Technology in the language learning classroom and library

I had a lot of fun paying with Scratch! On top of the Scratch tutorials, I was lucky enough to get two amazing tutorials from my kids. My daughter and I wrote her name and added images of things she likes- soccer balls, keyboard, etc. We played with each letter to have them rotate 90, 180 degrees. Here’s an example of a child learning angles through scratch- my daughter did not know how many degrees were in a full circle but now does thanks to experimenting with the rotation block code. 

My son showed me how to make a clicker game that counted by twos, was timed, and had a beautiful marine background. I could see how advanced these block codes can get and was amazed that a kid in grade 6 could know so many different options for algorithms.

While I don’t feel experienced enough to fully critique the coding tools I have used such as Scratch and Code.org, I would say that both are great at introducing students to basic functions of their platform through their tutorials. Code.org seems a bit more prescriptive with its projects but certainly does the job of introducing block coding. 

The problem I see with both is that they are both often introduced in class and then given to kids to explore freely. This is super fun for kids, but I don’t see any explicit teaching of computational thinking. Granted students will see patterns, and put small blocks together to solve a bigger problem, but I don’t see a free use of this program without explicit teaching of skills as sufficient to teach the four components of computational thinking. 

When I questioned my son, who loves Scratch and chose it as his enrichment last term, about computational thinking and what he’s learned from Scratch, he shared that he knows a lot more about variables now. He did not seem to react when I asked him about the four components of Computational Thinking. Perhaps as teachers and TLs we need to reflect more on how to use these programs to explicitly teach computational thinking curriculum. For me, it starts with better understanding the curriculum and the platforms themselves. Luckily for me, I have two keen Scratch enthusiasts in my core bubble who have kindly offered to further explore these platforms with me (I can hear them now in the living room arguing over how much per hour they hope to charge me. Sigh 😉

British Columbia Ministry of Education (n.d.) Curriculum Search Tool. Retrieved by https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/search

Code BC (n.d.) CT Illustrated. Retrieved from https://codebc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/computational-thinking-illustrated.pdf

Code.org. Retrieved from https://code.org/

Scratch Tutorial. Retrieved from https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/524428076/editor

BC Curriculum excerpt for Computational thinking:

ADST 6:

Computational Thinking

• simple algorithms that reflect computational thinking
• visual representations of problems and data
• evolution of programming languages
• visual programming

ADST 7: 

Computational Thinking

• simple algorithms that reflect computational thinking
• visual representations of problems and data
• evolution of programming languages
• visual programming

ADST 8:

Computational Thinking

• software programs as specific and sequential instructions with algorithms that can be reliably repeated by others
• debugging algorithms and programs by breaking problems down into a series of sub-problems
• binary number system (1s and 0s) to represent data
• programming languages, including visual programming in relation to text-based programming and programming modular components

BC Curriculum excerpt for ROBOTICS: Many courses at the secondary level that focus specifically on robotics and technology. 

Since I support FRIMM classes from K-12, I wanted to get a senses of where and when computational thinking is introduced and explicitly taught in the curriculum, so I selected grades 4 through 11.

From this basic search, I learned that many aspects of computational thinking are introduced from grades 6 onwards through the ADST curriculum. Interestingly, it was only explicitly mentioned in middle school grades in the ADST curriculum, and then covered in more detail in computer science 10. 

As for robotics, this term was not specifically mentioned until specialty secondary school classes such as Technology Explorations and Robotics.

From the perspective of someone who has never explicitly learned or taught computational thinking or robotics, I am noticing a few things:

1. Computational thinking and robotics seem very connected to Math. The approaches to problem solving we teach in Math, breaking down a larger problem, noticing patterns, developing algorithms, are all what we focus on in middle school Math. I for one love studying and teaching Math and can picture students of mine who may have struggled with our Math curriculum but who would flourish with this hands-on curriuclum. 
2. Computational thinking and robotics use real problems to solve. What I like about both these curricula is that students develop skills by attacking real problems, rather than by solving written problems or using manipulatives as is the case with Math. Physically taking apart a model or a robot might really help students learn decomposition, whereas breaking a large word problem down into smaller steps still is abstract for many of our Math students. Manipulatives help some students, but they are still a step away from a real problem.
3. Both computational thinking and robotics combine so many important core competencies. Solving complex problems as a group requires communication skills, critical thinking skills, and creativity. These skills need to be scaffolded and require time and practice to develop. I can see the value of student reflection on the process being useful in helping students to develop the required interpersonal skills to effectively work as a team in these courses. 

