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!

What a title!

For this week's post, the article Potential pedagogical benefits and drawbacks of multimedia use in the English language classroom equipped with interactive whiteboard technology by Euline C. Schmid is outlined.

[Wow, what a mouthful of title!] After a brief introduction and literature review, the author presentes several advantages and potential drawbacks to the use of an interactive whiteboard in the language classroom. It is interesting to note that the potential drawbacks suggested are based on the idea that students can either feel overwhelmed or spoonfed. This therefore, stresses that as with the use of any technology in the language classroom, students need to be provided with adequate scaffolding, but also that the 'technology use' should not be the lesson, but rather as a TPACK approach suggests, be one component of the lesson, balanced by content and pedagogical knowledge.

Herewith then, the article by Schmid (2008):

Introduction and research questions

Schmid (2008) conducted a qualitative study regarding the integration of an interactive whiteboard in an English classroom focused at developing the four skills of language. Specific attention is paid at addressing the following two research questions:

1. What can the literature on "learning with multimedia" tell us about the ideal conditions that allow for an effective integration of multimedia in the IWB-based language classroom?


2. What are the teacher's and students' perceptions of the multimedia methods used for instruction in the context investigated?

This second question is answered by highlighting several advantages and disadvantages as voiced by both teachers and learners in interviews, questionnaires and observations and that are supported by previous studies.

Schmid (2008) begins the article by providing a working definition for multimedia in terms of education, and states that it "is the use of computers to present text, graphics, video, animation, and sound in an integrated way" (p. 1553), and that "multimedia environments" include "online instructional presentations, interactive lessons, e-courses, simulation games, virtual reality, and computer-supported in-class presentations" (ibid.).

Literature review

The literature review presented by Schmid (2008) highlights some concerns for the integration of multimedia in the language classroom. It is stated that these concerns are not necessarily universal, but rather that the use of multimedia should be guided by learning conditions and individual learner differences. However, some of the concerns mentioned centers on the idea that the use of multimedia might place an extra cognitive load on students and that there is a "need for multimedia instruction learning materials to be designed in accordance with individual cognitive limitations" (p.1554).

The argument of individual learner differences and cognitive limitations centers on the arguments of cognitive load theory (Sweller, 1999). These theories argue that three assumptions regarding cognitive processing are to be considered. These, as highlighted by Schmid (2008), are:

1. dual channels assumption suggests that visual and verbal information is processed in separate channels.


2. the capacity assumption suggests that each channel is limited in the amount of material that can be processed at one time.


3. the active processing assumption suggests that for meaningful learning to take place conscious effort needs to be spent in selecting, organizing, and integrating the new information with existing knowledge (p. 1555).

After a brief discussion of relevant aspects of the literature review, Schmid (2008) provides several drawbacks and advantages to the use of an IWB in the English classroom, and argues that the findings of this qualitative study is in line with the results of previous studies, but that more research needs to be conducted that would focus specifically on how students process and engage with the multimedia resources in the learning process.

For the purpose of this post, I will highlight the potential drawbacks discussed in Schmid's (2008) article first and end with the various advantages associated with the integration of said technology in the English skills classroom.

Potential drawbacks

Schmid (2008) argues that due to the various resources that are incorporated into one activity or lesson, by using the IWB, students might feel "overwhelmed by the amount of information they need to acquire in a short period of time, or by the amount of multimedia resources they are exposed to in class" (p. 1562). This feeling of being overwhelmed is further facilitated through the fact that teachers can access materials and facilitate activities more quickly and therefore they do not "waste time", time that students typically utilize to process information. Schmid (2008) argues that when insufficient time is allowed for processing of new information, then the use of IWB technology "runs the risk of becoming counter-productive" (ibid.).

This cognitive overload, as Schmid (2008) mentions, is further facilitated by the adding of "interesting but extraneous material (i.e. material that may be related to the topic but does not directly support the educational goal of the task in question)" and may ask of the "learner to use limited cognitive resources on incidental processing, leaving less cognitive capacity for essential processing" (p. 1556).

