To be honest I have never really blogged before, so I am not completely sure how this should work. This blog was created because of graduate course requirements. I feel the need to say that in my first official post so any reader outside of my class will understand the purpose for many of these posts. My class and I have signed up to Google Alerts and receive links to articles, blogs, and a ton of content about whatever we signed up for in the alert. If you have never used one, I highly recommend trying it out. It's a great way to stay informed on what interests you.
This week I realized that I might need to tweak the alerts some. It was my hope to find information about language learners and teaching language learners but there has been precious little coming to my inbox. However, there were several articles I found to be interesting and relevant to our current situation.
This short read about asynchronous learning aligns with my thoughts on the topic. Asynchronous learning is the best way to deliver instruction virtually. It gives the learner the ability to focus and work at their own pace rather than a prescribed pace. It allows for flexibility to fit in to the learner’s schedule as needed, this is something live instruction doesn’t offer. I teach second grade and while I am required to have live Zoom sessions several times a day, students don’t technically HAVE to be online. If they get their work finished the day it’s due, they are present for the day. I record my live sessions and post them to my Google Classroom, so some parents choose to let their children learn asynchronously because it fits their families schedule better. I love this ability to allow parents and students some control in a situation that isn’t ideal for anyone.
I found this article to be a refreshing, quick read. It focuses on the idea that many colleges, especially newer ones, are focusing on creating a community of learners that work together. In addition to this, the schools are finding it necessary to focus on all of the student's learning needs - not just academics. The article talks about providing for the academic, social, and spiritual learning needs, truly a multidisciplinary approach. It seems that the colleges focusing on this approach are having a lot of success.
In Brisbane, Queensland, Australia there is a university center called Kelvin Grove Urban Village. From this article, Kelvin Grove Urban Village is quite a diverse place. However, it seems that with that diversity there is a lot of social isolation. A PhD candidate wanted to employ some digital story telling along with real life placements to help deal with that social isolation. It sounds like quite a well thought out and timely project, even though it had to be turned into fully digital due to COVID. After reading this article, I think I understand a little more how digital story telling could be useful for language learning. The students can tell their story, through words and pictures, practicing English while making connections to their first language.
This article is a summary of market analysis on language learning software and gaming software. The market has seen a sharp increase in use and profits due to the COVID pandemic. According to the analysis, this upward market trend is projected to last until at least 2024 and possibly until 2027. I found this interesting not because I am huge fan of language learning software, but because it kind of confirms my own suspicions. I have said to colleagues that virtual learning was here before COVID and that this pandemic will springboard virtual education to the forefront. I truly believe that virtual education is here to stay, and it will grow much more popular. Pedagogy will once again evolve. I think this was a natural progression for education given the global technological trends, I just think the pandemic has sped up the process.