Reading Prompt 12

Ockey argues that Computer based testing has failed to realize its anticipated potential. Describe and discuss on his reasons for his view, and tell why you either agree or disagree with him.

Cummins & Davesne offer an alternative to CBT with electronic portfolios. Comment on some of the ideas from this article that you'd be interested in trying out in your own classroom.

From the Ockey article, I have to sadly agree that computer based testing (CBT) has failed to realize it's potential, so far. Problems listed are numerous: psychometric assumptions, local independence, controversy over appropiate scoring algorithm, agreement on test administration, practical use of test bank, availablitly of human resources, and test security are among some listed. After reading the artice and reflecting on those issues, communication between institutions and security seem to be the biggest obstacles. The problem that each school has a unique system of rating CBT make it impossible to make grades and results salient. Test security is an even bigger issue for CBT. Trying to keep symetry across the world, verfying results and actual test takers on CBT also appears to be impossible.

This second article, thankfully, is more optomistic and offers lots of useful assessment for use with Electronic Portfolios (EP). For me personally, the information on American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) was espeically insightful. This organization and it's opinion are important in our line of work and when I read information about them, I pay extra attention. There work with other similar organizations in Europe and the rest of the world offer hope that there will be more universal assessment, especially on alternative forms of assessment like EPs. The Language Passport is an especially exciting idea, and allows blokes like me who live somewhere and don't learn the language fluently enough to pass high level standardized test at least some credit for our language knowledge.

Reading Prompt 11

Share an idea of two about how you could use the ideas from Richardson with ESL students.

What is the "digital divide?' And why do Warschauer et al argue that this term may longer be applicable. What are the issues they found regarding differences in technology use with ELLs and other low socioeconomic students. What are some ways you could address this in your own schools or programs?

From the Richardson text, I really like the idea of using twitter with ESL learners. More specifically, I like the idea of ESL students writing haiku poetry using twitter, whether on their personl phones or school computers. I have already taught English syllabry using haiku in the past, the twitter ideas for classes that Richardson described can make that lesson modern and exciting. It also seems to be the perfect venue for bringing back an underrated form of poetry. Also, it can incorporate the student's cell phone into the lesson (as a former high school teacher, I can't believe I just wrote that) and is a big step towards the type of environment we talk about in our class.

The digital divide described in Warschauer's is made up of more than one factor (p.548. Of course social economics are the central focus of his research, and on the surface it looked like poor schools are at a disadvantge when it comes to technology. This isn't the only factor though, teacher training and teacher competence in dealing with technology are also mentioned among other things. There is a digital divide in technology instruction, management, and those who deliver it to the students. So again, an article with a wake up call to educators that change is coming, and we must prepare. I saw it written recently somewhere that indeed, "technology will not replace teachers, but teachers who know how to use technology will replace those who don't". The divide between those who can teach with technology and those who can't seemed to me to be the biggest divide, not just how poor someone was. Warschauer points out those who suffer the most because of this type of divide may very well be the students we care most about, those with limited English ability. The article talked about teachers not willing to use technology with ESL students (p.583) for many reasons, but maybe the bottom line is that those teachers could not handle it. As the article points out on page 585, society and technology are intertwined, society (including school) is changing and everyone (including teachers) will need to adapt and incorporate new technology into their lives (curriculum) or be left on the other side of the digital divide.
As a teacher of ESL learners we must advocate for our students to have equal oppurtunity to computers and technology in US schools, amd provide them that instruction.

Reading Prompt 9

What is Corpus Linguistics? And why are some language teachers so excited about it? What applications can you envision for your current or future classroom?
Corpus Linguistics is a philosphy for language teaching. It is a rejection of some of the previous ways grammar has been taught and a new approach to teaching language. The ideas are based on teaching how the language is used, rather than simply how it had been taught previously. It is a radical approach to teaching, so controversial.

For teaching English, among other languages, allowing for dialects means a lot. For one, allowing variety in the ways grammar is perceived and taught as is Corpus Linguistics as opposed to traditional ways means there is no set of correct grammar, and instead you allow for a variety of grammars. This in turn allows for a wider conversation about, and how language is used and taught. Although the ideas look to be earth shattering, educators are excited about this new pedagogy.

CALL is certainly ready to adapt to Corpus Linguistic teaching. A classroom taught through the intergration of both Corpus Linguistic and CALL can create great things. For TESL classes, it means specialized assesment. Imagine test and assesment that gain accurate insights and answers to what has is becoming a more and more specific learner. It changes the game, teachers will have access to useful evaluations, and quicker than ever. Learners can have hand-tailored lessons through the integration of these two ideas and everyone wins.

Reading Presentation

I went for the utilitarian approach of Levy and Stockwell on this presentation. I figured after blinding you with clip art on my last power point this might be a relief.