An additional drawback to the use of the IWB comprise the other side of the previously stated argument regarding easy access and incorporation of various resources into a lesson or activity. While some students feel that they are not given sufficient processing time (feeling overwhelmed), others argue that they feel "spoonfed". Schmid (2008) explains that this spoonfeeding might encourage laziness and lack of participation on the students' part because the "teacher could draw upon a greater variety of resources to provide more 'complete' explanations. As a result, the students understood concepts, meanings and ideas with less effort", which inhibits the "development of effective learning strategies" needed for the outside world (p.1563).

Advantages of incorporating the IWB

The advantages of incorporating an IWB in the language classroom are those found in Schmid's (2008) study and that are supported by previous research.

The first advantage is that as Schmid (2008) notes, it

"lends itself well to the effective integration of multimedia in the regular whole class language classroom because it enables a seamless and easy access to multimedia resources, such as CD ROMs, digital videos and audio files, Powerpoint slides, websites, in conjunction with the facility to highlight, annotate, drag, drop and conceal linguistic units" (p.1554).

A second advantage counter argues the idea that students might feel spoonfed and is as Moreno (2006), as mentioned by Schmid (2008) states, the idea that it the use of multimedia in "learning environments are designed in a way that forces students to do a great amount of incidental processing (p. 1556).

A third advantage to the integration of technology such as an IWB is that a "more life-like environment" is created and this not only facilitates discussions and enhances student engagement with the topic, but introduces and prepares students for the real world outside of the classroom (p.1558).

Students in the study voiced that they found the lessons to be more interesting, they were more motivated to learn and engage in the leaning process and that they found the lessons to be more "active" (p.1561).

Other advantages include the idea that a variety of resources can be incorporated into activities. It has been found that the use of IWBs increase student motivation, and facilitates concentration and comprehension. Schmid (2008) emphasizes this my noting that the teacher can make "input understandable to the learner through the use of multimedia resources and online materials' (p.1560).

It is further argued that an additional advantage to the integration of IWBs in the language classroom is that it allows for various learning styles.

Conclusion

In conclusion it is argued that even though students "are used to being bombarded with information via different modes or devices simultaneously, these research findings seem to indicate that becoming "multimodally" competent remains a challenge" (p.1566). Schmid (2008) further emphasizes that:

an important challenge for teachers who work with multimedia in the IWB-based language classroom would be to find ways of reducing cognitive load and of supporting learners in constructing meaningful knowledge. Since the technology allows a seamless access to multimedia resources, there is a potential danger of using the technology mainly to give lessons a crisp pace, instead of focusing on making the best pedagogical use of these resources (p. 1566).

Therefore it remains important to as Schmid (2008) notes, to balance the multimedia in order to avoid cognitive overload and to encourage "students to engage actively with multimedia resources so that they can process the information more effectively" (p. 1567).

Reference:

Schmid, E.C. (2008). Potential pedagogical benefits and drawbacks of multimedia use in the English language classroom equipped with interactive whiteboard technology. Computers & Education, 51 (4), pp. 1553-1569.

Writing and the virtual world

The past couple of weeks' blog posts and class discussions about social networks, constructivist learning, teacher responsibility, coupled with my search for a thesis topic set the scene for this week's post.

So finally, I have decided to stick to my initial idea of researching the use of virtual worlds for language learning, specifically for the development of reading and writing skills...which leads to a very overarching, keeping me awake at night question (to be revealed later).

Anyway, before I share this question with you, I thought that I'd highlight some arguments from various sources in favour of using virtual worlds as a learning environment in general.

