Chapters 1 & 2

Disruptive technology is shaping and changing how students learn in and out school, and if properly used, it can make them more proactive, more engaged and more creative. Technology can be viewed in different ways: "as young adults, technology meant social media and personal enjoyment; as new teachers, technology meant educational activities and academic resources that create lasting learning for students." Therefore, the possibilities of integrating technology and education are enormous and prevalent. That is, instructors should bear in mind that the educational output of connecting instructions and technologies come after long-term observations and subconscious collections. No single use of a software, application, or gadget can fit all needs; and creative ideas and new approaches are built upon and refined from available resources and technology groups. To do this, teachers must be constant learners of and leaders with technology. Still, content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge and technological knowledge must be combined to meet differentiated needs.

To be able to modeling and sharing technology use and recourses, building technology identity is a must and worthwhile -- though demanding. I think the ongoing process of building and updating a technology identity is actually enriching one's understanding and repertoire in creative teaching and learning. In which, one can trail and error new approaches before applying in a bigger setting, and interact with colleagues and technology savvy to enhance the practical performance of technology use. I was excited to explore the potential of tech use in language acquisition; however, I was always encouraged and dismayed by those terminologies and seeming complications. A discussion group with both veterans and novices may help people like me step forward and make more responses to innovations and changes of technology world. Best practice calls for constant dedication and ongoing learning and refection.

Speaking of the obstacles teachers may have to technology use, I think the most important aspect is personal attitudes. In China, at least in what I saw, technology use is not valued primarily due to teachers' attitudes. On top of the problems of funds equipping with technological devices, technology is generally thought to be distractive and dangerous, and teachers are reluctant to spend time to learn ins and outs of new instructional and communication tools. China has long way to transition into creative learning and teaching. Technology adoption should be expanded beyond the basic skills of ppt demonstration and projector use, and technology use should be embedded in pedagogy, which calls out the support of school administrators and parents. Once again, without integrating technological knowledge into content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge, the class performance will not as engaging and creative.

While I'm writing this blog, one of my college classmates in China asked if I could help her search some English articles for her translation assignment. She is currently a graduate student in China majoring in English-Chinese translation and interpretation. I feel amazed how limited she knows about using technology doing research and finding academic resources, and it reminds me of how we learned in university. We all graduated from a teacher-training college, throughout four years study, no single technology class was set up and ever included in any courses. For most students, especially for those who are learning a second language, the learning material is static and repetitive -- partially thanks to the Internet censorship in mainland China, yet mainly due to the rare approaches to innovations and changes. So, as an i-generation teacher, it's imperative to catch up the trends and renovate the teaching skills. I believe that, when teachers resolve on standing out and starting to incorporate technology into classroom, parents and communities hail the shifts, our students will benefit far more than many would think.