ICT and CLIL

Information and communications technology (ICT) is often used as an extended synonym for information technology (IT), but is a more specific term that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications (telephone lines and wireless signals), computers as well as necessary enterprise software, middleware, storage, and audio-visual systems, which enable users to access, store, transmit, and manipulate information.

The way to use ICTs in a proper way in classrooms is directly related with the constructivism theory. This methodology is a very interesting way to also work CLIL as teachers, because not only it is based in the idea that people construct their own understanding and knowledge of the world, their own reality, but also that there is something called significant learning, this kind of learning is long-term and permanent, goes from a not knowing to a knowing situation and is based in experience and depends on previous knowledge. All the things said before have extended constructivism worldwide and made it a methodology accepted by teachers and research communities around the whole world.

As CLIL teachers we must be aware of the fact that, using different kinds of technologies in our classrooms is a good way to improve our student´s motivation without paying attention to what kind of area we are trying to work (math, science, physical education…) the use of any kind of device will be a very powerful support to motivate our students.

We must also think about the possibilities that it gives us as a non-speaking country, the support of the internet and softwares like skype, or some kind of tools as the blogs, is the best way to establish international relationship with schools form English speaking countries, that is an awesome way to improve the implication of the students in areas like English speaking countries history or literature, being the use of TICS in the school a vital way to do it. That is one of the strongest points in constructivism, to think that we can construct our own knowledge and understanding of reality, but is in the interaction with others where they can really test that reality and improve their knowledge about how reality is.

To conclude we can say that educational technology will be really useful to us as teachers when it is at the service of pedagogy and didactics. If it is pedagogy based in constructivism, where students learn in a collaborative and motivational way, technology will help us in several ways. We are going to improve significant learning and discover new ways to develop the social knowledge. Technologies such as the internet, tablets or interactive boards will make easier to the way to implement constructivism in our classroom.