Native Languages and the Internet

Words as big as a screen response/power point ideas

What an interesting article! Tracey McHenry did a thorough job in describing Native American Languages and the complexities associated with language revitalization efforts using technology. I loved reading about our own Yupik Immersion program in the article and Iutzi-Mitchell’s research that he has done in our region. I just wonder what ever happened with his proposal for a new language policy? I recognize some of the efforts in revitalizing the language are happening here right now in Bethel with the college with the creation of a program where a person can get a Bachelors in Yupik. I also see myself in the article when she discusses the question of ownership and conducting research about our people and the issues that so called “specialists” or district office personnel deal with when trying to determine what is best for our students and the unique language culture that we live. The community issues that the author discussed were relevant to my research. I felt like she touched a common cord when she mentioned that there are many community members who want to make sure that learning the Native language will not interfere or slow down their child’s ability to learn English or be successful in larger society. I feel like this is a common concern for many parents when dealing with the placement of their child in an English only or Yupik Immersion program and thus a valuable resource for me to use in my research. Finally, in regards to technology, I appreciated her insight into the use of technology and how it can benefit Native language efforts in schools. I am excited to look at Tulalip Elementary School’s Lushootseed page to get some ideas on my power point lesson. I’m especially interested in the TPR section of that web page and hope to get more ideas for my assignment.
For my powerpoint assignment, I know that I want to incorporate pictures in some of the common songs that I am teaching. I also want to figure out how to incorporate the song onto the page so that the words are highlighted as we sing the words together. Is that possible through garage band and power point together? I might need your help doing this if it is possible. I already picked out some songs, but am having a difficult time putting all of my ideas together. I need to set up a time to go over my ideas with you or anyone in Bethel that knows how to do this. Please let me know if you can help me.

Reaction to Sally's paper on Power Point

I enjoyed reading Sally’s paper about the pros and cons of power point. I was very impressed by how much Sally knew about power point and wondered how long it took her to get to the point that she is now at. I like how Sally uses power point to teach vocabulary words with the audio and visuals. I also thought how great it must be for her students parents to have access to the lessons as a way to build a stronger bridge between the school and the home as a way to reinforce the second language! I am hoping that she is sharing all of her lessons with other teachers who are less tech savvy so that all students and parents can benefit from her lessons. Finally, I appreciated her advice on the difficulty in transferring power point lessons onto her web page.

Technology issues and concerns

I found this article to be interesting and informative on the impacts of technology in the school and social environment. The question of power and ethics that are involved in the use and possible overuse of technology definitely are a concern to me as a parent and educator. Do we want our students to grow up relating to a computer rather than each other? As a parent of two boys, 11 and 13 year olds, I have struggled with this issue at home. Both of them are always wanting to get on the computer to check their emails, my space, or play computer games. My husband and I are constantly monitoring how much time they spend on the computer and it has become a power struggle at times. I even find myself preoccupied and zoned out into the computer when I am feeling bored and distracted from work, home, and school. I wonder about the long term impact that technology, cell phones, ipods, and computers will have on the future generation of our children. How much is too much information overload? Like the article mentioned, I am especially concerned about those students who over rely on technology through email and my space, to fill the empty void of social ineptness that they may have in real life contexts. I also worry about a teacher’s over reliance on computers to teach a class without providing a social contexts that involves problem solving and critical thinking among the students. This article shed some light on the questions and concerns that should be discussed when using technology in the classroom setting.

Curriculum/Technology

I now understand why technology is important and how it can be used as a tool in second language acquisition. This generation of learners are technologically advanced and it is important for us teachers to keep up with the times. I just had to laugh when I read that the goal of technology standards is for a “smooth and seamless integration of technology into the curriculum” on the first page of the article because technology has never been that easy for me. As a K-2 grade teacher of music and gym, I struggle with the way that I can enhance the learning of my students using technology. Everything I teach is interactive, hands on, and filled with movement kinds of activities in my classroom that is conducive to language development. Anything that lowers a child’s affective filter so that songs and poems are more comprehensible and meaningful is important. I try to scaffold my instruction so that students learn songs in small parts, with gestures or motions to build upon their language development. I want to use more technology in my class instruction, and hope to eventually use garage band during Friday Morning Showcase. I think technology is a great motivator for all students including language learners. Both of my boys love computers, ipods, and any kind of electronic game. They are naturally drawn to them and know more about them then I do. It has been great to learn about the new technologies so far in this class and I hope to become more familiar with them in the future

Ch 9 Evaluation

This chapter gave some insight to the different kinds of evaluations that are out there. The more I read this book, the more complicated things seem to be in our entire education system. It amazes me to think that someone actually took the time to break up all of these broad terms into even smaller pieces all to help us better understand the system that we belong to. Now I can understand why some people who may have all the degrees in the world, can often lose sight of the real problem because they are so caught up in all the rhetoric. I just hope I don’t end up being one of those people that lose sight of the bigger picture. Aside from all of that, I do believe that evaluative measures and procedures are important when looking at language programs and development. I know that our school is wanting to improve our language curriculum, and is testing some new programs but feel like it is lacking a very important component and that involves teacher. Too often we get new curriculum that we have to implement, but do not receive the proper training that is required to implement it effectively.

Ch 6 Reaction

Ling 611-Ch. 6 Course Planning/Syllabus Design

This chapter was painful to read. It was very dry reading material. I didn’t understand why I was being forced to read it unless I was planning to create my own language development model or syllabus for some curriculum development company or if I had to evaluate the language program that is being used at our site. I did not see any relevance or “aha” moment in this chapter. I guess if I worked at the district office, this would be more meaningful to me. I kept asking myself during the reading, why is this important? How does this relate to my research? How does this impact the way that I think about my own teaching? The only thing that came to mind was that we had to read this chapter because you are wanting us to look at the programs we are using and to possibly determine the scope and sequence that is used and question if it is the right approach according to research.

Ch 5 Response/reaction

Ch. 5-Planning goals and leaning outcomes

So far, I have found this chapter to be the most revlevant to my research because it explores the different ideologies behind various curriculum. I didn’t realize that each of these ideologies can actually be categorized. As I read each one, I began to wonder where ME School curriculum fits. I definitely see the learner-centeredness approach being the one that matches the closest to where our language curriculum fits where prior knowledge and growth through experience is essential for learning. I also see the social and economic efficiency being another strong component of our program with the way that the phases are set up with skills and objectives, with the school being a factory that produces students with specific skills with an emphasis on the teaching of English because that is what is expected from the society in which we live. I wished that our model leaned more towards social reconstructionism and cultural pluralism, now that I can actually understand what they mean after being in this program. I think our schools do a poor job in empowering our students to realize the social injustices that relate to class, race, or gender so that they can be filled with hope to make positive change in their lives, schools, and communities. I think that is why we are in this program. Each one of us are becoming “criticalists’ (Richards, 118) with each class that we take. We are all coming to recognize the various forms of control that have been forced and placed upon us through the government and its poor track record in assimilating our culture through education, Indian Education laws, and policies that have undermined our people and culture. I believe that the goal of our district should be one that empowers the philosophy of cultural pluralism where a Yupik speaking child is valued and looked more fondly upon instead of something that may be holding them back from speaking/ reading English more fluently. Too often I feel that the dominant language of English is considered superior to our Yup’ik language here in Bethel, and it really frustrates me because that is what society and the federal government wants all of us minorities to believe.