They Just Can't Hack IT! : Attitudes to Technology - Gavin Dudeney
This talk looks at different attitudes to the use of new technologies in training and teaching and is an exploration of the theme based on conversations from online discussion groups and blog postings over the course of 2009/10.
In the talk I will attempt to pick apart these points of view and contextualise them with the help of the audience.
Over the past year I have been exploring attitudes to the use of technology in training and teaching via my own blog, in a variety of Twitter exchanges and through discussions in various online groups, largely in an attempt to understand why technology still plays such a small role in our profession when compared with many others.
In this talk I will present some of the major arguments put forward in these public fora - both for and against technologies - and examine them in the light of my own experience as a technology user for the past twenty-five years, and as a teacher and trainer since the mid-nineties.
We will take a look at attitudes to technology from a variety of viewpoints: those who use them for their own professional development, those who use them for materials design and preparation, those who teach with them and those who don't, and attempt to understand where these attitudes fit in to the bigger picture and the future of our work.
I will also be drawing on participants' experiences to explore the issues further and will round off with conclusions based on my reading of the informal data collected over the year from the various sources mentioned.
- PowerPoint slides [PDF]: http://files.me.com/dudeneyge/mxs0xf
- Audio Recording: http://blip.tv/file/3457828
- Research bookmarks: http://tinyurl.com/yatmnjj
- Related blog posts: http://slife.dudeney.com
29 March 2009
1 year 35 weeks
Impressive research, Gavin!
I look forward to hearing your thoughts and conclusions, especially after all the heated discussions over the past few months.
Why educators resist innovation and what we can do about it is my big question.
Engaging with you and so many other educators on a daily basis through Twitter, blogs and nings may give me the impression that there is a high level of activity and interest in new technologies and innovative teaching.
The sad fact though is that the numbers still remain very small and what I face in my daily attempts to 'spread the word' is resistance, avoidance and occasional strange looks, even by very competent and well respected colleagues.
Marisa
10 February 2009
2 years 5 weeks
Marisa,
Thanks for the comment. It has been a long year of heated debate, though - to be fair - among a fairly small set of people. Last year I trained in over a dozen different countries and didn't encounter the level of resistance I do in online fora such as blogs, twitter, etc.
My guess is that some of the more vocal 'opponents' are those with most to lose - the people who don't include techs in their published books, the trainers who don't have the skills to introduce them into their teacher training, etc.
The big question for me remains, 'why'? In my talk I'm going to be exploring myths, criticisms and fears and I hope we can conclude the hour with a set of suggestions as to how we can get over them and move on (where appopriate, of course).
See you in Harrogate,
Gavin
10 March 2009
2 years 4 weeks
I'm sure this will be a very interesting talk, Gavin. I'm still puzzled & frustrated to find (lots of them than a few) teachers who are resistant to use technology in the language classroom. Marissa described this superbly:
"The sad fact though is that the numbers still remain very small and what I face in my daily attempts to 'spread the word' is resistance, avoidance and occasional strange looks, even by very competent and well respected colleagues."
Looking forward to listening to the audio recording!
Miguel from troubled Venezuela.
10 February 2009
2 years 5 weeks
Miguel,
Thanks for dropping by - I think those feelings are very real, and I hope to explore why they're real, and what needs to be done to counteract them where circumstances permit.
I'll be uploading the audio as soon as I can after doing the talk, and I hope you enjoy listening to it when it's there.
Sorry to hear Venezuela is still troubled. As you know, I have fond memories ofmy time there and would like to come back sometime soon when things have (hopefully) settled down a bit. The good news is that people lke you are still there trying to change things. Keep up the tweeting!
Gavin
10 March 2009
2 years 5 weeks
Hi Gavin
The session looks as though it is going to be really interesting and could be very challenging to some attendees! Wish I was going to be there to hear it :-)
Look forward to hearing or seeing the recorded version!
