TE+802+-+09-19-08

=TE 802 - September 19, 2008 =

Preparing for Class

 * Complete the assigned readings and watch the video (see last week's agenda). Post your response to a thread on the discussion board. (Be sure each thread has replies.)
 * Be sure you've read the syllabus and the FL teach assignment. Come prepared with any questions.
 * READ the agenda for this week's class (9/19). Complete this [|form] to choose which learning center you will participate in.
 * Remember that you're welcome (but not required) to eat lunch in our classroom. We'll start at 12:40. It's fine if you need time to finish eating during class. If you're doing swap shop, paste the link next to your name.
 * Please email me if you would like to meet with me before or after class.

Nominate agenda items below. Don't forget to sign your posts.
How do/should we grade papers for special education students? Should I grade them the same way that I do the other students? If so, what if they don't pass the class? user:lemonhe1

How exactly to sign up for the MiWLA :) user:Obstinada02

- Hola! See if this helps. https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?eventid=185333 I believe you click 'new' and then enter your email that you used last year (your name should pop up after you hit continue and say, "Are you, blah blah blah?" and also click: '2008 Conference Registration and 2008-2009 membership. - This should be total $20.00 ($10 for each).

Last year we did not sign up for any workshops (we just took the free ones) and you can find that itinerary here: https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?eventid=185333

If you want to do so, you can pay $30.00 per half day workshops (but there are some excellent looking free workshops!)

ALSO - REGISTER BY OCTOBER 1 or.... YOUR REGISTRATION FEE GOES UP TO $15.00 FOR THE CONFERENCE - ($25 Total!!!) Hope this helps, if not, call me and we can work through it together. I'm usually up until midnight or so! Or we can do it in class!

ALSO: We may need to verify our enrollment to get the student discount, so just to be sure, bring a print out verifying your enrollment, which you can get here: https://login.msu.edu/?App=RO_Authorization user:litwins5

Thanks so much Kerry! user:Obstinada02

Tips to energize class in the morning/start off class user:burhopam - We always play music when students are coming/leaving class. (You can also integrate the music they listen to into their learning, esp. with pronunciation!) user:litwins5 - Last year, we had the students stand up and learn the basic steps to salsa during one class - they were so much more on top of their game for the rest of class! user:litwins5

How to make MYSELF more energized/comfortable being in front of the class, rather than looking/being awkward user:alyxx - Coffee works wonders! Especially first thing in the monring. My Teacher also told me that you have to just act energized even if you aren't. user:gerouxje

Could we talk about the FL teach assignment? I read the assignment description and then I went on the website and I'm a little confused. user:KathrynHin

Fun games for students who have very limited Spanish skills? My 7th graders know the alphabet and "Me llamo" and that's about it. Any ideas for fun activities? user:KathrynHin -Have you done Info-gap activities?? I have used a couple of those and I think they have worked pretty well. They get the kids up and moving, talking to new people, and asking relavent questions in the TL. You can incorporate ESTAR(feelings), SER(origin), NOMBRE(me llamo), TENER (edad), etc. user:doren

 =Agenda=

1:00 - 1:30 - Swap Shop

 * Please post your materials on the appropriate wiki page and add the link next to your name.
 * Jade - http://languagelinks2006.wikispaces.com/Classroom+Commands+in+the+Target+Language
 * Katie L. - Conjugating Ser
 * Katie H. - Music

1:30 - 2:40 - Learning Centers (take a 10 minute break at some point)
//After last week's class, I spent a lot of time considering what went wrong. I had been so excited to share with you a new vision of FL teaching and learning that would be a marked contrast to the "graveyard classroom" (where students sit silently and numbly in rows, dead to the world and dead to learning). But I didn't feel that I effectively communicated that vision. I realized two problems: 1) I don't know exactly what a truly engaging and learning-rich 21st century classroom looks like. I have visions and I've caught glimpses of vibrant learning environments, but my experience is limited. 2) Instead of modeling pedagogy that represents what I'm dreaming of, I primarily talked at you last week. Ugh. Sorry.

So I want to try again this week. I hope we can come up with a few answers to your very good question that has been posed repeatedly, "This 21st century teaching is all very exciting, but HOW do we do it?" As I said earlier, I don't have all the answers. We are on the edge of what could be a new wave of FL education -- but YOU will be the ones to invent it. So. . . let's start imagining, dreaming, creating, and experimenting. That said, I do think we need to adopt some new assumptions about school://


 * Not everyone in the class needs to have precisely the same learning experience. Yes, there's a layer of foundational understanding that everyone needs to have, but beyond that there's room for individuals to have unique expertise and instruction. Students will have more choice and control over their learning.


