Bittersweet Truth

When I say that I really loved this course this semester and it has been possibly one of the most motivating classes I've ever taken, I truly mean it. I always thought I was a little more tech savy than my fellow coworkers but from going through this course, I realized I still have lots to learn and am excited for the new opportunities I can give my ELs from reading our coursework, fellow peers' posts and blogs, and exploring new technology. 

Okay, so that was my good uplifting news of this last post, because sadly I have to address a concern that I've read multiple times from others this semester and I've said myself many times. There are HUGE challenges of integrating technology into our classrooms that as teachers are WAY beyond our control. My Google Alert from this week delivered me an article from eSchool News entitled '9 Fast Facts About Teacher's Classroom Challenges'(Read It!: 9 Fast Facts). It delivered 9 fast facts from data collected from surveys about the integration of technology into our classrooms and each one really hit home for me. Of course, I want you to read the whole article but let me give you a quick rundown.

• Larger class sizes prevent less time for helping students.
• Some schools are just starting to integrate technology and if they are, they are very far behind where they need to be.
• Teachers use more game oriented educational apps than learning apps.
• Teachers are not trained to properly integrate technology, they are just told to do so!
• Teachers are using their own money to buy what they need including technology.

I think after reading this article, it definitely gave me a bittersweet truth or almost ending to this course. There are so many things as teachers I think we want to do for our students but just can't because of lack of funding, resources, heck even time! Sadly, teachers are the ones who care the most and can do the most but unfortunately have the least amount of say when it comes to curriculum, funding, technology, etc. We want to be the super heroes for every child but we just possibly can't. 

But! By taking these courses and I think making goals for ourselves to integrate technology into our ESL classrooms little by little and pick 'one' project at a time to succeed at before moving on, I think we can get a lot farther than we think we can. Also by doing this, we can show the decision makers at our school districts the benefits of technology integration and prove to them how investing in these technologies not only for our students, but PD for our teachers to use it will better us all.

So I leave you for my last post with words of encouragement! Teach on and push to become the best integrated tech teacher you can! Pick one goal and work on it, even if it takes you the whole year to master, it's still one step further! Ask questions and mess up! From our mistakes, beautiful things can happen and teachers can do the impossible. 

Did She Just Say Watch TV for Homework?

Did you re-read this blog's title twice? Are you thinking I've gone A-Wall for summer? Well I haven't! This year when I started my new position at Maine-Endwell as the second ESL teacher, I observed my co-worker setting goals with her students and the process of how they were going to reach these and she always had them write and recommended to parents for them to watch English speaking television shows. At first, I questioned it because normally as teachers we encourage family time and practicing skills but the more I observed how it helped with English speaking skills the more I became an advocate for it being a tool (not a babysitter as Ferlazzo says). So imagine how excited I wasto get a Google Alert from Larry Ferlazzo updating a post he made entitled 'The Best Popular Movies/TV Shows for ESL/EFL (& How to Use Them). 
In this post, he first discusses HOW movies and Television shows can be a useful technique in the classroom for ESL/EFL. He says that these movies or t.v. shows should never be shown for more than 10 minutes in one class period and it should be connected to the 'theme' that is happening in class. I believe these two things right from the get go show how it is a tool, not a 'babysitter'. 
He offers an instructional lesson he uses movie clips for which I would love to try next school year. It's called 'Back to the Screen' and one EL watches the movie clip with no sound and has to dictate to the other EL what is happening. Great engaging activity, on the moment thinking, and communication! 
The rest of the post he discusses some resources and lastly, gives his recommendations for best movies and T.V. Shows plus some readers' input. Some might seem old school but I like it because there were a few that are similar to countless others that could be shown as well. Movie suggestions include Father of the Bride and The Pink Panther. T.V. shows include America's Funniest Home Videos and Mr. Bean. I know my ELs would love both of these T.V. shows and could provide many teachable moments from them. The great thing about his list too is he doesn't just list them-he tells you WHY you should use them! 
At the end of the post you'll find a link to download from David Deubelbeiss that is a guide to the best ways to use video in your English language classroom. It's definitely worth a save if not a print!
As always, I love Larry Ferlazzo and highly recommend his weekly email subscription or an alert for his blog especially if you maybe new to ESL or intimidated at times. He's a great writer and knows his stuff. 
And finally, I leave you with a compilation of Mr. Bean's most embarrassing moments. Although, I do not recommend showing this whole clip to a class as some of it may be borderline inappropriate for school, he does do a good job of showcasing how NOT to act in our society and that is what leaves us with a teachable moment. 

Read It: Larry Ferlazzo's Best Movies and T.V. Shows

Schooool's Out for Summer!!

