Week 5 Games in Education

February 29, 2016 5:04 am / Leave a comment

Week 5 Games in Education

Danielle Ciccoli

EDUC 6177

Walden University

Professor Ore

February 28, 2016

In my original posting, I talked about 3 games good for adult learning, and more specifically L2 learners. Since I am now attempting to focus on education management in the ed tech industry, I have not come across any games that would be sufficient to place in every learners toolbox but I am looking for things like this to recommend as best practice to our developers. This class has been immensely beneficial because of the industry I work in and the fact that I can continue contributing to the bottom line by being able to think outside of the box in terms of education and what to bring to the teaching table.

For this blog post, I am writing about some games that are available for educational learning in an ESL environment. One game, Sploder, explodes with opportunities for ESL learners to learn basic tasks in a fun, creative way which I will discuss first.

Sploder, an online game, allows students to create their own games and they can be retro style, simple or even not so simple if they know how to code games. Because students have to create their own game, they will have a more vested interest in the technology and each student can practice giving directions, following directions as well as applying them. The type of games they can create include space shooting type games, and a lot of retro like arcade games. The point of having students make these games is to hone in on certain skill sets like direction giving and taking, asking questions and answering questions. The directions could be to find certain objects hidden in the game by following simple commands like go left, go right, walk strait, etc. These simple directions translate into deeper meanings such as giving directions to the store, which will align with the guidelines set in place for ESL learners by the state of Illinois.

How I would incorporate this into an ESL classroom: I would explain the activity in class thoroughly, perhaps taking as much as half the class to do so and then assign students homework which would be to create their game and instructions over a period of 2 weeks. Once the create their game, we will have a class party towards the end of the term, after the key vocabulary has been taught, and have a video game party where students can battle until there is 1-2 winners which would be based on direction giving and following directions.

A recent report by the Business Roundtable in 2005 stated that there was, “deep concern about the United States’ ability its scientific and technological superiority through this decade and beyond. The report called for a sense of urgency and for immediate action to secure a prosperous future for this country and its children. How can this monumental task be accomplished?” (L. Annette, 2008). It can be accomplished by adding video games and other technologies to sustain adult and adolescent learning components to help raise the American educational standards. The thought of using such technology has inspired military experts and was subsequently coined the next great discovery and has given them the tool to captivate students during their own time, not just in the classroom (L. Annetta, 2008).

The benefits for the students in using this technology are just that, it captivates learners. Learners will spend time, many hours more so than a regular homework assignment, which is unseen or unheard of in regular classroom activities. Learners will stay engaged in their coursework and produce results that surpass any other type of learning according to statistical research. A challenge may be that for those less computer literate, and unable to understand basic computer principles may not thrive well using this type of technology, especially for those L2 learners that have limited notions of their own language (L1) but all in all, the benefits outweigh the challenges, even for the most novice users.

Some reasons why we should use game-based learning in the classroom were presented by Julie Bring, Director of viaLearning, “the average gamer is 37 years old and has been playing for 12 years. Eighty-two percent of gamers are 18 years or older. Sixty-five percent of gamers play games with other gamers in person. Fifty-five percent of gamers play games on their phones or handheld device” (Brink, 2012). She also goes on to say the following, “Gaming uses multiple intelligences for learning (logical, special, linguistics, intrapersonal, kinesthetic, music). Games are immersive engaging and motivating through new technology and interactions. Active learning- the learner is seeing and doing something” (Brink, 2012). Her list of reasoning for using video games or other types like this goes on. Her reasoning is supported by B.F. Skinner’s Behavioral Theory as well which posits that, ” behavior is a function of its consequences” (Skinner, 2005). The concept of gaming, which is proven time and time again, is just the same and I would love to implement this concept in an ESL classroom. Thus, my second pick would be a long the lines of an ESL website offering games to learners of all types (both games and learners). One website I have found, ESL Games offers just that. It is diverse enough to offer ESL training via game play to users of all types and levels and the activities and games range widely to expand training in any area of ESL learning. It may be geared towards younger learners but I do not see that as bad. The link is below.

