Evaluation
_I’m really glad about the fact that our teaching degree program comprises a whole module dealing with new media. To my knowledge, such courses are not part of every teaching program. Yet, this would be really fruitful as I learnt a lot in both courses, “Medienproduktion” and “New Media in Foreign Language Education”.
Content
_I really enjoyed getting to know numerous web tools I have not known before, like wordle or edu pad. These tools can effectively be used for foreign language teaching (cf. New Tools). It is absolutely helpful to get to know different tools as it enables future teachers to include a huge variety of methods and tools in their teaching. This is certainly a motivating factor for pupils.
For me, the field trip was one of the highlights of the course. I think it was beneficial to be informed about the media concept and the media equipment of a specific school. That way, the content of the course was also linked to reality in schools and did not remain on a theoretical level.
Furthermore, discussions in class were positive. In my opinion, it is enriching to get to know different attitudes which can be justified with different arguments. That way, I received impulses for my personal reflection about new media in teaching. For instance, I was not aware of the fact that entire schools do not approve of working with interactive whiteboards. I reflected on the advantages and disadvantages of using them (cf. Interactive Whiteboards). For this reason, I really appreciated that the course instructor put in general a particular focus on personal reflection about new media and its usage.
Getting an insight into the JIM and Bitkom study was informative. As regards the whole program of the course, I would have appreciated to get occasionally more informational and theoretical input. For instance, it would be interesting to know if there are studies analyzing the effects of using new media in learning, for instance in language practice. At the end of the semester, I got to know that specific didactic theories are currently developed, for instance the so-called “Netzdidaktik”. Yet, I would not have been in favor of focusing too much on theory while neglecting practice.
For me, the field trip was one of the highlights of the course. I think it was beneficial to be informed about the media concept and the media equipment of a specific school. That way, the content of the course was also linked to reality in schools and did not remain on a theoretical level.
Furthermore, discussions in class were positive. In my opinion, it is enriching to get to know different attitudes which can be justified with different arguments. That way, I received impulses for my personal reflection about new media in teaching. For instance, I was not aware of the fact that entire schools do not approve of working with interactive whiteboards. I reflected on the advantages and disadvantages of using them (cf. Interactive Whiteboards). For this reason, I really appreciated that the course instructor put in general a particular focus on personal reflection about new media and its usage.
Getting an insight into the JIM and Bitkom study was informative. As regards the whole program of the course, I would have appreciated to get occasionally more informational and theoretical input. For instance, it would be interesting to know if there are studies analyzing the effects of using new media in learning, for instance in language practice. At the end of the semester, I got to know that specific didactic theories are currently developed, for instance the so-called “Netzdidaktik”. Yet, I would not have been in favor of focusing too much on theory while neglecting practice.
Course
_As already mentioned, I am convinced that it is absolutely effective to actually use media in a course dealing with new media. That way, I was able to get to know how to deal with the tools. I also liked that we had time to work out for ourselves how to use the tools. In my opinion, it would have been less effective if someone tells you exactly what to do. The atmosphere in class was also enjoyable as collaborative learning was a premise of the course.
E-portfolio
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Personally, I had not that much experience with writing a portfolio and I worked for the first time with an e-portfolio. I appreciate this type of assessment because it supports the learning process continuously. I was really glad about having the possibility of choosing optional tasks according to my personal interests. For instance, I dealt with weblogs. It was interesting for me to find out that blogs can be used in various ways in teaching (cf. Weblogs in Foreign Language Teaching). From my point of view, choosing tasks individually is really motivating. Therefore, it might also be a good idea to work in school with e-portfolios, blogs, etc. Moreover, it enables learners to take responsibility for their individual learning process and it enhances the learner’s autonomy.
Personally, I had not that much experience with writing a portfolio and I worked for the first time with an e-portfolio. I appreciate this type of assessment because it supports the learning process continuously. I was really glad about having the possibility of choosing optional tasks according to my personal interests. For instance, I dealt with weblogs. It was interesting for me to find out that blogs can be used in various ways in teaching (cf. Weblogs in Foreign Language Teaching). From my point of view, choosing tasks individually is really motivating. Therefore, it might also be a good idea to work in school with e-portfolios, blogs, etc. Moreover, it enables learners to take responsibility for their individual learning process and it enhances the learner’s autonomy.