The Unquiet Classroom: Technology Integration and ELLs

Ashley Coblentz and Jackie Moreno share their vision of the "Unquiet Classroom."

What images come to mind when you imagine a classroom filled with kids using technology?

The Unquiet Classroom: Ashley Coblentz & Jackie Moreno 

A language rich environment or a silent room with students staring at screens? It seems like there is a divide around this issue in the teaching world right now. Recently, we heard a leader in the biliteracy community speak dismissively about providing ELLs with access to technology. Common misconceptions about one-to-one technology initiatives and ELLs include:

• Kids lose interpersonal skills
• ELLs do not get enough opportunities to produce oral language
• Districts purchase devices in a largely unsuccessful attempt to replace good teaching

Before we started using technology with our students, we had similar reservations. If you also have these concerns, rather, imagine:

• Instead of writing a book report, students become movie producers, bringing excitement to project-based learning
• Instead of just “publishing” one paper version of a story during writing workshop, students publish ebooks, accessible to hundreds of people, sending digital copies to all of their friends, teachers and family members, creating a digital library
• Instead of writing a simple reader-response journal entry, students compose original songs in GarageBand to demonstrate learning

Technology integration has helped us become more effective when it comes to formative assessment, meaningful project-based learning, providing language learners with appropriate scaffolds and giving students exciting opportunities to write for authentic purposes.

Our hope is that by sharing how teachers and students are using devices as tools for transformative learning, members of the ELL educational community concerned about potential misuse of of technology will see what is possible. At this point, we can’t imagine not advocating for other ELLs to have similar opportunities. If you are an ELL teacher wanting to make a case to your school’s administration or colleagues about the powerful ways technology integration can support language learners’ academic success, here are some talking points regarding technology integration:

• It promotes student collaboration 
• When used purposefully technology integration increases student talk, providing opportunities for oral language development and more accurate assessment 
• Teachers are able to provide more interactive, graphic and sensory language supports
• Student creativity is cultivated through project based learning

Ultimately, these ways to support ELLs’ academic success can be realized on a whole new level when technology integration becomes part of the story.

To see some concrete examples of how technology integration lives and breathes in a bilingual classroom, check out our students’ presentation to our district’s Board of Education prior to a 6-1 vote to pass a $27 million tech plan:

http://www.tubechop.com/watch/2547880

Incorporating Blog Posts into Professional Development

A number of years ago I was in charge of a rather large ESL and bilingual program. I often struggled with ways to share effective practices, tips, and ideas with my teachers across our various buildings. They were busy people and I knew I couldn't add more to their plate. I am mentioning this to you because I was reminded of this dilemma recently. I was speaking with a group of educators, and one of them asked me some questions. Rather than bend her ear for several minutes, I referred her to some blog posts on that very topic. Soon a number of others asked for the links. They realized the potential of sharing these short blog posts with their colleagues. The conversation turned a bit and we found ourselves discussing the merits of regularly sharing relatively small amounts of text with our colleagues via blog posts, short articles, etc.

Common Core Standards, Digital Learning…and ELLs?

In late June, I sat in on a webinar produced by the Alliance for Excellent Education called “Converging Opportunities: Common Core State Standards and Digital Learning.”  Honestly, I wasn’t familiar with this organization prior to hearing about the webinar.  But I am interested in learning more about the work that they do and the resources that they provide for educators across the nation. 

Essentially the webinar consisted of three panelists representing different school districts across the nation.  It is now archived here.  Each district represented was at a different point in the shift towards CCSS.  The first panelist was Lisa Andrejko, the superintendent from Quakertown Community School District.   

Top Posts from the First 18 Months

It is hard to believe but 18 months ago today, I made my first post on the WIDA blog. Since then, more and more people have discovered the WIDA blog. As of today, over 72,000 people have visited this site. But there are many educators who are still unaware that this blog exists. So to celebrate, take a look at the top 10 posts so far. Reread some of your favorites. Check out a new post. Then, share a link with your colleagues. 

An Insider’s View on Being a LADDER Coach

 

Recently I told you about the LADDER project at WIDA. This week I wanted to share with you what it is like to actually participate in the LADDER training. Cathy Fox graciously offered to share her experiences with us. Cathy is a model ESL teacher at Veterans Memorial Elementary School in Central Falls, Rhode Island. During the 2010-2011 school year her district participated in a pilot program for LADDER.  At that time she was introduced to the LADDER cycle of analyzing data to identify target areas of need.  Her team worked with a WIDA coach to develop an action plan to improve their area of need. The following summer Cathy was trained to be a LADDER coach for her team.

