Media Education
The Twenty-First Century Classroom
A case for developing multimedia literacy in Japan
By Simon Mason Masonsan.com 2010/10/05
This article will discuss how children in their teenage years and early twenties have utilized new technology to communicate with each other in different ways and how these new forms of communication could be an area that the English language teacher can build lessons around. Regardless of what students are communicating, the use of technology to communicate will have an effect on their communicative skills and how and where they would like to express themselves. This article will not discuss in detail what effect new technology has had on the content of communication rather that teachers should be aware of how language lessons could reflect these changes and use some of these technologies to create interesting ideas for classes.
It is true to say that mediated communication on a scale previously unseen is now part of all modern life in Japan, the UK, in the US and across Europe. This article aims to discuss and promote the use of multimedia and various media formats in the classroom, both for Junior and High School level and at undergraduate level at universities and technical schools. Empirical examples from University teaching experiences in the UK and High School teaching experiences in Japan will be discussed. In the case of Japanese High Schools, there will be a detailed example of multimedia use and film making. The English level of the high school students and undergraduate students is taken to be roughly beginner to pre-intermediate in both cases.
A Quick Definition of Multimedia
In this article the use of websites, digital cameras, video camera, smart boards, PCs and digital projectors will be referred to as multimedia items. This will be different from referring to media as video footage, TV footage, DVDs, website content and newspapers.
Dilemmas for both Native and Japanese English Teachers
There has been a
A case for developing multimedia literacy in Japan
By Simon Mason Masonsan.com 2010/10/05
This article will discuss how children in their teenage years and early twenties have utilized new technology to communicate with each other in different ways and how these new forms of communication could be an area that the English language teacher can build lessons around. Regardless of what students are communicating, the use of technology to communicate will have an effect on their communicative skills and how and where they would like to express themselves. This article will not discuss in detail what effect new technology has had on the content of communication rather that teachers should be aware of how language lessons could reflect these changes and use some of these technologies to create interesting ideas for classes.
It is true to say that mediated communication on a scale previously unseen is now part of all modern life in Japan, the UK, in the US and across Europe. This article aims to discuss and promote the use of multimedia and various media formats in the classroom, both for Junior and High School level and at undergraduate level at universities and technical schools. Empirical examples from University teaching experiences in the UK and High School teaching experiences in Japan will be discussed. In the case of Japanese High Schools, there will be a detailed example of multimedia use and film making. The English level of the high school students and undergraduate students is taken to be roughly beginner to pre-intermediate in both cases.
A Quick Definition of Multimedia
In this article the use of websites, digital cameras, video camera, smart boards, PCs and digital projectors will be referred to as multimedia items. This will be different from referring to media as video footage, TV footage, DVDs, website content and newspapers.
Dilemmas for both Native and Japanese English Teachers
There has been a
References: Teachit – English Teaching Online (1999-2010), http://www.teachit.co.uk Shuell, T. J., & Farber, S. L. (2001). Students’ perceptions of technology use in college courses. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 24, 119-138. Facebook Users - Internet World Stats (Oct 2010) http://www.internetworldstats.com/asia.htm Japan - The CIA FactBook (Oct 2010) https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ja.html 7. Simon Mason (June 2002), Video conferencing as a tool for language learning, published on Masonsan.com 2001-2010 8. Sarah Coughlan (May 2010), ‘Facebook is a major influence on girls, says survey’, BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10121931 9. Thomas E. Ludwig (2004) Using Multimedia In Classroom Presentations: Best Principles, Pedagogical Innovations Task Force, Hope College, Maine, USA 10