Library Research: MALL

     This week I stopped actively looking for articles (I have collected about fifteen), and began trying to categorize them and write a short review of each. The articles span approximately a decade (2004 to 2013) and deal broadly with task-based learning, mobile assisted language learning (MALL), and—my particular interest—the use of cell phones to support second language acquisition (SLA) in and outside the classroom. Several researchers noted the continuing dearth of MALL-related studies (particularly in the West). I noticed after a time that certain articles were being cited repeatedly, so I made sure to include those. Although cell phones and particularly short message service (SMS) have become extremely widespread and popular among the general population, there is still substantial resistance among educators to using them as a learning tool in the classroom. I feel, however, that my adult English Language Learners (ELLs)—all of whom have cell phones with voice and text messaging capabilities—might benefit from activities involving this technology, without being distracted by it. Truthfully, no studies that I could find have targeted my particular population of learners; researchers generally study university or high school students. Some suggest incorporating as many technical capabilities of the phones as possible, particularly in support of social (learner-to-learner) projects. I prefer to focus more on basic SLA pedagogy, using the standard functions of the cell phone to support and expand task-based opportunities for language practice, production, and feedback. Only a few articles went into the details of the actual cell-phone lessons; these generally involved delivering pre-taught vocabulary to students’ cell phones at regular intervals (while the words were given to a control group in some other format), and then monitoring the students’ progress from pre- to post-testing. I do not intend to do a quantitative study with controls. Instead, I will do a qualitative analysis of the types of lesson formats and content that lend themselves to delivery via SMS or voice text, and of the students’ responses to and progress during the project.

Cell Phones and SLA

     I have spent most of this week laying the groundwork for my project.  I wanted to pursue a topic that involved technology and second language acquisition (SLA).  The technology needed to be accessible, reliable, and easy to use.  The cell phone came to mind.   I then searched the literature to determine the extent to which cell phones--although somewhat controversial in the K-12 classroom--had been utilized in language learning.  Once I had deciphered all the acronyms used to describe technology-assisted language learning (CALL, MALL, CMLL, TELL, etc), I decided there was enough supporting research to proceed.  A number of the studies focused specifically on using cell phones to expand L2 vocabulary; the target learners were generally university students.  I am more interested in using the cell phone to expand the opportunities for my adult English Languages Learners (ELLs) to communicate in the mode of their choosing.  One student wants to improve her writing skills; another really wants to work on his speaking.  All have cell phones capable of sending and receiving text messages and have agreed to participate in a cell-phone/language learning project.  The goal is to provide at least two short assignments via cell phone each week; students then respond, and I provide specific feedback on their responses.  The content of the assignments will come from material covered in class, or from activities and events in the students' lives.  In this way, students will have additional opportunities for focused but authentic communication in English throughout the week.  
     The trial run this week was promising.  Students responded well to my text and voice messages, and I was able to give them feedback via email.  We also had a chance for more spontaneous communication as a result of the holiday (I had to alert a student that the local library was opening late), and the weather forecast (I had to let everyone know that class was cancelled).  I'm still mulling over how I will monitor their progress; the "data" will be more qualitative than quantitative. And I certainly would like feedback from the students about whether these assignments are beneficial to them....

I am excited about my project, but this design by Stephen Doyle makes me a little nostalgic....

Reflection

      As I was writing out all the subjects we covered in our "Power Tools in the Classroom" course this summer, I realized there were a lot of technological “firsts” for me: my first blog, RSS feed (feedly and Zite), infographic, ePortfolio, SMARTboard lesson, YouTube video (including editing with iMovie ’11), and (still a work in progress) a proposal for a Flat Classroom project.  In addition to those assignments, we learned about and reviewed a variety of websites, portals, open source software, MOOCs, and Apps for use in the classroom and for our professional development.  I imagine I will draw on these resources increasingly as I spend more time in the classroom; the reviews we did of these “finds” will be very helpful.  (The challenge for me will be to gather all these resources into one, easily accessible place.  Diigo or Delicious for all those links?  Evernote to replace the post-its and my spiral notebook?) This class offered an interesting balance of problem-solving (technical) tasks and thought-provoking discussions on educational technology.  Getting things to work was often stressful, although Google usually led me to someone who had had the same question and had figured out a solution. With each new approach or trend (for example, blended learning and flipped classrooms), I was challenged to reflect on the positives and negatives. In general, I feel I have a more critical view of technology than some of the authors we read (stemming from my own experiences and biases), but listening to classmates who have a more “accepting” stance—particularly those who are teaching full-time—helped me keep an open mind.

