Cool New Mexico Pic from Flickr...
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Reading Response Eleven
Share an idea of two about how you could use the ideas from Richardson with ESL students.
What is the "digital divide?' And why do Warschauer et al argue that this term may longer be applicable. What are the issues they found regarding differences in technology use with ELLs and other low socioeconomic students. What are some ways you could address this in your own schools or programs?
Richardson states in chapter six, "the collaborative construction of knowledge by those willing to contribute is redefining the ways we think about teaching and learning at every level."(Richardson p.85) By using social bookmarking in our classrooms, he says, we can "rethink the way we and our students treat the information we find." (Richardson p.91) By using sites such as Diigo we can organize the information we find on the Read/Write Web and share it collaboratively with our students. Creating a "community of researchers". (Richardson p.91) I like the idea of using Diigo in my classroom and sharing "post its" and comments on the sites we are sharing. Also, it is a great way to copy the information on a site even after the site has been taken down.
Warschauer's study showed that there are differences in the ways that computer technology is being used in low SES schools as compared to high SES schools. The high SES schools seem to be teaching their students more critical thinking skills when using computers and internet for their school work than low SES schools. For example, in one low SES classroom the students were using the web to search for sites for a project, but they weren't interpreting and synthesyzing the information they found. These skills were being taught in the high SES schools. It seems to me, that the teachers in the low SES schools had the technology they just were not teaching the higher level skills to the kids. It was not so much that there was technological divide as a skilled teacher divide. Maybe the teachers in the low SES schools were not as competent or experienced as other teachers. This problem could be solved by teacher training and just more experienced teachers in the use of technology. I think a way this could be addressed in a teaching program is to educate teachers on the uses of technology with outside training. Also, teaching more CALL classes in university programs for teachers; so teachers know all the uses and benefits of technology.
What is the "digital divide?' And why do Warschauer et al argue that this term may longer be applicable. What are the issues they found regarding differences in technology use with ELLs and other low socioeconomic students. What are some ways you could address this in your own schools or programs?
Richardson states in chapter six, "the collaborative construction of knowledge by those willing to contribute is redefining the ways we think about teaching and learning at every level."(Richardson p.85) By using social bookmarking in our classrooms, he says, we can "rethink the way we and our students treat the information we find." (Richardson p.91) By using sites such as Diigo we can organize the information we find on the Read/Write Web and share it collaboratively with our students. Creating a "community of researchers". (Richardson p.91) I like the idea of using Diigo in my classroom and sharing "post its" and comments on the sites we are sharing. Also, it is a great way to copy the information on a site even after the site has been taken down.
Warschauer's study showed that there are differences in the ways that computer technology is being used in low SES schools as compared to high SES schools. The high SES schools seem to be teaching their students more critical thinking skills when using computers and internet for their school work than low SES schools. For example, in one low SES classroom the students were using the web to search for sites for a project, but they weren't interpreting and synthesyzing the information they found. These skills were being taught in the high SES schools. It seems to me, that the teachers in the low SES schools had the technology they just were not teaching the higher level skills to the kids. It was not so much that there was technological divide as a skilled teacher divide. Maybe the teachers in the low SES schools were not as competent or experienced as other teachers. This problem could be solved by teacher training and just more experienced teachers in the use of technology. I think a way this could be addressed in a teaching program is to educate teachers on the uses of technology with outside training. Also, teaching more CALL classes in university programs for teachers; so teachers know all the uses and benefits of technology.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Reading Response Ten
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Reading Prompt #10
*RICHARDSON Ch. 7. Fun with Flickr: Creating, Publishing, and Using Images Online
*BLACKBOARD - Kern, R. (2006). Perspectives on technology in learning and teaching languages. TESOL Quarterly, 40(1), 183-210.
After reading Richardson, what ideas do you have for using images and programs such as Flickr in the language learning classroom?
Kern gives a broad overview of issues in CALL, with specific examples from three areas and implications for teaching and research. Select and share your own thoughts and opinions on one or more issues that Kern raises.