 * This means that the teacher's role changes. The teacher should have strong expertise in the target language and be adept at teaching and modeling key intellectual skills (create, analyze, evaluate, and apply). But he/she doesn't have to know everything about everything students might learn. Instead of the teacher's role as the main source of information, the teacher takes on a coaching/facilitating role to help students learn using available resources.


 * Assessments are focused on competency rather than completion. (It's no longer acceptable to complete a bunch of assignments without truly learning.)


 * Vibrant classrooms will not always be quiet -- silence is no longer considered a virtue in students.


 * Collaboration is encouraged.


 * 21st century learning does not revolve around particular technologies since they will always be changing. Instead, teachers and students utilize whatever tools are available.

//What would you add to this list?// The __relationship__ between student-teacher is now more important than ever user:Obstinada02


 * ===Create/Design: How could cell phones be used as learning tools in FL classrooms?===
 * ===Cell Phones in the Classroom===
 * ===Cell Phones in the Classroom===


 * //Cell phones are commonly banned in schools. While there are some understandable reasons for prohibiting cell phones, there are also some compelling reasons for incorporating them into classroom instruction. What are the possibilities?//
 * //Your task: Review the following resources (and others if you wish). Then do three things: 1) Create a list of ways cell phones could be used productively in a FL classroom. 2) Design a sample lesson plan incorporating cell phones. 3) Draft a letter that could be sent to parents and/or administration explaining your rationale for using cell phones in class. Be sure to address concerns they might have.//
 * http://www.cellphonesinlearning.com/ - A blog devoted to educational possibilities of cell phones.
 * http://www.slideshare.net/satonner/mobile-phones-in-education-constructive-not-deconstructive-124979/ - Presentation by a Scottish teacher on mobile phone use in school.
 * http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16839323/ - An article explaining why a school district might ban cell phones.
 * http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhAH6nncCKw - A short video about a middle school teacher in Canada who started using cell phones for learning. She discusses how she dealt with not everyone having a phone, rules for cell phone use, etc.
 * http://ideasandthoughts.org/2008/02/05/exploring-cellphones-as-learning-tools/ - Written commentary on the Canadian experiment above.
 * http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/09/education/09ipod.html?pagewanted=1&_r=5&ref=technology - Article from the //New York Times// about schools using IPods for language learning. (How could cell phones be used in similar ways?)
 * [|A Case for Banned Technology in the Language Cl]


 * ===Analyze: Considering which "traditions" we want to preserve===
 * //In teaching and planning instruction for 21st century learners in a digital age, we want to move forward without throwing the baby out with the bathwater. We need to carefully consider the underlying intellectual tasks of traditional approaches. Which traditions represent genuinely important intellectual skills or essential language learning purposes? Which traditions are simply traditional?//
 * //Your task: Brainstorm a list of traditional or typical FL teaching and learning approaches. Evaluate the merits of each one and consider its digital equivalent. Is the digital equivalent truly better or just fancier? Which approaches ought to be replaced by new technologies and pedagogies? Create a text (whatever variety of text you choose) that provides a list of traditional FL teaching and learning practices we want to preserve and a rationale for each one. Also, identify which traditional approaches can probably be left behind.//

One good point to make: Technology is not always a reliable source, both in it's information and with it's ability to not work correctly.
__Pop-up Grammar:__ Always useful because students might need a grammar lesson at that particular time. //
 * __Traditional Approaches to be Preserved__**//

__Dictionary__: Is the dictionary new or is out of style? On one hand, if students travel abroad they may not be able to have access to the internet. They still need to know how to use a dictionary (book) however websites such as www.wordreference.com is useful because if they need help they can go to the discussion forums and learn from native speakers, and with context.  __Notebooks or note-taking__:   Taking notes online  could replace the notebook, however, students may not have access to the online aspect. Also, taking notes in class formulates the belief/value of note-taking in the real world. This is not a replacement in this case, it's a supplement because it reinforces what was learned and a 'permanent record' that does not get lost! Students can also see what their peers got out of the class.

__Study techniques__: //Traditional techniques//: Flashcards (Online flashcards are just a fancy way.) //Technological/new techniques//: Online review

__Group Work__: Traditional form of teaching that is still a necessary in the classroom. People searching for jobs will work with groups at work and need to learn good communication skills. However, the digital equivalent (such as using email, Google Docs, etc.) is still a resourceful skill to learn and a resourceful technology to have 'under their belts.'

__Speaking Assessment__: Online might be a more fanciful way to assess speaking instead of using a tape recorder, however, a cassette tape is going out of style, getting more expensive, and if you use online space you never have to delete or erase student speaking and you don't have to use all these tapes!

