ePals Project Participation

           ePals is a very unique website that promotes students as global citizens and the idea of a global society in an unprecedented way. A review by TeachersFirst cited the website as the worlds largest global community and highlighted ePals' global reach writing, "(ePals) offers students the chance to connect with other students around the world (200+ countries)". (TeachersFirst.com, 2013)

             ePals allows you to select a project to work with or to make your own and wait for interested people to contact you. Many of the ones I found to be most interesting had to do with cultural and language exchange. As a language and cultural assistant I found the opportunities  to teach my students about American culture and customs to be very interesting. Although none could be completed because I am currently on summer break. In the future I would love to participate in a project that was designed to exchange cultural information with different geographic parts of the United States to create a broader view of American culture.

               ePals is also designed to promote major social change. ePals can be used to combat many global issues, TeachersFrist cited many, "The "Focus Areas" include Biodiversity, Black History, Election/Inauguration, Geography Central, and Human Rights. In addition, you can click on the "Projects" link to find several ready to use projects (Habitats, Maps, Natural Disasters, Water, and others)" (TeachersFirst.com, 2013) It is truly amazing the collective power that ePals could have if all schools participated in the projects. In my opinion major social and cultural progress would be achieved in much faster time.

TeachersFirst. (2013). Teachers First: Thinking Teachers, Teaching Thinkers. Retrieved from http://www.teachersfirst.com/single.cfm?id=10090

Embedding Digital Texts

           Digital Text is an extremely valuable asset to teachers and students. It provides students with unlimited access to unlimited copies of a certain text the teacher provides. Digital text is also an extremely important piece of online education. Our lecture is based on digital text and is read across the world but all for our classroom. It offers instant access to millions of documents which otherwise could take weeks even months to read.  Digital text also allow for programs to pronounce the words and help readers who may be struggling with a word. Digital text are also a cheaper option for budgets that do no have much money to spend. They are cheaper for college students to use as well. Digital Text offers many useful tools for special needs students.  Dr. Tracy Gray, director of the National Center for Technology Innovation (NCTI) and the Center for Implementing Technology in Education (CITEd) at the American Institutes for Research (AIR), points out the many uses of digital text, if they tools are used properly. Gray in Fortenbury says, "Schools and educators have the opportunity to use these tools in a very creative way," Gray continued, "But as we always say, it's not about the technology -- that's only a tool, it's really how you use it. Teachers need to continue to support to do it well" (Fortenbury, 2012) Digital text may have some drawbacks but as a whole is an excellent supplemental source to and tool to have.

         E-learning also has many benefits and uses if they are utilized properly. E-learning is a lot cheaper for students. I do not need to drive into SNHU every day for class. I work from home and this saves me money. E-learning also has the benefit of being more slow paced when students struggle but can be more challenging if a student is succeeding and wants more difficulty.  Another aspect of E-learning that is great is that you create your own schedule. It is possible to be a full time student and have two jobs. E-learning also provides a more individualized approach to learning, students progress at their own pace.

          Open course software is an incredible gift to the academic community. The website from Yale offers an amazing deal. Yale always a University for the most elite and powerful of society now offers its courses for free. Although no course recognition is given the possibility to earn a Yale quality education exist, for anyone anywhere in the world. Yale's Website states, "Open Yale Courses provides free and open access to a selection of introductory courses taught by distinguished teachers and scholars at Yale University. The aim of the project is to expand access to educational materials for all who wish to learn." (Yale, 2013)

Fortenbury, J. Digital Textbooks: Are they a Solution or Distraction. March 2012, Retrieved from http://www.schools.com/articles/digital-textbooks-solution-or-distraction.html

Yale. Yale Open Courses, 2013. Retrieved from http://oyc.yale.edu/.

Building Media Literacy

Media literacy in my simplest definition is the ability to understand and interpret all forms of media. Another definition I found to be perfect was from Renee Hobbs, her definition includes education,"“
Media literacy is primarily conceptualized as a learning outcome within an educational framework that aims to give children and young people opportunities to learn about mass media, popular culture, and communication technologies.”  (Hobbs, 2011)

I really like how she explains the term. Hobbs later wrote about the benefits of media literacy both in English Language Arts and in Health ( both mental and physical). Hobbs wrote,
“Research has shown that media literacy education can improve adolescents' reading comprehension, writing, and critical thinking skills.” (Hobbs, 2011)

We must create media literate  students if they are going to be successful adults in the 21st century.  A big part of creating responsible global digital citizens is teaching them to interpret all forms of media. The two work together a more responsible digital citizen will create more media literate students and vice-versa. As the world become more interconnected everyday media literacy and its benefits must be used in the classroom.

Media Literacy. Renee Hobbs. Encyclopedia of Educational Psychology. Ed. Neil J. Salkind and

            Kristin   Rasmussen. Vol. 2.  Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2008. p649-652.

 

Web 2.0 Tools

I must admit I have not always been great with technology. Slowly as I learn more about the tools available and how to use them I have began using them more and more in my classes. In my little teaching experience so far I have used a few Web 2.0 tools mostly Animotos and Blogs.

I really like using Animotos to teach vocabulary. My students love them and enjoy learning vocabulary from them. The music keeps them engaged and the photos provide visual learners a way to learn vocabulary that doesn't require, copying and recopying definitions or making flash cards.

I also really like having a class blog, it makes life a lot easier. The parents can track our class and their child's work. Students have 24 hours access to homework and to resources they can use at home. I also use blogs for students to post about subjects we learn, which promotes peer to peer discussion and a deeper comprehension of knowledge.

I have taken an interest in an app that has exploded in popularity called Vine. Vine is a short 6 second video, which is easy to make and distribute.  Part of being an educator is meeting students in a common ground. Using Web 2.0 tools that they already are using for fun, for example Twitter, Facebook, and now Vines.

Another tool I took a special interest in was Voki.  It allows users to make 60 second sound bytes. As an ESL teacher I am always searching for new ways for my students to hear native speakers, this is a way for me to have voice recordings of native speakers available for them anytime they want. Another great aspect of Voki is that it can be used to create better digital citizens. Teacher Richard Byrne pointed out, "Another way I use Voki is to help my very young students create digital identities. The parents feel more comfortable with the children using avatars instead of their real identities. The children also create the conversations for the Voki. " (Byrne, 2010)

Byrne, Richard. Engaging Students with Voki. Free Technology for Teachers. February 15, 2010. http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2010/02/engaging-students-with-voki.html