Barriers to the Effective Use of Technology in Education

“Time stays long enough for those who use it.” – Leonardo Da Vinci

“He that rises late must trot all day.” – Benjamin Franklin

I will admit, without any reluctance, to not being the most efficient person when it comes to time management.  It takes me forever to ‘get going’ in the mornings; I obsess over tiny details instead of just getting on with the job; I waste hours in consideration of the fact that I don’t have enough time to get everything done.  So it was no surprise to me to read that “time consistently is considered one of the biggest barriers to the integration of learning technologies”.*

It is a well-voiced fact that teachers feel constantly constrained by available time.  (I’m sure I’ll comment further on this when I am qualified).  And what could be less time effective than having to learn a new technology to integrate into yet another late-night lesson planning session?  

The Lisa Donaldson article quoted above includes a case study “examining the question ‘how can higher level educators be best supported in their adoption and integration of learning technologies?’”**  In it, it is claimed that “100% of participating educators strongly believe that technology has a place in the classroom indicating it is not an attitudinal shift in educators that is required”.***  So what can be done to improve the situation for teachers?

Donaldson concludes that:

“The research has indicated a number of measures that Institutions should consider to help

support their lecturers on this journey towards pedagogical innovation:

• Develop a suite of online resources enabling lecturers to learn in their own time with

online tutor support available.

• Develop online resources illustrating examples of use which are practically focused

and offer immediate benefits to the educator for teaching and learning activities.

• Establish a regular schedule of professional development training for educators to

engender confidence and reduce technical anxiety. The schedule should include a

regular, perhaps quarterly, series of technology peer sharing workshops to enable the

sharing of best practice examples.

• Assign eLearning mentors or champions to work with and support lecturers locally.

Make time. The assimilation and subsequent integration of learning technologies in the

classroom will take time. Ensure that educators and institutional heads understand that time

will need to be dedicated to achieve the huge potential that technology offers to education.”

****

Time.  The word surfaces over and over again.

An ALT (Association for Learning Technology) survey on ‘the effective use of learning technology in education’ reaches similar conclusions.  Again “lack of time” is cited as a major barrier.  As is “lack of resource to provide release and support for staff to enable them to incorporate technology in their practices”, which time constitutes a significant part of.  The ALT survey’s suggestions to “encourage effective innovation in learning technology” includes the following subsection: 

“Build in time for continuing teacher development

• Allow time for the champions and time for the colleagues they are mentoring.

• Allow time to experiment.

• Establish mandatory training with time provided.

• Allow thinking, planning and reporting time for practitioners.

• Teaching is about experimentation and not always getting it right, this leads itself to trying out technology.

• Make time and staff available to support users in creating innovative ideas.

• Make staff use technologies in their development at the Institution.

• Time and staff available to train staff in the basics to get the confident and competent enough to want to be innovative.

• Give appropriate, adequate, regular training to staff and students.”

There are, of course, numerous other barriers to consider – both from a teacher and a student perspective.  These might include:

• Limited funding to purchase new technology

• Lack of motivation amongst staff

• No unified good practice guidance from the school

• Little or no teacher credit for the inclusion of learning technology

• Lack of confidence in the teacher’s own skills and knowledge

• Students who do not have access to up-to-date technology

• Abuse of social media amongst students

• Disbelief in the benefits of learning technology

And so on.  The primary concern, however, does seem to revolve around time: finding the time to learn, finding the time to incorporate learning technologies, and finding the time to assess the success of those learning technologies which have been implemented.  I am sold on the ALT survey’s assertion that “teaching is about experimentation”.  I have learnt this myself over many years as a ski instructor.  Unless teachers are provided with the breathing space to experiment, perhaps the inclusion of learning technologies will continue to be a subject more talked about than enacted.

Time and the lack thereof, though, must also be considered alongside the teachers’ attitude towards technology.  If the teacher does not have a natural inclination towards technological advancement, they are unlikely to spend that limited time which is available to them exploring technological possibilities.  This quote is a neat and amusing encompassment of the problem.

