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• Digital Diet and Relevant Minority Aspects during Home Preschool Education

  121-130

  Tünde Barabási

  Gabriella Mária Stark

  Views:

  124

  The aim of the present research is to provide an outline of the home education situation of Hungarian children enrolled in educational institutions in Romania. The research focuses on the perspective of early childhood teachers and education experts. Our objective is to identify the factors influencing the digital diet in minority preschool education and investigate whether this phenomenon, along with practices in home education, have specific distinguishing features as compared to trends in mainstream education. Approaches to digital diet and preschoolers’ use of digital tools are basic components of our interpretative framework. We set out to investigate this pedagogical phenomenon in the light of minority education, considering the educational situation in dispersed and block regions. Our descriptive study, built on a questionnaire (own design), presents the good practices in home education focusing specifically on minority aspects. Our sample consisted of 403 early childhood teachers and 14 minority education experts resulting from convenience sampling. The investigation reveals a more liberal home education style. According to experts, the national regulatory framework for home education gives rise to conflicting interpretations and specific minority provisions and recommendations are less straightforward. During home education, the proportion of the areas of development and that of learning content is distorted, and the language of instruction as a factor influencing the digital diet becomes especially prominent. Research results did not focus primarily on the minority features of home education and the digital diet but rather on regional and local distinguishing features.

• Using Technology for Foreign Language Learning: The Teacher’s Role

  23-28

  Tünde Nagy

  Views:

  378

  The spread of information technology has changed the role of language teachers considerably. Being a good educator and an expert in their field are not enough anymore, but teachers are expected to be modern, which means, to possess the ability to design interactive classes (often by using digital tools) and use teaching methods that engage students in a creative way. Today it is a general requirement for teachers to know their way around technology and to possess the know-how of implementing it in a way that fosters language learning. To this purpose teachers need to take into account all facets of technology use, including the advantages and disadvantages of technology-mediated tasks, their usefulness for language learning (e.g. if they are related to the topic of the lesson, are challenging enough for students), helpful resources for students, etc. Technology is regarded as a supplementary instrument to traditional teaching methods that can impact students’ motivation to learn in a positive way, provided it is used for activities that are in line with their needs and expectations. Task-based activities are considered to be especially useful in this regard, allowing students to practice their language skills in an authentic context and also develop creative thinking and problem solving abilities. Web 2.0 technologies (e.g. software programs for creating quizzes and polls, language learning websites, chat programs, wikis, etc.) offer a variety of valuable resources both for activities in the classroom and for practice at home.

• Digital Tools of Universal Music Education

  60-66

  Ewa Parkita

  Views:

  322

  The purpose of this article is to present various solutions concerning music education aided by computer technologies. The article applies public music education. The author attempts to provide an answer to questions concerning the role of music teachers working with new media , which requires them to constantly improve and expand their skills. How are they able to utilise new technological achievements while at the same time blending them with well-proven, traditional methods of music teaching/learning, without falling prey to the dangers of modern media ? Any attempts at using innovative solutions are bound to cause numerous challenges for students, teachers, and the entire education system. However, the effects of such actions could contribute to the improvement of the quality of music education in society, which justifies the efforts. The intention of the author is attempt to look into the future on the basis of the existing data sources, analyses and global pedagogical trends and to search for theoretical and practical solutions, which may influence the formulation of the paradigms in modern music teaching.