ECOMP 7010: QR Codes

Directions: Provide an example of something that inspires you to connect it to QR Codes. Then, describe how you would use the QR code in this situation. Finally, create your own QR Code and upload it along with a description of how you would use it in the classroom.

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From The Noun Project

1. Inspiration:  Slide #13 - QR codes in airports


2. How I would use the QR Code: When I saw slide 13 I thought about how helpful a QR code could be if it could relay information to a traveler audibly and in their language. Enter QR Voice, which allows you to connect short phrases to the QR code so that when scanned will speak the phrase. The site is not a translator, so if you want the code to say something in Spanish, for example, you would need to provide the Spanish translation. However, selecting Spanish as the language will have the phrase spoken with a Spanish accent and attempts to use proper inflection. The site lists 40 language accents to choose from, and can accomodate up to 96 characters (if my counting is correct). I see this tool playing a valuable role in foreign language classes to help students connect vocabulary and phrases in written form with how they sound when spoken. Having these codes up in important places could also help ELL students who are working on their English language skills.

3. My QR Code: http://my.qrvoice.net/SC98Gm

ECOMP 7010: Google Lit Trips

Google Tools in the Classroom

Directions: Think about a Google Lit Trip that you would create for YOUR students and report on it.

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1. A Google Lit Trip that inspired me:
My Brother Sam Is Dead, by James Lincoln Collier & Christopher Collier

2. The book that I would write a Lit Trip for is: Carry On, Mr. Bowditch, by Jean Lee Latham.

3. Besides sending my students to the locations…there are a lot of possibilities for extensions and other innovations. Students could do research on the various tools that Nat Bowditch uses in the story, investigating whether or not they are still used today and if not, what tool(s) have replaced them. After reading each chapter, students could go to a WallWisher page and brainstorm different titles for the chapter and explain how that came up with them. Students could also select a character from the book and create a Historical Facebook profile page, where in addition to entering in biographical data they would have to determine what social groups they would belong to, who would be in their ‘friend’ list, and several examples of posts we might see on their Facebook wall.

ECOMP 5007: ELL

This week's assignment allowed you to take a closer look at our students who do not speak English as their first language.

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1.  What’s available in your state?

Web Resource: National Clearing House for English Language Acquisition (NCELA)

Before going to the website and investigating what programs and services were available to ELL students in the state of Maine I tried to think back and remember where I had previously seen any related documentation…I couldn’t. In my experiences working with the Maine Learning Results, my teaching internship, and my college courses I don’t remember the topic of ELL coming up. In fact, my first experience dealing with ELL was my first job as an Ed. Tech. at Kennebunk High School. Even then, my exposure was limited to the ELL teacher on staff due to some extreme deficiencies in her technology skills. 

In looking through Maine’s Department Of Education website, I was able to pick up pieces here and there that related to my classroom work such as the NECAPS standardized tests that we are preparing to administer next month. I was impressed with the number of webinars I found on a variety of ELL and ESL topics going back as far as 2009. I also went looking to see who were the ELL staff members in my school district because, I’m sorry to say, I didn’t know who they were. I feel like I should be concerned that we have only one person on our ELL staff for our entire K-12 school district.  Then again, I suppose this depends on the number of students who fall into the ELL category. Perhaps other specials who are cross-trained are also providing additional support? In any case, I need to investigate and find out.

2.  A “hot topic” in the world of ELL is the differentiation of students who are true ELL students from students with disabilities who demonstrate language problems, i.e., differentiating language differences and language disorders/disabilities.

Web Resource: LD online.org

One of the main conclusions I drew from this “hot topic” is, in my opinion, and old one. In order for students to be successful learners, whether they are ELL students or students with language problems or mainstream students, all members of a schools’ staff must work and communicate together to create a positive and supportive environment. Support for ELL students should not just come from when a student is pulled from class to work with a specialist. Rather, it should should come from the classroom teacher, the art teacher, the librarian, the principal, and so forth. In my teaching I am already in the position of trying to teach students a different language: the language of computer technology. While this can be a challenge in itself, if I have a student who also has difficulties with English then I need to know and be collaborating with other teachers and specialists to develop skills and strategies to help them be just as successful in my class as the rest of my students.

3. "What Teachers Should Know About Instruction For English Language Learners"
Web Resource: Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NREL) - Article

In reading this document and reviewing the 14 principles of interest, a couple of concepts really jumped out at me:

• P2-Conversational vs. Academic language: I had never really given much thought to the language that I use in the classroom as being academic, although it makes perfect sense. I am constantly working to use terms, concepts, and language that will allow students to make connections between their prior knowledge and that of “techno-speak.” Now that I think about it, I wonder if this could be considered an attempt to bridge the gap between these two types of language?

• P4-Background Knowledge: This principle also made a lot of sense to me. With language comes culture and differences in what is considered acceptable behavior, classroom expectations, etc. This concept needs to be considered when interacting with ELL students so that the teacher can help them see the differences but also acknowledge that both have value. I mean, is not one of the reasons we want English students to take foreign language is so that they can appreciate the similarities and differences between cultures?

4. Looking at some specifics…

While at the elementary level YouTube is a resource that is blocked by our district filters, at the middle school our students have been able to show the responsibility and maturity to use this resource (most of the time). Hence, the ManyThings.org website could be a handy tool to have and use. This current generation of students tend gravitate to video resources whenever possible, and as a result YouTube has been a hotbed for teachers to find academic-related material. I can also see this resource integrating nicely with our 7/8 graders and their MLTI laptops. I was also impressed with the site having a section for iOS devices (e.g. iPad, iPod-Touch). These types of devices are entering schools and classrooms at a ever-increasing rate and I was pleased to see a site that is making efforts to find resources that will work with different types of technologies such as these.

A Binary Lesson

ECOMP 7100: Assignment #2

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