“When a man sits with a pretty girl for an hour, it seems like a minute. But let him sit on a hot stove for a minute — then it’s longer than any hour. That’s relativity!” – Albert Einstein

* Integrating Web 2.0 Learning Technologies in Higher Education: The Necessity, The Barriers And The Factors For Success.  Lisa Donaldson. (http://ojs.aishe.org/index.php/aishe-j/article/view/202) pp. 13

** Lisa Donaldson. (http://ojs.aishe.org/index.php/aishe-j/article/view/202) pp. 4

*** Lisa Donaldson. (http://ojs.aishe.org/index.php/aishe-j/article/view/202) pp. 14

**** Lisa Donaldson. (http://ojs.aishe.org/index.php/aishe-j/article/view/202) pp. 17

Driving Forward with Google Drive

I’ve often found myself becoming frustrated, in the past, with the hassle of technology; with all the clicking and tab opening and copying and pasting.  And now, I have been introduced to Google Drive!  What a treat – to have everything available in one place, saved and neatly packaged, and readily available to access from another computer.  I love this idea!  I have already used it to make feedback forms for a class, and it is so SO easy to use.  And it’s no doubt a great paper saving tool, too. 

The Value of Mobile Technology in Teaching and Learning

My personal experience with mobile technology and learning starts and ends with the odd dabble with Google – employed, usually, to resolve an argument with friends over some fact or other.  I have never really considered mobile technology as a learning aid.  But I suppose that even something so simple as fact checking the distance from one country to another, or the correct spelling of an unfamiliar word, is a learning experience in itself.

I recently read this British Council blog, authored by ‘educator, multimedia author and editor’ Joanna Norton, entitled ‘Teaching Tips: How Students can use their Mobile Phones to Learn English’.

In it, she notes that:

“Camera phones provide a great way to ask learners to ‘notice’ grammar around them. You can encourage students to take photos of street signs, menus, advertisements, or other examples of written English that they see around them. Spotting the misuse of apostrophes (‘s) or noticing incorrect spelling are my favourites.”

I make these observations ALL THE TIME!  I don’t take photos of the offenders, but how many times have I pulled up behind a white van assuring me that ‘no job is to small’ or winced at a sign offering to clean your ‘window’s’?  So, why not make this a learning tool?  Why not encourage my students to do the same?  It seems an obvious way to get teenage learners engaged.  And this kind of learning could be sustainable over a term: for example, learners could be asked to collate images of bad grammar to build a Pinterest board which would in turn generate discussion.

But, what considerations do we, as teachers, need to keep in mind when incorporating mobile technology into our teaching?

The Universities and Colleges Information Systems Association (UCISA) have issued a good practice guide entitled ‘Mobile learning: how mobile technologies can enhance the learning experience’, which contains a handful of case studies pertaining to the various uses of mobile technology.  One of these studies – ‘Warning! Modelling effective mobile learning is infectious. An example from higher education’ (Chrissi Nerantzi, Juliette Wilson, Nadine Munro, Gemma Lace-Costigan and Neil Currie, University of Salford) – notes that: 

“The student body is more diverse than ever and technological advancements are shaping how we live. Learning and teaching are changing too. Increasingly we talk about networked and connectivist pedagogies, the need for more flexibility and openness in our offer as well as lifewide and lifelong learning and professional development. Mobile devices are making it possible to seamlessly integrate learning and teaching supported by technology in and outside the physical classroom in on and off campus based programmes in new and exciting ways (Conole and Alevizou, 2010). However, a deep knowledge and understanding of digital literacies are required to make mobile learning work well for teachers and students to maximise learning (Aviram and Eshet-Alkalai, 2006; Johnson et al, 2013).”

The phrase that interests me most here is this one: “Increasingly we talk about networked and connectivist pedagogies”.  This is the aspect of mobile learning that really appeals to me – the potential it has to help combine and share ideas.  Incidentally, this is also what I have found most exciting about my first experience of blogging – look at all those people out there, typing away, handing you their ideas.

