1 What if I’m a technophobe? How can I become more confident with technology?
Tech-savviness – that is, knowing about technology and feeling confident around it – is a state of mind. Nobody knows everything about all technologies. You just need to know enough about technology to serve your needs. Consider this: Even if you think you’re a technophobe (someone who is afraid of technology), you probably use several technologies regularly in your personal life. For example, it’s likely that you use email and know how to find information online. You probably have a mobile phone and use it to take photos, to make phone calls or to send SMS text messages. If you have a smartphone, you may even use group messaging services like WhatsApp, or perhaps you use Google Maps to find your way around. The first step towards feeling more confident with technology? Make a list of the things you already know how to do with it.
2 I don’t like using technology with my students. It’s too challenging!
Don’t try to use technologies that you don’t feel comfortable with. Instead, start with what you know. Use the tools that you are already familiar with. If you know how to use email in your personal life (very likely!), start using it as a tool with your students. The most obvious use of email is to get the students to use it to send you their written homework, and there are other more imaginative ways that you can easily experiment with. Try a chain story, in which the students build up a story collaboratively via email (see ETp Issue 112 for more ideas on how to use email). If you know how to use your mobile phone to take photos, get your students to do the same. For example, choose an upcoming coursebook topic, and ask them to take a couple of photos connected to the topic before the next class. In the next class, put the students in small groups and ask them to share their photos, explaining how and why their photos relate to the topic. This simple activity activates topic-related vocabulary and is highly personalised – and it’s not technically challenging to do! By starting slowly with simple technologies and activities, you will be able to build up your tech-savviness and confidence over time.
3 My school makes me use technologies I’m not comfortable with.
This is sometimes the case with teachers who are asked to use tools like IWBs (interactive whiteboards) but may not have received enough training to feel confident using them. As a short-term solution, ask your students for help if you have any problems during class. There is usually at least one student who is delighted to share their technological knowledge and to help solve a problem. But as a longer-term solution, ask your school to set up short informal weekly training sessions to help less confident teachers like yourself become more confident with IWBs – or any other hardware or software you’re expected to use on regular basis.
4 I don’t know what to do when things go wrong with technology and there is no one to help me.
Being able to deal with a wide range of technical issues on the spot means being fairly technologically proficient, and we are, after all, language teachers. You’ll never know all there is to know about technology. Probably the most useful piece of advice I’ve ever received is that, with any technology problem you have, someone else has had exactly the same problem before you and someone has almost certainly posted the solution online. Imagine you’re working on your computer and get an error message. The first thing to do is to google that error message, and see what online forums say about how to deal with it. In most cases, you will find detailed video tutorials, or text tutorials with screenshots, about how to solve the problem. You’re not alone!
5 How else can I become a bit more tech-savvy?
As you know, the internet contains a wealth of free resources that can help you develop as a teacher. There is plenty of information online about how to use learning technologies effectively to support English language learning. Attend a free webinar about how to integrate digital technologies into your teaching. For example, the IATEFL Special Interest Groups (SIGs) run regular webinars, as do many major ELT publishers. Read blogs, books or e-books about integrating learning technologies into English language teaching. Then get started by trying a simple technology tool yourself at home, before trying it out with your students in class. Good luck!
Nicky Hockly has been involved in EFL teaching and teacher training since 1987. She is Director of Pedagogy of The Consultants-E, an online teacher training and development consultancy, and she is the prize-winning author of many books about language teaching and technology. Her company The Consultants-E (www.theconsultants-e.com) offers online educational technology training courses for English language teachers.
