Natasha Engering-Ward Home Learn More Standards Inspiration About the Author |
Why did I choose to research this project?I am really interested in helping students absorb language faster and more successfully and also be more engaged and in control of their learning. It is so important for students to learn a second language, as it opens up so many doors for them - communication in our day and age is crucial, and not everyone speaks English. As a teacher I have always promoted game playing in my class, such as pictionary, tic-tac-toe and so forth. When apps were created for language learners, I started to investigate them and wanted to incorporate them into my classes. Students always love to play games and so I thought that the more ways I could motivate and engage them, the better. I wanted my students to be focused, engaged and excited about their learning, as opposed to taking a subject because they needed it to get into college. Initially I started using Quizlet in the classroom to see if that made a difference in how much students learned, and if it caught their attention more. I then introduced more and more apps and programs such as Quizizz, Kahoot, Flipgrid, iMovie and Adobe Spark to name but a few.
Music is a key interest of most teenagers and so I decided to incorporate more music into my classes too. I remember using songs and mnemonics to help me learn facts and information when I was at school, and thought that perhaps my students could benefit from that. Blog Links: EDU701 Equitable Classroom Blog EDU 702 Digital Tools Blog EDU 703 Transliteracy Blog EDU 790 Epistemologies Blog EDU 791 Sensemaking Research Design Blog EDU 792 Capstone Seminar Blog |