Can you tell me about your role as a coach?

Now is Your Chance to Become an Authorized CLIMBS Facilitator

Institutes authorize individuals to facilitate trainings on WIDA products and resources. Designed for 15-25 participants, institutes are intensive and require follow-up work for authorization or certification.   The WIDA Consortium offers two types of institutes.  One is the Professional Certification for Trainers program and the other is the CLIMBS Facilitator Institute (CFI). As you might suspect, these trainings are designed for teacher trainers or professional development providers. 

Today I wanted to share with you my experiences as a CLIMBS facilitator and encourage you to bring the CLIMBS course to your area by becoming an authorized CLIMBS facilitator or sponsoring members of your staff to become facilitators. First a bit about the CLIMBS Facilitator Institute (CFI)…

Michigan Adopts the ELD Standards

In mid-January 2013, the state of Michigan officially adopted the ELD Standards for use in their schools.  Like Utah and Idaho, Michigan will not be participating in other consortium activities.  But their teachers will be able to benefit by using the ELD standards in their lessons.  Speaking of lessons, be sure to check out the new lesson plan share space.  For those of us who have been in the consortium for years and are skilled at infusing the ELD standards into our lessons, this website will be a wonderful place to showcase our work.  For those new to teaching ELLs or new to the consortium, the lesson sharing site will be a wonderful resource.  If you upload a lesson between now and March 1, 2013, you will automatically be entered into a drawing for Amazon gift cards.  For more information on the contest, click here.

Written by: Tammy King

Image: www.wida.us

 

 

Share a Lesson and Be Entered into a Drawing for Amazon Gift Cards

Have your eye on some new supplies for your classroom?  Thinking about buying a new book?  WIDA is giving away one $25 Amazon gift card each week from now until March 1, 2013.  The grand prize winner will be drawn on March 1, 2013.  That person will win a $100 Amazon gift card.  So how do you enter this contest?

Tips for Using the CAN DO Name Charts

Looking for a way to organize and share your students’ English language proficiency data?  For years I have suggested to my workshop participants that they use the CAN DO Descriptors to contextualize their students’ ACCESS for ELLs® data.  That is, I have suggested that they write their students’ names or initials on the appropriate grade level cluster CAN DO charts.  But now we have an even better option! 

Four New Features in the Strands of MPIs

Recently I pointed out some of the similarities and differences present in the 2012 amplification of the ELD Standards.  Today I would like to share a little more with you about some of the new features in the Model Performance Indicator strands.  For additional background information on MPIs, click here. 

If you have flipped through the 2012 Amplification, you have likely noticed that the strands of MPIs look different.  There are more components and there is more information included with each strand.  Specifically, I am talking about:

Quick Summer Read on Young ELLs

If you are looking for a quick and easy summer read about young English language learners (ELLs), then you may want to take a look at this book.  Like many of you, summer is my chance to catch up on personal and professional reading.  Earlier this week, the book Basics of Supporting Dual Language Learners: An Introduction for Educators of Children from Birth through Age 8 found its way onto my desk.   It is written by Karen N. Nemeth and published by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).  

First let me briefly clarify that the term dual language learners (DLL) is used by some preschool and early childhood programs instead of ELL.  In fact, DLL is the official term used by NAEYC, the Office of Head Start and the Council for Exceptional Children Divison for Early Childhood.  In a nutshell, DLL is used to describe a young child who is growing up with exposure to, and simultaneously learning,

Welcome, Northern Mariana Islands!

Earlier this week, WIDA welcomed its 29^th Consortium member, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.  Similar to Massachusetts, which joined in June, the Northern Mariana Islands educators will be using the WIDA ELD Standards and will be administering the ACCESS for ELLs assessment.   

The Northern Mariana Islands are a chain of islands west of Hawaii and north of Australia.  Their public school system consists of twelve elementary schools, four junior high schools and five high schools.  During the 2011-2012 school year, a total of 11,011 students were enrolled in these schools.  Chamorro, English, Chinese and Philippine languages are commonly spoken among the residents of these beautiful islands.   

Check Out the 2012 WIDA Video Contest Winners

Several months ago I told you about the WIDA video contest and encouraged you to submit a video. Over sixty of you grabbed your video cameras and answered the call.   

Everyone who entered will be receiving a copy of the 2012 edition of the English language development standards.  The top four entries (which included a tie) will receive cash prizes and a scholarship for the awardee and a colleague to attend a 2012 WIDA Professional Development Academy. 

Watch all of the winning videos here.

