The journey of a blogger

I could not help but smile as I read my first blog written at the beginning of this semester. New to the blogosphere, I voiced how daunting the writing experience could be. And now, as the semester draws to an end, I find myself somewhat nostalgic when thinking about this learning experience.

Not only have I learned the skill connected to sharing one's thoughts in this online environment, but I appreciate the community that has been comprised of myself and my fellow classmates. Through the blogs and comments, we shared in each other's joy when appointed to a new job, or the discovery of hidden talents, we learned through each other's daily experience of technology and teaching, we experienced each other's pain, frustration and disappointment. And in this environment, so open to anyone to see, we found comfort in the solidarity that this community offered.

I have really enjoyed learning from all of you, my fellow class bloggers, and wish you all the best with your future endeavours. May the integration of technology in our classrooms forever testify of the semester when we reigned as queens of the blogosphere.

And with that, perhaps it's fitting that I end this semester's blog in the same fashion that I started it, with a quote.

"They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel"

~ Carl W. Buechner ~

Leandi

A CALL for learner training

This past week I thought back to all the wonderful web 2.0. tools discussed during our previous class. In my excitement of thinking of higher education classroom applications for these tools, I am reminded of a chapter written by Hubbard (2004), Learner training for effective use of CALL, which as the title suggests argues that in order for learners to effectively use Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) tools, they need to receive proper training in the use of said tools. Hubbard (2004) presents five principles for learner training and these remain true regardless of whether it is a first, second or foreign language class (including reading and writing classes) of all grades, although some of the principles might be more practical for higher grades.

According to Hubbard (2004), the five principles for learning training are:


1. Experience CALL yourself. If you learn and use the technology yourself first, before asking your students to use it, not only does your empathy with any learner difficulties increase, but you might also gain "uncaptured insights" (p.52) and teach students to use the technology in a way where the difficulties are addressed before they occur (and thus ultimately avoided or their presence decreased).

2. Give learners teacher training. Hubbard (2004) explains that "while it is of course not practical to give language learners the level of training we give language teachers, it is possible to provide them with some general knowledge about the field so that they can incorporate it into their own language practices" (p.53). This is one of the principles that might be more appropriate for higher grades and even then, we cannot present learners with as Hubbard (2004) expresses the same level of training teachers would get. We can however "begin by giving learners some general advice on the importance of setting objectives, planning, and recognizing and maintaining motivation" (ibid.).

3. Use a cyclic approach. By providing learners with training throughout the course or use of the tool (as opposed to a once-off training session) has two advantages. Hubbard (2004) explains that using a cyclic approach has two advantages. "First, it allows new ideas to be accreted one at a time in a focused manner. Second, it gives the opportunity to remind students of points they may easily forget over time" (p.54).

4. Use collaborative debriefings. After using the CALL (or web 2.0) tools, learners need to be debriefed in terms of what they learned, what they should have learned, how, why, etc. Hubbard (2004) notes that these debriefing sessions allow learners to not get of track of "what they are doing and why they are doing it" and thus the purpose is to help learners "maintain a balance between the task objectives and language-learning objectives so that the latter do not get mislaid (p. 55).

5. Teach general exploitation strategies. This principle holds that after completion of a task, students need to be shown how they can use the material or tools to further their language learning or further develop their reading or writing skills (p. 55).

Considering these five principles, the various web 2.0 tools and software programs we have discussed during the course of the semester, the integration of technology in the reading and writing classroom, has the potential to effectively address language learners' needs.

Reference

Hubbard. P. (2004). Learner training for effective use of CALL. Fotos & Browne (Eds.) New Perspectives on CALL for Second Language Classrooms, 45-67. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., Publishers

The blog applied

Where I once (only a few weeks ago) struggled to see the use of a blog in the reading or writing classroom, for especially tertiary education, I now struggle to envision my classroom without the integration thereof. I therefore dedicate this post to....The Blog.


A few uses I could see having potential for a higher education reading and writing classroom include:

First, one could create a class-blog, similar to a class website or webpage. Blogs allow for easy embedding of links to videos and other online resources. Students could be directed to the blog for daily activities, instructed to follow the links posted and a world of learning sources, tasks, texts and activities can be presented. And because work is posted to the blog, students do not have an excuse that they did not know, or could not make it to class, as the blog can be accessed from virtually anywhere there is internet available.

