Learn English
Last weekend I completed the two-week 'Blogs' course offered by the consultants-e. I was motivated to do the course mainly in order to get some guidance and receive a final push towards using blogs myself, so having finished that, I am starting. Many thanks to Nicky and Andrei.
I've been reading blogs for a while now and becoming far more aware of what is happening in the field of education, particularly elt, online. It's something I've only really had the opportunity to get into as a result of having bought a laptop and got an internet connection at home for the first time, something that's never previously been feasible in any of the places I've lived. There seems to be a fair amount of online discussion as to why more regular teachers aren't taking the opportunity to interact online. I feel that as a newcomer to this world, I have a good idea as to why much of the evangelising about elt in cyberspace is falling on deaf ears.
As a regular efl teacher the contractual period of work is nine months and often internet providers only offer a minimum 12-month contract. It's also quite expensive, at least I think the 35 euros a month I pay in Spain is. On top of that, laptops aren't exactly cheap, not all teachers can afford them and buying a pc is unrealistic due to the need for flexibility. This expense is an important issue.
Despite this, there seem to be thousands of teachers looking for materials and ideas online, as schools do generally offer decent facilities nowadays, but of this number only a few hundred seem to blog or comment. Reading a discussion on Ken Wilson's blog the other day, there were a few interesting points raised about how many teachers were actually part of an online community. There are a lot, but whilst browsing many blogs I see the same names, over and over again. It feels like a clique. What's more, many names are 'famous', in elt world. Woah! Hang on, am I allowed to comment here? What if Scott Thornbury disagrees with me? I might put my foot in a large grammar shaped hole.
If you're reading this, first of all, thank you. Now, look at the profiles of elt bloggers out there. How many of them are just teachers? Not teacher trainers. Not managers or senior staff. Not course book writers or freelancers. Not teaching in Universities. Not teaching in US state schools. The regular short contract, under-paid, over-worked efl teaching staff do not have a big presence online. Some may lurk, though I doubt that all but a low percentage of teachers worldwide have the time or inclination to spend time browsing the blogosphere.
Back in the real world, thinking of my colleagues, I regularly pass on ideas to them which I've got from blogs and I always tell them where the idea came from, partly in order to promote blogging. The other day we discussed how helpful reading blogs could be, but two of them immediately mentioned that a lack of internet at home meant that they didn't spend much time online. In school we have internet, but outside of planning time, teaching time and online interaction with friends and family abroad, their other time is spent outside the school enjoying some free time.
Another thing for me is that there is something a bit evangelical about elt online, pious with an unwelcome dose of self-help life coaching. This often comes across as smug and annoying, which most teachers with a healthy level of cynicism will notice and easily come to the conclusion that it's not for them. After all, having had IWBs enthusiastically rolled out only to discover that they're not actually that great, how much more techno-evangelising can anyone take?
Related to various points above, one conclusion that I have reached is that many English language teachers just don't care. How many are in it for the long term? Only yesterday a colleague with around a year's experience was considering her future. "What are your plans for next year?" I asked, 'Well, it's probably about time I settled back in the UK and got a proper job', she replied.
Twittering
I have recently started using twitter properly, having signed up last November and found it fairly useless. Then I discovered a friend and former colleague on there and made a few more connections, now it feels useful, many thanks to @annapires. I've come across loads of new blogs to read and followed links to dozens of interesting sites. However, I notice the amount of time some people seem to spend online and I'm amazed. Do these people actually teach? Do they ever disconnect from their computer? Do they eat? I've come to the conclusion that the ever active and informative @shellterrell must really be a whole team of people working round the clock to keep #edchat going.
- 30 Websites With Free Esl Teaching Resources
Yesterday, Karen Schweitzer, an experienced freelance writer and copyeditor who also writes for About.com and other education companies, sent me this article with very valuable information about Free ESL Teaching Resources.Every teacher needs a little...
- Fecei Madrid
Last Saturday I had the wonderful opportunity to talk at the inaugural FECEI conference in Madrid. It was a very successful and extremely well organised event that attracted a good number of teachers from all over Spain. It was the first time I've...
- Pln: What Does It Mean To You?
A Personal Learning Nebula!Over on Gavin Dudeney's blog his latest post outlines a critique of personal learning networks particularly in reference to that associated with ELT. He also questions how useful twitter really is in allowing learning to...
- 'blended' Learning And The Social Media Revolution
So, this socio-constructivist, all fingers to the keyboard, online, blended-learning thing is the way forward, isn't? Everybody should get online and interact. It's the business! I have been considering recently what I will investigate for...
- The Power Of A Blog
I have enjoyed the last week massively. I've had a huge 'lift-off' moment, I suppose, with regards to my online presence. I was moved to write my previous post by a comment on the notorious TurkishTefl blog and suddenly found myself being...