I will return to the British Council blogpost I mentioned earlier.  It is just a short post, but it’s a mine of ideas, and already those ideas have begun to encourage my own. 

Joanna Norton tells us that: 

“Another useful tool is the recording function on mobile devices. Here are three examples:

1) Learners can record themselves speaking English and share it with friends, who can offer feedback. This is a great opportunity to practise pronunciation.

2) Learners can record conversations with native speakers on a range of topics and integrate them into projects.

3) Learners can use the microphone creatively, and incorporate voice recordings into edited videos.

Mobile technology turns the question ‘What did you do last weekend?’ into a personal story,

 as learners can share with the group photos or videos of what they did, where they went, and how they felt. They can also share their social media activity, providing an opportunity to explore what their friends thought of the weekend.”

So, how about having an English student record themselves reading a Shakespeare soliloquy on their mobile phone – wouldn’t that bring the language to life for them?  How about having each class member record themselves reading a poem and then editing them together so that it becomes a class performance – wouldn’t that deepen understanding?

The aforementioned UCISA case study regards ‘connectedness’ as the best result of mobile learning.  It says:

“The biggest bonus for the tutor and students is, in our opinion, more flexible and extended opportunities for connectedness, on the go support and troubleshooting, but also the exchange of ideas and learning opportunities. These are not necessarily led by the tutor, but more through peer to peer learning, a desirable and powerful reciprocal learning motivator that also makes learning more enjoyable (Boud, 2001).”

And as much as I might have wanted to, before I started writing this blog, I cannot see the negative in that.  Do I believe mobile technology plays too big a part in our day-to-day lives?  Yes!  Do I want, in teaching English, to promote books and reading off actual paper more than anything else?  Yes!  Am I being forced, by increments, to admit that mobile technology might just have a place in the classroom?  Well, yes, I suppose I am.  So long as it is aiding the learning rather than leading it, I suppose I am. 

I might not be quite ready to admit it yet, but it’s a resource I fully intend to utilise. 

The Fattening Blog

Now that my blog is growing fatter, I decided to input it into Wordle to take a look at the developing themes.  Here is the result:

I screenshotted this image using the Snipping Tool on my laptop - which is a tool I only recently learnt about, but have made frequent use of since.  For those of you who aren't aware of it, it can be found via a simple search.  Open up your start-up menu, type 'snipping tool' into the search bar, and there it is, ready to start snipping.  Easy to use and endlessly useful!

How Technology Has Changed the Way We Learn

OR … Has Technology Changed the Way We Learn?

Don’t tell anyone – it’s something of a secret – but I am 28 years of age.  The reason I’m divulging this information is because, when I completed my GCSEs in the early 2000s, my school did not offer an ICT GCSE.  You might find this surprising.  I am still, just about, under 30; I received a standard state secondary education; I had a computer in my home at the time.  But I was not offered the opportunity to continue my ICT education past the age of 14.  

In his speech to the Schools Network in January 2012, Michael Gove emphasised the pace at which technology is changing thus:

“If you were trying to build an iPhone using equivalent components from the 1980s […] just how big would that phone be? Running through all the parts - from the antennas to the batteries to the GPS to the gyroscope to the accelerometer to the cameras to the mobile computing capability and more - New Scientist concludes you would need a truck to haul around an iPhone built of 1985 parts. We’ve gone from an 18-wheeler to a pocket in just 26 years.”

This is an interesting example.  My own experience, though, is more immediate still.  I was born in the 1980s, I’ve owned a mobile phone since I was 13.  And yet, those who were determined to study an ICT GCSE at my school were forced to do so in their own time, at a local college.  I did not lament this situation.  I had as much interest in technology then as I do now – very little.  However, in being forced to study it for the first time since my early teens, I am finding that we can, on occasion, get along quite well together, technology and I.

How, though, has it changed the way we learn?  And how, in fact, will it change the way I plan to teach?

In an earlier speech (of June 2011) to the Royal Society, Michael Gove had discussed the means by which maths and science standards and the quality of teaching in these subject areas could be improved.  His first emphasis, naturally, was on the teacher.  As, in my strong opinion, it should be.  