1) Virtual worlds allow for the building of a community, which not only increases motivational levels, but also allows for collaborative learning experiences.
2) Learners are provided with an opportunity to establish their identities (through the use of avatars).
3) Constant role-play and acting allows for continual communicative principled learning, especially if the tasks are well prepared and focused.
4) A constructivist approach is present in the learning environment, specifically with reference to scaffolding, ZPD, learner-learner interaction, I+1
5) With learning having a strong emphasis on the use of authentic materials, the virtual word allows learners to be immersed in and co-create the authentic materials.
6) Tasks can be designed to create opportunities for reading in contexts.

These are only six advantages noted over and over by several authors. My question still remains....how do these virtual worlds allow for the development of writing skills. The only form of writing that takes place in most virtual worlds are in the form of IM (Instant messaging). How would the constant use of these improve learners' ability to write for a variety of audiences? I am reminded of the social network Ning we discussed in class, and students there also did not participate in writing essays or paragraphs of a more academic nature (granted this specific site was dedicated to very young learners). Perhaps to place my question in another way, if we take Facebook for example, how would allowing students to comment on each other's statuses and occasionally sending each other a message, actively contribute to developing their writing for a variety of purposes? Or is the mere fact that they are engaging with the language and writing (for whatever purpose) enough to allow for the development of the skill of writing for a variety of audiences?

What do you think? I understand that the use of a virtual world or social networks would be supplemented with additional teaching, but do you feel that IM can ultimately develop the learners' writing skill?

In the news today...

It seems as if after every CI 556 class, I walk away feeling more impressed and inspired with what the world of technology has to offer the language classroom. To such an extent that I really consider purchasing a megaphone to shout "It's out there, we can do it!" from the rooftops. So in case I totally lost you on that last part, several of my and my fellow classmates' blogposts address the fact that as educators we need to create an environment where our students are prepared for the real-world outside the classroom. This world is filled with tons of technology. I considered possible reasons why teachers might avoid embracing the integration of technology in their classrooms and came to the conclusion that perhaps, in the majority of cases (not including the lack of resources), ignorance or lack of knowledge regarding technology, applications, software, websites and gadgets exists as opposed to mere hesitation or fear of change on the part of the educator. But in some way, these educators cannot really be blamed. Where would they even begin to look for the technology to be used in the classroom? There are so many out there and it takes time to find the ones that are appropriate for what you want to do. However, I also came to realize that the more you are familiar with what is out there, in other words, the more you are exposed to what might be possible to use, the easier your searches for appropriate applications, websites, software and gadgets become. This might sound contradictory, but all I am actually saying is that yes, initially it takes time and effort to familiarize yourself with the resources available, but after a while, you know how to search for these sites, applications and software and the initial time it took to search is cut way down.

So then for this week's blog, I wanted to see what was happening in the technology world, apart from nanotechnology, solar wind power turbines and cars that could potentially drive themselves, and I stumbled upon these three things that I thought you might find interesting as well.

1) According to a New York Times article, written by Audrey Watters, Bill Gates announced that his foundation proposes to invest $20 million for the development of technology for educational purposes. Well, that's pretty exciting news for this educator, I can't wait to see what these grants that range from $25,000 to $750,000 will deliver. According to the article,

"proposals are due Nov 19 with the winners to be announced at the end of March 2011. And while this first round will be aimed at developing technology tools and projects for higher education, the next round, according to the Gates Foundation, will address the needs of students in grades 9 through 12"

An important requirement to be met in order to receive the grant is that these new technologies should aim to increase the use of blended learning where face-to-face interaction with the teacher is combined with online learning. It thus seems to me that technology developers understand the importance of the educator being present in the learning process, and perhaps the debate of whether a teacher is actually necessary is laid to rest (well, for a while at least)....Whoohoo, new technology for educational purposes...coming soon!

