ELSA 3 learners working hard on their digital stories
Firstly, I would like to acknowledge the support and effort of my sponsor teacher at Collingwood Neighbourhood House and the group of volunteers who came to help the students complete their digital stories. Given the class size, the multi-stage process, and technological challenges, it was essential to have many mentors in the classroom.
This practicum experience has provided me with the opportunity to incorporate many new teaching ideas and tasks into my classroom practice. As such, I now realize how much I have learned and grown as an adult educator as a result of this MEd program. The following list is based on my own reflections and feedback from my mentor teacher, and it outlines the key points that I would focus on if I were to do this project with a new group of learners:
1/ Work with a smaller group with a higher language proficiency.
2/ Spread the timeline out more, and scaffold the learning tasks so learners are more familiar with the necessary technology and the process writing approach before embarking on digital storytelling work.
3/ Find more ways to involve learners in the teaching process. Get tech-savvy students in the class to act as mentors for the other students, and share the responsibility for teaching with others who can help.
4/ Try to ensure that the computer equipment is standard for all students and that there is one computer per learner.
5/ Don't rush the presentation/teaching aspects of the lessons. Some students need this explicit input and support, and rushing through these stages wasn't effective.
6/ Show different digital storytelling models throughout the entire process, as well as models of brainstorming, first drafts, and final drafts.
This practicum experience has provided me with the opportunity to incorporate many new teaching ideas and tasks into my classroom practice. As such, I now realize how much I have learned and grown as an adult educator as a result of this MEd program. The following list is based on my own reflections and feedback from my mentor teacher, and it outlines the key points that I would focus on if I were to do this project with a new group of learners:
1/ Work with a smaller group with a higher language proficiency.
2/ Spread the timeline out more, and scaffold the learning tasks so learners are more familiar with the necessary technology and the process writing approach before embarking on digital storytelling work.
3/ Find more ways to involve learners in the teaching process. Get tech-savvy students in the class to act as mentors for the other students, and share the responsibility for teaching with others who can help.
4/ Try to ensure that the computer equipment is standard for all students and that there is one computer per learner.
5/ Don't rush the presentation/teaching aspects of the lessons. Some students need this explicit input and support, and rushing through these stages wasn't effective.
6/ Show different digital storytelling models throughout the entire process, as well as models of brainstorming, first drafts, and final drafts.
Screening party on the final day of my practicum.
Additionally, there were many aspects of this project that I feel were very strong. Things that I would remember to do again include:
1/ Bring in volunteers and assistants to help students through the project steps.
2/ Create a website for students to refer to and access outside of class time with lesson materials, models and helpful links.
3/ Make time for a final 'screening party', to showcase the learners' work and celebrate everyone's accomplishments. Decide with the students who to invite from the larger school community.
4/ Acknowledge learners' efforts at every stage of the project and recognize that learners bring different skills and abilities to the project. Remember that the key is to push learners to grow and develop based on where they're at, what they can do, and what they are interested in. This means that some learners may be able to create a long digital story with complex transitions and visual effects, while others may create a 1-minute story with 2 photos and no effects. What matters is that they have all stretched themselves in new ways and have shared a meaningful story that they want to tell.
I am proud of what I accomplished, and the efforts and final digital stories that the students created went way beyond my expectations of what ELSA 3 learners 'should' be able to do. I look forward to sharing my experiences with others who are interested in trying it with their learners, and I am excited about doing more digital storytelling work with ESL learners in the future.
1/ Bring in volunteers and assistants to help students through the project steps.
2/ Create a website for students to refer to and access outside of class time with lesson materials, models and helpful links.
3/ Make time for a final 'screening party', to showcase the learners' work and celebrate everyone's accomplishments. Decide with the students who to invite from the larger school community.
4/ Acknowledge learners' efforts at every stage of the project and recognize that learners bring different skills and abilities to the project. Remember that the key is to push learners to grow and develop based on where they're at, what they can do, and what they are interested in. This means that some learners may be able to create a long digital story with complex transitions and visual effects, while others may create a 1-minute story with 2 photos and no effects. What matters is that they have all stretched themselves in new ways and have shared a meaningful story that they want to tell.
I am proud of what I accomplished, and the efforts and final digital stories that the students created went way beyond my expectations of what ELSA 3 learners 'should' be able to do. I look forward to sharing my experiences with others who are interested in trying it with their learners, and I am excited about doing more digital storytelling work with ESL learners in the future.