In this journal entry, we have been asked to reflect on our use of technology in the instruction of our ESOL students.  In the past, I have used technology a great deal, but since I started working in the public schools I haven’t used it much, if any.

When I worked for our county’s community college, I had many opportunities to use technology to teach my students.  Many of our classes were held in computer labs, and those that weren’t were held in classrooms with computers at the front desk and projection systems.  They all had the usual software and Internet access, but some of the computer labs had some very useful programs, including some specifically for computer assisted language learning.  Because all this was available to me, I used technology every day in a number of ways.

Before coming to work in the community college, I had used technology very little, but the design of the computer labs at the community college made me want to use technology more.  In the computer labs, sunk into each desk was a computer the students could view through a glass top.  This was ideal because they could use their station as a normal desk with a large, flat top, or they could clear their desk and see the screen below.  The teacher’s station was just another large desk with a computer hidden inside, but it was backed by a white board and a projection screen.  Unlike other language labs I have seen, the communication in this room was not disrupted by cubicles or other such barriers.  The only real disadvantage was that we couldn’t move the desks around and change the way the room was arranged.  So, these labs were ideal because they could be used as computer labs while still having many of the qualities of normal language classrooms.  Previously I had learned to loathe language labs, but I learned to love this one.

The software was another big bonus that made me use the technology in the labs frequently.  These included programs especially designed for computer assisted language learning.  With these programs at our disposal I could diagnose specific language problems from each student and then have them work on them individually instead of trying to cover all of the needs of such a diverse population at one time.  Other programs, such as Inspiration, PowerPoint, and FrontPage gave us many new mediums with which we could present or publish our work.  Even though these programs are not designed for TESOL instruction, they proved to be very useful.

The one I learned to appreciate the most was NetSupport Ware, a program for controlling networked computers.  Using this program I could monitor, guide, and control all of the computers in the lab.  For example, I could view students’ screens as they worked, and I could even send them instant messages to give them feedback on what they were writing.  Besides that, I could also send them activities or exercises in files or even collect work from them in file form instead of collecting papers.  This networking monitoring program proved to be far more useful for teaching writing than other programs like Daedalus that are specifically designed for that purpose.  With NetSupport Ware we could simply continue to use the standard programs commonly used at home or at work (e.g. Microsoft Word) and never have any compatibility problems.  Yet we could all share each other’s work in a number of ways.  Students could bring their drafts on disk or collect them from their email and then work on them anywhere.  And, best of all, I could make changes directly on their papers or projects in different colors and put them up on the class screen as models.  All this made it very easy for me to teach them writing through computers especially the different ways that we could share our work and discuss our choices.  I miss using that technology.

When I came to the U.S. public schools, I expected some disappointments, but the limited use of technology is really disappointing.  Except for VCRs and calculators, I see so little technology being used.  Worst of all, the computers are in special rooms set aside from the other content area instruction.  Computers need to be integrated into every subject matter---they should be a separate subject matter.  I cannot believe that my students are writing multiple drafts of essays by hand.  It seems barbaric to me.

Currently, computers and the Internet are the biggest force for literacy and self-directed learning.  Students these days know how to use an Internet search engine but they don’t know how to use libraries and books anymore.  We teachers need to be taking advantage of this as best we can, but I am a little afraid to require that my students do work with computers.  I know that some of my ESOL students have little if any access to computers.  I have seen some of them struggle to do basic functions.  I know that many of my students are not comfortable with writing on computers.  I can only conclude that instead of merely requiring that they use computers, I need to set aside time to teach them how to use computers and integrate computer instruction into ESOL through various projects.

I have had to do this before and I know what the difficulties are.  I have done lessons at the community college in which I taught how to use programs such as FrontPage and PowerPoint in lockstep moves.  I found that knowing the programs was not enough; I also had to be extremely familiar with the possible snags and the peculiar problems of the lab’s versions.  Also, in those lessons, we had good equipment and a projection so we could all view a model.  It is nearly impossible to teach how to use those programs without a projection.  Those programs were very motivating mediums for the students to write with but I want them in my classroom as part of my class.  I don’t want to have to make special reservations to move my class to the computer lab.  I need to work out some arrangement where I can have it on certain days so we can all know what room we are going to and won’t have to waste time walking around the school, but I cannot be sure from one day to the next whether I can get the lab time.  I am a little reluctant to base my lessons on the assumption that I will have access to this technology and that the technology will function as planned.  I am also a little reluctant to introduce a new element to my classes that might disenfranchise some of the less fortunate students.

As a new teacher, I am still struggling to adapt to the basic job.  I am not quite ready to make my job more difficult yet. 

check out some of my students’ websites

http://www.geocities.com/hcc087

http://www.geocities.com/hcc087night

http://www.geocities.com/colombian_unions