Application for

ACTFL Award for Excellence in Foreign Language Instruction Using

Technology with IALLT (K-12)

Frances M. Siracusa

May 28, 2013

Evidence of Objectives and Strategies

As an educator, I read articles and attend workshops where people

pose questions such as: How have I as an educator transformed my learning

environment? Frankly, the answer to this question lies with how I as a learner

was transformed by my learning environment, and how I have been trying to

replicate the same experience for my Spanish students ever since. One year

ago, I earned an Educational Technology masters degree, and learned first-

hand “the ways in which innovative technologies and emerging physical,

virtual and blended learning environments empower educators and learners

and impact society” (http://education.ufl.edu/educational-technology/). My

personal and professional experiences along this path continue to alter my

thinking and teaching practice; however, I find my personal definition to be

constant. I am a creator, collaborator, risk-taker, life-long learner,

participant, critical thinker, initiator, director, organizer, producer, adapter,

confidence-builder, avid reader and cheerleader. Most importantly, in the

learning environment I provide for my students, I am a communicator,

innovator, and teacher-learner!

Similarly, my Spanish students are social butterflies and love to

actively participate in class. I afford them various opportunities to think

critically and communicate efficiently when they create and share. Second, I

challenge my students to succeed in the current global environment by

interacting on the universal web as well as in person with their worldwide

peers. The learning environment in my classroom consistently helps to

prepare students to interact effectively with others in another language, and

especially in their development of communicative competence reflecting real

life communication.

My passion is the Spanish language and culture, and my interest is

technology; I persistently pursue new ways to utilize technology to enhance

my students’ ability to acquire Spanish language skills. Seven years ago, the

Assistant Principal of my former school had the first LCD projector in my

school installed in my classroom ceiling, and urged me to “push the

envelope” with technology and my curriculum. Since those humble

beginnings, I have eagerly sought out new programs, websites, interfaces,

and ideas to empower my students to use technology as a learning tool. As

Marc Prensky expressed, today’s students are growing up in a “digital age as

digital natives.” To be able to work successfully with students and keep their

interest focused on academics, it is imperative that I explore and experience

new strategies to facilitate students’ proficiency in the Spanish language,

while at the same time delighting them in the process.

Three years ago, I transferred so as to work at a small private

Montessori school in Largo, FL where I could make a greater impact upon

students utilizing emerging smart systems. First, I was in charge of one

Bretford cart containing 24 iPod Touches for use with classes on a shared

basis. That led to purchases of a MacBook, 20 iPads with syncing cart, a Mac

mini, a MacBook Pro, and then 60 (3rd generation) iPads for use in a 1:1 iPad

program. In April, we moved into a new Middle School facility, complete with

Apple TVs in every room and an iMac in our production studio. From the start

of this past school year, I have transformed my class into a completely

paperless class because of the incredible iPad apps available. My class has

become streamlined, participatory, efficient and most importantly engaging.

In fact, the iPad (as opposed to a laptop or desktop) makes our Rosetta

Stone language learning program fun and easy for our students, who enjoy

the personal experience of tapping the screen while getting cozy in a chair

holding a small tablet while studying.

Our students study both Spanish and Chinese utilizing a Rosetta Stone

Classroom site license portal. With each lesson, I devise distinct work plans

for students which include grammar and vocabulary practice worksheets.

This year, because of the 1:1 iPads, students download these worksheets to

their iPads using the Notability app where they fill in answers and submit

them back to me to grade. I also use Notability to grade the worksheets,

write feedback, and email them back to them. Students access assignments

as well as learning videos, online quizzes and class calendar with our Edline

app. I create learning videos with the Educreations app in my hybrid “flipped

classroom.” My class works without paper because of productivity apps

(Pages and Keynote), organizational apps (Dropbox and Google Drive), and

educational apps (Edmodo, Educreations, Quizlet, Mango Languages and

Rosetta Stone). These “children and future generations have tremendous

opportunities in store for them, not in spite of the digital age, but because of

it” (Palfrey & Gasser, 2008, p. 9).

Our administration issued all Middle School division teachers an iPad to

use for lesson planning and collaboration with students. However, I figured

out how to make all class materials digital, therefore embracing change and

adding to students’ development of 21st century skills. I believe this leads to

students’ increased productivity and retained knowledge. Correspondingly,

Solloway and Norris expressed the same sentiment: “…when computing

devices are used across subject areas, for substantial periods of time (say,

70 percent) and when the curriculum and the software support each other,

then increases in student achievement are indeed observed” (T.H.E. Journal,

2013, http://thejournal.com/).

Today, a teacher should act as a facilitator/collaborator in a learner-

centered classroom, and there should be an emphasis on learners as “doers”

and “creators;” consequently, I examine my approaches to pedagogy

frequently. Last year, under my guidance and participation, students from

three school divisions learned alongside international peers in three different

global projects: Rock Our World, Flat Classroom Building Bridges, and Flat

Classroom Eracism. Owing to the iPads, student experiences were dynamic

and engaging. Their curiosity was piqued and the iPads were the perfect tool

to foster their innate desire to learn as well as aid in their foreign language

communication development. I believe the iPad has already greatly impacted

school and work environments, and I observe how work processes are

changing globally. It is my job as a World Languages teacher to equip

students to better develop their communicative competence as well as to

succeed in their future environments.

Over the last couple years, I have seen immense success with my

learners owing to technology integration in my Spanish courses. My Spanish

students consistently exhibit how they develop transferable knowledge and

21st century skills. In fact, my teaching practice so greatly impacts students

in that many graduate 8th grade and matriculate in Spanish high school

courses (encompassed in Pre-IB, magnet, and competitive college

preparatory programs) two levels above the average freshman as well as

attain highest scores in their class. Innovative concrete examples of

facilitation of student learning and creativity in my Spanish classroom

include:

--Utilizing the iMovie and Pages apps, I invented a project called

“International Film Festival” where students script, perform, and produce

commercials in Spanish selling a variety of products. Later, students’

commercials were organized on our class Wiki and “nominated” for one of

various theatrical awards that mimick a real film festival. Students viewed all

videos (thus learning more grammar structures from peer work); voted for

category favorites online; and participated in a mock awards ceremony

complete with red carpet, Master of Ceremonies, big screen (iPad and an

LCD projector), secret envelopes and awards. All students increased

accuracy of formal singular and plural imperative grammar forms.

--Using the Voicethread app, students completed a “When I was a Child”

project. Students collected 10 photos of themselves as children under the

age of five, and then described their personality, physical looks, likes and

dislikes, friends, where they lived, etc. in Spanish using correct Imperfect

tense sentence structures. Second, students orally recorded themselves

reading their sentences. Additionally, classmates were asked to orally record

commentary regarding their peers’ photos and comments onto the projects.

Finally, parents were invited to comment or record a memory (in English or

Spanish) onto their child’s Voicethread.

--Employing the PuppetPals app, I fabricated a “Restaurant Skit” project

where students author and perform scripts. To bring it to life, students

photographed themselves and “inserted” themselves as characters as well

as orally recorded their voices. Students effectively learned “dining”

vocabulary as well as stem-changing verb conjugation grammar.

--Using the Tripline, World Atlas and Weather apps, students completed

“World Capitals Airplane Trip” projects. In Spanish, students interacted with

geography, maps and temperature exploration. They devised route and

(clothing) packing plans while speaking and writing in Spanish.

Other notable Spanish classroom tasks include a past-tense eBook

project with the Storybird app; designing the ideal classroom with the Room

Planner app; “My Daily Routine” project with the Keynote or Animoto apps;

podcasting “My Spanish Rap” and “Betty la Bufanda” activities using

GarageBand; online journaling with the Blogger app; and weekly interactive

teacher-led lessons with the Nearpod and Edmodo apps. My students crave

the creativity of fun classroom tasks that are unique and challenging. They

master written, spoken, and electronic communication skills because I

choose to be innovative in my instructional design.

