In 1994 I started my teaching career.  I am a modern languages teacher.  I love languages and I love inspiring my pupils to learn about other languages and cultures. When I first entered the classroom all those years ago my main aim was to be a good teacher.  I had not given much thought to how I was going to achieve my aim or indeed what it even meant to be a good teacher.  I was young, enthusiastic, full of energy and positive. Surely, with these attributes, I would achieve my goal, no matter how idealistic it may have seemed?

I think to start with youth and the aforementioned characteristics were on my side.  My pupils liked me and I liked them - that is always a good starting point and ensured that we had a good working atmosphere.  I had listened well on my PGCE and was able to bring some good techniques with me and apply them in the classroom.  And what about that classroom?  How different was it from the one I teach in today?  Back then, I was lucky to have a variety of coloured chalks to use and a whiteboard and felt pens. 

I used flashcards to introduce new vocabulary and photocopied pictures from books for my worksheets or even drew my own  (poor quality) pictures.  Worksheets were handwritten and photocopied (although at some point in my career I did use a Banda machine) and stored away in folders. The ability to update such resources was limited - generally you had to start again and I can remember using a lot of tippex.  

As for technology.  What technology?  Listening exercises did play a part in lessons, of course, but these were played on tape machines and it was not unheard of for the tape in the cassette to break on occasion.  I do recall going through tapes before public examinations to make sure there was sound on them - not something we have to do nowadays with soundfiles delivered over computers.  Videos, too, were played on old VHS machines and pinpointing a particular section of a film or documentary proved quite tricky.  This was an area that I steered clear of - why use something that might not work?  It was risky and I did not enjoy technological breakdowns.  

Reading this now makes me wonder how I ever managed.  However, I did cope - in fact teachers coped.  This was the classroom teaching reality at the time and although teaching was different then in terms of technology, I do believe that we had the best intentions and the best interests of the pupils at heart and we used the best methods to ensure pupils made progress. That element of teaching and teachers remains the same.  

Nonetheless, the introduction of technology has had an impact - for the better - on what I do and what many others are doing in the classroom.  As a linguist I have enjoyed being able to play short clips from the news from foreign channels or even simply from You Tube.  Students can hear up to the minute information from young people their age who understand their issues.  In addition, my students are able to record their oral work in a way that simply was not possible when I first started and I am able to record messages back for them.  These technological advances seem very focused on the Modern Languages classroom.  However, just as technology has had a huge impact on daily life in general then inevitably changes to teaching have opened up the whole process in ways that seemed unimaginable twenty or even ten years ago.  Changes are occurring by the day almost and it sometimes seems hard to keep abreast of what is happening.

So, with all this change, how do we teachers keep afloat and ensure that we continue to do the best for our students?  For me, at the core of what I do in the classroom, is the methodology.  Is what I do in the classroom going to impact positively on the teaching and learning?  Can technology enhance what I am doing?  Or, used in this situation, will it merely be a gimmick?  These are important considerations.  Used contextually technology can enable greater progression but it should not be used simply for the sake of it.

Twenty-six years on I was happy to use technology to enhance my language lessons and did so with the aid of one iPad (or, on occasion a whole class set) or with a whole room full of computers.  I could see how technology could play a part in every classroom process from assigning work to collecting it in. 

Technology allowed me to assess my students in ways that simply was not possible formerly.  I could see at the tap of a screen or a click of a button what level each student had attained and I could then plan accordingly.  Differentiated Instruction really became achievable with such technology not only in the level of tasks set but in the way in which students could tackle their work.  

Such changes represented great progress because it meant that we could do more to ensure that our students' needs remained at the heart of our teaching and put processes in place to make certain that individuals worked at a pace and in a way that enabled them to make the most progress and achieve the greatest success. I was able to scaffold appropriately. This was and is at the heart of what we do as teachers.  

Twenty-six years on and I teach in a Microsoft Showcase School where all students and teachers have a Surface Pro and the technological advances I profited from when using an iPad I enjoy using now too. The advances are the same, the tools are different. In fact, if anything, things are even easier. I work using Class Notebook which allows me to share work with my students and then easily support them as they tackle tasks. I can embed video and audio and links to resources and activities that I need my students to access as they go through the stages of learning a language: repetition of chunks, producing those chunks in a more structured way to finally producing language spontaneously. You can read more about what a lesson in Class Notebook looks like here, And actually here's a break down of just a few tools I use now and how I use them:

1. Microsoft Forms
2. Flipgrid
3. Quizizz
4. Live Marking in Class Notebook

So, back to my original desire: to be a good teacher.  I am not sure I am the person to judge whether, after twenty-six years in the classroom, I am a good teacher.  Obviously, I have my opinion on this and there are plenty of signs that seem to validate my success, such as pupil take up and interest, but it is not really for me to say.  Maybe when I first started I was not fully aware of what I needed to do to be a good teacher. I certainly could not have imagined teaching all my lessons remotely as has been the case recently. However, I remain excited at what is happening in classrooms today - yes, even with virtual/remote lessons, I am excited - and am still enthusiastic and keen to stand in front of a class of students and help them to discover the joys of other languages and cultures.  As a teacher, I want to learn new techniques and think through how best to encourage my students to learn. What is more, the advent of technology has played a part in maintaining my enthusiasm and will ensure that I continue to grow and develop as a teacher. 

It is 2014. Twenty-six and a bit years after I started my teaching career.  I am a modern languages teacher.  I love languages and I love inspiring my pupils to learn about other languages and cultures. My main aim is still to be a good teacher.  I may not be young anymore, but I am enthusiastic, full of energy and positive.   Twenty-six years on I still love my job.