Commentary: Text Messaging Will Destroy Language: LOL

Sigh, what fools these mortals be, with my sincere apology to the Bard. I recently read a discussion question posed on the Living Classroom Symposium Forum which included '...Well, at one of these events, one the engineers was asked to present how he had been using the online environment in his teaching. During his presentation, he showed a few example of postings on the discussion board. It so happens that in some of them, the students had used 'txt'. A communications lecturer in the audience who had been asked to attend by her manager got very upset and to her this was totally unacceptable.' The question on the forum was '...Businesses have adopted strategies such as inforcing spellchecks on all emails that leave thier company so as to maintain a professional standard. Should we in education do the same?' (Question from Hasmeeta Shukla, Auckland, New Zealand)

Now, I happen to be a fervent proponent of proper language. I also text message daily, and use the shorthand with abandon. So I responded to the question this way:

"I absolutely disagree with your Communications lecturer. Discussion boards are a form of communication, and putting up barriers to that communication is counter-productive. Students today communicate in very different formats: text messaging, emoticons, SMS text messaging shorthand ('r u ready?') etc. Some phrases, such as SWAK (sealed with a kiss) have been used for decades, and have not caused irreparable harm. Language is fluid and adaptive to cultural influence. Chill...if the language hasn't been broken yet, it's likely to survive. This is no different an argument than the fear that calculators would cause students to lose the ability to add or subtract.

Still not convinced? Then do tell why we no longer speak as did Petruccio and Kate in Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew:
Petruccio: Come, come, you wasp, i’faith you are too angry.
Katherine: If I be waspish, best beware my sting.
Petruccio: My remedy is then to pluck it out.
Katherine: Ay, if the fool could find where it lies.
Petruccio: Who knows not where a wasp does wear his sting? In his tail.
Katherine: In his tongue.
Petruccio: Whose tongue?
Katherine: Yours, if you talk of tales, and so farewell.
Petruccio: What, with my tongue in your tail?
(II.i.207–214)
So, should we ban the teaching of Shakespearean Literature? Methinks not.

FYI (for your information): I would respectfully suggest that the Communications lecturer realize that we have btdt (been there, done that) and pay attention to the FAQ's (frequently asked questions) that linguists have grappled with for centuries, and frankly.the lecturer should do so asap (as soon as possible) cuz (because) it's eod (end of discussion) LOL (laughing out loud). Oh, and TGIF (thank goodness it's Friday), or it will be, soon."

So, what do you think? Should educators police discussion boards?
You can follow the discussion on this topic on the Living Classroom site, or post your comment on this blog. Just do it asap.

Symposium 2 Forum address: (http://thelivingclassroom.org/moodle/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=153#487 )

The Living Classroom Symposium 2

http://thelivingclassroom.org/

This is a wonderful site for sharing information on educational technology. Participants from all over the world weigh in on what makes technology work in education. You can register for free, and join any of the topic streams, or start one of your own.

General: Test Anxiety

http://kidshealth.org/teen/school_jobs/school/test_anxiety.html
Some done to earth ideas on dealing with test anxiety for teens and adults.

Additional sites on test anxiety:
http://www.couns.uiuc.edu/Brochures/testanx.htm
http://www.coedu.usf.edu/zalaquett/Help_Screens/Test_Anxiety.htm
http://www.uiowa.edu/web/advisingcenter/aac_curr_stu dents/improving/test%20anxiety.htm

http://thetwocrows.com/ahclem/testanxiety.html
This is a compilation site, which also has a lot of good information about study habits,
techniques, financial aid, selecting a college etc.
Great site!

General: ACT Test Scores

http://www.actstudent.org/scores/understand/index.html

Some students ask about how to interpret test scores. Here is a useful site explaining the ACT test scores individually and as a ranked group.

https://www.collegedata.com/cs/main/main_getin_tmpl.jhtml?Referrer=OvChances Good information on college admission requirements, how colleges decide how to admit students etc.

GED: Geometry

http://www.coolmath.com/home.htm Cool Math.com

Calculators, graphing calculators, lessons in Algebra and Geometry done in a very user friendly format. There is also a section on how to be a successful student, how to study for a math test, and some flat out cool math.

GED: Geometry

http://www.mathleague.com/help/geometry/geometry.htm

Basic geometry terms and help. Brought to you by Math League Multimedia.