“A teacher affects eternity:

he can never tell where his influence stops.”

Henry Adams

He then noted that “In addition to the debate over what is taught, and the issue of who does the teaching, we […] need to think about how the teaching takes place.”  And subsequently, he went on to discuss how technology can be an effective teacher of mathematics – not if but how.  I found this distinction very interesting.  The argument for or against the use of technology seems to have disappeared altogether in favour of simply considering how we should use it.

But, what of the why we are using it?

Personally, I am still exploring the possibilities of teaching with ICT.  I have never denied being a ‘paper and pen’ girl.  But perhaps it would be prudent of us, as teachers and learners, to continue throughout our practice to ask whether the integration of ICT into lessons is actually doing anything to enhance those lessons …

There is an interesting article by Adrian Kirkwood and Linda Price available via The Open University website (yes, I know, the irony!), which addresses this issue.  It is entitled ‘Technology-enhanced Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: What is ‘enhanced’ and how do we know? A Critical Literature Review’.  In it, the authors consider both whether what they term ‘interventions’ – i.e. those occasions when technology is employed to support learning and teaching, specifically within the higher education sector – enhance learning, and, if they do, whether we can adequately assess that they do so successfully or unsuccessfully.

In researching these TEL (or, Technology Enhanced Learning) interventions, the authors identify three types of intervention:

       1) Replication of existing techniques

       2) Supplementation of existing techniques

       3) Transformation of the learning experience

They claim that the final type, interventions aimed at transforming the learning experience, account for less than one-third of all interventions.  This would suggest that TEL is not changing the way we teach and learn, but simply reinforcing the ways in which we have always taught and learnt.

The authors also highlight difficulties in assessing the achievements of TEL, as there is no clear definition of what constitutes enhanced learning:

“Academics and managers need a clear articulation of what is meant by technology enhanced learning in higher education to develop a better understanding of achievements. This is vital if research is to inform future practices in teaching and learning with technology
to maximum effect.” *

Before I comment on these findings, I should reiterate my claim that I am firmly a paper-and-pen girl.  Having reminded you of that, I can happily admit that, as a teacher, my aim would be to use TEL for the first two types of intervention identified above (i.e. replication and supplementation), rather than the transformation of the learning experience.  But perhaps there is nothing wrong with this.  I can see the value of online resources.  I will soon utilise such resources to teach a poetry session – what better way to bring a poem to life than to show my students a video of an actor speaking it?  That certainly surpasses my reading it to them off a dog-eared sheet of A4!

But I can’t help but return in my considerations to the teacher, the teacher, the teacher.  Are we going to lose the teacher in all this technological advancement?  

In their article, Kirkwood and Price conclude that:

“The term TEL is too often used in an unconsidered manner. While technology has increasing influence throughout higher education, there is still much to be learned about its effective educational contribution. This review has highlighted variations in both the purpose of TEL interventions and the ways that enhancement has been conceived. Underpinning this is a conflation of two distinct aims:

changes in the means through which university teaching happens; and

changes in how university teachers teach and learners learn.

Many of the studies reviewed concentrated on the means: replicating and supplementing existing teaching. Fewer considered the second aim - how. The ways in which academics conceptualise teaching and learning with technology have significant and interrelated impacts upon their students’ experience of learning (Kirkwood and Price 2012). The potential of technology to transform teaching and learning practices does not appear to have achieved substantial uptake, as the majority of studies focused on reproducing or reinforcing existing practices.” **

And isn’t that interesting?  If, across the board, teachers are utilising technology to “reproduc[e] or reinforc[e] existing practices” rather than to alter them, surely our emphasis as educators remains on ourselves; the onus still rests with us.  And I like that idea.  We are not shifting our educational responsibilities onto the shoulders of technology.  We are continuing to carry them, and continuing to seek new ways to improve upon them.  Technology has its part to play, of course, but I’ll say it again – the teacher, the teacher, the teacher!

