Use Free Tech Tools to Boldly Go Where No Language Class Has Gone Before

Use Free Tech Tools to Boldly Go Where No Language Class Has Gone Before

by: Angela Berger, World Language Teacher

A couple of weeks ago I presented at the Pennsylvania State Modern Language Association conference in Erie, PA. If you have never attended a conference for your content area, I highly recommend doing so!  I found it to be a wonderful experience. I met other language teachers who are just as passionate about sharing a love of language with their students as I am. I was able to exchange ideas, learn new things and I came back to my school feeling invigorated ready to try out some new tips and tools on my own students. My presentation on Free Tech Tools covers how to integrate technology from the most basic level of substitution to the point where the assignment would simply not be possible without technology. Examples are given in relation to the SAMR Model of Technology Integration, which was developed by Dr. Ruben Puentedora.

My first exposure to both technology and foreign languages and cultures came at a very young age when I was watching Star Trek with my dad. He would always watch it so I was stuck watching it. Eventually, I came to enjoy it. The earthlings in Star Trek were eager to visit new worlds and learn about new cultures. They did so with an appreciation and celebration of the differences. These people helped to build bridges between cultures.  Without technology, these people never would have been able to interact with other cultures or see new lands. I will discuss how technology can help us teach language and culture, and introduce our students to new worlds…in other words to boldly go where your classroom has not gone before.

The SAMR Model is made up of the following levels: Substitution, Augmentation, Modification and Redefinition. Click HERE to access the tutorials on how to use the tools mentioned in this blog.

Level 1: Substitution

The lowest level of technology integration is Substitution. This is where technology acts as a direct substitute. There is no functional improvement. You are doing the same thing you would be doing in the classroom except you are using technology as a substitute. An example of this would be to use Vocaroo to have your students record themselves speaking.   There are several benefits of doing it this way. It saves class time. Your students can listen to their recording and self-correct prior to submission.   If you have a Google website, you can have the students submit their work in a Google Form. This will send all of their recordings to one easy to access location on your Google Drive.

Level 2: Augmentation

The next level of technology integration is Augmentation. At this level there is some functional improvement due to technology. An example of this would be to use Quizlet to create audio flashcards. The functional improvement is that students are able to not only hear see the words, but they can hear the words being pronounced correctly in the target language. You can also add pictures to the flashcards.

Level 3: Modification

In this level of the SAMR Model, technology allows for significant task redesign.  For example, you can use EdPuzzle to create guided, interactive tutorials that provide immediate feedback.  EdPuzzle will allow you to turn any video, either self-created or from Youtube, into an interactive tutorial. The benefits are that the students can move at their own pace.  They can rewatch a particular segment as needed, without having to rewatch the entire video.  Students can interact with visual, audio and written content.

Additionally, Edpuzzle allows you to turn any video into a quiz. You can insert questions, including oral questions in any part of the video. You can prohibit skipping. Students will be unable to fast forward or view a different tab while the video is playing. You can add notes and audio to the video. Feedback is automatically given to the student. This can include oral feedback.  If you create a class in EdPuzzle, you will be able to see each student’s answers and how many times each segment was watched by that student. You can use this tool to assess reading, writing, speaking and listening skills.

Level 4: Redefinition

At last, we have come to the final level of the SAMR Model, which in my opinion, is the best level!  In the final level of the SAMR model, you will create assignments that would be inconceivable without technology. I like to call this level “to boldly go where your classroom has not gone before.”  The tutorials below will show you how to create virtual Culture Quests using Screencastify, Google Maps and Google Images. Edmodo can be used to create a collaborative discussion board with students all over the world.

