Tech Tool Lesson Example

The lesson I chose to use for my technology integration is in my family unit in German 1. The objective of the lesson is to teach family vocabulary, have students describe their family members using third person narration and to compare German and American families. The culmination of the lesson includes a project using Adobe Spark Video, where students orally describe their eight family members using five sentences each, creating a video that includes pictures of their family members and their own voice recording.

The inner circle of the TPACK model is present in this lesson, as it combines sound content knowledge with the art of teaching and technological knowledge. The technology used in this lesson is not used just for the sake of using the technology, but rather enhances the lesson. The TPACK model emphasizes that technology is just a part of great teaching, it is not the focus.

This lesson incorporates four of the five ACTFL standards: communication, cultures, connections and comparisons. Students have the opportunity to practice all three forms of communication: interpersonal, interpretive and presentational. Culture is examined when we discuss the differences between German and American families using the charts, and through the same activity, students are able to make connections and comparisons.

Here is an example of the Adobe Spark Video that I made for students to use as a guide, along with the project description.

This lesson will be taught in the third or fourth week of level one German instruction. The lesson will occur near the end of the unit, as it pulls together the content they have been working on for the whole unit. Additionally, this will serve as the unit assessment, in addition to a vocabulary quiz.

SAMR vs. TPACK

Today I’m going to review and compare / contrast two models of technology integration. Both models are new to me as an educator.

SAMR stands for Substitution Augmentation Modification and Redefinition. This model was created by Dr. Ruben Puentedura. He likens the SAMR model to moving up a ladder as you use technology in the classroom, progressing from enhancing learning with substitution and augmentation to transforming learning through modification and redefinition. The goal is to reflect on your teaching to move up the ladder to redefinition.

TPACK stands for Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge and it demonstrates its model through three overlapping circles: Content Knowledge, Pedagogical Knowledge, and Technological Knowledge. TPACK is the arc in the center where all three circles overlap, combining what teachers know with how they teach and how they use technology in their classrooms.

Personally, the TPACK model resonates with me most, as it combines sound content knowledge (in this case, world language content knowledge), with the art of teaching (including know how to assess and appropriately use instructional strategies) and technological knowledge (knowing how to select, use and integrate technology into the curriculum).  I feel that the SAMR focuses too much solely on technology, whereas the TPACK model emphasizes that technology is just a part of great teaching.

Using the TPACK model to reflect on my own teaching and practices, I feel like I have had quite the journey over the past 14 years of teaching. I came into the profession with strong content knowledge in my languages (German & Spanish), and some basic pedagogical knowledge. I advanced to combine the two and then add technological content as the years progressed and technology became more available. I now feel like I try hard to balance all three, but perhaps I’m still not quite in the middle; I balance two at a time. I hope to continue on the path to have a nice balance between all three.

One activity that do in class that I would like to enhance is writing. Many years ago I transitioned into using GoogleDocs with my students so that they can collaborate and I can give live feedback on their writing. I would like to take it a step further though. When students work individually on a writing prompt, I would like to try having them share with a peer for initial feedback and correction. I would also like to utilize an online portfolio where students can keep all of their work over their (up to) four years of learning German or Spanish so that they can see progress. I would use a tool like SeeSaw.  As far as I know, my district does not have a district-wide account, but I am not sure. I will have the opportunity to train on this tool later this summer, so I am interested in its use.

I don’t believe that this tool will take a particularly long time to use. Adding an extra peer edit to a writing prompt will add some time, but having my students house their final writing drafts in SeeSaw should be relatively simple. The only issues I foresee is sometimes going from GoogleDocs to another program. So, I believe that trying it out myself as a student the first time would proactively mitigate any issues that might arise.

My residual question is whether students will see value in having an online portfolio for all of their writing. I guess I’ll never know unless I try.

Tech Tool Reflection: Snapchat

If there’s one tech application that my students use the most right now, it is Snapchat. It has taken me a while to catch on and understand this tool, but my students use it in excess. When I read about a project using Snapchat on Madame Techie’s blog, I knew I needed to read further. Snapchat is a camera application where images or videos are only available for a limited amount of time. Users can send direct messages but also add images and videos to their own personal story.

Madame Techie was initially of the opinion that Snapchat could not be used in the classroom, as was I. However, upon further examination, she decided that the uses are limitless. Possibilities include interpretive listening, interpersonal communication, presentational writing and presentational speaking. Due to the editing options, filters and lenses can be added to pictures, including images, writing and animal faces. A new feature is the ability to archive snaps. Snaps can also be saved and downloaded, and turned into memes. These images can be used in conjunction with Thinglink, Google Maps, EdPuzzle, etc.