References

http://www.sploder.com/

Annetta, L. (2008). Video games in education: Why they should be used and how they are being used. The College of Education and Human Ecology, 47, 229-239. doi: 10.1080/0040584082153940 http://www.englishclub.com/esl-games/

Week 6 Open Learning

February 29, 2016 4:54 am / Leave a comment

Week 6 Blog Open Learning and Resources

Danielle Ciccoli

EDUC 6177

Walden University

Professor Ore

February 24^th, 2016

Although this assignment was completed in a prior class (EDUC 6177), I am providing feedback to myself (and blog post followers) and attaching my original post. Open Learning is a social platform that allows virtually everyone with a computer and internet connection the option to learn. It could be through actual college credit or by simply listening in on lectures during their leisure time. What I most liked about Open Learning taking this class is the Open University UK because it gives students the opportunity to earn a degree if they are European for almost absolutely free. I talked to a few Europeans who had no idea what this resource even was – and they could possibly use this to start college. The point here is that resources like this are meant to empower the people. The resources are here in my original post from 2013 below.

This week’s blog will focus on Open Learning and the different types of mediums that fall into this real. I will focus on 2 key resources on the web that deliver this type of technology and discuss how they could be correctly implemented into an ESL classroom.

One such source is openlearning.com which is pretty strait and to the point. Classes are offered in a number of subject areas including gaming and teaching which would be up our ally. The purpose of this resource is based on the company’s mission, “Open Learning Global was founded on the belief that students learn best when they are self-motivated, engaged and interested in learning. The Company develops the OpenLearning Platform to foster communities around courses with the aim of making online learning more effective than face-to-face classes” (Openlearning.com). One of the classes I found beneficial to us students studying how to teach on this free site is Games in Education: Gamification’. Please check this resource out. The link to the website is below:

http://www.openlearning.com

How does this type of resource benefit ESL students? ESL students come from all walks of life. Having free classes in different subject matters serves ESL students well to conceptualize information in the L2 language acquisition. If a student is interested in different subject matter such as art, it gives them the viability to learn the language (target language) at their own pace. I would say this resource would be better fit for Intermediate and above English language learners and more specifically as a supplement to their education, not a requirement.

What are open learning resources exactly? They are, “freely accessible, usually open licensed documents and media that are useful for teaching, learning, educational, assessment and research purposes” (Wikipedia.com). Furthermore, the reason for the development of such material is due to, “the development and promotion of open educational resources is often motivated by a desire to curb the commodification of knowledge and provide and alternate or enhanced educational paradigm” (wikipedia.com).

The second open learning resource I found useful was Harvard’s Open Courses for free. The website is below. Harvard offers free, non-credit classes where you can watch lectures from their extension school. The courses listed are on the website and it is also a great resource. Furthermore, Harvard also offers the same classes for credit at reasonable tuition rates. Great resource!

http://www.extension.harvard.edu/open-learning-initiative

Resources:

http://www.extension.harvard.edu/open-learning-initiative

http://www.openlearning.com

Week 7: Digital Liteacy

February 29, 2016 4:41 am / Leave a comment

Week 7 Blog Post: Digital Citizenry

Danielle Ciccoli

EDUC 6177

Walden University

Professor Ore

February 24, 2016

For this week’s blog, I will give examples of technologies related to digital citizenry in this digital age, ethics and netiquette, specifically for use in the classroom. Then, I will talk about why they are so important in the classroom and go over some of my experiences using them.

First, digital citizenship can be defined as, “the norms of appropriate, responsible behavior with regard to technology use” (Ribble N.D.). One technology in regards to Ribble’s standard of digital etiquette is turnitin.com to avoid plagiarism and for teachers to check if students are writing their papers correctly. Part of being a good digital citizen is not taking something of someone else’s making and saying it is your own. Turnitin.com helps students avoid making these mistakes and keeps them in line with online community standards. It also helps to keep them in school. This in my opinion should be required of every class, whether it be online or on-campus as it happens far too much. The intellectual property theft available online is immense in the making and it should be taught in education that it is not okay. Not that it is just not okay, but also so that students can think for themselves by doing their own work. This could also apply to digital law as it crosses both boundaries.

For the concept of digital security, especially in the classroom, I believe Google Drive is a good example. You want to safeguard your work, teacher and student and Google Drive and applications are a good place to go because you can store them in the cloud and simply log in when you need them. If your computer fails, then you have lost your documents. It is also a good idea to do this considering the concept of digital citizenry.

Now speaking for the online classroom, we must consider netiquette. There is no technology in-place (at least yet for this) but it is worth mentioning. There is a proper way to do things in terms of online postings and how to handle yourself in an online classroom. This is called ‘netiquette’. Such things as including a subject line, avoiding sarcasm, using appropriate language are just some of the concepts that the authors brings up to discuss the netiquette (Roblyer & Doering, 2010). Perhaps since the times are changing and a good portion of students are either going to school completely online or taking part in online classes at their traditional schools, a course on netiquette should be developed and mandatory for any online college taker. I have personally seen awkward and even revolting discussion board postings because students were unaware of how to interact in the classroom.

