The way that we teach and the way that students learn is constantly changing as the generations change. As teachers, we have to continually adapt our methods that we use and the materials that we use in classrooms in order to fit the needs of our students. One of the tools that we use as teachers that is constantly changing and widely debated is the use of technology and media in classrooms.

Today’s generation of students are constantly connected whether it be to Facebook, Twitter, texting or other forms of social media and the way in which students get their information is also changing as well. Students are now getting their information from internet sources and are even using websites such as Netflix to watch TV and movies. Keeping this in mind, as educators we can use Netflix in our classrooms to our advantage in order to engage students in learning. Especially as a Spanish language teacher, I can see the advantages that Netflix has to offer that more traditional modes of watching shows or movies don’t have. Netflix has the option of adding subtitles in Spanish to most of the shows, is is easy to use and less time consuming than waiting for a video to arrive or having to go to the video store to rent a video, and as a teacher, time is a very precious commodity.

However, more importantly is the advantage that Netflix provides Spanish language teachers in regards to the selection of shows and movies available. It provides a wide range of shows and movies and is now recently adding telenovelas and movies in Spanish from many different countries. This is advantageous when teaching Spanish because it is very important to expose students to the variety of accents that exist within the Spanish language so that the students are culturally aware and are sensitive towards Spanish speakers from different countries. Another advantage that Netflix provides is the range of level of shows and movies as well. Granted, there is not as much variety in regards to the level as there is in regards to the type of Spanish used, but there are some cartoons and movies geared towards younger students in Spanish on Netflix. However, I would recommend the use of Netflix in the Spanish classroom more for an older audience because a majority of the Spanish shows and movies are geared towards a more mature audience. Netflix also allows for the opportunity to generate interest in Spanish language and engage the students because there are shows that are current and popular and can make practicing listening skills more enjoyable than say an audio recording from a book that might be boring and dry.

Although Netflix can have its advantages in regards to teaching Spanish, especially in regards to teaching adolescents, it also has its disadvantages. One disadvantage is that the shows and movies are long and take up a lot of class time and therefore it is not necessarily practical to use the entire show. Teachers may use clips of a show in class that target what they want to teach or they may assign watching a show as homework or extra credit, depending on the school and and the student population because unfortunately it isn’t free and not all students have Netflix. Another disadvantage of Netflix is the portrayal of certain cultures and stereotypes. Netflix has many telenovelas that have stereotypes of certain countries and cultures, and as educators we want to make sure that our students don’t think that these stereotypes are true. One way to approach this problem is to use these shows to talk about the stereotypes in class and to deconstruct them by discussing why the students think that the show has specific stereotypes and why they are not true. This is particularly important to talk about especially if assigning a Netflix show as homework where the students watch the show without any guidance from a teacher. Overall, by using media in our classrooms, we can help engage students in learning and make learning more interesting.

Here is a link to video from PBS about the use of video in classrooms. Although it is not about Netflix specifically it talks about how video and media can be used in classrooms to aid in learning.
http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/npe11.pd.sci.nest/effective-media-rich-lessons/