Podcasting in the Classroom

Using Podcasts In Your Lessons

As an adult ESL teacher I find it very beneficial to use authentic materials in the classroom. Using NPR podcasts is a great way of introducing new, relevant vocabulary as well as allowing students to listen to a native speaker of English. I also like to use podcasts to practice notetaking skills and them hold a discussion about what was learned afterwords. NPR podcasts are clear audios but usually fast paced, therefore during a lesson comprehension and pre-listening questions are essential to make sure the students understand. A great podcast for all ages is You Bug Me. Now Science Explains Why. It's a very interesting podcast discussing pet peeves and the science behind them. 

Here are some sample pre-listening questions for the lesson:

What is NPR? What type of listening is it?

What type of note taking would you like to practice when listening to this NPR?

What Types of things annoy you?

Do the same things annoy everyone?

Why do you think certain things annoy certain people?

How do you deal with things that annoy you?

Here are some sample comprehension questions:

·         What sound is universally annoying?  Why?

·         What is a halfalogue? Why do people find it annoying?

·         Why do people feel “forced” to listen to the thing they are annoyed by?

·         What are our brains always predicting?

·         What is it hard to distinguish annoyances from?

How can we alleviate this sense of annoyance?

It's also important to discuss new vocabulary to help aid understanding. I put the vocabulary on quizlet so students may study them later on. 
Vocabulary: http://quizlet.com/57855100/you-bug-me-listening-vocabulary-flash-cards/

Some standards that can be covered with this lesson are Standard- ESL1 and 5.

Post #2 Performance Indicators and Assessment

Continuing on my last blog post about Flipped Classrooms. We use a neat website called TubeChop to edit a video of our choice that we could use in our flipped classroom. The video I choose was a Clip From Maysoon Zayid: I got 99 problems... palsy is just one Ted talk. 

The performance indicators that I can test from are Standard-ESL1: Language for information and understanding. Specifically I would focus on collecting ideas, concepts, and generalizations, and use knowledge from electronically produced texts. I will also test from  Standard - ESL 3: Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation: Students will listen, speak, read, and write in English for critical analysis and evaluation. More specifically students will use English to express opinions and judgements on experiences, messages, and issues from a variety of perspectives

Students would watch the video for homework and then answer comprehension questions about the video to make sure they understood. If they did not they could go back and watch the clip again. I would first address Standard ESL 1 by having students conduct a short research assignment about cerebral palsy such as what it is and how if effects the daily life of people who have it. Students will be using this standard because they will be using knowledge from electronically produced texts to collect ideas, concepts and generalizations about cerebral palsy. I would then test the students in class by having the students synthesize the information from the previous research assignment, the Ted talk and their own personal lives to write a journal about how their life would be different if they had cerebral palsy. They would be addressing standard-ESL3 because they would be expressing their opinion and judgement from a different perspective. In class I would have to do some modeling and instruction, possibly giving a few sentence frames for lower level students for expression opinion.

7 Things you Should Know about Flipped Classrooms Post #1

During my undergraduate work I went to the NCTE conference in Albany. There were many great lectures and workshops there but one of the presentations that really stood out to me was about Flipped Classrooms. This is a really interesting concept to me so I was glad when it was brought up in my technology class.
For class we read 7 Things You Should Know About Flipped Classrooms. Now, what exactly is a flipped classroom? The flipped classroom is when a traditional classroom is flipped on its head. So, traditionally the lecture would be given during the class and the homework would be completed later as a review, but instead the lecture is given as homework and the homework is completed in the classroom. In order to deliver the lectures outside of class short video lectures are viewed by students at home before the class session. Then during the class students are doing what we consider homework such as exercises, projects, or discussions. Here is a nice chart illustrating the differences:

To me this sounds like an idealistic goal. I would love to do this in my class because the homework can be the biggest struggle because each student gleans something different from the lecture and the teacher needs to supplement or clarify the information but they cannot do that if the student is at home. If the students needs to they can listen to the lecture as many times as they want at home whereas in the classroom the teacher only delivers the lecture one time in hopes that the students are somewhat paying attention. I think that modeling and feedback are key components to learning and teachers simply don't have enough time to do both during the class time. Therefore if the lectures are sent home with the students then they can listen, take notes, and ask questions in class the next day about anything that was confusing.

