Social Media Workshop for Language Educators – LARC, SDSU

August 4, 2010

Calling all Language Educators!

The Language Acquisition Resource Center at San Diego State University is organizing

Social Media Workshop
Date: August 9 – 13, 2010
Time: 9:00 am – 4:00 pm (Pacific Time Zone)
 – 10:00 – 17:00 (Calgary / Mountain Time Zone)

This is an online event, open to all educators at no cost.

I was thrilled when they contacted me and invited me to do a presentation on using Skype in the Second and Foreign Language Classroom. So if you missed the first Skype webinar, this one may be of interest, as it will cover much of the same material.

But forget my session, check out all the other great sessions. Here are just a few that will be offered:

  • Michelle Olah & Catalina Bohorquez – Social Media Tools for Collaboration
  • Glenn Cake – Online Class and Digital Story Telling through PhotoStory 3
  • Ronnie Burt – Using Blogs To Enhance Student Learning
  • Evan Rubin – Mobile Devices, Social Media, and Language Learning Dicsussion
  • Chris Brown – Classroom Narrative: Twitter in a Spanish 3 Class

I’m looking forward to learning all I can about using social media in foreign language teaching. Come join me?

____________________________

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.

Comments Off on Social Media Workshop for Language Educators – LARC, SDSU | education, second languages, social media, technology, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

Why we should stop worrying about putting “bums in seats”

August 3, 2010

Remember that moment when you were so enthralled with what you were learning it seemed like time stopped? Your worries melted away and you were in that space somewhere in between reality and potential. It’s a little like being in a dream state isn’t it? You feel your untapped potential surging forward, about to launch you into a new space, where you had abilities you’d only previously dreamed about.

I remember a time like that when I was learning Spanish. It was the moment when I was so into a conversation that drudgery of memorizing verbs and vocabulary melted away. It was the moment – ever so fleeting that first time – when I was so into the moment that my lack of confidence vanished and I just spoke. It was the moment when my heart filled with joy because I realized that moment had been a dream for me – and it was coming true.

Having the ability not only to speak – but actually to engage with someone else in a meaningful conversation – was something I hadn’t been capable of in Spanish up to that point. Once I’d passed the threshold, I knew I could do it again. Knowing that spurred me on to keep learning.

Ever had a moment like that? Sure you have.

If you didn’t, you wouldn’t believe in the power of knowing other languages.

Your students have those moments, too. Or at least, they crave them. Learners crave breakthroughs; breakthroughs make a challenge worth the effort.

What are you offering your students to help them achieve those “ah ha!” moments? How are you challenging them to reach within themselves to tap into their potential? How are you making their dreams of fluency and sincere connections with others, enabled by their language learning experiences, come true?

When it comes to marketing your ESL, second language, literacy and other educational programs, keep your goals worthy and your sights firmly set on why we do what we do.

Stop worrying about how to put bums in seats.

Always worry about how to empower your students.

__________________

Like this post? Share or Tweet it: Why we should stop worrying about putting “bums in seats” http://wp.me/pNAh3-fk

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.

1 Comment | education, ESL, languages, leadership, marketing | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

New York Times: Learning a language on the web is trendy

July 29, 2010

“The Internet, with its unparalleled ability to connect people throughout the world, is changing the way that many people learn languages” writes Peter Wayner in Learning a Language From an Expert, on the Web, an article from the New York Times (July 28, 2010).

The article touches on 2 of the themes that emerged in my study Global Trends in Language Learning in the 21st Century:

  • Using technology in language learning (new trend)
  • Taking an individualized, learner-centered approach (new trend)
  • Saying that learning languages is easy (outdated myth)

The way we learn languages is changing at a rapid pace. A new school year is approaching. What techniques, methodologies and approaches are you going to use that are appropriate for the 21st century?

_________

Like this post? Share or Tweet it: New York Times: Learning a language on the web is trendy http://wp.me/pNAh3-eb

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.

Comments Off on New York Times: Learning a language on the web is trendy | education, ESL, languages, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

Teaching reading the 21st century way

July 16, 2010

In an article by the Smithsonian, author Kevin Kelly talks about reading in the digital age. He makes a good point when he says that the digital screen is the biggest thing to hit reading since Guttenberg’s invention of the printing press in 1440. He talks about how screen reading involves more than using your eyes. It includes engaging our bodies through interaction with a mouse or touch screen. He adds that portable screens (like the iPod touch, the iPad and any number of other mobile devices are becoming more and more prominent.)

Are you teaching reading in a way that makes sense in the 21st century?

Related post: How technology has changed reading in the 21st century http://wp.me/pNAh3-11P

____________

Share this post: Teaching reading the 21st century way http://wp.me/pNAh3-cb

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.

1 Comment | education, Literacy, technology, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

Let’s stop forcing students to “puke out their brains”

July 14, 2010

Individualized, customizable, learner-centred approaches are becoming the new norm. Traditionally, education has been about developing a curriculum and teaching to students in a prescriptive manner. That made education easy for teachers because they could essentially teach the same thing, year in and year out.

That was not only boring for students, it’s ineffective.

It is said that one month after final examinations, students have lost 90% of the “knowledge” they had on the day of their final. That’s not learning. It’s stuffing information into a brain for it to be regurgitated on a test. And once it’s been puked out onto a test paper, it’s gone forever, it seems. Not exactly ideal, is it?

The good news is: learning is becoming more individualized and focused on the students and their needs.

Teachers of tomorrow will need to shift their thinking, stop thinking about how to get students to learn the curriculum and instead, make the curriculum work for the students.

Scratch that.

We don’t have time to wait for a new generation of teachers to understand that learning is about the students, not the textbooks, not the curriculum and most definitely not about standardized testing. Teachers of today need to learn that.

________________

Like this post? Share or Tweet it: Let’s stop forcing students to “puke out their brains” http://wp.me/pNAh3-bH

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.

6 Comments | education, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »