Technology: Action & Not Just Talk

I'm proud of my classroom management. I feel as though I can organize a class well. I mix activies in a way that keeps things moving. My thrill of teaching comes from classroom interaction rather than a love of the materials. I seldom find time to sit though. There's nothing less interesting than a teacher who just hands out grammar worksheets!

In ESL when we refer to authentic materials, we're talking about using real documents such as articles from newspapers. Although less controlled than textbooks, the motivation is increased by using things from real life.

I called BCIT's Audio/Video Department and arranged for a TV and DVD for each of my classes this term. Yesterday, I brought in my first homemade DVD containing stories from the Canada's Daily Planet which is broadcast on the Discovery Channel. They have kindly made this program copyright free for use in schools.




There are some excellent 5 to 6 minutes segments. In fact, over the past week, I've been recording the program on my satellite hard-disk recorder. Next, I've selected and copied off interesting stories to my computer's hard drive though a video capture card. This means they've ended up as mpeg files. I selected about a dozen of these last night, created a menu, and burned a DVD. Now I will be able to bring a bit of the real world into my classroom. Finally, I will be able to duplicate these for other teachers and perhaps provide copies that my students can borrow and take home.