Charting Courses to Proficiency

Self-directed Learningfor Tech-savvy StudentsUsing Technology to Stay Relevantand Increase Learner Autonomy and ProficiencyDr. Jason JolleyMissouri State UniversityThemesTechnology is a game changer. We need to decide whether it is a threat, an opportunity, or both, and how to respond.The students we have in our classes interact differently with technology than previous generations of students.Education and teaching are facing significant external scrutiny and pressures.As instructors we can only stay relevant (and employed!) if we adapt by reconceptualizing our roles.Thanks to the Internet and mobile devices, content is available everywhere. Much of it is free and of very good quality.There are some good reasons to encourage our students to take advantage of online content.

Technology has changed how people access information.

The internet in particular has upended entire industries.

Could education be next?R.I.P. Music StoresTower Records declares bankruptcy

Gazillions of songs R.I.P Video Stores?Remember Hollywood Video?

Easier to order onlineR.I.P Bookstores?Borders in bankruptcy protection

On-demand readingR.I.P Newspapers? Webpage reports: Print newspapers folding

Blog much?Youve been outsourced!Customer serviceInformation technologyFinancial servicesIndustry and manufacturingEducation/teaching?

See you on Skype!WWGD?

When faced with any challenge today, it makes sense to ask: WWGD? What Would Google Do? In management, commerce, news, media, marketing, service industries, investing, politics, government, and even education and religion, answering that question is a key to navigating a world that has radically changed forever. WWGD?

Just as every other institution explained in this book is facing fundamental changes to its essence and existence in the Google age, so is education. Indeed, education is one of the institutions most deserving of disruptionand with the greatest opportunities to come of it. DiscussionIn a very real sense, what happened to companies like Tower Records, Hollywood Video, Borders, and the Cincinnati Post was that they were not able to adapt quickly enough to changing environments. They were forced to shut down their traditional formats and now see online delivery as key to their reemergence. Does this evolve-or-face-extinction model apply to us as educators as well? What can the reactions of companies suggest to us in terms of strategy?For teachers, is technology a threat, an opportunity, or both?

Our students experience technology differently than previous generations of young people.

To understand how they learn we need to appreciate how they use technology.

Post-Millennials & TechShort attention spansMultitaskers (or so they say)E-mail is so 2004Texters, not talkers1,000+ Facebook friendsSmart phones are their laptopsGoogle and Wikipedia have the answersWhy Cant I do this online?They expect life to come with an interface

DiscussionWhat have you noticed about technology use by your students?What are some of the positive and negative effects of our students tech-heavy lifestyle?How are your students using technology to learn in and outside of the classroom setting?

In midst of economic crisis, education and the teaching profession have come under intense public scrutiny.

Teachers are facing blame and new pressures from a variety of sources.

Significant changes to the traditional educational paradigm are coming, and they involve technology.Pressures Facing TeachersPublic employees have taken a lot of the blame for states budgetary problemsWisconsin case teachers lost bargaining rightsTaxpayers and legislators demanding accountabilityWere being asked to prove students are learningAssessment, NCLB, standardized tests, etc.Missouri HB 628Ends tenureTies pay to performance, including student scoresAccess: Serve more students (Do more with less)Talk of outsourcing the curriculum in some states

George L. MehaffeyHigher education (also K-12?) Designed in the 11th centuryFunctions on a 19th century agrarian calendarTries to prepare students to live and work in the 21st centuryThree challenges that will force changeDeclining fundingRising expectationsRapidly developing technologyMehaffey, cont.On Technology:The model of the university as a collection of experts, the model of teaching that requires expert knowledge, the model of an institution that requires the physical presence of human beings...all of these are being called into question in the Information Age.DiscussionAre some of these pressures beginning to affect how you feel about the continuity of your language program or even the security of your own employment?Do you think there are ways to help our students benefit from these new emphases on accountability, performance, and outcomes?To remain relevant in a time when expertly designed and delivered content is available for free, 24/7, instructors need to reconceptualize their roles.

We need to shift our emphasis from content delivery (covering the material) to doing other things that will improve learning outcomes. More from MehaffeyFour traditional roles of faculty/teachers:Select the content that is most criticalDesign the educational experiences that will optimize learningDeliver instructionAssess learning outcomes and assign gradesMehaffey, cont.Suggestions for redefined roles for teachers:Get over love affair with expertiseFocus most efforts on creating learning environments, interactive spaces conducive to learning (not necessarily the classroom)Design activities for students outside of classBecome designers of student work done independent of facultyPlay supportive, problem-solving (facilitating) roleFocus on certifying learning outcomes DiscussionWhat aspects of Mehaffeys vision do you find most appealing or most troubling?To what extent are you already making some of the adjustments Mehaffey equates with the revision of our role as instructors? What can instructors do to encourage their students to take more responsibility for and ownership of their own learning?Thanks to the Internet and mobile devices, content is available everywhere.

