A Teacher’s Journey Of Discovery Into The EdTech World
Over the last 9 months at Setapp I have learnt that the opportunity to use the latest tech for more engaging lessons is an opportunity too good to miss.
With the help of my new tech-savvy friends I’ve now been introduced to a whole host of EdTech options that can improve the learning experience and make things so much more interesting and fun.
One particular tech which I’ve been using a lot lately is VR. Although the use of VR in the classroom is still in its infancy, and needs to be developed especially for language learning, it does have huge potential.
For many companies and schools, there is the issue of the availability of hardware, which is still relatively inaccessible and expensive, but once this is overcome it should pave the way for greater things.
It’s a really exciting time to be a teacher.
Now with the ubiquity of smartphones and their many apps, and with the emergence of VR & AR, the possibilities of making lessons more effective and engaging are endless.
But there is a lot to be discovered, and as teachers, we have to be prepared to be open to new ideas and also to walk in our student’s shoes.
So strap yourself in and get ready to take a journey of EdTech discovery!
Step 1 — Find a tool that fits your needs
Every journey requires a first step, and mine was to figure out the current availability of VR games and software that would be suitable for people to improve their English skills. Especially something that would allow people to communicate detailed information, work in a team and have fun.
I have tried out a few different VR games so far, but in this first part, I’d like to share with you what I think is one of the best games currently available that targets communication skills and team building.
It was clear from the advice that I was getting from the specialists around me, especially from our VR guru Michal Wroblewski, that the bomb defusal game Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes would definitely tick all of the boxes.
Developed by Steel Crate Games and released in 2015, the concept of this game is very cool; the person in the headset is ‘the defuser’ and is trapped in a room with a ticking time bomb that they must defuse in 5 minutes, whilst other team members known as ‘the experts’ are in the real world reading and passing on instructions from a detailed defusal manual (you can download the manual here).
It’s all about sharing clear information calmly whilst under pressure and it’s perfect for improving the following skills:
- describing what you see and passing on detailed information
- forming and asking questions in order to retrieve important information
- scanning a text and finding specific instructions
- working efficiently as an important team player
Step 2 — Planning your lessons
A good place to start is to ask your students if anyone has played the game before. If you get lucky then encourage them to explain the point of the game and the rules to the others. Language teachers should know that the less ‘teacher talking time’ the better. It’s good to use visuals to assist this process.
Secondly, it is useful to pre-teach vocab such as the verb ‘to defuse’ and less well known words like ‘disarm’ and ‘module’, and also to check pronunciation of the word ‘bomb’ due to its silent second ‘b’.
It is then necessary to allow each person with the headset to go through the 5-minute in-game tutorial, in which time other players can get familiar with the manual. An optional task at this point can be to allow your students to agree on names to associate with the abstract symbols used in one of the modules. However, some people preferred to make up the names whilst in the critical moment of the game, so it’s a good idea to offer a choice.
Extra tip
Lessons at first weren’t without teething troubles. We tried it out with a group of 8 people which wasn’t ideal. So we came to the conclusion that 4 people per headset is optimal, so you should plan your number of headsets according to your group size. The minimum number of players required is 2, so it can be great for teachers involved in one-to-one conversation lessons, where you can take it in turns to be the defuser and the expert.
Step 3 — Have Fun!
It’s best to start with ‘the first bomb’ which only requires 3 different modules (one for each ‘expert’) to be solved. Then once everyone becomes familiar with the game you can take things to the next level and beyond. This involves more modules to disarm.
If you have more than one team you can add a competitive element to the proceedings by awarding the team that can diffuse the bomb in the fastest time. You could also start your own ‘bomb squad club’, for those who want to keep on defusing as an extracurricular activity. It’s very difficult not to have fun with this game.
Last thoughts
Overall, I believe that by allowing myself as a teacher to be vulnerable and uncertain and therefore to ask my students to lead the way, has been a significant revelation on my journey so far.
I’ve been able to discover things that I would never have been able to find without stepping back and encouraging others in the team to take control. This approach allows people to use their natural abilities and work efficiently in a team. Natural leaders, technicians, artistic people and many other types will reveal themselves if prompted.
If you’d like more information about how to plan things out, or need more ideas for better language learning or team building lessons, then please contact me. I’d be happy to talk :)
Contact details: ronniekosmider@gmail.com
Happy travels.
