LearningForward

Kent Chesnut's technology in education blog.

While I was trying the new version of Runtime Revolution on the XO this weekend, I also did a Software Update for the XO.  A new version of Scratch was downloaded and installed.

 The new Scratch is version 1.3.1 - just like for the PC and Mac!  I decided to give it a try.  In an earlier post, I tried Scratch on the XO - and couldn’t recommend it!  See the article here.  For completeness sake, I’m running build 767 on a standard G1G1 XO.

My impressions were somewhat improved this time:

• Performance when dragging programming elements was good.  In my previous test, I noted that the dragging was so jerky that it was almost impossible to place the programming elements.
• The screen elements are still very small.  This is probably just an old man problem… and it didn’t seem as bad without the jerkiness when placing programming elements.
• I tried a pretty challenging (processing wise) flight simulator game from the Scratch website, see here.  This has several scripts running in parallel in forever loops with short delays (I think they are at about .1 second).  This game was very sluggish - but it did play!
• The flight simulator game sound played for a while and then stopped.

Although I would still choose a full powered computer over the XO to work with Scratch, it is clear that the Scratch Team is working to make the XO a viable Scratch development platform.  And, for simpler projects, I think the XO would be fine with this current version of Scratch.

A few additional notes:

• I don’t know if it is a Scratch or XO issue, I could not download the Scratch projects from the MIT website and open them in Scratch.  Although the files would appear in the Journal, they were not associated with Scratch.  I was able to move files to the XO using a Flash drive and the Terminal activity.
• Suspend / Resume does work now.
• I didn’t note during my original review that the version of Scratch for the XO doesn’t include all of the backgrounds, sprites, … available in the Windows version.  Some are included - but not all.

I’ve been really busy… a consulting project with a short fuse came up and I haven’t been getting my blogging in.  Anyway, this consulting job seemed geared toward a high level development environment like Runtime Revolution.  Why do I say that?  I needed the following:

• Quick and easy database support (I’ve done a little with databases using PHP - that’s all).  Of course I could have done this with Visual Studio in C++, but I didn’t want a big learning curve to get this project up and running.  Runtime Revolution has built in support for several databases, including SQLite.  SQLite requires NO installation or configuration.  Sounds perfect for my needs.
• I had a need to have buttons that act like both buttons and editable fields.  In edit mode, I wanted the user to be able to click in the field and edit it within the program.  When in normal mode, I wanted the field to behave like a button.  As before, I’m sure this is possible in Visual Studio / C++, but I’ve never tried it.  It’s straightforward in Runtime Revolution.

So I purchased Runtime Revolution Studio 3.5 for this development (happily, the price had dropped from $399 as mentioned in my earlier post to $250).  I would say it took about 10 hours of effort to get pretty proficient using it (of course, I used HyperCard quite a bit in the 90’s and also have trialed Revolution for the previous post).  The previous post is here.

At the time of my earlier post (May 2008), I found that Revolution 2.9 wasn’t a very good development environment for the XO laptop.  I thought it’d be interesting to see if 3.5 was better.  I opened the Spanish practice stack I had worked on before and created Windows and Linux executables.  Just for the record, I’m running Windows XP Home on the PC and build 767 on the XO.  My perception is very much improved over my previous encounter.

Improvements:

• I didn’t see the delays I mentioned in the earlier post.
• The XO performance was fine.
• The XO / program were stable during the test.

Continuing Issues

• Text and button sizes on the XO are very small compared to Windows.  The image shown was taken as a screenshot using TightVNC and scaled such that the text appears about the same size as on the XO screen.  I think this can be resolved - and it’ll be a worthwhile effort since the program appears stable. 
• I have to start the program from the terminal activity.  Again, I believe this can be resolved… but it’ll probably take some time.
• You cannot “save the stack” in a standalone application.  I use this to save the stack after editing (creating new word cards).  To get “save the stack” to work, I use a different standalone “home” stack and use it to “open stack …” the stack I’m actually using.
• Sometimes when I stop a program on the XO, the programs icon remains in the active program tray at the top of the screen.  It doesn’t seem to hurt anything… just sits there.