2) Also in the New York Times, Sarah Perez reports that Windows is releasing the Windows 7 Phone. This is Windows' response to the iPhone, which not only has the normal features of smart phones, but also delivers Twitter and Facebook updates, internet news, photos uploaded by friends etc. as a standard feature (as news feeds on the home screen). The phone can also connect to the Xbox, (for what it is worth). The developers of this phone promise that it will be the most personalized phone on the market. In addition, Microdoft Office software is also integrated into the device.

It sounds to me more like a mini computer. If this is truly the case, and it contains all the features as suggested, then perhaps providing each child with their own 'computer' [phone]would be even easier than previously anticipated? Or am I way too enthusiastic about this again?

And the third bit of news again relates to cell phones.

3) Apple has decided to include Verizon as a network provider. Thus, increasing availability of the iPhone to most carriers. Again, with the apps on this phone, which almost, really, does have the potential of a computer, language learning (including literacy) is available on the go, non-stop, everywhere.

Surely, we as educators cannot be stuck teaching with the backboard and a piece of chalk only? Most learners (well especially high school and older) have cell phones. Soon the normal cell phones will be the smart phones. If lack of resources is one of the major hindrances for integrating technology into the language classroom, then surely making use of resources that are available such as cell phones should be no problem.


Any takers on this idea?

The one who conquers the alphabet, rules the world!

The title sounds more fitting for a fairy tale of some sorts, but it was either that or the 'Pen is mightier than the sword'...either way, both seem to be pretty cheesy, so let me just start with a quote and try to regain some credibility.

"Why is the alphabet in that order? Is it because of that song? The guy who wrote that song, wrote everything!" ~ Stephen Wright ~

Okay, on second thoughts, I might have just lost the last bit of the credibility I had left...or did I? However, before I go off on a philosophical journey about the interpretation of the quote, let me rather stick to writing this week's entry.... a focused one. I noticed that my previous blogs are really long, so the mission for this week is to keep it (the actual information, not this introduction), to two or three paragraphs max. A very difficult task for me, but nonetheless, here goes:

Before I get to my thought about technology and the language classroom, I would just like to make use of this opportunity to extend a sincere thank you to the creators and uploaders of YouTube. You have made my teaching for the past couple of weeks an easier task, well at least to the extent of finding some authentic materials)....Thank you!

Okay, two weeks or so ago in class, we briefly discussed the use of a digital alphabet book in the reading and writing classroom, for example using powerpoint to create one. I have to admit that at first I just smiled at the use of said project in more advanced or higher grade classes, but the more I thought about it, the more sense it made. And now I am just amazed at why I have not been exposed to this in all my years of being a learner (apart from grade R, or kindergarten as it is known in this part of the world). Anyway, side tracking again (perhaps this is why my posts seem to go on forever?), in academic reading and writing courses aimed at students that need to complete a bridging year before entering mainstream courses or otherwise known as intensive English programs, where students are prepared to develop skills that will enable them to cope with the academic reading and writing demands of college, students often feel that the texts they read or the assignments they have to complete are far removed from that which they actually want to learn about, i.e., their major. Some universities are able to group the students in classes according to their proposed major, and although there are advantages and disadvantages to this approach (which is beyond the scope of this blog), students often feel demotivated and detached from achieving their dreams of being an engineer, psychologist or scientist for example. They tend to feel that the things they learn are far removed from what they would have learned had they been enrolled in the mainstream courses.

It thus made sense that to assign a project such as a digital alphabet book to students (where they either draw a letter or complete the activity for all 26 letters) and find concepts, definitions and terms associated with their field of interest, have several benefits connected to it. Not only will students have an advantage of knowing some foundation-laying terms and definitions when they enter the mainstream course, they will also feel that at least in some part they are starting their journey to becoming the doctor, astronaut, teacher that they want to be. And in addition, while students are expanding their vocabulary, subject knowledge and researching skills, they are also actively reading and writing. And if this were to be a class project, seeing and sharing in the pride of the end product, not only creates a sense of community (which is good in creating a positive learning environment), but it also allows learners to collaboratively build knowledge, learning from each other. I like it! And cannot wait to use it!

