Last week we decided on the order of our inquiry group presentation, listed below:
1) Natalie- Factors influencing literacy instruction fir ELLs
2) Anna- Pre-reading and building background knowledge for ELLs
3) Maggie- ELLs and Differentiation
4) Shannon- Special Education and ELLs
5) Charlotte-ELLs and educational technology
Each of us is going to develop our slide and send it to Natalie, who will compile it into a group PowerPoint presentation. Our plan is to go from general/background to special/specific, with technology as an "add on".
My own presentation on ELLs and educational technology will be last because technology can be applied to all of the (previous) topics.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Content Area Blog websites #4
Content Area Blog
Charlotte Wesley-Musonda EDU 551-50
March 28, 2011
I am in the final stage of teaching a grade 10 level U.S. History unit on the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. In addition to three book sources to supplement the textbook, I have chosen an additional website below to provide another source on the internment and also a web link to introduce the topic of parallels with the detention of suspected terrorists after the 9/11/01 attacks.
1. “Exploring the Japanese American Internment through Film & the Internet”. National Asian American Telecommunications Association.
Retrieved March 28, 2011.
This is a comprehensive website about the Japanese American Internment. The readability estimate is 12.0 on the Flesch-Kincaid scale, but to me the text is easier to read and understand than some of the other websites I’ve chosen. It is divided into three sections, each of which contains accompanying video clips. I would ask the students to review all of the sections, but would focus on the section “Postwar and Impact Today” which details the hardships endured during resettlement, the lasting effects on internees and their descendents, and government policy and actions to redress the internment. I would supplement this section with a reading guide. In addition I would ask the students to view the video clips, and choose one clip on which to write a one-paragraph summary, and a one paragraph personal response.
2. “Relatives of Interned Japanese Americans Side with Muslims”. The New York Times, archived article, April 3, 2007.
Retrieved March 28, 2011.
This is a link to an archived New York Times article that introduces the topic of the internment of Muslims after the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks. Students would be asked to read the article, and then ask a comprehension questions, using the laptop/projector. I still need to find more factual information about the Muslim detentions to facilitate a class discussion of the topic.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Inquiry Group Essential Question #2 & 1 source
Charlotte Wesley-Musonda
March 21, 2011
Inquiry Group Essential Question #2 & 1 source
Qu.: How can educational technology enhance English as a Second Language student comprehension and interest?
I continue to look for ways in which technology can enhance English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction, and in this case specifically, how language comprehension and interest can be increased. In my search, I found that Brigham Young University’s Technology Assisted Language Learning Group has developed a dramatic narrative component of it ESL program. Previously, the group had developed 3-5 minute videos to introduce specific language tasks, i.e. for greetings and introductions. However, the group found that the short video clips were not involved enough to hold learners’ interest, nor did they teach language tasks in rich context. To combat the problem of “decontextualization”, the team began producing dramatic narrative videos approximately 45 minutes long. Each video included about 12 language tasks embedded in natural context with dramatic interest. One video, entitled “Fronk”, was a comedy about a high school student from Eastern European living with his mother in the United States. The video follows Fronk as he moves to a new school and tries hard to make friends and fit in.
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| "Fronk" |
The videos were produced using BYU’s theatre students as screenwriters and actors. First, the story lines were written for dramatic impact, although screenwriters were required to prominently include particular topics, events, and contexts important to instructional goals. The dramatic narratives described in this article illustrate what I think is one of the most powerful uses of video technology in ESL learning. Students are engaged in the content, and learn material in meaningful and extended context. After learning the topics, events and contexts of a video, increasing listening comprehension and improving contextual decoding, students can extend their learning of academic English by writing structured responses to the material. They can also write and record their own short narrative dramas, based on what they have viewed. Examples could include altered plot lines and endings, prequels and sequels.
Bibliography:
South, Joseph P., Gabbitas, Bruce, and Merrill, Paul F. “Designing Video Narratives to Contextualize Content for ESL Learners: a Design Process Case Study “. Interactive Learning Environments, v16 n3 p231-243, Dec. 2008.
Retrieved from:
http://www.informaworld.com.ezp.lndlibrary.org/smpp/content~db=all?content=10.1080/10494820802114044
March 14, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
Content Area Blog websites #3
Content Area Blog
Charlotte Wesley-Musonda EDU 551-50
March 14, 2011
I am teaching a grade 10 level U.S. History unit on the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. In addition to three book sources to supplement the textbook, I have chosen the two additional websites below to provide perspectives on the internment and the Pacific War in general.
1. “Children of the Camps: Internment History”. The Children of the Camps Project. (documentary produced for PBS, broadcast in 1999 and 2000).
Retrieved March 12, 2011.
This is a companion website to a documentary film of the same title that was broadcast on PBS. The Internment History section of the website has four subsections, which I would ask the students to review. I would give particular emphasis to the copy of the official letter of apology written by President Bill Clinton and sent to Japanese Americans interned during the War. We would have a class discussion about the letter, the accompanying reparations, and any historical parallels that students can draw. (What about Slavery in America?)
2. “World War Two in the Pacific: Timeline of Events 1941-1945”. The History Place.
Retrieved March 12, 2011.
I would ask students to review the timeline, pick out five pivotal events in the Pacific War and explain their significance. The students’ findings/conclusions would be shared with the class as we construct our own abbreviated timeline of those significant events, using the laptop, projector, and digital projection camera. Next, I would initiate a class discussion about how the Pacific War events influenced the internment of Japanese Americans.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Inquiry Group Essential Question Part 2 & 1 source
Qu.: What are effective uses of educational technology in English as a Second Language instruction?
I found an interesting article outlining a study “Comparing Face-to-Face and Electronic Discussion in the Second Language Classroom”, by Mark Warschauer of the University of Hawaii at Manoa. (In my search I found several scholarly articles and a book authored by Warschauer, and it appears that the University of Hawaii is a powerhouse in ESL research.) In his study, Warschauer tests the hypothesis that using “computer-mediated communication” can foster more equal participation among students. Small groups of English language learners (ELLs) conducted English language discussions both electronically and face-to-face. The study concluded that a) there was a tendency toward more equal participation in computer mode, and b) students used more formal and complex language (lexically and syntactically) in electronic discussion than during face-to-face communication.
In addition, the article discusses other benefits of computer-mediated communication. Several cited studies reported that using the computer to teach English language composition also had an equalizing effect on participation, namely that women’s participation increased because the “floor” was shared more equally, rather than being dominated by a few students, hesitant writers benefited from electronic peer critiquing, and weaker students increased the amount of communication with both their teachers and other students. Another study posited that electronic communication is linguistically from both traditional written and spoken discourse, in that the language used in electronic discussion is as complex as written text, yet it resembles face-to-face discussion in terms of functions performed. This could serve as a bridge for transferring skills from the written to the spoken domain.
As a result of reading this article, I will try to incorporate electronic discussions in ESL classes to increase students’ equality of participation, complexity of language used, and transfer of skill from written to spoken domain.
Bibliography:
Warschauer, Mark. “Comparing Face-to-Face and Electronic Discussion in the Second Language Classroom”, CALICO Journal 13(2), 7-26. 1996
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