This year’s winners are:

Tips on Creating Content Area Word Walls

Do you have a word wall in your classroom?  Is it dedicated to high frequency words?  What about content area words and phrases?  What challenges have you had with supporting your students’ language growth visually in your room? 

When I was teaching, I struggled with the best way to use the wall space in my classroom. I had a “traditional” word wall on the back wall which held many of the high frequency words in English in alphabetical order. Other walls were dedicated to various content areas or particular projects we were working on in class.  My bulletin boards held student work samples and information about upcoming events.  While the various content area posters and visual aids were helpful for students, I always felt like I was missing something.  It wasn’t until I started providing professional development full time that I stumbled across the idea of a content area word wall.  Today I’ll share with you some of my favorite tips, tricks and links for word walls dedicated to learning the language of the content areas.

Using the CAN DO Descriptors in Grades 3-5

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

This month, teachers have been sharing ways that they differentiate classroom instruction and assessments for their ELLs.  In each post, they have highlighted the levels of a particular student and listed a corresponding CAN DO Descriptor before sharing their instructional and assessment ideas.  So far we have heard from preschool and high school teachers who work in ESL, bilingual and mainstream content area settings. As the school year winds down, consider how you can use these blog posts as a way to start conversations among teachers who teach the same group of ELLs.  How do we pass on what we know about our students’ strengths to next year’s teachers?  How can the CAN DO Descriptors help us contextualize our students' ACCESS for ELLs scores?   

For more information on the CAN DO Descriptors for PreK-12^th grade, click here.

This week we wrap up our series with some ideas from Soledad Rios.  Sol is a dual language teacher who works with students at various grade levels.  Here are some of her ideas for providing instruction in English that are matched to what each student can do at their level in each language domain. 

Using the CAN DO Descriptors in PreK Classrooms

Image: Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The WIDA CAN DO Descriptors are a wonderful tool for understanding what our students can do and express in English.  This week Martha Weisman and Hertha Ramirez share their ideas on how to use the PreK-K CAN DO Descriptors to plan instruction for two of their preschoolers.

Using the CAN DOs in a High School American History Class

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

As a continuation in our series, Melinda shares her ideas on how to use the CAN DO Descriptors for grades 9-12.  Typically it makes sense to start the year by matching instruction and assessment to the students’ current ELP levels.  Then, as the year progresses, teachers can challenge students to work towards descriptors at the next level of language proficiency. 

Melinda Perkins, High School Social Studies Teacher

Using the CAN DO Descriptors in a High School Math Class

Image: Grant Cochrane / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

WIDA’s CAN DO Descriptors are one of my all-time favorite documents to share – especially with mainstream teachers.   They are a wonderful resource for understanding the language acquisition process and brainstorming ideas for differentiating classroom instruction and assessment.  Some of you know that I teach a graduate course on assessment of ELLs.  Recently I asked my students (in-service teachers pursuing their ESL or bilingual endorsements in Illinois) to choose one ELL that they currently teach.  Then I asked them to list the CAN DO Descriptors that correlate to that student’s current English language proficiency (ELP) level.  Lastly, I asked them to list ways they could differentiate their instruction and classroom assessments to better align with that student’s level of ELP. 

Common Assessments and ELLs

T. King, 2012

Last week I had the chance to work with a small group of local high school teachers.  Their district has been doing some extensive curriculum work, and they have now reached the assessment stage.  They wanted to know what they needed to do to appropriately assess their ELLs across several classrooms.  They hoped to learn about different types of assessment tasks that are appropriate for students at different levels of English language proficiency. Some even wondered if it was enough to just assess content area knowledge. (Hint: we also need to assess student’s academic language proficiency).  Ultimately the teachers will be working to create a balanced system of assessments that allows students to show what they know about content area knowledge and academic language over time.  With this information, the teachers can make decisions about future instruction, student placement and

Get those videos in by April 15, 2012!

Image: Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

What would you do with $1,000 or $500 or even $250 in prize money?    Which WIDA Professional Development Academy would you go to -if it were free?  If you win, you could be faced with those very questions.  All you have to do is submit your entry for the WIDA video contest.  

WIDA is looking for short videos (5-10 minutes) of instruction or assessment of ELLs.  I wrote about a possible approach to this contest in a recent post.  The best news is that the deadline has been extended to April 15, 2012.  Now you can wait until your spring break to put the finishing touches on that video before you mail it.  Click here for more details.

If you have additional questions about the video contest, please e-mail Connie North (cenorth@wisc.edu).

Happy filming!

Written by: Tammy King