As a French teacher at a university in Sweden, I’m faced with some interesting challenges when it comes to using digital tools in teaching, not least because the courses are open to everyone, of all ages, and I often have classes in which the ages range from 18 to 78 (my oldest student).
In my day-to-day work at Lunds University, we are using more and more digital tools, whether in on-campus courses or in distance learning courses (which are an increasingly important part of our teaching). There are a lot of challenges between mastering these tools (interactive platform like the one we use, Canvas, but also zoom, power Point presentation, etc.), which requires full training for us teachers- which we don’t always have access to – and spending a lot of time just using them, and the way in which students grasp them.
Even though Sweden has long been ahead (compared for instance to France where I come from) in terms of technology (mobile phones and computers were part of Swedish daily life when I arrived in Sweden in the 90s, whereas they were almost non-existent in France, especially telephones), and students of all ages are used to these tools, using them can still be complex for teachers and students alike.
The digital development can sometimes go a little too fast, with engineers creating tools that are very, or even too, powerful. And we teachers can sometimes only use a small percentage of these tools (due to lack of time, lack of training, some reluctance sometimes due to the lack of digital capabilities, or the fear of just not be able to use them properly), while students expect us to master them. What’s more, many students today work more often with their phone or a tablet than with a computer, which makes the teacher’s job even harder.
What’s more, we use these tools directly during lessons, for exercises or online texts (to avoid making photocopies), which inevitably creates downtime to explain to some people how to access the right pages or click on the right link. Not to mention the distraction that a computer and its content can cause during a class.
In short, the digital world is changing at breakneck speed, and we teachers have to work hard to keep up. That’s why this course is so interesting!
Matilda Björkqvist says:
Hello,
Thank you for sharing your interesting reflections on topic 1!
It sounds like you have a lot of challenges regarding the students´ it-literacy, since they are so very varied in age.
I find it interesting that you use so many digital tools in language learning, even when you are on campus, but I guess it is important that all teaching evolves, also in regards to language. Again something that takes up a lot of the teacher´s time: planning and learning.
I hope you get a lot out of this course!
Best regards, Matilda, PBL group 1
May 2, 2025 — 9:41 am
Thierry Gilles says:
Thank you Matilda,
the use of these many digital tools is sometimes more forced than voluntary, and requires significant investment. But it’s a world that’s changing so fast that I don’t feel I have much choice if I want to survive with all these young students 🙂 And I have to admit that this course has given me a lot at the moment and that it will help me in my future teaching.
Best regards.
May 18, 2025 — 8:29 pm
RAYA HAMAD says:
i too feel the same, especially when it comes to openness and sharing, as I’m afraid to be judged by other colleagues, but I now think it’s time for change and take that as constructive criticism that in longer run will make improve my teaching
May 8, 2025 — 10:17 am
RAYA HAMAD says:
I completely agree with this, considering we are coming from different environments.
In Tanzania, as well, we are trying to adopt and use technology in our teaching; however, we mostly prefer the traditional way of teaching and learning
but the environment is forcing us to adopt the use of more technology, and as educators, sometimes our students have superior use of technology compared to us, their educator, and that puts us in a position of we need to use technology and be good at it to be able to facilitate learning to our students
May 8, 2025 — 10:24 am
Thierry Gilles says:
Thanks for your comment, Raya.
Like you, I don’t think we teachers have much choice but to jump on the bandwagon and try to keep up with technological developments, so as not to look “ridiculous” in front of our students. And I think this course is a good way of doing it. I hope you like it as much as I do.
Best regards.
May 18, 2025 — 8:34 pm