A second use of blogs is that it presents students with an opportunity to express their views. Because of the public nature of the blog posts and comments, students are provided with an opportunity to become critical, reflective and creative thinkers that purposefully contribute to the learning environment. In addition, students have to take responsibility for their writing and in the process they become more autonomous learners. This potential of using blogs can be materialized through asking learners to complete pre-, during and post-reading and various writing activities through using this environment, whether it be jigsaw, discussion, reflection, evaluation, summarizing or role-play activities, literary circles, book reviews, etc.

A third potential use of blogs in the higher education classroom is situated in blogs' collaborative nature. Because blogs have the feature of posting and then allowing others to comment, blogs can effectively be used for peer review of written work as well as commenting on specific issues related to writing that could facilitate editing and writing as a process, and in doing so, facilitate the development of the writing skill. This collaborative feature need not be limited to one classroom alone, but higher level classes can peer review the lower levels (be it in terms of seniority or proficiency), and thus commenting can occur across levels, cities and even countries (again raising motivation and autonomy).

The fourth and final use of blogs as is discussed here, lies in its potential to act as an effective brainstorming forum. Not only can students brainstorm (in a traditional way,the mere listing of ideas), but they can comment on existing brainstorming lists, or add a bit more to the brainstorming session, by adding information, external links etc. The same can be said for class debates (as a brainstorming session through using blogs).

Even though I only listed four applications for blog integration into the reading and writing classroom, the potential that blogs carry, really are numerous and can address various learners' needs and learning styles.

The fun of learning

During the Thanksgiving break I fled the cold winter weather for a bit of sun in a warmer state. I found myself in a magical place and while in awe at the use of technology for entertainment purposes, I also visited an interactive educational/entertainment museum called Wonderworks. It was amazing how much one learns while having fun and I came to again understand what Guthrie et al. (2006) mean when they argue that to raise students' motivation and engagement levels in especially a reading class, educators need to capitalize on situational interests (p. 232). In other words, teachers need to present tasks and activities in environments (situations) which students find engaging and interesting (p.233).

I was thinking back on the past semester and all the new technologies we were introduced to. As an educator I can easily envisage using several of them in my reading and writing class and have no doubt that my class will have a strong technological presence. I was still wondering though... if we as educators aim to address 21st century students' language needs by presenting tasks and activities in an environment that is considered to be interesting and engaging and we select texts that we think students might find interesting, does the responsibility of motivating students to actively engage in the learning process still lie with the educator or is there a point after which we have done what we can and students are responsible for their own motivation and engagement levels? In other words, do you think that if students are not motivated that the primary motivating responsibility lies with the educator even if above mentioned aspects have been addressed?


Reference
Guthrie, J.T., Wigfield, A., Humenick, N.M., Perencevich, K.C., Taboada, A., & Barbosa, P. (2006). Influences of Stimulating Tasks on Reading Motivation and Comprehension. The Journal of Educational Research, 99(4), 232-245.

Long live the art of telling stories!

What a hectic few weeks! And to top it all, the bunch of Southerners in my life (and I'm talking continents here), are all gearing up for their summer break, which starts within the next two weeks....not cool I say, not cool (but you guys deserve it, have fun at the beach!).


Now that I have at least some people in the Northern hemisphere on my side in disapproval of winter, let me turn attention to the purpose of this blog. For class this week, we have to submit our digital story projects. It was only when I actually started working with making the 'movie' myself that the endless possibilities of implementing this in the tertiary education reading and writing classroom became clear...and now, I cannot believe that we have never used it before.

Several key issues need to be addressed in the creation process (and yes, I know that you most probably know them). They are:

1. A point of view
2. A dramatic question
3. Emotional content
4. Economy
5. Pacing
6. The gift of voice
7. An accompanying soundtrack

For an academic reading class, whether the focus is on developing reading skills or a mainstream university level literature class, the reading of stories are always a central part of the program. Students regularly have to submit reports about the stories (novels/short stories, etc.) they read, addressing specific issues (I know we all went through it), but digital storytelling speaks more effectively to the 21st century learner. To be a good storyteller is to develop the skill of story telling, which means that issues related to logos, ethos and pathos (typically associated with argumentative or persuasive writing), need to be addressed.