Spanish GED Websites

http://www.malt.cmich.edu/eslcorr_hlresc.htm Cultural Resources for Hispanic and Latino Americans

http://evaeaston.com/pr/home.html Authentic American Pronunciation

http://www.mathnotes.com/aw_span_gloss.html Spanish Glossary of Mathematical Terms

http://www.unm.edu/~engdept/spanresrc.htm Virtual Spanish Lab: Online Dictionaries, Vocabulary etc.

http://mathforum.org/library/view/10419.html Apuntes, ejercicios, exámenes, enlaces, un tema de matemáticas cada quincena, un consultorio, algo de historia, diccionario, etc.

http://math2.org/math/es-tables.htm Dave's Math Tables in Spanish : Matemáticas Generales Notación de Números Tabla de Sumas Tabla de Multiplicación
Álgebra Identidades Básicas Secciones Cónicas Polinomiales Exponenciales Curvas de Álgebra
Geometría Áreas, Volúmenes, Áreas de Superficies Círculos
http://math2.org/math/spanish/eng-spa.htm : English/Spanish dictionary of math tables.

ESL/ABE/GED: Spanish and English Basic Computer

http://www.3dmultimedia.com/help/windows/intro_esp.htm Ayuda!

If you are looking for some basic information on computers in both English and Spanish, this site may help. Go to the main site for more choices: http://www.3dmultimedia.com/help/windows/

Tools: Docupen RC800

http://www.planon.com/

Things found in reading journals and magazines: The September 2006 volume of T.H.E. Journal (www.thejournal.com) highlighted a pen-sized scanner from Planon. It's about 9 inches long , weighs two ounces and is powered by a rechargeable lithium ion battery. It does not need to be plugged into a computer to function, and can save hundreds of pages on its 8 MB flash drive. You use a USB cable to transfer data to a PC or Mac. Cost is about $299.00.
Where was this when I was in college and copying endless pages to use for annotation while creating research papers?

New Sites to Explore: Blogs and Wikis and Podcasts, Oh My!

http://secondlanguagewriting.com/explorations/ Interesting commentaries on education and second language writing (Blog)
http://secondlanguagewriting.com/eslwriting2005/photos.html ESL Writing and Technology Blog
http://educational.blogs.com/ Edblogger Praxis. A compendium of Educational Blogs and Podcasts.
http://jeff.scofer.com/thinkingstick/ The Thinking Stick. Thoughts on teaching using technology.
http://thelivingclassroom.org/moodle/ The Living Classroom: Teaching English in an Mobile and Networked World. A continuing online symposium started 9/24/06

Podcast Activities for ESL

Often our ESL students want to listen to the pronunciation of irregular verbs. Go to the website: Interesting Things for ESL students: http://www.manythings.org and click on the grey colored tab on the left under Podcasts/Songs/Jokes. The second section called Listen and Repeat Podcast houses those irregular verbs. Click there and you will get up to 4 sections of Commonly-Used Irregular Verbs. The speaker reads these verbs in rapid succession followed by students repeating them. In addition, other podcast activities include Adjectives for People, the Alphabet, and English Useful Expressions and more links to other ESL/EFL Podcasts. Check it out!
Robin B.

Educational Podcast Usage

Podcast uses...from the Apple Education Site http://www.apple.com/education/

University of Michigan: Students at the university’s Dental School are taking advantage of their free time to review lectures and lessons.
Stanford University: Two iTunes U portals keep the Stanford community, as well as alumni and the public, connected to what’s going on at Stanford.
University Wisconsin-Madison: University of Wisconsin-Madison on iTunes U was prompted by the instructors — they overwhelmingly identified podcasting as their top technological priority.
Kansas State University Launches World's Largest Course Podcasting
Kansas State University announced recently its use of Tegrity Campus to convert an unprecedented 6,000 recorded classes to enhanced podcasts. K-State plans to have all 6,000 class podcasts available to its students this year, making it by far the education realm's largest podcasting implementation worldwide. (From Tablet PC Education blog)

Commentary: Sotir: Philly's School of the Future

Source: TechLEARNING News link (9/12/06) to an article from The Philadelphia Inquirer: http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/living/education/15469414.htm, ssnyder@phillynews.com

Here's an interesting concept...a school of the future. Actual future thinking educators and businesses (the school was built under the guidance of Microsoft Corp.), creating a first-of-its-kind model for technologically advanced schools. What a concept. The school, built at a cost of $63 million, claims to be as paperless as possible. Students each get a lap-top (soon to be upgraded to tablets). No textbooks are used as nearly all learning materials will be accessed by computer. (Are you listening, Texas?). General amenities include interactive white boards, plasma boards, ceiling projectors, smart cards that track student movement throughout the school, virtual teaching assistants and software that allows parents to track students' progress from home. Even the sports teams will use electronic-play diagrams. Of course, it's totally wireless.