Note that I also tried to run the program I mentioned above (the consulting project).  It’s much more complex, didn’t run correctly, and did crash occasionally.  I probably used something the doesn’t work in Linux or Sugar.  Not to mention, the program isn’t completely stable on Windows at this point ;-) 

I think it’s time to write a usable XO application in Revolution.  Anybody have a good idea for a project???

The “conversation with your computer” program I described in my last post (see here) is progressing very slowly… I’m just not putting the time I need to into it!  I’ll try to get a proto up this month.

But another question has captured my (often fleeting) attention.  Have you ever attended a class in which you were simply told to follow instructions… do this, then that, then whatever?  No attempt was made to motivate the importance (or even to explain the purpose) of the activities.  Were you left feeling like a 2nd grader (at least that’s how I perceive 2nd graders are treated in normal elementary classrooms)?  When I thought on this, I realized that I’ve probably taught kids’ classes in a Church setting using strategies similar to that!  I’ve committed to always do better.  But what does better mean?  I think this means that students must be treated as partners in their education!  And I believe student buy-in to the learning task is very important to this goal.

But how important is student buy-in in learning?  How does buy-in affect the achievement of learning objectives?  I don’t know the answer… but I’d like to lay out a few ideas and look for a path to follow for investigating this question… and ask for any input readers may have.

There’s probably a better, more technically accurate term for what I’m calling “buy-in”, but I can’t think of it at the moment.  I define buy-in as: 

• Explaining to students the relevance and importance (worthwhileness?) of an activity or topic before beginning instruction.
• Soliciting feedback from students regarding their impression on whether the activity or topic is worthwhile - and addressing their concerns - before beginning instruction. 
• Allowing students to take part in discussions / decisions on how the topic will be covered and assessed.  This may be pretty tough - but in line with Alfie Kohn’s Choices for Children article.

It seems clear to me that student buy-in could:

• take more time and effort than simply covering content.
• enhance student intrinsic motivation (if the instruction is really relevant and they understand how it is relevant).  If the teacher can’t provide a good argument for how the instruction is relevant to the students, intrinsic motivation probably won’t be aided.
• allow children to function as a partner in their education - instead of a vessel to be filled with knowledge.
• provide the children with the self-respect associated with being a partner with adults. 

Questions to consider:

• Is student buy-in typically solicited in school (elementary, secondary, or post-secondary) classrooms? 
• What is the ”educational” term for “buy-in”?
• Is there research examining the importance of buy-in in learning?
• How is “buy-in” related to pedagogy?  Traditional education?  Project based learning?  Constructivism?  Constructionism?
• What are the costs of soliciting student buy-in?  (in terms of time, …?)
• What are the costs of not soliciting student buy-in?

I’ll be looking into these questions… but I’m not sure where to start.  If a reader has any ideas or input, I’d sure like to hear them!

I’ve been thinking a lot about language learning lately.  I’m learning Spanish slowly… OK, very slowly.  One of the activities in learning a language is writing in it… in this case, writing about learning it.   I’ve pulled the following from my practice wiki.

“Estoy aprendiendo la idioma español.  Hay muchos partes aprender una idioma nueva.  Algunos de los partes inclue

• Vocabulario 
  Necesita saber palabras suficiente to tener un conversación.
• Gramática
  Necesita poder hacer las sentencias correcta.
• Práctica
  Necesita práctica genuina construir competencia in la idioma nueva.  Este práctica incluiria escuchando, hablando, leyendo, y escribiendo.

Se puede aprender vocabulario y gramática solo con las estrategias de memoria.  Tambien, se puede practica escuchando, leyendo, y escribiendo solo.  Pero no se puede practica conversacion a solo.  Necesito un amigo, un amigo que sabe la idioma nueva.  Es muy bueno si un amigo sabe la idioma con mas competencia como ti.  Es muy bueno tambien si un amigo tiene los interéses común con ti.

