I �m a really old teacher who can remember the days when we didn �t have photocopiers, CD players , computers or youtube.... not quite the days of the slate but close.

 

However I love the new technology. I believe that those of us who are lucky enough to have the equipment  should  use it...but  use it wisely.

 

Of course there are days when our "brilliant technology" breaks down and then it is back to the teacher. Technology is just one of the many tools at our fingertips.

 

So it always comes back to the skill of the teacher. And that only comes from constant learning ....therefore thanks once again for this great site.

1. a good teacher always makes the most of what he/she has at disposal

2. use the materials you feel most comfortable with - if you feel awkward with sth, your sts will probably feel it.

Sometimes I use ppt, but I don �t just do it for the sake of using technology, and then I plan my lesson so that the ppt best serves my purpose in teaching that day. Sometimes, as Ivona said, I also feel the ppt is an obstacle, sort of, between me and the sts, so I prefer a different type of lessons. It also depends upon the fact if you have the technology for it, or the knowledge. And I �ve even overheard some of my sts comment on things like this(they usually comment their other schools in our dressing room, and probably our courses in the other school): �Yes, we have an overhead projector in our x classroom, but what good is it if the teacher doesn �t know what he/she is doing? �

So, as in any other job, the teacher has to know what he/she is doing! And also why they �re doing it, I would add! I �ve seen people use technology in classrooms simply for the sake of flaunting their modern approach, but without any linguistic or educational background!

A good lesson comes from the heart. If you feel it, you prepare it well, even if you only have your eyes and voice at disposal.

Getting back to the original post, Holymary, you do make a good point as well - some teachers I work with have the desire to use and make ppts, but miss the point - for instance, they waste so much time choosing lovely pictures, that they forget to make it a linguistic ppt, or they provide the whole text at once, instead of keeping the sts in suspense, and I especially find it irritating when people use ppts to simply read their lectures (not lessons) from the slides, instead of making the ppts challenging. However, I must say many of them are beginners in this and once they learn the techniques and possibilities, their work becomes much better! When we are ready to learn, we can make progress!