A look into electronic communication between teachers and students, Linguistically diverse learners and technology, and interactive electronic storybooks and apps.
Electronic Communication Between Teachers and Students
As technology has grown more in the education field, communication between teachers and students have become more electronic. As a future teacher I have many digital forms of communication at my disposal that I would love to incorporate into my future classroom, While email isn't new to teachers, I say that as a millennial, so it's not new to me. I basically grew up with it as I graduated class every year, Teachers have been using email to send assignments, post grades, and other messages that maybe too long for a text message. Still emailing may not be new to me, it is still new as a technological advancement and must be utilized as such. Text messages can be utilized by teachers in a way that was always frowned upon before. I mean what teacher hasn't caught students on their phones texting? That's right, only all the time. So why not use that to your advantage. Teachers can send informal mass text messages to students informing them about a test or quiz in a couple of days, or a rather large weighted assignment is due soon. Another tool that is already being used are online discussion forums. These forums are where teachers and students can openly discuss any educational topic the teacher has chosen. In my experience, this form of communication is used to determine grades for participation. Teacher made websites are also a tool to be utilized, these websites communicate to not only the students but also get the parents involved. In a teacher made website, a teacher should introduce themselves and classroom policies and procedures. This can allow students and parents to be on the same page as each other and to know what is expected in and out of the classroom. Although not every teacher will use any of these forms of communication to communicate with their students, it is important to expand your reach to students and parents in such a time of technological advancements. Even using one can do that.
Linguistically Diverse Learners
Linguistically diverse learners sometimes pose a unique challenge to teachers. With new forms of technology, teachers need not fear that challenge anymore. These new technologies help support both teacher and student. These new tools can help the non English speaking student learn English while also giving opportunities for the English speaking student to learn another language. The internet is the mecca of all things technology and will be your connection to your digital tools for teaching linguistically diverse students. The internet has a plethora of online language translation services. Among them, Goggle Translate is available at no charge and is also available as a tablet or smartphone app. So depending on how technological you want your class. you could have the tablet app at your disposal. Can you imagine, in a classroom right now, every student each with a tablet at their desk, used as their own individual whiteboard. You ask them to open their Google Translate app and with a tap of their finger, the language barriers one student or a few students might have, fall down immediately. How wonderful would it be to permanently relieve the panic in a child that doesn't speak the language that the rest of the classroom speaks. And an added bonus, learning opportunities, to teach the other students a new language, perhaps the language that that one child speaks. Helping set them up in the future. It has been my experience, that more and more people submitting job applications aren't even being considered once it is found out that the applicant is not bilingual. These translation resources are also beneficial to parents of a different language as well. The language barrier may cause problems for parents to become more involved in their child's education. With these tools, teachers can help eliminate that barrier as well.
Interactive Electronic Storybooks and Apps
Interactive electronic storybooks and storybook apps bring stories, whether fictional or nonfictional, to life on the computer screen. I believe these tools would be best utilized in a younger classroom setting. I would use these interactive storybooks for students that struggle in reading development. Although you can also use the electronic storybooks for students that do not have a reading development issue, to keep them right on track. Depending on the need o your students, they storybook apps vary greatly by that need. While some are simple with only pictures with the stories, others provide graphics and hot spots for students to interact with as the story progresses. The Hot spots are an interesting little feature. They allow the reader to click on them, pausing the main story and teaching a learning lesson for the student. The hot spots are hidden through out the story and the student must find them. Most interactive story books have the option of different reading modes as well. Whether it is preferred read out loud, the whole story or just page by page, giving the teacher the option to choose what is best for the students. While interactive story books create a story appealing to a child, some educators have their doubts. Some seem to think that these storybook apps distract from the process of reading on your own by recognition and context clues, These doubts have not proven true as of yet but I can't help but wonder myself. I'm sure if not used correctly or in moderation, these storybooks may not be as helpful as they should be. It should be the teachers responsibility to monitor what apps should be allowed in their classroom as well as the usage. Interactive storybooks could provide the help some struggling students may need if applied correctly.
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| created through nces.ed.gov |
Resources:
Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park
(2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Home Page, a part of the U.S. Department of Education. (n.d.). Retrieved March 05, 2016, from http://nces.ed.gov/createagraph
Teaching History.org, home of the National History Education Clearinghouse. (n.d.). Retrieved March 05, 2016, from http://teachinghistory.org/grouptextmessagetools
Educational Technology and Mobile Learning. (n.d.). Retrieved March 05, 2016, from http://www.educatorstechnology.com/bestwebtoolssafely