I know most of my peers have already been singing this song for the last two or so weeks but being a teacher in New York with Regents taking place mid summer, yesterday was officially the last day of school! Although, there was a definite lack of learning taking place during this whole last week, the positive activities that enhanced social interactions and teacher student relationships can not be forgotten. The students and teachers really get to 'know each other' again in the last few days and leave on a good note so I'm all for the laid back few days of school.

However, these last few days brought to my attention a common problem with summer-the regression of skills. For some of my ELs, the regression of their English skills very much concerns me! I'm still worried about the academic skills such as reading level and math slipping but with the lack of practicing English over the summer could make the beginning of next school year another adaption period for them. As fate would have it, my Google Alerts brought me an editorial from D&C Democrat & Chronicle (Part of USA Today) entitled School's Out but Learning Must Stay In.  The article points out that research shows students from low-income families lose two to three months of learning throughout the summer. This demographic group is majority if not close to all of my ELs' families so two to three months is beyond huge! If I think about my ELs that entered the country and district starting in September and taking two to three months of their learning and English practice away, makes me shake with anxiety. My ELs learn so much and progress their English more every week, every month, and huge progress in one year! To think that as they left me yesterday, they would be losing skills is stressful and sad. 

So, what can I do as an ESL teacher? What did I do knowing this threat already? I spoke to my parents, arranged conferences, and sent home materials that I hope they take advantage of. I spoke to parents about keeping their children involved in community activities such as library happenings, going to the park, or going out for ice cream in town. I know from just driving by after school that I see many school aged children at these parks that my ELs could interact and continue practicing English with. For some of my students traveling back to their native countries for the summer, we printed out books from ReadingA-Z (Explore It! Reading A-Z) that they could use over the summer and practice with while away. 

Academically, there are many resources for them to use as well. In the editorial, the author discusses the use of appropriate educational apps on Smartphones to keep students sharp on their skills. The author suggests checking out community events as well and even your school's website for summer enrichment programs. Lastly, the author points out that during the summer the most important people to help regression are parents! That learning and fun can be done together and just be on the look out for learning opportunities! 

I don't know about the rest of my peers, but I know if my ELs' families try their best to attempt to give their students' English speaking practice and academic skills, I am one happy teacher! (And maybe can enjoy the sun now!) 

Read It! School's Out

Google: Education's Next Super Star

I know I'm not the only one that constantly hears (and says) 'well Google it!'. Google has become a verb where adults and children can go to find whatever information they need and that's only the basic function of what Google can do! I've always held a soft spot for Google from the beginning as I always felt they not only gave me the best search results but it was more 'filtered' and user friendly. As time went on, the security benefits of Google compared to Internet Explorer and Safari could not be beat. Now as they continue to add on to their list of amazing capabilities that I'm continuing to learn, I find out there is such a thing as Google Classroom (*Mind blown*).
My Google Alert came from a blog called EdTech (Explore It! EdTech) and was written by Meghan Bogardus Cortez about the benefits of using Google Classroom. The first point she makes is how easy and paperless Google Classroom is. Teachers can manage their classes and post assignments, assessments, and homework for classes or specific students. All of these can be made right in Google digitally so no uploading or scanning either! Also, this eliminates the use for paper and wasting any teacher time by going to the copier three times a day.
Another point she makes which I really enjoy is how Google Classroom can be differentiated for individual students. Worksheets, assessments, and homework can all be adapted to meet the needs of a student. What a great tool for ESL! Just before I started writing this post, I was spending time translating a final for our Spanish ELs which was taking awhile because the teacher only could give me a paper copy. If the teacher had made the final on Google Classroom, I could of easily translated it into Spanish within minutes. Besides translating assessments, this could be a great place for me as the ESL teacher to coordinate with the general education teacher more effectively. If I could see what she had posted before getting to the class and seeing the paper, I could have a resource whether it be a glossary, graphic organizer, anything to help in advance (since we lack common planning time for our co-teaching this year).
The last idea she discussed how easy it is for communication for students and teachers. Students can email a teacher directly from the worksheets with any questions or concerns and the teacher can respond immediately if the dashboard is present on her screen. I think that as a student knowing my teacher was just a click away even when I was not in school would be such a major comfort...don't you?
At the end of the article, they state how Google has explored using the Classroom internationally and found that it eliminates technology anxiety with students. There isn't much more detail about this but I think overall this Google Classroom is amazing for use with ELs. Every point that is discussed in the article has a benefit for not only the ELs but for teachers trying to work together to help them succeed. In my eyes, with all that Google has to offer it really is becoming the next super star for not only everyday use but for our classrooms as well!
Read It! Google Classroom

