Teacher, Teaching, and Technology: The Changed and Unchanged

Linqiong Lü

doi:10.5539/ies.v11n8p39

Abstract

The use of videotaped microlectures as a new medium of teaching has been receiving increased attention in China’s educational reform agenda. Since 2012, microlecture competitions targeting various levels of education have been held nationwide. However, a top–down contest-based approach, while efficiently popularizing the concept of microlectures, may create a false impression among classroom teachers unfamiliar with technology, leading them to confuse microlectures with exhibitions of complex computer and media technologies and, thus, intimidating them from trying the new teaching mode. Using autoethnography to document in detail the author’s production of a nationally awarded microlecture, the present study highlights what classroom teachers can do using technology-mediated teaching and asserts that teachers’ personal practical knowledge, rather than technology, plays the decisive role in producing a microlecture. It also argues that by taking on the dual role of ethnographer-as-researcher and ethnographer-as-informant, classroom teachers can use reflective autoethnography as a meaningful learning experience to understand and critique their teaching practices and develop living educational theories for the enhancement of technological pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK) in massive open online courses (MOOCs).

Highlights

With the fast development of new technology and media, massive open online courses (MOOCs) and microlectures are gaining popularity as part of China’s educational reforms
The strong technological component manifested in many microlectures could deter teachers who are experienced in the classroom but lack educational technology skills
Perhaps, teachers could confuse the ultimate purpose of microlecture as showing teaching instead what it really should be: a facilitated learning experience

Summary

Introduction

With the fast development of new technology and media, massive open online courses (MOOCs) and microlectures are gaining popularity as part of China’s educational reforms. In 2010, the Chinese State Council promulgated the Educational Reform and Development Scheme (2010–2020) to promote the use of digital resources in foreign language teaching and learning. Microlecture contests targeting various levels of education have been held nationwide since 2012. Despite its efficiency in popularizing and showcasing the microlecture medium, a top–down contest-based approach to promoting microlectures might create misleading, if not false, impressions of what a microlecture is. The strong technological component manifested in many microlectures could deter teachers who are experienced in the classroom but lack educational technology skills. Perhaps, teachers could confuse the ultimate purpose of microlecture as showing teaching instead what it really should be: a facilitated learning experience

Methods

Findings

Discussion

Conclusion