Though there are implications according to the Things You Should Know About Flipped Classrooms article. An effective flip requires careful preparation. "Recording lectures requires effort and time on the part of faculty, and out-of-class and in-class elements must be carefully integrated for students to understand the model and be motivated to prepare for class. As a result, introducing a flip can mean additional work and may require new skills for the instructor, although this learning curve could be mitigated by entering the model slowly" (EDUCAUSE). I think that thought it take a lot of outside preparation it would be a great model to try. If the teachers are given more tools and planning periods I think the flipped classroom can be achievable.

The Undocumented: A Serious Game

Serious games can be a great way to intrigue and engage your students by using flow and fiero while they are still utilizing important strategies and skills. The game I decided to play and blog about is called The Migrant Trail which is based off of the documentary The Undocumented by Marco Williams on PBS. 

THE MIGRANT TRAIL presents a first-person journey through Arizona’s desert borderlands.  Play as an undocumented immigrant attempting to cross the Arizona desert and/or a border patrol agent attempting to secure the border.  Playing the game offers an alternative  platform to further engage conversation, investigation and inquiry, into the themes and questions raised by the documentary.

Migrant Mode Intro: Every year an unknown number of migrants cross through the harsh Sonoran desert from Mexico into Arizona. They pay $1500-$2500 to join a crossing party, that is led by for hire guides referred to as Coyotes. If one cannot keep up, twists ankle or runs out of water, he or she is left behind and many die. On average, the remains of 200 dead migrants are found each year.  It’s not known how many are never found.

Border Patrol Mode Intro: Every day U.S. Border Patrol agents patrol the Sonoran Desert along the Arizona-Mexico border. Their job is to apprehend undocumented border crossers, provide first aid to the injured, and locate the remains of dead migrants.

After gathering background knowledge about the documentary and the game I played the game four times; two time as Patrol officer Anderson (because when I returned to the game it didn't save my progress) and two times as a Migrant (once as Diego and once as Adriana). 

First I played as the patrol officer Anderson. The first thing you hear is some haunting music which really sets the tone for the game. When you click on your character it gives a back story about the officer using prologue as seen above. You are given 5 hours on patrol (5 minutes). You drive around a car using a similar method to the Escape the Room Games. While you are pointing and clicking you are looking for foot prints which will go out of sight once the car moves past them. Then once you see a foot print and have to click on it quickly (this game is much easier with a mouse). Once you click on the foot prints you will see a dialogue box which you must respond to. Sometimes you will follow the foot prints to a dead body, sometimes you have to chase them, sometimes you will find them and have to administer first aid or you can just bring them in sick in which case they have a higher chance of dying but it also wastes a lot of your time. The best part is that you get to make the choice, choose the direction you want to go in or if you even want to click on the footprints. At the end you will get a total of migrants apprehended, died, applied first aid, miles traveled. At first you feel good about saving people because you administered first aid and were careful about clicking all of the footprint but then upon seeing the other statistics you then realize how many died and you feel like you should have been able to save them.  

Then I played as a migrant. First you are given a back story with a prologue similar to the patrol officer. Your objective is to cross the desert and meet with your coyote so you can see your family again. With the migrant you first need to go shopping with only $100 to get you through the trip; you need to plan strategically so you have enough supplies but are not overloaded. Then you are on your way and it's a constant struggle. You are always eating and drinking things to keep up your hydration and energy but they keep going down. Sometimes you will have popups and you need to decide if you want to take them or not because they will effect your health. You also have to be aware of patrol cars but they are mostly unavoidable. It's such a relief when you arrive to the safe point but it's so scary at the same time because I only had one jug of water left.  