While Microsoft assisted with the design, they did not donate money, equipment or software, other than $100,000 to name an area of the building. Kudos to Microsoft for giving the school what it really needed, which is a vault of experience, from personnel time, to best practices and access to its network of "international thought leaders". I am excited to see that there was a real working relationship with the business, rather than simply a monetary (and transitory) donation.

Futurism in schools is not merely the presence of technology, but rather a thoughtful approach to using technology effectively. Even non-technology equipment was considered by putting classroom furniture on wheels to allow for group work in varying configurations. Conservation was also addressed. Photovoltaic panels in the windows and the roof will covert sunlight into electricity. The building will also catch rainwater and convert it to non-potable uses, such as toilet and boiler water.

Two local universities, University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University have established partnerships with the school. University professors will teach courses in areas such as robotics and urban design, and provide staff and student resources. Honor students from Villanova University will serve as online tutors.

Yes, a futuristic school needs more than the newest technology. It needs people from both inside and outside of education who are thinking in the framework necessary to achieve real student success in the impending society where they will exist, not the world that existed 50 or even 25 years ago. Students will be required to apply to at least one college to graduate, and also to demonstrate 11 "adult competencies". Proficiency on standard reading and math tests is also considered a graduation requirement. Even the start time has been thought through, starting at 9:15 based on research that says teens function better a little later in the day. Thank you, Microsoft, and thank you Philadelphia. I hope to see more effective collaborations in the future, and more movement towards re-designing education, rather than just designing buildings. It's about time.

ABE/GED: Starategies for Better Reading

http://www.tv411.org/lessons/cfm/reading.cfm?str=reading&num=11&act=1
TV411

TV411 has some wonderful sites, including this one for reading strategies. For students struggling with understanding content and inferences, this site gives them short (just a few sentences) vignettes and asks them a question. Excellent for low level readers.

ESL/ ABE/GED: International Classroom and School Virtual Visit

http://lists.literacytent.org/mailman/listinfo/icvv

The International Classroom and School Virtual Visit (Virtual School)
project is beginning its eighth year, linking classrooms across the
world to enable students to meet each other virtually, share
information about their cultures, their classrooms, and their
communities, and to build cultural understanding. Classes can include
English as a Second or Other Language (ESOL/ESL), Adult Basic
Education (ABE, GED), elementary or secondary education, or family
literacy. Students can be from age seven to adult.
As in past years, we hope classes will engage in lively written
discussion, and possibly choose a film, book or current event to
discuss. This year we have set up a free wiki, so classes don't have
to create their own web pages, and we will help teachers to use free
Internet telephony so their classes can talk to each other if they
can find a time that works to do that.
If you would like to participate in this year's project,
1. Sign up on the I.C.V.V. e-list by going to:
http://lists.literacytent.org/mailman/listinfo/icvv
Scroll down the page to choose an ID and password. That's it,
easy and free.
2. Once you receive confirmation that you are on the I.C.V.V. e-list,
send an e-mail to:
icvv@lists.literacytent.org
indicating your interest in participating this year. Be sure to
describe your class, when it will begin, and what age group or
nationality you would prefer to partner with.
If you would like to look at classroom virtual visit projects from
previous years go to:
http://www.otan.us/webfarm/emailproject/school.htm
and then choose
http://www.otan.us/webfarm/emailproject/school2003.htm

ESL: Tips for Teaching ESL to the Elderly

http://www.clese.org/index.htm Tips for Teaching ESL to the Elderly

Coalition of Limited English Speaking Elderly
53 West Jackson, Suite 1301
Chicago, IL 60604
312-461-0812
312-461-1466 (fax)
clese@juno.com

An excellent resource of ideas for teaching ESL to the Elderly, and can be used for teaching any limited proficiency students as well. Above is the address of the main organization, located in Chicago.

ESL Civics: Beginning/Elderly Learners

http://www.clese.org/ESL_Curriculum.htm Civics for Very Beginning ESL/Elderly Learners

"ESL-Civics Curriculum Designed for Very Beginning ESL Learners
The Bright Ideas curriculum was designed for elderly learners participating in community-based ESL programs. The curriculum focuses on developing oral English communication skills and providing opportunities for learners to use these skills inside the classroom and outside in the community. The units reflect the interests of the learners as they emerged from conversations with students, focus groups, and needs assessments. Each unit contains step-by-step instructions for the teacher, lessons for the students, and visual support materials to facilitate learning for students who have few literacy skills in English and in the native language. The units may be taught in any sequence. (All units are in MS Word format; you may modify them to meet your needs.)"

