For this week we are supposed to look at visual learners and understand what is a visual learner and how technology can help them. I was excited about this assignment because when teaching a language comprehensible input is so, so important. Comprehensible input (a theory developed by Stephen Krashen) basically states that you must first understand what you are learning or seeing in order to learn it in another language. The video below is long but skip forward to about minute 3:25 and you will see a demonstration of how comprehensible input works and how integral visuals are.

Isn't that amazing?! My only language other than English is Spanish but I think it is so neat to see how we can learn even a few words in German quickly. Now how much cooler would that be using today's technology?

I am getting ahead of myself. My professor wants me to first talk about what visual learners are. I did find a list of the characteristics of visual learners created by Lehigh University. 

• Learns through seeing
• Reader/observer
• Scans everything; wants to see things, enjoys visual stimulation
• Enjoys maps, pictures, diagrams, and color
• Needs to see the teacher’s body language/facial expression to fully comprehend
• Often closes their eyes to visualize or remember something
• Daydreams; a word, sound, or smell causes recall and mental wandering
• Usually takes detailed notes to absorb the information
• May think in pictures and learn best from visual displays such as diagrams, illustrated
textbooks, overhead transparencies, PowerPoint presentations, videos, and handouts
• Tends to prefer sitting at the front of the classroom to avoid visual obstructions
• Is usually neat and clean
• Finds something to watch if they are bored
• Benefits from illustrations and presentations that use color
• Is attracted to written or spoken language rich in imagery
• Finds passive surroundings ideal

I think what I found most surprising about this list is that it is important that visual learners need to see the teacher's body language/facial expressions to fully comprehend but then if they tend to daydream they are prone to miss a lot of that vital information. 

When it comes to helping visual learners there are a myriad of suggestions. Here are a few I found helpful from education.com: "Let the picture load" because they must, in one sense, rewind the tape to find the answers. "Allow Piles" because that is how best they organize there papers, not in file cabinets but in piles they can see (this would drive me CRAZY but then I am not a visual learner).

How does this change teaching and learning? I think more radically for some content areas than for mine. As a language teacher visuals are vital in teaching language whether it is through realia or a poster illustrating the word they are learning. This of course gets complicated as you begin to teach grammar but when I figure out just how to do that I will let you know! 

Isn't Wordle cool?! It was so easy. I just cut and pasted the poem into the create box, hit go and boom here was my wordle! The more words are used the bigger they become. You then can choose your font and color combination.  It was lots of fun.

Now let's move on to Tagxedo. This is another cool word visual that you can use in class. It would work great for comprehensible input too because you can choose a shape, like the map of the U.S. or a hand or a bird, tree, etc and then put words that relate to that shape. But for the purposes of the blog and my class I have included words about Netiquette. Like Wordle you can choose your font and color. One big difference is that when your cursor goes over a word the word gets bigger so you can see it. That works well since some are so small. I had lots of fun playing on this!

Finally, the last cool way to create visuals is from the site bubbl.us. This site lets you create graphic organizers easily. For language teachers this is especially helpful if you are working through a difficult academic text with an intermediate class. In my Techniques of Teaching English as a Second Language class last semester we learned that one of the best ways to help students organize, sort and understand higher level language is to use graphic organizers. There are many different forms this can take but one is a concept definition map. I had to make one for a lesson I was teaching on the Volstead Act. The lesson was geared toward high intermediate to low advanced ELLs (English Language Learners). In this lesson I modified the original Volstead Act to somewhat simpler language that would be easier for the students. Then I created a concept definition map. It took HOURS to figure out how to do that. It was very frustrating and I even had to get help from family members who are a bit more computer savvy than me and they still had trouble. I really, really wish I had known about bubbl then because I could have finished the map in about 10 minutes. Below is my concept definition map.

So what does this mean for us? I think I have touched on this already but just in case I will summarize it this way: through technology we have the opportunity to make learning more accessible for ALL our students but especially for those who need visuals the most. Now their learning will not primarily be auditory but will be easily supported through visuals. Honestly these were not that hard to do and were quick once I was acclimated to the site (that only took a couple minutes). Tagxedo was the hardest only because I had to download a program but even then it was easier than I thought it would be. So go for it! Use  visuals from technology to help your students and ultimately yourself. I think it will make us all better, more effective teachers.

