Teaching with Technology

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Teaching with Technology

Synthesis Excercise

February 13th, 2010 · No Comments · Valerie

Living in a networked society enables second language (L2) learners to exchange information and explore ideas with many different culturally diverse people.  Merging formal and informal education practices is an ideal situation for L2 learners in today’s society as well as for educators.  Creating an environment such as affinity spaces in second language learning is where these two aspects can join together to offer students powerful learning opportunities. 

 Most L2 learners entering higher education are either acquainted or fully immersed in the affinity space activity outside the classroom.   These type affinity spaces include websites, chat rooms, or blogs.  Formal education usually provides a traditional learning environment where instructions are given on how to do a particular task and then the students do it.  In this environment the teacher remains the main source of information; but, in affinity spaces there are multiple sources of information that can changes the whole dynamics of learning for L2 learners.  Second language educators encourage students to become confident and independent learners.  

Learning a second language is a very difficult task because the ability to produce the native like feel for the target language is lost after a certain age; therefore, learners must be motivated or they will not learn.  Interactivity is a key factor in successfully learning a second language.   Unlike traditional classrooms affinity spaces offer a place for students to experience interactivity while communicating with different people all over the world.   It is important for language teachers to give students plenty of activities that promote the development of automaticity.   Affinity spaces can offer L2 learners the additional practice they need in learning to communicating effectively.   Being able to take your classroom experiences and extending them to real life situations is the ultimate goal of an L2 learner.

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On Digital Human Experience (Synthesis)

February 13th, 2010 · No Comments · Gil

Considering our readings to date in Hanging Out… (Ito, et al.) and Confronting the Challenges… (Jenkins) what is most striking to me is the confluence of the use of digital media to realize “old” forms of social interactions (i.e., predating digital tools) with digital media facilitating unprecedented modes of interaction that, once in place, establish new baselines (or ecologies) for human experience. As a colleague in our learning community put it, “the internet has a face”, and our experiences with digital technologies, described in Ito’s study of youth and summarized by Jenkins, are at their essence manifestations of human experience. Earlier this week I reflected on other interfaces between technology and the human spirit.

In how many different ways can humans interact utilizing digital media? Ito describes how youthful behaviors ranging from gauging social status to romantic relationships to arguments among siblings play out utilizing the expanded opportunities for communication afforded by digital media. Whereas the behaviors are themselves familiar enough – teen romance and cliques predate digital media – ubiquitous digital media give rise to new forms of these familiar experiences. For example, the conveyance of fond thoughts toward a romantic partner, at one time perhaps accomplished via handwritten notes, is now achieved via thrice daily text messages. What it seems to me we intuitively recognize and describe as “cool” is the fact that such capabilities made possible by our new digital tools serve to focus and intensify our human experiences.

What remains unclear to me from our readings is the extent to which the capabilities of digital tools have or have not been harnessed to effectively facilitate classroom instruction. While Jenkins categorizes and describes the knowledge, skills and abilities students will need to cultivate to succeed in a world of digitally-based careers, and describes various approaches to utilizing digital media in the development of those skills, Ito seems to describe a gulf between the ubiquitous, open and participatory digital worlds inhabited by teens and the relatively staid, closed and authoritarian models of traditional classroom and parenting models. From Ito’s descriptions of youth I get the sense that most of the interactive modalities emphasized by Jenkins are being learned outside of and despite the classroom instruction those youth experience. The youth in Ito’s study seem to me to demonstrate a fairly sophisticated understanding of their various digital realms, for example, how to avoid strangers on the internet, or accepting of potential risks that many parents would find unacceptable (e.g., publicly posting photographs over parental objections). Here, too, however, there is not much new about youth engaging in risky behavior or regarding parents as being overly cautious.

The immediacy and fast pace of communication and expression, wealth of accessible information, and expanded opportunities for collaboration across traditional divides afforded by digital media is the only world today’s youth have ever known. Digital media are very new and our educational institutions tend to change gradually. As Jenkins notes, our schools are designed to train farmers in a world of hunters. The conclusion I take from Ito is that youth will learn to hunt one way or another, and one place or another.

