Sunday 30 March 2014

Final Vision Project- Content

Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things.” – Peter Drucker


At the beginning of the week, I started investigating which platform to use for the library website.  I had created a website using Weebly for a previous course but decided it was a little bit limiting so decided to go with Edublog and create a blog which would hopefully be more interactive.  
After spending a considerable amount of time trying to figure out how to navigate the blog, I chose to pay for the pro status in which I could embed videos and most importantly, ask for help.  This also provided me with more options and I was then able to proceed.  I had some material to put on the blog, it was now a question of figuring out how and where to put it.    I was very thankful to have been able to draw upon some of the tools shared in this course.  For instance, I was having trouble posting word documents so I copied the document into google drive and then got an embed code for putting it on the library website/blog.  Wow, I can do this!

In my previous post, I talked about creating a library website that encourages parents to read with their children, provides resources and services on the web for students, includes short instructional videos for students to consult, and instead of lists of resources, consider including pathfinders for students.
In terms of encouraging parents to read with their child, I began by looking at other Edublog library sites and found sharebookbox, an embeddable book widget which allowed me to select books in both English and French to showcase on the website.  I also started a short list of author websites.  I chose only authors we had talked about in the library and sites that would be appealing to students. I also included a parent letter about reading with your child in the French Immersion programme.  I realized that it would be a good idea to share this letter with the teachers at my school, asking for feedback which I will do once back at school.
In terms of providing Resources and Services, I wanted to choose topics that could benefit a large number of students at the school. It had been brought up at the last staff meeting about finding French resources students could consult when completing projects as oppose to using English resources.  I plan on adding a teacher resource section on the blog for this purpose. While the goal is to reach this point, I believe it is common for students to choose English resources as they are easier to find and often easier for them to read.  I think it is important to address issues around translation in schools.  In my opinion, it is often a topic that is not spoken of until there is a problem.  The benefits of addressing this in school is that translation helps learners understand the connection between the two languages as well as it provides them with an opportunity to look more deeply about the meaning of words and also see the pitfalls of translation, too.

“If we could shift the emphasis from learning translation as a set of discrete skills (although it may have its own merits) to using translation as a resource for the promotion of language learning, we might be able to reinterpret and humanize it, using it to our advantage as a powerful tool for developing language awareness.”
(Stoitchkov,2006)

I started by creating a page for the website on using Word Reference, my favorite online translation tool and then decided it would be beneficial to create some lessons around translation.  Stay tuned for more details.


Just before Spring Break, my principal asked me to share information with staff about eBooks as they are now available through our district.  While I will be showing staff and students how to access them, I wanted to create a page on the website that students can refer to on their own.  While exploring how to introduce the eBooks, I noticed Follett has some lesson ideas I would like to explore in the future.  
 My next task in regards to Resources and Services is to create info about bibliographies in French.  

For the short instructional videos, I tried desperately to create a screencast with Screenr and Screen-o-cast but the java plug-in did not work.   I will continue to explore other avenues. 

Finally, I spoke about making the website interactive.  I created a school library Twitter account and posted a few tweets with news from the library.  I still need to find ways of making the website more interactive, providing an opportunity to connect with a wider community.
I would have liked to have gotten further with the blog but I seemed to have run into problems each step of the way.  If something could go wrong, it did.  I am encouraged though as I am confident that once I get the hang of things, it will go smoother. 

References:

Ala.org. (2013). Position Statement on Digital Content and E-books in School Library Collections | American Association of School Librarians (AASL). [online] Retrieved from: http://www.ala.org/aasl/advocacy/resources/position-statements/digital-content [Accessed: 30 Mar 2014].

Keep calm and persevere. (2014). [image online] Available at: http://www.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk/p/keep-calm-and-preserve/ [Accessed: 30 Mar 2014].

Pilkington, M. (2011). US ebooks Reach Critical Mass Overseas. [image online] Available at: http://goodereader.com/blog/electronic-readers/peru-lags-behind-latin-america-in-ebook-adoption [Accessed: 30 Mar 2014].