I believe that this tool will be useful in my classroom due to its versatility and high student interest level. All aspects of language learning can be achieved using Snapchat as a starting point. Students can even collaborate using this tool.

Tech Tool Reflection: SeeSaw

Prior to exploring this tool, I had heard of it, but couldn’t tell you about its use or purpose. SeeSaw is an online portfolio tool where students can collect or even create a variety of work in one tidy place. Other students in the class and even parents can view the portfolio. Through the PBL in the TL, I was able to gain more insight into this versatile tool.

In my school district I am the only German teacher. In my German classroom, I see the same students for up to four consecutive semesters. I think that using a tool like SeeSaw would be a great way to collect and save work from all levels of German. Additionally, SeeSaw would be a great tool for communicating with families. The possibilities appear to be endless, including the ability to draw, write a note, take a picture and add any file you wish. PBL in the TL suggests two great project ideas: Making Memes inSpanish and Casting Call Selfies. Both would be interesting topics for me to pursue with my students.

I believe this is a worthwhile tool due to the portfolio aspect and the variety of tools that are included. Students are able to collect or create projects all in one spot that can travel across courses and levels. Additionally, parents can access the tool to view their child’s work.

Tech Tool Reflection: Quizlet Live

I first discovered Quizlet Live this past semester while collaborating with an English teacher colleague. I had been making sets in Quizlet for my students to study and realized how easy it was to make it a collaborative whole class activity. To use Quizlet Live, you need at least 6 students and an existing Quizlet set. Students are given a code, similar to in Kahoot, and then automatically placed into teams. The teams are given animal names in the target language too! The students have to work together to match the answers.

This blog post, by Kristy Placido, helped give me further ideas about how to use Quizlet Live in the classroom. I also thought about defining the vocabulary in the target language to avoid the use of English. It could also be used to match states or countries and capitals or to identify tenses. The set possibilities are endless and can be more complex than just English to target language.

I feel that this is a worthwhile tool to use in my class for a variety of reasons: students don’t need to know the vocabulary very well in advance, the games go quickly and students are highly motivated by the competition. Students must also work together, which promotes collaboration among peers.

Tech Tool Reflection: Story Bird

I learned about Story Bird via the blog, World Language Classroom. This tool can be used to publish a story in the target language, including pictures. The final product resembles an online book and the book can be embedded in a class website or LMS.

In German 3 I have my students write their own fairy tales after reading many authentic texts from the Brothers Grimm. In German 4, they also write their own “moral stories” after reading Struwwelpeter. Utilizing this tool, I believe my students would really enjoy having a finished project to represent their stories as opposed to just a story on paper with pictures. I think that any creative open-ended writing piece would tie in well with this tool. It would also be fun for students to write their own children’s books using Story Bird.

I believe that this tool is worthwhile in my classroom because it gives students a final product of which they can be proud. They can also add it to a digital portfolio that follows them through and after high school. 

Tech Tool Reflection: Wheel Decide

I first learned about Wheel Decide from the blog, World Language Classroom. This tool can be used as an interactive speaking and writing activity for practice in the target language. The site is free and the wheels can be saved and even embedded in a classroom learning management system, like Schoology.

In my classroom, I can see using Wheel Decide to practice rote verb conjugation, as suggested on the blog. It would give my students a different way to approach the subject and give struggling students extra practice while perhaps still engaging advanced learners. Additionally, I could see using it in reverse, by giving a conjugated verb and asking the students to choose a subject that matches. I teach geography in German 1, both of the federal states and capitals in Germany, and also the countries and capitals of central Europe. To review or practice these topics, I would list either the state/country or the capital and ask students to identify the other. When facilitating these types of practice/review activities, I would use whole group instruction, while having students work in pairs to think/pair/share.

I believe this tool is a worthwhile tool to utilize in my classroom for brief periods of practice and review, especially useful to break up the long 85-minute block. It would also allow my students to formcollaborative relationships with their peers.

Incorporating Instagram Selfies in the Classroom

I was intrigued at the prospect of using Instagram in the classroom for educational purposes. I currently have a teacherInstagram account where I post activities that we do, field trip memories and German related images. Instagram is one of my students’ favorite social media sites, and as I am always look for ways to meaningfully engage students in the technology age, I think this will be the perfect fit.

