The use of innovative technologies for teaching new Spanish vocabulary Report (Assessment)

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Introduction

It is difficult to imagine a modern world without innovative technologies and their implementation in various spheres of human life. Education is one of the specific fields where innovative technologies play crucial role in teaching students.

Considering the problems of multilingual communities around the world and the necessity to teach students other languages, different from native ones, specific learning strategies and programs have been created to help teachers integrate innovative technologies into learning process and help students be successful in learning.

A teacher was responsible for implementing five specific goals stated by the National Standards for Foreign Language Learning which comprise the following issues, communication skills, knowledge of other cultures, connections with other disciplines, and insight into language and culture through comparisons and participate in multi-lingual communities both at home and around the world.

The Digital Dialect flashcards and Voki programs were used to meet those goals and help students develop their literacy skills and practice new Spanish vocabulary.

The main idea of this phase was to describe in detail the timeline for a program, state some particular stages and dwell upon the activities necessary for implementing instructions and behavioral objectives. The whole working process was divided into two particular stages, work in class and individual practice.

Preparation

Preparation stage is a guarantee of a successful lesson. To reach the desired objectives and make the learning process smooth, a teacher had to work hard on this stage. The first step was devoted to buying the Voki and Dialect D Flashcard software. The second step required agreement of the technology coordinator to install required software on school laptop.

Once an agreement was received and the software was installed, a teacher turn to the third step of preparation stage, software testing. It was important to make sure that the software worked appropriately. The next step for preparation to the lesson was information gathering.

A teacher paid much attention to the material which were planned to be introduced to students. Thus, once the material was gathered, the software and computers were tested, the lesson could begin.

Instructional integration strategies

Before getting down to implementing the lesson strategies, a teacher had to explain to students specific instructions they were to follow. The most important information was duplicated on the blackboard to make sure that students remembered and understood everything clearly. First of all, the software features were described to the class. It was important to highlight several crucial windows necessary for the lesson.

A teacher underlined and drew on the blackboard the procedure of login into Voki, creation of a Voki, and the peculiarities of recording. To make sure that students understood the principles of Voki utilization, the instructor showed the steps how to access the main menu, select a character and accessories.

A teacher allowed students to try to access Voki and make sure that all the steps were understood. Those who had questions or could not get the necessary tab could ask questions and apply for teacher’s help.

The whole lesson was based on training to use the software. The previous lecture was devoted to this information, therefore, students could refer to their notes. Additionally, students were offered to watch a YouTube video devoted to the steps which helped access a software, create and record a Voki.

The next time students were to complete usual for them tasks like a multiple choice, true/false answer selection; match a simple job description with the available profession, still teacher explained what should be done. Furthermore, students were asked to record a Voki with additional instructions how it should be done.

Accommodations

To make sure that all the needs of the diverse learners were met, a teacher applied to different learning styles, auditory, kinesthetic, and visual. Auditory skills are represented via YouTube video use and listening to Spanish words as a part of Voki learning strategy.

Using the Internet, accessing different pages there and following links and tab were considered as kinesthetic learning strategy used by the teacher. Visual learners were given an opportunity to use the flashcards, YouTube, the Internet, etc. to make sure that their desires are met.

Teacher’s assistance was really important, especially during the first class when students received only the instructions about what would happen to them. During the second class, students were also offered teacher’s help if they experienced problems with making a record.

Moreover, students were given an opportunity to check teacher’s display in case they had problems and could not understand whether they completed the task appropriately or not. The instructor also used visual and verbal cues to keep students on task when she delivered the lesson. The students in need of special seating had first choice of seating. While all IEP accommodations were made by the instructor on an individual basis

Timeline

ActivitiesLead by
Week 1
Preparation
  1. Ensure Blackboard is properly working (24 Oct.)
  2. Install software on teacher laptop (24 Oct.)
  3. Test & troubleshoot software (24 Oct.)
  4. Gather additional laptops & have additional battery cords on hand for the lesson (24 Oct.)
  5. Upload YouTube video to class website (28 Oct.)
  6. Create & copy the assessments (28 Oct.)
  7. Ensure each computer has a bookmark for the Voki website (28 Oct.)
Lead by teacher and Media Specialist
Week 2
Lesson, Practice & Assessment
  1. Orientation: introduce software to students
  2. Presentation: teacher provides direct instruction by using Digital Dialect flashcards and Voki programs.
  3. Structured practice: class practices using Voki by recording their learned vocabulary
  4. Guided practice: students access YouTube video to reinforce lesson
  5. Independent practice: Students practice individually by using Voki after school
  6. Assessment
Lead by teacher
Lead by teacherLead by teacher