So in conclusion, the concept of digital citizenship and netiquette are very ubiquitous, yet need to be taken into consideration seriously. They are very important to sustaining adult learning and understanding the appropriate uses of technology in every realm.

References

Ribble, M. (n.d.). Nine elements: Nine themes of digital citizenship. Retrieved May 30, 2012, from http://www.digitalcitizenship.net/Nine_Elements.html Ribble, M. (n.d.). Nine Elements: Nine Themes of Digital Citizenship. Retrieved from http://www.digitalcitizenship.net/Nine_Elements.html. Used by permission of Michael S. Ribble.

Roblyer, M. D., & Doering, A. H. (2010). Netiquette: Rules of behavior on the Internet. Retrieved from http://www.education.com/reference/article/netiquette-rules-behavior-internet/

Week 8: 3 Technologies

February 29, 2016 4:04 am / Leave a comment

For this week’s blog post, I am going to write about 3 technologies that I learned about in this course. Originally I focused on technologies focused on ESL learners; now I am focusing on technologies that help adult learners at client institutions because I work in Ed Tech. Some of these new technologies that I have learned about will be here.

Podcasts are an interesting concept in adult learning nowadays. They are in fact a game changer. Podcasts essentially play on the learning styles of the unique adult learner. A Podcast is a recorded instructional video often in the form of a presentation on a certain topic. In education management and ed tech, these are useful in courseware design and training (in-house). “The development and diffusion of software for producing, uploading, downloading and playing digital audio files (i.e. podcasts) make the flexible use of a wide range of audio material easier than ever in the classroom” (Marschauer & Liaw, 2010). For me podcasts change the way adult learners learn and more needs to be done to implement the right kind of technology in to the adult classroom. If not podcast, then some sort of actual lecture is needed in higher education and online learning. I do not believe the self-directed modules without a form of instruction are useful to adult learning. Walden is a good example of what should be in terms of offerings in the classroom. Having recruited for a few different types of universities, Walden is still at the forefront of availability and technologically infused classrooms.

Multi-modal applications are also presented by Marschauer and Liaw (2010) as a good source of technology for adult learners and more specifically language learners. It combines linguistic, visual, audio, gestural and special modes of meaning (Marschauer, et. al., 2010). The best example of this is youtube. It allows learners to experience all of the above to get the best learning experience and likewise, also lets the learner post their own content and could be used as a new form of learning blog, which is what I focused on during this class.

Finally, a third form of technology that could be implemented would be Collaborative Writing – again talked about by these authors. In this, there would be the use of Google Docs! I use this for work to access my client’s information and also training and other documents. Google has an amazing suite of resources that are free for people and cost-effective for companies (something like 5 dollars per user per month for work accounts). It lets you access documents, share and give permissions so the teacher can assess who is doing what, how much and the changes over time. It is a great idea for collaborative learning.

In conclusion, there are so many resources in the tech world to be had in the classroom. The above 3 are just 3 more examples of what can help aid classrooms to make them more atuned to today but the point is we should keep looking for new and better ideas constantly to enhance our adult learners and ourselves as educators.

References

Warshauer, M., Liaw, M., (2010) Emerging technologies in adult education and language education. National Institute for Literacy. Retrieved online 28 February 2016 from: https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=technologies+in+adult+education

Emerging Technologies in Adult Learning

January 5, 2016 12:19 am / Leave a comment

Emerging Technologies in Adult Learning

This blog will talk about a few emerging technologies in adult learning that the author, Danielle Ciccoli, will be evaluating for her Emerging Technologies Proposal that will be submitted in week 7 of this course. The ideas presented from this week’s topics will also help her visualize the best emerging technologies.

Open Learning Resources

June 14, 2013 3:32 pm / Leave a comment

This week’s blog will focus on Open Learning and the different types of mediums that fall into this real. I will focus on 2 key resources on the web that deliver this type of technology and discuss how they could be correctly implemented into an ESL classroom.

