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Reflection upon the inclusion of technology in the lesson

  It´s surprising how long teachers have gone in terms of technology. If we go back to the previous century, it would be unthinkable to imagine the lessons as they are nowadays. Technological development around the world changed our lives significantly, including the school context. Our purpose from now on is to adapt and mold ourselves as much as we can. For the students this will be easier because they are digital natives, however, teachers´ roles should be redefined. My words for teachers that want to include technology in their lessons is that this path will not be easy, neither from one day to another, but it is worth it.  The universe of changes and improvements we can make through technology is unlimited and the benefits they bring to the classroom are a lot.  First of all, the motivation of the students. They are used to technology and they love spending time on computers, cellphones, etc., so teachers should take advantage of this in order to enhance the learni...
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The combination of the TPCK and the SAMR model in our lessons

  The need to include technology in our lessons is out of discussion nowadays. The main problem teachers face when they have to plan the lessons, apart from choosing the content, is how to present it through technology.   There are two models that were designed to analyze the inclusion of technologies in the lessons. One of them is the TPCK – Technological pedagogical content knowledge. This one was designed by Mishra and Koehler and its main purpose is to reflect on the type of knowledge that teachers need to know in order to incorporate the TICS in the most convenient and effective way. As we know, managing technological devices, apps, blogs, etc. is very simple for students, however, when it comes to teachers it can be more difficult to learn how to use them and how to use them profitably. Moreover, there are other obstacles that teachers may face such as the costs, the access to the technology or the internet connection and the time that working with technology implies. ...

Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants and the influence of digital literacies

  If we think about students, we can agree that they are not the same as they were some time ago, they have changed a lot. As Prensky (2001) said, “Our students today are all “native speakers” of the digital language of computers, video games and the Internet”. Teachers nowadays, face a big problem which is the offset of communication between students (Digital Natives) and teachers (Digital Immigrants). Prensky (2001) said that “Digital Immigrant teachers assume that learners are the same as they have always been, and that the same methods that worked for the teachers when they were students will work for their students now”. I personally think that this is not true. Teachers are still Digital Immigrants; however, they certainly know that students are not the same as some years ago and they also know that the teaching methods no longer work as before.  It is possible to teach these “new learners” but some changes must be made. First of all, teachers should change the met...

The teacher's role in the 21st century and the creation of material

The 21st century has introduced some changes in the teacher's role. These changes are visible in second-language teaching and in all the curriculum subjects. In this post, we will focus on the second language teacher's role and the material design. There are many roles a teacher must fulfil to be a good teacher. This includes the relationship with the students, how teachers deliver the lessons, the material they present to students, etc. Sometimes teachers do not have the chance to select their own material. As we know, it is very common that the institutions already have a coursebook to work with and teachers have to adapt their lessons to it. Sometimes the material that teachers should present to the students is not very suitable, either because the topics are not interesting for students, or because the book was designed for contexts which are very different from ours. Many of the changes that occurred in the last century put the teacher at the centre of the scene, especial...