I think Flickr would be a fun way to study vocabulary in the ESL classroom. Students could take pictures, and together, the students and teacher could label the pictures focusing on certain vocabulary. I also like Fliction where students pick a photo(or series of photos) and write a story about it. This would work well with using creative writing as a tool in the classroom to teach English.
Kern raises many issues in his article about the CALL classroom. I thought that Chapelle's work on CALL theories was interesting. For example, she thought that it was important to "ground CALL in instructed SLA theories" and she recommended the interactionist approach to SLA. She thought it would place CALL "on more solid grounding relative to other areas of applied linguistics." (Kern)I think Kern and Chapelle raise an important point here, and that CALL is made more useful in the classroom by pairing it with SLA theory.
I also thought it was interesting that CMC was called computer mediated colonization, and that CALL can be considered a western tool that imposes western values on other cultures. But Ess who called CMC western colonization also said that we can use CALL to find a middle ground where there is a "global connectivity" finding "local cultural identities".
I believe CALL is a very wonderful tool, really, for teaching ESL. It is always changing and growing, and it's uses are endless.
Reading Prompt #10
*RICHARDSON Ch. 7. Fun with Flickr: Creating, Publishing, and Using Images Online
*BLACKBOARD - Kern, R. (2006). Perspectives on technology in learning and teaching languages. TESOL Quarterly, 40(1), 183-210.
After reading Richardson, what ideas do you have for using images and programs such as Flickr in the language learning classroom?
Kern gives a broad overview of issues in CALL, with specific examples from three areas and implications for teaching and research. Select and share your own thoughts and opinions on one or more issues that Kern raises.
I think Flickr would be a fun way to study vocabulary in the ESL classroom. Students could take pictures, and together, the students and teacher could label the pictures focusing on certain vocabulary. I also like Fliction where students pick a photo(or series of photos) and write a story about it. This would work well with using creative writing as a tool in the classroom to teach English.
Kern raises many issues in his article about the CALL classroom. I thought that Chapelle's work on CALL theories was interesting. For example, she thought that it was important to "ground CALL in instructed SLA theories" and she recommended the interactionist approach to SLA. She thought it would place CALL "on more solid grounding relative to other areas of applied linguistics." (Kern)I think Kern and Chapelle raise an important point here, and that CALL is made more useful in the classroom by pairing it with SLA theory.
I also thought it was interesting that CMC was called computer mediated colonization, and that CALL can be considered a western tool that imposes western values on other cultures. But Ess who called CMC western colonization also said that we can use CALL to find a middle ground where there is a "global connectivity" finding "local cultural identities".
I believe CALL is a very wonderful tool, really, for teaching ESL. It is always changing and growing, and it's uses are endless.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Reading Response Nine
Reading Prompt #9
BLACKBOARD - Barbierie, F. (2005). What is Corpus Linguistics?
Essential Teacher (Compleat Links).
BLACKBOARD - Conrad, S. (2000). Will Corpus Linguistics
Revolutionize Grammar Teaching in the 21st Century? TESOL Quarterly, 34(3), 548-560.
What is Corpus Linguistics? And why are some language teachers so excited about it? What applications can you envision for your current or future classroom?
"Corpus Linguistics, the empirical study of language relying on computer assisted techniques to anaglyze large, principle databases of naturally occurring language." (Conrad p. 548) An example of Corpus Linguistics is a concordancer. The advantage to Corpus Linguistics in teaching grammar is that, as a teacher, you can show your students how grammar is used as a natural occurance in spoken language, because how we speak the language is often different from how we would write it. Also, language is used differently in different written settings; such as newspaper writing, novel writing, or academic writing. By using Corpus Linguistics we can see how grammar and language are used in the spoken form. I believe this broadens the use of grammatical forms for our students, and they won't be bound to learning just the way grammar is used in it's written form. As a teacher, Corpus Linguistics and Concordancers give us a great advantage. We can illustrate to our students the many uses of grammar in the spoken language. We can also compare for them written uses and spoken uses. This may be helpful for them academically.
BLACKBOARD - Barbierie, F. (2005). What is Corpus Linguistics?
Essential Teacher (Compleat Links).