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CwBraun: Synthesis Exercise (a.k.a. snow day homework)

February 12th, 2010 · No Comments · Chris

Part 1. With the hope of all of us being “forward thinkers” in education, we strive to incorporate the latest and greatest information and communication technologies in the classroom to maximize learning. Then reality sets in and we are confronted with the question: What happens when it just doesn’t work? There will be students and co-workers that will push back for any number of reasons and they will have to be cared for regardless of how great we thought our original plan was played out. Understanding why this may happen in your classroom may make the difference in success and failure. Current philosophy holds that today’s working environment is a world of collaboration and knowledge sharing and that as educators; we owe our students the proper curriculum that prepares them to succeed in a distributed world. In my own practice of experimenting with new technology in CTCH 603, I understand the frustration of attempting something new on-line without having training or prior knowledge of use or even the luxury of having an expert to turn to in time of need when everything goes sour. Technology change is fast paced and highly visible but the adaptation into the classroom by instructors or its use by students may be painfully slow. Many faculty members initiate “delay tactics with drag your feet attitudes” that administrators have to constantly deal with. Any of us with older family members has experienced at some point the reluctance to try some new technological change. For faculty and staff members, there are four common reasons to being technology adverse in the classroom. First, a basic lack of awareness and interest in the technology itself, most likely due to getting the word out effectively that change is coming. Second, a strong lack of motivation to learn something new and having to possibly change established teaching patterns. Third, a fact that most change brings about a strong feeling of fear and anxiety (been there). And fourth, the introduction of a state that is far from equilibrium, a “don’t rock the boat” mentality.
One of the most common issues that students face in the on-line environment (possibly the hardest form of teaching) is the feeling of being out there on their own. For students who have experienced the more traditional face-2-face learning environment, the change to on-line can be a challenge. Interestingly, a point made by many of the students was that “instructor engagement” was a key factor to “student engagement”. I believe this is a common theme for both using technology in the traditional classroom setting and the cyber environment. Instructor emails, feedback on Blog/Wiki postings, and utilizing CHAT on Blackboard push students to think beyond their initial input. It helps them visualize their classmates and believe they are part of a real team. Active instructor participation also sets the standard for others to follow in keeping everyone engaged and making the class truly worthwhile. The use of technology in traditional classrooms does not come without its problems as well. Some students feel that blogging was just too time consuming and the use of multiple technologies was just “a duplication of effort”. For students new to the cyber world, just learning the technology in itself took time away from the real course content. For geographically separated students, technology incompatibility presented access problems, and for others, just using something new was a non-starter. Although not without its problems, collaboration and knowledge sharing with technology is, in the end, a critical part to successful teaching in the on-line classroom environment. Together with strong instructor participation and encouragement, it can be a successful part of the traditional classroom as well.

Part II: (Teaching assignment) No idea, still struggling with this one.

Reference: Moershell, L. “Resistance to Technological Change in Academia.” Current Issues in Education; Vol 11(6). N.p. May 2009. On-line. 04 Feb 2010.
Reference: Zach, Lisl & Denise Agosto. “Using the Online Learning Environment to Develop Real-Life Collaboration and Knowledge-Sharing Skills: A Theoretical Discussion and Framework for Online Course Design.” Merlot Journal of Online Learning and Teaching; Vol 5, No.4. N.p. 04 Dec 2009. On-line. 05 Feb 2010

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“The Internet Has a Face” (Synthesis Assignment)

February 11th, 2010 · 2 Comments · Jennifer

“With YouTube..The Internet is no longer just text to text…the Internet has…a face…many faces…Faces with voices…and these faces have formed a community…with humility…honesty…humor…and love…Love leads to change.  The Internet has a face.  The Internet has a heart.  The Internet has humanity.”

 This quote was taken from the YouTube video, “The Internet has a Face”.  It speaks to the core of our readings thus far, especially in relation to participatory cultures.  Where at one point in time it seemed the Internet was merely an information source where people could interact through social, intellectual and professional exchanges, now it is a platform upon which people express themselves in profound ways.  This YouTube video speaks to the intimacy of these expressions and the ways people are reaching out to others through acts of humanity.  Similarly, the readings on digital youth by Pascoe, Boyd, and Horst point to myriad of relationships created through this medium and the various roles they play out through family, friendship and intimacy. 

What emerges is a participatory culture in which these acts of humanity, the need to belong, the need to be part of something bigger, the need to share one’s story, and the need to foster change ultimately help us make sense of the world in which we live.  I believe this to be the very core of the argument for media literacy in all phases of education.  I see media literacy a part of the educational experience, not an addition.  Students need to learn how to make sense of and contribute to the world in which they life.  So, how do teachers tap in to students’ social expertise on the Internet for educational purposes, and to give students’ a sense of their value and worth in society?   

The Jenkin’s article addresses this challenge by providing a set of media literacies which will provide students with the necessary tools to reach these goals.  Three stood out as particularly relevant:  (1) Play; (2) Collective Intelligence; and, (3) Networking. Currently, young people tend to view their exchanges on the Internet as playful interactions that are entertaining and keep them connected to others.  First, this idea of play seems most critical to keep students’ interest in learning as well as allowing them to feel free to express themselves and take risks in the process.  Often times this is lost in the classroom, which can be very discouraging for students who wish to express themselves in a supportive environment.  If this type of play can be restored to the educational prospects of future learning communities, then students should find themselves in an environment that is not only familiar, but conducive to the creation of cultivating their voice. 

Second, the idea of collective intelligence keeps in mind the importance of using people as resources.  In this way, students stay attuned to their social roots for communication, but see them in a different light; one that fosters curiosity, directs learning, and promotes respect for everyone’s contributions.  These are invaluable learning tools that can be applied to all disciplines

Finally, networking is a critical s.kill for any phase of education, in that students must possess the ability to integrate a vast amount of information into relationships as well as the ability to successfully communicate the importance of those relationships.  With the wealth of information at their fingertips, it can all too easily be lost to sensory overload.  As teachers we must help students contextualize this information and use it to better shape their understanding of the world around them and how they fit into that world. 

These tools are necessary for the extension of socialization, the continuation of learning, and the cultivation of millions of voices within one Internet, and one world.  In this way, we are tapping into the humanity of learning.

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Teaching Finance with Technology

February 11th, 2010 · 3 Comments · Gil

These days there aren’t very many discussions about the future of higher education that don’t at some point come around to the topic of money. Financial concerns and uncertainties are pervasive for virtually every “stakeholder” whether that interest be salary levels, tuition costs, or necessary investments (for example, in instructional technologies!), future state or Federal support to institutions and students, etc.

Higher education finance is my profession yet I have come to that profession from a liberal arts background (philosophy and political science). In the course of my career I’ve tried to use spreadsheet and database technologies to clarify, simplify and otherwise make complex higher education finances understandable to “lay” audiences (i.e., others without a financial background). Those efforts are driven by both a sense of stewardship and a belief that the best solutions to complex issues can be arrived at through the broad involvement of diverse constituencies.

I’ve found much in our readings to date that supplies underpinnings of research and scholarship to what I have experienced as a technology user, developer and advocate. And so as I have contemplated our peer teaching assignment my idea has been to use technology to show how the use of technology can make complex finances understandable to broad audiences and in turn empower those individuals (viz., my peers in this class) to fully participate in the financial allocation and policy decisions that will be impacting each of our professional lives for the foreseeable future.

Some years ago I oversaw the design of a web-enable financial reporting system designed for use by a land grant university, Oregon State, for which a colleague developed a Camtasia Studio presentation. Camtasia is itself a very flexible tool for both demonstrating software and providing a repeatable, visual “how-to” record of software and screen activity. In this case the demonstration is of a unique financial software application.

I’ve written about this application here and others have also written about it, here for example. What I am specifically interested in researching is how technology can be utilized to expand group decision processes by providing all participants within the process with an equivalent knowledge base. Perhaps since I was not trained in accounting or finance yet have come to understand it well enough to teach other professionals in my field, as I have done for many years for professional associations, I believe that such an understanding for others can be facilitated by the thoughtful use of technology. While my concern is specifically with higher education finance, I believe there are other areas of economic life where technology can serve to both demystify and democratize realms of policy that benefit from expanded involvement.

Though I am not a teacher I do regularly conduct workshops for higher education audiences including professional colleagues and boards of trustees. Remarkably though I’ve done that for years I’ve not thought explicitly about planned learning outcomes. Please don’t tell anyone! For my peer teaching assignment my planned outcome would be to evoke a sense of the possible – if you can understand your checkbook and even “mostly” grasp your personal finances, you can understand complex financial matters most all of which have parallels in everyday experience. And, you can add insights into financial discussions that frankly no one else can provide. As we strive and struggle as a people to grapple with unprecedented financial difficulties, that participation matters now more than ever. We have the tools of technology needed to meet the challenge.

— Gil Brown

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Synthesis

February 11th, 2010 · No Comments · Susan

A good place to build technology enriched learning activities is upon technologies that many higher education students are already familiar. For example: many students have experience posting to Facebook, other networking sites and Blackboard. Wiki sites like Wikipedia are another technology with which students have familiarity.  Because of this familiarity, learning activities that build upon these forums can serve a comfortable point from which students can grow and expand their Information, communication and technology (ICT) knowledge.  Natural outgrowths for technology enriched learning activities would be class blogs (both written and vocal) and Wikis.

These activities can promote a sense of ownership since students contribute to the body of work. They can also foster a sense of community as students work together to pool information (especially through the use of Wikis). Researching a topic to post on either a class blog or Wiki site will provide students with the opportunity to shift through information and discern the most salient pieces for their contribution.  Students can also develop an understanding that the sources of information on Wikis, blogs and other information sites are human beings with individual perspectives and agendas. This understanding is essential to confront “The Transparency Problem” Jenkins describes in Confronting the challenges of participatory culture: Media education for the 21st century, “The challenges young people face in learning to see clearly the ways that media shape perceptions of the world” (p. 1).

Adding a post to a Wiki or commenting on classmates’ blog posts or knowing your posts can be commented upon provides students with responsibility.  Being responsible to the class for the information that is created and posted can help alleviate “The Ethics Challenge” that Jenkins described as, “The breakdown of traditional forms of professional training and socialization that might prepare young people for their increasingly public roles as media makers and community participants”.

For the students that have not had exposure to technologies that contain a posting feature, Wikis and blogging learning activities are even more vital. Technologies are moving toward greater individual participation and it is essential that students know how to navigate and contribute to them to address what Jenkins terms “The Participation Gap – the unequal access to the opportunities, experiences, skills and knowledge that will prepare youth for full participation in the world of tomorrow” learning activities need to incorporate common technologies to help ensure that students are not being left behind.

Jenkins discusses eleven “new media literacies: a set of cultural competencies and social skills that young people need in the new media landscape” (p. 4).  Class blogs and Wikis address many of these literacies; such as, judgment, collective intelligence, multitasking, appropriation, networking, and possibly even performance and play. Additionally, these technology enriched learning activities will, in many cases, build upon existing student knowledge or will be a vital introduction to these growing technologies. As we have witnesses in recent decades, technology is rapidly changing and with it the world. Technology has moved into every corner of society and to be responsible educators we must prepare our students to live, work and play in the world of today and tomorrow. Technology has not supplanted social relations or cooperative work it has just altered the landscape. Wikis and blogs are ways to involve students in technologies that allow them access and the ability to be an integral part of our evolving world.

Jenkins, H., Purushotma, R., Clinton, K., Weigel, M. & Robison, A.   Confronting the challenges of participatory culture: Media education for the 21st century. Building on the Field of Digital Media and Learning. MacArthur, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Retrieved from http://tinyurl.com/63pmfm

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Captioning

February 10th, 2010 · 2 Comments · Susan

llt logoCaptioning is a technology most of us are aware of as viewers of foreign language films. Their use brings other worlds to a theater near you. Similarly, closed captioning brings educational, entertainment and other types films to the hearing impaired.  For decades captioning has also been a tool in foreign language teaching.  Winke, Gass and Sydorenko (February 2010) provide a brief history as well as current developments in the use of captioning in the teaching of a foreign language in their article, Effects of captioning videos for foreign language listening activities. Additionally, the authors studied the impact of video captioning on foreign language learning and effective methods for its implementation. 

 

As an American living in The Netherlands, I often watched television programs from English speaking countries that had Dutch sub-titles. I believe that reading the sub-titles expanded my ability to read Dutch. I also wished that Dutch produced television had English sub-titles to aid my listening comprehension. I was drawn to this article due to my belief that captioning can be a useful tool for foreign language learning.

 

Findings reported in this study confirm the benefits of the captioning in foreign language teaching. The use of captioning results, “in greater depth of processing by focusing attention” (p. 81) on areas that need further development;  the strengthening of  “acquisition of vocabulary” by engaging both aural and visual processes and the improved ability to determine word boundaries that can become blurred during rapid speech.  The researchers also investigated whether viewing order, (including captions in the first or second viewings) affected learning outcomes. These results warrant further study because there were many unanswered questions and the sample size was small, only 3 students for one of the cohorts. However, learner gains were made regardless of the viewing order.

 

Captioning can provide educators with a tool for supplementing language instruction by using materials that engage the learner; such as, interesting videos.  A key component to language teaching, and arguably to the teaching of any topic, is the engagement of the learner with the learning process. The more a learner is actively engaged the more likely they are to invest. The use of popular Youtube videos that are captioned is one way to increase engagement.  Software programs such as, iMovie, Adobe Premier or Viewpoint, a free online program offered by the University of Michigan’s Center for Language and Research (http://clear.msu.edu/viewpoint/), enable instructors to add captions to self produced videos or to videos posted on shared sites such as Youtube.

 

 

The ability to customize captioned videos for in-class and distance learning is timely. The article points out the growing interest in foreign language learning and the rise of online and hybrid programs (courses that combine in-class and online learning). From a cursory exploration of Viewpoint, captioning appears to be a relatively simple process.  The downside, I imagine, is that transcribing videos can be time consuming. The authors recommend that further study include captioning only portions of videos to focus on key areas. Due to the time involved in transcribing, that appears to be a good idea.  However, based on the trend toward greater online teaching, the endless possibilities captioning technologies afford and captioning’s proven effectiveness, its incorporation in language classrooms is worth serious consideration. This instructor intends to explore its possibilities.

 

We are all familiar with captioning in the form of sub-titles that provide access to foreign film entertainment. With the use of captioning, entertainment and other target language videos can be an effective means for teaching foreign languages as well.

 

Winke, P., Gass, S. & Sydorenko, T. (February 2010). Effects of captioning videos used for foreign language listening.  Language Learning & Technology, 14 (1), 65-86.  Retrieved from http://llt.msu.edu/vol14num1/winkegasssydorenko.pdf

 

 

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Teaching Assignment Ideas:

February 10th, 2010 · 2 Comments · Susan

Teaching Assignment Ideas:

 

  1. Voice blog
  2. Video captioning
  3. Phonetic pronunciation videos
  4.  Class Wiki

 

Voice blog: A class blog that is similar to the blog we are posting our assignments to for this class, except all the posts would be of students speaking.  Downloads could be made from computers or cell phones.  This assignment would be for foreign language teaching although it would be suitable for almost any type of communications class.

 

Video captioning: Downloadable videos that are captioned as a means of teaching a foreign language to students. Captioning in this arena can be used to improve word boundary recognition and vocabulary acquisition.

 

 Phonetic pronunciation videos: Downloadable videos of the pronunciation of various English, sounds phonemes. This idea is based on a face-to-face exercise that I believe is attributable to Steve Copley, an instructor at George Mason University’s English Language Institute.  Mr. Copley has had success with helping students pronounce difficult English sounds by placing his hands on the sides of his face, like blinders on a horse; standing directly in front of the student; and repeatedly pronouncing the sound. Downloadable videos of a person pronouncing different phonemes would be the technological version of the above process.

 

Class Wiki: The class researches and contributes to a class Wiki. The class could be giving the freedom to either come up with their own topic or select from several predetermined topics. If there was a large interest in a couple of topics, the class could divide into two or more Wiki groups, depending on the class size.

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Thoughts on Peer Teaching

February 10th, 2010 · No Comments · Uncategorized

Since I am spinning my wheels daily here wondered if there was any other information or guidance that could be provided regarding the Peer Teaching Class. Having done one last year for CTCH 602 I am wondering if I would need to do much the same but just on “tech steroids” as it were- with a much more technological approach than the powerpoint. (also hoping the QuickPress thing does what I need it to do—playing around a bit here)

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HOW A WEB-BASED COURSE FACILITATES ACQUISITION OF ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES

February 9th, 2010 · No Comments · Valerie

Article #1

Bringing about changes in second language acquisition during the 21stcentury should be the motivation that drives technological research.  The language teacher should strive to make the student more independent and confident in the transition between acquisition and learning the target language.  The distinction between the two is fully achieved when the language learner can communicate effectively in any situation.  This article “How a Web-based Course Facilitates Acquisition of English for Academic Purposes”, written by Jin Chen, Safia Belkada, and Toshio Okamotoa, documents the research that studies computer-based learning activities and its effectiveness on achieving autonomy.

In a formal education environment the student often has no idea why they are being ask to do a particular assignment and the teach does not provide any explanation to the student; therefore, narrowing this gap between the pedagogical agenda of the teacher and that of the learner is important.  “Educational research findings suggest that the success of any educational process should be based on sound pedagogical principles and interactions” (Chen 33).   In communicative language teaching, language is taught in an integrated way and involves authentic and meaningful language that fosters the development of fluency.  It stresses the importance of unrehearsed conversations and encourages autonomous language learners.   Nonetheless, communicating in an L2 is a long process and requires a lot of effort on the part of the learner.  It requires a great deal of conscious thought at first; however, with much guided practice in communicating it will become easier. 

Communicative methodology is designed to promote practice of the target language and is a “successful and powerful approach to language learning” (Chen 33).   Learning language through technology has become beneficial for second language acquisition.  The language teacher wants activities that encourage students to communicate the language they learned in the classroom environment in real and simulated context.  Hence, the research conducted in this study is designed exactly for this purpose and the “computer serves not as a medium of communication, but as a presenter of material meant to engage students in conversation” in combination with task-based teaching (Chen 34).  

Task-based teaching promotes interactive communication among students and the ability to carry out simple activities using language is then proved to motive students to learn.  Computer-assisted language learning (CALL) coupled with this approach seeks to teach the learner vocabulary “based on the idea of linking students’ prior knowledge with their new knowledge” (Chen 34).  A Web-based course was developed called Academic English to help students’ acquire better English for academic proposes and would “support distance learning as well as supplement traditional classroom-based activities” (Chen 34).   However, the research conducted in this study proved to be inconclusive because researchers could not draw any difference between the interaction created in a Web-based environment and traditional classroom. 

The study did recognize CALL “encourages student autonomy” (Chen 47) and reinforces the belief that it is ultimately the role of the teacher to meet the special needs of the students by increasing the proficiency levels in listening, speaking, reading, and writing.  The language teacher should continue to foster academic achievements, social growth and acceptance, self confidence and self-worth, while developing language proficiency.  In conclusion,  technological change in the second language acquisition in the 21st century should continue to be the agenda for researchers.

http://llt.msu.edu/vol8num2/chen/

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