I search my mind for the Spanish word for “keyboard” as Nancy Mota stares at the screen with squinty eyes while she pushes her wide, wrinkly old lady face close enough to the computer screen that her nose brushes against it. She reminds me of Dora the Explorer's grandmother except that her hair is still dark brown. El teclado! That's the word! I turn to my elderly student and finish my explanation on how pushing the buttons on el teclado makes letters appear on the computer screen. She laughs and gives me another firm, grandmotherly pinch on the inside of my elbow and proclaims she will never be as smart as the “kids these days”. It’s a cold Saturday morning and twenty non-english speaking adults, four volunteers, three toddles, two babies
We support children in the acquisition of language. We ask parents to translate the words which are mainly use at home: mummy, daddy, teddy, dolly, dummy, blanket, bed, sleep, water, potty, toilet, up, down, garden, wash hands.
There are 890 million English language speakers in the world. That means if you are the average monolingual, English speaking American, you are unable to communicate with about 88% of the planet. That’s approximately 6,505,469,000 people, any of whom could potentially be your spouse or lifelong friend. The most gratifying part of learning a language is being able to communicate with new people and learn about different lifestyles, traditions, religions, and ideologies. Through NSLI-Y, I wish to continue to expand my global view and develop lasting connections with individuals.
In 1998, I began working as a kindergarten teacher’s assistant. Pat was teaching Spanish and French enrichment classes to our elementary students’. Briefly, she taught Spanish to first through third graders and French to fourth and fifth graders. When the school day ended, and the school building was quiet, she would come by my room and teach me new “tricks” she had learned for teaching colors, numbers, and sight words to kindergarten students. She made learning a game for me and in turn, I was able to share the joy using our school’s technology equipment. However, with an ever increasing student population born literally with a technology device in their hands, this appeared to be more of a “sneaky passage into learning” for the students rather than a tough day digging into books. The information was presented in a format conducive to their 21st Century learning style.
Conceptualize a classroom filled with many children. They all remain motionless, except for the nimble movements of their fingers, as they skim the internet, to complete an assignment. Their eyes, glued to the screen, oblivious to the world around them, and sucked into their own. This mind prison can not possibly enhance the students learning capabilities. These screens are preventing students from deep comprehension, and a well maintained behavior. Despite this misfortune, these students still have a chance, to learn and to grow. “Shut Down Your Screen Week” will hold the chance for students to walk, and revive the once barren paths that technology has desolated.
As Morgen walks into her AP American History class, she notices that there are weird box type tablets on every desk. She’s never seen anything like these before. By the looks on the faces of her ten classmates, she’s not alone. She takes her usual seat in the back of the classroom. While waiting for her best friend to arrive, she listens to her favorite song, Hello by her favorite classic artist, Adele. What are these weird looking tablets? How are you supposed to turn them on? She wondered.
About a month into the semester Alex began to use a speech to text software on a chromebook to type up assignments. Alex continued to complete work in this way, until one day very recently when he/she decided to physically type up a recipe. I wasn’t convinced when Alex said that he/she was going to type it into their cookbook, but I encouraged an attempt. The whole recipe was typed up in less than twenty minutes after much slow-paced letter by letter typing. Although Alex still has a long way to go, the progress that I observed and played a part in is impressive when you consider how far he/she has come.
Inviting parents in to the setting to talk about their religion, culture, the language that they speak.
These words may include “computer”, “disk”, ‘CD Rom”, and “monitor”. After introducing a few terms children are exposed to how to turn the computer on and off. Before having children operate the computers on their own it is extremely important to enforce the safety precautions when using a computer. To introduce a floppy disk to children have them hold a disk, then demonstrate how to handle the disk and insert the disk into the computer. Following the group exercise children should be given time to practice how to turn the computer “on” and “off” as well as insert the disk (Borgh, 1996). Timing is crucial when introducing children to computers. They need an abundance of time to experiment and explore the computer in order to fully understand how to use the computer on their own, as they learned with any other educational tool such as a pen and paper (Haugland, 2000). Teaching young children how to run programs is the next step. Children can be shown how to open and close a program as well aa how to get back to the “menu” to choose another program. Taking the time to properly introduce children to the computer at a young age will provide yet another resource for learning.
Margie lives in a world based on technology to the point that children are taught individually at home by a mechanical teacher. This story is related to the online learning environment because it shows the influence of technology on society. Margie learns that people in the past got to go to school, interact with other children of their age and read real books. While in her time, people’s lives are too attached to technology that they think a man isn’t smart enough to become a teacher. Today, we also have online learning environment but our technology is not as advanced to exterminate the requirement of human teachers. Margie believes that it was fun in the old times because “all the kids from the whole neighborhood came, laughing and shouting
First, an article from 1995 proves how much technology has changed when it comes to accessibility. In his Nation article “Virtual Students, Digital Classroom,” Neil Postman points out, “It would be quite astonishing if computer technology equalized all learning opportunities, irrespective of economic differences.” (381). Modern technology is a part of every classroom unlike it was back years ago. Equipment has become accessible to everyone attending classes, not just the wealthy. Fat pencils have been replaced
Although computers were initially created for use in business, they have since become a key resource for teaching all children, including those with special needs.(Winzer, 83) Many
Her little fingers carefully slide across the iPod screen and picked which game or application she wanted to play. Watching her play with this sophisticated piece of equipment like it was a baby doll made me think about the article Canella handout and how culture affects development. Children growing up now have more opportunity to learn and absorb information in a variety of ways. Technology has opened a new pathway for learning and has added new teaching styles.
This article attempts to enlighten educators to allow computers in the classroom as a workshop to help improve literacy. The computer allows for students to have both a visual and a verbal reference to a topic, thus, solidifying a concrete comprehension of the text, allowing the student to be further engaged and stimulated with the assignment. Over the years, educators have seen such a vast change in technology, especially in the classroom. It is time now, that educators embrace the change and use it to their advantage. “If students can be motivated and engaged when using technology, teachers should continue to support this type of learning when appropriate.”
However, technology has played countless roles in my life over the years. Having had handwriting issues all my life (bad enough to get me diagnosed with dysgraphia), the keyboard liberated me and introduced me to a love a writing and storytelling I was never before able to experience. From grades 3 through 7, I used a pseudo-typewriter called an AlphaSmart in order to participate in school. This simple keyboard propelled me from barely being able to write a page of a simple story to writing a pages and pages, unlocking my
Individuals with sight problems can adjust color and brightness to assist them in viewing programs. Children with hearing problems can adjust volume controls and replace noise commands with visual commands. For example, if a child clicks on a program that is unable to open, they can program the computer to respond with a verbal message informing them of the inaccessible program, as opposed to the usual noise response. “Laptop computers can provide high-tech tools for note taking because of their mobility”(Barfield, 2003, p. 1). Customized computers also offer many different options for individuals depending on their needs. Touch screens, and touch pads enable an individual to use a computer by simply touching a screen or pad with his/her finger. “This often allows students who have fine motor problems, inaccurate keyboard skills, or problems with spelling to complete programs without frustration (Olson, 2000, p. 344). Voice activated computers allow students to use a microphone to enter information into the computer. Positions of buttons and switches can also be changed to accommodate an individuals certain needs. Other parts of the computer can also be altered to aid an individual with special needs. For example, individuals with limited motor control often use a key guard. “A keyguard is a keyboard overlay with holes positioned over each key. This assists in stabilization of finger, hand, or stick movement (Ray, 1995, p.