My
Google Alerts this week highlighted the positive academic achievements that can
be made by English Language Learners when they are given the appropriate tools
and when teachers are given the proper training. I found two different articles that focused
on the academic achievements by English language Learners when using
technology. The first article discussed
how the Socorro Independent School District won the 2017 School of
TechXcellence Award by District Administration magazine, HP and Intel, for an
innovative, effective and replicable technology program in math instruction
that is contributing to student success.
The second article focused on providing teachers with professional
development that focused on enhancing communicative skills through the use of
art and technology in the classroom and how teachers can use technology to
better reach their ELLs.
In
the article: "Socorro ISD wins 2017 School
of TechXcellence Award", the author discussed the achievements in math that
were made by English Language Learners.
The Socorro Independent School District (ISD) is one of only 19 schools from
14 states that were selected for this award. The Socorro ISD received
the award for the success of its Math as a Second Language 4 English Language
Learners Academy. This program promotes
math literacy and builds comprehension of math among English Language Learners. Most teachers think of Reading and Language
Arts when they are planning lessons for ELLs, but ELLs also need vocabulary
supports and in Math, Science, and Social Studies. It was refreshing to see how schools were using
technology to not only assist their English Language Learners in Reading, but
also in math and in other subjects.
The
Second Article: "Enhancing Communicative
Skills through Art and Technology", focused on professional development and
providing teachers with the training needed to best incorporate technology into
the English as a Second Language classroom.
This article was from the Educational Research Center from the School of
Education in Puerto Rico. I found the
perspective of the article to be very interesting because if was being written
from a Spanish speaker’s perspective, which is totally different from the other
articles that I have found through my Google Alerts. The article discusses the professional
development for English teachers of 21st century learner. This program was funded by a grant from the
Puerto Rico Higher Education Council, No Child Left Behind, and Title II Funds
(NCLB – 15-01). The program highlights
the need for learning English and discusses how English is now the language
most widely taught as a foreign language in countries around the world
including: China, Russia, Germany, Spain, Egypt, and Brazil. The article stated how in these countries,
learning English as a foreign language is becoming a requirement in most
schools. Both of these articles
reinforce the need for ELL teachers to be utilizing the technology that is
available to them in order to best prepare their students for the world outside
of the classroom.
Enhancing communicative skills through art and technology.
(n.d.). Retrieved June 22, 2017, from http://cie.uprrp.edu/esl/enhancing-communicative-skills-art-technology/
Report, S. (2017, June 13). Socorro ISD wins 2017 School
of TechXcellence Award. Retrieved June 20, 2017, from http://elpasoheraldpost.com/socorro-isd-wins-2017-school-techxcellence-award/
Great post! As we've learned, there are so many amazing online resources to reach L2 learners. While many school districts have invested in technology to assist teachers with utilizing these online tools, not all districts are providing focused professional development on the subject. It is great to read that art and technology professional development getting some attention!
ReplyDeleteThis was a great post to read. I feel as though it highlights the reasons for why this course we are taking is such an important one. We need to have those recognize programs to be successful in the future of ELL education. It was also refreshing to see efforts being rewarded to the extend that both of those articles have done. I found it really important to emphasize the vocabulary needed for other subjects as an ELL student. This might be overlooked to some, but one of the most important things you can do to build background knowledge & perspective for the learner.
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