Interestingly, the Code BC Illustrated example identifies grades from primary upwards for introducing computational thinking. Given the varied core competencies developed through computational thinking and robotics, as well as the connection with problem solving in Math, in my view middle school seems like a good age to start explicitly teaching this curriculum. Students are learning to work together as a group, they are developing more understanding of how to solve problems in Math. That said, I can imagine some teachers with a more diverse knowledge of computational thinking may see the benefit of weaving it into their program at the elementary level. 

Reading about computational thinking and robotics reminds me once again that our curriculum is moving in the right direction. Curricula that integrate so many important skills that will help students to work collaboratively and constructively to face real world problems seem essential for the world we are living in today. What’s more, they offer an alternative to the traditional academic learning that so many of us grew up with, thereby creating a more inclusive learning environment that reach a greater diversity of learners. 

British Columbia Ministry of Education (n.d.) Curriculum Search Tool. Retrieved by https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/search

Code BC (n.d.) CT Illustrated. Retrieved from https://codebc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/computational-thinking-illustrated.pdf

The requested title of « Iteration of building the plan » seems fitting for my plan, since my entire plan feels iterative. Rather than a physical redesign of one physical Library space, I am trying to think about how to continue to support and foster a reading culture and strong literacy practices for French Immersion schools. A digital corkboard was not a tool where I felt I could easily explain this long-term plan, but it was worthwhile learning about the tool. Given the iterative, long term and interconnected nature of this type of plan, a spiral corkboard (or a physical baby’s mobile!) may have worked better! That said, the 2D Linoit was enough of a technical challenge for me.

I find it difficult to focus on one specific aspect of a plan that involves many layers (collaboratively building lists with TLs and teachers of favourite French books at all levels, collaborating with teachers on lesson plans related to literacy, continuing to build upon French lit circle sets, sharing student projects such as book critiques and book talks across the district on digital library, continued pro-d related to second language literacy K-12, etc.). My experiences in the past years as. French Immersion teacher, instructor in pre-service and post-degree second language teaching and now TL in training, have made me increasingly interested in the interconnectedness between L2 teacher pro-d, TL and teacher collaboration, student engagement in L2 literacy, and the role of the TL and library in supporting these initiatives. While I find it hard to isolate one aspect of this plan, Stacey gave me some great advice for this assignment – to give a few examples at a specific level. In some cases I changed my original yellow stickies to give more specific examples, and in other cases I added stickies with concrete examples specific to middle school (see pink stickies). I hope to carry out this plan in various ways at all levels K-12, but for now am focusing on middle since this is my recent teaching background and I am already starting to work on small aspects of this plan at this level.

I could not figure out how to export my page so have included screen shots. While I do not find this sort of corkboard really helps me personally, it was worthwhile exploring the tool. I will not include a link to my original floorplan as my design plan relates to my current role of coordinator, and as such is not tied to a specific physical library.

References

British Colombia Ministry of Education (n.d.) French Immersion Curriculum. Retrieved from https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/fr/curriculum/fral

Rendina, D. (2016). How to Identify and Reframe Design Problems in Your Library Space. Knowledge Quest. Retrieved from https://knowledgequest.aasl.org/identify-reframe-design-problems-library-space/

Here are my screenshots of Linot. I could not figure out how to export my page. I do not find this sort of corkboard really helps me personally, but it was worthwhile exploring the tool. I will not include a link to my original floorplan as my design plan relates to my current role of coordinator, and as such is not tied to a specific physical library.

References

British Colombia Ministry of Education (n.d.) French Immersion Curriculum. Retrieved from https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/fr/curriculum/fral

Rendina, D. (2016). How to Identify and Reframe Design Problems in Your Library Space. Knowledge Quest. Retrieved from https://knowledgequest.aasl.org/identify-reframe-design-problems-library-space/

My local library has several online resources, such as Lynda (Linkedin Learning), TeenBookCloud, Hoopla, and others. Rather than creating a poster for a particular resource, I created a simple poster to access the library site.

I played with Canva and used one of their templates which was fun, but it was also limiting as you cannot modify the background.

Greater Victoria Public Library. Website https://www.gvpl.ca/

After reading the posters of others, I realized I was supposed to target a specific database. See below for poster that promotes using Linkedin Learning at the GVPL

Does written informed consent from parents or guardians suffice or do we need consent from a child?

