Is for-profit education deceitful? Have we no standards?

August 13, 2010

Students at Westwood College in the United States have just filed a law suit against the for-profit college in both Colorado and California, the Chronicle of Higher Education reports. Both Westwood College, which has 17 campuses, and its affiliate, Redstone College are accused of deceiving and lying to students. The Chronicle reports that the claim against the institutions is that the college follows this formula, “Recruit those with the greatest financial need and enroll them in high-cost institutions to maximize the amount of federal funding.” The college is denying the allegations.

There is a raging debate going on about for-profit versus non-profit education. Which is better? Which is more scrupulous? Which is more trustworthy?

These are tough questions.

In Canada, an interesting and very cool thing happened a few years ago. In the languages field, we have had standards organizations for decades. For most of that time, public institutions had one organization (CLC) and private language schools had another (CAPLS). Over the years, individuals from both of these organizations began attending the same trade fairs, the same agent workshops and the same conferences. Friendships were forged. Conversations began. And understanding grew on both sides about the purpose, ethics and motivations of those who worked in the “other” sector. In 2008, representatives from both organizations came together to form Languages Canada and a new professional organization for language learning in Canada was born. This new organization represents schools teaching both official languages, English and French, and includes member institutions from both the public and for-profit sectors.

This new organization quickly became “the” professional language organization in Canada. Why?

One word: Standards.

Prospective members must not only apply, they must undergo a rigorous application process that includes an in-depth school inspection and evaluation. Only schools deemed to meet the relentless standards of the organization are accepted as members. Members are monitored to ensure that they continue to meet the standards established by the organization.

I don’t know what will happen with the case of Westwood and Redstone Colleges. I do know that students need to be kept at the heart of our work, while professional standards guide us along that path.

Students don’t feed the bottom line. They are the bottom line. Students’ potential, capacity to grow, learn, get jobs that allow them to support themselves and live meaningful lives, and in turn, pass their knowledge and wisdom on to the generations to know, is the reason education exists at all.

As educators and administrators, we are obliged to keep the standards for our profession high and demand excellence not only of our students but of our selves and our institutions.

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

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Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

7 tips for teachers to survive the school year

August 12, 2010

I was having coffee with a teacher friend the other day. Now that it is August she’s starting to think about “back to school”. As we were having coffee, she looked at me intensely and said, “This year’s going to be different. This year, I’m going to do all my prep work ahead of time. I’m going to have all my clothes ironed and laid out the night before. I’m going to pack my lunches. I’m definitely not going to get into the politics, either. This year is going to be amazing!”

I looked back and smiled. She said the same thing last year. And the year before that. By Thanksgiving every year, she’s already burnt out, cranky and miserable. It’s a bit like a new year’s resolution with her, except that it happens at the beginning of the school year, rather than the beginning of the calendar year. Nevertheless, six weeks later, her motivation is gone and the days seem very, very long.

Here are seven to keep your new school year resolutions, if you make them.

1. Be true to yourself. If you’re not the kind of person who irons your clothes and lays them out the night before during your summer holidays, you’re not likely to do it during the school year. That’s OK.

2. Make one or two small changes, rather than half a dozen. Maybe you like to think big and dream big. Rather than doing it all, pick one or two things and do them really, really well. For you, that may mean doing your lesson plans a few weeks ahead, rather than the whole year.

3. Keep your eye on your prize. If you pick one or two small things to change, that becomes your goal. When we’re overwhelmed or tired, personal goals go out the window. Focus, focus, focus and never lose sight of what you’ve set as your goal.

4. Set weekly goals. Rather than setting a goal for the whole school year, set a small goal every week. If your goal is to have your student’s work corrected and handed back to them within 3 days, then set that as a weekly goal, rather than a yearly one.

5. Write your goals down. Write them in a day timer, an online calendar, a notebook or a scribbler. Write them anywhere that makes sense for you, but write them down.

6. Be kind to yourself. There will come a week when you’re tired, when the kids get to you, your administrators don’t seem to understand you and when you’re frazzled. When that happens, take a step back and say to yourself, “I am giving everything I can right now. It is enough.”

7. Remember that your goals are about you. My teacher friend gets all worked up when she perceives that her colleagues have it better than her, that they’re better teachers or better organized or whatever. Chill. Every single teacher has gifts. Every single teacher has weaknesses. Every single teacher makes a difference. That includes you.

Related post: Starting the School Year with Beginner’s Mind http://wp.me/pNAh3-1WJ

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

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Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

Using Skype in the Second and Foreign Language Classroom – Follow up

August 12, 2010

I was thrilled to be invited to present at the Social Media Workshop organized by the Language Acquisition Resource Center at San Diego State University.

