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Advantages and disadvantages of technology in the language classroom
Reflection on literacy development
Children's literacy development
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Through the last several courses, several areas have been reviewed and considered for research. The main area in which I am focusing on at this time is the area of computer aided language learning (CALL). Specifically, I am interested in the literacy development of second language learners. However, I am also aware that there is significant resistance from many teachers to integrate the technology in its entirety and there is also resistance from parents. From the student’s point of view, I think it depends on the age group and the teacher’s influence, but I have not seen any research that actually supports that idea.
It seems that research in this area would be challenging because it would require both a significant amount of time and also the funds and availability of technology at the schools in order to implement the research. If the research is based on the teacher and parent attitude, it could be done as a quantitative study using surveys, but I am not sure that it would contribute to existing research. In addition, the only benefit I could see on this is that the universities would create more specific instruction for future teachers.
From some of the feedback received from previous course, I was advised to also look into the area of teacher and/or student personal epistemology and conceptual change. This area is very interesting as well and I would like to apply the conceptual change to the area of technology integration for language literacy and acquisition. This would be directly related to the above ideas. However, I am not sure how this would be done. It would need to be a quantitative research probably based on the questionnaires completed by teachers and faculty.
If the research is based on literacy development wi...
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... ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, n/a. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/577657169?accountid=28180
Sternberg, B. J., Kaplan, K. A., & Borck, J. E. (2007). Enhancing adolescent literacy achievement through integration of technology in the classroom. Reading Research Quarterly, 42(3), 416-420. doi:10.1598/RRQ.42.3.6.
Swenson, J. (2006). Guest editorial: On technology and English education. Contemporary Issues in Technology & Teacher Education, 6(2), 163-173.
Wolming, S., & Wikstrom, C. (2010). The concept of validity in theory and practice. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 17(2), 117-132. doi:10.1080/09695941003693856
Wolpert-Gawron, H., (2011). Five reasons for integrating technology. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/ed-technology-benefits-heather-wolpert-gawron http://www.cal.org/resources/digest/0311leloup.html
Elwood, J. (2006). Formative assessment: possibilities, boundaries and limitations. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 215-232, doi:10.1080/09695940600708653
Validity refers to ability of an instrument to measure the test scores appropriately, meaningfully, and usefully (Polit& Beck, 2010). The instrument has been developed to serve three major functions: (1) to represent a specific universe of content, (2) to represent measurement of specific psychological attributes, (3) to represent the establishing of a relationship with a particular criterion. There are three types of validity; each type represents a response to one of three functions
Assessment has been the greatest challenge in my development as a professional. My coursework as supported my growth in this area, especially in understanding the broad range of assessments used to support students’ growth and development. My courses have also supported my understanding of how ongoing observational assessment and standards-based measures can be used to inform instruction and support the cycle of observation, reflection and planning. Coursework
In this reflection, the students were asked to list any questions they might have regarding validity evidence, then respond to each of the following prompts: Identify five to six key points related to validity. How does knowing about validity pertain to you, a future general education teacher? Then read the Decision Time on page 100. What is your response to Cecilia about her group-influenced grading system? This paper will follow that above order in the responses to the above question.
The goal of education is to provide children with the opportunity to amass a wealth of knowledge, love for learning, and academic strength. Children go to school to read, write, and learn a variety of subjects. While education is meant to be exciting for children, there have to be standards in order to make sure that progress is being and those children are where they need to be in order to move onto the next phase of their education. Education builds as it grows, and students need a strong foundation in order to succeed and continue. Without those strong building blocks, students will continue to fall back and repeat the same material again and again. And so, testing and assessment come into play to make sure children are where they need to be. However, in early childhood settings testing is almost non-existent because of the stigma around testing. The current debate in our education system argues that testing is not a good measure of a child’s actual knowledge. Rather, assessment gives teachers a better picture of a student’s abilities and capabilities in the classroom. Thus, currently the debate continues over assessment versus testing in the classroom due to the demand for knowledge on whether or not testing is a good way of measuring a student’s progress in school.
Stiggins, R. (1991). Facing challenges of a new era of educational assessment. Applied Measurement in Education 4(4), 263+. Retrieved September 25, 2003 from Academic Search/EBSCO database.
