Photo stories in the classroom

Hello everyone!
Tonight I explored the idea of using photo stories in the classroom. Using Windows Movie Maker on my computer, I was able to create a photo story and upload it here on YouTube. The featured video was made with the intention of teaching, through visual association, emotions in an English language setting. Photo stories, if applied with the appropriate photos and text can be made to fit as a tool in any classroom environment. I have seen through the creation of photo stories from my colleagues that with appropriate visual material, the lessons in which they are featured or supplementing can provide a viable source. In addition, students who would be able to use photo stories for individual and group projects, would also find it enjoyable; especially those who are tech savvy or are interesting in using the media to express themselves. In my classroom, as an extended introductory homework assignment, I would ask for students to introduce themselves through pictures, captions and music to better acquaint each other. In terms of further projects, I would use it in grammar practice activities through the use of pictures and captions. The use of visuals would allow for students to be stimulated in understanding the materials presented. As technology continues to grow, I expect to see more photo stories being implemented in classrooms that have the resources.

Have a good weekend everyone!

The Wonders of VoiceThread

Hello everyone!
I came across two particular VoiceThreads, created by my colleagues Ci He and Miao Gu that used the tools within VoiceThreads in an appropriate classroom setting. What I enjoyed about these threads was that I was able to express myself and continue to feel as though I was a student in a classroom. Miao's thread served as an icebreaker, which often happens within classrooms from early childhood through Graduate school. In getting to know your classmates, acquaintances and colleagues, small icebreakers are very appropriate. In addition, with the setting being made mostly for international students, it offered a lending hand to that audience in discussing their feelings of homesickness, and their overall adjustment in being in a different land. Ci's thread included a sheet of expectations and thoughts on my academic objectives and interest in topics in the position of a student learning Second Language Acquisition. I felt that this was a different form of an icebreaker, with a thicker tone leaning towards an early linking of academic understanding between the teacher and student. Both threads included tasks that I would expect to see featured in courses on the first day of a semester. For teaching, an understanding of teacher and student must be established, may it be the expectations of the teacher or the student; or the background in which the student comes from. These threads formed connections with the participating students and the distributing teachers. A sense of connection formed early between students and teachers must be made in order for it not to waver as time moves along.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Bookr! Digital Storytelling: Part 2

I found Bookr to be a very interesting and useful tool. Although it has some restrictions and not a wide variety of photos, regardless of the usage of tags, it still provides a way for students to express themselves using online tools that they are more familiar with. Learning objectives such as educating each other on certain topics that individual students would be familiar with. Sharing educational interests, for example, can be utilized through this tool. As some L2 classrooms have students from different cultural backgrounds, Bookr can be used as a way for students to tell stories of their families and cultures in order to expand the minds of their fellow students. I would use the story above to open the floor to the students to talk or create their own stories about their homes or where they have lived. In my personal experience, living in different environments bring about a change of mind in certain elements of everyday life and this may be applicable for students. With each student they can present stories of their homes and lifestyles as well as the change once they had to adjust to using English along with their L1. Bookr would be a useful starter tool and with limited space for writing, it would not give any pressure to students to write extensively.

If you haven't used Bookr already, try it out! It may be a little frustrating at times but the end result is quite satisfying in my opinion. Enjoy and have a great weekend!

Flickr and Digital Storytelling: Part 1

Day 240: Classroom in Korea, a photo by Cali4beach on Flickr.

The photo above is from a classroom in Korea; an environment that I hope to teach English in within a couple of years. 

     The saying that "A picture says a thousand words" is still applicable to today. Although photos are now mostly digital, the saying still applies. Storytelling has existed as a means of communication between people, as it has been used for sharing wisdom, entertainment, or personal experiences. Since then, it has been passed down and storytelling holds no limits; parents and teachers alike tell stories to children in order to sustain a moral compass within their children or students. With technology being heavily involved in our lives, the practice of "Digital Storytelling" is on the rise. What separates Digital Storytelling from physical storytelling is the various ways in which the stories can be told through visuals. Storytelling with books includes visuals, although they do not contain any audio or video elements that are included in Digital Storytelling. Just as the preceding methods of storytelling, Digital Storytelling is described by the online article, "7 Things You Should Know About Digital Storytelling as being "instructional, persuasive, historical, or reflective. The resources available to incorporate into a digital story are virtually limitless, giving the storyteller enormous creative latitude." 

      Digital Storytelling allows for students to express themselves in an appropriate environment. As many students turn to social networking to voice their personal problems or feelings, students may harness that voice and apply it into storytelling or poetry through Digital Storytelling. Social networks are dangerous places for youths to express themselves, while Digital stories told by students to teachers can allow for some guidance or exposure to others on possibly hidden artistic talents. For teaching, as described by the article, "Creating and watching digital stories has the potential to increase the information literacy of a wide range of students. Moreover, digital stories are a natural fit for e-portfolios, allowing students not only to select representative artifacts from their academic careers but also to create compelling resources that demonstrate the student’s learning and growth." 

      As it can be seen from this quote, students can take pictures like the one above, build a collection of it and use it to create their own stories and increase possibilities of enhancing their literary senses. Applying Digital Storytelling would also be very suitable for an L2 classroom environment. Students who may not be confident with their English in a classroom setting would be able to take time to be by themselves and put together a digital story in a comfortable setting. In addition, with digital stories, students who may not find the activities in the classroom interesting would have a tool that they would be able to take interest in. As technology today has made personal video more accessible and easier to use as well as society's investment in the media, students would take interest in creating their own videos and digital stories as opposed to the older methods which many may have a lack of interest in. With the Flickr image above in mind, as well as the practice of digital storytelling; how can we combine the two?     

