Technology

Technology in my classroom:

Although small, the classroom in which I taught at Friends Select had a large quantity of technological materials that I could use. While teaching, I often used the basic technology of the chalkboard and the overhead projector. The blackboard was useful for noting spelling of vocabulary or verb conjugations, for charting and categorizing vocabulary or student brainstorming, for allowing students to write sentences, draw pictures, and respond to questions, for taking notes from lectures or discussions, and for playing competitive games. The overhead projector performed several of the same functions – particularly for recording student responses and brainstorming and for having one student write up an example sentence or conjugation. It could also be more useful than the blackboard because I could prepare transparencies before the class period and pull them out to use at any time during class. I would often write these transparencies with sample verb conjugations or copy things I had typed or portions from the book onto them. The textbook also provided transparencies with answers to the workbook pages, sample maps, and other pictures relating to the chapters. With all of these overheads, students or I could use colored pens to make corrections or point out important points. Finally, I found the overhead projector more useful than the chalkboard because I could write on it while still facing the rest of the class.

As for more modern technology, a laptop computer in the classroom connected to speakers and projected to a large screen in the front of the class. This allowed us to listen to aural activities and to CD’s of French music. With the DVD player and the screen, I often showed films that came along with the textbook and that related to geographic and cultural background of the francophone area, stories that incorporated the grammar and vocabulary of the chapter, and “Panoramas Culturels” that showed interviews of francophone adolescents. I also showed a recent popular French movie, “Les Choristes”, to the French 2 class. The Upper School had both a computer lab with about 20 computers and a traveling laptop cart, which I admit that I did not take enough advantage of during my teaching. I did bring my French 2 class to the computer lab a couple of times so that they could research on the internet and put together PowerPoint presentations about francophone countries or regions. See below for a description of this lesson. I also used the internet during my personal planning for future classes to look up new ideas for activities. I found other teachers’ internet sites particularly helpful when I began to teach Le Petit Prince, since so many French teachers have taught this book in the past and have great ideas about it.

A lesson plan using computers:

The one lesson that I taught at Friends Select in which all of my students used computers involved online research and creation of a PowerPoint presentation. This was one of the very first classes that I taught to the French 2 students – I was continuing a project plan that my cooperating teacher had created, and following the directions of what she planned to do. She gave them a basic assignment sheet explaining that each of them was to do some simple research and create a PowerPoint presentation in French covering several specific categories of facts about a francophone country or region. I then created a rubric that explained the factors of the presentation that they should consider to earn their grade (See Rubrics page), which I distributed and explained to them in class.

The students had two class periods to work in the computer lab and either research or put together their presentation. I did not give them any instruction about how to create a PowerPoint presentation because they had all used PowerPoint in previous classes. During the time in the computer lab, I did, however, go around and help individual students with the French grammar in their presentations, with saving their presentations on the computer, and with individual technological questions such as how to type accent marks. After these two periods of individual work time that did not involve any general instruction, the students presented their work to the class, speaking in French. Many presentations were full of grammatical errors or even words in English, and many students read most of the words they said directly off their slides, even though the rubric clearly explained that they should use it as a prompt rather than a script.

This lesson was not exactly one of the high points of my teaching this semester. Although I was not in charge of the original instructions or assignment sheet, I see now that I should have given much more explicit instructions about how the students should go about researching, writing their presentations, and using the PowerPoint as an effective presentation tool. I could have given a sample presentation myself (either a model one or a model of what not to do). I should have given tips about researching in French or translating from English. Since the French 2 students did not have much experience writing or using a French dictionary, I should have given them some instruction about using the book dictionary or online dictionaries. One boy translated most of his presentation with an online translator and I had to give him a zero for plagiarizing. I knew that students could easily use online translators and could recognize the unusual errors that come from their use. This helped me to recognize that the student had cheated, but it would have been much more productive for all of us if I had used my knowledge before the fact to help students understand appropriate and inappropriate usages of online translators.

I also wish that I had found the time to take better advantage in my classroom of the resources provided by the internet. I recognize that the web can provide a particularly valuable resource for the French classroom because it is the easiest way for us in the United States to find direct access to realia or materials from francophone countries. Exploring French websites could give a realistic look into modern culture in France or other francophone countries and allow comparison with our own culture. This could involve research about serious topics, but could also interest the students by giving them a chance to learn about French pop culture, such as music, movies, comics, or computer games. In addition, I know that at least one of the French channels ( France 2) allows you to connect to broadcasts on their website. During the AP French Language class that I visited at the Agnes Irwin School, the teacher showed some of the news from this website, and I was impressed at how helpful that could be in a classroom. I would like to profit from this web access to French newscasts. My students would have appreciated trying to understand the speech, the tie to current events, and being able to see the French weather report, since the French 1 class learned weather vocabulary while I taught them. In a future class, I would make an effort to explore the internet and take better advantages of the cultural openings that it can offer.