Telling a story digitally gives us the chance to draw on all kinds of images, voices, perspectives, and experiences in ways that can grab attention easily and paint thoughts vividly. My piece for EWYL allowed me to think in new ways about the frame by which all my teaching should happen. It is too often the case that I have stepped into a class in order to explain something rather than doing so with attention to how I might inspire. Revisiting one's point of departure is good for that.
The Digital Clubhouse pieces are terrific examples of how people of very different ages and experiences can create something powerful together for others. Tracy Chou, one of the students who has been a D@pper for years, was a student I mentored at Wilcox the last couple of years. Her pieces telling about the experiences of veterans are moving for anyone, and creating them moved her to see herself in ways that she might not have otherwise.
As one who teaches digital video in both my technology and language classes, I was very happy to be pointed to the Video Guide. My own work with Japanese has often focused on how to get the most important concepts across to students as simply as possible, and the Video Guide does the same with video production principles. Perhaps a project for someone here at KCI would be updating the information to take into account more recent tools! 8^)
I have had students do projects using digital video for years. Recently, a student from one of my 2000-2001 classes at Silver Creek came to an event I was doing, and told me that the video projects were the most meaningful and entertaining activities she did in high school. I struggle with how to incorporate the projects in ways that push but do not overload my students now. Hopefully the EWYL 07-08 teachers will be able to share what they try and accomplish all year, helping each of us to try for something more.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Personal Soapbox
Learning another language is not simply a matter of knowing words and grammatical patterns. One may be able to communicate basic ideas with simple words and facial expression (a look of panic and the word, "bathroom," for example, may convey what is necessary). However, to truly develop ability with another language requires understanding that there are other factors to consider.
- What is important to you for your students to experience in your class?
I want students to develop an appreciation in their communication for awareness of the needs and position of those with whom they communicate.
- What issue, topic, trend, or aspect of teaching are you passionate about and how does that passion manifest itself in your teaching practice?
I want students to be able to use metrics beyond simple grades to be able to demonstrate to me, their peers, and themselves what they are capable of doing. Having students create videos, for example, allows a sharing of creativity that can give me something new to reference as I seek to pull the best out of them.
- What images could you create or find that could be useful to convey your message?
Perhaps I will use people in different settings to illustrate how we choose different words based on the position of the other. One picture can be of a relaxed teenager, juxtaposed against another of a formally-dressed businessperson in his or her fifties or sixties.
- Write some lines of script (voice-over or interview) that might be useful.
"Whassup?" and "How are you, Ms. Fenwick?" are both greetings, but not especially interchangeable. I will try to come up with more examples, especially those that might involve choosing different verbs for the same action.
- What music could you find that would enhance your message?
When preparing for a visitor, one would likely (if not thoroughly self-absorbed) choose different music based on how one perceives the likes, mood, and concerns of the one visiting. This, too, can help prepare students for the kind of verbal changes that happen when using Japanese.
- What is important to you for your students to experience in your class?
I want students to develop an appreciation in their communication for awareness of the needs and position of those with whom they communicate.
- What issue, topic, trend, or aspect of teaching are you passionate about and how does that passion manifest itself in your teaching practice?
I want students to be able to use metrics beyond simple grades to be able to demonstrate to me, their peers, and themselves what they are capable of doing. Having students create videos, for example, allows a sharing of creativity that can give me something new to reference as I seek to pull the best out of them.
- What images could you create or find that could be useful to convey your message?
Perhaps I will use people in different settings to illustrate how we choose different words based on the position of the other. One picture can be of a relaxed teenager, juxtaposed against another of a formally-dressed businessperson in his or her fifties or sixties.
- Write some lines of script (voice-over or interview) that might be useful.
"Whassup?" and "How are you, Ms. Fenwick?" are both greetings, but not especially interchangeable. I will try to come up with more examples, especially those that might involve choosing different verbs for the same action.
- What music could you find that would enhance your message?
When preparing for a visitor, one would likely (if not thoroughly self-absorbed) choose different music based on how one perceives the likes, mood, and concerns of the one visiting. This, too, can help prepare students for the kind of verbal changes that happen when using Japanese.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
PBL and PB&J
"How we use the technology available to us is more important for student learning than how much technology we use."
There is nothing wrong with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, at least for those without complicating allergies. It's a meal and it tastes pretty good, but probably fails to inspire us to think outside the culinary box.
As the quote above from today's reading exemplifies, we are getting plenty of good reminders that what we do as teachers is more about the learning than the technology. The emphasis on Project-Based Learning, though, raises the same questions. A good lecture is a good lecture because it is well-planned, practiced, and speaks to the concerns and interests of the listeners. I believe a good project, likewise, must follow a similar model.
Is it well-planned? Does each layer have new elements for those who will experience it? Have we anticipated at least some of the turns students will take as they give these projects a try?