Remember, you can click HERE to access the tutorials on how to use the tools mentioned in this blog. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to ask! I can be reached at angela.berger@padistance.org

Establishing a Human Connection in a Digital World

by Katie Devlin, Secondary Social Studies Teacher

When I first became an online teacher three years ago, I felt as if I needed to adapt and acquaint myself with a brand new world. However, I knew that I still needed to present myself as the teacher that I knew I was; someone who was dedicated to her students and school and who really wanted her kids to succeed and do well. In a cyber world, the computer is both a gift and a curse. It enables us to create lessons that are interactive and at the cutting edge of technology. However, it can be so hard to maintain that human connection in our digital world. As a fairly new educator who is currently in the midst of her fourth year teaching, I have found that connection is key to fostering student success. Here are some of the tenets of online teaching that I try to integrate into my daily practices as an online educator:

1. Embrace your humanity! As I often stress to my students, we are all human. This means that mistakes will happen, as well as amazing successes in the school environment. In my live classes, I use my webcam so my students are aware of what I look like and see my smile as they enter my online classroom. When I create videos for courses, I use my camera so my students see that I am putting time and effort into crafting a (hopefully) great lesson for them. If I make a mistake, I acknowledge it and move forward; modeling to students that we can all overcome our missteps in the online world. Keeping a human element in an online world can foster connections.
2. Make it a community! Throughout my years as an online teacher, I have stressed to many students that this is a community of learners, not just a teacher and students. I also use online mediums such as Twitter and Instagram to follow educators that inspire me. One of the things that has stood out most to me in the past year is that teachers also need to assume the role of learner in the classroom. If we aren’t willing to accept changes, we won’t move forward in an ever-changing society! In my courses, I offer students the chance to offer feedback on lessons. Many students can be timid, so I stress to them that all feedback is valued and appreciated, even negative feedback. By showing students that they have a valued voice in the classroom and can indeed “teach the teacher”, a community is formed where everyone is valued.
3. Keep in communication! The hardest part about working in an online environment is communication. Many students who come to our school are extremely shy and mentioned that they “don’t like talking”. This means that self-advocacy skills are often lacking. I’ve tried to diversify my means of communication with students at our school. This means that I text students, email them, use gchat as a communication means, and use the phone to contact. While a student may be shy on the phone, they could be comfortable expressing themselves in a different manner. I’ve also found it important to ask students about their lives as well as how school is going. In the past, I have done check in emails that ended with a fun question instead of asking about their grades. The insight I gained into the lives of my students was powerful and helped the human connection grow in our digital environment.

Although this list is short, there are many different ways to foster the human connection in our digital world. How do you do so? I’d love to see your feedback in the comments section below!

Creating MORE VOICE in the Online Classroom

 by Katie Heiles, 7-12 English Teacher
and 
Victoria DeRoner, 7-12 Social Studies Teacher

As commonplace with any job, when you start your online teaching adventure, you’re probably given a generic course that someone else created.  That course may (and probably will) lack any kind of personality, and as you fall into your own groove with your teaching, you will probably also fall out of favor with the course set up.  This is when overhaul happens, and when overhaul happens, you tend to come to  “Ah Ha!” moments of epiphany about your courses and your teaching.  After almost 10 years of teaching in the online environment, we have come to the realization that there has to be a different set of instructional best practices than most teachers are familiar and/or comfortable with.

These realizations come mostly from frustrations - frustrations about the course design, about the student dynamic, and about our limitations given the cyberspace environment. First and foremost, when a course is designed without heart, and with only a purpose to present information and ask students to reproduce it, it lacks personality and functionality.  It becomes repetitive and very two dimensional.  Often, students are required to access multiple resources in different places, leaving them feeling disorganized and lost.  Understandably, this will lead to a lack of engagement.  If we understand that our students are digital natives, then we must understand that they are “accustomed to the twitch-speed, multitasking, random-access, graphics-first, active, connected, fun, fantasy, quick-payoff world of their video games, MTV, and Internet are bored by most of today’s education, well meaning as it may be” (Prensky).  This means a boring course is not going to pique their interest, or keep their focus.

