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Obstacles and Related Solutions of Integrating Technology With English and Language Arts Instruction
The role of an inner-city teacher means many different things to many different people. To those who are not teachers, sometimes their first reaction is fear or pity. For individuals who are teachers, they sometimes wonder (aloud) when you are going to find a new job and if you chose to stay, is it for the money? Inner-city teachers are like other suburban K-12 educators in any other school district. There are good eggs and eggs that should have moved onto another omelet a long time ago. Where do I fit in?
Teaching is a second career for me and I never look back. I was a website designer and graphic artist for seven years before I was teacher. There is never a day that goes by where I wish I worked in the corporate world. I really love being a teacher.
In my classroom, I strive for students to be enthusiastic about the tools we are using with the content they are learning. If they are not smiling and sharing what they are working on with the other students, they are not succeeding and I am not trying hard enough. Kids should be superstars. Mind you, I spend quite a bit of time planning my lessons for a “no fail” result. Does technology fail me? Yes. In those cases, there is always a backup plan.
One of the things that pushed me to obtain my master’s in Educational Technology was the idea that I could explore and learn new technology and employ these tools to engage and inspire my students. This program affords me the opportunity to learn these tools, utilize their robustness and incorporate them into my lessons for phenomenal enhanced instructional content.
I bring up this point to discuss student enthusiasm. Yes, it’s a lovely idea that we want them to be engaged but, are they interested in what they are learning? Am I a teacher who projects electricity? Does the anticipation of starting a new topic generate uncontainable excitement that causes students to start the assignment before hearing the instructions?
When considering integrating technology with English and Language Arts, the first step should be to define the needs of your students. Then, the teacher can identify the proper tools to use as a vehicle to enhance the lesson. “Teachers are turning to the interactive and visual qualities of software and websites to increase motivation for reading and writing.” (Roblyer & Doerling, 270)
One thing to keep in mind is the type of Web 2.0 tool you want to use. How easy is the tool to use? Is there a learning curve? Are you integrating this tool out of necessity or does it really bring value to the lesson or concept? Most importantly: will the kids like it?
I have two challenges incorporating technology with English and Language Arts. Challenge One: Many students have little or no vocabulary. Challenge Two: Many students have little or no vocabulary in their native language or English. Four of my classes are Spanish speaking bi-lingual classes. As a kindergarten through third grade teacher, I have found that many students have no solid vocabulary foundation in any language they speak. Understanding these reasons is a discussion for another time.
Incorporating technology with English and Language Arts can be a challenge when students have an extremely limited knowledge base. “The definition of literacy has changed dramatically in the United States over the course of its history, from being able to sign you name, to being familiar with certain canonical texts, to being able to read and write and make meaning from the written word, to being proficient in 12st century skills that are context specific.” (Roblyer & Doerling, 266)
For example, I like to assign a Mother’s Day project which students can give their mothers, aunts or grandmothers as adorable “handmade” presents. Last year, I used one of my preferred websites, tagxedo.com. Tagxedo.com is a cloud creating website similar or wordle.net only more robust. Tagxedo.com clouds have various customizable shapes, colors, fonts, etc. When I presented the students with the assignment, I also provided a list of Mother’s Day words and phrases (advanced students used this for inspiration) so they can complete and print the assignment in one 45-minute class period. “Dalton and Grisham (2011) discuss ten new strategies to build vocabulary skills using new technologies. One of these skills calls for students, to use Wordle (http://www.wordle.net) to create a “word cloud” based on the frequency of words used in a text.” (Roblyer & Doerling, 268)
Furthermore, understanding the use of the tools gives students a unique creative toolbox where they can reuse skills for other projects. I have found when students use tools such as tagxedo.com for a project they want to reuse the tool at another time, even for personal use. As an educator, this type of positive reaction pushes you to find better, more robust tools to enhance Learning. It give students, “a set of abilities requiring individuals to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the information. (p.2)” (Roblyer & Doerling, 268).
For Halloween, our school allows us to dress up as a favorite book character. This year, I am going to dress up as Amelia Bedelia. As a special area teacher, I am required to read to each class for five minutes at the beginning of each class. By choosing an appropriate Amelia Bedelia story, I can introduce an idea like concept maps. Websites like, “Kidspiration for grages K-3 and Inspiration for grades 4 and above…” (Roblyer & Doerling, 277) can be used after each reading to expand comprehension of the story. Students can then create their own concept map project about the story using PowerPoint. This topic not only incorporates literacy but also focuses on other specific skills such as typing, images, and shape drawing. These skills are also needed in the upper grades as well.