Is it practiced? Does the project build upon understandings and techniques that students have had a chance to master? Will students recognize challenges and feel they are capable of meeting them?
Does it speak to the concerns and interests of the students? Will students have had a chance to articulate their interests such that the project builds from what they have learned and discussed before? Are new concepts linked to points of familiarity that allow students to see the connections?
Just like a cool technological toy, how much time we spend with PBL will likely be a function of how deep the interest in its use lies within us.
--
The assignment questions:
1. How will your project meet your students’ learning styles and needs?
I'm not sure, frankly. I do know, though, that digital video projects have been welcomed by my students ever since I started doing them about seven years ago. These projects ask students to be creative and active, and I do believe that having them work with the content created by their peers in Japan will add another level of interest. I operate under the belief that if they are engaged in and excited about projects that require them to stretch their use of Japanese, then something is going well!
2. How will your project address higher order thinking skills?
It is my hope that our project will give my students the chance to think about something they have done for years in a new way. If our Japanese team members create videos that show a totally different way of approaching math than my students have experienced, it will perhaps allow them to think about how they think in new ways. Teaching Japanese in general accomplishes this on the level of communication - students learn that there are very different ways to approach how one chooses to communicate with others, regardless of the grammar and vocabulary that one uses.
3. How will your project address the skills business and industry tell us are important? (Collaboration, Decision Making Skills, Connecting to the Real World)
I believe that the project will address all of the SCANS skills:
Creative Thinking - Students will be asked to use digital media to convey topics that they have almost surely handled through far more traditional methods.
Decision Making - Students will choose how to create content knowing that their work will represent that of their peers in their schools and even more broadly in their country.
Problem Solving - Students will move from being passive recipients of knowledge to grappling how to convey concepts so that others can learn from their carefully crafted delivery.
Seeing Things in the Mind's Eye - Students will plan video pieces through brainstorming and critique, working together to make their ideas come to life.
Knowing How to Learn - Students will gain the perspective on learning that comes from attempting to teach; many will take their learning from passive to active in the process.
Reasoning - Students will face how others approach topics they learn in entirely different ways. They will have to develop an appreciation for and an ability to communicate about these differences.
There is nothing wrong with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, at least for those without complicating allergies. It's a meal and it tastes pretty good, but probably fails to inspire us to think outside the culinary box.
As the quote above from today's reading exemplifies, we are getting plenty of good reminders that what we do as teachers is more about the learning than the technology. The emphasis on Project-Based Learning, though, raises the same questions. A good lecture is a good lecture because it is well-planned, practiced, and speaks to the concerns and interests of the listeners. I believe a good project, likewise, must follow a similar model.
Is it well-planned? Does each layer have new elements for those who will experience it? Have we anticipated at least some of the turns students will take as they give these projects a try?
Is it practiced? Does the project build upon understandings and techniques that students have had a chance to master? Will students recognize challenges and feel they are capable of meeting them?
Does it speak to the concerns and interests of the students? Will students have had a chance to articulate their interests such that the project builds from what they have learned and discussed before? Are new concepts linked to points of familiarity that allow students to see the connections?
Just like a cool technological toy, how much time we spend with PBL will likely be a function of how deep the interest in its use lies within us.
--
The assignment questions:
1. How will your project meet your students’ learning styles and needs?
I'm not sure, frankly. I do know, though, that digital video projects have been welcomed by my students ever since I started doing them about seven years ago. These projects ask students to be creative and active, and I do believe that having them work with the content created by their peers in Japan will add another level of interest. I operate under the belief that if they are engaged in and excited about projects that require them to stretch their use of Japanese, then something is going well!
2. How will your project address higher order thinking skills?
It is my hope that our project will give my students the chance to think about something they have done for years in a new way. If our Japanese team members create videos that show a totally different way of approaching math than my students have experienced, it will perhaps allow them to think about how they think in new ways. Teaching Japanese in general accomplishes this on the level of communication - students learn that there are very different ways to approach how one chooses to communicate with others, regardless of the grammar and vocabulary that one uses.
3. How will your project address the skills business and industry tell us are important? (Collaboration, Decision Making Skills, Connecting to the Real World)
I believe that the project will address all of the SCANS skills:
Creative Thinking - Students will be asked to use digital media to convey topics that they have almost surely handled through far more traditional methods.
Decision Making - Students will choose how to create content knowing that their work will represent that of their peers in their schools and even more broadly in their country.
Problem Solving - Students will move from being passive recipients of knowledge to grappling how to convey concepts so that others can learn from their carefully crafted delivery.
Seeing Things in the Mind's Eye - Students will plan video pieces through brainstorming and critique, working together to make their ideas come to life.
Knowing How to Learn - Students will gain the perspective on learning that comes from attempting to teach; many will take their learning from passive to active in the process.
Reasoning - Students will face how others approach topics they learn in entirely different ways. They will have to develop an appreciation for and an ability to communicate about these differences.
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