EDU 643 week 4 Discussion 1

Week 4 - Discussion 1

Your initial discussion thread is due on Day 3 (Thursday) and you have until Day 7 (Monday) to respond to your classmates. Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and the depth of your responses.

Technology is becoming more and more the norm across the United States regardless of cultural background or socio-economic status. Because of this trend, the International Society for Technology In Education (ISTE) has developed a set of standards geared towards “evaluating the skills and knowledge students need to learn effectively and live productively in an increasingly global and digital world” (ISTE, 2013).

Students who do not have home computers can have free Internet access from libraries, after school programs, and community centers.  ELLs are likely to be proficient in technology even if they are not yet proficient in English; therefore, integration as part of an informal assessment or lesson plan not only provide meaningful evaluation and instruction but also utilize best teaching practices by connecting background knowledge with new concepts.  

Using the Colorin Colorado website, Using Technology in ELL Instruction, as a starting point, evaluate technology that can be used to enhance ELL instruction.  Either choose from one of the links provided or choose one on your own to evaluate.  In your evaluation (which includes the specific link) please include:

1. The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE standards) is most applicable
2. The target age group and demographics of your school district
3. The technology you have chosen to enhance ELL instruction specific to meeting the students at their level of ‘readiness’ and guide future instruction
4. How your choice of technology stands out among all the other options
5. How you will incorporate it into your lesson plan
6. Explanation for how this same technology choice can be extended to home practice and aligns with the NETS-S standards (or the local public library if a student does not have a home computer).

Guided Response:  Respond to at least two peers by first reviewing the link posted and the answers to the discussion board prompt. Then using what you’ve learned from the review and justification, determine if this is something you too might use, and explain why or why not.  Support your answer with at least one additional source (cited in APA format).  In addition, do you believe that the ‘at home’ suggestion is a realistic expectation keeping in mind the targeted population?

Carefully review the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate this Discussion Thread.