Jeff's e-portfolio

As I proceed through this course, I have become quite excited about the possibilities of using Web 2.0 platforms in my teaching. As I read the paper on New Media Literacies, I decided to experimentally replace each mention of ‘youth’ and ‘students’ with ESL for ‘college-prep’ students, the kind I currently teach here in Vancouver. Admittedly, the groups being referred to are quite different, as are the responsibilities of the school system and colleges like BCIT. Yet, as I do my wee bit to prepare students for their academic futures here in Canada (or in some cases, other primarily English-speaking countries), cultural issues inevitably emerge. The concept of participation is one.

Participation, as I see it anyway, is founded on our democratc ideals that encourages a robust public debate on the issues of the day. I think most ‘millenial’ students here in the west  expect that their education is going to demand the type of participation described in the article. Their civic education has encouraged them to feel that they have a voice which will be heard, if not always attended to. In their school lives, participation in student organizations has always been an option; from the post-secondary level, these groups actually have a bit of power to advocate for students.

In their learning, these ‘Canadian’ students have also been schooled in educational technologies. They expect that a certain level of technological literacy will be required to fully participate in classes.  Their electronic gadgets, if used respectfully, will likely be exploited, at least by the post-secondary level.

Contrast this with various experiences of the students I face. Many come from places where active participation is discouraged at both the classroom level (the teacher is god- you need to only listen passively and regurgitate) and at the civic level (China and Saudi Arabia, for example, are not generally celebrated for involving citizens in political processes). So, the classroom culture they are coming from is quite a bt different.

Turning to the use of internet-related technology, some students seem quite adept at using it, and social media in particular, for their own entertainment and for communication with friends in their first language. But its role in their education, as far as I can tell, appears to have been negligible. As such, it can be said that aside from purely language issues, there is a significant gap in students’ compulsion to participate productively in their classes and institutions, and they are likely wholly unfamiliar with the concept of using technology to foster this participation.

Unfortunately, it can be argued that policies at my institution sustain this gap. According to the current policy in my program, cell phones need to be on ‘silent’ and not be taken out during classtime. Few students bring laptops, and the ones that do can only bring them out during breaks. (This is different during computer lab time, of course, which is quite limited.) This in a program whose ostensible goal is to prepare student for academia in the west.

I know this is not revolutionary, and that it has been discussed on our course blackboard site.Also, it should be acknowledged that technology can be a distraction. The student who cannot construct a clear English sentence is not going to be able to hide behind ‘netspeak’ for long. But I do wonder if this stance that our students’ gadgets have no place in their language and academic education is just plain wrong. How can I, as an ESL instructor, exploit these technologies in the classroom? Will students respond positively? What about learners that do not have the resources to buy their own gadgets? Am I opening myself up to creating a rich-poor divide in the classroom when I consider the use of these technologies? The obstacles are formidable, but this class has made me realize how counter-productive some of our policies are for supporting the abilities of our students to participate fully in their education.