Podcasts in the Classroom: Food for Thought

If you’re an auditory learner, you may agree with me when I say that podcasts are the best thing since sliced bread. Bread, particularly the kind that your grandmother kneaded and rolled out by hand, is an appropriate image for the podcast on food traditions that I have selected for use in my ESL classroom. As part of a thematic unit on food, I decided that a podcast could be an effective way for students to practice listening skills. Through NPR’s podcast directory, I was able to locate this podcast by food commentator Bonny Wolf. The three-minute podcast, which shares personal accounts of how food traditions connect people over generations, provides authentic listening material for students to practice their listening skills in meaningful contexts.

The content of the food commentary podcast may be a “stretch” for many intermediate level language learners. Therefore, I designed my lesson with the simple objective of listening for the “gist” or main idea of the commentary. Students are instructed to listen to the podcast and think of a title that best describes the content. I include several measures to scaffold students in their listening. Prior to playing the podcast I ask students to share holiday food traditions to activate their prior knowledge. Next, I define vocabulary that I identify as most likely to cause problems for learners. After these pre-listening activities, I give students the opportunity to listen to the podcast more than one time, with pauses for discussion where necessary. Finally, I give small groups of students the opportunity to work together to decide on a title for the podcast. In their discussions, students are encouraged to identify examples that support their choice of title.

Through lively discussion and teacher guidance it is hoped that students will arrive at a main idea similar to that reflected in the actual podcast title, Food Traditions the Thread that Links Generations. More importantly, dialogue about this well-crafted commentary is likely to motivate adult learners who are hungry for meaningful ways to engage with the English language.

Using YackPack as a Tool for Global Cooperation

YackPack is a Web 2.0 tool created for group communication, similar to an audio discussion board. Its capacity to bring together classrooms from around the world through private packs makes it an attractive option for ESL classrooms. When used in a language learning classroom, especially in conjunction with more writing-focused communication tools like ePals (see prior post dated April 10, 2010), YackPack can meet multiple language learning and cultural objectives for multiple levels of learners.

In my own classroom of adult learners I could use YackPack to facilitate a collaborative project that gives students a meaningful context for practicing English oral communication skills. For example, I could find a classroom through ePals Classroom Match that is interested in engaging in a project on “Green Technology.” Our collaborating classrooms could research examples of green technology that are available or being developed in our countries or local communities. Prior to communicating on YackPack, our classes could share with one other a written presentation of research findings. (A PowerPoint shared through Slideshare could be useful here!) Then I, or the other participating instructor, would serve as a pack creator and moderator on YackPack to initiate a discussion that flows from the research findings. “Yackers” could share their findings and perspectives on the latest green technology in homes, jobs, vehicles, etc. Participants would be encouraged to ask questions of one another and discuss whether advances in one part of the world could be implemented elsewhere.

It’s difficult to know how smoothly such communications would flow, but certain steps could be taken to create a positive working relationship. I would encourage students to upload images and a short profile of themselves help to help build a relationship and cohesion between cooperating classrooms. Also, although YackPack can be used for synchronous communication, I would initially choose the option of participating asynchronously. This takes the pressure off of learners to make comments spontaneously, and allows them time to reflect on content as well as language form before making comments. Lastly, I would maintain regular contact with the cooperating teacher to ensure that objectives for developing language skills and expectations for collaborative learning are being met on both ends.

ePals Communication and Global Citizenship

Today more than ever, educators have a responsibility to encourage their students to see themselves as global citizens in an interconnected world. This is one reason why ePals is an invaluable teacher resource. Several features of this program are particularly useful for enabling students to interact with people who are different from themselves on topics that stretch their thinking.

First, the ePals Student Forums and Focus-Area Forums are set up as open discussion boards allowing for students to contribute their ideas in areas that are of most interest to them. These forums are screened for appropriate content and are initiated through questions that pertain to specific website content (e.g., biodiversity, black history, geography) and other global issues, so teachers and parents are assured that student interaction is educational in nature.