BLACKBOARD - Conrad, S. (2000). Will Corpus Linguistics
Revolutionize Grammar Teaching in the 21st Century? TESOL Quarterly, 34(3), 548-560.
What is Corpus Linguistics? And why are some language teachers so excited about it? What applications can you envision for your current or future classroom?
"Corpus Linguistics, the empirical study of language relying on computer assisted techniques to anaglyze large, principle databases of naturally occurring language." (Conrad p. 548) An example of Corpus Linguistics is a concordancer. The advantage to Corpus Linguistics in teaching grammar is that, as a teacher, you can show your students how grammar is used as a natural occurance in spoken language, because how we speak the language is often different from how we would write it. Also, language is used differently in different written settings; such as newspaper writing, novel writing, or academic writing. By using Corpus Linguistics we can see how grammar and language are used in the spoken form. I believe this broadens the use of grammatical forms for our students, and they won't be bound to learning just the way grammar is used in it's written form. As a teacher, Corpus Linguistics and Concordancers give us a great advantage. We can illustrate to our students the many uses of grammar in the spoken language. We can also compare for them written uses and spoken uses. This may be helpful for them academically.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Reading Response Eight
Reading Prompt #8
*Levy – Ch. 4 Computer Mediated Communication
*BLACKBOARD – Sauro, S. (2009). Computer-Mediated Corrective Feedback and the Development of L2 Grammar. Language Learning & Technology, 13(1), 96-120.
What are some of the technologies used for CMC? What are some of the promising features of CMC for language learning. Comment on any of your uses of these technologies, in particular if you have used any of them for language learning or practice purposes. Finally, comment on the findings of Dr. Sauro's research, and what the implications may be for future practice.
Email, chat, Moo's, conferencing,and mailing lists are examples of CMC or Computer Mediated Communication. My favorite of these are email and chat. Emailing someone who is a native speaker of your target language is a good way of practicing literacy. The book states that, "perhaps the most commonly cited advantages of e-mail as a learning tool are taht it provides access to authentic langauge and serves as a means of learning more about the target culture." (Levy p.86) All this in your own time without the worries of meeting for class.
Chat is done in real time. It is probably a more difficult medium to deal with, but has many advantages. "Because of the real-time interaction of chat in which participants negotiate meaning by modifying the input and output and responding to feedback, meaning by modifying the input and output and responding to feedback." (Levy p.89)
Both mediums are great tools for second language learning.
*Levy – Ch. 4 Computer Mediated Communication
*BLACKBOARD – Sauro, S. (2009). Computer-Mediated Corrective Feedback and the Development of L2 Grammar. Language Learning & Technology, 13(1), 96-120.
What are some of the technologies used for CMC? What are some of the promising features of CMC for language learning. Comment on any of your uses of these technologies, in particular if you have used any of them for language learning or practice purposes. Finally, comment on the findings of Dr. Sauro's research, and what the implications may be for future practice.
Email, chat, Moo's, conferencing,and mailing lists are examples of CMC or Computer Mediated Communication. My favorite of these are email and chat. Emailing someone who is a native speaker of your target language is a good way of practicing literacy. The book states that, "perhaps the most commonly cited advantages of e-mail as a learning tool are taht it provides access to authentic langauge and serves as a means of learning more about the target culture." (Levy p.86) All this in your own time without the worries of meeting for class.
Chat is done in real time. It is probably a more difficult medium to deal with, but has many advantages. "Because of the real-time interaction of chat in which participants negotiate meaning by modifying the input and output and responding to feedback, meaning by modifying the input and output and responding to feedback." (Levy p.89)
Both mediums are great tools for second language learning.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Response Seven
Reading Prompt #7
*LEVY – Ch. 7 Practice
*BLACKBOARD - Grgurović, M. & Hegelheimer, V. (2007). Help Options and Multimedia Listening: Students' Use of Subtitles and the Transcript. Language Learning & Technology, 11(1), 45-66. What did Grgurović & Hegelheimer find with regards to using subtitles and transcripts to help ESL students develop listening skills in English? What are some of the implications for instruction?
From your reading of Levy, comment on one or more of the issues related to the practice dimension of CALL what you would want to take into consideration for your own classroom.
