernรกldez, B. (2016, August 16 - 19). Living and Learning Online. 21st Century Challenges, ABLA 2016 Houston, Texas Convention Program . Monterrey, Nuevo Leรณn, Mexico: Instituto Mexicano Norteamericano de Relaciones Culturales.