One last note, perhaps presenting students with activities such as these are not only intended to develop the literacy skills, but also somehow touch the deeper levels of motivation, character, attitude, perseverance, loyalty, etc. However, could it be that I am way too optimistic and that most language activities are really primarily intended to develop language skills. Could you envision that activities such as these hold deeper meaning for students, or am I unrealistic in my expectations. I am really curious to hear what others might think regarding tasks not only teaching the language skill, but building character, realizing dreams, etc.

Three paragraphs, not too bad right? (referring to the actual discussion and not just my thought on life and everything else---thought I'd just clarify).

Rethinking education

As I was pondering what to write for this week's blog, a flood of student faces, both past and present, flashed before me, and I caught myself smiling as I so many times do when I think of the amazing privilege to affect, inspire and develop these students' potential. I am even more painfully aware of not only the privilege, but also the responsibility that comes with it (you probably think 'the responsibility talk again?', but in my defense, I am the oldest child and apparently being aware of responsibilities is in the oldest child's genes....although, I'd much rather refer to myself as a rebel with a cause, and what a cause it is).

Anyway, back to the point, the talk below is a bit long (18 minutes or so), and I therefore thought that it might be a good idea to just highlight some of the main points in the speech, although I'd recommend watching the talk, if you have a few minutes spare.

Sir Ken Robinson delivered the talk entitled Bring on the revolution and emphasizes the following ideas:



As a human race, we make very little use of our human resources, i.e. our talents. He mentions that "very many people go through their whole lives having no real sense of what their talents may be or if they have any to speak of". Robinson continues to explain that several reasons for this exists and one of these primary reasons is education. It is further argued that talents are often buried very deep and that if educators do not create circumstances where they can be explored and developed, they will often remain dormant.

For this purpose then, the speaker argues that a need for not just a reformation of the education system, but a revolution of it exists. "Reform is no use anymore, because that's simply improving a broken model". This is clearly easier said than done and Robinson argues that "one of the real challenges is to innovate fundamentally in education", and this in most part means rethinking things that we just take for granted. With this statement, Robinson argues that many of the principles, theories and methodologies that are used in the classroom (and education system as a whole), is designed for earlier decades, for a society with very different needs than the one we and the students in our class find ourselves in.

(Side note, what would this blog be without a quote and amazingly enough, Sir Robinson used one in his speech that is very fitting). Abraham Lincoln once said that:


"The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves and then we shall save our country".


Robinson argues that linearity (the idea of going through a line of tasks and then going off to college or getting a job) and conformity (with outcomes, curriculums and methodologies being standardized) are challenges that still remain in education today. In addition, Robinson blames the lack of awakening passion in our students as a main cause for students rather opting out of education as opposed to actively engage in the learning process.

In conclusion, Robinson summarizes his arguments by stating that:

"It's about customizing to your circumstances, and personalizing education to the people you're actually teaching. And doing that, I think is the answer to the future because it's not about scaling a new solution; it's about creating a movement in education in which people develop their own solutions, but with external support based on a personalized curriculum".

So apart from playing devil's advocate on the subject of education, for I know that it is almost an impossible task to have a personalized curriculum for each student and that plenty of what we are told to do in the classroom is standardized, Sir Robinson's arguments have reference to the following:

1. We do need to rethink how and what we teach students. They grow up in an era where gaming, having access to a world of information in an instant, and television, etc. are the norms (taken for granted). If the teacher does not keep up with what is happening or what defines the students' world, we cannot possibly educate and prepare them effectively for the world outside the classroom.
2. To develop talents and ignite passion is a huge honor, and even though the language arts teacher has a set curriculum with clearly defined outcomes, this probably still remains one of the most accommodating classrooms for development of that which makes us...us...our talents, character and passion.
3. With the world of information (external teachers) available at the click of a button, for example having search engines, YouTube and the list is really long, students can learn about anything they want, whenever they want. No wonder so many of them do not like school. We as educators need to acknowledge that the external educators are most probably cooler than we are (ouch...sorry...I know!), but perhaps we should form alliances with them and incorporate this into our classroom.