Much of this content is free and of very good quality.

Some of these resources have the potential to greatly enhance our students language proficiency.Whats Out There?Online Language-learning Resources:Complete, stand-alone online language courses (BBC)Language tutorial websites and quiz/exercise banksDatabases/collections of games/activities (Quia.com)Online video tutorials (YouTube)Language exchange websites (Livemocha.com)iPhone apps?What Else?Online Language Exposure ResourcesAny target-language website (authentic texts)Major target-language web portals (multi-media)Video content produced by target language speakersYouTube VlogsSocial networking toolsFacebook (and language-specific sites: Tuenti, Orkut)TwitterInstant messaging tools, chat sitesVideoconferencing communitiesAnything you can do online in L1 can be done in L2

Why I livemocha.com Courses in more than 20 languagesCourses are media rich (images, sound)Courses are interactiveUsers can add tips on pronunciation, grammar, etc.You get feedback from other users on exercises you submitMuch of the content is freeLanguage-exchange website with built-in social networkingFriending functionInstant messaging (with text, audio, video)Completely integrated with FacebookDiscussionHow might students be able to use social networking tools such as Twitter and Facebook to enhance their language learning?What are some of the online resources you most often recommend to your students?What are some kinds of resources you might advise your students to avoid?Do you model use of online resources in class hoping your students will explore them further on their own?What I doEncourage my students do autonomous language-learning activitiesThese are activities chosen by the learnerDone outside of class, on students own timeRequire exposure/interaction with some kind of authentic target linguistic/cultural input (online or not)Learners use a log to document and reflect on their learningLearners collect their activity logs in a portfolioInstructor evaluates portfolio, provides feedback

A Few Examples of ALLAsAmong hundreds of other activities my students have chosen to:Transcribe song lyricsWrite poetry, narratives, and film reviewsPrepare a dish from a recipeE-mail and instant message native speakersWatch foreign films and make topical vocabulary listsWrite original dialoguesRecord video blogs (vlogs)Speak with relatives in Spanish

Rationale - motivation These kinds of independent/autonomous assignments are consistent with two influential theories of motivationR.C. Gardners model for language-learningInstrumental motivationIntegrative motivationDeci & Ryan: Self-determination Theory (SDT)Opportunities for self-direction (autonomy) enhance intrinsic motivationAutonomy associated with choice, flexibility, initiativeHelps with internalization and transfer of learning outcomes

Other Rationales for ALLAsWork well in the context of proficiency-/standards-based instruction (outcomes, assessment, etc.)Complement student-centered teaching modelsActive learningExperiential learningFree-choice learningStudent-directed learningPromote the personalization of learningDifferentiation of curriculumDifferences in learner styles, strategies, intelligence typesBenefits of ALLAsALLAs help learners increase their proficiency outside of class.They allow learners to connect language-learning with their own interests (relevance)They have the potential to increase learner motivation.They encourage habits of lifelong learning.They help to make learners more responsible for their own learning.

Encouraging AutonomyStrategies for increasing learner autonomy and responsibility:Educate students regarding proficiency standards and expected learning and performance outcomesBuild opportunities for students to direct their own learning into the curriculum (structured autonomy)Recommend/model best practices (nudge them)Encourage students to document and reflect on the learning activities they engage in outside of class (log)Make sure such efforts count towards their gradeTrust them with control. They may surprise you

WWGD?

Give the people control and we will use it. Dont and you will lose us. That is the essential rule of the new age. Previously, the powerfulcompanies, institutions, and governmentsbelieved they were in control, and they were. But no more. Now the internet allows us to speak to the world, to organize ourselves, to find and to spread information, to challenge old ways, to retake control. "It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change." Darwin

ReferencesRyan, R. M., & E.L Deci. Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist 55 (2000): 68-78.Gardner, R.C. Language Learning Motivation: The Student, the Teacher, and the Researcher. Texas Papers in Foreign Language Education 6.1 (Fall 2001): 1-18.Jarvis, Jeff. What Would Google Do? New York: Harper Collins, 2009.Mehaffey, George L. Medieval Models, Agrarian Calendars, and 21st Century Imperatives. Teacher-Scholar: The Journal of the State Comprehensive University Fall 2010. Web. 13 March 2011.Missouri HB 628 (summary): http://www.house.mo.gov/content.aspx?info=/bills111/bilsum/intro/sHB628I.htm

I adapted and survived!