Instagram is a social media platform where users can capture, edit and share photos with friends and family. It is easy to use and wildly popular with the teenage population. The project, created byRachel Sabre, has the focus of using Instagram selfies to teach and practice reflexive verbs and also the past tense in French. In her unit, she completes a variety of activities prior to having students create their selfies, such as examining famous self-portraits from the French-speaking world and having students engage in conversations regarding their opinions surrounding selfies.

When I teach reflexive verbs in German 2, I often have students describe their daily routine using PhotoStory. I am getting really bored with PhotoStory, and am always looking for new ways to engage students through different tools. Instagram would be a creative solution to this conundrum. Keeping this current project in mind, I would tweak it by using Instagram, and perhaps incorporating the past tense as a great spiraling review tool for the course. I would also include the hashtag in German requirement, as I believe students would really enjoy that. Instead of 20 pictures, I would require 10. Additionally, I would require students to screenshot their selfies (including required comments) and place them into a  tool like Adobe Spark Page to create a Storyboard that is easy to grade and easy to follow. As a last step, having students place these Pages in a class Padlet would give students the opportunity to see each other’s final product in a linear fashion and even comment on the projects as a whole, instead of picture by picture.

Incorporating Instagram in the classroom could be challenging, but Ms. Sabre provides solutions to common hurdles, including having students create alternative school-based Instagram accounts, and having all students follow each other and the teacher in one class period. She even suggest alternative project guidelines for students who wish not to or are not allowed (by their parents) to use Instagram. In such cases, students may create selfies using images and simply present the requirements using a presentational format of their choice (GoogleSlides, Adobe Spark, Prezi, etc.).

I believe that this project would be engaging and worthwhile in the classroom, as students will be able to access their project via Instagram for many years to come and likely reflect upon it fondly.

Collecting Resources with Diigo

I started collecting and organizing sources by using Feedly, which was recommended to me. I then decided to switch to Diigo, because I like the chrome extension option and ease of adding sites. I also like the feature that you can annotate what you're reading directly through Diigo.

I have chosen the following sites to follow. I am always looking for German ideas, so I chose sites that were either language learning in general or specific to German or multiple languages.

The subtitle of this blog is “Promoting Rich, Relevant and Rigorous Teaching and Learning.” This alone intrigued me. In addition, I like that this blogger has some fairly recent posts, meaning that he or she is still actively blogging.

Language Teachers’ Café hosts resources on German, French and Spanish, so that is appealing to me since I teach both German and Spanish. In the most recent post (from April), there are several concrete project ideas.

Although the most recent post on this site is from 2015, there are many different German and technology focused posts to browse. I hope this blogger decides to start blogging again.

The Language Teacher’s Toolbox also provides examples specific to German, French and Spanish, including culturally relevant and inclusive lessons.

The Language Gym intrigues me based on the organization of the blog and the background of the blogger. I feel there is much to learn from him.

I decided to further explore whether I could find German specific teaching blogs, and I came across this link, which led me to this blog, which is written completely in German, and shares ideas on teaching German as a foreign language (Deutsch als Fremdsprache).

I now have a simple way to add sites to my organizer via Google Chrome and Diigo!

ACTFL standards and other skills

After reading the ACTFL stance on technology in language learning, one statement that I connected with is: “The use of technology should never be the goal in and of itself, but rather one tool for helping language learners to use the target language in culturally appropriate ways to accomplish authentic tasks.” This statement should be at the center of all content area teaching. If we get so caught up in using a technology tool that we forget what our end goal is, then we shouldn’t be using it. I also believe that if the time to complete the task more than doubles, it is also not worth it.

I feel like the position statement is thorough and comprehensive. It highlights that a qualified language teacher cannot be replaced with technology, but still must play a pivotal role in facilitating learning. The stance also recognizes the benefits of technology to differentiate and enhance instruction. In the end, the recommendation is for qualified language teacher to own the responsibility for language instruction, rather than technology programs alone. There is nothing more that I would want to have included at this time.

My goal for the role of technology in my classroom is as an enhancement and tool. Because my classroom is 1:1, I see it as a great way to conserve paper resources, in addition to hosting a wealth of authentic resources and preparing my students with 21^st century skills. Using technology keeps instruction relevant to students. It allows them to make, create, collaborate and connect with others. I also believe that technology should only be part of instruction, not the goal alone.