¿Dondé buscaria para este amigo? 

¿En la familia y los amigos?
¿En internet, posible ‘facebook’ or notesinspanish.com?
¿En el grupo (club) de española?
¿En la programa de computadora?  ¡Me gustaria hacer este programa!”

OK, so my written Spanish is pretty sad.  But the gist of the quote is that you can’t participate in conversations by yourself.  You need a partner… who is at about your level… and it’d be really great if they shared your interests.

But… can a computer be your partner?  Could it be effective in helping you practice conversations? 

Well, I found a program that claims to let you have a conversation with it.  It’s for the One Laptop Per Child XO laptop and it’s called Hablar Con Sara.  Click here to get more information on the activity (OLPC for program).  Essentially, you hold a Spanish conversation with the program.  You type in a sentence, the program responds with audio using TTS (Text To Speech).  Can I use it to help me learn Spanish?  Not really.  But, from what I’ve learned playing with Hablar Con Sara I think that I can describe a program that could be used to effectively practice conversations in a new language.

Program elements:

• Interface
  Like Hablar Con Sara, I believe an interface where the user types and the computer responds with audio can be very effective.  However, the program should encourage the user to speak his sentence and the interface should also include a repeat button (to have the computer repeat the previous spoken phrase).  Spanish subtitles of the spoken phrases could also improve usability.
• Context
  Hablar Con Sara has no apparent context for your conversation.  This is pretty open-ended for language learners.  I suggest building a program with several context-based situations.  For example, a context might be something like going to lunch at a restaurant, going to a theater, or asking for directions on the street.
• Limited Vocabulary
  Along with a context that focuses the conversation into a concrete, and usable, situation that the student might encounter, one could limit the vocabulary that the program uses and provide a vocabulary list as a learning aid for the student.
• Better TTS
  Maybe it’s because there is no context for the conversation… or maybe it’s because I don’t have a big enough vocabulary in Spanish… but I have trouble understanding what the computer is saying.  Although I can adjust the pitch and rate of the TTS voice, I still find it hard to understand.  A better TTS engine (or, if possible, recordings - assuming a very limited vocabulary - might be more understandable).
• More Platform Support
  AFAIK, Hablar Con Sara only runs on the XO laptop.  It would be nice if the program ran on PCs, Macs, and other Linux platforms, too.

 Problems with the proposed program:

• Difficulty
  How hard will it be to construct a reasonable context (pictures, …)?
  How hard will it be to construct a conversation engine (that looks for trigger words in the learner’s  input and builds responses)?
• Constructivism / Constructionism it ain’t!
  Use of the program in language learning could not be considered constructivist / constructionist learning.  One solution to this problem would be to create some sort of toolbox that allows students to create their own context-based conversations with pictures, trigger words, …

Strengths of the program:

• The major strength of the program is that it can empower a student to take more control of her learning.

Does anybody see any merit in this type of program?  Does this type of program already exist and is used in language learning (and I’m just in the dark about it)?  Any comments?

Plan: I’ll try to put together a simple prototype in the next week or 2.  Anybody interested in seeing it?

Personal reflection post here.  If you are wanting to read about ed tech, I’ll be back on that in the next post.

Background: 

 In January 1984, after receiving a Masters degree in Engineering Physics in the Fall of 1983, I started my first, full-time, professional job as a Systems Engineer.  I’ve worked as a Systems Engineer in a variety of industries ever since.  That’s 25 years!  With a healthy touch of optimism, I suspect that I should be able to contribute for another 25 years (and with the economy sucking my retirement savings down the tubes, I don’t have to worry about retiring any time soon).  This puts me at about the half-way point of my career.

It would seem to be a good time for some reflection.  Am I happy in my career?  Am I fulfilled?  Am I doing what I should be doing?  Should I invest the rest of my career in something else?  The answers:

• Systems Engineering has allowed me to have a comfortable living, provide for my family, and raise 3 children. 

• I have always had very good co-workers.

• The work has been challenging.

• I still enjoy software development and applying electronic / computing devices to solve problems.