Carol
10 February 2009
2 years 5 weeks
Carol,
Good to see you on the IATEFL online site again - it's looking busy already, isn't it? I hope it's a challenging, fun, provocative and interesting session - but I'll have to rely on the audience for that! Just been testing my audio recording equipment and everything seems to be working fine, so I hope there will actually be a recording after the session!
Gavin
31 March 2010
2 years 6 weeks
Gavin's talk is going to be one of the highlights of the conference for me. His premise actually makes it worth getting to Bristol from Paris via two separate FlyBe (shudder) flights with total flight time lasting nearly seven hours. See you all there!
6 April 2010
2 years 6 weeks
A shame I won't be able to attend your presentation.
Anyway I am looking forward to the powerpoint slides and hope they will compensate at least partly for my absence.
Regards.
7 April 2010
2 years 5 weeks
Great talk and research Gavin!
I have been what we might call a 'technology enthusiast' for some 22 years and have used technology for my personal professional development, in the classroom and in teacher training programmes. That's the small picture! and it's enticing! Unfortunately, in practice, the word technology is scary for many teachers. I can classify them into two categories: teachers who refuse to change the ways they are teaching and those who do not know how to use new technologies in their teaching but are reluctant to learn the know-how. I have known teachers who for twenty years haven't changed quite a lot neither pedagogically nor technologically! Others have always looked for reasons not to do it.
I think your talk is of great importance as it will certainly highlight some of the hidden realities existing in the field.
Amor
14 March 2010
2 years 5 weeks
Thanks so much for sharing the audio & slides of your session. Just finished listening to it. An amazing talk!
Anna
15 March 2010
1 year 9 weeks
Hi Gavin
Thank you very much for sharing the links to your great talk and all your fantastic research links. It's greatly appreciated!
Janet
8 April 2010
2 years 1 week
Gavin
Thanks for your ideas, sense of humour and generosity. Always a pleasure to learn from you.
Analia
4 April 2009
2 years 6 weeks
Thanks Gavin, I listened to the whole thing last night, despite the fact I really should have been in bed.... kept me interested all the way through. I think you know from our previous interactions online that I am in broad agreement with you but I disagree on some of the details. I do agree that technology is often judged to a different standard (a bad lesson using tech is the technology's fault, but a bad dogme lesson is down to the teacher...). I also think that the reasons you mention for avoiding technology, such as fear, are pretty poor.
But there are many teachers out there who are held back by institutional constraints and student releuctance. I'll direct you to a couple of articles you've probably read
http://www.soc.northwestern.edu/justine/CC_Winter10/readings/BennettMato...
http://www.webuse.org/digital-natives-variation-in-internet-skills-and-u...
which point out that not all young people are adept at all technologies. You could argue that, as teachers, we should take responsibility for introducing them to tools they will need in the future. But language is my priority, and if you couple student resistance with institutional factors (limited classroom connectivity, no wi-fi, stifling firewalls and security) it does start to tip the efficiency / effectiveness balance of some technologies negatively.
Generally, I'm with you - calling something faffy or nerdy is not really a very useful way to select or assess classroom methods. I'm using various social networking tools, mobile phones, digital video, all that stuff and the students are responding well. I would like to use more... and I suppose we need to keep banging on about it so that in the future we can...
(On a personal note, great to see my twitter avatar on your slides... I guess I made it to IATEFL after all!)
17 March 2009
2 years 1 day
Thanks Gavin for the opportunity to listen to the recording and follow your excellent presentation on the PP.
teresa
13 April 2010
2 years 5 weeks
Thank you, Gavin.
As ever, you were a joy to listen to, while at the same time offering a great deal for your audience to think about.
10 February 2009
2 years 5 weeks
Folks,
I'd just like to thank all of you who attended my session, or who have listened to it since, and for your feedback and ideas, which I have read with interest. There is a video of this talk (made by a colleague) and I hope to be able to link to it on YouTube soon.
I'm still struggling with a backlog of work and a full Inbox after the week away in Harrogate, but I just wanted to pop by and say thanks.
So, thanks :-)
Gavin