I realize that I have probably just listed a number of arguments that you are way too familiar with, ... that I am preaching to the choir, ...but I have witnessed too many language classes at both schools and universities where a TPACK approach, no!, not even a technocentric approach exists, and the learners in these classes, sat there totally uninvolved, uninspired and not learning at all. The teachers are evidently not familiar with the needs of their target audience.

(Thanks to CI556, I am now a rebel with a newly found cause, and it is what? week six of the semester...watch out world!). (Side note 2: World, as I read my classmates' blogs, I feel it is only fair to warn you that we are an army of students having our views on language teaching altered...hope you are ready for us).

'With great power comes great responsibility'

I have made it my mission this week to decide on a thesis topic for my M.A., and although no progress can be noticed, I am thankful that it is still relatively the beginning of the week. Well, as I was pondering the effects of virtual worlds on language teaching and learning, I am reminded of a blog post by one of my fellow classmates who addressed the use of Facebook in the language classroom. Perhaps to more clearly illustrate where this introduction is supposed to take us, the following quote by Henry Brooks Adams will be more fitting:

"A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops".

I am convinced that Adams intended this quote to be inspiring and motivating for educators and amen to that, but as any story has at least two sides, I do too believe that this quote carries a word of caution as well. Perhaps eternity here does not affect the human race in totality, but an individual's future. Just bear with me a bit longer, my point will become clear in a few moments.

Part of the language classroom (even with a sole focus on reading and writing) entails that a facilitation of pragmatic competence should be present. Students need to know when to respond and in which manner, they have to be taught how to be sensitive for contextual cues and to keep to Grice's maxims for communicating. In other words, students need to know when to say what and how. This pragmatic competence is more effectively developed when students are engaged in real-life communication. This highlights one purpose of Skype, virtual worlds (such as Second Life) and social forums such as Facebook in the language classrooms.

My question then and the purpose of this post is, when is a student mature or old enough to take responsibility for their own interactions in for example a virtual world such as Second Life? For both Facebook and Second Life, the teacher has only limited control over with whom the students interact. And we should not be oblivious, we all know that bad elements (i.e. people) are out there (even if it is in a virtual world). I understand the importance of equipping students with all the skills that we can, to enable them to be innovative and critical thinkers, to be the best that they could be, but allow me for a moment to voice my concern.

What if I warn the students of all the possible dangers and pitfalls when communicating with people that you do not know, and a student visits these virtual worlds outside of the classroom, on his or her own time and gets mixed up with bad people. Is the teacher responsible for this? After all, it was the teacher that equipped the student with the know-how of navigating in the virtual world? I further realize that we cannot protect our students from the dangers and bad elements of the real world, but when are the students old enough to be exposed to for example virtual worlds?

I found an article on Edutopia about Second Life (SL) and its use in schools, and although in SL there is something called Teen Second Life (TSL), which according to the article, is a "smaller version of SL that's restricted to youths ages 13-17 (and to select adults, after a background check conducted by Linden Lab)". Second Life thus recognize that a virtual world can be a rich and positive learning environment, but at the same time realizes that bad elements (i.e. drug use, exploitation of youths, etc.) are also present in this environment.

I am not trying to be cynical about the uses of said environments in the language classroom, in actual fact, I cannot wait to implement them. My concern relates more to the emotional and intellectual maturity required to effectively use and at the same time protect the students. Any thoughts? At what age would you introduce your students to virtual worlds and social forums?