One such source is openlearning.com which is pretty strait and to the point. Classes are offered in a number of subject areas including gaming and teaching which would be up our ally. The purpose of this resource is is based on the company’s mission, “Open Learning Global was founded on the belief that students learn best when they are self-motivated, engaged and interested in learning. The Company develops the OpenLearning Platform to foster communities around courses with the aim of making online learning more effective than face-to-face classes” (Openlearning.com). One of the classes I found beneficial to us students studying how to teach on this free site is’Games in Education: Gamification’. Please check this resource out. The link to the website is below:

http://www.openlearning.com

How does this type of resource benefit ESL students? ESL students come from all walks of life. Having free classes in different subject matters serves ESL students well to conceptualize information in the L2 language acquisition. If a student is interested in different subject matter such as art, it gives them the viability to learn the language (target language) at their own pace. I would say this resource would be better fit for Intermediate and above English language learners and more specifically as a supplement to their education, not a requirement.

What are open learning resources exactly? They are, “freely accessible, usually open licensed documents and media that are useful for teaching, learning, educational, assessment and research purposes” (Wikipedia.com). Furthermore, the reason for the development of such material is due to, “the development and promotion of open educational resources is often motivated by a desire to curb the commodification of knowledge and provide and alternate or enhanced educational paradigm” (wikipedia.com).

The second open learning resource I found useful was Harvard’s Open Courses for free. The website is below. Harvard offers free, non-credit classes where you can watch lectures from their extension school. The courses listed are on the website and it is also a great resource. Furthermore, Harvard also offers the same classes for credit at reasonable tuition rates. Great resource!

http://www.extension.harvard.edu/open-learning-initiative

Resources:

Wikipedia.com

http://www.extension.harvard.edu/open-learning-initiative

http://www.openlearning.com

Video Games in Education

June 10, 2013 10:19 pm / Leave a comment

For this blog post, I am writing about some games that are available for educational learning in an ESL environment. One game, Sploder, explodes with opportunities for ESL learners to learn basic tasks in a fun, creative way which I will discuss first.
Sploder, an online game, allows students to create their own games and they can be retro style, simple or even not so simple if they know how to code games. Because students have to create their own game, they will have a more vested interest in the technology and each student can practice giving directions, following directions as well as applying them. The type of games they can create include space shooting type games, and a lot of retro like archade games. The point of having students make these games is to hone in on certain skill sets like direction giving and taking, asking questions and answering questions. The directions could be to find certain objects hidden in the game by following simple commands like go left, go right, walk strait, etc. These simple directions translate into deeper meanings such as giving directions to the store, which will align with the guidelines set in place for ESL learners by the state of Illinois.

How I would incorporate this into an ESL classroom: I would explain the activity in class thouroughly, perhaps taking as much as half the class to do so and then assign students homework which would be to create their game and instructions over a period of 2 weeks. Once the create their game, we will have a class party towards the end of the term, after the key vocabulary has been taught, and have a video game party where students can battle until there is 1-2 winners which would be based on direction giving and following directions.

A recent report by the Business Roundtable in 2005 stated that there was, “deep concern about the United States’ ability its scientific and technological superiority through this decade and beyond. The report called for a sense of urgency and for immediate action to secure a prosperous future for this country and its children. How can this monumental task be accomplished?” (L. Annette, 2008). It can be accomplished by adding video games and other technologies to sustain adult and adolescent learning components to help raise the American educational standards. The thought of using such technology has inspired military experts and was subsequently coined the next great discovery and has given them the tool to captivate students during their own time, not just in the classroom (L. Annetta, 2008).

The benefits for the students in using this technology are just that, it captivates learners. Learners will spend time, many hours more so than a regular homework assignment, which is unseen or unheard of in regular classroom activities. Learners will stay engaged in their coursework and produce results that surpass any other type of learning according to statistical research. A challenge may be that for those less computer literate, and unable to understand basic computer principles may not thrive well using this type of technology, especially for those L2 learners that have limited notions of their own language (L1) but all in all, the benefits outweigh the challenges, even for the most novice users.

Some reasons why we should use game-based learning in the classroom were presented by Julie Bring, Director of viaLearning, “the average gamer is 37 years old and has been playing for 12 years. Eighty-two percent of gamers are 18 years or older. Sixty-five percent of gamers play games with other gamers in person. Fifty-five percent of gamers play games on their phones or handheld device” (Brink, 2012). She also goes on to say the following, “Gaming uses multiple intelligences for learning (logical, special, linguistics, intrapersonal, kinesthetic, music). Games are immersive engaging and motivating through new technology and interactions. Active learning- the learner is seeing and doing something” (Brink, 2012). Her list of reasoning for using video games or other types like this goes on. Her reasoning is supported by B.F. Skinner’s Behavioral Theory as well which posits that, ” behavior is a function of its consequences” (Skinner, 2005). The concept of gaming, which is proven time and time again is just the same and I would love to implement this concept in an ESL classroom.
Thus, my second pick would be a long the lines of an ESL website offering games to learners of all types (both games and learners). One website I have found, ESL Games offers just that. It is diverse enough to offer ESL training via game play to users of all types and levels and the activities and games range widely to expand training in any area of ESL learning. It may be geared towards younger learners but I do not see that as bad. The link is below.