Lead by teacher

Students
Lead by teacher

Week 3
Analysis & Reflection
  1. Grade assessments and analyze results from exams and Voki
  2. Report finding to department
Lead by teacher

The timetable presented above describes briefly the stages which were completed by he teacher. Here is a snapped overview of this timetable. The lessons began on the 24th of October 2011, lasted for 3 weeks with the frequency of two times a week. Therefore, 6 classes with duration 1 hour each were devoted to Voki software and its implementation for learning new Spanish vocabulary.

The preparation stage consisted of many steps which were completed within two working hours. During the first working hour, the instructor completed a part of the preparation tasks. First of all, the software was bought, then, a teacher ensured that a blackboard was working properly. Then, software was installed on teacher laptop and she tested it to make sure that everything was installed correctly.

It was important to gather additional laptops and to have additional battery cords on hand for the lesson in case some troubles happened with stationary computers. During the second attendance of the lab during the first week, a teacher uploaded YouTube video to class website, created and copied the assessments, ensured that each computer had a bookmark for the Voki website. Therefore, the preparation stage was completed.

During the second stage, teachers and students met two times in class and students were given an opportunity to record their voices individually for teacher’s assessment. The first class was led on October 31, 2011. The following stages were completed, orientation, and presentation.

During the second class which took place on November 4, 2011, the structured and guided practices were implemented. After this class students were given an opportunity to visit a lad after classes and provide an independent practice. Students were to be assessed.

The final week of the classes was devoted to assessment. A teacher was present at school and graded students’ individual practice. Each student had an opportunity to check the results and get teacher’s instruction devoted to what should be trained.

Approval

Approval of this timeline and Capstone Project was granted by the content teacher, foreign language department, and the administrator of the institution.

Supporting research

Additional research has been conducted with the purpose to support the strategies used above for achieving the following objective, to use multimedia software with the purpose to train new Spanish vocabulary, memorize the words and be able to remember those.

Using innovative technologies in the modern educational system teachers make students interested and increase their intelligence, still, using traditional tests and direct strategies teachers meet students’ requirement for efficient learning (Roblyer, & Doering, 2010). The teacher in this research applied to both traditional and innovative methods for assessment.

Supporting the accommodation issues, Shapiro, Mentch, & Kubit (2007) state that students should be offered quality support while learning how to implement some specific tasks. The teacher offered students a video with how-to create a Voki. Boster, Meyer, Roberto, Inge, & Strom (2006) also proved that the use of innovative technologies improved learning performance.

Dwelling upon school and home learning, it should be stated some scholars believe that at home students learn only with active support of teachers (YouTube video in this case) or parental assistance (Siraj-Blatchford, 2010).

Generally speaking, the very idea of implementing computer technologies for learning the second language is great as students are given an opportunity to complete the tasks both at home and in class (Kawaguchi, & Di Biase, 2009).

Conclusion

Therefore, it may be concluded that the use of innovative technologies for teaching new Spanish vocabulary is a good idea.

Using the information considered from a number of reliable sources and the data obtained from the practical implementation of computer software for teaching students new vocabulary, it may be said that computer technologies help use various strategies and apply to different types of learners at one and the same time.

The implementation of computer learning and its use while teaching particular information may become one of the stimuli for further studying and personal development. Applying to computer technologies while learning new material and testing students’ abilities is considered to be one of the means for personal-oriented learning, which becomes spread due to its efficiency.

Reference List

Boster, F., Meyer, G., Roberto, A., Inge, C., & Strom, R. (2006). Some effects of video streaming on educational achievement. Communication Education, 55(1), 46-62. Retrieved from ERIC database.

Kawaguchi, S., & Di Biase, B. (2009). Aligning Second Language Learning and Computer-Assisted Language Learning: Networking the Language Class, Tandem Learning and e-movies. International Journal of Learning, 16(10), 287-302.

Roblyer, M.D., & Doering, A.H. (2010). Educational technology into teaching. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.

Shapiro, W., Mentch, M., & Kubit, M. (2007). Streaming video: the bridge between tradition and innovation. Educause Review, 42(4), 68-69. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database.

Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2010). Learning in the home and at school: how working class children ‘succeed against the odds’. British Educational Research Journal, 36(3), 463-482.

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