ELLandTech-Kimberly


 * //“How can technology help and benefit English Language Learners in their educational experience?" //**


 * Connection to Educators: **


 * The awareness of understanding how technology can benefit English Language Learners is an essential component in the teaching profession. When used appropriately, the Internet can be one of the greatest resources for English Language Learners. These resources have the ability to help ELL students master subject areas in their second language. Technology can help students and teachers to overcome the gap between language barriers. I want to teach students at a young age how to effectively use the resource that has become a major part of my own educational experience. I feel connected to English Language Learners because growing up in South Florida, I have seen many of my own classmates and peers struggle with language barriers. I have always felt a strong sympathy for these students because I can see the potential they possess to succeed in school but they are not given the proper support and instruction. For me, as a future teacher, it is so frustrating to watch some students fall by the way side simply because they have not mastered the English language.** 

**Personal Connection: **

**I have become dependent on technology in my school experience. I have seen the ways in which games, Internet tools, and electronic translators have helped ELL students in the classroom. All of the classrooms I have volunteered in have utilized the Internet to help ELL students practice learning English throughout the school day. In my own observations, ELL students have enjoyed using the Internet to build their language skills and they have positive feelings towards the Internet as a tool. Technology can change ELL student’s entire educational experience in a positive way.**


 * Best Practices:

 There is a plethora of resources available to teachers to use in the classroom to assist English Language Learners. With a little bit of research and practice, teachers can discover a variety of incredible tools to incorporate ELL students into the classroom during instruction. In addition, many of the practices discussed below are free, easy to use, and accommodating to age, grade, and subject matter. Utilizing these technological resources will allow English Language Learners to excel in school and avoid being left behind. Technology practices can increase vocabulary practice and awareness without students worrying about the judgment of their peers while practicing their English skills. Also, technology promotes creativity, expression of culture, multiple opportunities for practice, and motivation to continue practicing language skills.  **  i. No Judgment of language skills when using technology ii. Text, graphics, video, and audio encourage immersion of language
 * 1) ** Ipods: **
 * 2) Stimulating and engaging students in the learning process
 * 3) Making instruction personal
 * 4) Increased motivation and interest in learning by using the ipod
 * 5) <span style="color: #ff00d4; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Ability to differentiate instruction for ELL students from many different languages
 * 6) <span style="color: #ff00d4; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Allows a student to practice English and learn at any time and in any place. Very accommodating to a student’s lifestyle.
 * 7) <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">** Computers: **
 * 8) <span style="color: #ff00d4; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Wealth of communication options available to practice interaction with other students
 * 9) <span style="color: #ff00d4; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Multiple opportunities to practice writing
 * 10) <span style="color: #ff00d4; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Software to practice language skills both auditory and visual experiences
 * 11) <span style="color: #ff00d4; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">The Internet and Web provide activities for ESL students

<span style="color: #ff00d4; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> i. iMovie ii. PowerPoint iii. Audacity iv. MovieMaker v. HyperStudio media type="youtube" key="ailPbqrUc-w" height="340" width="560"
 * 3. Multimedia Projects: **
 * 1) <span style="color: #ff00d4; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Provide authentic learning for students
 * 2) <span style="color: #ff00d4; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Strengthen engagement and interaction because students are able to participate at their own speed and level
 * 3) <span style="color: #ff00d4; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Bring together graphics, video, text, and audio
 * 4) <span style="color: #ff00d4; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Promote and encourage creativity
 * 5) <span style="color: #ff00d4; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Variety of software available including:
 * 1) <span style="color: #ff00d4; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">ELL students can draw on their own unique cultural backgrounds and experiences and express these diverse qualities through multimedia projects
 * <span style="color: #1f2cea; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Videos: **<span style="color: #ff00d4; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">

media type="youtube" key="EJBgWaEn60s" height="344" width="425"

