Technology Decisions

Greetings,

At our institution I believe that our Technology Education Innovation team and our Executive Director of Technology lead the decision making process for technology purchases. There is also a committee with faculty representation that participates in the technology decisions. In the past I have not been involved in this process, but recently the budget process changed and Divisions are now being asked to propose future needs, to include technology. 

After piloting two Voicethread activities this past semester, as part of the Elevate course, I reached out to the TEI team and asked if we could purchase it. At first I was informed that we may be able to be part of a pilot that the State University of New York (SUNY) system is conducting. But the concern was that only a few teachers would use the tool making it difficult to justify in the future. 

I explained that I could envision its application in many different disciplines across the College and that this would be a particularly valuable tool for our online courses. Later I heard one of the faculty reps from the technology committee also praising the value of Voicethread making me think that this will be a priority in the future. 

I realize now that the more I experiment with technology and learn about its application in the teaching learning process the more I can participate in these discussions. I am particularly interested in collaborating with the language faculty to identify the optimal strategies and tools for our curriculum. Currently, only a couple of us are using technology to any serious degree. I would like to set up faculty exchanges in which we introduce technology to others in our department and share activity ideas. I am confident that his will energize innovations in our classrooms and give us the concrete data needed to convince the 'powers that be' to make purchases to support our efforts.

The quote "knowledge is power" comes to mind. Prior to studying technology I didn't feel qualified to voice an opinion about technology integration, but the more I learn the more I want to try and share. 

Until next week,

                                            Photo taken by Theresa Baginski Nov 2015
                                            New York Country Winter

Constantly Learning

Greetings from a tired language teacher,




Three weeks of class left this semester and I think it is safe to say students and teachers alike are a bit exhausted. But this week, like every other in the life of an educator, resulted in great learning for all of us. This weeks' lessons were many but I think highlighting what I learned about Fair Use is most beneficial to those of you who dedicate yourself to teaching.




In general there is a belief among educators that we can use just about anything for the purposes of teaching and we won't get in trouble. In this digital age there is a plethora of delightful images that we cut and paste without thought spicing up our lesson plans, activities, and handouts. However, what I learned is that under Fair Use there are four criteria that would be considered in a legal setting if sued for violating unauthorized use of an image or video. That's right, we could be sued.




In  the FLTMAG article Teaching Materials in the Digital Age: Using and Sharing Images and Video Responsibly written by Alison Hicks and Courtney Felt we learn that a court would consider if it was used for profit or not, if the nature of the image was changed from how it was originally intended, the impact usage had on its ability to profit, and how much of the copyrighted work was used (3).




This may not have been overly important when our teaching took place solely face to face and visibility of what we used was limited to our classroom.  But times have changed and our presence online expands daily as we post our lessons and activities in learning management systems, we create educational blogs, wikis, and web pages, as well as, videos.




The question I suggest we ask ourselves is: Have I borrowed anything be it an image, video, or activity that I need to cite? If the answer is yes and especially if it is part of our online presence then it would be wise to do so. In doing so we show that we value the creativity of others and we model for our students proper conduct in the digital world.




Well, now that I have reflected on this lesson learned. I think I will go check my previous posts and as the old saying goes "not just talk the talk, but walk the walk".




Happy Thanksgiving

My Fantasy Language School

Greetings,

Before I start to dream about a Fantasy Language School I first want to imagine a world where people of all colors, cultures, languages, religions, and any other difference that currently divides our world accepted one another with arms wide open. I dream of a world where we acknowledge that everyone has the same basic needs; to be loved, to be fed, to be educated, to be accepted, and to live with dignity and security. To the people of Paris and all of France, my heart and prayers go out to you. (Click on image to see Jean Jullien's tweet.)

This week we are being challenged to dream. We are asked to imagine what our ideal language school would be like if the decisions were all ours and money was not an object. Now you know
why it is called a dream!

First, my school would exist within a society that truly valued language and culture. There wouldn't be debates over the value of studying language nor the argument that English is the only language we need to know. Language learning would be an aspiration for the many and polyglots would be recognized for their brilliance and valued as are doctors today.

