INCORPORATING TECHNOLOGY
“Education is evolving due to the impact of the Internet. We cannot teach our students in the same manner in which we were taught. Change is necessary to engage students not in the curriculum we are responsible for teaching, but in school. Period.”
– April Chamberlain
As a 21st century teacher and an amateur web designer, I LOVE technology in the classroom. I do not like technology for technology's sake, but I do like technology that helps students learn. Some students have a gift for technology, others need to learn about it in today's day and age, and other students really do learn a lot from playing a computer game. By bringing the internet and technology into the classroom, it is possible for techie students to thrive by collaborating online, for students to continue learning by game play even when I am not standing over them, and for us to be able to talk to another class in Switzerland! Below are some examples of the technology I use in my class.
Visual SlideshowsUsing powerpoints for incorporating technology in the classroom is an age-old idea that still works for foreign language. Using projeqt, I created a slideshow from scratch in order to have the students take notes and participate orally. With different layouts, the visualization is a lot more slick and the students respond to the slides well.
Click the image to view all my projeqts. |
GlogsWith this online posterboard, I like to put all the assignments and images for the vocabulary that students can have access to on the electronic whiteboard and on their iPads. I find it extremely helpful to have a visual aid for learning literature in a foreign language, as well as visualizing the words in the beginning stages of language learning.
Click the image to view the glog and go to my dashboard. |
Skype in the ClassroomWe can talk to another teacher and set of students all the way on the other side of the world with Skype. I am hoping to set up Pen Pals with classes and have Skype sessions with them to work on our language skills.
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Padlets and BlogsStudents are incredibly creative and enjoy collaboration, especially with the click of a button. In my recent field observation at a private school in Macon, Georgia, all the students are issued iPads and as a French I class, we made an online design board for our dream house, "chez nous," using vocabulary for household objects. I find that students respond really well when they have the chance to be creative and see each other's ideas.
Click the image to view the whole board for one of my class's projects. Another use for this is to have an interactive study guide online for students to ask me questions and review and share content when they are not physically in class. Click the image to view the study guide. Duolingo-A game based language learning appDuolingo is an app that students can download to their phones and play through the French language. Students can also access it online at duolingo.com. With the classroom feature, I can see who is playing and what they are good at or struggling with on my dashboard. They can "follow" each other and help translate articles from language to language. The best part--it is totally free to everyone. It is a great way to learn a language bit by bit.
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