Using Technology to Teach a Foreign Language

After watching this video, I see that there are numerous ways for teachers to use technology to teach a foreign language. This particular teacher used WebQuest, a class web page, and e-mail to teach her students French. In groups, she had the students create a bibliography on a famous French person. Their entire report had to be in French and then they had to give a presentation. Their presentation could be on Power Point, a video, or on a poster. The teacher had the WebQuest linked through her class web page. This was a research tool that they could use when researching their famous person. She made a point to tell that that she is aware of the translating software and sites that are out there and for them not to use them.

From my experience, most students always feel more comfortable about a project when they can work with someone. This project is the biggest report they have ever had to do in French. This teacher chose an excellent strategy by allowing them to work together and incorporate so many resources. The few students they talked to seemed to feel pretty confident about the assignment. One group specifically said that they loved creating presentations on Power Point because it is ready in just a few clicks. Using e-mail and a class web site are excellent ways for students to learn another language. Another good strategy this teacher could have is to make the students participate in a discussion every week. This would keep them engaged and ensure that they are constantly practicing the language. Also, they could participate in on-line games as well as take quizzes in another language. They could go on scavenger hunts or plan vacations in another language. Once again, technology enhances our teaching abilities and learning experiences!

Using Technology to Teach Reading

In watching this video, we see a teacher demonstrate how to integrate technology to teach concepts about the Civil War. This teacher had students researching information about the Civil War on the internet, highlighting facts they come across, creating a newspaper article about an event, using Webquest, and using Excel to create charts for a different visual of important events. When struggling readers are given a chapter to read in a text book, automatically they are discouraged by the fact that they “think” they can not read. They spend so much time focusing on “trying” to read that they can not comprehend what they are reading. The technology tools these teachers used in the video had the students fully engaged in the learning process through hands-on interesting activities. This teacher gave the students specific websites to visit, read and gather information on certain events. He had a three-step process that he taught his students to use when researching information. First, they had to listen to what was being said on the site, then they had to read along with it, and then they took notes on what they thought were important events. Their notes had to be in bullets and no more that five or six words. I thought this was an excellent strategy for teaching students how to restate facts in their own words which enhances comprehension. The teacher from the video stated how successful his students reading comprehension skills have gotten over the past year. I believe the reason he has this “success” story is because he is integrating technology as well as other subject areas while teaching and reaching the needs of a diverse group of learners.

It is very easy to integrate other subject matter in to your own. This teacher had his students creating maps of battles, using different vocabulary strategies, and creating political cartoons. He let the learning possibilities be endless. This teacher incorporated math when sequencing, art, as well as “humor.” When you create this type of learning environment, you allow students to really think about all possible sides of a situation. As an educator and a hands-on type learner, I see nothing but positive things when you integrate technology tools in your curriculum. With technology, you open a door of endless learning experiences where there is something for everyone!

WebQuest

One advantage to using WebQuest in education is that it helps enhance the learning process. Students are allowed to take control of their learning by reading, researching, and sharing with others what they learn. Instead of sitting quietly listening to a lesson given by a teacher, they work diligently teaching their selves by using the computer. Another advantage of the WebQuest is that it allows teachers to develop an age appropriate, hands-on lesson in a matter of minutes. Incorporating this type of educational technology not only provides a structured classroom environment but it offers diversity among the teaching styles.

One problem you could face with WebQuest is having pre-selected websites. The students could be exposed to something not age appropriate through pop-ups or other links. Also, you risk the chance of websites expiring or just not working.

As a math teacher, I could create a WebQuest to teach students traditional problem solving skills. I would assign them a topic and they would be responsible for researching statistical information. Then, they would use the data they find to create and solve problems. If you are working with younger grades it could be basic number operations like adding and subtracting. However, if you have older kids you may have them use measures of central tendency. I would have them create, work, and present a couple of math problems to the class. Integrating this technology, creates a more interesting yet exciting approach to learning math skills.

Virtual Chemistry Labs

Chemistry was one of my worst subjects in high school. If I would have had access to virtual chemistry labs, I think I would have taken more of an interest in the subject. Using simulations in a chemistry lab allows students a hands-on opportunity of trial and error, it demonstrates the reasoning behind “why” and “what” they do in the lab, and it takes the students beyond the normal classroom setting to experience things that they could not normally try due to severe consequences. Allowing the students the opportunity to work individually with trial and error helps them build higher order thinking skills. Thus, the virtual lab permits students to focus on problem solving rather than drill and repetition activities. By using simulations, we change the structured learning environment and reach the learning needs of more students. For example, kinesthetic learners are not going to remember how the heart functions just by reading about it in a book. These types of learners need to “do.” With simulators, students get the opportunity to perform without the actual consequences. Student learn what makes the heart pump, what it looks like to have a blood clot, and how to take it apart and put it back together. By “doing” they learn how to correct their mistakes and how to expect the unexpected.

Having a Class Server

These days, one of the main components in being a successful educator is to individualize your student’s needs and assessment. I teach six fifty minute classes totaling 150 students, making “individualizing” very difficult. After watching this video, I can see a few advantages of having a Class Server.

If every school district provided teachers with class servers, they could spend less time on making tests, making copies, and grading papers. Thus, they could spend more time creating individualized plans for each student. Once these plans are established, the students can work assignments at their own pace and receive instant feedback. With this tool, all the teacher has to do is select the standards that the students need to understand. The classroom management program provides resources, activities, builds assessments, and provides student progress reports. Educators can then spend time analyzing student’s growth and making revisions where necessary. For the students, a Class Server changes the delivery method of a lesson. It provides more creative, interactive lessons that are interesting to them. With the immediate feedback, parents are pleased to steadily have access to their child’s work as well as grades.