• I’m not enthusiastic about what I’m doing! 

 As I sit and reflect on these questions, I’ve realize they are the wrong questions.  Maybe better questions would be; What am I enthusiastic about?  How have my interests changed over the years?  Answers:

• I see myself as a problem-solver.  And I endeavor to solve problems with technology.  I am enthusiastic about that.
• I am passionate about solving problems related to quality of life issues.  These include education, disease management, assistive technology.  (Does it seem odd that I consider education a quality of life issue?  As a parent, I’ve certainly seen my children’s quality of life on a roller coaster through the school years, with a few very good years, quite a few marginal years, and a few total disaster years.  I suspect too many total disaster years could hamper one’s quality of life for a very long time!)
• Over the years I have become more and more interested in education.  In pursuing this interest I received a Masters degree in Instructional Psychology and Technology in the late 90’s.  I am passionate about education and learning theory.  If you haven’t been a regular reader, I’ve blogged numerous times about constructivism, constructionism, and the use of technology in education.

I’ve been reading Ken Robinson’s “The Element” the last few weeks (strongly recommended, by the way).  This book has added a few more questions for me to consider; What have I done that has totally absorbed me, putting me in “the zone” and making the passage of time appear to change?  What do I really care about?

• In the last few weeks, I’ve had a couple of ”zone” experiences.
  • Writing my February 14 post, Evolving to Contructivist Learning, was a “zone” experience to me.  I really want to consider how the control system for a language lab could be used to encourage a constructivist approach in foreign language education.
  • Putting together the little program discussed my January 24 post, Speeding up the Spanish, was a “zone” experience for me.  Although a trivial program from a technical prespective, I was very engaged because the project empowered a student to take more control of her learning.
• I’ve also been very interested in a few conversations I’ve had with my oldest son in the last couple of weeks.  Steven is finishing his Bachelor’s in Spanish Education this Spring and has decided to continue his education seeking a Masters degree in Instructional Psychology.  We’ve discussed how language is taught / learned at the secondary and college level.  Could more technology be used to solve problems in foreign language acquisition?  Very engaging questions.

Current Opportunities:

I have wrangled the opportunity to help with the Technical Training department in our company.  I’d be re-designing a course in Applications Engineering (actually, a better name would be Oil Well Equipment Applications), helping with the teaching duties from time to time, and hopefully transitioning it to an online class at some point.

• I find this opportunity interesting from a pedagogical (androgogical?) perspective.  Can this highly didactic, teacher centered, course be redesigned to make it more student centered and constructivist?
• How can the learner centered nature of the course be preserved when it goes online?
• Even though I’m not passionate about the course content, I find myself passionate about how such classes could / should be designed and taught - and willing to argue my point to try to improve such classes.

Analysis:

• Solving problems with technology is compatible with my personal interests, my skill set, and Systems Engineering.
• Using technology to try to positively influence education (IMHO, by advancing constructivism / constructionism and other student centered ) is very compelling for me.
• Using technology to try to solve quality of life issues is compatible with my personal interests, my skill set, and Systems Engineering.

Conclusions:

• I’ll pursue the opportunity to work with the Technical Training department.  I’ll use my experiences to judge whether a transition from Systems Engineering to a full time Technical Training role is right for me.
• I’ll seek out opportunities to work on quality of life problems - and look for technological and educational solutions.
• I’ll seek out opportunities to work on projects that have educational value or could influence / encourage student centered learning methods.  (This could be a good starting place for a series of blog posts!)
   

One thing I know for sure, we tend to have a blind spot for our own situation.  If anyone reading this has any observations or suggestions for me, I’d certainly appreciate hearing them!

Is it possible to take a teacher-centered educational technology and evolve it in such a way that it becomes more student-centered?  Can it be evolved to the point that it becomes more natural to teach with it using student-centered methods than in conventional teacher-centered methods?