Learn English
Teachers Online
Last weekend I completed the two-week 'Blogs' course offered by the consultants-e. I was motivated to do the course mainly in order to get some guidance and receive a final push towards using blogs myself, so having finished that, I am starting. Many thanks to Nicky and Andrei.
I've been reading blogs for a while now and becoming far more aware of what is happening in the field of education, particularly elt, online. It's something I've only really had the opportunity to get into as a result of having bought a laptop and got an internet connection at home for the first time, something that's never previously been feasible in any of the places I've lived. There seems to be a fair amount of online discussion as to why more regular teachers aren't taking the opportunity to interact online. I feel that as a newcomer to this world, I have a good idea as to why much of the evangelising about elt in cyberspace is falling on deaf ears.
As a regular efl teacher the contractual period of work is nine months and often internet providers only offer a minimum 12-month contract. It's also quite expensive, at least I think the 35 euros a month I pay in Spain is. On top of that, laptops aren't exactly cheap, not all teachers can afford them and buying a pc is unrealistic due to the need for flexibility. This expense is an important issue.
Despite this, there seem to be thousands of teachers looking for materials and ideas online, as schools do generally offer decent facilities nowadays, but of this number only a few hundred seem to blog or comment. Reading a discussion on Ken Wilson's blog the other day, there were a few interesting points raised about how many teachers were actually part of an online community. There are a lot, but whilst browsing many blogs I see the same names, over and over again. It feels like a clique. What's more, many names are 'famous', in elt world. Woah! Hang on, am I allowed to comment here? What if Scott Thornbury disagrees with me? I might put my foot in a large grammar shaped hole.
If you're reading this, first of all, thank you. Now, look at the profiles of elt bloggers out there. How many of them are just teachers? Not teacher trainers. Not managers or senior staff. Not course book writers or freelancers. Not teaching in Universities. Not teaching in US state schools. The regular short contract, under-paid, over-worked efl teaching staff do not have a big presence online. Some may lurk, though I doubt that all but a low percentage of teachers worldwide have the time or inclination to spend time browsing the blogosphere.
Back in the real world, thinking of my colleagues, I regularly pass on ideas to them which I've got from blogs and I always tell them where the idea came from, partly in order to promote blogging. The other day we discussed how helpful reading blogs could be, but two of them immediately mentioned that a lack of internet at home meant that they didn't spend much time online. In school we have internet, but outside of planning time, teaching time and online interaction with friends and family abroad, their other time is spent outside the school enjoying some free time.
Another thing for me is that there is something a bit evangelical about elt online, pious with an unwelcome dose of self-help life coaching. This often comes across as smug and annoying, which most teachers with a healthy level of cynicism will notice and easily come to the conclusion that it's not for them. After all, having had IWBs enthusiastically rolled out only to discover that they're not actually that great, how much more techno-evangelising can anyone take?
Related to various points above, one conclusion that I have reached is that many English language teachers just don't care. How many are in it for the long term? Only yesterday a colleague with around a year's experience was considering her future. "What are your plans for next year?" I asked, 'Well, it's probably about time I settled back in the UK and got a proper job', she replied.
Twittering
I have recently started using twitter properly, having signed up last November and found it fairly useless. Then I discovered a friend and former colleague on there and made a few more connections, now it feels useful, many thanks to @annapires. I've come across loads of new blogs to read and followed links to dozens of interesting sites. However, I notice the amount of time some people seem to spend online and I'm amazed. Do these people actually teach? Do they ever disconnect from their computer? Do they eat? I've come to the conclusion that the ever active and informative @shellterrell must really be a whole team of people working round the clock to keep #edchat going.
- 30 Websites With Free Esl Teaching Resources
Yesterday, Karen Schweitzer, an experienced freelance writer and copyeditor who also writes for About.com and other education companies, sent me this article with very valuable information about Free ESL Teaching Resources.Every teacher needs a little...
- Fecei Madrid
Last Saturday I had the wonderful opportunity to talk at the inaugural FECEI conference in Madrid. It was a very successful and extremely well organised event that attracted a good number of teachers from all over Spain. It was the first time I've...
- Pln: What Does It Mean To You?
A Personal Learning Nebula!Over on Gavin Dudeney's blog his latest post outlines a critique of personal learning networks particularly in reference to that associated with ELT. He also questions how useful twitter really is in allowing learning to...
- 'blended' Learning And The Social Media Revolution
So, this socio-constructivist, all fingers to the keyboard, online, blended-learning thing is the way forward, isn't? Everybody should get online and interact. It's the business! I have been considering recently what I will investigate for...
- The Power Of A Blog
I have enjoyed the last week massively. I've had a huge 'lift-off' moment, I suppose, with regards to my online presence. I was moved to write my previous post by a comment on the notorious TurkishTefl blog and suddenly found myself being...