Second, the ePals SchoolMail feature enables students to connect and build relationships with other students around the world through school-safe emails. The email has built-in instant language translation to aid in cross cultural communication.

A third feature that aids in establishing cross-cultural relationships is the Classroom Match component . This resource helps teachers to find a match with another classroom that is looking for a collaboration partner. Classroom Match adds thousands of new classroom profiles each month, and participating classrooms come from over 200 countries.

Another component, the ePals Projects feature, nicely complements Classroom Match by providing collaborators with structured activities, such as digital storytelling, to work on together. All of these ePals features facilitate global communication and collaboration. By using them students begin to see themselves as informed and active global citizens, not as passive spectators of the world.

With regard to my own ESL classroom use, I could use ePals Classroom Match and Project features to connect my students to a classroom of adult English language learners in another part of the world. Adult learners could share their observations of the culture in which they are immersed, and in doing so compare and contrast cultures. Students in both classrooms could compile for one another a brief description of the three greatest social challenges that they have observed in their country of residence (e.g., crime, income disparity, racism, access to healthcare, access to quality education). Students could support their choices with links to media reports and photos that illustrate the severity of the problem. Together the classrooms could identify countries where these issues are well managed and reasons for it. Since adult ESL classes typically include learners from many different countries, the wealth of perspectives makes this project particularly conducive to broadening students’ understanding of social issues and imagining the possibilities for change that may be realized through interconnectedness.

Flickr in a Flash

Looking for a quick way to get language students talking? Try using one of the tools provided by Big Huge Labs. This site offers numerous formats for creating visual artifacts from Flickr images. I used the Big Magazine tool to create a magazine cover for an activity that gives students practice in expressing their opinions.

Here's the challenge to students: A magazine publishing house has decided it needs to cut back on the length of its popular teen magazine. The editor-in-chief tasks her "editing team" (role played in small groups) to cut out three featured sections of the magazine as displayed in the right column of the Teen Magazine cover. Students must consider the interests of today's teens and express their opinions to their editing teammates on which three sections to cut and why. Teams negotiate opinions until they arrive at a final editing recommendation to share with the class.

Using Flickr images to elicit meaningful conversations that incorporate targeted language structures requires some teacher planning. The activity described above might include instructions for students to use specific phrases for expressing one's opinion (e.g., "In my opinion..."), as well as expressions used when agreeing/disagreeing with the opinions of others. The activity might also be paired with an open-ended activity that allows students more freedom to express their ideas creatively. For example, students may have fun designing their own magazine covers and presenting their finished products to the class.

Creative Commons Licenses in a Snapshot

Gone is the day when our creative works were relegated to photo albums to collect dust. As millions of web users are now discovering, we can share our creative works online without giving up control over how they are used. Creative Commons, a nonprofit that offers free copyright licenses, makes it easy to go public with the level of restrictions that feels right to you. If you’re looking to share your images with the world without the hassle of a full copyright, consider these six Creative Commons licensing options summarized below.

• Attribution: This licensing option permits others to copy, distribute, display and modify your work, even if it’s for commercial purposes. The user must give credit to you for the original creation.

• Attribution Share Alike: This licensing is similar to attribution, except that any derivative works based on your work must be licensed under identical terms to the license that sets the conditions for sharing your work.

• Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike: This license has the same conditions as the Attribution Share Alike, except that your work and derivatives of your work may not be used for commercial purposes.

• Attribution Non-Commercial: This license lets others to copy, distribute, display and modify your work for non-commercial purposes. Although any new works based on your work must acknowledge you and be noncommercial, derivative works do not need to have the same licensing terms as you established for the original work.

• Attribution No Derivatives: This license permits others to redistribute your work, for commercial or non-commercial purposes, with credit to you. However, your work may not be altered in any way.

• Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives: This most restrictive license permits others to use your works provided they mention you and link back to you. The restrictions are that your work may not be altered in any way or used for commercial purposes.

Not only does Creative Commons make it easy to publish works publicly, it allows us to appreciate and build on others’ creative works in a way that respects the originator’s desires. What a shame it would be if the above image by nutmeg66 was unpublished. In the case of this image the creator decided to restrict users from creating derivatives of the image. However, countless other images have less restrictive licenses, which enable all of us to build on the images, thus multiplying the creativity of the original contributor.

Blastoff into the Twitterverse!

Although not as catchy, a better title for this post might be “Preparing for Liftoff.” My first experience with Twitter has basically put me onto the launch pad. I don’t think liftoff into the twitterverse will actually occur until I begin teaching my own classes and microblogging with educators on a regular basis. After all, situated learning, one of Twitter’s greatest benefits, really depends on established social interaction between the twitterer and the twitterverse. Nevertheless, ideas from educators who are currently using microblogs in their teaching have stimulated my thinking about how I might use Twitter in my future ESL classroom. Here are a few thoughts sparked by those soaring through their self-created twitterverses.

A simple activity shared in Twenty-Nine Interesting Ways to Use Twitter in the Classroom is word play. I could twitter my students in English and ask them to send synonyms for specific vocabulary used in my tweet. Taking that idea further, students could consult with their Twitter networks to get more examples of proper vocabulary use.

Another great idea shared in Back to School: Ideas for Twitter in the Foreign Language Classroom is to use Twitter for formative assessment purposes. If I ask my students to post daily tweets in English about a specific topic or to poll other twitterers about a controversial issue, I would have a record of dated posts that I could use to assess an individual’s progress over time. The accumulation of quick writing samples would also allow me to identify shared writing and language problems, and to adjust my teaching accordingly. I could also ask students to tweet me with their feedback on activities.

Other benefits of using Twitter in language education include expanding language learners' communication with native speakers and increasing students' interest in the target language culture. As a homework assignment, I could challenge my students to use Twitter to identify five recommended cultural activities in a U.S. city. In their research students would likely encounter tweets that scaffold their language learning and enhance their interest in local and U.S. culture.

At the end of the day, it’s fairly easy to be convinced of the advantages (for both teachers and students) of having visible, documented, situated learning at your fingertips. For me, the challenge of Twitter lies in making micro-blogging a regular and ordinary part of my life. The next obvious step is to start sending tweets and get comfortable with Twitter etiquette. As a professional it’s important to remember that having a willingness to share experiences and discoveries is what makes collective knowledge possible. Over time meaningful connections with edutwitterers will develop, but first there must be a commitment to launch into the twitterverse.

Ten, nine, eight, seven, six…

Developing Confidence through Writing

Writing teachers in various educational settings can appreciate the simple and self-affirming writing activity suggested in the blog post, Useful Writing Exercise for Helping Students Develop Self-Esteem. The post, located in Larry Ferlazzo’s highly-rated educational blog, Larry Ferlazzo’s Website of the Day, describes a 15-minute writing activity in which students focus on their strengths with regard to self-identified personal values. The activity recognizes that sources of pride and confidence are rooted in different values for different people. For many of us, reflecting on our values and how we live up to them is a very affirming process. The study results support this notion, and give writing teachers a concrete confidence-building activity to try in their classrooms.

As is typical of Larry Ferlazzo’s blog for ELL, ESL and EFL teachers, this post offers more than a practical teaching idea. It provides a summary of research to support the practice, and links readers to another post in the Education Policy Blog, which encourages educators to resist mounting pressure to eschew esteem-building practices (which, at the present time, tend to be negatively associated with empty praise and excessive self-esteem). The post’s links to the sources of data and to the people who have been influential in Larry Ferlazzo’s thinking, permit readers to probe deeper into the topic and develop their own positions about self-esteem and learning. Here lies a real benefit of education blogs. Not only do teachers have access to practical activities, they have opportunities to assess whether activities are well supported and align with their teaching goals and teaching philosophy.

