Multithreaded Language Learning

In the article written by Robert A. Morrey title Multithreaded Language Learning: Students at Different Levels Working in One Classroom he goes on to discuss how he has created lesson plans that allow the students to work almost on their own and create their own lesson plans. He doesn't leave them hanging though. This is just on the technology part of the class. He does encourage the target language to be used in the classroom. This style was also used in an advance German class so it wouldn't be as effective in a beginning class due to the students already having a foundation. He uses technology such as the Internet, videos, news articles, CD's, books, audio-tapes, and many other forms of media to engage in learning and has assignments all geared around these medias. The students then have the freedom to learn about subject of their choice as long as they follow the guidelines of what is to be applied to the learning. He has presentations that they give, reports, summaries of what they learned all in the target language. The class he does this in is a 3rd and 4th year German class. They learn new vocabulary, customs, grammar, language skills, pronunciation, and many other aspects. This is taking the the traditional teaching role and allowing the students to learn about things that interest them while having the support and and guidance from the teacher. He stated that the interest of learning increases when he teaches in this manner and allows all students to find materials at their level of learning.

Food for Thought Questions

1. What if you are from a lower S.E.S. school how would you go about doing this?

You may not have that many computers but I'm sure their is one. You can use Newpapers, Cassettes along with your one computer as well as a VCR. Where there is a will their is a way.

2. Would you recommend groups? 

Groups could be good or bad. It might allow for to much group noise (distraction) and they may not allows be communicating in the target language. A pro could be group cohesion if they did it using the foreign language. They would be able to learn from one another and well as build socialization skills using the foreign language.

Technical Frience

In an article written by Maria Pastorek and Lisa Craig titled Technical Frience they talk about how they integrate multiple subjects and technology into one lesson plan. These subjects are Science, Foreign Language, and Social Studies. The language that this article talks about emphasizing is French. What the teachers have their students do is is very interesting. First the teachers read a book called The Mixed up Chameleon and learn about defenseless animals in English and French. The students then create their own defenseless animal and then used Kid Pix studio to re-create the animal on the computer. They then are assigned a country that speaks French and a title ambassador, consul, etc. and find their country on an atlas or globe. The students then group themselves by country and start the research. They research the habitat and climate in French as well as English and then discuss this with their group and decide what their animal needs to survive. They then go on to create a slide show using software that describes their animals and the country in both languages as well.  The teachers who wrote about this said their students not only learned about animals but how to use a globe/atlas, do research, French words, technology, as well as working in groups (social interaction). I think that this is a very unique way to be able to teach a wide variety of subjects in just one lesson and thought that it also builds student creativity. 

Food for thought Questions

1. What are the cost of this Kid Pix software that was mentioned for the creative process?

It can be picked up off of Amazon for around 20.00 dollars and there are different a few different versions as deluxe four seems to be the newest version.

2. What other alternative ways would you be able to do a similar project if your classroom does not have too many computers? 

You could still do the project just establish a time period for each group to use the computer and so on. Of course you allow everyone the same time just have the final project due at a different time for the different groups.

Too Few Computers and Too Many Kids

In the article titled Too Few Computers and Too Many Kids  written by Douglas Bedient, Jacqueline Scolari, and Tamela Randolph they talk about ways to incorporate learning strategies into classrooms that don't have enough computers for everyone. This article goes on to talk about different subject areas that this can be applied to but the area of my interest in the foreign language strategies that they have come up with. They have numerous other ways besides just using a textbook to teach the students. Although textbooks are still are primary aspect of learning another language it is still important to have some immersion into the language. Going on the internet and finding News headlines of what's going on in a country of the target language is one of the many projects that they have come up with that deals with using the computer for a short time only to allow another student to use it. They get the headlines, preferable having words they need to look up and create a poster board out of it and present it to the class.  They can also search for headlines that are audio so they can hear the native speaker talk about to learn accents and emphasis on certain parts of the words. On another audio aspect of the learning strategies the students can also search for radio stations that are in the target language and listen to that to learn more about the accents and what not from a native speaker. You could also bring in popular broadcasts and have the students listen to those as well on headphones. Another project would be to create a menu out of some of the cultural foods that can be found in the country of the target language as well. I think all of these are great ideas on top of the traditional learning style of the textbook. This helps build creativity and grammar not found  in textbooks as well. Also with the listening project the students can learn what part of words get emphasized and how you might enunciate a word differently. For example the difference in Spanish speakers from say Mexico City compared to those Spanish speakers in different parts of Spain.

