Technology is easily integrated into the English & ESL curriculum, and can be used to enhance and encourage student learning. I have seen this in practice throughout the year in a multitude of ways. For example:
- In a Year 7 English class, when students were completing a simple comprehension task on a studied text, they were able to gain more insight into themes using their laptops. I witnessed one student who wanted to know more about the significance of the setting (in regards to time and location) of the novel, researching what world events were happening in the 1930s. After some basic research, he found information on The Great Depression and was able to understand themes, character motivations and societal influences of the novel. The depth with which ICT allowed him to extend himself to is invaluable.
- In a Year 10 ESL class, one student in particular who has low skills with hand writing was better able to express his conceptual understanding of the work we had been doing when using his laptop. This meant his knowledge was not stunted by his hand writing skills, and he was able to display his knowledge confidently and efficiently.
- In a Year 9 accelerated English class, I witnessed students working collaboratively in creating their own zines. This was wonderfully impressive. They each worked on their own computers, but via Google Docs to allow them all to edit at once. Each student within a group was assigned a task, e.g. one worked in Photoshop to create images for their zine, another worked in Publisher, and another in Word. The excellent team work and ICT skills these students possess is inspiring.
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