Blogs present a unique opportunity to engage students in technology based learning. Van Olphen, Hofer and Harris presented interesting points in their article "Grounded Tech Instruction: Languages". Their idea of matching technology integration to existing lesson methods is exactly what I currently do in my classroom. I teach Kindergarten with about half of my class being ENL students. These students often times are brushed over because "they do not understand", but these students yearn to learn and are often very bright. I try to engage my ENL students using unique methods that not only get them thinking about English but also allowing them to speak in their own language.
Blogging in my classroom would open a whole new window of possibility. One way that blogging could engage my students would be in Step Up To Writing preparation. Step Up To Writing is the writing initiative and assessment in Buffalo Public Schools. The program is very comprehensive and throughout the course of the year students will learn to write. In Kindergarten, my students are expected to write a considerable amount. With blogging, my students would be able to "write" something on their iPads and comment on each others work. I would also use this as an editing tool. Editing is a hard concept for my students to master and I think that by allowing them to listen to their work and review it, they may grasp the concept better. My students could also respond to different works. This would help them when formulating their own ideas. This activity would meet ESL.E.PK-1.2.1.9.
Another way that blogging could help in my classroom would be with communication skills. Often times, my ENL students are very shy and nervous because their English skills are not quite up to par with their native speaking classmates. To ease their nerves, I often use videos and music to engage them in a fun way while still learning. Blogging could also ease their nerves by allowing them to communicate with their peers but not requiring them to speak or talk out loud. ENL students in my building often have the writing skills but lack the speaking skills so this could also fill that void. Communication and socialization are two very important skills that my students begin to master in Kindergarten. When they enter my classroom, they are shy and nervous but over time they begin to learn to socialize and communicate with others. Blogging could aid in this. This activity would meet ESL.E.PK-1.4.1.1.
Blogging would be a great way to integrate technology into my everyday lesson plans while still keeping my students engaged. For more information on the English as a Second Language Standards, click the link here.
Blogging in my classroom would open a whole new window of possibility. One way that blogging could engage my students would be in Step Up To Writing preparation. Step Up To Writing is the writing initiative and assessment in Buffalo Public Schools. The program is very comprehensive and throughout the course of the year students will learn to write. In Kindergarten, my students are expected to write a considerable amount. With blogging, my students would be able to "write" something on their iPads and comment on each others work. I would also use this as an editing tool. Editing is a hard concept for my students to master and I think that by allowing them to listen to their work and review it, they may grasp the concept better. My students could also respond to different works. This would help them when formulating their own ideas. This activity would meet ESL.E.PK-1.2.1.9.
Another way that blogging could help in my classroom would be with communication skills. Often times, my ENL students are very shy and nervous because their English skills are not quite up to par with their native speaking classmates. To ease their nerves, I often use videos and music to engage them in a fun way while still learning. Blogging could also ease their nerves by allowing them to communicate with their peers but not requiring them to speak or talk out loud. ENL students in my building often have the writing skills but lack the speaking skills so this could also fill that void. Communication and socialization are two very important skills that my students begin to master in Kindergarten. When they enter my classroom, they are shy and nervous but over time they begin to learn to socialize and communicate with others. Blogging could aid in this. This activity would meet ESL.E.PK-1.4.1.1.
Blogging would be a great way to integrate technology into my everyday lesson plans while still keeping my students engaged. For more information on the English as a Second Language Standards, click the link here.
I like the idea that blogging is a way to lessen anxiety for students learning a language. It makes sense that it would allow them a way to communicate where they could hone their skills without the pressure of having to "perform" in front of a group or their peers.
ReplyDeleteI love your idea of using blogs to engage students in learning in order to calm their nerves or anxiety they may have because they are ENL learners. I think that fostering this sense of social interaction at an early age is a great way for students to learn skills to prepare them for upper grades. They can also use those skills not only in the classroom, but in everyday life.
ReplyDeleteUsing any kind of technology with ELLs is a win. Most students today ELL or not, know and understand technology, it's an equalizer. Lowering that affective filter and increasing motivation are necessary and I think you have a great idea here about using blogging to do that!
DeleteIsn't it wonderful how equalizing the implementation can be? It's impossible to deny the power of technology when it can break barriers as strong as language walls! Technology has the similar effect in my room where all of my kinders have autism. I had a friend last year who was nonverbal but communicated great with the iPad in his hand!
ReplyDeleteI like your ideas of using blogs to help students communicate and socialize with others. It is the fact that not all students are comfortable with speaking in front of their peers and their teacher. Blogs provide another mean for students fully express themselves with more thinking time and less anxiety, which can definitely benefit students' socializing and communicative skills.
ReplyDeleteGlad that you bring up using blog to help ESLs edit, because editing has always been a challenging task especially for young ESLs. In traditional writing on physical paper, editing for errors or improvement could end up with scrawling. It isn’t an easy task for neither teacher to review nor students to implement editing. Thanks to digital tools like blogs, editing could be convenient and the outcome of it could be neat.
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