This week, I was so happy to find what it is I am always looking for;
articles involving both technology innovation and the ESL community. The article that fits the bill this week,
written by Toshiko Maurizio, is all about the technology essentials she uses to
help bridge language gaps and reach the ELLs she manages in Oregon. Maurizio manages over 5,000 ELLs in her
school distract and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to
address language needs and to engage her students and teachers. They are a Future Ready school distract that
always encourages teachers incorporate technology and collaboration into their
daily plans. In the past, Maurizio (2017) wrote that she used tapes to record
students, listen to progress, and to assess, but these technologies below have
helped to modernize the progress.
- Lightspeed Redcat audio systems – These are simply amplifiers for teacher’s voices to eliminate shouting and to allow all students to hear directions and content clearly. Which certainly is critical to understanding in the classroom.
- Laptops – Maurizio describes these as the educator’s lifeline and for a Future Ready school district, that makes sense. In their district, laptops are primarily used for lesson-planning, presentations, and for visuals, “which are extremely important while teaching ELL students, since pictures help them make the connection between their native language and English” (Maurizio, 2017).
- iPads – Students utilize these for Google Translate, which can apparently change the keyboard letting to their native language to aid in communication (Maurizio, 2017). Maurizio (2017) explains that they find it helpful when students can have open access to their native language to help transfer over to English.
While I appreciated the information in this
week’s short article on ESL and technology, I honestly felt a bit letdown in
how obvious the three mentioned were.
Now maybe just because I take online courses for continuing my
professional development I can write that, but I was expecting more information
about specific programs or techniques rather than a reminder to simply use
computers and make sure students can hear your voice, especially coming from a
Future Ready school. I would like to
check in on more of these articles as I believe there will be a series of them
in the future with more essential technology tips. But I suppose what the title indicates is
correct; laptops, iPads, and audio systems are not teacher secrets necessarily,
but indeed essentials for everyday use. While
my students can simply turn up the volume to hear me better online, I do in fact
need my students to have access to their provided laptops and other devices to receive
their direct instruction and the majority of their curriculum. Though work may be done offline in textbooks and
workbooks, they must check in online to submit work, mark attendance, and attend
my virtual LiveLessons.
References
Maurizio, T. (2017,
July 19). ELL Specialist: These are “My Tech Essentials”. Retrieved from
https://www.eschoolnews.com/2017/07/21/curriculum-tech-essentials/
I actually chose this article to write about this week as well, and my reaction was much the same as yours. Are these tools essential for a technology based classroom? Well, yes (with the possible exception of the amplifier). Are they what I was expecting to read about when I found an article about tech essentials from an ELL Specialist. Not at all. I did gain some useful information, like using Google Translate to put both the English and the native alphabet on the keyboard, but overall I was left wanting more.
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