Food For Thought Questions:

1. If there are not enough computers how much out of pocket money does one usually spend on this type of activities (ie: cassettes, radio players, etc etc)?

It all depends on what activity usually and how many students there are in the class plus how many computers you are short. There are many variables.

2. Do you find the students excel more when you integrate these styles into the classroom.?

I feel as thought they do because it is more hands on and they are working on things and putting pieces together themselves rather than just reading a book. Much more research goes into this as far as looking up new grammar in a dictionary, etc. etc.

Opening Doors to the World

In the article Opening Doors to the World written by Karen French she speak of how to integrate technology in a classroom so you can create a global learning plateau. Students can use the internet to communicate internationally with other students in a target language so that they can both learn from one another.  This turns your normal classroom into a global classroom with no barriers. You can communicate first hand with native speakers and you learn one another's culture as well. She makes sure she follows the U.S. Foreign Language Learning Standards when she creates her assignments which are Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons, and Communities. She has the students get e-pal friends from countries of their target language and once partnered up they complete assignments together using a chat system,. They could type or they can actually talk so you hear the native way of speaking. Some examples of what kind of work they do is that for starters they have activities that are based on Interpersonal Exchange where they can get to know one another. This is followed by information collection and analysis in foreign language learning. This is where they research one another culture and try to get a better understanding of one another's way of life in a day to day sense.

Food for Thought Questions

1. How much does it cost for the E-pal services?

IT'S FREE,  Now your school can't cut this part of the curriculum.

2. What if you have students that find the projects too easy as they might be ahead of the rest of the class when it comes to this language?

Talk to the other teach in the class that you are collaborating with and se he has a similar situation and team the two of them up.

Vamos a Darles Algo Duscutir: Art Competition Spurs Online Discussion for Spanish Students

In the article written by Allison Deluca and Besty Hoffman titled Vamos a Darles Algo Duscutir: Art Competition Spurs Online Discussion for Spanish Students they recall a way they brought technology into their Spanish III class for educational purposes. What they did at first did not work out too well as they found with just having students create post there was no depth and they would just post at the last minute without getting anything out of it. They soon realized that it they made it a competition on a subject they would get more in-depth responses from their students. Students had to write fact about the topic at hand which was a certain painting done by a Spanish painter. Students could challenge other students post by means of grammar and facts. They found that the post were much more articulate and sentence structure was improving. They could see the students being motivated by the competition. They said you could use free online discussion areas or you could use systems such as WebCT. I think this has been one of the best ways to to get a class to participate in an online discussion and actually get depth out of it. 

Food for Thought Questions

1. Would you recommend this for earlier classes such as Spanish I or II?

Yes I would but would not expect the discussion to be about in-depth things such as art. You could use things such as hobbies and thing about them or family and have the students challenge other grammar.

2. What if the school ratio for having online access at home was less than this schools being 96%?

I would try to talk to someone in one of our labs or library to see if my class could get an allotted amount of time sometime after school or during lunch so that even if students have rides after school to get they could still participate in the activity.

PBL In A Language Immersion Program

In the article PBL In A Language Immersion Program written by Bernard Mambo and Diane McGrath they focus their attention on a Language Camp in Minnesota. It is a fully accredited summer camp where students can get a years worth of credit for attending and completing. The camp has 14 different languages to choose and they are all separated by villages. In the article it focuses on the French aspect of the program. The villages are separate from one another to divide culture, currency, food, and architecture. They have class 50 minutes a day and have collaborative projects that they work on. This is a way of immersing yourself into another culture without leaving the country to a certain extent and I think it is a very cool idea and it is for kids ages 7-18. The schools collaborative projects which are primarily digital projects has the students engaged in conversations, obtaining information , and presenting information among a plethora of other things. The main idea is to try and incorporate this in language learning amongst regular schools. They suggest putting the students in the point of view of the country at hand. When doing projects use yahoo France and other portals to aid the experience. Use basic computer software to create news broadcasts using applications like imovie or quicktime. The engaging in conversation and collaboration is seen to be the main aspects of learning as it is seen as active learning. They also talk about project called Creative Connections Projects that allows students to collaborate with other students in a national setting. They can collaberate with students from South America, Europe and many other places around the world.

