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| Photo Taken by Haun |
The first article I looked was examining if technology can help improve language learning and, short answer, they found that technology can help. They said that there are tons of applications and websites that are designed to help with language learning and that there are a lot of programs specifically geared towards three year old children. The article states that this is the age brains are most receptive to learning a language. Unfortunately the article is very general and does not list any of the apps or websites they found in their research but it is nice to see that technology is helping with language learning. The last sentence in this article mentions that we need to become responsible handlers of technology. I agree with this statement but I would go a step further: we also need to teach our students how to be responsible handlers of technology. Technology is a wonderful tool but it can also be a distraction! I loved my graphing calculator in high school and it helped me get through calculus but it also had "block dude," which was quite distracting. I did not play it often but it was a constant temptation...
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| Block Dude retrieved from: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ErFXHHYXByk/hqdefault.jpg |
The second thing I found interesting this week was on a school district in Massachusetts that is adding ESL classes for parents. The classes are held twice a week on Tuesday & Thursday from 9 AM to 11 AM. They already have twenty-five parents on a waiting list for the class. I love the idea of this class and I think it is very forward thinking of the school to offer classes for parents. My only concern with this program is that it is twice a week and during the work day. I am worried that parents that are working will be unable to attend and miss out on this opportunity. If my district were to do something like this I would do an online version so parents could access the lessons any time they wanted to. The lessons could be potentially hosted by the district's website or they could be housed on Google Classroom. I applaud the forward thinking of the district in Massachusetts and I'm not trying to critique them but I do know I would like to implement the program differently if my district were to try it.
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| Google Classroom Logo retrieved from: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/59/Google_Classroom_Logo.png/220px-Google_Classroom_Logo.png |
Retrieved from: https://www.hindustantimes.com/education/can-technology-help-improve-the-language-learning-experience/story-FncR0t5eGtE3sCM4VHdzKJ.html
Retrieved from: https://www.itemlive.com/2018/10/05/lynn-teachers-union-and-curriculum-department-debut-esl-classes-for-parents/
For as long as there has been social media, my students have been getting punished for its "misuse" Because of the inappropriate behavior in social media, many schools (like the one I am teaching) have blocked Facebook, Twitter, and other frequently-used social media sites from their students. Smart phones are also commonly banned but we can use it with the discretion of the teacher. It's not unusual for school administrators to punish the students for using social media. Consequently, we are holding kids responsible for something that, in most cases, we never taught them to use, but have only forbidden them to use. I agree with you about "We need to become responsible handlers of technology" We need to teach how to use technology appropriately.
ReplyDeleteI love your dog. Great picture!
Thanks, Maria