Informed consent for posting student work online is needed by parents and guardians for students under 18 (Hengstler, 2013). An explanation in plain English must be offered as to the purpose and risks of posting work online. In addition, parents, guardians and students have the right to refuse work to be posted at their discretion (Hengstler). For this reason, I feel that teachers should frequently check in with students about posting work online, explain that they have the right to refuse permission, and obtain their consent each time work is posted online. This again will help students develop and understanding of online privacy and an ability to advocate for themselves in other contexts. 

How can we use posting student work online as an opportunity to increase students’ understanding of digital literacy and informed consent?

While copyright rules around student work add a layer of complexity to our work as teachers and TLs, we must remember that they also present a great opportunity to teach students about digital literacy AND especially about consent. By sharing the rules with students and having them be part of the process of ensuring what goes online is done so with permission, we help students to learn to advocate for their rights and to respect others’ rights to privacy online. What’s more, we have a real-life opportunity to teach informed consent, which is a skill and process we need our students to understand and practice online and off. Rather 

What are the risks of posting student work on Google Classroom?

Our district uses Google Classroom, which is password protected. Students share their ideas by responding to posts, and occasionally post their assignments on the classroom page. While the system is password protected, Hengstler (2013) warns that even password-protected sites pose a risk to student privacy. Google uses servers in the US, making it subject to US laws that allow servers to be searched by government. While I have heard this for years, I admittedly don’t tend to pay attention to these issues and have allowed others to sort out the risk assessment. How worried should we as teachers and parents be about our use of Google Classroom?

References

Hengstler, J. (2013).  A K–12 Primer for British Columbia Teachers Posting Students’ Work Online. Retrieved from http://etec.ctlt.ubc.ca/510wiki/images/2/2b/Primer_on_Posting_Minor_Students_Final.pdf

Marie-Josée and I chose a secondary school context for our digital literacies info posters. Here they are. We went for provoking questions followed by a short statement to get informed. We also went for slightly eerie photos. We are aware that the first image is a bit tough to read with the white writing, but we sort of like that since it gives a slightly unsettling feeling.

References

Hill, K. & Mattu, S. (2018). What Your Smart Devices Know (and share) About You. Youtube (video). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POHYyP4EbzE

Pariser, E. (2011). Beware Online « Filter Bubbles ». TED (video). Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/eli_pariser_beware_online_filter_bubbles

Tinase, M. (2009) Cloud Computing: How it all works. Youtube (video). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTNgV0O_oTg

1. What steps can you take to make sure you have control of your online information? Why is it important to lock privacy settings and set strong passwords?

As a middle school teacher and a parent of a middle school and elementary school child, I find it difficult to read articles about digital privacy without my heart starting to race! My one child currently loves how-to art videos and another loves Magic the Gathering podcasts and online research, but despite their (for now) rather innocent uses of tech, they have still already encountered privacy issues online . Technology is at our kids’ and our fingertips and learning how to navigate it safely and respectfully is essential ongoing learning.

We share a lot of information online without thinking about it, but a few changes in settings and online behaviours could make a difference in better controlling information. 

Firstly and  perhaps most importantly, web browsers and social media apps have settings that one can go through to restrict what information is shared. Turning your location off is one important way that you can stop companies from tracking your movements and behaviour. I have my phone set so that I can temporarily turn on location when needed. 

This is even important for devices with cameras. If we do not turn off location on our devices, photos that are shared online will identify location. This is a safety issue, especially for children. Settings on both cameras and on social media platforms such as Instagram have settings that can allow the user to turn off Geo-Location (Safer Schools Together, 2020).

Another step we can take in controlling our information is passwords on our phones, etc. While this may seem obvious to adults, kids don’t always put passwords on their devices. Once a device is open all personal info can be accessed. 

Another aspect of sharing photos and information online is to be avoid signs, obvious locations or names that can identify people, especially children. I recently posted a photo of my kids with our new puppy- a lovely family photo. When I looked back at it, I realized my son was wearing his middle school hoody. Someone who wanted more information could likely very quickly narrow down where my child lived based on the photo and the hoody. 

Lastly, third party cookies track interests and sites visited, likes, and all digital moves. You can learn more about how to block cookies by using a free program called Ghostery (Imagine Easy Solutions, 2014)

Finally, the main way to control your online information is to think about your digital footprint and create digital social boundaries, in order to ensure that anything you post online fits with what you are ready to share with the world. This is an essential part of digital safety that can be taught to students from a young age and continue right through adolescence. 