Food for Thought Questions

1. What are the cons to the Creative Connections Projects if they have even run into any?

2. How do you implement technology for these kinds of activities if your school is in an lower socio-economic demographic?

3. How do you expect to replicate a culture when you study here in a America?

I don't think you can. Culture is learned I believe by first hand interaction and how you live your life abroad. You learn culture I think by living the culture in a day to day sense. You can discuss it but to truly learn it you have to interact with it.

Software Review: Learning.com

www.learning.com 

Web Browsing: Research and Citing Sources Grades 6-8

 

1. Browsing Basics:

5.Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior.

5a. Advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology.

6. Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems and operations.

6a. Understand and use technology systems.

6b. Select and use applications effectively and productively.

 

Review: This is the beginning basics how to use the navigational buttons on the page such as refresh, and homepage. Teaches you how to find information on the web using web browsers and just browsing the web in general. This is the intro and is pretty clear the only trouble I could see someone having on this is if they have never used a computer for internet access. I had no problems with this part.

 

2. URL's:

1.Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology.

1a. Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes.

2.Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others.

2a.Interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media.

6.Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations. 6a.Understand and use technology systems.

6b.Select and use applications effectively and productively.

 

Review: This tutorial gave information about the basics of a URL and how to bookmark certain pages  (URL’S). I could see some students getting confused on how to bookmark a page if they are really familiar with a computer and what it might mean. I didn’t have any trouble with this lesson either.

 

 

3. Web Searches:

3. Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information.

3b. Locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media.

3c.Evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks.

4.Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources.

4c.Collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions.

5.Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior.

5a.Advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology.

 

Review: This part of the lesson teaches people hoe to narrow their searches down on the web and strategies associated with it, such as using the * after a word to symbolize letters after the main word to broaden your search. Searching can be difficult so I could see students having a hard time until they learn and become familiar with how to use keywords and not sentences in search engines. The * was something that even I had forgotten about.

 

4. Validity and Sourcing:

1.Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology.

1a.Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes.

2. Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others.

2a.Interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media.

2b.Communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats.

5.Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior.

5a. Advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology.

5b. Exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity.

 

Review: This is the legality part of the online tutorial. Goes over copyrights, sourcing yourself when you cite a source, and many other aspects. This can be confusing for just about anyone but once you know the rules you know them. You know you need to cite a source and can’t plagiarize. They were some aspects of this I didn’t know such as privacy and fair use of laws. I know to cite a source and about credibility but other aspects were new to me.

WORKS CITED

 

(2007) ISTE 2007 standards. Retrieved March 2, 2009, from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForStudents/2007Standards/NETS_for_Students_2007.htm

 Learning.com. Retrieved March 2, 2009, from www.learning.com

A Project for Everyone

In the article A Project for Everyone: English Language Learners and Technology in Content-Area Classrooms written by Joy Egbert she talks about integrating English language Learners into her class so that they can have a better comprehension of English without feeling embarrassed. She brings into context a project that has had her arrange groups and has placed the ELL students into some of these groups. Her project consists of a power-point presentation of Vietnam War. She goes on to emphasize how certain things reinforce the learning for these students such as interaction, technology, and having an authentic audience. This gets the students of all backgrounds working together and helping one another all in English, which is good for the ELL students due to the condition/situations she has put them in. This project allows them to learn through the processes of gathering, discussing, transforming there research, and presenting. She also emphasizes that you must know how to implement the project for each one of you ELL students and assign them a part of the project that will help them learn the most while still helping their group as well.

Food For Thought Question

1. What if you have ELL students who are not at the required level?

2. What happens if there is a case of discrimination towards an ELL student because he can't read or write at the same equivalency as native speakers? 

I think you would have to reprimand the students who are acting up and let the student know that whatever happened should not let it affect them and that they can do it if they really tried.

