Written Assignment: Reflection for Final Project

     

           When this project was first introduced, I was consumed with the idea that I wanted to create a website. It was always something that I wished I could create, but with my busy schedule, there was never enough time and I did not know the first thing about creating a website. However, Weebly made creating a website an attainable goal. 

Originally, I had wanted to create a classroom website but I was unsure of what this website would contain. However, most of my students’ parents speak different languages other than Spanish and some of my students do not have access to technology at home, therefore this posed an issue when considering the creation of a classroom website. I began to then think of ways to use this website so that it would be beneficial to my students. This lead to considering the areas they struggled in the most. These two areas are science and social studies, which are the two content area classes where my students do not receive services. Most students are failing these classes since there is not an ESL resource teacher to provide them with a push-in service or a teacher in the content area that is either ESL certified or has had professional development on how to target their instruction for students who are classified as ESL. Therefore, these students are getting the same instruction that the mainstream regular education students are given, without the necessary modifications based upon their language learning level. No professional development was provided at the district level due to funding and many teachers with their busy schedule were not able to meet with me to ask questions, therefore teachers did not have the tools they needed to modify assignments for English Language Learners. I finally decided that I would create a website for ELL Teaching Resources for content area teachers. This website will provide them with the tools and strategies they need to modify content area instruction to ensure academic success in their classroom for all learners. 

This project is important because as a teacher, I serve the role as advocate for my students. By creating this website, it allows me to advocate for my students by presenting content area teachers with strategies that they can use in their classroom. Many of these strategies are SIOP (Sheltered Instruction ObservationProtocol) strategies that align with meeting the needs of English Language Learners. In addition, I have also provided a link on the homepage to the WIDACan-Do Descriptors in which teachers will be able to measure a student’s ability in the areas of reading, writing, listening, and speaking according to their language level. 

The use of digital technology enhances the project since it provides links to other resources and videos. It enhances the content of the material presented since it provides access to these strategies through external sources including websites with additional information on the strategies, videos that demonstrate the strategy implemented in the classroom, and templates to go along with the technique. The website gives the content the added appeal since it can be accessed from a computer or mobile device. It also creates a visual means of presentation rather than just explaining the strategy or producing handouts for other content area teachers. All of the information is stored in one webpage rather than selecting information to be placed in a binder. 

By creating the Weebly Website, it touches upon two out of the three course anchors presented in the class, Critical Pedagogy and Educational Reform and Media as Ideology. According to the Course Anchors and Guiding Assumptions in the class syllabus, Critical Pedagogy and Educational Reform “rest on the assumption that public schools should be driven by a commitment to social justice, equity and inclusion that values all learners, an assumption that challenges the current educational status quo.” Through the creation of the ELL Teaching Resource website, I have demonstrated that the inclusion of all learners should be valued by educators by considering their learning needs, styles of learning, and language level. The website targets these needs accurately by providing a resource for content area teachers to use to implement the necessary modifications to their instruction. Media as Ideology is presented in this project since the use of the internet as a digital culture will be presented to my colleagues as a digital tool to use in their professional lives to enhance their teaching abilities with English Language Learners. In the past, I have considered myself on the borderline of Digital Immigrant and Digital Native, growing up with the evolution of technology without the critical tools necessary to comprehend each technological tool that was presented. I knew how to use some of the devices at a basic level rather than the advanced critical levels that others knew. This project demonstrates a more recent shift that I had made from a digital immigrant standpoint to the world of digital natives where I am able to explore and comprehend more advanced tools as media and technology progresses. The website also aligns with the goal of exploring a resource from the Digital Toolbox to expand my knowledge of relevant digital sources that can be incorporated in my classroom as well as my professional life. 

Before completing this course, I would have considered myself as a techno-traditionalist. I was able to create PowerPoints for presentations, use the document camera for presenting instructional material, and also used some forms of media in the classroom such as relevant content area videos. However, upon completion of this course, I would consider myself as approaching the techno-constructivist realm. Although I am still in the process of learning about Digital Tools and forms of media in the classroom, there is much more to explore. Creating a website to share with my colleagues was the first step in the direction of a techno-constructivist. I was successful in creating a website that consisted of adding images, text, video, and other external links using a tool that I had not previously used. After this website is presented to other faculty members in my school, I would like to add more information over time to build upon the material presented in my site. I included information that was concise since I did not want to present content area teachers with too much information at once. By adding a few more strategies every few months, teachers will have an abundance of strategies they can modify for their ELL students. Because I am now able to use this digital tool, my next step in my journey is to create other websites such as a school or classroom website. In addition, I would like to explore other digital tools to use in the classroom to incorporate media and technology in the curriculum so that students can become both consumers and producers of technology and media.  

Website: ELL Teaching Resources 

Pecha Kucha: ELL Teaching Resources Website

Self-Assessment Rubric:

The Project:

	Excellent (9.5-10)	Great (8.75-9.25)	Good (8-8.5)	Passing (7-7.5)	Unacceptable/Absent (under 7)
Uses new technologies that you have not explored before.		X
Does this project position you as a technocrat, techno-traditionalist, or techno-constructivist? Explain.	*** See written assignment for explanation.
Product is practical, useful, and enhances the teaching and learning in your classroom/life.	X
Layout (attractive, user-friendly, and professional)	X

The Presentation: 

	Excellent A/A- range	Great B+ range	Good B/B- range	Passing C range	Unacceptable Below C
FORMAT: Uses 20 slides on 20 second timer	X
Slide images help viewer understand the project		X
Spoken presentation is well organized, timed, ad crafted		X
Clearly articulates how the digital product will enhance the teaching and learning in the presenter’s classroom/life		X
What questions or feedback can you offer this presenter?

The Written Assignment: 

	Excellent (9.5-10)	Great (8.75-9.25)	Good (8-8.5)	Passing (7-7.5)	Unacceptable/Absent (under 7)
Includes a narrative context about where this project came from, what you did, and why it is important to you.	X
Explains how the use of digital technology enhances or changes this content/context (points 2x)		X
Draws from at least 3 of our course themes, texts, or issues (points 2x)	X
Demonstrates something that you could not have done or conceptualized before this course.	X
Includes hyperlinks to at least 5 external resources (academic and/or technical)	X
Writing Style (creativity, style, flow)		X
Writing Skills (grammar, spelling, format)	X