Digital citizenship is essential teaching in our roles as teachers and TLs. What I have found teaching these skills in middle school is that students often feel that they are experts by grade 8, even though there is so much more to consider and learn. My question is therefore, how can we teach digital citizenship from elementary through high school without making it feel repetitive and patronizing to our students? How can we reach older students and help them continue to buy in to the importance of thinking of their digital social boundaries?

References:

Common Sense Media (n.d.) Everything You Need to Teach Digital Citizenship. Common Sense Media (website). Retrieved from https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-citizenship

Imagine Easy Solutions (2014). What are Tracking Cookies? Youtube (Video). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4n2Syt0P4js

Ministry of Education (2020). Raising Digitally Responsible Youths: A Parents’ Guide. Safer Schools Together. Retrieved from https://saferschoolstogether.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Raising-Digitally-Responsible-Youth-Guide-2020.pdf

Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (n.d.). Social Smart: Privacy, the Internet and You. Retrieved from http://www.sms.sd23.bc.ca/Students/PublishingImages/social_smarts.pdf

“By identifying the specific design problems in our space and how they impact student learning, we are much more likely to secure that funding that we need.” (Rendina, 2016)

Since I am not physically in a library or even a school, I wanted my design plan to best respond to my current role in French Language Coordination. Since I technically support K-12 French Immersion and Core French programs, it could be easy to get overwhelmed and not know where to start. I ended up sending two surveys, one to teachers, admin and some students at various middle schools, and one to K-12 dual track TLs. It was very interesting to compare the data. While much of my data focuses on middle school, I hope to widen the scope of my design to K-12 libraries eventually.

The first two problem-reframe sets reflect the graph below regarding French print resources. See Figure 1 below. 

PROBLEM 1: The first problem I have identified is that there are not enough books that meet both the interest and the reading level of our FRIMM students. From the various responses from different groups, I can see that we need to purchase more books of every genre, from magazines and graphic novels to non-fiction curriculum-linked books. We also need more literature circle book options at different levels to engage all students. 

REFRAME 1: A lack of diversity of French books of all genres at differentiated reading levels impacts French Immersion students’ ability to learn to enjoy reading in French and learn from reading in French. 

PROBLEM 2: While some teachers and TLs are very knowledgeable of and comfortable with their French book collection, others acknowledge that they are not familiar with all the titles, do not know what to recommend their students, and don’t have time or language to read the vast array of French books in order to support students. 

REFRAME 2: Lack of familiarity with and knowledge of the variety of French texts by some teachers and TLs creates a challenge for these teachers and TLs to promote, discuss, read aloud and recommend texts to students. 

Figure 1

The third and fourth problem/reframe sets regroup issues related to digital literacy and ADST in French. See Figure 2 below. 

PROBLEM 3: There are not enough digital literacy resources and research tools in French

REFRAME 3: Challenges in navigating and finding digital literacy resources hinder students’ ability to access digital books, research tools and other digital literacy sites. 

PROBLEM 4: It is hard to do ADST in French when there are no planning templates or lessons in French.  

REFRAME 4: A lack of availability of lesson resources and language supports for ADST projects in French make it challenging for French Immersion students to benefit from this curriculum. 

Figure 2

While there is much more work to be done in further curating digital literacy resources in French, we are on our way and partly the need is to help teachers become more familiar with resources available to them. I will continue to focus pro-d and communication on this in my role. 

I see the first three problems as interrelated and will therefore endeavor to combine them in my design challenge. In some cases the books or digital resources are there but further support for teachers is needed to identify appropriate texts or sites and become more familiar with the collection. In other cases, there is a need to add more diversity to the French print and digital library collection.

As for ADST, I would like to respond to this need by designing language supports, lesson templates and hopefully some collaborative planning and teaching to help support ADST in French Immersion.

Design challenge statement:

Challenge

Co-develop, curate and promote a diverse collection of differentiated print and digital literacy resources in French that help foster a culture of reading in French, help support all students to access print and digital texts in French at their level, and help students access curriculum in French. Collaborate with teachers and TLs in building collection and in becoming more knowledgeable of what resources can work for what learning contexts and needs.

Materials

Co-created lists of print resources for magazines, novels, BDs, non-fictionDifferentiated literature circle setsSets of “coups de coeur” (favourite books) Digital library in FrenchDigital library platform to house digital book talks, student critiques, etc.

Teams

Working with teachers, groups of students in a library, TLs depending on what aspect of project

Roles

TLs and teachers- help co-create or add to pre-developed lists of resources for differentiated fiction, curriculum-connected non-fiction print resourcesTLs – help further develop digital library in French, especially “ressources by subject” area.