Coastal Chronicles

Online Newsletter

Creating Lifelong Learners

April Paustian

I love to learn. What is my biggest problem with my schoolwork? I often get so absorbed in my research that I collect far too much to condense into just one paper or presentation. Education carries me away and gets me truly excited, and it is this excitement that I want to bring to the classroom. When I speak with others about the things that I have learned, I know that my eyes light up and I tend to talk faster out of sheer exhilaration, and I know that it is this liveliness and passion that keeps people listening to me as I share my knowledge. If anything sets me apart as a future teacher, I believe it is this passion. Ever since I was really young and first entered th classroom in preschool, I have known that school is where I belong. I love the challenge of working with others to help them find the answer and grow as learners. That is the main component of my teaching philosophy: I want to help my students become lifelong learners. As an experimentalist in the classroom, I believe that education works best when students are interested, because, in nurturing this interest teachers can help students develop the skills to learn far beyond the classroom setting. Schooling should not be limited simply to the facts and figures (or, in the literature classroom, the tropes and vocabulary) that students are tested on. I want to ignite in my students the same passion for learning that I have. I believe the best way to do that is to encourage students and give them the tools to discover and learn about anything that fascinates them or that they may need to know later in life.

Contact Information:

email: Paust001@cougars.csusm.edu

blog:  http://apaustian.blogspot.com/

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Immersing Yourself

Charles Faithful

Since graduating high school I have attended numerous colleges, which I believe to be beneficial. To start off I went Santa Barbara City College after high school where I received my certificate of competency in Sales and Marketing. After going to SBCC I finished up my general education at Palomar College. With a little more hard work I was finally able to transfer to Cal State San Marcos. I came to CSUSM as a Communication major and enjoyed every part of it, thanks mainly to the professors. I also studied abroad in Spain and attended Universidad de Pais Vaso for my final Spanish requirements and I received my BA in Communication May of 2007. After studying abroad in Spain I decided to travel throughout Europe via Euro Rail and staying in hostels. I went through just about every European Country and fell in love with traveling. There is just something about immersing yourself into new cultures and seeing how other people live first hand. I have also traveled throughout Peru as well, surfing up and down the coast staying in fishing villages and small towns. If you can't tell by now traveling and surfing are my two biggest passions in life. Between the two you can never stop learning and I like being able to challenge myself all the time. While traveling abroad I would just teach basic English to some of the local people (Peru). Also while I was in Spain I had an intercambio in which we would educate each other about our native language. Some people say you find yourself when you travel and I feel that is true. Helping others learn a new language was very fulfilling and made me feel good about myself. I think if I were to name one of my biggest attributes to being a teacher is my sense of culture awareness. I say this because I have experienced many types of cultures in my travels. I think my travels would help me relate better to kids and would help me connect to them as well. There's just something about knowing you helped someone educate themselves or figure something out that is self rewarding that makes me want to teach.

Contact Information

Email: Faith003@cougars.csusm.edu

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Loving Language

April Paustian

I have always excelled in all of my classes, but the classes that I have loved were my English classes. I have found that I have an affinity for reading and writing, and I would love to share that enjoyment and 

passion with my students. Personally, I am not confident in my skills as a creative writer, yet I am really excited to unleash and encourage that ability in others. I have been astounded to see some of the writing that high schoolers are capable of and cannot wait to encourage my classroom to discover their own power with words. I am a careful reader and capable of writing good analyses of literature, something that excites me but which will probably be a challenge to get high school students interested in. However, that is a challenge that I am up for and which I look forward to; I want to make literature come alive for my students, and have them fall in love with the written word as I have. From their own writing to works by authors throughout the centuries, I want them to find something that they can connect with and use as a lens to help them understand the world. Too many people are voicing a belief that literary study is useless in today's corporate world: as an English teacher, I would like to bring a renewed relevance to English study. Another aspect of my subject area is grammar instruction. Grammar fascinates me but is usually the subject of many moans and is often cited by students as the thing that made them hate English. The intricacies and regularities of grammar and language as a whole are something that I want students to get a feel for and an appreciation of to help their problem solving and analysis skills--abilities which are completely relevant to today's world.