Connected learning is a model of learning that combines a student’s interests in a socially meaningful way with peers while recognizing the need for academic success. It encourages actively creating and producing with a shared purpose using technology tools.  

One activity that do in my classroom is expository writing about interests. I feel like I could incorporate a connected learning framework by using a networking site like epals to connect my students with students in a German classroom, where they practice their writing (and reading) skills in a meaningful context. They would also learn e-mail jargon and etiquette, in addition to sharing interests with a peer in another country.

21^st century learning is a framework for education that emphasizes the 4 C’s of learning: critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity, while integrating career and technology skills with 21^st century themes to ensure a lifetime of student success.

An activity that I complete in class has to do with the theme of weather. My students watch/listen to and interpret a weather forecast in German. As an extension, utilizing technology literacy, I could have students listen to an emergency weather report about an approaching storm (which might be shorter than a typical forecast) and then write a text message in German to a friend as a warning.

In terms of an online tool that I would use, I would have students send me a direct message (via text message) through the free program, Remind, which I already use to communicate with students and parents. Adding this text message activity to my lesson would add no more than 1-15 extra minutes of instructional time, or could be assigned as a homework assignment. The only issues that I could foresee arising are accent codes, or text jargon, so a mini-lesson in advance of this assignment would work well.

Tea with BVP - Episode 4

As an alternative to assignment 3, tech assessment at your school, I decided to listen to a podcast on second language acquisition, Tea with BVP. The podcast is run by professors at Michigan State University, and they describe their podcast as “car talk meets second language acquisition.” My topic of choice was Episode 4: Should we get rid of grades for language learning? This topic is of particular interest to me. I struggle with helping my students to find a balance between earning points towards grades and learning to gain proficiency.

I would support doing away with grades for a norm-standard approach. I realize that our educational system would have to change from the top down; colleges and universities would have to stop requiring grades for entrance and then it might trickle down to high school and then middle school. Early elementary school already has a standards based approach, as opposed to assigning letter grades. We could learn a lot from following such a model.

Bill VanPatten, aka BVP, runs the podcast. He wonders whether we are doing one thing and saying another in our classes; whether we encourage practical skill building, but yet put so much emphasis on objective grammar and vocabulary assessments and subsequently grades.

Bill VanPatten promotes using the ACTFL can-do statements to evaluate proficiency, even assigning point values to each statement in a 2-1-0 format, “2” indicating can do with ease, “1” indicating completion with some difficulty, and “0” indicating no proficiency. He also wrote an article on this topic along with his colleague, Walter Hopkins, in the Fall 2015 edition of Clear News, a publication of Michigan State University. The ACTFL-published can-do statements reflect general proficiency guidelines and levels. He created his own statements, based on ACTFL’s guidelines, in an effort to create doable classroom assessment tasks. The statements should include topics and abilities that form part of a larger picture of what it means to be at a certain level of proficiency. Students self-assess first and then practice. When it’s time for a class assessment, they record themselves completing the task and send their instructor the recording for a 2-1-0 scale grade.

This approach seems very doable for me as a teacher, and would promote proficiency as a goal instead of just test results. I feel that this approach would encourage more intrinsic motivation and also address ACTFL’s 5^th standard of community, encouraging language use outside of the classroom and for life-long learning.

Welcome to my Blog!

Greetings! Liebe Grüße! ¡Saludos! 

"Hello" in American Sign Language

My name is Frau/Señora Campbell and I teach German, Spanish and a bit of American Sign Language at Manheim Central High School, in Lancaster County, PA. I teach levels 1-4 of German, level 1 Spanish, and ASL in a club environment.

I love to incorporate technology into my lessons! I teach daily using my Promethean (Interactive White Board) and ActivInspire. I utilize the Learning Management System Schoology. I enjoy conducting formative assessments using Kahoot and Pear Deck.

The most techie lesson I've done so far is using EDpuzzle. After learning how use the site, I was able to embed videos with questions throughout to engage my students and hold them accountable. They seemed to like it and even scored better than if they had watched the video and then answered the questions, due to the nature of the content being in German.

My goal for this program is to continue to expand my repertoire of tech tools to enhance learning in my classroom and also to refine and deepen the use of programs with which I am already familiar.

I love to travel and look forward to more adventures this summer in Great Britain and Montréal, Canada. Last summer I spent a month in Spain with my family. Below is a picture of one of our adventures in the city of Zaragoza.