Dear Students,
We are embarking on the second portion of our journey, and our plane is now ready to take off. You are welcome to stay as a participant or just coast -- the decision is ultimately yours.
During some of my meetings with you last week, we dicussed an online resource prepared by CBC specially for students in Manitoba: CBC Manitoba | EAL
There are many lessons for you to complete as a self-study, and we can start with the latest on the changing world of teaching and learning.
Please click on the link below for you to start this wonderful journey -- we will be using this information during our blog this week.
Re: CBC Manitoba | EAL
http://www.cbc.ca/manitoba/eal/2012/10/the-changing-classroom.html
Position one: technology is necessary for us to improve our language skills
Position two: technology is unnecessary for us to improve our language skills
Hi Students!
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This is our second week of 'virtual blogging,' and I hope more students will join us on this platform.
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The topic for this week is your opinion on the use of technology -- do you find it necessary or unnecessary?
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Please give me your thoughts!
Hello Rita,
DeleteI agree with position two "technology is unnecessary for us to improve our language skills", because I think, that the most necessary thing is not the technology, but our strong will to learn. The library has a huge selection with good and different books. All we have to do is, enter the library and figure out the book or books we need to improve the language.
When we are not sure what book will help us the most than we should ask the librarian, so we could practise our speaking skills.
On the other hand, the technology is helpful for us to improve our language skills, for we can do lots of different exercises. Furthermore, we can decide the time when we want to study.
Although the book are helpful, yet the pronunciation exercises online are very useful.
As you can see, I think that technology is unnecessary, but it is useful.
Thank you so much for your thorough examination of the topic at hand, Olga. I am delighted to see your analytic skills being in use for the purposes of this blog.
DeleteI do agree with you, that "where there is will, there is a way;" therefore, I support both your viewpoint on technology being useful but not as necessary as one's tenacity, determination and will to learn. Well done!
Hello Rita,
DeleteRegarding to the thoughts of my classmates, I would like to add some ideas to my comment.
If a person knows that he/she is able to study more effectively by using the technology than they should use it and improve there language skills.
Also, I understand that in our time the technology is very important, it influenced our life, too.
In addition, I prefer to study by using books because I would like to protect the nature. If everybody use the technology we need much more energy, and I desagree with that.
Quite interesting points you make here, Olga, regarding nature (saving electricity versus saving trees) and the learning styles of individual learners.
DeleteIn your opinion, are 'paper' books less harmful to the environment than 'ebooks'? I the first form of reading more comforting than the latter? I welcome your thoughts!
I thing that technology is necessary for us to improve our english skills.Look around us, there are so many differnt type of technology products that can help us to learn more quackly and fast.For example,if we know more computer skills that will help us to study english online.In addition,we can download some useful material into MP3 for us to study convienient.Tush,technology is useful and handy for us to study.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to our virtual blog, Feng! Nice to see you here.
ReplyDeleteI am so happy to read about your viewpoint on technology, and I support all your points regarding the various tools available for teaching and learning with technology.
Please continue posting your comments, and, if time allows, visit the CBC lesson website,
Hi Rita
ReplyDeleteI agree with position two,and I have a couple of opinions want to speak out.While I am driving,I will listen the CBC news,it is quite well to improve listening.However,there are some of oral words and some of topic we are not familiar with before,and it will cause us hard to catch up.Such as they talked about movies;stars;hockey ect.what we never hearded about before.Therefore,I think we would better focus on the daily conversation.By the way,everything can practise our English,can't it?
Thank you for joining us on this discussion, Wei! The topic of whether to use or not to use technological tools to enhance our teaching and learning is a hot topic right now.
ReplyDeleteI admire you for listening to the radio 'in English' while driving; however, it would be a better learning experience if you clicked on the link in this blog for "CBC for EAL students" and learn the vocabulary first, and then listen to the podcast.
Please let me know what you think!
Hi Rita, I am on favour of position two. There many idea of supporting this opinion; however, I would like to talk the main concept. In my opinion, technology is optional method for studing English. Of course, I believe technological tools to enhance our learning are useful, for it is easy to find word, and for examples by using internet, electronic dictionary, ipot, and etc. In addition, the direction of teaching and learning way is constantly changing using technology, especialy using Internet. Because, this method has many advantages. For example, a material is not burned up when we use it which is in online, furthermore everyone can get the material even if they live far away form the source. However, I still think technology is a additional method for study English. We can use paper dictionary instead of electronic dictionary, we can search a information in a book instead of Internet, and we can join a class instad of a vitual class in Youtube or Podcast. If we know how to use technology, it will be a good way to learn English, however it still okay if we do not know using the method. For this reason, I think technology is unnecessary for us to improve our language skills.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments, Hyejin. You state that "technology is an optional study method," am I correct?