Pollo, C. (2008). Making the most of online translators in foreign language classrooms. Clear News, 12 (2), Retrieved from: http://clear.msu.edu/clear/newsletter/fall2008.pdf.


Stoitchkov, R. (2006). How to use translation in the language classroom | BETA. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.beta-iatefl.org/1202/blog-publications/how-to-use-translation-in-the-language-classroom/ [Accessed: 30 Mar 2014].

Friday 21 March 2014

Final Vision Project Rationale



I thought I would start with this TedTalk about designing with intent as I begin thinking about how to proceed with a library website for our school.
The website I plan on creating will be geared mainly towards students at my school.
I work in a single track French Immersion school.  Students have been enrolled in the program since Kindergarten and receive 100% instruction in French up until Grade 3 when English instruction is introduced for 20% of the time.  There is typically a lag in English skills but this is usually for a short period of time once English language instruction is introduced.  For more information on French Immersion programs and FAQ, you can check out the Canadian Parents for French website here.


In trying to decide how to tackle issues around language comprehension with students on the website, I found it interesting to discover that fully independent reading requires knowledge of close to 3,000 words of the target language’s most frequent words, while the ability to guess at words requires that the students know approximately 95 to 98 words in a particular text (Nation, 2001).
Krashen (2004) promotes voluntary reading but for students learning a second language a lack of vocabulary depth and meaning remains an obstacle when reading authentic material.


When one looks at how language is acquired, first through listening then oral language development, including visual cues, audio and video segments on the school library website whenever possible would be helpful.   

When I was a classroom teacher, I always encouraged parent participation and emphasized their important role in their child’s learning.  French Immersion parents often want to help their child at home but aren’t sure how, due mainly to their lack of skills in French. It is my intention that the site to be something that both student and parents can use together.  Providing opportunities for both groups to contribute to the library’s web presence will be beneficial.
Social networking can help immerse students in the second language environment.  One of the ways I have seen this done in our district is through a school library Twitter account.  This would provide opportunities to reach a wider audience.  I need to continue to explore other ways for our elementary students to network with others globally. 

Through an article Sarah shared,  “The Virtual Teacher- Librarian: Establishing and Maintaining a Virtual Web Presence”, I found these ideas that I believe will be useful on the website: 
  encouraging parents to read with their children (including sharing tips on reading with their child who is in the French Immersion program)
 providing resources and services on the web for students to refer for when you are busy
• including short instructional videos along with practical ideas and strategies
•  instead of a long list of resources, consider pathfinders with background knowledge, search strategies, keywords, project ideas, anticipation guides, glossaries, along with images, videos and audio clips
•  communicating events and opportunities to students, staff and the larger community

Lastly,  I think it is important to start small and plan for growth.  Don’t put things on the website for the sake of filling it up and making it cluttered and hard to navigate.  It needs to be purposeful and meet the needs of the school community. 

References:

Blake, R. J. (2013). Brave New Digital World: Technology and Foreign Language Learning. 2nd ed. Georgetown University Press.


Canadian Parents for French. (2014). [image online] Available at: http://bc-yk.cpf.ca/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/CPF-Proud-of-Two-Languages-Logo-Green.jpg [Accessed: 21 Mar 2014].

Hockenberry, J. (2012). We are all designers. [video online] Available at: http://www.ted.com/talks/john_hockenberry_we_are_all_designers [Accessed: 21 Mar 2014].


Krashen. S. ( 2012, April 5). Power of reading. [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSW7gmvDLag


Lamb, A. & Johnson, L. (2008). The Virtual Teacher- Librarian: Establishing and Maintaining a Virtual Web Presence. Teacher Librarian, 35 (4), Retrieved from: The Virtual Teacher- Librarian: Establishing and Maintaining a Virtual Web Presence.

Upper Grand School Board. (2014). [image online] Available at: http://www.ugdsb.on.ca/uploadedImages/program/french_immersion/fi_kids.gif [Accessed: 21 Mar 2014].