This week we are reading about SLA and CALL, and our homework is to create a digital story. The resounding theme, still, is that "pedagogy, not technology, should be the driving force in CALL use' (DuBravac, 2013, p. 63). On one level, I find this statement very un-comforting because it fails to provide me clear answers about what to use and how to use it. However, I guess it is comforting to realize that I've nearly got this MA-TESL that informs my teaching on a daily basis; so there's no reason that I can't apply those principles to choosing technology.
DuBravac's overview of SLA in chapter 4 would have been an excellent resource for the foundation sections of the Comps (if you haven't taken them yet--this is a message for you).
As for the digital stories--mine's coming soon--I have a question. What's the difference between creating a digital story and using something like PowerPoint? Is it the element of telling a story? Can I present a series of questions in a digital story just for artistic effect?
One idea that I have with digital stories comes from my brother, a middle-schooler. For one of his classes, he wrote and revised a digital story about his father's life, and then had the book printed. Once he was satisfied with the draft, he and his classmates had a book-giving ceremony in which they presented the books to their family members. Everyone loved the ceremony and the book is a keepsake in our house. I think that ESL students would also find value in such an activity. The act of writing, revising and preparing some kind of presentation speech would be a really nice integration of skills. the students would be motivated to do a good job because of who is receiving the final product. Something to think about.
No comments:
Post a Comment