Apps for Education/Personal Tech in the Classroom

So, the big question is, "Should we allow students to use smartphones in the classroom?" In many classrooms, that question has turned into "How do we prevent it?" Teachers have creative solutions like the cell phone jail block. However, and please let me stand on my soapbox for a minute because there is no getting around it, nearly every student has a personal smart device, and they are going to bring them to school, instead of banning a perfectly awesome learning tool, teachers and parents could incorporate them into a blended learning model like the flipped classroom. To begin, there are lots of awesome learning apps that teachers can encourage students to use in class and at home. There are also a lot of online reference materials, starting with online dictionaries. When teaching ESL to my adult students, I always walk them through the steps of downloading at least two major English language dictionaries, not bilingual ones. Normally, I like them to have the free Merriam-Webster apps for North American English, and the Oxford , Cambridge for Android or iOS, or Longman's .
Those are good to start with, but you should consider building a teaching/learning environment around personal tech. Like any learning skill, students will develop good habits if they start early, so listen up elementary teachers! Yes, children have personal smart devices earlier and earlier in life, so they should learn the most appropriate ways to put them to use for learning. There are some great guides available now for implementing blended learning, and more are appearing all the time. One I like is Lexia by Rosetta Stone, and you can download a useful report from the International Association for K-12 Online Learning.
During my Master Degree program at American College of Education, I discovered in my research that blended learning is ideal for teaching English Language Learners because it allows students to learn content with home culture and language support, and then get more personalized teacher guidance and peer support back in the classroom. There is growing interest in this teaching/learning model for good reason!

-Dan

Note: The graphic was created using a template from canva.com

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Two Online Graphics Design Tools

In a previous post I showed a graphic which I designed using an online tool at canva.com. This kind of tool can be very useful for busy teachers for a couple of reasons. First, it is inexpensive to use compared to other graphics tools. Many of the templates on the site can be used at no cost, and some cost only a dollar to buy one-time use rights. Secondly, it is quick and easy to find an appropriate template and modify it for your specific use. I have a background in graphic arts and years of experience with expensive graphic design tools, but it would have taken me much longer to put together this graphic about gerunds with those than it did using canva.com. I think most teachers can figure out how it works fairly quickly, but if not, they have an extensive set of tutorials. Once you have finished your design, it is stored in a personal library, and can be downloaded in a variety of file types and resolutions. Another useful online design...

Schoolhouse Rock and Musical Intelligence

I do not intend to turn this blog into a running obituary, but I believe it is important to mention that Bob Dorough passed away on April 24th, 2018. He was 94 years old. He was one of the creators of the Schoolhouse Rock animated musical series that ran during the period from 1973-1985. They were created to help children learn and remember content they needed in their school classes. I can still sing many of these tunes I heard on TV when I was a child. There are many studies surrounding the Multiple Intelligences Theory of Howard Gardner ( Brualdi, 1998). Gardner examines seven intelligences which he defines as "the capacity to solve problems or to fashion products that are valued in one or more cultural settings" ( Gardner & Hatch, 1989). One of the seven is musical intelligence. People may possess and use forms of these intelligences in various mixtures with individuals having greater abilities in some areas than others....

Problematic English Prepositions for Portuguese and Spanish Speakers

Portuguese and Spanish speaking English language learners (ELLs) usually have difficulty acquiring certain English prepositions because they have single prepositions that can substitute for two English words. For example, para in Portuguese or Spanish can be translated as to or for in English, depending on the context. Another tough one is em , in Portuguese, or en , in Spanish, which can be translated as in, on or at in English depending on the context. The graphic, which I created to help students with to and for, may be useful to you in teaching or learning. I also have a worksheet here to download. So try it out! By the way, the graphic was created with the help of online applications on canva.com. I plan on doing a review of that site in the future! -Dan

American English Dan

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