I’m thinking here of the language lab - specifically the audio only learning / language lab such as that manufactured by Educational Media here in Oklahoma City.  Such a lab has many uses in classroom settings, but is most often used in foreign language instruction.  The biggest advantage of the lab (in my opinion) is that students get more practice speaking the language.  The technology, however, is completely teacher-centered; teaching with the language lab appears to me more like what Alfie Kohn would call “doing to” the students. 

This is of particular interest to me.  My main interests are education and technology - and I’m really interested in student-centered, constructivist teaching methods.  As a consultant, I built the user interface and lab control program for the Educational Media lab back in 2002 / 2003.  So far, this has been my only foray into a ”real” educational product - and I am still excited about the product.  The program is very usable and we’ve been updating things over the years… but Ed Media might be about ready to think about a new user interface.  And I might be about ready to consider building one - but I would be much more interested if there were a way to design the program such that teachers would be inclined to evolve their classroom methodologies into a more student-centered experience.  (And face it, if the proposed design were truly revolutionary, Ed Media would be more likely to want it.)

So the question to consider is:

How can the user interface / control system of an audio based language lab be redesigned to motivate the teacher using it to evolve their teaching practices toward student-centered learning activities?

A more basic question might be:

Can a software program controlling a language lab have an impact on the underlying pedagogies used to teach a class using the lab?

I would love to blog here about how this can be done… but, at this point, I don’t really know!  Instead, I’ll put down some thought leaders and blog further about this at a later time.

Some thoughts about student-centered learning:

• Contructivism - students must actively build knowledge by interacting with their environment (hopefully, a carefully crafted learning environment) and other people.
  • What kinds of constuctivist activities are encouraged by the language lab?
  • How can the language lab be used to create an environment conducive to constructivist learning?
  • How can the communication afforded by the language lab be targeted to constructivist methods?
• Project Based Learning is student centered. 
  • Intrinsic motivation is increased as students are empowered to make more choices about their project.
  • What kinds of projects do the capabilities of the language lab support?
• Contructionism - constructivist learning is enhanced when students generate artifacts in the process of building knowledge that they are then able to reflect on and share with others.
  • What kinds of artifacts are supported by the language lab?
  • Could other kinds of artifacts be supported?
• Community - A community of learners working together can improve both the learning and the affective aspects of the classroom.  Of course, we need to have defined working together as collaboration (like the world in general) and not cheating (the world of school).

Sorry I don’t have links or attributions for these statements… I’m just pulling them from memory.

Some thoughts about the language lab:

• The current language lab offers group communication capability that would be useful in group based projects.
• The current language lab offers the ability to make recordings - which could be one form of artifact in Contructionist learning.  The current lab offers no other form of media artifact.
• The current language lab provides little control / choices to students.
• What kinds of changes would be needed to provide more choices for the student?
  • Adding some sort of clicker (Student Response) system to the lab might provide for more kinds of student interactivity - but I certainly don’t think that this could be classified as constructivist.
• What additional capabilities / technologies could be added cost-effectively?
• Any changes should also make the lab more desirable to schools and improve profitability.

 If any readers have any ideas  or comments (assuming there are any readers), I’d sure love to hear them!

Boy, things have been busy around here!  I’m still working the constructivism / constructionism ideas for language learning, but I ain’t doing it fast!

As the Spring semester started, my daughter’s Spanish 3 class has started using the Notes in Spanish podcasts by Ben Curtis and Marina Diez.  I’ve been listening to the Notes in Spanish Inspired Beginners podcast - and it’s very good.  However, Brit’s class is using the Intermediate level podcast - and it’s above my level.  Unfortunately, it’s a pretty big stretch for Brit as well.

If all goes as it did the first week, the class will be assigned to listen to a podcast and answer some questions about it on a handout.  The students have the week to get this done.  The goal is to improve Spanish listening skills.  I personally think this is a great idea, but the intermediate speed and vocabulary are very challenging. 

As a typical dad, I want to help my daughter.  But how can I help her in Spanish when she’s arguably ahead of me??? (and believe me, she likes to argue ;-)  As an Engineer and problem-solver, I’ll try to put together a procedure which I think will help her quickly come up to speed with the Intermediate level podcast.  As an additional benefit, I think it’ll accelerate my Spanish language acquisition as well.

