It can be an inspection criterion. I’ve known colleagues not be awarded a good or outstanding grade in internal and external observations (ofsted) because they weren’t seen to be using ICT and other technology.
I agree that it can add value, but it shouldn’t be a limiting criterion.
It was an observation criterion in my last school. You got brownie points for using technology in class. I agree with you up to a point, but I also think that when used well, technology can turn a great class into an outstanding class. You can just do so much more when you have an IWB in the classroom. The possibilities are endless. I think you have to be careful not to become too reliant on it and use it as a substitute for good teaching, but it’s a great way to engage the students.
Unfortunately, my current school doesn’t have any technology, but at my last one, I used the IWB in so many different ways. Displaying photos for Cambridge speaking tasks rather than just giving out black and white copies. Doing quizzes/games where I could show one question at a time and highlight the correct answer. Showing videos of authentic English speakers. Being able to choose any song in the world for a listening activity. It just made the classes that bit more exciting and interactive.
I definitely don’t think the use of technology is a prerequisite to great teaching, but I do struggle to understand teachers who have technology at hand and choose not to use it.
Spot on, Mike, though I suspect that the rot goes even deeper. I’ve met people working in UK FE who’ve told me their teaching had been graded as ‘inadequate’ (no beating about the bush with language to spare humiliation there, eh?) because the technology failed to work properly during an observation, which, if true, I think is an absolute disgrace!
As teachers, we should be challenging unfair grades handed out by observers who aren’t competent enough to know what they are looking for. Let’s not beat about the bush, here; it’s outrageously poor practice and it deserves to be called out for what it is!
Any observer worth their salt knows that a lesson taught with technology doesn’t deserve to be awarded brownie points over and above a lesson which isn’t. What matters above everything else, regardless of how a teacher chooses to deliver a lesson is whether the students enjoy the lessons, and that they are learning.
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By whom is it? Having the ability and knowing how it could be used is attractive though.
It can be an inspection criterion. I’ve known colleagues not be awarded a good or outstanding grade in internal and external observations (ofsted) because they weren’t seen to be using ICT and other technology.
I agree that it can add value, but it shouldn’t be a limiting criterion.
It was an observation criterion in my last school. You got brownie points for using technology in class. I agree with you up to a point, but I also think that when used well, technology can turn a great class into an outstanding class. You can just do so much more when you have an IWB in the classroom. The possibilities are endless. I think you have to be careful not to become too reliant on it and use it as a substitute for good teaching, but it’s a great way to engage the students.
Unfortunately, my current school doesn’t have any technology, but at my last one, I used the IWB in so many different ways. Displaying photos for Cambridge speaking tasks rather than just giving out black and white copies. Doing quizzes/games where I could show one question at a time and highlight the correct answer. Showing videos of authentic English speakers. Being able to choose any song in the world for a listening activity. It just made the classes that bit more exciting and interactive.
I definitely don’t think the use of technology is a prerequisite to great teaching, but I do struggle to understand teachers who have technology at hand and choose not to use it.
Spot on, Mike, though I suspect that the rot goes even deeper. I’ve met people working in UK FE who’ve told me their teaching had been graded as ‘inadequate’ (no beating about the bush with language to spare humiliation there, eh?) because the technology failed to work properly during an observation, which, if true, I think is an absolute disgrace!
As teachers, we should be challenging unfair grades handed out by observers who aren’t competent enough to know what they are looking for. Let’s not beat about the bush, here; it’s outrageously poor practice and it deserves to be called out for what it is!
Any observer worth their salt knows that a lesson taught with technology doesn’t deserve to be awarded brownie points over and above a lesson which isn’t. What matters above everything else, regardless of how a teacher chooses to deliver a lesson is whether the students enjoy the lessons, and that they are learning.
Sue