Web Tools in the Classroom

     While in the past the whiteboard was the main tool in the classroom, in today’s classroom the whiteboard is seldom used.  Now, the focus has shifted to laptop projectors, interactive whiteboards, and educational videos.  This shift coincides with the Millennials’ new acquired skills with technological devices and over-reliance on audio-visual forms of learning.  Teachers have been obliged to follow suit and change their teaching methods to better suit the skills of the 21th century students. 




     According to Terantino (2011)[1], “With the advent of the Internet and digital technologies, what were once considered normal daily activities are now replaced by video games, socializing on the net, and text messaging” (p. 11).  Thus, now there is a need to integrate these new tools to the classroom.  If we look at the implementation of portable devices like tablets and iPads in the classromm, we see a great variation among schools.  So while some schools have adopted these technologies openheartedly, other schools haven’t been so forthcoming and have been reluctant to make the shift.  The problem seems to be the absence of a unifying strategy and accepted curriculum to integrate these tools in the classroom.  So while teachers are aware of the fact that they need to use these tools, they don’t have enough resources or time to do so.  Some inventive teachers with digital expertise may develop their own tools to meet this demand, but then it is their own effort and in their own free time.

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[1] Terantino, J. M. (2011). Emerging technologies YouTube for foreign languages: You have to see this video. Language Learning & Technology,15(1), 10-16.

     And when it comes to video games and m-learning (mobile) in the classroom, again we see different implementation levels among school, but for the most part many schools lack the resources of integrating such tools in the classroom.  Thus, I think it is the responsibility of curriculum writers to try to make these tools an integral part of the curriculum, and an essential element in the classroom.  And also the school should provide pre-selected tech programs and specific web 2.0 tools for the classroom.  Such a move would make it easier for teachers to implement these tools in the classroom and make better use of the students’ digital nativeness.  At the same time, we can’t expect all teachers and students to be tech savvy, and there should be some integral support system that facilitates implementation of web tools in the classroom.

  One of these useful tools is Teachertube.  Many teachers already use these educational videos and show them via laptop projectors.  Students see these videos as an entertaining way of learning that better suits the skills they bring to the classroom. And when it comes to language learning, these videos provide an excellent way to learn a second language as they are entertaining and present authentic situations of language usage.    




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   Here are some advantages and disadvantages of using educational video games in the classroom:




http://www.onlinecollegecourses.com/2012/10/23/do-educational-video-games-actually-work/