B ENEFITS AND CHALLENGES OF USING MEDIA IN TEACHING

There are both benefits and challenges in using media in teaching. Chin et al. (2011: 12) discuss the possibilities of the internet as an extensive source of authentic language materials as well as a provider of learning contents that are more interactive and adaptive than ever before. The internet also allows students to communicate with native speakers or other learners of the same language and improve their language skills by using the language in authentic situations. The constantly developing technologies also provide language learners with access to various different types of media, such as Facebook or blogs, which also give

the learners an opportunity to create their own material and publish it for a small group of people or for a broader audience. Tschirner (2011: 25-26) points out that video blogging, and podcasts have entered the world of foreign language learning and teaching, which in his view provides great opportunities because of the amount of input that they offer for students.

Tschirner reminds that for many students it is, in fact, oral proficiency that they hope to achieve. In addition, he argues that in the acquisition process of oral proficiency, audio and video materials are invaluable. Youtube videos also provide us with cultural content of the places where the languages are spoken and, thus, promote cultural learning too. Tschirner (2011: 34-37) concludes that exposing students to input is one of the most important factors in foreign language teaching. Videos work well for that purpose and they actually provide an opportunity to focus on form if they are divided into relatively brief segments.

Listening comprehension is often considered an area in language teaching that is difficult to resource, but during recent years teachers have suddenly been able to access a nearly endless amount of material (Siddell 2011: 43). The reason for this has been the development especially in the compatibility and portability of files as well as the proliferation of video and audio materials on the internet. According to Siddell (2011: 50-51), sourcing materials from the internet and from websites is not much different from incorporating newspapers, television programs or radio to language teaching. Siddell (2011: 65) also mentions that there is value in incorporating online listening materials to the curriculum and that the students find listening comprehension with included images more engaging. Siddell (2011: 43) points out, that broadcasting networks are especially useful because they have websites that provide regularly updated information about a wide array of issues. What is more, the purpose of these websites is journalism and not language learning and teaching, which makes them ideal sources of authentic material for language teaching as they are updated by native speakers living in the target language community. Siddell (2011: 51) also discusses the fact that digital media on broadcasting websites is accompanied by headlines, summaries, reviews, comment pages and illustrations to name a few. This in turn makes broadcast sites very valuable for teaching as they provide support for the different texts and media clips that are embedded on the website.

Siddell (2011: 54) also points out that it is much more convenient to use for example students’

own laptops or portable media players to access audio and video files, whereas before to watch a DVD the teachers needed access to a player, had to book a facility and sometimes

also seek assistance from a technician if the devices were not working properly. This has been a constraint and an inconvenience, but it has also made the course content manageable and finite. With personal laptops and other devices, materials can be accessed without difficulty in the classroom, provided that the internet connection is working, which also poses problems as the material available becomes very extensive and detailed.

Back when the internet was still relatively new, the greatest obstacle in using ICT in education was allegedly the lack of skills or willingness of teachers (Siddell 2011: 65).

However, currently teachers along with everyone else are using various ICT applications at work and at home for many purposes. Siddell (2011: 60-62) draws attention to the fact that there are also limitations that should be taken into account. As limitations, he mentions hardware and software constraints, time constraints and mixed messages. Hardware and software constraints mean not having enough bandwidth or devices to work with. For instance video clips are not that reliable in language teaching because they might lose synchronization between sound and picture or even stop completely. Video files might also work in some settings perfectly and in others not at all. The computers at home and at school might be set up very differently, thus making it difficult to rely on the files working properly. When it comes to time restraints, Siddell reminds that even though both student and teachers might be very excited about the possibilities that digital media applications and the internet provide, it is still very labor intensive to incorporate these in language classes. The abundance of material in the internet requires time from the teachers in order to evaluate which materials are the most suitable for a classroom setting. The third limitation mentioned by Siddell, mixed messages, has to do with the prevailing mindset about computers as a source of distraction.

The use of ICT is heavily promoted in the curriculum and by schools, but at the same time schools have set restrictions in order to prevent students getting side-tracked by mobile phones and other portable devices during classes. It is all the more difficult for teachers to ensure that students are not accessing inappropriate sites when for example mobile phones are used in teaching, but then again mobile phones have various useful application for language teaching. It is really a question of whether the advantages outweigh the possible disadvantages.

Kankaanranta et al. (2011a: 70) listed similar challenges for using ICT in education. In 2010, the greatest challenge was the lack of time. Other major limitations were the uncertainty of teachers about using ICT in education as well as the lack of their ICT skills. In addition, there

were not enough personnel qualified to support the use of ICT in schools. The respondents also mentioned that there was not enough ICT equipment or computers, the curricula were too strict, there was not enough digital teaching and learning materials or the computers were outdated. Some also mentioned that the internet connection was too slow or not available for all computers.

Another considerable problem especially with using social media in teaching has been the question of what can be published online (Keränen 2015). In addition, the rights of the students and the teacher have been vague. Even though tablets and smartphones are used quite often at schools, the guidelines and rules to their use vary greatly between schools and municipalities. Using social media in teaching requires a lot from the teachers. They need to be aware of copyright laws and personal data laws to be able to navigate in different social media but clear instructions are nowhere to be found. According to Keränen (2015), the safest social media applications are from Finland or from inside the European Union when it comes to personal data laws. Especially the abundance of American social media applications used in teaching is problematic. The Safe Harbour system is a contract between the United States and the European Union that is supposed to keep people’s personal data safe, but its reliability has been questioned by many, even by the Data Protection Ombudsman in Finland. Keränen (2015) also argues that there is an urgent need for in-service training for teachers since many teachers feel that they do not have the abilities to teach ICT the way the new National Core Curriculum of Finland requires. All in all, Finland uses ICT in education less than the average country in Europe. However, the upcoming transition to electronic matriculation examinations will probably boost the use of ICT in classrooms.