As an ESL teacher-in-training, I find the exercise and ideas generated by this blog to be particularly helpful for second language teaching. Language minority students face extraordinary challenges in maintaining a strong sense of self worth as they navigate an unfamiliar culture. Writing tasks that allow language learners to recontextualize their self-worth in terms other than tests results and grades are likely to result in more than modest improvements in performance, they are likely to improve the odds of long-term learning success in a new culture and language community.

Finding Support in a Social Network

Classroom 2.0 - "the social network for those interested in Web 2.0 and Social Media in education" - could be a very useful resource for me as I begin teaching adults in an ESL classroom. The site's Discussion Forum facilitates teacher learning through dialogue with teachers who are knowledgeable about Web 2.0 and those building their knowledge. I especially like that participants share examples of good blogs, podcasts, etc., which serve as models for others trying to start up similar projects. The sharing of knowledge and resources makes the Forum like an ongoing "peer help" discussion board with the world of teachers! Down the road, I can see myself using the Forum as much for collaborative purposes as for informative purposes. For example, the Forum could be a resource for finding a class that is interested in becoming a collaborative partner with my ESL class so that my students have new opportunities to practice speaking and writing skills through skype or blogs.

Another promising component of this social network is the Classroom 2.0 LIVE! Workshop series. I imagine that I may feel overwhelmed and too busy to set up a digital learning experience in my first year of teaching. The Classroom 2.0 LIVE Beginner Series looks especially encouraging as a refresher from this LAI 598 course on how e-learning projects can support students' learning. Some tools introduced in the workshops are described as resources to make your life easier...a good reminder for teachers hesitant to invest time in technology.

Furthermore, Classroom 2.0 has hundreds of groups to join. Once I venture beyond the Classroom 2.0 Beginners Group, I'm sure to find others that fit my interests and needs. Perhaps I will join or create a group specifically for ESL teachers who are interested in using technology in their classrooms. It's encouraging to know that there is a strong network of support and collaboration among teachers who see the potential for Web 2.0 in their curriculum.

Learner as Navigator

Today’s learner is like a GPS, the name we commonly call a navigation device that receives signals from the Global Positioning System to direct us from point A to point B. GPS gadgets, such as those mounted on a car dashboard, rely on their connection with a network of satellites to provide real-time information to the traveler. Similarly, 21st century learners are increasingly reliant on external sources, or their cumulative collection of “satellites,” to formulate an informed position. For both the GPS device and the learner, the key to knowledge is in the network. George Siemens, in his learning theory of connectivism identifies and expands on the idea that knowledge is the function of a network. He asserts that in today’s world the network itself becomes the learning, or that learning is the process of making connections. In his article, Connectivism: A learning Theory for the Digital Age, Siemens claims that “The pipe is more important than the content within the pipe.”

Going back to the GPS analogy, the information that is needed from a GPS changes regularly; the start and end points may differ with every trip, and roads may change. Therefore, it is much more effective for a GPS to rely on established real-time networks, than to store driving instructions in a database. Today’s learner is faced with a similar situation. Traditional practices of memorizing content are more difficult to rationalize when information is becoming obsolete at a rapid pace. It makes more sense for a learner to tap into the “pipes” that he or she has created than to store large quantities of constantly evolving information. Having the ability to keep up with the exponential growth of information is a critical component of connectivism. In his video, The Network is the Learning, Siemens asserts that “what we know today is not as important as our ability to stay current.”

Like a GPS, learners are expected to synthesize information from multiple sources to arrive at their positions. Yet the learning process is not as neat and precise as the GPS analogy would suggest. Learners must deal with the reality that knowledge is the product of a dynamic process of synthesizing input in what Siemens describes as a messy and chaotic environment. The learning process is more of a collaborative exchange, than a one-directional relay of data. In the above mentioned article, Siemens states, “The starting point of connectivism is the individual. Personal knowledge is comprised of a network, which feeds into organizations and institutions, which in turn feed back into the network, and then continue to provide learning to the individual.” In my mind, it is precisely the interactive and nourishing nature of networks that makes it possible for learning to be synonymous with network creation. Yet, whether it is or not, I'm undecided.