This week we learned about a variety of things. I have to admit that reading about Inquiry Based learning opened my eyes to something. It showed me why I am so very uncomfortable with this technology class. I am not uncomfortable because I have a difficult time with the technology I am using or that I don't buy into how to use it in the classroom BUT for me I am not used to learning through the problem based approach. Problem Based learning is when students learn about a topic through the experience of problem solving. When I was in school (I graduated high school in 1997) teaching was primarily teacher-centric with memorization and regurgitating back to the teacher what you read in the book or heard in class. For this class I am having to go out and find web tools and resources and figure out how to use them. There is a loose rubric and schedule but nothing as formal as I am used to. That is why I find this type of learning, quite honestly, anxiety inducing. It is outside my comfort zone. When I told my professor this he said that many of his 7th grade students feel the same way when they start in his class! I am thankful that this did not come as a surprise to him.

So I was looking through my Twitter feed and someone had linked to a blog by a Spanish teacher and I am glad I checked it out. This teacher, José Picardo, teaches Spanish in England and has used a website called Mentor Mob that you can used to create learning playlists. How cool is that?!?! Get it Playlist, like your playlist on your iPod? If that doesn't reach the students where they are at I don't know what will. Anyways, you really should check out José's blog, Technology and Education, he discusses how he uses it and even lets you go through one of his playlists. From what I can tell this has a lot of potential and I definitely will want to try it out when I am student teaching.

Imagine you have a class of 30 high school freshman who are beginning their first foray into learning a foreign language. You know that some of them may think that it will be fun and are wanting to learn but there will probably be students (more than you want to admit) who are only there because it is required and they could really care less if they know anything more than Hasta la vista baby or hola.  How can you engage them?  How can you tailor some of the language they learn to their interests?  I think one small way is by using a Google Doc, a form to be specific to grab their attention and find out about their interests.  

In class we created a form and then our classmates filled it out for us.  It was amazing to get the real time information from them and have it all summarized for me.  Not only was it easy for me to get the information I needed but it was in a simple, easy and interesting form for them.  Many of today's students are more comfortable with technology than paper and pencil so by having them communicate their interests in a digital form will be more natural for them.  Plus Google will tally the responses for you and give them to you either in a grid sheet with each students' name or with pie graphs.

I would post my form here but after it was working for an hour or so in class it is not working right now.  I am communicating with Weebly about this.  So of course technology is great but isn't perfect!

We also worked on using Google Power Point.  I think what I found coolest is that if I make a presentation in Google drive and then link it to my blog any time I change or update it will automatically send the new presentation to my blog.  That way if I have my students read information I have already prepared and posted online but tweaked I know they are getting the most up to date information.  It seems to me that this will eliminate the need to reinvent the wheel.

The final beauty about using Google for documents is that you can collaborate with anyone, anywhere in the world on your work.  In fact right now a friend from class and I are collaborating on work for next week's blog.  I am able to type my notes and then she can view them or correct them.  This has endless potential for students and teachers.  As teachers we can collaborate with experts in our fields and other teachers to provide our students with the most up to date information.  For our students they can easily collaborate on projects for class or even work with experts too.  


Here is a link to my form online.  It is a corrupt form!

As a mother of three children I am acutely aware of the influence of technology on children.  For instance, my three year old daughter is able to navigate between her games on my iPad without asking for help.  My 5 and 7 year olds play games in which they practice either math or language learning.  It is clear that today's students are comfortable and at home with technology and learning.  

Now that I am pursuing a Masters degree in Education I have begun to reflect on how and why I want to incorporate technology into my classroom.  I plan to teach Spanish or English as a Second Language and utilizing technology is a powerful way to enhance their learning experience.  For example, in a class for Spanish learners we could have a classroom collaboration with a class in Spain or another Spanish speaking country.  The students could use language in authentic fashions whether they are writing emails to one another or Skyping.  I would also be able to do a similar collaboration with ESL students.  Another reason why I want to incorporate technology in my classroom is that it is a powerful tool to engage my students in the learning process.  Whether my students are communicating with students in the classroom collaborative, working on a online assignment or watching a video of native speakers they will be more engaged and inspired to learn the target language.  These experiences will demonstrate for my students the benefits and joys of learning a second language.  

This semester I am taking an instructional technology class, hence this blog.  I am excited to be learning more about what as an educator I can do in order to use technology in my classroom.  I hope that through this class I will become more comfortable with technology in the classroom and be able to use it to the benefit of my students.  So please come on this journey with me and stop back to see what I am learning.  I am excited to share it with you.