Best Practices Proposals

Best practices

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Conclusions

The integration of Internet in the language learning arena is forcing teachers to face new challenges. The most obvious is making the right use of the infinite number of authentic materials in diverse formats that cater for different students´ learning styles; from plain texts, to hypertexts heavily loaded with images, video, graphs and sound. Nevertheless, more recently, web 2.0 resources have even promoted a step forward from the receptive skills –reading and listening- to the productive ones –speaking and writing, allowing students to design, create and produce content in a number of formats that can be published and shared by a worldwide audience.

Whether teachers will be able to accompany this thrilling technological saturation does not depend only on their willingness and predisposition, but also on the teachers training proposals they are offered which should suit the different institutions and situations they are immersed in. Under these professional development programs, teachers have to feel at ease, in a relaxed and confident atmosphere, among peers who share their same fears and anxieties, while feeling supported and understood by experts who will be willing to scaffold their fragile attempts.

 These mentors should also accompany schools teachers in the design of challenging embedded tasks that can involve students in meaningful interactive contexts, demanding the authentic use of the target language for their resolutions. It is the teachers responsibility to accompany students to climb up the wall of the 21^st century goals; thus the tasks they get students involve in must foster not only the development of their communication skills in the target language, but also their critical thinking, collaboration and creativity.

Analysis & Interpretation

Data analysis and interpretation

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Photographs

This photo album includes all the pictures I have taken from students, teachers, friends and myself in different classroom situation and learning environments in which computers were being used. The close analysis of these photos has given me information as regards:

•  Seating arrangements in computer labs,
•  Furniture disposition in the classroom,
•  Body language, gestures and postures
•  Individual, pair and group work.
• Traditional classroom and distance learning 

photos - appendix 4

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Documents

1. Maryland Technology Performance Task 

 

2. Maryland Teacher Technology Standards 

3. ACTFL 2010 Wiki: 21st Century tools to Teach, Learn, Collaborate and Advocate for Languages

4. Montgomery Blair High School -Teacher´s blog: Expression, and students’ blog links.

5. Study Island provider of Web-based standards mastery products.

6. Kisdpiration a K-5 visual software to explore and understand words, numbers and concepts.

Observations

• School: Samuel Ogle Middle School –

Teacher: Ms Faith Majors
Class: English Language and Arts - 8th year
Date: Monday 26th September   

• School: Samuel Ogle Middle School –

Teacher: Mr Dennis Read
Class: Technology 6th year
Date: 6th October

• School: Greenbelt Middle school

Teacher: Ms Jane M. Tarwacki
Class: 7th year Spanish (Introductory)
Date: October 11^th

Observation appendix 3

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Field Notes

• School: Montgomery Blair High School

Teacher: Ms Conley & Ms Edwards

Class: English Language and Arts - 9^th Year

Date: Monday 18^th October

•   School: Baden Elementary school (Art Integrated School)

Class: kindergarten – 5^TH Year

Date: Tuesday, 19th October 

Field notes appendix 2

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Interviews

•  MS JANE TARWACKI – 7th Spanish Teacher at Greenbelt Middle School

• MR DENNIS READ – 6th-8th Technology Teacher at Samuel Ogle Middle School
• SUPAMARN MITRSOMWANG -  Graduate student in Methods of Teaching ESOL at UMD 
• JULIAN CHEN -  TA in Methods of Teaching ESOL at UMD

Interviews appendix 1

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Literature Review

Literature review

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Introduction & Questions

This project makes an inquiry into how new Information and Communication Technologies are being incorporated or embedded into the field of Second Language Learning and more specifically into the Task-Based Learning methodological approach, thus opening a whole new method in the field of Educational Technology and Language Learning which can be defined as: Embedded Task-Based Language Learning.  Furthermore, my interest as a teacher Trainer goes also into the area of Professional Development in an attempt to give an answer to my second question, looking into ways to encourage teachers to embed their practices with new technologies. I will look at real world of practice, schools and University through observations, interviews, photographs and field notes. You will review some best practices and make recommendations for training to help teachers implement new uses of technology. To this end you have two research questions:

1-            How are new technologies being incorporated or embedded into the field of Language Learning and more specifically into the Task-Based Learning methodological approach?

2-            How can teachers be encouraged to embed their practices with New Technologies?