After reading the information on the digital denizen website, I believe I fall into the category of "Digital Native." I say this because I use digital technology many times throughout each day including things such as: cars, computers, calculators, t.v., microwave, etc. The list goes on and on, however if I am unable to access the computer for a few days, I am OK with that. I grew up in an age where computer usage and cell phone usage began to boom. Because of this, I believe I am pretty technologically aware, but not extremely savvy. I think it is important for us as teachers to try to incorporate as much technology in the classroom as possible because it is used so much in the world today, especially developed countries such as our own.
"To achieve parity with their English-speaking peers and to maximize educational opportunities, ELLs should receive consistent, congruent, and comprehensive instruction" (Mohr, 2004). I completely agree with this statement. In field, I have seen way too much of excluding the ELL students from the main lessons because teachers feel they do not know how to incorporate them into the lessons without taking away from the other students. Though it may be a little more work for the teacher, it is their JOB to include and teach ALL their students to the best of their ability, which I have not seen much of. We need to move away from the linear and passive instruction of ELL students and strive toward more fast paced, integrated, enriching, and engaging instruction. Too often teachers are leaving ELL students out of discussions and allowing them to simply copy their peers work. We can move away from this by engaging all our students and coming up with more meaningful and interactive lesson plans. Many teachers believe they are helping the students' self esteem by allowing them to watch the lesson. This however tells them they are not as important as the other students and that they do not bring anything to the table to help others learn. This is ludicrous and needs to be ended because all our students deserve to be included in our classroom learning and the more diversity you allow them to bring to the table, the better off the learning will be for all of your students.
Gabe and Rose, how have you seen your CTs include and teach the ELL students in your classrooms?
ReplyDeleteTo answer your first question, there are no ELL students in my classroom, thus I dont know know how my CT would go about teaching them. My classroom is not very diverse in terms of race, which I was surprised about when I first began going. I wish there was at least one ELL student in my classroom so I would be able to see how to better teach them for my own future. However, I know my CT does use the computer to show videos but I have yet to her let any students use it. It is unfair for me to say that if she did have an ELL student in her classroom she wouldn't use the computer as a teaching aid.
ReplyDeleteAs far as using technologies I agree with you Lauren, I am aware of it, but I would not consider myself technology savvy. In fact, I think I may be behind most people of my age in terms of understand and using technology. I am currently in a class designed for teachers to help us learn how to incorporate technology in our future classrooms. I think it will be very beneficial for me, however I already do not like the course because it is so unfamiliar to me. I hope throughout the weeks I begin to appreciate and want to use technology more not only currently, but in the future because I know it will be beneficial for my students.
Within my placement, the ELL category is a bit difficult, because the entire placement is in Spanish, and only 2 students actually come from a Spanish speaking home, so I feel like everyone is in an experience where they can empathize with actual ELL students. When looking at how my CT incorporates the ELL students, I would say that there are many resources for the students to use, such as Rosetta Stone programs in the library and computer labs. Within her lesson plans, she is more traditional and teaches out of the books, etc. She is an older, bubbly woman, but I don't think she is tech savy. She is a very accommodating teacher, but I noticed that sometimes the students do not understand the directions because some are not as advanced in Spanish as others, and they do not always understand the instructions. Sometimes I don't even know the instructions when she gives them in Spanish!
ReplyDeleteI feel that these readings and class discussions will help me to find fun, innovative ideas on bringing technology into my classroom to help all my students. I think it's such a valuable resource and will be very helpful in helping all of them at once!