This semester I took the seminar New Media in Foreign Language Education in
which I have learned a lot about the use of new media in school. This
knowledge is really helpful concerning own teaching ideas for school
which deal with new media. This was my first course about new media in
school and I think that especially teachers should know all about the
different tools and electronic devices which might be used in school.
Before class
Before I took this seminar I didn’t know about any tools for teaching with the aid of new media. In this course we got to know a variety of different tools. We learnt more about their use and the advantages and disadvantages. We got to know how to decide if a tool is helpful and usable or not so good for school; especially concerning problems with data protection and copyright.
Fieldtrip
I really liked the fieldtrip because I think that we got a really good impression of the actual use of new media in school. If I compare to my own school time I have to say that concerning the technical equipment a lot has changed. In my old school we only had some tv’s, cd-players and a computer lab. But we didn’t have laptops, interactive whiteboards or a ‘digitale Schultsche’.
Requirements of the course
1. E-portfolio
I think an e-portfolio is a good way to submit work regularly and is a good alternative to regular hand-ins in class every week or at the end of the semester. We could work with the new tools immediately and show if we know how to use them. An advantage of a public e-portfolio is the fact that not only the course instructor reads the entries of the portfolio but it can also be helpful to others who can read the portfolio as well. If other people read it and suggest help or ideas what could be improved.
I believe that an e-portfolio could also be used in school with more advanced classes. It would be a good way to document their learning process and later when they apply for a job they can show it to their future employers to document their abilities in a foreign language.
2. Teaching idea
Evaluation of a teaching idea:
While evaluating a teaching idea I learnt that there are many aspects to consider. For example is it really helpful to create class accounts while using a tool in school because in this way the students are not forced to type in personal data, such as name, address or other personal information. Teachers should also always talk with their students about copyright regulations and data protection before working on the internet. The students should be aware of possible risks.
Own teaching idea:
In this course I got to know many different tools and found out how and when to use them in school. In class we got to know the tool storybird and I thought that this is a really good idea to get students active; especially in the writing process. I thought about developing my own teaching idea with the help of storybird for a 5th grade in which they should introduce themselves and their family.
What I really like is the idea that we all get a little booklet with all of the teaching ideas of the different class participants. So we have a collection of good lesson plans for new media based teaching.
Conclusion
I really enjoyed the course because I think that I have a learnt a lot for my future job. This was the first course that has actually dealt with teaching and was not ‘just’ about literature, linguistics or cultural studies. I still think that these topics are important but it is also important for students of a teaching degree to learn basics about teaching methods or new media use in school. I learnt how to evaluate tools and prepare own lesson plans with new media support. Before I took this course I had no idea that there are so many tools for teaching. It is also helpful to know all of this for our other subject.
I also really liked that we learnt some things about the interactive whiteboards and its use because I have never worked with one before and as I saw at the Martin-Luther-Schule it is a device many teachers will have to use in their teaching.
Especially when I took a look at the curriculum of English there is a special attention on media competence which made me aware of the fact to be able to know how to use new media in school and what is necessary to know about their use:
"Der Fremdsprachenunterricht der gymnasialen Oberstufe leistet einen Beitrag zur Medienerziehung im Sinne eines bewussten, kritischen Umgangs mit Medien. Die durch die fremde Sprache gegebene Distanz fördert die Wahrnehmungsfähigkeit für spezifische Strukturen medialer Vermittlung; der handlungsorientierte Ansatz sollte auch in diesem Bereich, über die analytische Einsicht hinaus, den Aspekt der Produktion und der bewussten Konstruktion durch eigenes Tun erfahrbar machen (z. B. Schülerzeitung in einer Fremdsprache, Videoclip, szenische Darstellungen, Theaterspiel mit Aufnahme durch Videokamera u. ä.)."
http://www.hessen.de/irj/HKM_Internet?cid=ac9f301df54d1fbfab83dd3a6449af60
Before class
Before I took this seminar I didn’t know about any tools for teaching with the aid of new media. In this course we got to know a variety of different tools. We learnt more about their use and the advantages and disadvantages. We got to know how to decide if a tool is helpful and usable or not so good for school; especially concerning problems with data protection and copyright.
Fieldtrip
I really liked the fieldtrip because I think that we got a really good impression of the actual use of new media in school. If I compare to my own school time I have to say that concerning the technical equipment a lot has changed. In my old school we only had some tv’s, cd-players and a computer lab. But we didn’t have laptops, interactive whiteboards or a ‘digitale Schultsche’.
Requirements of the course
1. E-portfolio
I think an e-portfolio is a good way to submit work regularly and is a good alternative to regular hand-ins in class every week or at the end of the semester. We could work with the new tools immediately and show if we know how to use them. An advantage of a public e-portfolio is the fact that not only the course instructor reads the entries of the portfolio but it can also be helpful to others who can read the portfolio as well. If other people read it and suggest help or ideas what could be improved.
I believe that an e-portfolio could also be used in school with more advanced classes. It would be a good way to document their learning process and later when they apply for a job they can show it to their future employers to document their abilities in a foreign language.
2. Teaching idea
Evaluation of a teaching idea:
While evaluating a teaching idea I learnt that there are many aspects to consider. For example is it really helpful to create class accounts while using a tool in school because in this way the students are not forced to type in personal data, such as name, address or other personal information. Teachers should also always talk with their students about copyright regulations and data protection before working on the internet. The students should be aware of possible risks.
Own teaching idea:
In this course I got to know many different tools and found out how and when to use them in school. In class we got to know the tool storybird and I thought that this is a really good idea to get students active; especially in the writing process. I thought about developing my own teaching idea with the help of storybird for a 5th grade in which they should introduce themselves and their family.
What I really like is the idea that we all get a little booklet with all of the teaching ideas of the different class participants. So we have a collection of good lesson plans for new media based teaching.
Conclusion
I really enjoyed the course because I think that I have a learnt a lot for my future job. This was the first course that has actually dealt with teaching and was not ‘just’ about literature, linguistics or cultural studies. I still think that these topics are important but it is also important for students of a teaching degree to learn basics about teaching methods or new media use in school. I learnt how to evaluate tools and prepare own lesson plans with new media support. Before I took this course I had no idea that there are so many tools for teaching. It is also helpful to know all of this for our other subject.
I also really liked that we learnt some things about the interactive whiteboards and its use because I have never worked with one before and as I saw at the Martin-Luther-Schule it is a device many teachers will have to use in their teaching.
Especially when I took a look at the curriculum of English there is a special attention on media competence which made me aware of the fact to be able to know how to use new media in school and what is necessary to know about their use:
"Der Fremdsprachenunterricht der gymnasialen Oberstufe leistet einen Beitrag zur Medienerziehung im Sinne eines bewussten, kritischen Umgangs mit Medien. Die durch die fremde Sprache gegebene Distanz fördert die Wahrnehmungsfähigkeit für spezifische Strukturen medialer Vermittlung; der handlungsorientierte Ansatz sollte auch in diesem Bereich, über die analytische Einsicht hinaus, den Aspekt der Produktion und der bewussten Konstruktion durch eigenes Tun erfahrbar machen (z. B. Schülerzeitung in einer Fremdsprache, Videoclip, szenische Darstellungen, Theaterspiel mit Aufnahme durch Videokamera u. ä.)."
http://www.hessen.de/irj/HKM_Internet?cid=ac9f301df54d1fbfab83dd3a6449af60