Referred to as “assessment of learning,” (Chappuis, J., Stiggins, Chappuis, S., & Arter, 2012, pg. 5) components of summative learning include evaluating, measuring, and making judgements about student knowledge, both on individual levels and group levels. Rather than supporting learning by way of formative assessment, summative assessment verifies learning, (Chappuis, J., Stiggins, Chappuis, S., Arter, 2012). Naturally, this is what interests educational stakeholders: administrators, parents, teachers, and those who create educational policies. (Chappuis, J., Stiggins, Chappuis, S., & Arter, 2012, pg. 5). Summative assessment historically and presently presents itself in the form of graded quizzes, tests, graded papers and presentations, district benchmark tests, state standardized tests, and college entrance
To begin with, before anyone can develop an opinion as to whether technology is a useful tool in the classroom, one needs to understand that technology plays an important role in today’s world. However, the use or over-use of technology in educating young children in teaching literacy to young children is a much debated theory. There are many opinions regarding the positive influence technology can have as a useful tool in the classroom, yet there are those, like myself, who also see the negative aspect of too much technology.
It is very hard not to realize that technology has overpowered education in many ways. “Technology integration is similar to a tidal wave, growing silently in strength, then falling with an unstoppable roar upon those who paid no attention or showed little interest” (Guhlin, 40). Nowadays, computers are almost considered a necessity in the classroom, and are the main component of technology integration. Computers are being used in more numerous ways, besides only being used for basic word processing. With a simple computer, copious availabilities of technologies can be used in the classroom. “The one thing that is so great about the computer is that it does give a lot of instruction--and you don't need to have hearing to take advantage of it” (Anderson, 12). It’s amazing how one simple screen can provide everlasting opportunity for learning.
Through assessment students and teachers are able to determine the level of mastery a student has achieved with standards taught. Both formative and summative assessment should be purposeful and targeted to gain the most accurate data to drive further instruction (Ainsworth, 2010). While this syllabus does a good job of identifying the need for both formal and informal assessments, the way in which this is communicated does not provide enough detail for understanding. Simply listing assessment types does not give any insight into how these assessments fit in the learning process of this course. While some of the assessments mentioned could be common assessments chosen by the school or district to gain insight into the effectiveness of instruction, the inclusion of authentic assessments is most beneficial to students and demonstrates learning in a context closer to that of a work environment (Rovai, 2004). Unfortunately, this particular course, according to this syllabus, relies heavily on quizzes and traditional tests and essays to form the bulk of assessment opportunities. While other activities, such as formative assessments, journaling and discussions are mentioned as possible avenues for scoring, they are given a very low percentage of the overall grade. This shows that they are not valued for their ability to show progression and mastery. If this is indeed the case, this puts the students as a
In spite of the importance of assessment in education, few teachers receive proper training on how to design or analyze assessments. Due to this, when teachers are not provided with suitable assessments from their textbooks or instructional resources, teachers construct their own in an unsystematic manner. They create questions and essay prompts comparable to the ones that their teachers used, and they treat them as evaluations to administer when instructional activities are completed predominantly for allocating students' grades. In order to use assessments to improve instruction and student learning, teachers need to change their approach to assessments by making sure that they create sound assessments. To ensure that their assessments are sound they need include five basic indicators that can be used as steps to follow when creating assessments. The first of these indicators and the first step a teacher must take when creating a sound assessme...
Newmann, F. M. & Archbald, D. A. (1992). The nature of authentic academic achievement. Toward a New Science of Educational Testing and Assessment. State University of New York Press, Albany New York. 71-84.
The students had to participate in various internet-based tasks with the purpose of learning the English language. Most students showed interest and agreed with the use of technology when learning English; however others expressed different opinions about the use of technology in the learning environment. The study is relevant to technology-enhanced language learning because it showed that the use of technology can, not only increase the students’ motivation and learning opportunities, but also contribute to the development of the students’ English
Whether technological integration has positive or negative impacts on teaching and learning has been paid increasing attention and a numerous research has done to explore the issue. Regarding the issue, the question of if training teachers in the use of technology in classrooms contributes to students’ outcomes is still an endless argument. This essay will explain two reasons why such training brings about positive academic achievements for learners and a number of training guidelines that can be followed.
Al-Fahad (2009) states that the advancement in “interactive multimedia technologies which promise to facilitate ‘individualized’ and ‘collaborative’ learning”, is playing an undeniable role in the process of language teaching and learning. Therefore this is not a new phenomenon. Teachers and researchers have always been working on this field to find a better way of using