Acculturation through Serious Games

A serious game that I would absolutely love to use in my L2 classroom would be this game, called Trace Effects. An educational game supported by the United States Government, Trace Effects uses 3-D interactive adventures in order to be used as a means of English language learning. The game includes an integration of the American English dictionary, as well as educating learners on the diversity of the English language that exists within the United States. Moreover, learners are educated in different aspects of American culture. Although I was unable to play the game, as an account must be set up, I was able to read up on it and view a trailer of it off of YouTube. 

Objectives from this game would include the following: acculturation, social interaction, English immersion, and expansion in learning. Acculturation would be through the game's inclusion of American culture, along with social interaction being accomplished through the multi-player modes that the game includes. As the game is in English and includes full sentences and vocabulary set to the ages between 12 and 16 years old, immersion is very much possible. Expansion in learning would be through the many activities included in the game. 

Assessment of these objectives would be through the utilization of the teacher manuals included in the game. The point-based scoring system included in the game's instructions would prove useful for assessing that these objectives are met, as well as further examination of the learners' processed acculturation.

Serious games such as Trace Effects would be great to use in L2 classrooms; although this game is more a more matured audience of L2 learners. Acculturation also proves beneficial as learners would be educated on aspects of American culture that other L2 classroom environments may not include. When learning a language, I think it's beneficial to learn about the culture as well so you may have insight on why sentences may be structured a certain way or why context matters.

Have a good weekend everyone! 

Gamification: How grand it is!

Hello everyone!

Despite the fact that at this point I should not be surprised at how much technology is being integrated into our society or education, I continue to be surprised by the way technology is used in classrooms. Personally, I wanted to employ the use of using computer games in a language learning environment in order to ease the tension that comes with learning a second language. As I intend to teach in South Korea, it is well known that East Asia is known for students' high stress levels due to pressure in passing college examinations. I feel that gamification can be used as a method of relaxation for students but also engaging and challenging that students will progress in language learning at a much quicker pace as opposed to fixed positioning and memorization. 

Gamification is a tool that educators may use for their students by taking elements of games and applying it into situations that would prove both beneficial and challenging for students. Gamification, although containing positives and negatives, is used to create an environment for students in which learning curriculum will become enjoyable as opposed to a bore. In terms of its application in language learning, gamification can act as a perfect model for language learners to follow. For example, the website Memrise is a language learning site in which students may choose any language to learn. From experience in learning Korean through the site and its use of gamification, my vocabulary has expanded through the enjoyable methods of the gamified site. The site is botanically themed, and with new vocabulary learns comes the sprouting of a plant. If left unattended (otherwise if left without any means of studying) the plant could die (along with the memory of the vocabulary word learned). Learners are awarded points that raise their level higher and higher, thus allowing them to progress into newer vocabulary words and creating a beautiful garden. If learners of the English language were to use this game, they would be able to enjoy themselves and simultaneously learn. 

However, I feel that Memrise itself does not fall under the category of casual games. With that, through Big Fish Games, I found the game Word Zen. 

Word Zen is somewhat like the game Scrabble or the mobile application Words With Friends; the gamer must make words in English and by the formation of words made, they will be awarded points. The more difficult the words or longer in letters, the higher the awarded points will be. I enjoyed this game a lot; with my Bachelor's Degree being in English I myself played it over five times for the simple enjoyment in word formation. 

In terms of objectives within a language learning environment, I would set it to be the following:

1. Word Zen can be used as a means of building students English vocabulary; as they will be allowed to use a dictionary as a reference.

2. Students can write down their words before submission in the game to be used later in sentence-making exercises. 

3. Students who write down difficult words and are awarded higher points in the games can be given extra credit or plus marks to be used later during examination periods. 

Although Word Zen can be used as a supplement for vocabulary expansion, in a beginner level course for L2 learners, it will prove useful. Students will become actively involved through the incentive of reward in playing Word Zen. The lack of pressure in the game itself will ease students into looking up longer words in dictionaries; in addition to the usage of their submitted words in sentences would allow for the teacher to continue the role of the facilitator in viewing the progress of vocabulary in each student. 

For beginner level courses, a walk through may be necessary. I would use a projector to the learners what would need to be done in order to complete the modes of difficulty in Word Zen. I would accompany the use of diagrams and images; using arrows and circles to highlight the letters within the game in order to map out how words may be formed. Obtaining the images would be through the use of print-screening on Windows Software in order to be able to draw out the diagrams and necessary pointers. I would also point out where the scoreboard would be and the assortment of letters included in the game. However, I feel for intermediate and generally more comfortable L2 learners, a walk through may not be necessary.  

As a teacher and overall facilitator, the student's submission of sentences featuring words made in the game would allow for me to view their progress. Through observation and grading of the learners' submission would I see their effort and progression. If there were to be any problems, they would be addressed promptly. 

I believe that the use of casual games or games that generally stimulate learning is necessary. Growing up with the use of educational games and some casual gaming was essential to my progression in expanding my vocabulary for my L1 and L2 learning. For L2 classrooms, these elements must be taken into consideration and implemented in order to create a fun but educational environment for the learners.