References

Rendina, D. (2016). How to Identify and Reframe Design Problems in Your Library Space. Knowledge Quest. Retrieved from https://knowledgequest.aasl.org/identify-reframe-design-problems-library-space/

Library Possibilities

While I am not currently in a library or in a school, I often wonder where my next position will be, and I would love to work in a Secondary or Middle School library at some point in the next 5-10 years. What I would be most interested in doing as a TL in a middle or secondary dual track school library would be to transition away from a more traditional library with stacks of books,  fixed tables and computer lab to a dynamic, multipurpose LLC that infuses technology, makerspace, literacy corners and fosters creativity. I would also like to further develop specific spaces for French books and, where possible, books in other languages of the students who attend.

A library should be a place to try new things. When students feel safe, they are more likely to take risks and thereby become more creative. The activities that Brown (2008) discussed in his TED talk outlined the importance of cultivating creativity in young students. A dedicated maker corner would be a great addition to the library. It would be an asset to have a dedicated space with workbenches and a sink, but if not, an easily accessible storage system could convert conference tables into a maker space. Building in the library can be a motivating agent for teens, along with helping kids develop 21st century creativity and problem-solving skills (YALSA, 2014).

A library should be a place for the whole community. I am interested in partnering with the wider community, be it museums, tech companies, architects, writers or any other community partner that can help make learning authentic and purposeful. In this way, the LLC can help be the bridge between students and the wider community (YALSA, 2014).

A library should be inclusive and safe. Creating cozy corners and sections can help the library to feel more comfortable and give students a quiet place to read or play a game. Reading areas that highlight diverse authors and characters will help include those who may not feel seen or represented in other books and spaces (Dundas, 2019).

In addition, a French corner with magazines, BDs, picture books and some novels can demonstrate to second language readers that there is a ranger of genres and book types and that all are great ways to enjoy reading in a second language and build language skills.

A library should use technology  as a means to transform learning. Rather than having computers fixed in a dedicated single use area, I would like to move towards mobile computers and ipads on carts that can be used as needed for projects. That way, we see technology as a tool to meet and further a learning goal, rather than the goal in and of itself. Along with mobile computer or ipad carts, we could include other tech that could help with certain projects, such as a green screen. Mobile technology also reminds us that « «  learning can occur anywhere » » (Lanoue in Pierce, 2015)

Finally, a library is a place for solving real-world problems and developing empathy. I would like my future library to be the hub (or one of the hubs) of teacher collaboration on ADST projects. By focusing on ADST in the library, I can help teachers infuse these important skills across curricula and help connect projects to real-world problems and people. Many of the maker tools could be used for ADST projects, as well as the tech tools mentioned above. As previously mentioned in a blog post about ADST, my goal would be to further support and develop ADST for French Immersion students so that they can develop creative and critical thinking skills along with corresponding language skills.

Question for feedback: Since I am not currently in a library, in what ways to you think I could support French Language programs and LLCs in dual track schools in my current role? What would best support you if you were a TL in a dual track school?

British Colombia Ministry of Education (2020) Applied Design, Skills and Technology Curriculum . Retrieved by https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/adst

Brown, T. (2008). Tales of Creativity and Play [Video]. TED. https://www.ted.com/talks/tim_brown_tales_of_creativity_and_play?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare

Crichton, Susan & Carter, Deb. (2017). Taking Making Into Classrooms: A Toolkit for Fostering Creativity and Imagination. (website) Open School BC. Retrieved by: https://mytrainingbc.ca/maker/en/toolkit/Taking_Making_into_Classrooms.pdf

Dundas, Deborah. “Who Do We See in Kids’ Books? Star Survey Puts  Numbers to the State of Diversity.” Thestar.com, 25 Oct. 2019, www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2019/10/25/who-do-we-see-in-kids-books-star-survey-puts-numbers-to-the-state-of-diversity.html.

Pierce, D. (2015) Three ways technology is Transforming Learning Spaces. The Journal. (Website). Retrieved by https://thejournal.com/articles/2015/08/25/3-ways-mobile-technology-is-transforming-learning-spaces.aspx

Rubio, Rebeca & McColl, Leanne. (2020). Diversity Audits in Library Learning Commons: Equity in Action. Page 10. https://bctla.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Teacher-Magazine-Diversity-Audit.pdf

Young Adult Library Services Association (2014). Making in the library toolkit. Retrieved by http://www.ala.org/yalsa/sites/ala.org.yalsa/files/content/MakingintheLibraryToolkit2014.pdf