Technology is insane.If there is one thing I have learned in the past 3 hours of my first ACTFL workshop here in Boston, it is that I am novice at best in my awareness of applications and tech resources. My world is rocked right now with gaining so much more understanding of how absolutely limitless and empowering the apps that are available to us in the technological world can engage and motivate our students in our proficiency based classrooms.
A few of my notes that I have jotted down can be found here, but please remember that these are quick notes I gathered that were outside of the presentations that I made copies of in my Google Drive. We worked collaboratively to develop pros/cons/speed bumps regarding some of the more familiar Google applications in G Suite that you can find here. It is a brief synopsis of each. I am so inspired by the people who are sitting in this room. There are so many passionate, driven learners in this professional congregation who have the best interest of children in mind. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be among such esteemed colleagues both national and international and I look forward to the afternoon! Loving Boston, loving ACTFL #actfl16 #crazyspanishteacher -Caroline
0 Comments
Could I possibly shout that any louder?!?!?! I can't wait to share my resources and excitement! Check back for updates! Follow me on Twitter as I wander through Boston in my professional dream come true!
@senoramark #actfl2016 100% addicted. How amazing is this APP? Seriously? Number 1: Let's talk about their support. I have had more than a few questions and they have responded to all of them! I am so thankful for a company that stands by their product and works with the consumer to maximize the student experience! I feel as though not enough can be said about the potential of this application in the 1:1 language setting. I have had the opportunity to explore this app first hand with my students, then with my world language colleagues in a PD session I hosted, and finally with my colleagues at my Arts Integration Magnet School, Western Heights Middle, where the opportunities are endless for this video response and reflection! Recap sent an AWESOME T-shirt and a few goodies for my staff! I was thankful for the quick shipment and willingness to support the teachers who are excited about this app! Thank you, RECAP!
As a user, the teacher dash is easy to navigate. You can design multiple classes and have students sign up by their email and a class join pin so we as teachers do not have to pre-load students into the program. Students can access their recap assignments quickly, answer quickly, and submit for feedback hastle free. My favorite feature of this app is that students do not have to upload or download anything. They open it, answer the questions, it shows up on my side, and I can give quick feedback to students. Students can then check out the feedback I give to learn from it and I can adjust my instruction based on their Recaps! The ESSENCE of formative assessment! The student dash has the ability to add multiple classes to one email address so students should have access to all classes using RECAP in the same school with the same email address by simply navigating between classes for which they have join codes. Students can receive notifcations of the Recaps posted and due. I love the self eval feature at the end of the Recap, where students can rate whether or not they understood the material. This is also a great way for me to quickly see who feels confident with a concept and who doesn't and has become a pretty good indicator as to whether I can expect Recaps that indicate proficiency or maybe Recaps in which I need to re-teach concepts to support advancing my students' proficiency. I have encountered a few glitches, but Recap is working diligently with me to correct the issues. I am so thankful, again, for their support. If you have not tried this program out, I highly recommend you head over to the app store and connect with this amazingly powerful formative assessment tool! Click on the app picture at the top of this blog to access the Recap website! Sometimes I get really frustrated with technology. Honestly. There is a fine line between using technology for proficiency and using technology for the sake of using technology. There are so many options for apps to incorporate technology, but one cannot simply take an assignment he or she has been using for years and just throw in technology and make it work. How are we thinking as teachers and leaders? How are changing the delivery of content to keep up with the times? Throwing technology in for technology's sake is not truly facilitating learning. How can a proficiency based classroom incorporate technology that pushes students to seek understanding? I think those questions are tough and I kind of just laughed to myself in writing them because in conjuring up my answer, I realize just how different my lessons today are from 10 years ago. Reflection. What a beautiful thing. I was going through my desk drawer the other day and came across a lesson I had video-recorded for my undergraduate career. HOLY GUACAMOLE! What was I wearing and why was my hair so short?!?! Also- what was I actually doing? I was standing in front of the class. I played a recording of a story in Spanish, I gave the kids like 30 seconds to look over the comprehension questions and then I asked the questions aloud eliciting response from a group of reluctant high school sophomores. They answered, I praised them in Spanish, and moved on to the next. This 10 year veteran is looking at that young teacher cringing. Where is the wait time? Why did I not give them more than one pass at the story? Why didn't I offer a chance for students to interpret meaning from the story alone? Then maybe with a partner? It was a straight interpretive, mechanical-esque activity that had SO much potential and I just left it there. 31 year old me wants to go back and save 21 year old me from that lesson. But what I realized was that I really was using what I had. I had a chalk board, an overhead projector, a VHS player, a boombox, and students. I had a recording of the reading. I played it using my technology. I could have structured the lesson to be more meaningful and communicative but as far as technology went, I used it. I guess my point is that I used the technology, but it didn't mean anything because the lesson wasn't beneficial. I thought I was doing something awesome by playing the recording of the reading and using that technology, but it wasn't awesome at all. In my classroom, not only have I come leaps and bounds in terms of the technology I use, but the best practices that come with it. Language learning isn't about answer questions, conjugating verbs, responding to multiple choice questions, or translating. It is about communication, interpretation, presentation, and interaction. It is about traveling, exploring cultures, understanding the lives of others, appreciating diversity, and using that experience to inform the way you live and what you do. When we throw technology in to substitute for something, we are doing a disservice to our students. When we plan meaningful interactions that guide our students to communicate within and beyond the classroom via technology, we are showing them the power of understanding the ever-shrinking global society. Here's to technology and TEACHnology! -Caroline |
Author14th year Spanish teacher Archives
June 2020
Categories |