Hubbard’s chapter, Critical Issues: Professional Development, discussed the vital importance of continuous training in the CALL discipline. With so many topics that need to be covered during professional development sessions, it is no surprise that technology usually takes a backseat. In the three years that I have worked at my current school, we have only had one PD session that was about technology, which was how to use the Smart Board in the classroom.
Since standards and accountability practices are not in place regarding technology use and training, it is difficult for teachers to supplement their knowledge unless they have personal motivation to do so. Often the learning will only take place when the specific need is there, such as wanting to incorporate a new software program into a lesson. As Hubbard (2005) stated, “teachers have an individual responsibility for the maintenance and growth of their own CALL proficiency” (p. 280), which is, unfortunately, why some teachers have not ‘kept up with the times’ when it comes to technology.
At my school, one of our Academic Coaches is also the Technology Expert (equivalent to Hubbard’s definition of a mentor) and is responsible for assisting teachers with new software rollouts and troubleshooting issues related to technology. The challenging aspect of having a Technology Expert is that she is the only individual who is focused on technology and it is difficult for her to impart her knowledge unless she is specifically asked. While the expert is very knowledgeable in a lot of areas, she only trains teachers on an as-needed basis.
I think the most effective way to maintain the development of CALL principles would be formal training supplemented with collaborative learning. If all of the staff attends formal training sessions and then is held accountable for the information by utilizing communities of practice, the growth would continue over time between peers. The resources and strategies that Hubbard mentioned, such as professional journals, books, and websites, would be useful ways to supplement the learning process between formal training sessions. However, the community of practice would be necessary to maintain the accountability for the learning so that it doesn’t become something that “I’ll do tomorrow” and tomorrow never comes. With all of everything teachers have on their plates, it is easy for technology to fall to the wayside if you do not have personal motivation for your learning.
I strongly agree with Hubbard’s (2005) final statement that, “professional development in CALL is an area deserving serious and ongoing attention” (p. 291).
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Starfall.com: Where children have fun leaning to read!
Starfall.com is an educational website geared toward elementary school children in grades K-2 who are learning how to read in English. The site is intended to deliver research-based reading instruction including systematic phonics, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension.
The front page of the site consists of links to activities categorized by reading level: ABC’s, Learn to Read, It’s Fun to Read, and I’m Reading. The graphics and bold colors are appealing to children and the site is very easy to navigate. The ABC’s section focuses on letter-sound relationships with activities for each letter of the alphabet. Learn to Read concentrates on explicit phonics instruction by introducing three-letter consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words. The 15 lessons allow the students to create words, hear the sounds and words together, listen to a story, and watch a movie based on specific skills such as vowels, silent ‘e’, and chunking. It’s Fun to Read centers on activities that let students create a story with guiding prompts utilizing vocabulary words. I’m Reading contains links to numerous stories such as plays, comics, folk tales, myths, and fables. All of the activities give the student immediate feedback on their work by indicating if the answer is right or wrong.
The site also has resources for parents/teachers to utilize with each reading stage in the Download Center. For example, reading and writing journals, cut-up/take-home books, ABC printouts, phonics puzzle activities, and other online book printouts. All of the supplemental materials are directly related to the online activities. The cut-up/take-home books contain a print out of the same story the students read during the Learn to Read activities. The reading and writing journals and ABC printouts focus on the skills from ABC’s and Learn to Read such as short and long vowel sounds and allow the students extra written practice with these skills.
With resources for educators and parents, this website is definitely a useful tool for students to practice and engage in emergent literacy learning activities. The Educators page explains every one of the strategies used to teach phonics in all of the activities. It also includes a Scope & Sequence chart which lists the words, objectives, and skills for each lesson. The Parent page contains instructions/guidelines for using the website and how to supplement the student’s learning with the external documents.
Overall, I think that this is an excellent educational resource to use in the classroom and would be a valuable supplemental tool for ELLs at varying levels. However, to improve the website I would suggest they also have links to other reading activities that incorporate authentic texts and include a more balanced approach instead of just concentrating on phonics. Phonics is an integral part of language learning, but I feel it is best when it is incorporated into the whole language approach.
The front page of the site consists of links to activities categorized by reading level: ABC’s, Learn to Read, It’s Fun to Read, and I’m Reading. The graphics and bold colors are appealing to children and the site is very easy to navigate. The ABC’s section focuses on letter-sound relationships with activities for each letter of the alphabet. Learn to Read concentrates on explicit phonics instruction by introducing three-letter consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words. The 15 lessons allow the students to create words, hear the sounds and words together, listen to a story, and watch a movie based on specific skills such as vowels, silent ‘e’, and chunking. It’s Fun to Read centers on activities that let students create a story with guiding prompts utilizing vocabulary words. I’m Reading contains links to numerous stories such as plays, comics, folk tales, myths, and fables. All of the activities give the student immediate feedback on their work by indicating if the answer is right or wrong.
