Laura Loves Languages

Big props to Felix Kronenburg to come to the Marriott Marquis in NYC  all the way from Pomona California to introduce East Coast language educators at NECTFL to languagelabunleashed, a professional development gem on the web that is so much more than a blog. One of the topics that came up during a very insightful and comfortable conversation about technology-enhanced language learning was how to engage the many FL faculty who never make it to a professional conference for whatever reason.   LLU regularly hosts informative sessions and live webcasts where listeners can join in easily  both to listen and  chat . Tech o’ Tuesdays feature tech tips on topics like recording skype, file conversions and new 2.0 applications. Other webcasts cover topics like using skype for language exchanges, Wikipedia in the classroom and a very interesting show that I heard myself on foreign language learner anxiety. The beauty of these programs is that they are archived and serve the PD needs of all the FL teachers who have the LLU URL.

In addition to the live broadcasts, the LLU team are seasoned backchannelers. They go to conferences and blog about sessions while they are sitting in them. This is a very inclusive approach to sharing ideas at conferences linking those who were there to those who were not. In effect, it extends the conversation and the networking well beyond the original talk so that a multitude of participants can potentially benefit. However, live  backchanneling, that makes conference proceedings available in real time, presupposes an Internet connection in the session room which is not routinely available in many conference venues. When broadband connections become truly ubiquitous, more teachers will be able to join in the discussions -some in the session room and some in blogs. It is up to all of us to imagine the kinds of discussions that technology will enable to make professional development available to all.

Marc Prensky,  was the keynote speaker for the opening session of the 55th conference for the 2008 Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages and what can I say but that ”he rocked it”. My kids are playing a lot of Rock Band lately so that’s the first thing that comes to my mind. To get the flavor of Prensky’s ideas, check out a few minutes of his comments when his latest book was recently published in Italy. (Focus on the ideas, because the format in the video is VERY different from the event we experienced in the conference venue. At NECTFL, Prensky was  much freer to move about interacting with his audience and the digital presentation he brings with him.) 

In this video, we can see him on one of his favorite learning tools, YouTube.:

Now back to New York and the Northeast Conference—-

 His remarks  centered  as  they usually do on student engagement and allowing the learner to play a BIG role in how they learn. He encouraged teachers to allow students to use YouTube, their cell phones, blogs, wikis and podcasts to construct new learning activities. For example, imagine a classrom where instead of announcing “Shut off your cellphones”, teachers asked students to pick them up to find information that would be used right there in the lesson. It might be that they’d “phone a friend” a la Millionnaire, or look something up on a Sidekick or Blackberry or even take pictures or a video that could later go up on YouTube- in the target language. No doubt the students could imagine all kinds of ways to use phones for learning that we digital immigrants cannot begin to imagine. And that’s cool- the first step to a level playing field in the classroom where student-centered becomes learning-centered and technology is just the tool that enables communication. (Although in the participation phase, one student reported that if she did not have her cell phone, she could not live.)

A highlight was when high school and middle school students came on the stage to interact with Prensky about what they liked about studying a language and what they really did not like. The dream situation for them was to be able to go to a place where the TL was being spoken and to be able to communicate and get what they want. Technology enables real-world communication and so does speaking the language. Students realize that both skills are part of the equation. The less interesting part from the learner perspective was the classroom drilling with one student using the analogy of a nail/lesson  being hammered into his head. The students reported that they enjoyed being asked how they’d like to have their school work designed. They liked the opportunity to be creative and they liked it when language learning led to real-world communication They said that they wanted to learn the language that would help them negotiate practical needs when traveling.

The onstage interview was followed by an exchange between the students and the teachers in the audience.Teachers came up to microphones in the crowded ballroom to bridge the gap between digital immigrants, those of us who predate computers and the digital natives on stage.  It was an  invigorating experience to hear the conversation about re-imagining  how we all work in a digital world.  In Prensky’s world, we are all learners with the power to transform the educational experience for all.  It is a place where everyone is learning, creating , sharing and collaborating.

His slides are posted on the Northeast Conference home page:

http://alpha.dickinson.edu/prorg/nectfl/

I am very excited about the topic of fair trade and sustainable development in our language classes these days, because they give our students a more compelling way to connect with language. At the GWATFL YouTube plenary last week, a bunch of us swapped our favorite digital videos and up came this wonderful Mange ta banane.

What is beautiful is how the tous petits convince each other que ce n’est pas nul, c’est equitable!!

I had a few ironic experiences today. First, my daughter was watching the 6th season of the Sopranos on netflicks, the episode where Carmela is walking around Paris taking in le Louvre, les ponts, les belles statues, etc. and were it not for the occasional F-word I could almost teach a very communicative French lesson based on her wonderment and surprise. And of course, I had to think about the discussions that could emerge from  contrasting the Paris she experienced in her privileged condition with the everyday life of city dwellers of lesser economic means.