In this post I’ll be elaborating on a procedure which I think will help Brit and me quickly come up to speed on listening to intermediate level podcasts.

Speed and vocabulary are the 2 biggest stumbling blocks to moving to the Intermediate podcasts. 

• The Inspired Beginners podcasts include an introduction to the vocabulary in English before launching into the Spanish conversation. 
• Ben and Marina speak more slowly in the Beginners podcasts.

Please note that Notes In Spanish offers worksheets for both the Inspired Beginners and Intermediate podcasts that includes the vocabulary and transcripts / translations of the podcasts (and also some learning exercises).  I think if I were pursuing learning Spanish on my own and had sufficient non-driving time to dedicate to it, these would prove very useful.  I’m not going to use them in my procedure here, however, as I would like it to be generalizable to situations beyond these specific podcasts. 

The procedure will be built around several “listen throughs” of the podcasts - with an emphasis on different aspects during each listen. 

Step 1: Isolate new vocabulary

• Use technology to slow down the podcast if possible.  A number of audio programs can do this… and apparently iPods have this capability as well (at least for ebooks).  I might address this more in a later post.
• Listen to the podcast while stopping every 2 - 3 sentences.  Note down any new vocabulary - and its context if possible.
• Use a dictionary to look up the new vocabulary.
• This can be done alone, but might be more effective when done with a partner or a small group.

Step 2: Put new vocabulary in context

• This step could still be done with the slowed down audio.
• Listen to the podcast while trying to integrate the new vocabulary into the conversation.  Stop where needed to allow some time to digest what has been said.
• If working with a partner or small group, discuss to come to a concensus on the meaning during these pauses.

Step 3: Listen to the podcast

• Listen to the podcast at full speed. 
• If working with a partner of small group, discuss the podcast working out differences in understanding.  If working alone, try to isolate any comprehension problems you are having.  Repeat Steps 1 and 2 for small sections of the podcast if necessary.

Step 4: Answer the worksheet questions

• Read through the worksheet questions.  Think about how they relate to the podcast (that, hopefully, you are beginning to understand).
• Listen to the podcast at full speed.
• Answer the worksheet questions.  (Depending on your school’s view of collaboration - it’s either an important 21st century skill or cheating, you may need to do this step on your own.)

Step 5: Discuss the podcast in Spanish with your partner or small group (optional - enrichment exercise)

• This goes beyond the stated goal of improving listening skills - but would (IMHO) help one learn the vocabulary better.

Can you think of any improvements that can be made to this procedure? 

It might be interesting to compare the effectiveness of using the Notes In Spanish worksheets and the act of building your own vocabulary list by listening to the podcast.  I strongly suspect that the more constructionist “make your own” method would prove more effective and that the more traditional “buy them” method would prove more efficient.  Any thoughts on this?

In several posts I’ve talked about how a strange convergence of events has triggered my thinking on a certain topic.  Well, it’s happened again.  Several seemingly unrelated things have focused my thoughts on technology - specifically the use of technology in contructivist / constructionist methods - and language instruction.  Some of the events include:

• I took 2 years of Spanish in high school (it seems unbelievable… but that’s been 30 years ago!).  I always got good grades, but I was never able to hold a real conversation.
• About a year and a half ago, I decided I wanted to learn Spanish (the strange convergence of events that led to that decision would be a different post!).  I’ve progressed slowly by listening to podcasts, finding interesting things to read, and making lists of words / verbs / conjugations.  I still can’t hold a real conversation.  My personal learning space is available in the Introductory Spanish course on http://www.g4classes.com if you’re interested in seeing my learning plan and resources.
• My daughter is in her 3rd year Spanish class at the local high school.  She can memorize vocabulary like no-one I’ve ever known.  I’d say she’s able to hold simple conversations at this point.
• Recently, we’ve watched a 2 year old for a couple of days.  She can’t read or write (does know a few letters and can use a mouse).  Her vocabulary is very limited.  She certainly can’t conjugate a verb.  She hasn’t had any classes.  But she can hold a conversation and get her point across.

