Teaching with Tech 2015: Language Educators Talking Tech

Teaching with Technology 2015: Language Educators Talking Tech

Written By Marie-Lynda Akono, Melissa Horn & Stephanie Bennett

Edited By Dustin De Felice

Copyright 2015 Marie-Lynda Akono, Stephanie Bennett, Melissa Horn & Dustin De Felice

Cover Design by Dustin De Felice

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

Thank you for downloading this eBook. This book remains the copyrighted property of the authors, and may not be redistributed to others for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from their favorite authorized retailer.

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The work within this text originated in a course on teaching with technology at Michigan State University. This course is offered yearly as part of the Master of Arts in Foreign Language Teaching (MAFLT) degree, which is supported by the Center for Language Teaching Advancement (CeLTA). For more information, please visit http://maflt.cal.msu.edu/ or http://celta.msu.edu/

The opinions expressed here are the views of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Michigan State University.

Table of Contents

Introduction

The effectiveness of hybrid classrooms in second language teaching and acquisition in the United States. By Marie-Lynda Akono

Blended learning in foreign language education. By Stephanie Bennett

The benefits of technology use in foreign language inclusive classrooms. By Melissa Horn

Ideal Tech Infused Classrooms

Foreign language learning outcomes in an ideal language lab. By Marie-Lynda Akono

An ideal tech-infused classroom rooted in Google technology. By Stephanie Bennett

Talking Tech, Reviews by Educators

Tech & Apps

Review of ClassDojo: More than simple behavior tracking.

Review of Technology in nursing education: YouTube as a teaching strategy.

Tech & Experimental Classrooms

Review of How to implement the ‘flipped classroom.’

Review of Building a blended learning classroom that works.

Tech & Culture

Review of Crossing the cultural divide.

Review of Pinterested in culture: Using the digital world to explore diverse cultured perspectives.

Review of Using social media to create community within the classroom and beyond.

Tech & Tools

Review of As ELL tests move online, educators hope for better gauge of skills.

Review of Technology in the classroom: Using handheld wireless technologies in schools.

Concluding with Teaching with Technology

About the Authors

About the Editor

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Introduction

By Dustin De Felice

Not a day goes by that a teacher isn’t faced with a challenge, a hurdle or a surprise in trying to help a student become a better learner. Through the process helping students, many teachers look to technology to help alleviate, solve or remove obstacles. This intersection between teaching and technology is the focus for our work in this volume. Contained within these virtual pages, you’ll find the words and stories of educators who are adapting to and working with technology to make their classrooms better places for all stakeholders. Each of these educators works in unique locations and they have needs and perspectives that drive them to find solutions that make sense for their daily practice. One of the more endearing traits of this technology journey is the fact that it is so personalized and adaptable. I had the distinct pleasure of working with these fantastic, dedicated educators as they sought to personalize and adapt their own tech use through the use of journal articles, practitioner pieces and blogs. Our final result is this volume of work on technology and classroom use and we hope you find something to add to your own classroom practice. We recommend perusing the table of contents for topics that catch your eye. We also highly recommend visiting the original works from our tech talk reviews. These resources may hold the key to improving your own daily classroom practice.

In the first section, you'll find persuasive arguments for specific tech tools or specific approaches to classrooms as they relate to technology. Marie-Lynda Akono starts us off with a discussion on the effectiveness of hybrid classrooms for language teaching. She details a number of key considerations for moving language learning into a hybrid environment and she also includes a number of best practices for working with a hybrid classroom. Stephanie Bennett discusses a similar environment for language teaching with her focus on blended learning. She writes about a language classroom that combines the best of traditional face-to-face practice and that of technology mediated instruction. Much like Marie-Lynda, she focuses on a number of best practices for implementing a hybrid model in a language classroom. Lastly, Melissa Horn shows us how technology can support teacher-led initiatives in developing an inclusive classroom environment. Her approach moves us into an important