DeleteAs mentioned to one of your colleagues in a recent post, as a young adult, your needs are different from those of a more mature student; therefore, iPods, podcast, YouTube videos and interactive Powerpoints will make your learning experiences more pleasant.
Furthermore, in a world aiming to be 'green,' a paperless classroom would be ideal. This is only possible if one incorporates more online learning in the program of studies, such as CBC online lessons.
As proposed to another classmate of yours, I would be interested in hearing from you suggestions about how to incorporate a little more technology in our teaching and learning this term?.
By the way, have you had a chance to login to the CBC learning lesson yet? I look forward to your feedback!
Oh, I found serious erros in my latest post... I am so sorry for I was missing some verbs in the comment. I will try to reduce mistake.
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Yes, Rita. You were correct. I am on favour of "technology is unnecessary for us to improve our language skills," and my opinion is "technology is an optional study method."
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Honestly, I do not like using technology too much; therefore, I think our class is fine the way it is. We use video instructor, tape instructor, and computer programs. Furthermore, you made this blog, so in my opinion, it is okay to use technology.
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Honestly one more, I have not had a chance to login to the CBC learning lesson yet. I think I will use it when I am on this winter vacation and I volunteer instead of your class.
Thank you so much for your comments.
DeleteThank you also for identifying discrepancies in your writing. This is a wonderful way to learn and improve.
Hi dear Rita!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree that technology is necessary for us to enhance our language skills. Because, I think if there wasn't any technology how we could listen to English tapes or how we could do some of homework with camputer and enjoy it and so on.Without TV, Camputer, radio, or others technology devices, which help us to improve our English, how we could reach our goals. For example, I am a young girl and I don't like to sit at one place and just read book, it will be boring and tiresome for me; therefore, after some days I quit doing it. As a result, I believe for developing effectiveness of learning, learners should make diversification in the methods they use. Using different technology tools diversify our life and keep us energetic and enthusiastic and motivated to learn. I support my friend's idea that It is our will that push us in learning, however, I believe will is just a motive to start. Students need to keep their motive alive to continue.
Thank you for your comments, Parisa. Thank you also for your phrases re: "diversification in the methods they use."
ReplyDeleteAs a young adult, your needs are different from those of a more mature student; therefore, iPods, podcast, YouTube videos and interactive Powerpoints will make your learning experiences more pleasant.
How do you suggest we incorporate a little more technology in our teaching and learning this term? Have you had a chance to login to the CBC learning lesson yet? I look forward to your feedback!
Hi Rita,
ReplyDeleteI have more agreement with position two. Although I am a young people, I do not think technology is necessary for us to improve our language skills.
In my opinion, we need to focus on learning English at anytime when we want to improve these skills. As I know, many of our classmates have problem with their computer skills; furthermore, they need to part time away from learning English to learn computers. For example, in order to ensured that everyone has joined the bolg last week, we had to spent a whole lesson time to have a lab class; therefore, I think it is a kind of wast. Instead of using technology to learning English, I prefer using traditional method, such as reading newspapers, magazines, books in libraries.
However, technology can give us more choices and informations for self-study. Moreover, technology is very helpful for our study; nevertheless, it is not necessary for us to improve our language skills.
Hi Jason, I am so happy that you were finally able to join our blog. We missed you in class today, and I hope everything is OK!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that sometimes it takes time to get everyone ready either for a classroom project or a computer lab one. However, I believe that time spent learning something and/or teaching something to a classmate is always time well spent.
Regarding the reading you suggest, this is such a coincidence! We will all be going to the main public library tomorrow to do research for our Canadian studies project and to borrow a book/CD package for our 'additional reading' outside the classroom.
As for your quote: "I prefer using traditional method, such as reading newspapers, magazines, books in libraries," I am surprised! You hardly finished the last newspaper we read in class (Manitoba Prospects). Would you rather read a different type of news print instead?
I welcome your thoughts!
Hi Rita,thank you for taking time to reply our comments.I have read above some of comments from my classmates.Therefore, I do agree their thoughts with both ways.However,I want to tell you a interest thought that bump up from my mine.Mean while,I felt that if I could not catch up some of tecnology skills,it might create barries to communicaction between the generations.As a result,I think that te cnology is importain to relate our lives.
ReplyDeleteHi Feng, thank you so much for your insightful comment regarding technology, its importance and how you fell about its use in our teaching and learning.
ReplyDeleteWe are learning together,Feng, and the best way to achieve our goals is to continue to 'take risks' and get our hands down on the keyboard and accomplish each task whichever size it may be -- send an email or create a PowerPoint presentation.
Please let me know how I can be of help, and take every chance you get to use the laptop in the classroom, ok? Thank you!