Here are the slides from today’s presentation:

You can download the handouts from the session here.

Check out the recording of the session, too.

And if you’re doing research on using Skype for education, then you might be interested in the research paper that I wrote to go along with the presentation.

Also, for the first time, I put together a Diigo list of online bookmarks for this session. Check out all the resources I archived for you on my list “Skype for Educators”.

Here’s what people said about the webinar:

“I have used Skype for about a year to communicate with family during travel. Pointing out that Skype is easy to use for those less versed in new technology is important. People need to feel comfortable and the technology is invisible so that communication is the focus. With the globalization of education it is important that we maintain strong human connections and include both the older generation and the new digital natives.” – Denise Foures-Aalbu, USA

“Dr. Sarah provided participants with many useful ideas. Her enthusiasm encouraged others to add their ideas to the list. Well done, Dr. Sarah!” – Scott Miatech, Waterford, WI, USA

“Dr. Eaton did a wonderful and engaging presentation for our 2010 LARC Summer Social Media Workshop.  She provided motivation for participants to dive right into Skype and practical activities for the language classroom.  LARC hopes to continue collaborating with Sarah in the future and exploring the outer limits of distance education!” – Evan Rubin, LARC, San Diego State University.

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

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Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

Student portfolios for Language Learning: What They Are and How to Use Them

August 10, 2010

The use of student portfolios is increasing in education, as asset-based approaches to evaluation and assessment become more popular. When it comes to demonstrations of learning, student portfolios are gaining popularity at a rapid pace. They are collaborative efforts between students and teachers that provide clear demonstrations of students progress and achievements. Students are guided by their teachers to develop their own portfolios over time. Student portfolios contain demonstrations of their knowledge and authentic language use, such as:

  • Written work. These demonstrate the students use of vocabulary, knowledge of grammar and writing structures.
  • Digital and multimedia projects. These demonstrate their oral and listening competencies.
  • Reflections from students and teachers. This feedback replaces traditional grading. The intent is for the teacher and the student to engage in a kind of dialogue about the student’s progress. This also empowers the student to become self aware as a learner.

Whether they are traditional or electronic, portfolios are being used in classrooms across the globe at an increasing rate.  The beauty of the student portfolio is that the student owns it, not the teacher. Students carry their portfolios forward from grade to grade, taking responsibility for their learning as they go.

Here are some resources on the topic of student portfolios you may find useful:

Barrett, Helen.  February 18, 2009. ISTE Webinar. http://sites.google.com/site/eportfolios/iste

Barrett, Helen (2004). Professional Development for Implementing Electronic Portfolios. Retrieved from http://electronicportfolios.org/teachers/profdev.html

Barrett, Helen. (n.d.) http://electronicportfolios.org/index.html

Brownell, Wendy. Linguafolio and Portfolios. (n.d.) http://wendybrownell.wikispaces.com/Linguafolio+and+Portfolios

Dominguez, Juan. E-portfolios: Del PLN al Aprendizaje Retrieved 26 May, 2011 from http://juandomingofarnos.wordpress.com/2011/05/26/e-portafolios-del-pln-al-aprendizaje/

Grace. (1992). The Portfolio and Its Use: Developmentally Appropriate Assessment of Young Children.  Retrieved from http://www.tcdsb.org/academic_it/ntip/Assessment%20Files/PDF%20Format%20V5/4a-%20Assessment%20-%20Portfolio%20Assessment.pdf

North Carolina Regional Educational Laboratory. (n.d.). Portfolios.   Retrieved from http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/earlycld/ea5l143.htm

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

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Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

Using Skype for second language debates: Ideas for teachers

August 9, 2010

Two of the trends in language learning I found while researching Global Trends in Language Learning in the 21st Century were using technology for language learning and an increased focus on demonstrating language competence through speech and stories, debates and speaking competitions. How about combining the two?

I’ve been busy preparing my presentation on Using Skype in the Second and Foreign Language Classroom for the Social Media Workshop for language teachers put on by the Language Acquisition Resource Centre (LARC) at San Diego State University.

During my travels I came across Lois Smethurt’s blog. She has an excellent post on how she used Skype for an inter-school debate. She talks about the students’ reaction to the experience, as well as the logistics of putting together an inter-school debate using Skype.

I loved this idea for language learning. We can organize debates not only between schools, but between countries, too. Check out Sue Water’s blog post on how to connect with schools and classrooms in other countries using Skype. She offers an amazing resource list for teachers from around the world to connect using Skype.

Between them, these two insightful, innovative Edubloggers offer us the ingredients to put together inter-classroom, international second language debates using synchronous technology that allows students to use real language in real time.

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

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Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

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