Then out of the blue, I went to youtube and found new music from one of my favorite groups, Paris Combo, and the title tune Living Room. It was wild to hear these lyrics, right after my Soprano Paris experience:

Nous sommes tous nés d’amour dans de vieux pays
Où seuls de vieux, de très vieux singes sont assis
Aux commandes de nos libertés
Aux manettes de nos intégritésAlors tapons-nous sur le nez
Ca les fait toujours rigoler
Allez, tapons-nous, entre nous
Ca leur fera toujours de gros sous
Quand ils nous vendront des canifs
Et des idées malsaines
Pour que nos petites vies s’enfouissent
Dans la violence et la haine

Alors quoi, on va coucher dehors
Sous les ponts, sous des ponts d’or
Que d’autres auront construits pour aller de leur cuisine
A leur living…

refrain
Leur living room
C’est pas du flan, c’est pas du vent
C’est le living room des vieux singes savants
Living…living…living…room…

Nous sommes tous nés, mon ami
Nous sommes tous vivants, c’est inscrit
Dans notre oeil, tu vois, au fond ça luit
D’une envie de vivre, d’une envie

De parcourir le monde
Cette bonne terre si gironde
Mais non, mais non, voilà qu’on nous gronde !
Car sans laisser-passer
Faut pas se laisser aller

A rêver d’une autre vie, mon ami
Non faut pas rêver
Car pour rêver, faut des “laisser-passer”
Du papier, pour passer sa vie

De l’autre côté du pont, des ponts d’or, dehors
Y’en a des tonnes, c’est pas qu’on les ignore
Car on les voit souvent passer de leur cuisine
A leur living…

refrain

Voilà comment, quand on y pense
Nous sommes tous devenus des éléphants
Des gnous, des girafes, des orang-outangs
Dans nos réserves sous surveillance

Et qu’on n’aille pas s’égarer
En troupeau ou bien tout seul, isolé
Dans les réserves d’à côté
On est sûr de tomber sur un os

Un osthéopathe de première

Qui vous démembrera, c’est son affaire !
De vous faire passer l’envie
Des voyages interdits

Interdits dans nos vieux pays
Où seuls de vieux, de très vieux singes sont assis
Dans leur cuisine, ils gambergent
Pour améliorer leur living… 

(Note: Lyrics found at songmeanings.)

I just marvel at how a totally coincidental TV experience happened moments before I fell upon this incredibly evocative song. It’s like my mind was meant to go here today. I cannot wait to hear the rest of the cd.

It was a special morning in New Orleans on Friday when Bee invited the Webheads in Action to the MERLOT 2007 conference via Alado and Second Life. They checked in from Australia, New Zealand, Portugal and Taiwan etc. etc.. Bee was really effective in showing how small the world can be when educators with a passion for sharing get together. No more working in isolation. The potential for exciting collaborations between teachers and students worldwide is already  there. Hear/see the keynote at Alado and see Bee’s spectacular NOLA pics at flickr tagged merlot2007onlap. It was really a week to remember.

Our community workday at an historic elementary in Mid-City was a phenomenal start. Forty-two MERLOT folks taping and painting trim in an elementary school that saw five feet of water in its ground floor level after Katrina. They lost everything inside either because of the water or the mold after the water receded.  Our work was a small contribution in light of the need, but it did wonders for all of us. The school is going to be better than it was before Katrina given the hard work of the many volunteers who are working there. Troy, the volunteer coordinator told us that this was one of nine schools he was readying for a Fall start. Everybody wanted to do as much as he/she could.

MERLOT had a new feature called Learning Circles this year and they were very well received by the attendees. MERLOT World Languages sponsored one called The Many Languages of MERLOT where attendees from Brazil, Israel, Japan, Senegal, Canada, Italy, Chile, Spain, the US and the UK and other lands  all spoke volumes about how MERLOT could evolve into a more multilingual resource. The discussion moved from the political “Do we translate?”, to”What do we translate?” and then to a  more technical, but extremely stimulating conversation about metadata. Mous Diack, from Southern University and A&M College and director of the MERLOT African Network project, rightly identified  language as a real access issue. Susanna Dammann, project manager of Linguanet Europa (MERLOT’s 2007 Editor’s Choice award winner) and her Linguanet colleagues, Jose Ignacio and Luis, from the Instituto Cervantes and the Universidad Politecnica de Madrid gave MERLOT many good ideas on possible directions in which to proceed. This meeting was one of the more profitable new features at the MIC because it brought home the growing international  contingent in many different disciplines. The community-building was great as participants talked and MERLOT listened.

