Podcasts in the Classroom

Podcasts are a great way for people to get their ideas across and basically make their own television or radio shows on their own.  There are many different ways that a teacher can incorporate Podcasts into their lesson plans.  A teacher can use it as a media source or source of educational entertainment in English to help stimulate motivation.  For example a teacher can create an assignment that asks the students to listen to a podcast about a theme or topic that interests them, then the teacher can have them create their own podcast on a subject of interest.  Activities like this can be a fun way for students to practice their listening and speaking skills in English in an authentic manner that holds their interest and keeps them motivated in their learning.


In addition to using Podcasts for media learning sources, there are also many Podcasts available that are ESL specific.  I listened to the Podcast English Cafe 446 on the website ESL Pod.  This Podcast was about the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles.  It consisted of several vocabulary words about animals and science.  It included the narration of the "teacher" as well as interview clips with members of the scientific community behind La Brea.  The interviewees would talk about the actions of the pit and the teacher would then describe the language and vocabulary which included spelling out words for the listeners. The Podcast also included a question and answer period after the main lecture.  A Podcast like this can be a great asset to the ESL classroom, a teacher can build lesson plans around certain themes such as animal science vocabulary.  Or more likely there are other themes of Podcasts similar to this one that are a little more likely such as famous songs, organizing your house or famous Americans.  

Learners and Chocolate and Motivation in Society

To modify an oft quoted piece of American cinema history: "A learner is like a box of chocolates......you never know what yer gonna get."  I'm not sure second language learners were what Mr. Gump had in mind as he dropped that little morsel of wisdom on the average mid-nineties American, however, the analogy fits rather nicely.  

When assessing second language learners there are a multitude of factors that go into considering what type of learner, and whether or not they will be successful by some measurable standard.  Factors such as biology, motivation, age, self-identity, instruction methods, and sociocultural connectivisim.  In his presentation of What is connectivisim? George Siemens of the University of Manitoba states "...much of what we know is shaped and influenced in our exchange and dialogue with others."  Although he is speaking on knowledge and learning in a more general sense, this idea is at the forefront of language learning.  So much of our learned language comes from societal interactions with those around us.  Language is born out of the need to interact and understand one and other and second language learners need to adapt to their new society to be successful.  How a learner interacts with the people around them plays a significant role in whether they will be successful or not.  Often language is learned through socialization and the need to connect with the members of the society and culture being experienced by the learner.  

Another factor of language learning that fits the analogy is motivation.  There are many factors that contribute to a learner's motivation.  One of the most important factors in learner motivation is the concept of practical worthiness.  Before the process of learning something new can take place the learner must decide if the subject is worth the process of acquisition and  how will the learner directly benefit from this knowledge.  The subject of worthiness is discussed aptly by George Siemens in his written post titled: Connectivisim a Learning Theory for the Digital Age, he states that: " The need to evaluate the worthiness of learning something is a meta-skill that is applied before learning itself begins." This subtle skill is a base for all learning that may or may not take place.  It is something all learners do and is a necessity for learning something new. 

 With so many different aspects of learning to be considered, it is no surprise that every learner is different.  As teachers we must take this into consideration, especially with second language learners.  We should have a good idea as to how their motivation and social interaction as learners will play a part in their language learning going forward.  no two learners are ever really the same and as teachers we'll never really know what we're gonna get.

Effects of 21st Communications in the Classrooms

Technology continues to change the way we approach education as a society.  The world is changing more rapidly now than ever, there is more information readily available than ever before.  But does that mean people are smarter? Or that education is better? Not necessarily.

After observing the video Educational Change Challenge it is apparent that not all aspects of society are keeping up with the modern technological social changes that are taking place.  It appears that while there have been many technological advancements in the age of computers, the overall approach to education has remained relatively stagnate.  As advances in medicine, energy, and information sharing have stormed through the 21st century education remains locked in its "one size fits all" mentality.  iPods and pads, computer rooms and tech savvy teenagers are a plenty in this modern age, however, the way we teach our students remains the same.  After viewing this video it is apparent what is needed is a technological advancement in the overall approach to education in America.  Educators need to have more freedom and creativity when creating lessons that are appropriate to all types of learners, rather than forcing old world mentality into new world minds.  Until educational approaches are attempted with the same gusto and innovation as the technologies used in classrooms, America's education system will remain stuck in the 20th century.

                                                                                         The future is now!

The other videos which caught my eye were Social Media Revolution and Did You Know?.  The videos were filled with interesting statistics about the state of the world and education.  It is quite remarkable how quickly technology has taken over our lives, particularly social media.  Social media-twitter, Facebook, google+ etc- is one of the most fascinating technological advancements to come out of the early 21st century.  The role that it can hold in the classroom is still being determined.  For the first time in the history of the world anyone can share any type of information instantaneously with anyone around the world.  This type of information sharing is world changing and can have an important impact in the modern classroom.  However social media is also a vice in the sense that it can provide a major distraction for young people in the classrooms.  So although it makes it simple to share information it also makes it easy to distract from learning.  What role social media will play in the future classrooms is yet to be determined.

Overall technology is changing the world rapidly in nearly every aspect.  And until we as a society can incorporate these advantages and changes into the approach to education it will remain in the shadows of the technology it's unable to incorporate.