How Does Instructional Technology Impact My Teaching of Spanish II?

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session 16
  In Roundtable Session: Generating Knowledge From Teacher Research to Meet the Challenges Within Public Education

Abstract

Instructional technology is the new and innovative means of engaging students in an educational setting. Teachers are asked to integrate technology into their instructional practices to reach students who are more excited by anything that is on their cell phone screen than any anecdotal story, interpersonal conversation, or lecture that they may be presented with in class. From this challenge, two questions arose:
• Is instructional technology really beneficial to students as an instructional vehicle?
• Do teachers use instructional technology just for the sake of using it?
Focusing closely on students’ perspectives, I pursued these questions in my Spanish II course, which is comprised of twenty 9th and 10th graders. Because this class is comprised of a diverse group of learners and because my district privileges the use of technology in the classroom, it was crucial for me to find ways of using technology to differentiate my instruction and reach each type of learner.
I began my inquiry by surveying students about their perspectives on the use of technology in all classes, Spanish included. Based on their responses, I identified four commonly used applications to design and deliver instruction to my class; Nearpod, Socrative, Edmodo, and VideoEle. During an 8-week period, on a daily basis, I used at least one, more often two or three, of these applications. I consistently journaled about my observations and reflections on students’ engagement and whether students met their daily objectives. I then had the students respond to a second survey including several open-ended reflection questions, about the way I used the four applications in our class and whether the students viewed them as learning tools and how they felt these tools benefited or hindered their acquisition of Spanish.
Through analysis of my students’ survey responses and my journaling, I found clear evidence that my students increased their engagement in Spanish II because of the amount of instructional technology we used in our class. This finding drove me to become increasingly aware of new and innovative applications that continue to drive authentic language acquisition and to work with my colleagues to encourage the effective integration of technology into their pedagogy. The students in my class have clearly demonstrated benefits of using instructional technology on a daily basis. I am confident that instructional technology serves as a direct link between the magic of a teacher’s lesson, and the world that stands just beyond the four walls of our classroom. My study has become part of my school’s technology integration plans.
As students become increasingly diverse and technology-dependent, teachers have to decide if they are willing to adapt to new technology, new literacies and new learning. When acquiring a new target language, students need to be exposed to multiple options to ensure their learning needs, styles, and goals are being met. In order for students to be continuously engaged in the learning process, teachers must meet the challenge and adapt their methods to today’s learners and ensure that the best possible pedagogical practices are cultivated in their classrooms.

Author

• Jonathan Cataldi, Kinnelon, NJ School District