__**<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Annotated Bibliography **__<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">
 * 1) **<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Kim, H.K, & Rissel, D. (2008). Instructors' integration of computer technology: examining the role of interaction. Foreign Language Annals, 41(1), 61-80.    **
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">The authors in this article begin their writing by discussing how technology is “underutilized” in the classroom. The main ideas in this article are ways in which teachers can familiarize themselves with technology and the ways it can affect English Language Learners. It explored teacher’s feelings about using computers to help teach a language. The article highlights the preparations teachers need to make for their English language learners to succeed in the classroom. I found it interesting that these authors discussed the availability, different approaches, and different resources available for teachers to use technology with their ELL students.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">These main points are helpful to my inquiry project in that they support the importance of utilizing technology in the classroom with students who do not speak English as their first language. I also found it useful to recognize their hesitant feelings and apprehensions teachers have about using this technology in the classroom. The article supported my topic by discussing ways for teachers to access resources, how to implement these resources, and the ways these resources can significantly improve an ELL student’s school experience.
 * 1) **<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Padron, Y.N., & Waxman, H.C. (1996). Improving the teaching and learning of english language learners through instructional technology. International Journal of Instructional Media, 23(4), 341-354. **
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">The main points made by the authors in this article are that technology can significantly improve the school experience for ELL students. This article also highlights the problems associated with ELL’s academic underachievement, how technology can significantly improve these problems. The article also displays a case study to showcase the troubles teachers can have implementing technology into their classrooms with ELL students and suggestions for solving these problems.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">These points are essential to my inquiry project because an aspect of integrating technology for English Language Learners will be the problems and difficulties faced by teachers. Utilizing an article that displays these problems along with solutions will help define and better understand a teacher’s role in using technology for helping the English Language Learners. The teacher plays the most significant role in my inquiry project. It is the teacher’s job to utilize their technology resources in the most productive ways possible. This article is important for my research in this area.
 * 1) **<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Byrom, E, Matzen, N, & Oliver, Kimberly. (2005). English language learners and technology. The Vision, 7(1), 1-30 **
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">The main points made by Byrom, Matzen, and Oliver are the definitions of common English as Second Language terms such as ELL, LEP, ESOL, and ESL. In addition, the article addresses the best practices for integrating technology into English language instruction (the basis of my project), strategies to become an effective teacher with English language learners by utilizing technology, resources and ways for teachers to learn languages and communicate with ELL students and ESL teachers. In addition, these authors address ways for general education teachers to use technology resources to expand their own language practices to improve communication between English Language Learners and their teachers.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Their research and these points support my inquiry project in every way that I could imagine, not only do these authors address the above main points but they provide pages of research, strategies, methods, and examples for teachers to incorporate technology into the classroom to benefit English language learners. This article is an essential resource for researching my inquiry project. Through this project, I want to establish the importance of technology, the opportunities it can provide, strategies for teachers to use, and practices for implementation. This article emphasizes all of these main points.
 * Additional Resources:

<span style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">Kim, H.K, & Rissel, D. (2008). Instructors' integration of computer technology: examining the role of interatction. Foreign Language Annals, 41(1), 61-80.

Padron, Y.N., & Waxman, H.C. (1996). Improving the teaching and learning of english language learners through instructional technology. International Journal of Instructional Media, 23(4), 341-354.

Poulsen, R, Hastings, P, & Allbritton, D. (2007). Tutoring bilingual students with an automated reading tutor that listens. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 36(2), 191-221.

Byrom, E, Matzen, N, & Oliver, Kimberly. (2005). Engligh language learners and technology. The Vision, 7(1), 1-30.

<span style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial,san-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Heinze, J. (2004, November/December). Supporting english language learners with technology. Instructor, Retrieved from <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">@http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=10516 <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">(2003). PBS parents in english and spanish. Retrieved from <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">www.pbs.org/parents/quickstart/spanish <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">

(2000). National parent teacher association. Retrieved from <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">@http://www.pta.org/parentinvolvement/spanish/index.asp <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;"> **