GOODBYE...for now or not?

Hey everyone, this is my final blog post for this semester :( 

Before I started this semester, I had very limited knowledge about technology integration in English language teaching. I thought that technology was limited to the use of a smart board, PowerPoint presentations, and maybe a few videos. However, thanks to this course, my perspective has completely changed. I realized that technology is not only a tool but also an element that enriches learning, motivates students, and makes teaching more effective.

The tasks we completed during the course both informed and made me think about this. For example, while preparing an infographic on “cyberbullying,” I learned about digital safety and experienced how I could use technology for educational purposes. Also, working with Canva and similar digital tools like Google Docs and AI tools helped me understand the impact of visual and written designs in teaching. The reflective writings we did with our peers and ourselves also helped me evaluate myself after each task and realize my progress.

The task I enjoyed the most was writing a movie review because it was both enjoyable and more interactive with my group members thanks to Google Docs. My least favorite task was the infographic because it really challenged me to create a template according to the context and collect ideas, and then summarizing them to fit in the infographic poster was hard to deal with for me. I actually thought that I wouldn't enjoy group tasks, but in ICT assignments I realized that working with other people helped me to gain new perspectives about issues, and other members of the task could guide me if I struggled while doing something about the task we were given. To improve this course, I think I don't have any ideas because throughout the semester, every given task was sufficient to apply all we learned in the class for me. However, if I could say anything, it would be that it would be very useful for pre-service teachers to design and present their own technology-based mini-lesson plans according to the information they have learned and tasks they experienced in the classroom.

Overall, this course has transformed my view of technology and motivated me on how to use digital tools more effectively in my classroom in the future. I hope you enjoyed reading all my experiences I've shared with you throughout the semester. If you want to talk to me about anything, don't forget to comment on any of my posts!