In the end, learning is not determined by a pre-programmed destination that is attainable by accessing exact coordinates. Rather, for the “connected” learner, the pursuit of knowledge is a lifelong collaborative activity that is made possible through forces both internal and external to the individual. From the connectivist perspective, today’s learning process values individual expression as a necessary contribution to the aggregate dialogue that generates knowledge.

Is Technology the Answer to Student Disengagement?

My reaction to the video, A Vision of K-12 Students Today , by B. Nesbitt is probably not one intended by the video. Rather than wholeheartedly embrace the call to engage students through technology, the images of disengaged students gave me pause; they created a speed bump along my drive into cyberspace as a teacher-in-training. My mixed reaction to the video's message is not because I don’t see amazing opportunities for using interactive technology with older students. It comes from a concern for what young students might be missing out on if grade school teachers adopt a “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” response to students’ growing connection with technology.

In part, my reaction has to do with my belief in the importance of childhood as a precious window of time for children to develop foundational skills through real-life sensory experiences with their environment. A kindergartener's experience of interacting with the natural world through outdoor play, or reenacting a story through dramatic play, cannot be replicated in front of a computer. I question how well technology in the early grades matches with students’ developmental capabilities and needs. What constraints might technology put on the open-ended curiosity, wonder, and creativity that children possess at an early age? My concerns have been influenced by the thinking outlined in a report by the Alliance for Childhood , which points out the potential hazards of computers in childhood that range from impinging on critical childhood time to increased risks for health conditions such as obesity, visual strain, and repetitive stress injuries.

Although I admit I am only beginning to learn about the opportunities for blogs, podcasts and wikis in teaching (and am truly amazed by what I see), I continue to be most inspired by enthusiastic teachers who can bring their classrooms alive and engage students in age-appropriate ways, e.g., through the arts, without adapting a high-tech approach. In the context of an increasingly isolated and sedentary generation of children, we must seriously consider the following remark from the Alliance report, “With children spending more time alone with TVs and computers instead of interacting with others, they come to school in need of more, not less, spoken conversation with responsive adults. Is it wise for schools to exchange face-to-face time with teachers for hypertext and hypermedia?” Perhaps the answer lies in moderation.

At this point in my journey into educational tecnology, I'm going with my gut when I say that the preference for children to engage with the world through technology – where they already devote much of their spare time - is not compelling enough reason to conclude that technology is the best solution to classroom disengagement. Undoubtedly, students need to be engaged in their own learning and through their multiple intelligences. With the evolution of read/write Web capability, technology is no longer simply about consuming information from others, but offers unprecedented opportunities for collaborating and sharing ideas. Given these advances, technology can benefit mature students who have mastered developmental challenges of early learning. But until there is significant evidence to suggest that the benefits of adapting a high-tech approach outweigh the cost to young children, I’ll reserve my enthusiasm of technology for its use in the upper grades and adult classrooms.

Things to Remember About Safe Blogging

As teachers there are some things we can do to help students blog safely. Wise blogging practices are shared in Richardson's book, Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms, the website www.blogsafety.com, and Krysten Crawford's article Practicing Safe Blogging. Among them are the following tips for student bloggers:

1. Remain anonymous. Never post personal information such as last name, contact information, and email address. Use first names or pseudonyms for your blog identity.

2. Refrain from posting embarassing or negative information about yourself or others. Ask yourself, would you share the information in the classroom? If not, don't post it!