* Kirkwood, Adrian and Price, Linda (2014). Technology-enhanced learning and teaching in higher education: what is ‘enhanced’ and how do we know? A critical literature review. Learning, Media and Technology, 39(1) pp. 23.

** Kirkwood, Adrian and Price, Linda (2014). Technology-enhanced learning and teaching in higher education: what is ‘enhanced’ and how do we know? A critical literature review. Learning, Media and Technology, 39(1) pp. 24.

The Power of PowerPoint

This is probably a pretty shocking admission to make in 2014 but, prior to beginning my PGCE PCET course, I had never created a PowerPoint presentation.  I know – how primitive of me!  But I didn’t know how.  In fact, I didn’t even know the application was there, on my laptop, waiting to be explored!  Besides, I have always had a natural inclination to turn towards pen and paper rather than screen and keyboard.

Having now taken the plunge, however, I’m happy to admit that it is a really easy application to use.  Not only that, but it can be a creative process – it allows you to fiddle with colour, design, font, background, and thereby build an attractive and valuable visual aid. 

There is no replacement for a teacher’s passion in relaying their subject to their student, but I am learning to utilise technology as another way to present that passion.  I feel confident that PowerPoint will become a real asset to my future teaching. 

Hunting English

A Useful Blog

It was the name of this blog which first enticed me to read it.  Presumably, the choice was inspired by the York school, Huntington Secondary, where the blogger is employed.  But I thought it apt, and amusing, and it transpired that the blog was full of useful articles.  

Here is one entitled ‘Questioning and Feedback: Top Ten Strategies’, which I read recently with a view to considering and improving my own teaching techniques.  In it, Alex Quigley makes some interesting observations about how we can question our students more effectively; particularly in regard to what he calls ‘wait time’.  He says:  

“We think we give students ample time [to answer a question], but we too often don’t. Have you ever timed yourself? The average time allowed for students giving a response has been estimated at 1.5 seconds! The optimum time is nearer 5 seconds. Evidence shows that the depth (between 400 and 800% increase in length of response) & quality of answers greatly improves with this extra waiting time of just a few seconds.”

This forced me to stop and think.  I have not yet started teaching English to students, but as a ski instructor, I have been a teacher of sorts for over eleven years.  I often use questioning (instinctively, I might add – my methods are not based on research of any kind, but experience) to ensure that the information I’m presenting verbally is being absorbed.  But how long do I wait for an answer?

On average, I’d imagine my wait time is nearer 1.5 seconds than a seemingly interminable 5!  I am concerned, I suppose, about the hanging silence; I am worried that an extended wait would pressure or embarrass my learner rather than aid their thought process.  And perhaps, for some, it would.  But as Quigley is keen to point out, “There is no ‘one size fits every class’ strategy”.  I have always considered my ability to adapt to my learners to be one of the real strengths of my teaching.  Here, though, in the ‘wait time’ I employ after posing a question, is a place where I could potentially improve it.  It’s something I’ll be thinking about keenly in my future lessons.

There are, of course, nine other helpful questioning and feedback techniques included in the article, which I think is a lovely reference for new and experienced teachers alike.

Remembering on Remembrance Sunday

Whilst doing some research recently, I stumbled happily upon this series of videos put out by Channel 4 ahead of Remembrance Sunday.  What I love about them is that these particular actors make the words feel completely modern, which will no doubt bring the poems to life for a younger audience. They are, I think, a great resource for teaching poetry.  I find Noel Clarke’s delivery especially brilliant.

Ted Talks Education

Sir Ken Robinson – Bring on the Learning Revolution!

Today, I watched this amazing Ted Talk from Sir Ken Robinson, delivered in 2010.  In it, Robinson speaks brilliantly and passionately about our education system, asserting that “education, in a way, dislocates […] people from their natural talents”.  And I couldn’t agree with him more.  

Of course, people are inclined to believe any story or idea that is presented to them so convincingly, and I am no different.  In his speech, Robinson is selling me an idea, and very well too.  However, I found in his argument many thoughts I shared but had not put such eloquent words to.

