TESL 100 - Digital Technologies reflection


Digital technology in the classroom is a topic in which I am very interested.  I have spent a good amount of time in my educational career learning about and using technology.  In my school, I am one of the resource people for the grading program we use. As a result, I see the importance of teaching English language learners about how they can interact with technology both in their learning and how they may need to use it after they become more fluent in English.  One important aspect of teaching both English and technology would be to teach learners particular terms and common words associated with technology. For example, the concept of a “Start” menu may not make sense to a new English learner and, as such, it is important to teach them not only the word “start” but how it is used in some computer systems to provide the menu they would need to run their computer.  Similar terms that make sense to native English speakers may be unintuitive for new English learners and so I think it would be important to discuss the common terminology used in computing and technology that they may run into in the instance that they have to call technical support or interact with people about their own technology. Some websites and applications I recommend are:

Kahoot : for quizzes, surveys and fun trivia to work on vocabulary (kahoot.it)

Seesaw : to communicate with learners as well as a place to share resources with them.
Learners can also share amongst the class. (seesaw.me)

Curio.ca : a website with videos and documentaries put together by CBC/Radio-Canada (curio.ca/en/)


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