Ok, so you’re saying this isn’t a fair comparison.  But if I were learning Spanish as efficiently as the 2 year old is learning English, I’m I would be much more fluent by now! 

In this post I’ll reflect on the differences between the way I’m learning Spanish and how the 2 year old is learning English. 

Back to the 2 year old… I think one can identify several differences between the way I’m learning Spanish (and the way I think foreign languages are taught based on what my daughter is doing) and the way the child is learning English.  Key terms in the differences would be necessity, immersion, and authentic contexts.

• Necessity - The 2 year old needs to communicate.  And English is the only way she’s going to do it effectively!
  The classroom need is much more limited - to get a good grade.  And I don’t have any real necessity - only a desire to learn Spanish.
• Immersion - The 2 year old is constantly immersed in a world of English… people talking, radio, TV, …
  In the classroom, immersion is limited to the class period.  For me, it’s mainly when I’m listening to Spanish learning podcasts.
• Authentic contexts -The 2 year old uses English in completely authentic ways… she wants her sippy (cup), she talks to the stuffed animals as she’s making them do stuff, she registers complaints or requests to the adults in her world.  She learns English in the contexts in which she uses it.
  In the classroom, the student learns in a context very different than he would use in life.  Role play is sometimes used - but this wouldn’t consistently match the way the student would actually use the language in real life.  And teacher lecture and Q&A in the foreign language matches the “school” context much better than the students’ life context.  My studies would certainly not be considered authentic (i.e. sitting in a car listening to a podcast).

So if I want to learn Spanish like the 2 year old is learning English (and hopefully with increased efficiency), I’ll need to create an environment which increases the necessity of Spanish, immerse myself more into Spanish, and find ways to use Spanish in my normal life contexts.  A little brainstorming (and some input from my daughter) yielded the following ideas: 

• Increase necessity (by real or contrived mechanisms)
  • Real - Move to a foreign country (ain’t gonna happen)
  • Real - Find a job that has a a Spanish requirement (very unlikely)
  • Contrived - Commit to engaging in specific Spanish usage activities each week.  (this is only a need if one has a “need” to check off the stuff on their to-do list)
  • ???
• Increase Immersion
  • Join a Spanish conversation club (live or online)
  • Find a Spanish pen pal (or join a Spanish forum)
  • Listen to more Spanish podcasts or radio
  • Read more Spanish blogs, newspapers, … online
  • Watch the Spanish TV channel (or look for Spanish YouTube videos)
  • Attend Spanish language events (Church service, ???)
  • ???
• Use Spanish in more authentic contexts
  • How do I add Spanish to the things I do every day to learn it in context???

I use this blog for reflection and personal development, but if anyone else actually reads it and has any suggestions, I’d sure love to hear them.

There are obvious technology applications associated with immersion - and the internet can be an important resource.  And I’m not sure that technology can create a “need” for me to know Spanish.  The most intriguing question for me is in regard to authentic contexts…

• How can Educational Technology be used to improve foreign language learning by affording more authentic contexts? 
• Can constructivist / constructionist activities be designed such that students can build personally relevant, authentic contexts for learning and practicing a foreign language?

As you might guess, these are the questions I’ll consider in my next post.

I promise I’m not just commenting on Dewey forever!  I’m working on a technology project…  but it’s not ready to publish yet. 

I have continued reading Dewey’s “Democracy and Education” and am frequently surprised at the “new” ideas (at least I thought they were pretty new) in this 1916 classic.   See my previous posts here and here.  Note that emphasis is mine in all quotes.

I’ll just post a few quotes without too much commentary…

•  In line with Kohn’s concerns about democratic classrooms and burnout, Dewey provides the following in Chapter 6…

“It is customary to frown upon such aimless random activity, treating it as willful mischief or carelessness or lawlessness. But there is a tendency to seek the cause of such aimless activities in the youth’s own disposition, isolated from everything else. But in fact such activity is explosive, and due to maladjustmentwith surroundings. Individuals act capriciously whenever they act under external dictation, or from being told, without having a purpose of their own or perceiving the bearing of the deed upon other acts.” 

