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/

My First Post

Welcome to my blog! I will be using this blog as a part of my graduate course, "Computer Assisted Language Learning." My posts here will consist of reflections on course material and/or analyses of interesting articles or resources pertaining to technology in a language classroom. I hope my blog will be of interest or use to my fellow classmates and any other readers interested in incorporating technology into language education. I currently teach Spanish, but am working towards a degree in teaching English as a Second Language, so my reflections here may pertain to both ESL classrooms and foreign language classrooms.

One resource that caught my eye this week is the New York Times. I've just discovered that the popular news outlet has a "learning" section geared toward teenagers and their teachers. The site, which can be accessed here, features interactive activities to give students a more hands-on relationship with the news and current events. Students are encouraged to share their opinions in a civil discussion forum, respond to polls, and answer questions based on articles. It even includes lesson plans to help teachers use the website in their own classrooms. I think this is a fantastic resource. If there was anything similar to this resource in Spanish, I would immediately want to use it in my classroom. I hope to continue to find great resources like this as I continue with my blogging experience.