References

http://www.sploder.com/

Annetta, L. (2008). Video games in education: Why they should be used and how they are being used. The College of Education and Human Ecology, 47, 229-239. doi: 10.1080/0040584082153940
http://www.englishclub.com/esl-games/

Research Methods for Incorporating Blogs into ESL Classrooms

June 3, 2013 4:21 am / Leave a comment

Incorporating Blogs Methods in ESL Instruction

Danielle Ciccoli

Walden University

EDUC 6185-2

Professor Dam

June 2^nd 2013

This proposal section summarizes the graduate student, Danielle Ciccoli, her experience and knowledge in the field of ESL training and Educational Technology which will show that she has the experience and training necessary to carry out this research project on time and on budget.

The key personnel involved will be Danielle Ciccoli, the graduate student conducting the research, with help from one to two other graduate students yet to be decided. Danielle Ciccoli is a graduate student at Walden University in the Master of Science in Adult Education specializing in TEFL instruction. She has experience teaching ESL abroad and works in education as a recruiter with experience in liaising with administration and corporate contacts and disseminating information to large groups of people on a daily basis. Her responsibilities will include contacting schools within the state and liaising with them to determine their participation in the project. Her job will also be to oversee the collection of the different types of data, mailings and then analyzing the data. The other graduate students involved have not yet been named but will be assisting with the above functions and also helping to interpret the data and disseminating the information to stakeholders in this project. The participants that will be involved will be from random samples of schools agreeing to add the Blog component to their curriculum as well as teachers and school administrators from these schools. These schools will be private ESL schools, not state-sponsored schools unless they are run through a college literacy program such as the City Colleges of Chicago. Those involved will be residing in the state of Illinois and the schools being sampled will be in the state of Illinois. The collaborators joining me in this project will be from Walden University’s Education and Research Departments.

This methods section is designed for reviewing the effectiveness of using blogs in an ESL classroom and learner perceptions on their usage. Many studies have noted, “The results also revealed that blogs have the potential for developing reading and writing skills” (Wu, H. & Wu, P, 2011). The study will expand on that and sample random classes at ESL school’s throughout the state of Illinois and administer two types of tests: questionnaires to students and reporting: which will be used on the control group and sample groups to assess the effectiveness of blogs in an ESL setting by correlating grades, attendance and other factors that will be described below. In choosing the above sampling procedures, it gives the study wide parameters to look at the effectiveness of blogs in Educational Technology from a theoretical standpoint, students perspective and statistically (being from grades, class participation and so on).

I have chosen the research methods because of research presented on the topic of educational research. “There has been a proliferation of educational research papers published recently. Educational research plays a major role in influencing and informing educational practice” (Goktas, Y., Hasancebi, F., Varisoglu, B., Akcay, A., Bayrak, N., Baran, M., & Soxbilir, M., 2012). That being said, the above authors have found to help with observing, recording, analyzing and drawing out implications, certain methods have proven to be more efficient than others, which will aid the study in determining the value-add of non-value add of incorporating educational blogs into ESL classrooms and curriculum across the state of Illinois. According to the same authors noted above, using parametric statistical research yields findings applicable to the study versus those in Educational Technology because they are limited in their scope (Goktas Y, et. al, 2012). In order to not limit this study in scope, the purpose and method of this study will incorporate all available analysis from participant surveys and questionnaires, to test and control groups and a critical statistical comparison based on a number of factors including attendance, grades, homework completion and an analysis of strong points and weaknesses of students in areas such as writing and grammar.

Recruitment will be through schools. The study will choose 100 random ESL schools (both private and university-run) for participation in this event. Once 100 schools have agreed to participate, ESL classrooms will randomly be drawn for comparison. Random students ranging from 18-99 will be asked to fill out questionnaires and have their test results, classroom activities and student profiles evaluated. Completion of this study will be completely voluntary.

