Importance of Technology for an English Class Essay

I am a true believer that technology has become part of our daily life, especially when it comes to teaching a Lingua Franca just like the English Language. It is a tool that we as teachers cannot keep isolated; it is there to contribute in the teaching and learning process. However, when talking about teaching English fully online, it may have its advantages as well as its disadvantages. First, I would like to highlight some of the advantages students and teachers may encounter or face when dealing with this type of device. For example, often students work full or part time jobs while going to college so their time is valuable. So these students make some decisions in choosing classes online because these classes give flexibility, so this is convenient for students when not having enough time . In addition, a student can usually take the course any time during the day or week. They can also take the class based on their schedules. Many students work on their course during the middle of the night or early in the morning. The flexibility of the course makes it possible for a person to complete the course, while attending college courses in person might be impossible due to their work schedules. Another great advantage of English online courses is that almost any type of skills can be found online. Distance learning courses are often available from a number of colleges. A person can simply use the Google to find a class. Furthermore, many students enjoy classes on line because they avoid facing the instructor and feel free to ask questions and get answers back almost immediately Online courses are convenient for most undergraduate and graduate students who can study when they want and they can finish writing or researching assignments based on their own personal schedules. The fact is as I mentioned above online courses offer flexibility and convenience that are often vital to students who work and have families. Second, teachers teaching English online have the great advantage of using helpful tools by just clicking on , tools that may help us to keep students interested, motivated and eager to learn. On line teachers have access to so many things that sometimes are not seen in a regular classroom. In many cases, online avoid monotony and the environment is completely different to what we see every single day. I have heard many experiences from teachers and students about teaching online and some of them are good, just a few exceptions . As I mentioned at the beginning, teaching online also has its negative side, for example the lack of supervision, the cost of online courses, which are often expensive. Another disadvantage of online courses is the complete lack of supervision. If a person is not motivated to finish what they start, then it is probably not a good idea to take an online course. While there may be deadlines and expectations from the online course instructor, there is no one there to remind him/her to do the assignments or to take the tests. Besides, a student or teacher who does not have computer or internet skills cannot expect to do well with an online course. A student or teacher taking or giving an online course must have access to a computer. These are two requirements that need to be considered before taking an online course. A large disadvantage in taking online courses is whether they are accepted by other colleges. It is important to check out whether the course will be accepted by others? Who actually offers the course? Does a college offer this course? Another important disadvantage of taking an online course is found in students who have the tendency to procrastinate. Do they procrastinate when it comes to completing their writing assignments? Do they finish their goals? If the answer is yes, then it is probably not a wise idea for them to take an online course. Teaching English online is a great tool for teachers and students who have good skills at computers and internet. For example in our case if we do not have a good command on this , we cannot waste our students` time trying to understand or learn how to use certain tools. That is why we should be prepared for the new modalities in teaching, we have to get updated in order to go at the same speed of our students`. The teaching online demands from teachers and students to have a good computer equipment, as well as good headphones, microphones, etc. for a good development of the class. Finally, everything is possible in teaching it is just a matter of a good preparation to break down the barriers of this century.