Thinking Outside the Technology Box

This week I received a very interesting Google Alert that after I read was so excited about I could of jumped out of my seat, ran to the nearest administrator in my building, and advocate why we should be the first United States school to have one of these. So what is it that possibly would excite me this much. A LANGUAGE LAB! Yes! I know (head tilt). A lab like we had in high school where we conducted scientific experiments but for language! 
The article was published by The Fiji Times Online and began with expressing how 'dire' it is that Fijian students be not only proficient in English but also competent. It stated how language learning is unlike learning any other subject area and much more than a paper, book, and test ability. I couldn't agree more! 
So what would a language lab look like? A language lab would be a room where students would have access to many technological tools that would allow them to learn and perfect English skills. As the author states, the resources in the language would  be 'designed to assist learners acquire and maintain aural comprehension, oral competency, written proficiency and cultural awareness'. These tools would give the Fijian students interactions with competent learners of English and provide the most proficient English Speakers.
The author continues to propose the four types of language labs that would be available to students and uses extensive details to describe the CALL lab and how teachers instructing in this lab would need to not only be educated in the technology themselves, but change their teaching philosophies to accept the curriculum and resources CALL offers. 
Now that I'm sure I have excited you as well, I'd like to think of the possibilities of not only our ELs would have with the creation of a language lab but the opportunities we could provide native English speakers with foreign language skills. To me, this is a win-win situation for everyone involved! Learning a 2nd (sometimes 3rd or 4th for our ELs) is probably one of the hardest experiences in our ELs lives. A learning lab would give them an incredible interactive environment where they could build on their skills. I think an environment like this would become a safe comfortable place for them to feel no pressure to not mess up or  not be afraid to make mistakes because it would be a working experience. 
Sadly, I feel that mostly everywhere I go, whether it be in Pennsylvania, New York, or anywhere, ESL is just a new 'happening' in our public schools. We still aren't quite prepared for the amount of ELs we are receiving and have no 'real stable' policy on ESL instruction. With that means, no real money for creative and genius language learning experiences. The best we can do is try to find these technologies we would implement in a language lab and put them to use with our ELs to the best of our abilities. 
Unless of course, the rest of my classmates feel like a march on Washington for more ESL money?!? :)
Read It! Language Labs

World Wide Web Not So Wide?

Since this is my first post, I thought I'd begin with discussing a concern that I see over and over again with my entering ELs; lack of technology education and skills. I've been looking forward to taking ESL 509 as it is my hope that this course would bring me more knowledge about how to integrate technology into my school district for ESL more and motivate me to do it! So far, it is doing just that and I hope by the end I can be a resource for new users. However, despite this motivation and knowledge my ELs are still coming in not understanding technology. As fate has it, I had quite a few Google Alerts about countries that are committing to the public to put more technology into their schools. This excites me to no end because as I've mentioned now a few times, ELs entering our country, my district have little exposure to technology. So, YES! I love that countries are taking the initiative to bring more of these resources to their students. 

 The first article that came to me was about how Turkey plans to distribute 2.5 million tablets to education. This is amazing to me as just this year, I have had two families come from refugee camps in Turkey! Now, I can't be quite sure that these resources will be available to refugee camp families since I have heard from both families that they are very much viewed as 'vistors' of Turkey but they did attend a non refugee school so my fingers are crossed! This initiative is a further step of Turkey's Ministry of Education project FATITH (conquer in Turkish) but means 'Movement to Increase Opportunities and Technology' which since the beginning has been placing Smart Boards in classrooms. Great steps to further technology for all students! Read It! Turkey to Distribute 2.5 Million Tablets

The second article that I read was, surprisingly about Nigeria. It was only discussing one school Fourier International School, but it only takes one to get the ball rolling. The Administrator comments how the school can 'no longer wait and be playing catch up with technology'. I felt like this administrator knew exactly what I have been saying and thinking all year. My ELs just can't catch up! The article discusses as well how increasing technology means more resources and valuable information for their teachers as well. Read It! Fourier International School

I know that these were just two alerts about two countries that are taking steps further but it means so much to me. Technology in our schools is a blessing and children as young as one can operate devices and apps. However, this is an added pressure to our ELs especially when everyone around them is playing on their phones, snapping chats, and tweeting about after school sports. Our young people are definitely communicating more by phone than in person these days and in the one area where our ELs might have a chance to learn more language, they can't!  Add on that they have to use them in school for center time or school work and they are frustrated before they can even start to look at the content. By advocating and continuing to push global technology for all schools all over the world, all students will have a common area and language; even if it is a virtual language.