When I was 18, my sixth form college put me forward as an ‘Oxbridge candidate’.  Naturally, this was flattering, and my family were thrilled when I was invited to interview for a place to read English Literature at St. Hilda’s College, Oxford.  I was flattered, too.  I had visited the city and knew it was beautiful.  I had seen students leaving their examinations in their gowns; white, pink or red carnations pinned to their chests.  It was all very romantic, especially as the city’s Christmas decorations were already up when I attended my interview.

Following the few days I spent there, however, I was sure I didn’t want to attend.  Yes, I was interviewed in grand rooms with open fires and wingback armchairs and books shelved all the way to the ceiling.  I really was!  But I didn’t feel my personality fitted – at all.  I didn’t think I would be happy there.  I had been pushed along this route by the education system I was part of, and if I was accepted, there was no way I could turn down Oxford. 

I received my rejection letter, as I had been told would happen, two days before Christmas. (Incidentally, here’s an interesting Guardian article on the subject of Oxbridge rejection)  It’s fair to say I was not disappointed.  In fact, I turned down offers from various excellent universities that year, including Cardiff, Bristol and Exeter.  I finally enrolled at my local university three or four years later.  And I am still expected to defend that decision surprisingly often.  But why?

In his speech, Robinson references an Abraham Lincoln message to Congress of 1862.  The extract he highlights reads:

“The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present.  The occasion is piled high with difficulty and we must rise with the occasion.  As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew.  We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country.”

We are, Robinson argues, enthral to certain educational ideas.  He identifies linearity and conformity as two such ideas.  At 18, I too was expected to conform, to move along a linear narrative without questioning why I was moving in that particular direction.  Now, at 28 and still working in a low paid job, I continue to believe in my decision.  When I did embark on my undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, I studied the subject I loved with more commitment, more passion than I would have done at 18.  Furthermore, I now had the confidence, in my early twenties, to really pursue creative writing – that unrealistic ambition!

Alluding to a poem by W B Yeats, Robinson concludes his speech thus: “And every day, everywhere, our children spread their dreams beneath our feet.  And we should tread softly.”  

The way to do this, he suggests, is by moving away from an “industrial model” of education and towards an “agricultural” one, thereby allowing it to become an “organic” process, “customised” to the individual.  Educators, he says, should think themselves like farmers – their role is to provide the correct environment to allow the individual to flourish.  Whether that individual is a child or an adult does not influence the argument, as far as I can see.

“Human communities depend upon a diversity of talent,” Robinson claims, “not a singular conception of ability.”  And so should our education system, if we are all to find better ways to use our talents.

Lettering

Free teaching resources can be found on this website.  It includes some nice lettering for displays and the like.

Ted Talks about Words

I was introduced to Ted Talks some months ago, by a colleague who showed me a talk about 3D printing.  During the talk, a 3D printer was shown to produce a human kidney.  The kidney was not functional, of course – but it was undeniably a kidney, able to be touched and viewed and examined. There was even discourse about how it could be made viable.  What an amazing idea!  

The Ted Talks website is full of similarly intriguing information.  And it’s usually entertaining, too. Here are some playlists concerning words, language and story.

Reflective Reflection

The Kolb Learning Cycle identifies four stages of experiential learning.  The theory posits that the cycle can be entered at any stage, but that all four stages must be observed, in sequence, for learning to be successful.

I recently used the mind-mapping tool available here to reflect on the question of reflective learning.  In doing so, I realised that it is not only a useful resource for the teacher, in presenting information clearly and simply to a group, but also that students could employ the tool to boost their own reflective learning in the classroom.  Wouldn’t it aid Kolb’s ‘reflective observation’ stage if, following a lesson, students created from memory a mind-map of the information they could recall?     

And incidentally haven’t I, in creating this blog post, embarked on a little reflective or experiential learning of my own?  I have encountered new technological tools, I have experimented with their functions, and I have put my learning into practice.  The act of considering reflective learning has in turn brought about an instance of reflective learning – isn’t that a neat demonstration of Kolb’s theory!

click to make me bigger

'Is Britain Happy?'

