Group items tagged

Discussion on how technology is being used and why we're still struggling to give more control of learning to students. A good read!

"A 2014 paper by researchers at Michigan State University, in East Lansing, provides a tangible example: Teachers and students in the small-scale study were found to be making extensive use of the online word-processing tool Google Docs. The application's power to support collaborative writing and in-depth feedback, however, was not being realized. Teachers were not encouraging group-writing assignments and their feedback focused overwhelmingly on issues such as spelling and grammar, rather than content and organization." This really gets to the heart of the idea of combining education and technology: the technology has to serve the goal and it doesn't sound like the teachers' goals were the same as the stated goals of the assignment. So obviously Google Docs is a fantastic tool, but it has to be utilized appropriately for it to be effective.

I must say I have sat through many workshops in my tenure at my university that included the modification of some practices and even included, to my frustration, the basic structure of a lesson from stating outcomes to assessment. The problem with our particular situation is that usually it is directed to a "one-size-fits-all" use of a given technology that may not apply to many disciplines. I have found them somewhat useful for upper-level courses at times, but the language classes often pose the need for a kind of collaboration and interpersonal technology that isn't presented. Hence my desire to take this course. Another difficulty is the overwhelming number of technological applications presented--I can't tell you how many--and the students really become overwhelmed, since they often have to learn new technologies in almost many courses. Some work and some don't, and since they are the guinea pigs and there are no guarantees that everything will work as planned, and given the astounding changes in tech, the newness never seems to end, neither for the student nor the teacher. So focusing on just 1 or 2 to begin with seems like the only way to deal with it. Finally, I think that, at least in our university, the huge courses found often in the sciences reflect the slowness to adopt meaningful change. Many in these disciplines have simply used the tech to deliver more lectures on topics students must memorize, perhaps adding clickers for comprehension checks. There seems to be a great disconnect between what happens in the classroom and the amazing advances in tech they have made for their hands-on work--labs, collaborative work, etc.

I don't think that the facebook craze has effected us THAT much, goodness!!! I am 22 and am part of this generation, and I can say that most of my friends and I have grown out of the facebook phase, we aren't obsessed like we were at the end of high school and start of college.

An amusing article ... and perhaps with some degree of truth to it ... but I am unsure why the opinion professor of pharmacology who has done no research on the topic warrants an article.

Abstract: Since their emergence in 2005, Web 2.0 technologies have been advanced as potentially transformative in the area of education in general and foreign language learning in particular. Web 2.0 technologies are presenting new opportunities for developing diverse online learning environments and enhancing interactivity, participation and feedback between students, their peer groups and teachers. This article examines one of the most significant Web 2.0 tools, Social Networking Sites (SNS), and focuses on Livemocha, an example of an online community specifically aimed at encouraging collaboration between foreign language learners. Results from the ethnographic approach adopted in the paper indicate that: (a) SNSs can be used by language learners to explore new relationships rather than merely maintain existing ones and that (b) longitudinal studies are required to achieve a better understanding of the complex processes of mediation involved in online community formation and maintenance

Funny! I also found this article last week and even attached it to last week's blog post in the ning. I've noticed this morning, that reading and commenting on it is also one of this week's assignments. I guess I chose well :)

Thanks for sharing!

Thanks! Feedback is such a hard topic.

Using Seesaw in the language classroom. It is a place where students can write comments and respond to each other's writing. It allows teachers to have all of their students writing in one place, organized into classes, and allows the teacher to give feedback.

I have always looked at and wondered about using VoiceThread but have never actually done it until I took this class. I'm happy that I finally used it and I'm thrilled to see all of the suggestions for World Language activities that people have shared.

Same as Anne! I only new about VoiceThread when I started Carla17 online course. Thanks for sharing this information. We can continue learning about all the advantages of it: free, facilitates learning through authentic materials, different modalities of response: oral, written, video, doodle.

I agree with you that Voice Thread is simple and can be used very effectively in class.

Good ideas - I could see Tip #2 as a great starter project in language for level 2 and above.  Alyssa and I do the weekly video updates, pretty much just like three points listed here - and we've also gotten good feedback on those.

"Abstract The U.S. National Educational Technology Plan recommends the need to have a common set of technology competencies specifically for teacher educators who prepare teacher candidates to teach with technology (U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Technology, 2017). This study facilitated the co-creation of the Teacher Educator Technology Competencies (TETCs). The TETCs define the competencies (knowledge, skills, and attitudes) all teacher educators need in order to support teacher candidates as they prepare to become technology-using teachers. The TETCs shed light on the roles and responsibilities of teacher educators who address technology within their courses. A highly collaborative research approach was used to develop the TETCs which involved the crowdsourcing of technology-related literature, a Delphi method for expert feedback, and an open call for public comment. As a result, 12 competencies with related criteria were identified. The TETCs should be viewed as a first step in a larger reform effort to better address technology integration in teacher preparation programs. The release of the TETCs provides future research opportunities including, but not limited to, implications for course design, relevant faculty development for teacher educators, and policy implications."

Some good advice for online and hybrid course engagement. One of the comments below says - even for F2F classes! One of the comments also questions the point about responding to all student posts - saying that it's better to let them discuss without you, only adding in occasionally or with a summary or notes in a weekly wrap-up. This "hands-off" discussion method is the route Alyssa and I have taken, what has worked for you?

Dan found this site - for creating online activities with voice recording that incorporate images and video. Limited free version, but only $79/year for the full version.

Online tools for helping foreign language teachers and students get the most out of language education. I have been using this site for few years now. Mira Angrist

I've used this and really like it. The kids adapted to it very easily. You can have students type or record answers to audio, video, or photo prompts. You can also send back verbal feedback! One caution though, we had we not able to get the recording to work with Google Chrome on our 2010 MacBooks. Worked flawlessly in Safari. We're getting new laptops this year, so I'll have to see if we have the same problems. Will keep you posted on that.