References 

References

 Thread: Post: Author: Week 1 Response Week 1 Response Gary Bartanus Posted Date: Edited Date: Status: January 6, 2013 7:32 AM January 6, 2013 7:39 AM Published

When I first watched “face projection,” I was both intrigued and confused. I actually didn’t know what to make of it or understand what was going on in those videos. So I moved on to the other piece, “Straight and Arrow,” and although I thought I knew what was going on, it turns out that I was pitifully naive. As I was listening to the cute and peppy music, watching the lights, and marveling over the moving images of twitching body parts, I was thinking, “My oh my! These people are very well-trained dancers. They are in such perfect sync with each other. What incredible muscle control and teamwork!” For whatever reason, I just assumed that those little wires and thingies that looked like electrodes were props! Probably due to some theatrical experiences in my past, I initially thought that the whole presentation was a kind of macabre musical production, intricately choreographed and performed by a very talented dance company with incredible muscle control! 

I had no idea that those were actual electrodes delivering actual electrical impulses to actual human beings. I have to admit that, after reading some of the articles about this production, besides being a little embarrassed at myself, I was reminded of the famous Stanley Milgram obedience experiment that involved using fake electrical impulses and good actors. In that context, I was and still am a little unsettled about Manabe’s fascinating work. It’s not so much that he was delivering real electrical impulses to people who were not just dancers (or actors), but I think what unsettles me is that, on a purely metaphorical level, his work causes me to reflect on myself and ask some serious questions. 

When I use technology in my teaching, what is my primary motivation? Am I truly trying to help my learners learn? Or am I simply trying to create something interesting? Or something sensational? Or something that satisfies some powerful inner need to be a master controller like Milgram (or perhaps even Manabe)? I also ask myself if I truly am the one who is controlling the technology or, as Gillian questioned in her thoughtful response, is the technology perhaps controlling me? These are questions that I will be continuously thinking about as I work on this course and at my place of employment. 

I expect that, by considering and evaluating the many examples of educational technology that I am sure we are to encounter in this course, I will not only become more aware of the ”wonderful toys” that continually become our partners in this dance of technological development, but I will also become aware of some external points of reference to which I can compare my own accomplishments and thereby begin to determine how well or poorly I have done. Depending on that outcome, I will be able to either make corrections or, more hopefully, build on some of the work that I have actually done correctly. Only time, research, collaboration, feedback, and reflection will tell. Quite frankly, at this point, I do not anticipate a negative self-assessment. I truly believe that my use of technology will prove out to be a good thing. But I am keeping an open mind because I have a lot to learn and if I do learn(albeit unexpectedly) that my “innovation” has not been as pedagogically appropriate as I thought it was, then of course, I will need to change. 

This brings me to guiding question number 1: “How you have used educational technologies and pedagogic strategies, self-directed learning, critical inquiry, or intercultural communication specifically within the context of your area of employment.” 

In my role as a university ESL instructor in Korea, I believe that my use of educational technologies for intercultural communication and critical inquiry has been essential. My students are expected to develop confidence and competence in one of the world’s greatest fears, public speaking. Over the course of a 15 week semester, every student in my class must give a minimum course of a 15 week semester, every student in my class must give a minimum of four presentations in English, each lasting from 3 minutes to 7 or 8 minutes. This is incredibly difficult for all of them because, by nature, Korean people are very shy about speaking English in front of each other. (It’s tied in with the a culturally-rooted fear of losing face, I think.) But when they enter my classroom, their fears are doubled: they are already shy about conversing in English, and then our curriculum requires them to stand in front of an entire class of 20 peers and give an academic presentation with proper posture, good eye contact, clear pronunciation, and appropriate vocal delivery—four times per semester! 

If I were to simply grade their presentations on a rubric, write a few comments, and sit down with each student one-on-one to explain where he/she needs to improve, there is potential for all kinds of problems, inter-culturally, and in the realm of critical inquiry. Furthermore, there is too much room for doubt. A Korean student who has never had a foreigner for a teacher before may not feel 100% confident about my accuracy or fairness—and rightfully so. To overcome this situation, I use a video camera and individually record the presentations of each student. In the next class after presentation day, students bring their USB/Flash drives or Smartphones to class and get a copy of their video in compressed format that doesn’t take long to transfer. Each videos is identified by student name and I always double check with each student when transferring the files, so they don’t ever have to worry about someone else ever seeing it. (Their peer assessments are only done live on presentation day.) I then tell students to watch their videos several times–until it no longer feels uncomfortable or embarrassing for them to hear the sound of their own voice–and then do a self-assessment. This self-assessment only needs to demonstrate that they have watched their videos, analyzed their own strengths and weakness, and chosen a few self-improvement goals for their next presentations. For those that need a some direction, I provide them with 4 or 5 guiding questions that are posted on their course page. They are not required to answer any of my questions as long as they can demonstrate that they have analyzed their own work and developed a definite plan to improve. The self-assessment can be done either in writing (MLA format) or in the form of a video, depending on whichever delivery method is most comfortable for the learner. 

The self-assessments must then be uploaded via an app that I have set up on the course page and it delivers everything to my Dropbox account. Students are also welcome to visit me in person or via my Google+ Hangout Virtual Office to discuss their presentation videos (which I consider to be another acceptable for of self-assessment). 

The use of technology in this way, in my opinion, facilitates good intercultural communication and it also allows students to engage in critical inquiry as painlessly as possible. Of course there is also an element of self-directed learning in this, too, because students are not just getting their new presentation goals from me; they are also getting them from themselves. There is one big flaw in this process that I will try to correct next semester. On the day that students get their videos, they bring their flash drives to me one by one while the rest of the class watches a subtitled English-language sitcom called Modern Family. Although most of the students and I agree that the sitcom is a wonderful way to learn about North American culture, we don’t think using up three classes each semester is the best use of class time. After all, they can easily watch Modern Family on the Internet anytime they want. Therefore, after conducting surveys with all the students in my classes, I’ve decided to take advantage of the fact that 99.9% of my students have smartphones. These smartphones all have excellent cameras and, rather than me record all the students videos, they will record their own videos. Then they will have their own video without the need for me to waste their class time transferring videos back to their flash drives. I did a little research and discovered a recently developed tripod that accommodates iPhones and smartphones of all sizes so all I will need to do is bring the tripod and students will be able to quickly slide their phones in and out whenever they do their presentations. Of course, students will also be welcome to just ask a friend to hold the camera and, as long as they are steady and take good video, that can also work. 

I will still need to have copies of the students’ videos because I will need them for double checking my evaluations or for possible grade reviews, so again I’ve done some research and learned that, with a Google Gmail account, students will be able to download and install the Google Drive app to their smartphones and use it to immediately upload copies of their videos to a Google Drive folder that they have shared with me. Of course, I will need to make sure that all students get a Google account and share a Google Drive folder with me, so I will prepare a video tutorial that will walk them through that and, hopefully, get the use of a computer lab for a few classes at the beginning of the semester. For the very small percentage of students who may not have unlimited data transfer accounts on their smartphones, they will still be able to transfer their videos to their computer at home and upload to the shared Google Drive folder from their home computer. 

Although I’m really excited about the good possibilities of this plan, I would be most appreciative of any feedback, positive or negative, because the new semester does not start until March and, if there is something I have overlooked or just plain figured wrong, it would be much better for my students if I improve this plan while there is still time. 

Finally, if this long post is an inappropriate use of this thread, I apologize and ask that you please let me know. This is my very first MET course, so I’m really new at this. 

References

References