Is There a Correlation Between Happiness and Our Ability to Learn?

On October 23rd, the Tonight programme broadcast an episode titled ‘Is Britain Happy?’  In it, reference was made to the National Wellbeing Project, launched by David Cameron in 2010.  

A transcript of Cameron’s speech regarding this project can be read here.

Here is a snippet of his introduction:

“[T]oday the government is asking the Office of National Statistics to devise a new way of measuring wellbeing in Britain. And so from April next year, we’ll start measuring our progress as a country, not just by how our economy is growing, but by how our lives are improving; not just by our standard of living, but by our quality of life.”

Interestingly, the Tonight programme detailed how classes on wellbeing are now being taught in some schools.  The thesis that happy people are more resilient was explored through simple tests, such as timing how long participants could hold their hand in a bucket of ice and then drawing a comparison between their self-assessed levels of happiness and their performance.  It was found that those who attributed themselves higher levels of happiness consistently managed to hold their hand in the ice bucket for longer than those who were less happy.  The effect of these findings on learning is interesting as they imply that happy students would perform better in exams than unhappy students.

Is it the place of the teacher then to ensure, or attempt to ensure, the happiness of their students? Should their role extend this far?

In his speech, Cameron addressed the issue of whether it is the place of the government to ensure its people’s happiness thus:

“Now, of course, you can’t legislate for fulfilment or satisfaction, but I do believe that government has the power to help improve wellbeing, and I’m not alone in that belief. What’s interesting about this whole argument is now how many countries, economists, people and experts are joining in [...] The contention is that just as we can create the climate for business to thrive - by cutting taxes, slashing red tape and so on - so we can create a climate in this country that is more family-friendly and more conducive to the good life. That’s why I reject the criticism that government policy simply has no role in this area. To those who say that all this sounds like a distraction from the serious business of government, I would say that finding out what will really improve lives and acting on it is actually the serious business of government.”

Of course, teachers cannot involve themselves directly in the lives of each of their students.  But perhaps it would be prudent for all teachers to keep their students’ contentment in mind when assessing their performance; perhaps an individual’s happiness should be considered equally as important as their reading or mathematical ability.  It’s a thought-provoking question.

Words and Wordle

Being a self-confessed technophobe, I find the best way to improve my own IT skills is to use technology in conjunction with things I enjoy: design, music, or art, for example.  I was recently introduced to Wordle, which creates ‘word clouds’ from text you provide, and I think it a fun and useful resource for learners; in particular visual learners.  It might be used to introduce new subjects or vocab, to encourage learners to identify their favourite words or passages from a text, or as a mind-mapping device.

In the ‘word cloud’ below, I have included some of my favourite books and authors:

Because I am so interested in words, I often find that there are certain sequences of words – found in poems or novels or speeches – that stick in my mind.  One such sequence can be found in the speech made by Elizabeth I in 1588, to inspire her troops at Tilbury Camp to defend the country against the threat of the Spanish Armada.

Here is a Wordle of that famous speech:

And here is a transcript of the speech, in modern English:

“My loving people, 

We have been persuaded by some that are careful of our safety, to take heed how we commit our selves to armed multitudes, for fear of treachery; but I assure you I do not desire to live to distrust my faithful and loving people. Let tyrants fear. I have always so behaved myself that, under God, I have placed my chiefest strength and safeguard in the loyal hearts and good-will of my subjects; and therefore I am come amongst you, as you see, at this time, not for my recreation and disport, but being resolved, in the midst and heat of the battle, to live and die amongst you all; to lay down for my God, and for my kingdom, and my people, my honour and my blood, even in the dust. 

I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too, and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince of Europe, should dare to invade the borders of my realm: to which rather than any dishonour shall grow by me, I myself will take up arms, I myself will be your general, judge, and rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field. 

I know already, for your forwardness you have deserved rewards and crowns; and We do assure you in the word of a prince, they shall be duly paid you. In the mean time, my lieutenant general shall be in my stead, than whom never prince commanded a more noble or worthy subject; not doubting but by your obedience to my general, by your concord in the camp, and your valour in the field, we shall shortly have a famous victory over those enemies of my God, of my kingdom, and of my people.”

