Humanizing the Use of Technology in ELT by Bruno Andrade

[Heike Philp]

Recording (36min):  http://lancelot.adobeconnect.com/p7ihx0kqrqr/

Bruno Andrade

Humanizing the Use of Technology in ELT

If a teacher places an iPad on a student's desk, does it make him/her smarter? Recently there seems to be a mad race to insert technology in language classrooms at any cost.The common belief is that since our students will depende on technology to have a successful business life, they need to be in contact with technology as much as possible. Others argue that technology should be used as a motivator since ""all"" students are into technology. In fact this rationale may lead to unsatisfactory impacts on our students' learning process.
What teachers fail to see is that the role of technology in class must take a more humanistic approach in order to be effective and meaningful. What teachers fail to see is that the role of technology in class must take a more humanistic approach in order to be effective and meaningful. If technology does not reach to the whole student we may be misusing it. The use of technology for the sake of using is de-humanizing and does not add to the learning experience. Language students already face a strong sense of anxiety and apprehension when dealing with the new language. Technology may pose as yet another source of anxiety. Thus if overtly used, students may experience a double shot of anxiety hendering the learning experience. If the use of technology does not reach the whole student we may be misusing it. Using technology for the sake of using is de-humanizing and does not add to the learning experience. 
In this talk I shall propose reasons and ways of humanizing technology in language teaching. Through lecture and questions, participants will be invited to rethink their beliefs concerning technology and will find support on how to make it more humanistic."

Bio

Bruno has been teaching English in Brazil for over 10 years. He is interested in ways of applying technology to the curriculum but mostly to humanize it, in order to reach the whole student. He has been recently awarded the Learning Technologies Scholarship for the IATEFL conference in Glasgow, 2012. He is an active blogger and avid reader.