First steps into … Introduction

Ed Tech, or education technology, features prominently in the world of ELT these days. Perhaps you have seen articles and presentations that talk about emerging pedagogies, transformational technology or disruptive innovation; or seen materials claiming to promote blended or flipped learning; or have heard that the next big thing in ELT are digital literacies. Things certainly look as if they are changing fast around us, but how are these new ideas transforming language learning and teaching?

Over the coming months, with the help of Ed Tech expert Brian Bennett, onestopenglish will be looking at the ideas one by one in a series written especially for teachers interested to know more. We will be answering important questions, such as:

• What do modes of teaching, such as blended and flipped language learning, look like in practice?
• What are digital literacies and how do they affect my classes and my students?
• What are the teaching skills I need for the 21^st Century?

As well as learning what you need to navigate around the emerging technologies and become familiar with them, you’ll also get helpful advice on how to start integrating elements into your lessons. Specifically, there are tips and ideas about how to:

• blend digital resources with traditional classroom activities
• make effective use of classroom time with the new tools available
• flip your lessons
• select digital content for the right learning outcome
• use online course components to support students who are learning at different paces
• encourage independent practice for 21st century learning

This is an exciting time to be teaching. Many of these ideas have not yet been fully developed and there is still a lot to learn. Onestopenglish will be watching closely as the new pedagogies emerge and develop, and this series of articles will change and grow alongside them.

At the heart of it all is the all-important question: what impact are these new technologies going to have on your students and on you? We hope to answer that question, so watch this space!