As an Educational Technologist, I support a 21st century readiness

approach for all students. Specifically, communication, creativity and

innovation skills are sharpened through global projects and technology. My

4th and 5th grade students collaborated with worldwide peers by mixing music

tracks and songs within GarageBand; communicated with children and

classroom pets using Skype; used iPad video recorders during Poetry Slam

video creation; and excitedly interacted with students during World

Celebration interviews with FaceTime Theater. Kindergarten and 1st grade

students honed communication skills when they utilized Voicethread to

create virtual handshakes. They spoke live with friends in Minnesota, Idaho

and Turkey when they heard and saw their classrooms using Skype. They

teamed up to create “Our School Day” and “The Games We Play” group

projects. Seventh and eighth graders debated against global peers on

Voicethread during the Eracism project. Italian students interviewed our

students and they jointly created podcasts.

Ultimately, in order to positively influence the broader Foreign

Language education community, one needs to share his/her classroom

successes. “Educators need more training, through teacher preparation

programs and professional development, about how best to use technology

to teach in the classroom and to analyze student data,” according to a

National Association of State Boards of Education report (2012). I immerse

myself in reading educational journals, attending and presenting at

conferences, discussing similar visions and ideas on Twitter and web-based

professional learning networks, and interacting with global and local peers

about my passion.

In May 2012, I presented my research and findings in a thesis titled Fostering

Individual Growth in the Middle School Spanish Classroom: Improving

Linguistic Fluidity and Pronunciation. Taking a hard look at the current

classroom experience and observing that my students did not orally

communicate enough in Spanish, I established that I would improve upon

their speaking skills, specifically in the area of fluency. It is my strong belief

that an educator’s ability to design and manage multimedia tasks in the

classroom in conjunction with sparking a student’s passion is a great factor

of student success. Thanks to the MacBook and iPad along with Blogger and

Vocaroo, my digital-era students channeled their creativity and combined

academics with technology as an opportunity for learning, and increased

fluency scores. I shared my work with work colleagues, area Spanish

teachers, my former mentor and friend Gillian Lord (Chair and Associate

Professor, Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies, University of

Florida) and diverse Spanish teachers through digital professional learning

networks.

In my professional experience, I have witnessed young people harness

remarkable talents evidenced by their creations, such as narratives, blogs,

mash ups, videos and pictures. I shared these learning experiences by

facilitating an educator workshop in June 2012 called Cross the Bridge:

Ensure 21st Century Readiness for Every Student and Teacher. Under my

direction, teachers utilized subject-specific “21st Century Skills Maps”

developed by The Partnership for 21st Century Skills in adherence with

Common Core and National Educational Technology Standards (NETS). I led

discussions of best practices in teaching and learning in order to aid

educators to become comfortable co-learners in the digital age of today. I

also added to their “teaching toolbox” and practice with web 2.0 tools such

as Voicethread, Blogger, Wikispaces, and Edmodo. Teachers came with

lesson plans in mind and walked away with creative 21st century concrete

designs. In November 2012, my colleague and I presented a session called

Go Global: World Collaborative Projects for Innovative Teachers at the Florida

Council of Independent Schools conference. Additionally in November, we co-

presented at two more sessions called Apps Galore: Top Tools for Global

Collaboration (iPad) and The Connected Middle School Student: Fostering

Global Collaborations through International Projects at the Global Education

Conference Network 2012 virtual conference. We shared our experiences,

videos, pictures and program designs of collectively-built student digital

artifacts, and demonstrated the value of networking. (In June 2013, my

colleague and I will be presenting at a poster session at the ISTE conference

in San Antonio. I will also be presenting Apps Galore at the ACTFL conference

this coming November in Orlando.) Finally we supported three 8th graders as

they presented Celebrating Diversity: International Day of Peace at the

iEARN conference in November. Fundamental to any learning, I practice what

I preach by sharing all knowledge, projects and examples on my professional

website: http://exploramos.wikispaces.com/Sharing+Success