The following sentence in particular is such an exciting and empowering sentiment for a female to voice, that I frequently find myself rereading it.

“I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too, and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince of Europe, should dare to invade the borders of my realm […]”

More information about this speech can be found on the British Library website.

Microsoft and Me

Is Microsoft Word Our Newest English Language Teacher?

Microsoft and me … Or is it ‘I’?  ‘Me’?  I spend vast chunks of my life staring at Microsoft Word documents.  For years now I have composed university essays and letters and fiction and job applications between its pre-set margins.  It is convenient, after all.  I type far faster than I write by hand.  A dictionary and a thesaurus wait, just one click away, to offer me friendly advice. 

But what effect, if any, has this convenience had on my grammatical ability?  What effect does it have on a student’s?

If, for example, in a moment of woeful neglect we claim that a building has three stories, will Word suggest that perhaps that building consists instead of storeys?  And if it does not, will we manage independently to spot the error?

And what about that last sentence (and this one, in fact)?  Should it have begun with an ‘and’?  Perhaps a primary school teacher or a parent, raising their eyebrows at the perceived grammatical faux pas, once warned you never to start a sentence with a conjunction.  In fact, the Oxford dictionary tells us that it is “not grammatically incorrect to do so”, in moderation.  But do we understand this, or is our knowledge based – assumptively – solely on Microsoft Word’s decision not to flag it up for our attention?      

I’ve begun this post with a series of negative propositions.  But, equally, I might have shaped it positively from the off. 

I might have argued that, were we to mistake a ‘begun’ for a ‘began’ or a ‘began’ for a ‘begun’, for example, Word would alert us by decorating it with a helpful, wobbly blue line; that if we, straining perhaps towards a word we were unsure of, suggested let’s say that ‘unnecessary’ was spelt with an ‘s’ in place of the ‘c’, Word would assist us by underscoring the blunder in red.  In doing so, then, is Microsoft Word now acting as another kind of teacher?  And if it is, are its methods adequate?  Do we learn by having these mistakes detected for us, or do we, in expectation of the appearance of that useful, undulating line, grow lazy?  Does the use of technology such as Microsoft Word help or hinder our understanding of the English language?  

It would depend, I suppose, on the way in which we learn.

If we learn visually, it is possible Word’s kindly squiggle is enough to keep our English language skills up to scratch.  For the auditory or kinaesthetic learner, however, additional information would most likely be required to solidify the learning.  After all, Microsoft Word cannot ask the auditory learner to memorise and recite poetry.  Microsoft Word cannot ask the kinaesthetic learner to act out a verb.

Bass and Vaughan, 1974, claim that ‘Learning is a relatively permanent change in an individual’s behaviour resulting from practice or experience’.  Perhaps then the only way to test Word’s ability to produce a relatively permanent change is to shut down our computers and pick up a pen.  Perhaps, from time to time, we should all challenge our knowledge with a blank piece of paper.

Introducing Me

“I like words.  I like fat, buttery words … solemn, angular, creaky words … suave ‘V’ words … I like crunchy, brittle, crackly words … sullen, crabbed, scowling words … I like elegant, flowery words ... [and] sniggly, chuckling words … May I have a few with you?”

(Robert Pirosh) 

Since childhood, I have been fascinated by words – their shape, their sound, their meaning, their origin, their beauty – and so I have always thrown myself into books.  I am excited by their possibilities.  I am charmed by their ability to jump through time or across borders.  I love the physical feel of a book, even the smell of the paper. 

It seemed an obvious choice then to study for a BA in English with Creative Writing (1^st class honours), followed by an MA in Creative Writing (distinction), and now for a PGCE PCET. 

When I am not reading or writing, I love to ski, to draw, to play music, to watch tennis, and to ride horses.  I live with two pretty gangster cats called Matt and Louie.  Here they are, proving themselves to be ruthless killers: