Week 8 - Educational Minecraft

One article that I found this week was very well timed with this week's class discussion- it pertains to the educational version of Minecraft that was just released. Minecraft Education looks highly promising as a game that can provide educational benefits such as spatial and architectural skills, along with creativity and problem-solving skills. This game is already quite popular, even among teenagers, so it's no surprise that educators are trying to incorporate it in the classroom. Some schools are already using Minecraft in math, science, and history lessons. It may not be as well-suited for language learning, although I can see potential for using it to practice following and giving directions. The education-specific version of Minecraft contains features such as the ability for teachers to observe all game activity on one screen, portfolios for students to put pictures of their work, and the ability for a whole class to collaborate on the same map. This development is very exciting for teachers looking to incorporate gaming in their curriculum, but the article cautions that it may take a while until the IT department can prepare the technology and teachers can get trained in the software. I’m looking forward to seeing how quickly Minecraft Education catches on and what different teachers decide to do with it.

Article: http://www.edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2016/11/getting-started-minecraft-education-edition

Week 7 - Bringing students' technology skills to the community

This week's article that I chose was rather fascinating to me. Students in Indiana, PA who are taking technology courses are applying their skills and bringing them to the community. Some students are working as interns in the school, helping the technology staff and teachers with the school's available technology, including a one-to-one Chromebook program. Now, with the school board's approval, the students are looking to begin to teach community workshops for their parents and neighbors who want to learn more about technology. The workshops would be primarily created, advertised, and led by the student-interns. This idea provides so many benefits to both the students, who can showcase their skills and hone their communication and presentation skills, and the community, who may not understand some of the technology the students are being taught and want to learn more than computer basics. By allowing the students to run these programs, they are gaining valuable work experience and necessary interpersonal job skills.
I believe it is so important for schools to reach out to the community. Because schools are funded by tax payers, many times residents of a district want to know what they are paying for. This is especially important in less forward-thinking communities who are skeptical when they see more money being pushed toward technology that they may not understand. By allowing students to showcase what they have learned, the school gets to prove the benefits of their investment into educational technology, educate the community, and provide valuable real-world experience to hardworking students.

Article: https://www.indianagazette.com/news/indiana-news/community-technology-workshops-to-be-offered,25362624/

Week 6 - Integrating Technology into Assessments

First off, I wanted to give a quick update to my Week 2 post about bilingual education in California. Proposition 58 has passed! Students in California now have a choice to receive their education in multiple languages. This is a great step not only for the ESL community, but also for native English speakers that want to enhance their educational and professional opportunities by learning a second language.
Changing topics, I read this week about integrating technology into our assessments. This article on Education Week pleaded a strong case for ditching the traditional bubble-filling format of standardized tests in favor of a more interactive computerized test-taking format. The author cited a few reasons for making the switch, but the primary benefit would be that students would be taking their test in the format which makes them the most comfortable, which in this day and age is more likely to be electronically, rather than paper-and-pencil.
Initially, I thought the article was going to discuss the merits of using technology to completely change our assessments and evolve them into a more real-world application of what they learned. However, it seems like the primary goal of the technology integration as described by the article is merely to provide an alternate format of taking the same tests, or essentially bubble-filling on a screen instead of on a piece of paper. This disappointed me, but it made me think about how I can reinvent other assessments to include technology. For example, creating digital posters instead of paper ones, a Skype session instead of a face-to-face interview, or a WebQuest instead of a traditional research assignment. Additionally, maybe the simple format switch from paper to computer can pave the way for a total reinvention of the standardized testing process.

Here is the article: http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/education_futures/2016/11/why_we_should_integrate_technology_into_assessments.html Oddly enough, I was able to read the whole thing on my phone, but when I tried to access the link on the computer, it wouldn't let me read the article without subscribing first. Hopefully it works for all of you!

Week 5 - Replacing Teachers with Computers?

As teachers, one of our worst nightmares is for our jobs to be replaced by computers. In this day and age, where all the information in the world is literally at our fingertips and in our pockets, the idea of being replaced by technology is not as improbable as it once seemed, but it still feels like that time is still far away. However, in Maine and several other areas across the country, that concept has become reality. In an article that I read this week, Rosetta Stone is currently taking over language classrooms, in place of human teachers. The article cites a severe teacher shortage and lack of interest in language education programs in college, which is an entirely different issue in the education world. This seems hard to believe, since Pennsylvania has such a teacher surplus, but it is scary to think that schools in other states may start doing the same as Maine. Although Rosetta Stone claims to be intended only as a supplement to language instruction, I can see schools implementing the computer program and hiring technology aides to cut down on the cost of paying highly qualified teachers. I already know of one school in Pennsylvania where my friend, a certified Spanish teacher, was working as a long-term substitute, where she supervised a Rosetta Stone lab instead of actually being able to teach. Language learning technology is a wonderful thing, but we need to be careful that we do not let it take over and replace the human interaction between a teacher and students. In addition, we as teachers need to adapt our work to ensure that we bring more to the classroom than a computer program alone. How do you think we can embrace technology without becoming obsolete ourselves?

