#9: Role of the Educator

Just as we do not think students should take a passive approach to their own learning, neither should we want the same for educators. If we are to transition into the new digital classroom, more than application and training is required. Perhaps teachers should be involved in the actual design of these web based programs.

As I looked for games, web based tools, etc. most of what I found was off of teacher blogs or websites created by teachers. Very few tools I found were for sale and I think this research, what is not there, is important to note. Obviously there are barriers, especially if you have a strict curriculum, but you can still take the standards students need to meet, and create multimedia experiences for students.

I mention the attitude of teachers as a problem in my earlier post, but teacher's attitudes can also be a driving force for these new changes in grammar instruction. It is true that new technologies have contributed to redefiniton of roles for learners and students but if we can embrace and recognize these shifts, we can create a student centered classroom that is meanigful. I mentioned also that individualization is a major advantage of web-based grammar instruction, but what I did not mention was the role of the educator in this process. It is the job of the educator to assess students needs, abilities and interests in order to provide effective resources and materials. This is no different than what teachers in a traditional classroom do everyday but there is a need to update concepts of multimedia, tailoring instruction to different student's needs for languge/grammar learning.

In an experimental study on the effectiveness of multimedia tools, the researcher argues that teachers should "offer visual audio impact, that is, teachers organize materials that are used to help in their lesson preparation, providing texts, sound, digital video grammar or vocabulary exercises that can be used in class"(93) in order to be able to explore individually and present findings. In addition, the software itself should integrate virtual real situations, collaboration, conversation and meaningful construction. No matter what your position on the grammar debate, I think it is important to recognize the shifts in roles. To put students at the center of the classroom, more in control of their learning, requires a step back from teachers but also a step forward when it comes to training and research of these new mulitmedia web based tools.

Works Cited:

1. Garcia, Mercedes Rico and Filomena Vinagre Arias. "A Comparative Study in Motivation and Learning through Print-Oriented and Computer-Oriented Tasks." Computer Assisted Language Learning. Vol. 13. No. 4-5. pp 457-465.

2. Liu, Jing. "An Experimental Study on the Effectiveness of Multimedia in College English Teaching." English Language Teaching. Vol. 3. No. 1. March 2010. pp 191-194.