1. Teaching context
I have been an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teacher for over 25 years both in the UK and Japan in various different institutional contexts. Since 2004, I have been teaching at Okayama University in the west of Japan. It is a large, public university with 13 faculties ranging from agriculture to medicine to education. I mainly teach various compulsory English language courses to first- and second-year students. The academic year starts in April and is broken down into four terms. The following is my schedule for Term 3 starting in October 2020:
Monday: Speaking (2 classes of 30 first-year students); Introduction to Global Studies (30 students) Tuesday: Academic Writing (small graduate class); Speaking and Listening (35 second-year students) Thursday: Writing (2 classes of 25 first-year students); IELTS preparation class (40 students – all years) Friday: Model United Nations (20 students – all years) Total: 13.5 contact hours
From April 2020, all classes have been online with Moodle as an LMS. All students have a Gmail address and access to Google Tools. Most students own a laptop computer and a smartphone and if they do not then they can borrow them from the university. I have used a mix of synchronous and asynchronous approaches experimenting with combinations of Zoom, Padlet, YouTube, various Google Tools and Moodle. Of course, COVID-19 has meant a steep learning curve for all teachers in adapting to an online environment and I am supporting my colleagues as best I can to make that transition by creating various support materials (Cowie & Sakui, 2020a; Cowie & Sakui, 2020b).
2. Interest in technology enhanced learning
In the short video below I explain why I am interested in digital technology for education (it involves a short story about a broken leg) and more about my teaching context. Throughout the e-Portfolio are videos that I made in March 2019 for an Auckland University of Technology course called CMALTcMOOC. I joined the course in order to help prepare this CMALT submission.
3. Other information
My research partner, Keiko Sakui, and I have written a book chapter (Sakui & Cowie, forthcoming) on how we learned about the use of technology for education. We use a self-narrative and ‘Community of Practice’ framework (Lave & Wenger, 1991) to describe how we moved from novice to old-timer status. In this learning journey, we address the importance of political and economic factors in our development (my privilege as a university teacher to receive research grants or take a sabbatical for example); our evolving teacher identity (from non-techie to a tech-savvy colleague); and, the need to address both the social and cognitive aspects of adult learning including concepts such as investment, positive self-image and persistence (learning about technology is a long process in which you need to keep going!)
There is a slideshow on the same topic that I made for a EUROCALL conference (Cowie, 2017) that you can view here. I gave the presentation on my own but there are some inserted videos with Keiko talking about her experience.
4. Why CMALT?
The process of putting this submission together is a valuable opportunity to reflect on my experiences of learning and teaching using technology, and to think carefully about how I might enhance them in the future. You may be surprised to know that Japan is not as advanced in the soft uses of technology for educational purposes as it is in the sophisticated production of hardware. As a result, I would like to contribute to helping colleagues and peers use technology effectively in the future. Japan’s higher education system is positively embracing the concepts of ‘active learning’, ‘deep learning’, ’21st-century skills’ and so on. The appropriate use of digital technology and digital literacy are valuable components of those ideas that I can have a role in developing. As part of that developmental role, I think that undergoing CMALT accreditation will better prepare me to support Japan’s adaptation to technology-enhanced learning.
References
Cowie, N. (August 23rd, 2017). EFL teacher learning in Japan: Joining a digital community of practice. Presentation at the EUROCALL Annual Conference. Southampton University, Southampton, UK.
Cowie, N., & Sakui, K. (2020a). Advice from the field: Tips for teaching online. Kobe JALT Journal, 2(1), 23-29.
Cowie, N., & Sakui, K. (2020b). Emergency online teaching: Making effective videos. Osaka JALT ‘Back to School’ Online Conference.
Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Sakui, K., & Cowie, N. (forthcoming). Language teacher learning in Japan: Joining a digital technology community of practice. In Y. Kimura, L. Yang & T-Y Kim (Eds.) Teacher Motivation, Autonomy and Development in East Asia. New York: Springer Publishing Company.