3. Don't post photos of yourself or friends.

4. Be exclusive. Know what limits you can set on who can read your blogs and limit your audience appropriately.

5. Report problems or threats to your blog service (or an adult or teacher).

6. Don't meet in person with someone you connected with through blogging.

More blogging safety tips for teachers:

1. When working with students on the K-12 level, be sure to secure the proper permission from parents and school administrators.

2. Remember the above safety tips for student bloggers are not simply for students who are minors; they should be shared with adult students as well. It's a good idea to remind students that posting inappropriate information can have long term negative consequences for job seekers in the future.

3. Plan for what you will do with blog sites after your course ends. You may decide to take your class blog sites down if you don't have a way to continue monitoring student blogging. If so, encourage safe blogging outside of class (as approved by parents, for minors).

Module 1: Three Ways to Use Blogs in Teaching

Will Richardson, in his book Blogs, Wikis and Podcasts shares many ideas on how blogs can be used for teaching and teachers' professional development. His ideas have helped me identify three ways that I could use blogs in my teaching of English language learners (ELLs):

1. Collaborative Blogging: I love the idea of students learning from each other in a collaborative manner, and think that blogs could be a great tool for this method of learning. Blogging seems to be very compatible with the Cooperative Language Learning (CLL) approach to teaching, an approach that is gaining favor in many language learning classrooms. When students publish their ideas through interactive technology every voice is heard, and teachers can structure tasks to encourage cooperation between students. Group assignments that rely on the input of all group participants are likely to encourage joint accountability for, and ownership of, both the assigned task and the blog. For example, I could designate small groups to create a shared blog where all group members posts their thoughts on a particular literary passage. For English language learners (ELLs) this might be a reaction to a fictional character's experience of moving to a new culture. Students could share with one another their experiences as a non-native speakers entering a new culture. By reflecting on their own experiences and reacting to a required number of their group members' blog entries, students would generate content and language that could be used in a personal essay to write and submit individually.

Student communication with peers through blogs would also aid in learning apppropriate social skills in the target language, another principle of CLL. By blogging and reacting to others' blogs, students would learn electronic forms of social communication in the target language in a relatively low risk environment.

These collaborative uses of blogs would fulfill the following New York State Learning Standards for ELLs (for grade 9-12) as published by the NYS Education Dept Office of Bilingual Education (NYSED OBE):
* Students will listen, speak, read, and write in English for literary response, enjoyment, and expression
* Students will listen, speak, read and write in English for classroom and social interaction
* Students will demonstrate cross-cultural knowledge and understanding

2. Opinion Blogging: Blogs can be used as a platform for students to develop and communicate opinions on a variety of topics, including current events in the news, class activities, and other issues of relevance to their lives. Student input on classroom activities would not only give students practice in expressing their opinion, but would also provide useful feedback for me as a teacher to modify and guide my teaching. To develop students' writing, I would post on a classroom blog examples of persuasive language and links to opinion columns. Each member of the class would be instructed to respond to these samples with their ideas on what makes opinion writing effective. Discussions about constructive language for voicing opinions could evolve as we share our opinions with one another.

The primary NYS learning standards for ELLs that would be met through students' opinion blogging is:
* Students will listen, speak, read, and write in English for critical analysis and evaluation.

3. Information Sharing Blogging: Taking Richardson's advice for teachers to "start small," I would begin my entry into classroom blogging with information sharing blogs. On a class blog, not only would I post class logistics (assignments, due dates, grading criteria, etc), but I would encourage students to blog on new discoveries related to topics presented in the classroom. To stimulate blog participation, I'd ask students to visit and comment on specific links or respond to specific questions. The idea here is to provide students with opportunities for repeated exposure to language through different learning modes. Reading and writing through a classroom blog is likely to appeal to today's "connected" students and reinforce language forms and uses presented in the classroom.

The NYS learning standards for ELLs that would be met by students' information sharing blogging would be:
* Students will listen, speak, read, and write in English for information and understanding.
* Students will listen, speak, read and write in English for classroom and social interaction.

These are only a few of the many ways that student blogging can be used in second language learning.