The reading podcast

This week I caught myself thinking about home pretty often. Perhaps this is due to the fact that spring officially started over there or perhaps it is because Spring Break is approaching and everybody will be heading to the coast, while I try my utmost to come to terms with the fact that the tree in front of my house has decided that it is an excellent time to start to drop its leaves. Either way, I was lost countless times in the memory of spring on my southern continent. It is such a magical season (although my favorite is still summer). Everything seems to come alive, from the first birdsong to the night sky, all dancing to the rhythm of their own songs. So in celebration of the arrival of spring on my home soil, I turned up my iPod really loud and danced in celebration of life. It turns out that Plato (428 - 348 BC) was right when he said that "music and rhythm find their way into the secret places of the soul".

This made me think how almost all of my students, my younger siblings and all of their friends have iPods, and seeing as this is in essence a blog about integrating technology in the language arts classroom, what about the use of said device in a reading classroom? In 2007, Apple announced that they reached the 100 million iPod sales figure and the figures for 2010 so far indicate 275 million being sold.

This means that so many of our students have access to iTunes and should be familiar with podcasting. However, one does not need an iPod to use podcasting as a technological tool for teaching or learning. Perhaps it would be ideal to give a brief explanation of a podcast. A podcast consists of audio or video files that are periodically transmitted and downloaded to a personal device such as a computer or an iPod or another mobile device. These are downloaded automatically and stored on the device and can be watched or listened to anytime and anywhere.

Perhaps podcasts could be an effective tool to help, especially lower proficient students with their reading ability. The teacher can create a podcast, or a series of podcasts for free, on example PodOmatic, and can ask the students to listen to this while reading a text. Lower proficient students, especially ESL students, often struggle with reading information in chunks. By listening to a read-aloud, while following in the text, students are shown how chunks of information is created, how English has a natural rhythm to it (even when you read), and ultimately, this might enhance both reading fluency and comprehension. In addition, students can listen to this podcast as many times as they want, they can replay certain sections or sentences, they can skip to parts that they struggle with, etc. I realize that some students might just listen to the text as opposed to reading it for themselves, but I do believe that the more motivated students, could easily be helped through the use of podcasts.

In addition, students can create their own podcasts, listen to one another's views and ideas and respond to it (in verbal discussions, or written assignments). Rossell-Aguilar (2007), wrote an article in which the use and benefits of podcasting in the language classroom is highlighted. Some benefits that the author mentions include:

• The ease of publication
• The ease of subscription
• It is applicable to various environments
• It is popular
• It is line with the constructivist view of language learning, where language learning is viewed as an individual representation of knowledge that is constructed through active exploration, observation, processing and interpretation (p.477)
• Authentic materials are used
• Informal setting, creating a positive learning environment.

I am excited to incorporate the use of podcasting in my reading and writing classroom, as I see applications and uses for all levels of proficiency. I will be delighted to receive any more ideas on the use of podcasts in the reading and writing classroom.

Until next week, please excuse me, I have some dancing to do.

Reference:
Rosell-Aguilar, F. (2007). Top of the Pods - In Search of a Podcating "Podagogy" for Language Learning. In Computer Assisted Language Learning. Vol 20(5), pp. 471-492.

Embracing the blogosphere

For me, writing is exploration; and most of the time,

I'm surprised where the journey takes me. ~ Jack Dunn ~

As I was contemplating the role of blogging in the language classroom, my mind started off on a mission of its own (a frequent event... nothing to be surprised or alarmed about), and I wondered why the US flag has seven red and six white stripes and why not the other way around? Without wasting too much time, trying to come up with clever explanations, I just grabbed my computer, opened Google and voila... 'a world of information at my fingertips'. This in return, well not the stripes, but the ease of access, made me think back to my own school days. I remember a life that to a large extent was untouched by technology. And to imagine the integration of what we take for granted today (computers, the internet, iPods, etc.) into a classroom was unheard of. Just for the record...I am not that old...twenty-something...which just proves my point... how fast the world changed and continues to change with the arrival of new technologies. I found a few statistics on the good old web and although I cannot promise their accuracy, a few other sites did make mention of the same figures.