There are so many language learning objectives that can be met by watching the documentary and then playing the game. I think an important standard being met would be Standard-ESL3: Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation. To meet this standard students must use English to express their opinions and judgement on experiences, messages, ideas, information, and issues from a variety of perspectives. This game makes meeting this standard very easy! After watching the documentary students can write their own opinion of the migrants trying to cross the boarder. Then the students can play the games as a patrol officer and a migrant and compare and contrast their varying view points. 

Students can complete these objectives through Kyle Mawer's task types. Problem solving: Analyzing actions & consequences of the game sequence as well as discussing game strategy. Personal: Describing personal preferences/ opinions of the migrant trail. Storytelling: narrating the story of the patrol officers and the migrants through their points of view.  

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Twitter in the Classroom!

What exactly is Twitter?

According to Twitter in the K-8 Classroom- Globally Connected Learning, teachers can use Twitter to introduce students to the connected world of a learning network. Students should make a profile with an avatar and a detailed bio stating their age and purpose of using the twitter. Also, privacy settings are important! You can make your tweets public or you can change it that only people you approve can see them.

But What can Twitter be used for?!

There are so many ways you can take advantage of Twitter in your classroom! But, make sure to have proper twitter etiquette including being polite, not gossiping, don't plagiarize, and respond to your followers.

Have no idea what to tweet about?! Here are some great suggestions!

But make sure your tweets are quality; are they clear, concise, grammatically correct, and informative. Also make sure to make use of Twitter vocabulary like RT (re-tween), # (hashtag), @ (mention), and DM (Direct Message). All of these tools will make using Twitter in the classroom effective, easy, and fun!

Another site with very useful twitter information is A Must Have Guide On Using Twitter in Your Classroom. This site, I think, is more helpful for teachers who have older students and maybe even college professors.

Here are some of my favorite helpful tips from this website:

1. Ambient office hours: With Twitter, Howard Rheingold at Berkeley uses Twitter for group contact, which he calls “student-to-teacher-to-student ambient office hours.”
2. Keep students in the loop: Using hashtags on Twitter, students who were not able to make it to class can follow along and stay on top of the conversation.
3. Attendance reminders: For students who have trouble making it to class on time, send reminders before school to get them in the door earlier.
4. Twitter pop quiz: Send out quick quizzes on Twitter, and have them count for bonus points in the classroom.
5. Parent communication: Parents can sign up to receive tweets from teachers, learning about activities, tests, projects, and more.
6. Find foreign pen pals: Students can use Twitter to communicate with students in a different country, learning about their hobbies, home, school, and more.
7. Twitter can improve writing and punctuation: As long as students are held accountable for their grammar, using Twitter offers a great opportunity for improving writing and punctuation.
8. Communicating with experts: Find authors, scientists, or historians on Twitter and get connected; a great resource for the classroom.

Both of these sites are worth checking out. They make be excited to use Twitter in and outside of the classroom!

Connecting Through Social Networking

A great way to connect and seek informal professional development is through Social Networking. Here are TWO helpful communities I find helpful and informative on google+

The first one is English Language Teaching (ELT). They provide helpful resources, discussions about important topics, tips for Teachers & Learners of English [ELT/EFL/ESL]. Specifically on here are various articles about grammar, geography, participation, and listening skills. As well as worksheets, information about seminars and teaching abroad.


The second community I found helpful is Teachers for Interactive Language Learning (TILL).
This site is great for creative, sharing, and daring individuals interested in helping others learn English as an additional language! This site has some nice inspirational quotes, teachercasts, material suggestions, and job opportunities.


Both of these google+ communities have great resources and opportunities to discuss questions that may arise in the ESL classroom!

Let's Prep Students for their Age, not the Teacher's

Hello There,

For my Technology class I watched some really interesting videos with an over-arching theme of incorporating technology in the classroom. The following are the highlights from those videos.
Education Change Challenge

This video asked a lot of questions: Why do we think that students will learn in the same way at the same time? Why is education the same it was 100 years ago? The video also made a lot of powerful statements: We need to make students lifelong learners. Teachers need to be relevant and credible in order to understand and meet the generation of students they are teaching.
I think that more of these questions need to be asked and statements be carried out. I know a lot of talk has occured about education reform but I don't think education needs to be "reformed" I think it needs to be completely changed. Reform indicates that it is taking what is already there and changing it a bit, instead it needs a complete overhaul. I think they used a perfect analogy in this video... If a doctor from 1914 was in a 2014 operating room they would be completely lost and be a inadequate doctor, but if a teacher from 1914 came into many 2014 classrooms they would hardly skip a beat.  