Both of these lessons reinforce classroom content in a fun, creative way using technology. A class that can devote an entire time period to using technology provides students with an outstanding education. Theses tool can grow with them throughout their educational career.
Robyler M, & Doering, A (2013). Integrating Technology Into The Classroom. Boston, MA: Pearson.
Teaching is a second career for me and I never look back. I was a website designer and graphic artist for seven years before I was teacher. There is never a day that goes by where I wish I worked in the corporate world. I really love being a teacher.
In my classroom, I strive for students to be enthusiastic about the tools we are using with the content they are learning. If they are not smiling and sharing what they are working on with the other students, they are not succeeding and I am not trying hard enough. Kids should be superstars. Mind you, I spend quite a bit of time planning my lessons for a “no fail” result. Does technology fail me? Yes. In those cases, there is always a backup plan.
One of the things that pushed me to obtain my master’s in Educational Technology was the idea that I could explore and learn new technology and employ these tools to engage and inspire my students. This program affords me the opportunity to learn these tools, utilize their robustness and incorporate them into my lessons for phenomenal enhanced instructional content.
I bring up this point to discuss student enthusiasm. Yes, it’s a lovely idea that we want them to be engaged but, are they interested in what they are learning? Am I a teacher who projects electricity? Does the anticipation of starting a new topic generate uncontainable excitement that causes students to start the assignment before hearing the instructions?
When considering integrating technology with English and Language Arts, the first step should be to define the needs of your students. Then, the teacher can identify the proper tools to use as a vehicle to enhance the lesson. “Teachers are turning to the interactive and visual qualities of software and websites to increase motivation for reading and writing.” (Roblyer & Doerling, 270)
One thing to keep in mind is the type of Web 2.0 tool you want to use. How easy is the tool to use? Is there a learning curve? Are you integrating this tool out of necessity or does it really bring value to the lesson or concept? Most importantly: will the kids like it?
I have two challenges incorporating technology with English and Language Arts. Challenge One: Many students have little or no vocabulary. Challenge Two: Many students have little or no vocabulary in their native language or English. Four of my classes are Spanish speaking bi-lingual classes. As a kindergarten through third grade teacher, I have found that many students have no solid vocabulary foundation in any language they speak. Understanding these reasons is a discussion for another time.
Incorporating technology with English and Language Arts can be a challenge when students have an extremely limited knowledge base. “The definition of literacy has changed dramatically in the United States over the course of its history, from being able to sign you name, to being familiar with certain canonical texts, to being able to read and write and make meaning from the written word, to being proficient in 12st century skills that are context specific.” (Roblyer & Doerling, 266)
For example, I like to assign a Mother’s Day project which students can give their mothers, aunts or grandmothers as adorable “handmade” presents. Last year, I used one of my preferred websites, tagxedo.com. Tagxedo.com is a cloud creating website similar or wordle.net only more robust. Tagxedo.com clouds have various customizable shapes, colors, fonts, etc. When I presented the students with the assignment, I also provided a list of Mother’s Day words and phrases (advanced students used this for inspiration) so they can complete and print the assignment in one 45-minute class period. “Dalton and Grisham (2011) discuss ten new strategies to build vocabulary skills using new technologies. One of these skills calls for students, to use Wordle (http://www.wordle.net) to create a “word cloud” based on the frequency of words used in a text.” (Roblyer & Doerling, 268)
Furthermore, understanding the use of the tools gives students a unique creative toolbox where they can reuse skills for other projects. I have found when students use tools such as tagxedo.com for a project they want to reuse the tool at another time, even for personal use. As an educator, this type of positive reaction pushes you to find better, more robust tools to enhance Learning. It give students, “a set of abilities requiring individuals to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the information. (p.2)” (Roblyer & Doerling, 268).
For Halloween, our school allows us to dress up as a favorite book character. This year, I am going to dress up as Amelia Bedelia. As a special area teacher, I am required to read to each class for five minutes at the beginning of each class. By choosing an appropriate Amelia Bedelia story, I can introduce an idea like concept maps. Websites like, “Kidspiration for grages K-3 and Inspiration for grades 4 and above…” (Roblyer & Doerling, 277) can be used after each reading to expand comprehension of the story. Students can then create their own concept map project about the story using PowerPoint. This topic not only incorporates literacy but also focuses on other specific skills such as typing, images, and shape drawing. These skills are also needed in the upper grades as well.
Both of these lessons reinforce classroom content in a fun, creative way using technology. A class that can devote an entire time period to using technology provides students with an outstanding education. Theses tool can grow with them throughout their educational career.
Robyler M, & Doering, A (2013). Integrating Technology Into The Classroom. Boston, MA: Pearson.