To address the objective if there is a value-add in incorporating educational blogs in ESL classrooms in the state of Illinois, the following activities will occur and occur by December 8, 2013:

ESL schools will be randomly contacted and added to a list of participating schools.
If more than 100 agree to participate, the list will be randomly narrowed to 100 schools representative of the state of Illinois.
Teachers will add blog assignments into the curriculum and give feedback on a weekly basis including grades, class participation and other factors after completion of blog activities.
A test will be administered in classrooms with the use of blogs, and those without at the end of each class.
Students participating will be sent questionnaires on their use of the blogs.
Schools and teachers will be asked to fill out questionnaires on their use of the blogs.
Data will be analyzed by researchers.
A focus group will be held via teleconferencing/WebEx for students and teachers once data has been finished collected.

In conclusion, the above timeline of activities and research will conclude the study the graduate student, Danielle Ciccoli, will be conducting on the effective usage of blogs in an ESL environment to determine whether their use is effective and if so, in what capacity. Research will commence in December and the fieldwork will be made available to stakeholders.

References

Goktas, Y., Hasancebi, F., Varisoglu, B., Akcay, A., Bayrak, N., Baran, M., & Sozbilir, M. (2012). Trends in Educational Research in Turkey: A Content Analysis. Educational Sciences: Theory And Practice, 12(1), 455-460.

Wu, H., & Wu, P. (2011). Learners’ Perceptions on the Use of Blogs for EFL Learning. Online Submission,

Bloom’s Taxonomy on Adult Learning Via Mobile Apps

June 3, 2013 12:33 am / Leave a comment

The link here is for the Bloom’s Taxonomy on Adult Learning and also in Picture message. I will update this blog once I go through the resources and report back my findings.

Aside

Mobile Technologies in Adult Learning

Mobile technologies are the new wave of adult learning. As an ESL teacher, I need to have tips and tricks up my sleeve for activities and what better than having an I-pad or other such mobile devise to create lesson plans quickly, efficiently and on the spot. This blog will discuss two mobile technologies and how they are useful to an ESL environment.

The first mobile technology that I will be discussing is i-lessonplan. I-lessonplan gives the teacher (me) the ability to not have to hand write lesson plans, collaborate and share with other teachers, and give access to administrators for approval and or revisions. It takes the hassle and preparation time out of developing extensive lesson plans and in teaching ESL becomes quite useful since I have never been paid for prep time. It is uncommon in Europe to be paid to prepare for classes yet teachers are expected to come prepared to teach their own lessons. I was earning anywhere from 10-14 euro per hour in Europe (Rome) and working at most 25 hours per week makes for a meager paycheck, thus creating lesson plans can be quite daunting. Furthermore, having an I-Pad application is even more useful. One of the school’s I taught at in Rome (Centro ProLingua) gave teachers I-Pads which they thought helpful to store books on. I never realized (until now) that the I-Pad could also be used to store applications to make teaching easier. Not only can I play a video clip or audio clip but I can have something for me, to make teaching easier and more efficient (especially when teaching corporate clientele). Using this specific application is good for the student and the teacher because it allows both to benefit from the technology and develop a deeper sense of the information being taught.

https://www.ilessonplan.com/

Another good mobile technology that I would like to share is designed to, “This application features forms and tools commonly used by teachers such as a Daily Agenda, Long Term Planner, EZ Grader, Special Recognition, Permission Slips and more, allowing teachers the ability to complete their paperwork anywhere for rapid distribution to parents, colleagues and school administrators” (itunes.com). As mentioned in my previous blurb, I have taught and will be continuing to teach in the field of ESL, so even the most minute paperwork needs to be streamlined. Students (especially when teaching corporate English clients that I have) appreciate the feedback and grades in the old fashioned way yet are open to new technologies. It would be nice to incorporate I-pads for students as well and have them be able to check and review their grades and feedback which is critical for L2 development. Administrators can also check on progress and progress reports can be sent to clients and companies on behalf of the student. In Italy in general, a feature like this would be widely beneficial as a lot of language schools continue to use old-fashioned methods often without formal reviews, which again is critically important to L2 acquisition.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/teachers-app-box/id458139170?mt=8

These are just two of many applications that are on the market and the link below will guide you to some more and I am sure some more after that. We should all just take some time to evaluate our individual teacher needs, our students needs and determine which program is best suited for our situation. The above two are suitable for me, if I continue to teach in the field of ESL overseas, though for teachers in the K-12 environment, you may need other types of technologies that are approved and appropriate for that environment. Please feel free to give feedback and tell me what you think!

http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2013/05/top-101-ipad-apps-for-lesson-planning.html

References

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/teachers-app-box/id458139170?mt=8

http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2013/05/top-101-ipad-apps-for-lesson-planning.html

https://www.ilessonplan.com/

∞