__** Traditional Approaches to Consider Leaving Behind **__ __Assessment__: If you're changing your teaching for the 21st century, you must change your assessments to match your new teaching methods. //

__Direct Translation__: Is it really necessary to provide them a translation for everything? Probably not. However, must they be taught how to pick out phrases they understand? Absolutely. However, you can say it's necessary to learn language equivalents in your native language. This helps make connections between the two languages. ////

__Explicit Grammar__: Not a bad thing, but it certainly depends on the students. How dry is the information you’re giving, and how much do the students need to know at once? ////

__Traditional Textbook__: Yes, it's nice to have an outline, but a lot of curriculum's do not get through the entire textbook. Students can look at the textbook if they need a reference, however, there are a lot of activities that do not fit inside many classrooms. Traditional textbooks are not as 'useful' as they used to be. //


 * ===Evaluate: Grand purposes for FL education - policies and politics lurking in the background===
 * //There are numerous purposes for and approaches to "foreign" language education. What purpose(s) do you see for FL teaching and learning in the 21st Century? How can we make sense of it all?//
 * //Your task: Identify the underlying purpose for FL learning and/or the sanctioned pedagogical approach in these resources. What evidence is given? What and whose interests are being served? Draft a "position statement" in which your group articulates what you see as the most compelling reason(s) for FL teaching in the 21st century.// //(You are not required to carefully read all of these, but please skim each one and prioritize which resources seem most important to you. Also, you are free to find other resources.)//
 * [|American Educational Research Association (AERA) - Research Brief on FL Teaching]
 * [|Modern Language Association (MLA) - Report on FL Teaching & Learning]
 * [|http://www.thejournal.com/articles/17296 >>] Second Language Learning and Technology
 * [|Foreign Language Teaching in Europe]
 * [|Report on Language Policy under President Bush]
 * http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/07/como-se-dice-ob.html Barack Obama's position on FL learning
 * http://www.foreignlanguageblog.com/?cat=6 - Scroll down to see this post: "Is the US doing a bad job?"
 * [|Italki] - [|A new worldwide language learning Wiki coming out of China]
 * [|What We Can Learn from Other Countries about FL Teaching]
 * [|Taking "Foreign" out of Foreign Language Teaching]


 * ===Apply: How can we apply principles of creativity and multiple intelligences in our FL classrooms===
 * If we want to create classrooms that promote creativity and honor different ways of learning and being smart, what might this look like?
 * //Your task: Use the resources below (and any others you find) to create a list of language learning tasks that pertain to different intelligences and learning styles. Design at least five activities that do not rely entirely on verbal or traditional auditory learning. Connect these activities to the 5Cs.//
 * http://www.developingteachers.com/articles_tchtraining/multi_intell_rolf.htm
 * http://www.nclrc.org/portfolio/1-1.html Using portfolios
 * [|clear.msu.edu/clear/newsletter/files/spring2004.pdf] Learning Scenarios
 * [|Differentiated Instruction in the Foreign Language Classroom]
 * http://www.teresakennedy.com/activities.htm - Activities using multiple intelligences
 * [|Critique of Multiple Intelligences]
 * Teaching and Learning Styles
 * Project Ideas

http://languagelinks2006.wikispaces.com/multiple+intelligences-+lesson+ideas

-[|differentiated instruction]

2:40 - 3:30 - Issue Presentation

 * Alex
 * Laura



Housekeeping

 * "To Do" List**
 * Thanks to Alex and Laura for being the first people to do issue presentations. Alex & Laura, please send me a one-page reflection via email before Monday. If you were an official "notetaker," please send me your notes via email if you haven't already.
 * I assume you've all registered for MiWLA. If not, the clock is ticking and soon the registration fee will increase . . . . (MiWLA assignment is posted under "assignment sheets."
 * FL Teach assignment - this assignment should be "in progress." The assignment description is posted here under "Assignment Sheets."
 * Be thinking about how we could share our thinking about 21st century FL teaching to a wider audience . ..
 * Add agenda items and discussion board postings to next week's agenda.
 * Your first guided lead teaching period should take place between Sep 29 - Oct 16 and go for about 2 weeks. There will be a dropbox on ANGEL to post your unit plans for your GLT. (This shouldn't be a big surprise for those of you who read the syllabus. :) ) This does not need to be an extensive, detailed unit plan. Some of you won't be teaching an official "unit" this time around, anyway. I will review your unit plan along with one or two of your classmates. I will make these assignments depending on when people submit their plans. Ideally, you should post your unit plan a week before you start teaching. But, since this is our first time, we can be flexible. Submit your plans as soon as you can before you start teaching (remember they don't have to be 100% complete). Your plan should include these items:
 * Dates and classes you're teaching
 * Language and content objectives for each day
 * Major learning activities for the unit
 * Assessment strategies (How will you know what the students actually learned and can do?)
 * Plans for target language instruction
 * Answers to these questions:
 * During this unit my students will create ____________.
 * They will evaluate _________________.
 * They will analyze _________________.
 * They will apply __________________.
 * They will share _________________.
 * Questions/concerns you would like feedback on.