Article: http://qz.com/825803/computers-are-replacing-foreign-language-teachers-in-us-high-schools/

Fear of Technology

This week, I read an article about how teachers are afraid to use technology, and how their tech-savvy colleagues can help alleviate that fear. Attendees of the iNACOL blended learning symposium, a large educational technology conference in San Antonio, had a lot of discussions about this fear of technology held by many educators. They determined that many teachers have anxiety about being embarrassed in front of their students when the students are more proficient with new technology than they are. In addition, many teachers also fear that new technology will take too long to learn and they may face repercussions from their administrators if they struggle with it.
The goal in several of the conference sessions was to find solutions to help teachers feel more comfortable around technology. One solution involved setting aside time for teachers who have successfully used a new tool or technique to model said technique for their colleagues. Other suggestions included having students take the reins on a technology-based project with the teacher observing and learning, and providing personal devices for teachers to take home and familiarize themselves with it gradually on their own time. The general solution to alleviate technological anxiety is to communicate the message that it's OK to take risks with technology and be vulnerable. One district has even made it a point to stress to administrators not to penalize teachers on their evaluations if they use a technology that fails. It is the attendees' hope that they can help their colleagues become less stressed and facilitate more openness to technology by implementing these strategies.
I think this article is so important. We, as educators who are taking this course, should take it upon ourselves, like the iNACOL attendees did, to help our colleagues as we become more comfortable with what we are learning. This will help our schools as a whole progress towards the future.

Article: https://marketbrief.edweek.org/marketplace-k-12/conquering-teachers-tech-anxieties-recurrent-theme-inacol/

Week 3 - Evaluating Personalized Learning Products

This week, I found an article about learning tools being marketed as "personalized learning," but often failing to meet standards and expectations. Educational experts are finding that personalized learning has become an almost meaningless buzzphrase, due to an influx of products marketed as such, but do not actually lead to learning that is personalized. This lack of quality has prompted educators to take a harder look at educational technology programs to determine their true effectiveness in the classroom. The article outlined several characteristics that can define programs that are ineffective for individualized learning. Some of the so-called "red flags" include large amounts of data with little meaningful information about achievement, and insufficient supplemental materials for students higher or lower on the learning curve, among several other criteria. Conversely, an ideal resource for personalized learning would require students to demonstrate mastery of content, and include opportunities for students to choose their own learning path.
I was interested in reading about how educators go through the process of evaluating different technology programs. Reading through the different criteria of both "good" and "bad" technology fascinated me and made me think about what my own priorities for technology would be. There may come a day where I'm on a committee to choose a language-learning program, and I would need to evaluate several different options. It was helpful to be reminded to not be fooled by buzzwords and pay attention to what will really help my students.

Article: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2016/10/19/red-flags-to-look-for-when-evaluating.html

Week 2 - Bilingual Education Laws

For this week's blog post, I've decided to talk about an article relating to the political side of TESOL.

My article is called "California Voters Consider Law Banning Most Bilingual Education," but it has a bit of a misleading title. When I first saw the headline, I was outraged, thinking "How in the world can they ban bilingual education?!" However, it turns out that many people want to repeal an already existing law in California, called Proposition 227, which banned several forms of bilingual education in schools. Proposition 227 insisted on pure English immersion for English language learners (ELLs). Proposition 58, which is on the ballot in California this November, would repeal most of Proposition 227, and allow parents of ELLs the choice to have their students taught in two or more languages, not just English. Under Proposition 227, the only way to get a bilingual education is for parents to sign a waiver. Proposition 58 is expected to pass, and seems to be much less controversial than the law it is trying to reverse.
I am glad that California, a state with an immense Hispanic population, is recognizing the benefits of teaching in multiple languages. With teaching in other languages banned, many ELLs would struggle to get by in their classes because they have few connections to their native language to help them understand. These students are simultaneously trying to learn language and content, which can be frustrating. Teaching bilingually can help students make connections and encourage content mastery in not one language, but two. Bilingual education is not only beneficial to children of immigrants, but also to native English speakers who want to become bilingual for the global benefits.
I would love to see an increase in bilingual education programs not only in California, but across the United States. I would also be interested in learning about different technology that would support bilingual education. This article has inspired me to expand my Google Alerts to include bilingual education and bilingual technology. I look forward to learning more about this particular area of language education.

Article: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2016/10/08/california-voters-consider-law-banning-most-bilingual-education/