• Following the previous quote, Dewey also sums up the school’s response to the students’ reactions to poor educative practices…

“But much work in school consists in setting up rules by which pupils are to act of such a sort that even after pupils have acted, they are not led to see the connection between the result–say the answer–and the method pursued. So far as they are concerned, the whole thing is a trick and a kind of miracle. Such action is essentially capricious, and leads to capricious habits. (b) Routine action, action which is automatic, may increase skill to do a particular thing. In so far, it might be said to have an educative effect. But it does not lead to new perceptions of bearings and connections; it limits rather than widens the meaning-horizon. And since the environment changes and our way of acting has to be modified in order successfully to keep a balanced connection with things, an isolated uniform way of acting becomes disastrous at some critical moment. The vaunted “skill” turns out gross ineptitude.”

• In Chapter 7, Dewey discusses the history and development of educational philosophy.  I’ve included a few quotes from this section… on how to achieve a stable society…

“The first one to be considered is that of Plato. No one could better express than did he the fact that a society is stably organized when each individual is doing that for which he has aptitude by nature in such a way as to be useful to others (or to contribute to the whole to which he belongs); and that it is the business of education to discover these aptitudes and progressively to train them for social use.” 

• Dewey hits on a concept I find very compelling… the actual purpose of education…

“The educational process was taken to be one of disciplinary training rather than of personal development.”

• With all the concern expressed about 21st century skills and the school’s use of 20th century techniques (We’re teaching our kids to live in today’s world, not tomorrow’s is a sentiment I’ve read…), Dewey states…

“Each generation is inclined to educate its young so as to get along in the present world instead of with a view to the proper end of education: the promotion of the best possible realization of humanity as humanity.”

So much for my ramblings on Dewey.  Any comments?

So my daughter’s English class is reading “The Adventures of Huckleberry Fin”.  This is a book Brit has read before and really likes.  When noting that they were reading this book, Brit commented that it’s really sad; because this is a great book and she’s afraid it’ll be taught in such a way that the class will hate it.  What does she mean by this?  That an interesting story will be turned into a set of schedules, analysis exercises, tests, and scores.  All intrinsic interest in the story will be killed for the sake of getting a grade. 

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’m reading Dewey’s “Democracy and Education”.  I’ve included a rather lengthy quote from chapter 3 below.

“For when the schools depart from the educational conditions effective in the out-of-school environment, they necessarily substitute a bookish, a pseudo-intellectual spirit for a social spirit. Children doubtless go to school to learn, but it has yet to be proved that learning occurs most adequately when it is made a separate conscious business. When treating it as a business of this sort tends to preclude the social sense which comes from sharing in an activity of common concern and value, the effort at isolated intellectual learning contradicts its own aim. We may secure motor activity and sensory excitation by keeping an individual by himself, but we cannot thereby get him to understand the meaning which things have in the life of which he is a part. We may secure technical specialized ability in algebra, Latin, or botany, but not the kind of intelligence which directs ability to useful ends. Only by engaging in a joint activity, where one person’s use of material and tools is consciously referred to the use other persons are making of their capacities and appliances, is a social direction of disposition attained.”  (Emphasis mine.)

Not exactly Brit’s point… but very complementary to it. 

Because of the external control that a teacher can assert, the class will read this book.  They will do the exercises and take the tests.  They will learn something.  But if I understand Brit’s point, they will probably do it out of compulsion and probably not enjoy it.

Assuming the book is taught as a set of individual assignments and assessments (and not as some sort of constructive social activity); another thing they are not likely to do, if I understand Dewey’s point, is to internalize any social or moral lessons that could be gained from the book.  They won’t become better or wiser people.

I certainly hope I’m wrong… I’ll report back if I’m pleasantly surprised.

Next week, I hope to get back to some technology.