      I have experienced first-hand how many students (English Language Learners, in my case) are drawn to technology, whether it is a first-grader using an iPad App for phonics practice, or a high-school student wanting to look up words or send emails.  If the technology helps them gain independence and take responsibility for their learning--and gives them useful feedback--I am in favor of it. I am still amazed at the information that is available to anyone with a computer and internet access.  As I mentioned above, several of my projects would have been even more difficult if I had not had ready access to others struggling with the same technological questions.  Nonetheless, I feel technology should be used judiciously in the classroom, and for learning in general.  I accomplished the most in this class when I had a specific goal, and had to use technology selectively to achieve it.  Creating this blog was a combination of learning discrete skills (deciding between several blogging websites, selecting the general features for the blog, learning to imbed visuals and multimedia, subscribing to feeds from other sites), and then using this forum to discuss an observation or insight effectively.  There is no point in doing the former without putting some thought into the latter.

      My other reservations about educational technology stem partly from my preference for full-length books and long articles, and partly from my need for TIME for reflection.  Sometimes all the incoming information from this course left me feeling as if I were drowning in options.  I continue to have questions about privacy, although that, too, may be a remnant from a bygone era.  Of greater concern is how to help students filter all this information.  They should understand its source and context, and be able to evaluate it critically as they develop their own understanding and insights.  The amount of choice is enthralling; the key is to choose wisely.  
      For some final food for thought, check out the artwork of Tang Yau Hoong which I discovered on Zite. (Below is a sample.)

The Learning Curve

      After a weekend spent filming and then editing the video of my phonics lesson, I decided I needed to recover from my ascent up the VERY steep SMARTboard and iMovie learning curves.  Recovery = take a step back from technical issues and check my news aggregator (Feedly) for articles with a broader perspective.  Just in time for our flat classroom proposal, Edudemic has been posting a series of informational graphics entitled “18 Things to Know about Education in….”  Today’s post was about the educational system in France.  Some of the statistics seemed pretty positive (its score on the Human Development Index, the overall productivity of its labor force), but the graphic did not provide a point of reference for the data. How did France compare with the U.S.? With Finland and South Korea?  I decided to look at the The Learning Curve, a compilation of data sets assembled by the Economist (Intelligence Unit) and published by Pearson.   Under “country profiles” you can find data on education input and output—as well as socioeconomic—indicators for individual countries; “data visualization tools” allow you to compare countries over the course of two decades (1990-2011).  As educators around the world seek to determine which systems are most effective (and why), access to information of this sort can be helpful.  One should keep in mind, however, which specific outcomes are being evaluated.

       What really caught my eye, however, was a section of the report entitled “Getting Teachers Who Make a Difference”.  I agreed with a number of the factors they cited: attract the best people; provide proper training; treat teachers like professionals; and combine accountability with independence.  However, they claim a lack of correlation between higher teacher salaries and student outcomes. (The picture is complicated by changes in teacher salaries relative to GDP as countries develop.)  They do cite a correlation between performance-based pay and better student outcomes. Whatever correlations they might glean (or not) from their statistics, I am inclined to think that the inordinately low teacher salaries in some schools and regions of the U.S. is a deterrent to achieving the factors cited above.  (Similarly, I raised an eyebrow when I read in the Forward by Pearson’s chief education advisor that “reducing class size is expensive and has little or no impact on system performance”.  In our data-driven evaluation of schools, isn’t a school’s student-teacher ratio still one of the key criteria for “finding the best”? )   I agree, though, that pay is only part of the equation for achieving excellence, which brings me back to the videotaping I mentioned at the beginning of this post.  Feedback is a key part of professional development—in science, in medicine, in music, and—yes—in education.  I think learning to give effective feedback is almost an art form; the video camera (or iPad these days) may be an unforgiving critic—but it’s a start.

First Infographic

My first attempt at an infographic:

easel.ly

      Although I am familiar with graphs and figures from my day job, I have to admit I was not aware of the infographic explosion until this course (technology in the classroom).  I certainly can recall graphs, maps, charts, and visual representations of data in the news.  (Here are some sobering statistics.) However, I had no idea where to begin when we were asked to design an infographic about home-school communication.  The first and only image that came to mind was a locked door--and the keys to open it.  Not very original, but this simple visual meant that I could find the public domain images I needed on Creative Commons, and then draw together information from a number of sources to support my "point".  Therein lies the problem.  My infographic is offering some kind of advice, but not much insight.  And the data that an infographic is supposed to help decipher was lacking.  So: I thought I would go in search of an infographic that had the requisite visuals, content, and knowledge. Instead, it found me when I started using the news aggregator Zite and was fed the following:

 

     This infographic caught my eye because--well--I am trying to get a picture of students' social networking habits.  I feel that this is something teachers should be concerned about.  In its three sections this graphic makes clear why, outlining the current situation on a number of social forums, showing the patterns in the information people divulge, and then effectively delineating the potential consequences of "over-divulging".