Tech. Project Handout

Technology Project Title: Non-Native Children Left Behind: Second Language Learners and Standardized Assessments

Your Name: Tara Kelly

Your Email Address: xrxt@iup.edu

Date: June 23, 2015

Technology Project Web Address: http://tarajaynekelly.wix.com/mskellyesl

Technology Project Overview: I have been a K-12 ELL teacher for five years now. My interest in the validity of standardized assessments regarding ELLs comes from the large amount of time I have spent either “teaching to the test” or proctoring the actual test. When the testing window opens, my instructional time is often taken away and replaced with proctoring ELL testing for about a month. The stress on some children including crying and obvious anxiety is apparent. Students will be sent home sick due to the strains of test anxiety and the pressures to do well. Often these children come from successful academic backgrounds and want to show their knowledge, but just are not able to in English. My students will often stare at the computer screen or pick random choices in an effort to just get the assessment done. I don’t feel that the state administrators who choose these assessments and regulations factor in our growing multilingual population. I am passionate about further researching this topic because it has been heartbreaking for me to witness some students struggle with standardized assessments and fail in a language that they are labeled as learning.

Technology Project Audience: This project is for fellow educators as well as my secondary students to give them an example of a research project with citations.

List Key Features of the Technology Project: Background information (paper attachment), personal interest, videos on standardized assessment, Smarter Balanced, Language Assessments, and References

3 Primary References:

Abedi, J., & Gándara, P. (2006). Performance of English Language Learners as a subgroup in large-scale assessment: Interaction of research and policy. Educational Measurement: Issues & Practice, 25(4), 36–46. doi:10.1111/j.1745-3992.2006.00077.x

Huang, J., Turgay, H., & Schnapp, K. (2012). Do high-stakes test really address English Language Learners' learning needs? - A discussion of issues, concerns, and implications. International Journal of Learning & Development, 2(1), 499-508. doi:10.5296/ijld.v2i1.1472

Shohamy, E. (2001). Democratic assessment as an alternative. Language Testing, 18(4), 373–391.

My Vision Statement

A Vision of Love and Learning

• What are 3 of your fundamental beliefs about learning literacy?
• What are 3 of your fundamental beliefs about teaching literacy?
• What should be 3 key goals for literacy education in a digital age?
• What should be your basic approach to teaching literacy? What role should technology have in that teaching approach?
• How should literacy pedagogy respond to today's technological world and to today's digital learners?
• Discuss how your vision for teaching literacy would address the needs of World English speakers.
• Discuss how your vision responds to the challenge of the "digital divide," a challenge that says we must worry about providing equal access to technology and information.
• Should your approach to teaching literacy be the same as your approach to teaching other areas of English today? Why or why not?

I believe that education is a fundamental right of every human being.

I believe that education should be accessible to all. 

I believe that technology has an essential role in education in this digital era. 

I believe teachers should encourage students to develop their own individual potential through literacy and technology.

I believe that education provides the key to social mobility; thus, students should be taught to critically navigate complex social realities to unlock their full potential.

I believe that students bring new knowledge into learning contexts; thus, teachers should adopt a learning stance toward their students and adjust pedagogy accordingly. 

Literacy

• What does the term "literacy" mean to you?
• Why do you feel literacy is important?
• As teachers, what should our goals be for teaching literacy?
• What's a key thing we can do to strengthen the literacy skills of our students?

Literacy to me means much more than just the ability to read words off a page or write words down. I think it is a hugely important skill to function in society today. I have had students, refugees in particular, that have come into my classroom that are illiterate in their native language. It is sometimes shocking to me that this is still possible this day and age, but these students often come from extreme circumstances. As teachers, our goals for literacy should be to promote it as much as possible. Encouraging kids to read at a young age helps to promote lifelong learners. I think a key thing we can do to strengthen the literacy skills of our students is to find high interest materials. I have one student in particular who hates to read, however, I found out that he loves animals. I think he has now checked out every animal book in the library! I have other students who are more likely to read if it's on the Ipad because they think that it's "so cool" to be able to use this technology. I think teachers have to get creative with literacy at times, but it is definitely possible to find that niche with each and every student. 

Podcast Questions

Tara, Silvia, Tyler & Anderson

Research Question: How do second language students use technology to maintain their L1 identity?

1. What kind of technology do you use to maintain connections with your friends at home?

2. What kind of virtual/social groups do you belong to? What language are your devices set to?

3. How would you be affected if you were unable to use technology in your home language?

Going Tech Free - 6/7/15

• How successful were you at going Tech/Literacy free for a day?
• What was the hardest thing about trying to go Tech/Literacy free?
• How did your friends/family respond to you do the task?
• What was the short term impact on you of doing this task?
• Was there any long term impact on you?
• Did going Tech/Literacy free cause you to get more physically active or less? Why?
• What did you miss the most while you were going Tech/Literacy free?
• What did you miss the least?
• I asked you to keep a simple journal about your experiences. Please review those entries and discuss something of interest that you wrote down.
• Overall, what did you think of this experience?

I intentionally picked Sunday to go "Tech Free" because it was the best day for me to actually attempt it. The gym was closed so I knew I wouldn't be tempted by the TV. However, being in this program makes it nearly impossible to do when you are a procrastinator! I still had transcription to finish for Dr. Deckert so I, of course, needed my computer to do that. I guess I should be grateful that I was doing the assignment via computer and Express Scribe versus a tape recorder and pencil. Since I had already broken the rule, I ended up on Google Docs with a student needing help with a research paper. I'm not sure that my district would allow me to be here if it wasn't for technology because technology is the reason I am able to still run things from a distance. Did I mention I also checked Facebook like 500 times? I rarely use Facebook during the year, but in the summer, for some reason, it is my favorite distraction. I would really love to retry this experiment in August because I would actually look forward to being "off the grid" for 24 hours for once! I think I would sleep and enjoy the great outdoors. I actually don't think I would miss it, since I actually crave it sometimes, although nearly impossible in this day and age.

808 The Time Machine

• Primary Blog Question
  • When compared, the two film clips help illuminate a key question for this course: How has our relationship to technology changed over time? 

Our relationship with technology has changed greatly since both of The Time Machine films were released. The first was from 1960 and the second from 2002. There is a huge difference, especially when it comes to CGI with these two films. You can tell with the original film that technology was limited. An example of this is from the original version when all the time machine does is make the room shake. When the time machine moves in the newer version, it shows wheels spinning and is much more reliant on technology to make it look "cool" to the audience. Our relationship with technology continues to grow closer and closer as the reliance on cell phones and Wifi increases in this now digital world.

• Secondary Blog Questions
  • How has film technology changed?
  • How have we changed as film viewers?
  • How has our understanding of time evolved?
  • How does fiction/science fiction impact our relationship to technology?

Film technology has changed greatly. I'm sure there weren't movies based completely on CGI years ago. Now films like 300 are shot only using a green screen. This would never have been possible years ago. I think we have changed as film viewers to expect more. We expect all that computer animation now because anything is possible. There are no limitations on what filmmakers can show. Our understanding of time has evolved as technology has evolved because we know more of what is possible. Fiction/science fiction impact our relationship to technology because it helps us dream of the possibilities of the future. 

The Beginning

This is my first blog entry.