Reading Prompt V

Do you have an iPod or another type of .mp3 player? If so, have you used it or anything other than listening to your own music, such as downloading and listening to podcasts? Note some of the points McQuillan made about how podcasting can support second language learning. Which of the ideas from the readings would you be interested in trying out in your own classroom?

I don't own an iPod, maybe I am the only person left that doesn't. Of course, I was also one of the last people I knew to buy a cell phone. Anyways, I do have an mp3 player, and have owned it for about seven years. It's about the size of a flashdrive, and I love the thing. I bought it while working in Japan, it cost me about fifty bucks, and I used it daily on my bus or train ride to work. At that time, there was no podcasting, so I just listened to music. I started to hear about podcasting over the past few years, but didn't think much about it until this semester. My classmates Scott and Josh told me that you could download language lessons, and being the Japanophile that I am, of course I have started to use it. It's great! Just like a lot of other things in this class, I kick myself for not finding out about them earlier. I guess I was too busy. So now I have two podcast that I look at regularly, Japanese podcast 101, and learn Japanese podcast. One is professionally done, the other is some guy in an apartment in Tokyo. I like them both.

The McMillan article provided a ton of ideas for using the ipod in language learning. Being able to download audio files, slow them down, adding images to that audio are all basic ideas. The article went on to point out more inventive ways of using it, interviewing native speakers, creating your own original lessons, adding script to your audio files, and finally near the end of the article it even mentioned a web site that I really like for ESL students, Voice of America, which apparently has podcast.

Really though, the McMillan article was informative, because it covered all the basics of what I have missed by not having an ipod. That is, that it can deliver large quantities of data, both audio and visual in a quick and easy to use format. Out of all the bells and whistles that he described, what stood out most for me was that both teachers and students can create materials specifically suited for them and then publish and use it on the ipod. Keeping this in mind and then creating language exchange with students from other countries, you could have some very high-tech learing going on. It isn't hard to do. This idea is especially interesting to me. Having taught in both the US and Japan, I have often looked for ways to create language exchange between those two worlds. Ipod seems to be at least one solution.

Quick Share

It was nice to teach a bit on Thursday, I haven't taugth a group of students since leaving SISD in May.

I used a microsoft powerpoint slideshow, and it went smoothly. The only trouble I had was moving that slideshow onto my blog. In case anybody else has similar trouble: you need to upload your slideshow to google docs and then hyperlink that to your blog. The problem is, if you use the new version of powerpoint you need to change it over to the older version in order for google docs to allow the upload. Dont ask me why, but thank you Diana and Josh for helping me figure that out.

Reading Prompt IV

Comment on issues raised by Levy and Stockwell,
CALL educators and the design of CALL products.
Comment on types of RSS feeds .

The part of the Levy text (ch 2) that stuck out for me was task design. If the task included in a paticular piece of CALL is boring and simple, the learner is not going to have much interest. On the other hand, a learner could also complain that tasks are too complex and difficult, and give up on it. Good CALL design is going to keep these perspectives in mind and produce something in between. As educators we need to look for CALL that is desiged with easily accessible task, but also task design that is challenging enough to keep the learner engaged and interested.

As far as RSS, there has got to be hundreds of ways to use this with students. One easy example of how it might be used with a class of L2s is setting up a "feed" to a class blog. Choose a traditional, non-controversial news group (VOANEWS.com) and ask students to write responses to the stories that roll through. The point is that the students are following the news, discussing it, and responding. They practice skills like reading and writing, plus decesion making task can additionally be completed in groups.

As for me personally, and I would recommend this to any teacher, use the RSS to keep up with buisness and financial news, take control of your investments. Follow different companies and play the stock market! Normally, a teacher is far too busy during the day to follow changes that take place every hour in the world of fortune 500 companies. During working hours, a school teacher is literally shut out from the world (most schools in Texas don't even have windows!). By using RSS technology, the playing field is evened up somewhat, and teachers can keep up with everybody else in the financial world. Teachers become day traders, and don't need to spend very much time to do it (only during breaks, and never while giving test). That is to say, you do not have to spend your day wathcing the ticker and cable tv to get rich on wall street. The RSS reader quickly brings tailored news and information directly to you. Set up your RSS to follow news about companies that you have stocks in, open the reader once in the morning and then at lunch, if circumstances are happening in the financial world, quickly make adjustments to your financial portfolio and get rich.

Nobody says teachers have to be poor chumps and live shackled to promises of state retirement money (all of that is based on wall street investments any way). Build your own future with the RSS google reader.

Japanese and CALL technology

Cell phone novels

Students in Wakayama, Japan using i-pod touch for English lessons

Gaming company joins CALL ranks