Language Arts Online Resources:
Schools of California Online Resources for Education, Language Arts
Read, Write, Think

California Language Arts Content Standards

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A Bilingual Nation

Charles Faithful

Everyone goes into something because that's what they would like to do. For me I really had no clear vision of what I wanted to do until i was sitting in a train traveling through the Pyrenees into France. I hadn't really realized how much Spanish I had learned until i had returned to another Spanish speaking country a year later. Friends and those who spoke Spanish always complemented me on my Spanish but I had never really known that I could speak it very well. I'm hoping I could spread my enthusiasm about learning a new language to those who would like or need to learn another language. I would like to teach ESL abroad in a Spanish speaking country and eventually move back to the states and transition into Spanish and teach both. The reason why I would like to go abroad is not only because I enjoy traveling but because I want to learn more as well. I really don't have a preference of teaching a specific grade. I know I want to teach those who really want to learn and are enthusiastic because when it comes to another language I believe you need to be in order to really grasp it. On the other hand it has to be made enjoyable to learn and I think some teachers have forgotten that.  

Online Resources

Working Abroad

English Language Development Standard 

Teaching Spanish (Technology Enlivens a Spanish Class)

In the article written by Sherry Ewing and Kristi Pearce titled Technology Enlivens a Spanish Class they associate teaching Spanish using computer learning programs. This was something that I had found very interesting since I had never used one for Spanish.

The article goes over the pros and cons of this type of approach when teaching a foreign language. Some kids weren't as skilled at using computers as others were so that hindered they learning, while others excelled. They went on to discuss how they kept the traditional ways of teaching in the classroom but incorporated the technology so there would be a more hands on approach. They said they found the kids trying to get through lessons by reaching the goals for that lesson plan and by receiving instant positive feedback. They said it also help the kids develop better social skills based off collaborative learning. The two also stated that the children could listen to the instruction using headphones so they could hear the proper annunciation of the words.

I think that using technology when learning any type of subject matter is key. It allows people to naturally excel on their own but at the same time you can still have your class on track. It also as the authors stated is a way to build social skills. The children /teens can aid others as well if they are the ones who are excelling more rapidly. The fact as they went as far to get the spanish keyboards is awesome because that is one thing I've had a hard time at when traveling abroad. I am lost when it comes to using them. Also for me the biggest asset to learning was the speaking. In my opinion you can not eliminate this part of the learning process.

Food for Thought Questions

1. In my experience I am wondering why the school went with a Spain style learning module when the most common dialect they would run into is more latin american spanish? 

Spain might just be the only country that is producing an educational program tool to help aid in the learning of Spanish or could be more advanced and developed since it is one of the most developed Spanish speaking countries that there is.

2. Software is like textbooks always being updated so how often would you have to buy new software for the schools? 

Just off a basic assumption I would think every three-four years the program would be out-dated. That seems to usually be the norm for computer technology. Once the computers are purchased though the software is not to expensive since you can purchase it as an administrative software.

Students talk to a Favorite Author

In this blog we will be reviewing an article written by Pamela Livingston. The article that she wrote is called Students Talk to a Favorite Author. This author is Mary Pope Osborne who writes children books. The interesting part of this article is that it is a tool for those who have not had the opportunity to participate in online discussions. As in any context or situation there is always an etiquette to follow. That is what this article written by Pamela Livingston is about.  She goes over in great depth the way one should behave when participating in an online discussion by talking about how one might perceive your gestures online. For example if you were to type all CAPS while addressing someone they might perceive that as you yelling at them. She also wanted the kids to know that when you ask a question you might not get a response back right away like when your having a face to face conversation. The reason for that is that many questions are being asked at one time to the participant and they have to multitask these questions as they were received to make sure they all get responded to. Overall I thought it was a good article to the demographic it was written to. These were all things many avid users of the technology would know but to those who weren't, it is useful information. The last thing you want to do is offend someone while involved in an online conversation because it does lack the face to face situation where tone is set by the typing and not your voice or body language. 

Food for thought questions:

1: If your question seemed to have been overlooked what would the polite way be to re-ask it without coming off sounding rude? 

I think you would just say as politely as possible that your question had been overlooked and reiterate it.

2: Depending on the setting say personal /professional is there anything you would suggest be done for both setting? (for instance you wouldn't use internet chat slang in a professional setting.)

 Always be respectful of the other and use correct spelling because it can come across as you being perceived as unintelligent and no one wants to be thought as that.

3: What if the person is from another country/culture/language than you are from or speak? What would you be expected to do as making it comfortable for both the individuals involved? 

Learn other peoples customs as far as typing/chatting. If your the one starting the conversation go by their traditions if you can. In spanish speaking countries when laughing they use  jajajaja instead of the english hahaha. It's these subtle things that can make someone feel more comfortable and they will know your trying to be sincere.