Back in the French quarter, we took in the wonderful Rue Royale at night. Art, jewlery, antiques, everything glowed in the light of the gaslight lamps.  The jellyfish lamps were among my favorites. Diane showed us some great art, including a few original Rodrigues at K-Pauls. Will we ever forget the Duck and Shrimp Vindaloo? The Creole Mary’s?

Can’t tell you how jazzed I am to be going to New Orleans to spend the week with my MERLOT fam. Doubly so since the emphasis is on  the Humanities this year with History, Music and World Languages featured disciplines.Could not be a more appropriate venue.

I will be blogging, no doubt, about the keynote of my wonderful friend Bee who has made it possible to follow her presentation virtually, in the event you cannot come in person. Check it out, in her own words. You are invited!!!:

 You may participate in her presentation according to Bee by:

• blogging about it (tag your post merlot2007onlap)
• photographing/recording/making a video of it and displaying your production online (remember to tag it using merlot2007onlap)

BEFORE AND AFTER

• joining this wiki and adding your suggestions or questions (see brainstorming, reflection, questions and criticism )

DURING

• listening to it and interacting with the online participants and presenter directly from the Merlot Conference Room.
• listening to it online from your home through the webcast (see explanation below) being streamed from the Webheads in Action page
• listening to it through the webcast and interacting online through chat with participants on Boracay Island in Second Life (you need to become a member of SL and download the SL software first if you do not have it)
• listening to it through the webcast and interacting through chat with participants in Alado.
• listening to it through the webcast, interacting through chat with participants inside Second Life. (see co-presenters in the communities)

A Live Interactive Webcast is basically like a global radio show that is produced and accessed via the internet. A discussion between two or more more parties using a telephony program is streamed live so that many listeners can tune in and, when desired, call in to the show host and participate in the discussion. These shows usually include the use of a text chat room so that listeners and discussion participants can communicate with each other during the show. Telephony + Two-way audio capturing + live streaming = Live Interactive Webcasting. (Source - Webcast Academy Curriculum ”

I hope all of you do come. I met Bee because of such a collaborative, interactive environment. What an exciting world.

This morning, I visited the world from my sofa, with geobeats, a very 2.0 video guide to the world. Video tours produced by ordinary folks in-country give comforting help that goes way beyond text-based guides. The visual cues, subtitled authentic language and the quality of the videos I saw made me smile. I started with places I know- Provence, Santiago, Siena and in all cases the videos reminded me of some experience I had there. If I were planning a holiday, I’d definitely consult geobeats. Not bad for language classes, non plus.

The use of digital video to teach language in a real-world context was  an inevitable development and it is here. Youtube no doubt will inspire all kind of tubes, hence languagetube.com where I went this morning. I was greeted by a young man teaching me how to greet in Thai: Sawaddee

Thailand, as you have heard and maybe learned this morning, is the land of the smile. I like learning this way. What about my students? What about you?

folks are talking about languages. I had a very nice conversation with my colleague and new friend, Bee Dieu yesterday on skype. I knew her first by her work on the web four years ago when MERLOT peer-reviewed her  excellent Navegar webquest.  It resonated with me, because of my Brazilian background and also because, in addition to the same three languages- Portuguese, French and English, Bee and I share the same passion for making a difference with  instructional technology.  Bee teaches English at a French lycee in Brazil, but connects with language professionals all over the world through an organization called Webheads in Action. The Webheads are enormously generous in their willingness to share  their ICT expertise and strategies, even organizing free online conferences with world-renowned keynoters and concurrent presenters. (The next such event will take place online later this month; register, if you can at http://wiaoc.org/) 

Anyway, where I really connected with Bee was when she gave an online presentation called Networking on the Net at a BRAZTESOL conference,  virtually ”accompanied” by many WiA colleagues who she had invited to talk about  technologies that they used in instruction. I was blown AWAY by the ability to hear Bee talking, from my living room, to a live audience in Brazil while connecting with colleagues in Australia, Japan and other places.  I was very comforted by her confidence that the technology would work and that all these creative language people would share  their opinions of what is really possible for our students. Cause that’s the bottom line- when we are talking teacher to teacher, our students can also be talking to each other via skype or meebo or whatever else. All this makes the flat world very cool… 

I have been checking out ways that digital video is going to change our lives as language teachers. First, I learned about rocketboom, just because I was in FLTEACH last September and a list member had noticed this video interview in French about podcasting, done by the anchor of Rocketboom, Joanne Colan. Well  I was very interested in the video, so  I went back and found it in the coolest archives I have ever seen. (As you read my blog, you’ll see I am given to hyperbole.)

 Anyway, I went back to Rocketboom on April 26, when Joanne was talking about dotsub.com. This software allows you to subtitle an already made  digital video  in the language of your choice. I got to thinking about it as a nifty tool for languages because you can write target language captions for any video you or students make or  you can get the permission from authors of other videos. I hope you’ll share your thoughts about how this captioning tool can be useful to us.