My language school would be a microcosm of our multicultural world. Diversity would be present in every aspect of the institution from the administration to the staff, faculty, and students. Everyone would be appreciated for their unique perspectives and on any given day anyone could fill the role of student or teacher. The walls would visually represent the world and all the signage would be in multiple languages. The school would be partnered with other schools across the globe providing students with access to partners for projects and information exchange.

We wouldn't use text books to drive our curriculum. Instead, we would create a curriculum driven by real world problems and scenarios. Students would choose the problems they want to work on making the curriculum fluid and allowing for learning to take place naturally. The organic nature of this process would remove the time constraints of semesters or quarters. Instead students would study a unit until they were ready to move on.

Don't get me wrong, there would be learning objectives. I like "Can Do" statements because students can judge what they can do and can determine their own progress and needs.  The teacher would serve to consult, advise, guide, monitor progress, redirect, while exploring and learning side by side with the students. The Can Do statements would reflect the global skills our students need now and would need in the future.

Grades would be a thing of the past! I truly don't like grades or grading for that matter. Students would receive feedback from a committee of teachers and students, as well as,  the outside world who examined, admired, and critiqued the students' published work, solutions, and creations.

The school would have a theater where students could go in and see foreign films and documentaries, as well as, the news as it happens. Students would be encouraged to be aware of current events by having the flexibility to go take a break in the theater and watch the news and even create news.

We would have state of the art technology throughout the school which allowed our students to connect with people across the globe whenever they wanted or needed to for their research. Every student would have multiple devices that they could use to create and communicate. The technology would serve to give the students access to fellow students and experts while working on their individual and collaborative projects.

Every week would include students working in teams, pairs, and individually to create, communicate, and explore. There would be weekly virtual field trips and opportunities to hear from experts on the topics we were exploring. Students across grade levels or language courses would have an opportunity to share their progress with one another to include with our global partner schools.

Okay, enough dreaming, what can I do today in the real world? I can create student-centered learning activities that put me in the consult, guide, and assist role and allow my students to take center stage. I can look at alternatives to our text book and continue to explore how to optimize technology use in the teaching learning process. I can pursue additional activities that expose students to authentic world resources and the exploration of global perspectives.

Failure in the classroom

Saludos,


Can you believe it is now November? Only five weeks of class remaining and another semester will come to an end.  It seems like an appropriate time to consider the question "have you ever experienced failure in the classroom? What happened and how did you recover from it (or did you?)"?


Well, anyone who has taught more than a month would be lying if they didn't admit to failing in the classroom. To one degree or another every teacher misses the mark at some point. I have been teaching since 1991 so it is fair to say I have had days when I walked out thinking ...


"Wow, I really blew that one."
"Oh my, that was a disaster."
"This is crazy, I don't even deserve to call myself a teacher."
"Why didn't that work?????"


Then invariably what happens is I think about the lesson, the interactions, and how my students reacted. I ask myself "at what point did it fall a part?" Lots of time I don't sleep that night trying to figure out what went wrong and how to make it better. With me, I obsess more about fixing it than the failure itself.


I will give you an example of just such a day! I planned this elaborate assessment day with four different activities. The students were grouped and moved from one assessment station to the next. I thought I had it perfectly orchestrated, but quite quickly it started to break down and chaos seemed to ensue. Now it wasn't chaotic in the sense of a classroom of 20 five year olds running around, rather 20 young adults moving around confused and frustrated for a multitude of reasons. There was obvious tension and I realized fairly quickly that this wasn't a favorable situation for assessing language performance, but just wasn't sure how to fix it on the spot.


I agonized over this that night and the whole next day. I am a senior teacher. I kept asking myself "how did that happen? I thought I had it perfectly planned?"


The next class I greeted my students by simply stating that they had witnessed a teacher's plan fall apart in front of their eyes. I told them that I needed their honest input and suggestions and that I would take their input into account as I planned future assessments. That day we all learned something and fortunately I didn't lose any sleep that night.


“Failure is only the opportunity to begin again, only this time more wisely.” - Henry Ford


Until next week,