Week_2: Who's in the drivers seat?

   Well, the topics of this week have been quite interesting and have spurred much conversation within the DTLT forum while concurrently jolting the jammed gears of my mind into action. To begin, we were asked to ponder whether language teachers are at the forefront of those implementing technology into our profession and to identify a range of drivers that make technology implementation necessary. After a short moment of thought I quickly concluded that though I aspire one day to stand in the front ranks of some progressive movement, I currently would place myself near the back of the procession with the old grumbly grey hairs who moan and groan about the demise of ancient practices and bemoan their technologically superior, efficient successors.

   Now, in defense of my character and dedication to professionalism, I must shake off some of the blame and say that my stagnant pedagogy is heavily influenced by the severe lack of structure and resources in my current place of work, but being cognizant of these challenges and my defunct technological skills makes it all the more necessary that I devise a way to incorporate technology into my lessons. What I find quite interesting, or perhaps a more appropriate expression would be peculiar, is the fact that what drives the necessity of technological tools is the lack of any in my working climate. As I have mentioned on the Week 2 forum, my school is located far from the city center out in the windswept, undeveloped desert. Other than a feeble Wi-Fi signal, there is a severe lack of integrated technology in our school. There are Ipads but their use is restricted to the library, which, naturally is, "under construction" and will open soon, inshallah.

    In an attempt to be creative and overcome these developing country obstacles, I encourage students to use their blackberries and other fancy phones as dictionaries since adolescent boys have a chronically severe aversion to touching books...even in the classroom believe it or not. Rather than have students write spelling words and lesson related notes on paper, I encourage them to type them and save them as memos on their mobiles or personal computers. This has been mildly successful, especially for the boys who have not mastered letter formation for the English alphabet and struggle to write more than a few sentences before becoming exasperated. Typing notes on the phone also serves as an organizational process that we hope will become habit with our boys as they struggle to keep up with papers, pens, and subject books and do not carry back packs or messenger bags to school.

   Upon further reflection, it is my opinion that in the minds of some children a dictionary and pencil are perceived as high energy requiring, inefficient tools that pale in comparison to the tech tools available today and though there are plenty of people (myself included) that will point out the fundamental skills developed from using a pencil, searching for words in a dictionary and reading a book, as an educator I must first do what is best for the students learning style and I must also find a way to function effectively regardless of the challenges presented in this environment. In short, I am obliged to take actions that address the reality of the situation here and perhaps it is the students who are the drivers of technology!