So, I've been struggling with the ramifications of global networking, twenty-first century education and web 2.0 collaboration on my teaching and what my classroom might look like.
In the foreign/world/modern language teaching world, we often talk about what we teach as relative to content and skills. In many ways, the content has been defined hundreds of years ago and hasn't changed since. The rules of grammar change only insignificantly over time and while vocabulary grows and changes, it doesn't do it with lightning fast speed that would require constant vigilance. The skills are the ability to creatively and correctly communicate in Spanish via reading, writing, speaking and listening.
In the 21st century classroom, it's true that a teacher is not needed to teach the content. It can be "Googled," "Khan acadamied," or downloaded from the Apple iTunes Store. Consequently, I find it hard to create online collaborative experiences where my students would reach out and find experts in the field of Spanish. In the same regard, it's difficult to imagine scenarios where my students use the web to construct meaning (of the grammar and vocabulary) of the Spanish language.
This leads us naturally to a discussion of the true possibilities of web 2.0 and 21st century learning and their correlation to skills. In the past, the traditional way of connecting classrooms, or foreign language students was the penpal letter. Find another Spanish classroom, or if you're lucky a classroom of Spanish/Argentinian/Guatemalan students and have them write letters to each other. That naturally evolved into epals.
The present demands more than epals. Wikis and projects such as those featured in the Flat Classroom Project highlight some of the possibilities.
If I really want to create successful online experiences for my students, I believe that it will involve some truly monumental shifts in the way my class is conducted and ever more importantly, the beliefs at the core of the curriculum. If a major shift away from content toward skills is achieved, the collaborative projects will be more meaningful and in line with the core beliefs that I talked about in my previous post, More Gonnegtions than Meyer Wolfsheim.
What might some projects look like?
I'm sure there are a billion more possibilities, but in order to make them important and not just one-off activities, the shift in curriculum needs to be made explicitly clear.
In the foreign/world/modern language teaching world, we often talk about what we teach as relative to content and skills. In many ways, the content has been defined hundreds of years ago and hasn't changed since. The rules of grammar change only insignificantly over time and while vocabulary grows and changes, it doesn't do it with lightning fast speed that would require constant vigilance. The skills are the ability to creatively and correctly communicate in Spanish via reading, writing, speaking and listening.
In the 21st century classroom, it's true that a teacher is not needed to teach the content. It can be "Googled," "Khan acadamied," or downloaded from the Apple iTunes Store. Consequently, I find it hard to create online collaborative experiences where my students would reach out and find experts in the field of Spanish. In the same regard, it's difficult to imagine scenarios where my students use the web to construct meaning (of the grammar and vocabulary) of the Spanish language.
This leads us naturally to a discussion of the true possibilities of web 2.0 and 21st century learning and their correlation to skills. In the past, the traditional way of connecting classrooms, or foreign language students was the penpal letter. Find another Spanish classroom, or if you're lucky a classroom of Spanish/Argentinian/Guatemalan students and have them write letters to each other. That naturally evolved into epals.
The present demands more than epals. Wikis and projects such as those featured in the Flat Classroom Project highlight some of the possibilities.
If I really want to create successful online experiences for my students, I believe that it will involve some truly monumental shifts in the way my class is conducted and ever more importantly, the beliefs at the core of the curriculum. If a major shift away from content toward skills is achieved, the collaborative projects will be more meaningful and in line with the core beliefs that I talked about in my previous post, More Gonnegtions than Meyer Wolfsheim.
What might some projects look like?
How about creating an online space (wiki, blog, etc.) where Spanish students and Spanish students (ie, from Spain) can interact on topics that Spanish students are studying? The content is defined by them, but my students benefit by honing their skills from participating in the discussion. When content questions (tense, vocabulary) arise, I step in and provide the necessary counseling.
How about an online collaborative writing project where students from all over the world work together to create a story? My students benefit from seeing the language structures from native speakers.
How about Skype-type video conferencing and using the interviews to create movies that correspond to social movements like Peace Jam?
I'm sure there are a billion more possibilities, but in order to make them important and not just one-off activities, the shift in curriculum needs to be made explicitly clear.
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