The article is a study of the use of subtitles and transcripts when using multi-media materials in the classroom; for the use of teachers using CALL materials and for the software designers who design them. The participants were 18 ESL college students in an Academic English Listening class. The students were divided into two groups: higher intermediate and lower intermediate. The conclusion to the study showed that students used subtitles more than transcripts. “The higher proficiency group also used subtitles more frequently and for longer amounts of time than the lower proficiency group although both groups exhibited very similar behavior on the transcript.” (Grgurovic and Hegelheimer, p. 61)
I believe this study was very effective. They looked at other studies using Multimedia Listening and Help options before they conducted their study. This gave them a framework to start from, and they were able to design their study without some of the problems the other studies faced. For example, Pujola’s study was unable to draw any concrete conclusions because of the idiosyncratic behavior of his participants. The study can also prove helpful for ESL CALL instructors in designing their curriculum, as well as software designers.
I would take into consideration the outcome of this study when designing curriculum for my own classroom. Although I have no teaching experience to draw from, the conclusion of the study and my growing knowledge of CALL materials, I believe the use of Multimedia Listening and Help options are invaluable for a Listening class. I would also use the conclusion of the study as a guide in learning a second language myself; incorporating the use of subtitles in my multimedia studies.
The article generates ideas such as how to look at other studies when coming up with a study of one’s own, how to incorporate multimedia listening into your classroom to teach listening and proficiency, and to guide students into using the help option. Most of all, the article outlined the effectiveness of subtitles in the classroom when teaching listening.
In Levy, his description of Listening through the use of technology showed that when students used annotations and sound bites of the passage to decipher a passage, they were able translate the passage. With more options to use annotations the learners had a higher opinion of the exercise. Those with fewer annotations or none at all, had a lower opinion of the activity.
*LEVY – Ch. 7 Practice
*BLACKBOARD - Grgurović, M. & Hegelheimer, V. (2007). Help Options and Multimedia Listening: Students' Use of Subtitles and the Transcript. Language Learning & Technology, 11(1), 45-66. What did Grgurović & Hegelheimer find with regards to using subtitles and transcripts to help ESL students develop listening skills in English? What are some of the implications for instruction?
From your reading of Levy, comment on one or more of the issues related to the practice dimension of CALL what you would want to take into consideration for your own classroom.
The article is a study of the use of subtitles and transcripts when using multi-media materials in the classroom; for the use of teachers using CALL materials and for the software designers who design them. The participants were 18 ESL college students in an Academic English Listening class. The students were divided into two groups: higher intermediate and lower intermediate. The conclusion to the study showed that students used subtitles more than transcripts. “The higher proficiency group also used subtitles more frequently and for longer amounts of time than the lower proficiency group although both groups exhibited very similar behavior on the transcript.” (Grgurovic and Hegelheimer, p. 61)
I believe this study was very effective. They looked at other studies using Multimedia Listening and Help options before they conducted their study. This gave them a framework to start from, and they were able to design their study without some of the problems the other studies faced. For example, Pujola’s study was unable to draw any concrete conclusions because of the idiosyncratic behavior of his participants. The study can also prove helpful for ESL CALL instructors in designing their curriculum, as well as software designers.
I would take into consideration the outcome of this study when designing curriculum for my own classroom. Although I have no teaching experience to draw from, the conclusion of the study and my growing knowledge of CALL materials, I believe the use of Multimedia Listening and Help options are invaluable for a Listening class. I would also use the conclusion of the study as a guide in learning a second language myself; incorporating the use of subtitles in my multimedia studies.
The article generates ideas such as how to look at other studies when coming up with a study of one’s own, how to incorporate multimedia listening into your classroom to teach listening and proficiency, and to guide students into using the help option. Most of all, the article outlined the effectiveness of subtitles in the classroom when teaching listening.
In Levy, his description of Listening through the use of technology showed that when students used annotations and sound bites of the passage to decipher a passage, they were able translate the passage. With more options to use annotations the learners had a higher opinion of the exercise. Those with fewer annotations or none at all, had a lower opinion of the activity.
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