Unit 1: Introductions and Greetings (84 KB)
Unit 2: People and Places (97 KB)
Unit 3: Field Trips (79 KB)
Unit 4: Numbers (110 KB)
Unit 5: Fruits and Vegetables (433 KB)
Unit 6: Weather and Clothing (674 KB)
Unit 7: Homes (69 KB)
Unit 8: Coming to America (101 KB)
Unit 9: Colors, Feelings and Art (49 KB)
Unit 10: News (47 KB)
Unit 11: Healthy Life (89 KB)
Unit 12: Meet Students in Other Classrooms (59 KB)
Unit 13: Favorite Foods (346 KB)
Unit 14: I've Got a Problem Video (385 KB)
Unit 15: (part 1) Civics and Community (645 KB)
Unit 15: (part 2) Buildings (262 KB)

ESL Civics

http://www.civiced.org/ Center for Civic Education

Developed for K-12 and native speakers, these resources can also be adapted to adult education level Civics students, including:

Lesson Plans Lesson plans for teachers.
Civic Education Resources Selected curricular materials available from the Center for Civic Education.
Internet Resources Links to internet resources.

Sites Found While Searching the Web

I spend a lot of time searching for good academic Websites, and often, while searching for one topic, I find links to other sites that are as good or better than the original search sites. Here are a few interesting Websites, blogs and wikis that I came across while searching for other things. I hope they won't mind that I have shamelessly copied their words as to their function, but I did not want to misrepresent their organizations. The new global world of education means that your 'colleagues' can span the globe, and you can share their information and knowledge without ever leaving your office. So sit back, grab a cup of coffee and see what others have to say. Their words are in italics.

http://educationbridges.org/ "Education Bridges is an experiment in a new means for bringing together educators and nonprofit, business and government leaders to voice their concerns and opinions on the role philanthropy can play in addressing issues that will enhance the quality of conversation about education in communities we live. We invite you to listen to the show, participate in the conversation in the forum, blogs and comment area. Educationbridges is supported with funding from The Nord Family Foundation."

http://nlcommunities.com/communities/three_blind_mice/default.aspx: "Three Blind Mice: This site was designed to advance teaching and learning in the global classroom." I found this while searching for information on wikibooks, and spent a while getting their perspective of tech ed.

http://www.netsquared.org/ Netsquared: Home "Our mission is to help non-profit organizations understand, use and expand the social web.There's a whole new generation of online tools available – tools that make it easier than ever before to collaborate, share information and mobilize support. These tools include blogs, wikis, RSS feeds, podcasting, and more. Some people describe them as "Web 2.0"; we call them the social web, because their power comes from the relationships they enable.
How we Net2
We work with you in three ways:
The NetSquared.org online community, focused around this web site, is a venue for learning skills, sharing experiences and developing expertise.
New to the social web? Here are three ways to get started right now
Subscribe to our interview series with this RSS feed. You'll get the very latest interviews with leaders and innovators working at the intersection of technology and the non-profit world.
Tell us what you need from technology here. Our wishlist lets a growing community of developers know where their efforts can make the biggest difference for non-profits.
Find out more about specific tools and strategies at Net2Learn. The Net2 community has built a resource center filled with tutorials, tips and links to get you up and running with tools from blogs to podcasts, and challenges like online fundraising and managing virtual teams.
Find out more about how you can participate
Comfortable with the social web? Here are three ways you can start contributing to Net2.
Answer our four questions about the social web, and what it means to you. Encourage your colleagues to chime in.
Start your own Net2 blog, and join the conversation. Or, if you run your own blog, tag any post as "net2" to have it picked up by our aggregators.
Start a resource center at Net2Learn, or add your knowledge to one of the resource center's that are already there.
Net2 is created by TechSoup, a project of CompuMentor. "

ESL: Lesson Plans: The Brain, The Key To A Fruitful EFL Classroom

(Click on title above to take you to the article. You can see it in either pdf or html format)

THE BRAIN, THE KEY TO A FRUITFUL EFL CLASSROOM
Mr. Jody Marshall and Mrs. Qi Wenhui
Foreign Language Department, Yichun University,
People’s Republic of China

This is a well done article with excellent and unique lesson plans for ESL. It is indeed interesting to see how ESL is taught in other countries. It's amazing what one can find posted on the Internet while in search of other things. Let me know by adding a comment to this post if you try any of these lessons in your classes, or if it inspires you to create something similar.