The site also has resources for parents/teachers to utilize with each reading stage in the Download Center. For example, reading and writing journals, cut-up/take-home books, ABC printouts, phonics puzzle activities, and other online book printouts. All of the supplemental materials are directly related to the online activities. The cut-up/take-home books contain a print out of the same story the students read during the Learn to Read activities. The reading and writing journals and ABC printouts focus on the skills from ABC’s and Learn to Read such as short and long vowel sounds and allow the students extra written practice with these skills.
With resources for educators and parents, this website is definitely a useful tool for students to practice and engage in emergent literacy learning activities. The Educators page explains every one of the strategies used to teach phonics in all of the activities. It also includes a Scope & Sequence chart which lists the words, objectives, and skills for each lesson. The Parent page contains instructions/guidelines for using the website and how to supplement the student’s learning with the external documents.
Overall, I think that this is an excellent educational resource to use in the classroom and would be a valuable supplemental tool for ELLs at varying levels. However, to improve the website I would suggest they also have links to other reading activities that incorporate authentic texts and include a more balanced approach instead of just concentrating on phonics. Phonics is an integral part of language learning, but I feel it is best when it is incorporated into the whole language approach.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Authenticity via Web-based Learning
Both the Guarinto & Morley (2001) and Reeves, Herrington, & Oliver (2002) articles discussed authenticity; however they came from very different perspectives. Guarinto & Morley address authenticity in terms of texts and tasks used in EFL classrooms, while Reeves, Herrington, & Oliver discussed it terms of web-based learning. While both articles were coming from distinct angles, they shared the common theme of engaging students in real-world activities that facilitated language learning. I chose to focus on the Reeves, Herrington, & Oliver article since I do not have ANY experience with EFL.
Reeves, Herrington, & Oliver (2002) begin the article by explaining how “there is increasing interest among higher education faculty in authentic activities as a basis for learning in web-based courses” (p. 1). While I was not necessarily surprised by this statement, I was curious as to how this task could be successfully accomplished. All of the online classes I have experienced have been similar to the format of L530 (readings accompanied with forum discussions and independent assignments). According to the authors, authenticity via web-based learning is created by combining constructivism and problem-based learning with online role-playing.
To describe what authentic activities look like, Reeves, Herrington, & Oliver (2002) compiled a list of ten characteristics, such as “authentic activities have real world evidence, …comprise complex tasks to be investigated by students over a sustained period of time, …provide the opportunity to collaborate” to name a few (p. 2-3). The researchers analyzed two web-based courses in order to “investigate the characteristics, implementation, and effectiveness of authentic activity as an alternative model for web-based learning in higher education” (p. 2). Overall, positive results were seen of the investigation of these two courses; however the authors acknowledged that these were just preliminary findings that may change after the investigation of eight additional courses. Some of the challenges that emerged were creating activities that were real-world and engaging at the same time, length of time necessary to complete the tasks, lack of models of previous courses, funding, university support, and course design.
The idea of a constructivist/PBL model of online courses sounds interesting, but very complex, expensive, and tricky to create. I think I would enjoy a class with this format, although I am having difficulty visualizing how it would work logistically as far as student interaction. In previous online classes I have completed a couple of group activities that were not very successful just because of the nature of the online environment. There was unequal participation in the group and it was challenging to communicate efficiently via email and chat. However, the screenshots of the courses examined by Reeves, Herrington, & Oliver (2002) seem extremely detailed and pretty self-explanatory.
Does anyone know of or had experience with any online courses in this format?
Reeves, Herrington, & Oliver (2002) begin the article by explaining how “there is increasing interest among higher education faculty in authentic activities as a basis for learning in web-based courses” (p. 1). While I was not necessarily surprised by this statement, I was curious as to how this task could be successfully accomplished. All of the online classes I have experienced have been similar to the format of L530 (readings accompanied with forum discussions and independent assignments). According to the authors, authenticity via web-based learning is created by combining constructivism and problem-based learning with online role-playing.
To describe what authentic activities look like, Reeves, Herrington, & Oliver (2002) compiled a list of ten characteristics, such as “authentic activities have real world evidence, …comprise complex tasks to be investigated by students over a sustained period of time, …provide the opportunity to collaborate” to name a few (p. 2-3). The researchers analyzed two web-based courses in order to “investigate the characteristics, implementation, and effectiveness of authentic activity as an alternative model for web-based learning in higher education” (p. 2). Overall, positive results were seen of the investigation of these two courses; however the authors acknowledged that these were just preliminary findings that may change after the investigation of eight additional courses. Some of the challenges that emerged were creating activities that were real-world and engaging at the same time, length of time necessary to complete the tasks, lack of models of previous courses, funding, university support, and course design.
The idea of a constructivist/PBL model of online courses sounds interesting, but very complex, expensive, and tricky to create. I think I would enjoy a class with this format, although I am having difficulty visualizing how it would work logistically as far as student interaction. In previous online classes I have completed a couple of group activities that were not very successful just because of the nature of the online environment. There was unequal participation in the group and it was challenging to communicate efficiently via email and chat. However, the screenshots of the courses examined by Reeves, Herrington, & Oliver (2002) seem extremely detailed and pretty self-explanatory.
Does anyone know of or had experience with any online courses in this format?
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