We also need to realize the reality of our online student population.  We have students with drastically different learning styles and needs.  Some students may be able to read and recall without an issue, but what about the auditory or visual learner?  They need, and very much deserve differently formatted learning activities.  These are just a sampling of the frustrations that led to making significant changes in the way we choose to format our courses:

Through a combination of technology conference workshops, a better understanding of the SAMR Model, and our own trial and error, we came up with the acronym, MORE VOICE.  We now use this model as a guide in implementing necessary changes to improve the learning experience for our students.

• Multimedia
• Options
• Relevance
• Embed

• Visible
• Organization
• Instructions
• Choice and creativity
• Expectations

Multimedia:

As online teachers of digital natives, we need to use multimedia tools whenever available.  Having a lesson on a white background with black text only, will not engage our students. They need images, videos, audio, and interactivity in their lessons.  

Options:

Our students need options in case something doesn’t work for them. For example, if they don’t have a strong internet connection (an obstacle many of our students face), there needs to be a backup plan.  Instead of just providing a link to an interactive magazine they can flip through, we need to also provide a link to just a pdf copy. Or, if you’re asking students to watch a video, maybe provide a reading and study guide as an alternative.  

Relevant:

Our lessons need to be relevant.  We need to find ways to connect it to their lives, interests, or something they are familiar with.  

Embed:

If something in the lesson can be embedded, do it!  When in doubt, embed. This takes away the need for students to click out of the lesson and to another site.  In addition, they will be less likely to get lost in the process, or accidentally be viewing content that isn’t part of the lesson.  Embedding removes barriers, and makes the course more accessible for all learners.

Visible:

We, as teachers, need to be visible as often as possible. Our students need to see us, whether it’s using our webcams during live classes, or creating instructional videos for asynchronous days that show our faces and our personalities.  If video isn’t an option they need to, at the very least, hear our voices. Our students deserve to be able to make that human connection and know that we are not robots.  This will help foster a positive student-teacher relationship.

Organization:

Not only does there need to be organization  within individual assignments, but we also need to have consistent organization across all lessons.  In following a consistent structure, the students know what to expect and can move through their lessons with confidence. This means text should be formatted consistently across the course, and day to day lessons should follow the same outline or structure throughout the course.  

Instructions:

Due to the barrier of the online environment, our instructions need to be extra clear to students.  This is especially true of the asynchronous lessons that require them to move through the content without teachers right there with them.  Teachers need to consider various learning styles in creating their instructions and ensure they are meeting accommodations of students with IEPs.  Lessons should not be “scroll worthy”.  If there is too much, find a way to cut back or chunk the information better.

Choice and Creativity:  

Providing students with choice and the ability to be creative is another way to foster engagement and student success.  Planning lessons that allow for this will be beneficial to students.

Expectations:

Students need clear and consistent expectations regarding what they need to do. The teacher’s expectations should be transparent and explicitly stated for students in the lessons.  This also means grading practices and feedback should match the expectations so that students are never guessing how they will be assessed.  

MORE VOICE is not about the the course revolving around the teacher or the content.  It is about humanizing online courses, so that our students feel as though they are part of a real learning opportunity, and understand that there is a real life, breathing and caring teacher on the other end of the monitor, who wants nothing more than to see that student succeed, because their success is our success.

#togetherhappenshere.

For some of our favorite MORE VOICE  tools and resources, see the links below:

• Screencast-o-Matic - record screen share directions
• Youtube - create and edit webcam videos
• Powtoon - create animated video lessons
• Quizlet - create flashcards, study games, and study sessions
• Studystack-create flashcards and study games
• Kahoot- create online review games
• Quizizz- game style formative assessment
• Vocaroo - record audio directions
• Padlet - create online bulletin boards
• Prezi - create interactive presentations
• Ed Puzzle - edit and add questions to Youtube videos
• Classtools.net - Create vintage style games and other interactives
• Zondle - Online review game generator

Works Cited

Prensky, Marc.  “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, Part II: Do They Really Think Differently?” On The Horizon 9.6 (2001). Print.

“How The SAMR Model Improves Teaching With iPad.” Learnmaker. 12 April 2015. 9 Feb 2016.<http://learnmaker.co.uk>