I think having access to this type of tool would enhance our student’s abilities and allow teachers to be more productive with the “important” things like understanding student’s needs. However, I do think that the cost of a Class Server may be an obstacle that some school districts have to over come.

Using Handheld Devices

Do you know the saying, “What can they think of next?” That is what comes to my mind as I watch this video on a group of fifth graders teaching a graduate class of students how to use a palm pilot. These fifth graders taught these teachers how to use this tool to teach concept mapping, create circle graphs, build periodic tables, make a website, and how to construct chemistry problems. As an observer, I would think that these students are probably using these hand held devices to browse the internet and “pretend” they are paying attention. However, this professor specifically identifies that the advantages of the palm pilot are that is has no web, no videos, it offers simple task, and everything is step-by-step processing. Understanding this, I can see some real benefits of using wireless technology in the classroom. First of all, it would increase student participation. It allows students to use tools in the classroom that they are familiar with from their home environment. Wireless technology would change the traditional classroom setting by generating access to quick accurate information and it would increase productivity in the classroom. If wireless technology becomes the “trend” in education, then in the future I see more students capable of working independently which could lead to larger classrooms, more “internet classes,” or cutting the amount of days we actually attend school within a school year.

An Adaptive Keyboard

The adaptive keyboard may be used to assist instruction by allowing the teacher to design individual lessons for a student with physical disabilities. For example, a teacher could design a word prediction program that allows the students to hit one letter on the key board for word choices. After watching this video, I believe more schools should invest in technology for students with sever disabilities. I know that at my school, students with special needs do not have access to any unique kind of technology. It is fascinating to see how advanced technology is and how it can be adapted for a variety of needs. This adaptive keyboard would also be an excellent tool for students with learning disabilities. It could be put in an inclusion classroom and used to assist students that have trouble spelling or that have trouble with pronunciation. With that particular computer program, the computer not only spelled out the words but it read the sentence. Having the adaptive keyboard with the sound mechanics would be another resource for auditory learners. It could be used as a remediation tool for spelling, writing, and reading comprehension instructions.

I have a ninety year old great grandmother that grew up very poor and never had the opportunity to go to school and learn to read. She can recognize some words and knows most all of her letters. Of course, this has come over time from other technological resources such as the television and radio. If she had access to the adaptive keyboard she could easily and quickly learn to read and write.

Learning the Rules for Computer Use

While watching the video Learning the Rules for Computer Use, the two problems I noticed the teacher stating were that there are only fourteen computers for twenty students and that the students have difficulty with transition. She gave each student a playing card. Then, she called them by letter such as the “A’s” and told them to pick up their chair and go to that computer. It was very interesting seeing how they decided to pair the students and then use playing cards to group them for a quick and easy transition. The preparations they took such as discussing the rules for computer use ensured that their activity would be successful. However, had they not thoroughly prepared, this event could have been a complete failure.
Preparation is essential not only in the educational setting but in our every day life experiences. I have experienced unsuccessful events twice, when cooking and vacationing, due to the lack of proper planning. One evening, I invited six of my friends over for dinner. I thought everything was going “smooth” until I realized I did not have enough dinner rolls and I was missing the main ingredient for the pasta. Dinner was delayed an hour because I had to go to the grocery store. Needless to say, this could have all been prevented had I made a list of things needed when going to the store instead of trying to recall the ingredients from memorization. Another unsuccessful experience I encountered was traveling across the U.S. from Mississippi to California. The journey was planned last minute and we had decided to book hotel rooms through Expedia. This internet-based travel agency was an excellent source. However, I think I depended on it a little too much. I did not do much research on the location or area of the hotels I selected. One hotel ended up being a complete “dump!” After hours of frustration, we were able to get a refund for that room and stay at the local Motel 6 which was up scale for this town. Had I spent a little more time researching places to stop along the way we would have had a much better experience. On the bright side, one bad hotel out of about five is not too bad!

Strategies for Teaching Diverse Learners (Week 1)

After watching the video, it is apparent that both teachers are recognizing their students learning needs and modifying their assignments. Their main focus was reading and writing strategies. They both mentioned using drawings to demonstrate their understanding of reading material. Allowing these students to think in pictures, is an excellent demonstration of applying spatial intelligence to reach their needs.

Both Teachers had students writing with crayons instead of the ordinary pencil. The first teacher used visuals to reinforce the students understanding of coral reefs. She listed questions on the board to look at before reading and she had individual vocabulary handouts at each students table. Visual learners can really benefit from these strategies. The second teacher gave the students an option to give an example of what the word means. This strategy would meet the needs of the intrapersonal multiple intelligence. It gives students an opportunity to relate this new term with something in the world around them. One improvement both teachers could have made is to incorporate the bodily-kinesthetic intelligence. For reading strategies, the teachers could have had the students perform a skit on their interpretation of the readings or they could have played a game such as Around the World with the vocabulary.

To enhance the lesson for an audience of diverse learners, the teachers could have used the software program PAINT. With this program, the students could have used colorful word art to display the term and its definition as well as insert pictures. To elaborate more on the vocabulary, the teacher could have used the program WordWeb. With this program, the students could have looked at the word pronunciation, synonyms, proper nouns, and definitions. Lastly, they could have both used PowerPoint to introduce the vocabulary and display questions.