Social Media Revolution

I think this video is great at illustrating the changes and effect technology has on our academic and daily lives. It points out the ever growing and influential social medias. It states that over 50% of the population is under the age of 30 years old! Another interesting point was that people trust peer recommendations and only 14% trust advertisements. This video is indirectly stating that we should be embracing technology in our classroom by showing us how important it is to the population as well as how it affects our daily lives.  

A Vision of 21st Century Teachers

 This video is great! It's made by teachers about teachers who use technology in the classroom and the vast benefits it brings to their classroom! Some of the major points they make are how technology helps foster a global community, allows teachers to include differentiated teaching to address the many different types of learning styles, and how technology is aligned with real life. Technology also promotes critical thinking, global interaction, and engage the students. This video is promotes technology in a positive way that will help teachers reach standards while helping students understand and be interested at the same time.


The Future Starts Now

This video is geared toward Norwegians, but it is still relevant to American schools. It is made from a students point of view discussing how ICT (information and communication technology) helps students learn better because they are the most comfortable and enjoy using it but she wants to know why it's not integrated more into the classrooms. She makes the point that learning with technology makes education more relevant and helps students understand what they learn instead of just memorizing facts. I think the most important point she makes is that teachers may the the resources to work with but they don't have the time or professional development to keep their ICT knowledge up to date so they will be able to and comfortable using ICT in the classroom. I think that if schools provided the time and resources for teacher to update their knowledge and materials to be ICT based everyone involved would benefit.

Using Blogs in the Classroom

Hi there! 

We can all agree that as teachers professional development is important right? Well Steve Wheeler brings up some really interesting way we can achieve individual and collaborative professional development through blogs!  In Wheeler's blog "Seven reasons teachers should blog" he discusses teacher self-reflection about their actions, decisions, processes, successes and failures. All of this information can be recorded onto a blog and then be easily accessed later on. In this format a blog works as a digital filing cabinet where teachers can type in keywords to help help easily find a lesson or teaching strategy they want to reflect on or even reuse! This allows teachers to see what worked or didn't work and then decide if they want to reuse the idea or talk it over with someone to work out what went wrong.
On a similar note teachers can also gain valuable feedback through other teachers! This is the best because they may have zero idea why a lesson failed or what to do to make it better and someone may hop on their blog and help them solve their issue.

Blogging with Students

Not only can teachers use blogs to help express and reflect but students can too! According to Rita Zeinstejer  by using authentic and meaningful tasks students will become more engaged and learn more from the content. By being able to interact with the material in an authentic way they will see the use and purpose of the activity and be more inclined to participate enthusiastically. Through blogs students can publish their writing allowing experts or mentors from outside the classroom to add their comments, and this is a true exchange of opinions. Students can even satisfy standards through blogs!

Performance Indicator -Students can produce written narratives and expressions of opinion about radio and television programs, newspaper and magazine articles, and selected stories, songs, and literature of the target language. This standard can be easily accomplished with a blog! They can read one of the previously mentioned texts online and then respond in a meaningful way on their blogs. Then they can create a community of practice by commenting on other students opinions.

This feeds into another performance indicator -this indicator states that students can engage in extended discussions with native or fluent speakers on a broad range of topics that extend beyond their daily lives and are of general interest to the target cultures. This standard can be more easily accomplished with blogs than any other avenu. There are an abundance of blogs by native or fluent speakers on an enormous range of topics and are about the target culture!

In addition to to achieving the standards students can also create an ongoing portfolio of samples of their writing. This is amazing because ESL students can see how their writing has changed and grown over just one year. They then can keep adding to their blog so their ideas are all in one place just in case they want to revisit something!
I hope that you will consider using blogs in the classroom, I know I will!