According to the website, Pingdom, there were 90 trillion emails sent in 2009, averaging 247 billion emails sent per day. In December 2009, 234 million websites existed with 47 million of those being added during the year of 2009. And if this still does not put the role of technology in our daily lives into perspective, then perhaps the following quote from http://econsultancy.com might:

"It took [the] radio 38 years to reach 50 million listeners. Terrestrial TV took 13 years to reach 50 million users. The internet took four years to reach 50 million people... [And] in less than nine months, Facebook added 100 million users".

It becomes thus very apparent that the language classroom needs to incorporate technology to capture the attention and the passion of a generation of world citizens. This blog, as mentioned before, will aim to highlight the role of some of the available technologies in the reading and writing classroom. Blogging is one such a technological tool. Several websites mention that the current number of active blogs is at 133 million blogs (http://thefuturebuzz.com/2009/12/10/blogging_stats_facts_data). The authors do not state whether they count Facebook and Twitter accounts as part of the blogosphere, but according to Facebook statistics, they have more than 500 million users, which far exceeds the 133 million blogs, thus allowing us to assume that those 133 million blogs are online journal type blogs.

Ferdig and Trammell (2004), argue that this "intellectual cyberspace that bloggers occupy" provide what Winer (2003) notes, a space for the "unedited, published voice of the people". When blogging is introduced in the language classroom, students are provided with a space to "reflect and publish their thoughts and understandings" (Ferdig and Trammell, 2004).

Ferdig and Trammell (2004) make mention of some other benefits of blogging in the classroom, which include the potential to promote interactivity, an increase in higher-order skills and an opportunity for active learning. Having students blog in a reading and writing classroom provides them with a chance to become experts in a given subject matter and as Ferdig and Trammell (2004) further state, "increase their interests and ownership in the learning process".

Enabling our students to develop their voice, is such a powerful and important task and blogging surely provides one such a platform to do so.

Reference:

Ferdig, R.E., Trammell, K.D. (2004). Content Delivery in the 'Blogosphere'. The Journal Online: Technological Horizons in Education.

A quick hi

The art of writing, anything other than research papers and birthday cards, has always been an intimidating experience to me...especially the first step of putting pen to paper. This in itself is ironic as I am schooled to be a reading and writing instructor. This daunting experience once again found its way into my life, in the form of this blog...a requirement for one of my Fall 2010 courses. And may I at this point just mention that I never thought that I would EVER have to write a blog, thank you Prof. X. Definitely a first for me, but you have to try most things in life at least once, right? I remembered a quote I read by Darwin P. Kingsley and thought...blogging, I can do this! Part of the quote with particular reference to my situation reads:

"You can do things that you never thought you could do. There are no limitations in what you can do except the limitations of your own mind" (Darwin P. Kingsley, http://thinkexist.com/quotes/Darwin_P._Kingsley).

So with that, welcome to my blog!

Essentially, this blog will contain ideas, debates, hesitations and (more importantly) excitement about various technologies and their role in the reading and writing classroom. Perhaps then, it would be fitting to talk about the first week of class. In the course that requires this blog, we used Wordle as part of an introductory activity. Although this was a fun and creative activity, I could easily envisage using Wordle in my writing classroom. Wordle rearranges the key words of a text in a random, colorful and creative way (well, actually it provides you with options such as font, color, direction, etc.). Apart from its potential uses in vocabulary building exercises, one could ask students to recreate a text using the key words, placing emphasis on coherence and cohesion. Another potential use of Wordle is that it can be used in a brainstorming session, where students are presented with a topic and as a class they brainstorm ideas. The teacher then enters these ideas into Wordle, and the program generates a visual representation of the key words entered. This can then be given to the students to activate background knowledge before writing or to help them get started with providing some ideas.

That's it for this week. I look forward to sharing my discoveries with you on this new adventure!