You Did What??: Assistive Tech for ELL Students

(Schadler, 2013)

This past week, my students presented their Visual Autobiographies. In order to challenge them to actively practice analyzing images (you can read about my struggles HERE), I created a Google Form for viewers to fill out.

In order to help my bilingual students, many of whom moved to our country and saw a computer for the first time this past September, I created a modified version of the form in print. This eliminated the additional steps of logging into the computer, signing onto gmail and trying to type a response. It also provided a more reasonable expectation in regards to reading of the images.

As I circulated, ensuring that all my bilingual students understood the expectations (picture: me using the most broken Spanish that you have ever heard pointing to the various pieces of the handout while asking a student translator for help) I was shocked to see that one of my students was already working on the Google Form! It turns out that he had translated the page into Spanish on his Chromebook and was answering the full questions right on the form--no modified handout needed.

This week I have been exploring assistive technologies; what I've come to realize is that I often think about this type of tech through the lens of helping my special education students. But in my class, my student was using an assistive technology to help him master the critical thinking skill of reading an image. He was no longer limited by vocabulary or language acquisition; his mind was free to analyze.

While our ultimate goal is to help our students become fluent in BOTH languages, allowing them to appropriately code switch, there are times when students should be able to use their native language to develop their thinking skills, independent of language ability.

When I was a language arts teacher, I was taught that if a student is reading, no matter the language, she was improving her ability to read. This would make her more successful when she finally mastered English. The same principle should apply to all subjects.

So why don't we see more students developing or practicing thinking skills in their native language while they learn English?

My guess: it's hard to set up as a teacher!

If you, as the teacher, do not speak the same language as your students, it can be incredibly challenging to create learning opportunities like these. However, we all know that teachers love to push boundaries. We love to learn. And, we hate accepting that something cannot be done.

So here are a few ideas and articles to get the ball rolling. Have more? Let us know below!

Using Technology to Assist ESL/ELL/Bilingual Students:

• Flip through NY State's DoE's "Technology--Enhanced Instruction for English as a Second Language (ESL) and Bilingual Education" which emphasizes using these technologies to promote 21st century skills
• Check out these amazing iPod apps or iPad apps that were compiled by the Texas Computer Education Associationto help ESL students
• Teach students how to change the main language on their Chromebooks
• Use google translate to help students understand directions

Works Cited:

Schadler, E. (2013). Fun with text. Emily's Classroom. Retrieved from http://www.emilysclassroom.info/2013/09/15/word-clouds-in-the-classroom/

What thousand words?

Yesterday, my students began presenting their Visual Autobiographies. After dedicating weeks to creating these intricate and complex infographics, it was finally time to reveal them. But this wasn't like other presentations; this presentation was silent. The stage was already set with the visuals, now it was up to the viewers to analyze and synthesize the presented Visual Autobiography. The viewer was the ultimate authority, writing the story based upon interpretation, having the final say.

My 6th graders struggled analyzing their friends. They focused on the surface. "Matt loves his dog. He spends time with friends and family." They caught the main ideas, but were stuck on the literal, on the true subject of the image.

The 7th graders were starting to get it, beginning to realize that these images told deeper, more complex stories. They began connecting the dots: "She is artistic. She has a good relationship with her family. Went to Paris. Loves to travel. She is adventurous. Went to Venice." They dug deep to make strong inferences: "Grace is happy with herself and her life. She has siblings, one sister and brother. She loves them a lot. She has a dog which she loves a lot and likes animals. She is clumsy and broke her arm by having fun on a bouncy ball. Grace in on the swim team and enjoys swimming with friends. She is a shining star." 

But the 8th graders, well they just could not be bothered by this activity. This answers fell flat. They lacked the depth that their life experiences had given them. "He has two sisters and one brother. He likes the beach. He plays baseball. He likes to watch baseball. He likes batting. He likes technology. He has an iPhone." 

I was stumped.

Could it be that they did not see the bigger purpose? Did they not understand that they were training themselves to be critical readers of the world around them? Of the images they are bombarded with each day? Of the binaries, stereotypes and social constructions that run our world?

Yesterday, I stumbled upon the incredible series by Joel Pares called "Judging America". This breathtaking collection photographs successful men and women in two juxtaposing portraits: one an authentic, natural portrait, and the other a stereotyped portrait, highlighting and showcasing the most prominent social construction applicable to that person.

Yesterday, the words of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's TED talk "The Danger of a Single Story" echoed in my head. She reminded me of the importance of learning the stories of many, not just those in power or those we want to hear.

Today, I refocused my efforts to help my 8th graders--and all my other students as well--learn how to read images. If we want to avoid dangerous stereotypes and assumptions, we must teach students how to examine these ideas, teaching them to question the truths they have come to believe. These are not fairy-tale skills; they are essential, necessary to the creation of a fair and just society. If we want students to understand multiple stories, they must know how to read the ones that they are given, in order to find or appreciate others.

Today, I seek your help. What are you doing to help your students develop their visual literacy? How are you challenging students to question the images in their lives? How do you help students avoid stereotypes or single stories? Comment below to help add to our pool of resources and ideas. 

Tomorrow, we can begin to make changes. As teachers we can and should:

-Avoid single stories of any group

-Discuss social constructions with our students

-Teach students about binaries and hierarchies

-Provide students with the skills to break down images, not just texts

-Show students examples of artists and activists who are positively combatting these notions

-Ensure that we are not contributing to any single stories or perpetuating social constructions

Our world and well being depends on this.
-Brittany