Although digital storytelling is typically seen as the (re-)telling of personal accounts, it is an effective way to allow learners to voice experience (whether their own or another character/person's) through first and third person, to gain a deeper understanding of character development, how stories unfold and how text organization plays out in both theory and practice. Digital storytelling can be used for fiction and non-fiction, poetry (where the use of still images can assist comprehension), and other collaborative exercises within a specific class, city, country and even across continents.

A specific outcome of a reading and writing class is that students become critical thinkers that can effectively and accurately convey their ideas (discover their voice). The use of digital storytelling projects (no matter how small or complex the tasks are) allow learners to be critical and reflective thinkers and it creates an opportunity for students to discover their voice. This is definitely something that can be implemented for all grade levels, and beyond.

I hope that you all have a great week!

Motivation and online environments

I recently read an article by Payne and Ross (2005) that discusses how computer-mediated communication (CMC) has several advantages for language learning. A few (and I mean literally a few) of these online environments that allow for CMC include social network sites (Facebook, Twitter), Skype, SecondLife, and other collaborative environments such as Google docs, Google wave, wikis and even blogs. According to Payne and Ross (2005), the advantages that these environments hold is that:

• students often produce more language than in face-to-face settings


• students tend to use more complex language when chatting, including more accurate usage of past-tense morphological markers


• there is greater equity in participation among students in a classroom


• students exhibit improved attitudes towards foreign language learning as a result of chatting (p. 36)

While I was reading these advantages, I realized that these are the issues are those typically associated with learner motivation and engagement levels in a reading and writing class. As reading and writing instructors, we want to present our students with opportunities where they can actively engage with the reading texts and writing tasks. We want students to become critical thinkers that can effectively and accurately convey ideas and discover their voice. Online environments create a platform where this discovery process can be facilitated and monitored. One of the major challenges for a reading and writing instructor is to increase learner's motivation levels (well, this is especially true in an ESL setting). If presenting reading and writing tasks in these environments allow for increased motivation and engagement levels, then as educators, can we really afford not to be integrating these into our lessons?

Another CMC environment that I think has plenty of potential for all grade levels is Voicethread. Although Voicethread is not free, for K-12 educators (for a single educator), subscription is $10 a month or $60 a year. If you visit the website and see all that this CMC environment has to offer, I believe that you would agree that $60 could be paid with a smile. Not only can students comment on presentations, documents through posting written comments, but they can also leave voice or video comments too.

I hope that you all are having a good week.

Reference

Payne, J.S. & Ross, B.M. (2005). Synchronous CMC, working memory, and L2 oral proficiency development. Language Learning & Technology, 9(3), 35-54.

Play break

What a crazy week it has been. However, on the one rare occasion that my television was on, I saw that Microsoft is launching its new Xbox Kinect console. Basically, as far as I could see, this is Microsoft's reply to Nintendo's Wii. With the Xbox Kinect, "you are the controller", how you move your body is how the character or object on the screen moves.



I am seriously excited by this. And I know that this is a blog about technology in the language arts classroom, but with graphics becoming better everyday and new developments occurring as we speak, it is not long before we can use these kinds of technologies for language arts classes. Taking virtual field trips within the Midsummer's Night Garden or within the Willy Wonka chocolate factory, meeting the characters, dancing with Mr. Darcy or fighting the dragon that protects the entrance to the tower where the princess has been locked away for years. Okay, I know you get my drift.

Aren't you just as excited as I am to be living in this technological age. Over the weekend I read that the (considered) top 10 jobs in the world did not even exist in 2004, and that it is suspected that we will see over 20 000 years worth of development (as measured with the development rate of the past centuries), in terms of technology still in this century. This is how fast things change and new inventions and developments occur.

Well until new ways are developed to incorporate the Xbox Kinect into the classroom, I better go write my thesis proposal so that when I play with the Xbox Kinect (which I do not have, but want!), that I won't feel too guilty. Have a good week!