As students are learning the processes of research much earlier, there is a need to supplement traditional methods of organization with applications that students can access more readily. In the field of teaching English as a second language (TESOL), pen-and-paper-based graphic organizers are viewed as necessary scaffolds for building skills with academic content. As students are increasingly using devices and devices are increasingly being provided in schools, English as a second language (ESL) teachers must find ways of using them to help students organize the data interactively. Doing so will increase student engagement which has been shown to lower the affective filter (Krashen, 1982) and improve second language acquisition. That being stated, ESL teachers are tasked with familiarizing themselves with apps that can take the place of worksheets like Venn diagrams, semantic webs, story maps, outlines, timelines, and the like.
While I consider myself a proficient researcher, I came of age when my teachers and professors were extremely wary of sources found on the Internet. In addition, it was much easier to differentiate credible sites from unreliable ones. ESL teachers must guide their students through the quagmire of information found on the internet and help students become successful data gatherers. While the information is still in the hands of the students as they plug it into apps for research and organization, I think it will become much clearer for teachers to recognize what is appropriate and what is not as opposed to viewing it on pen-and-paper graphic organizers. As research skills are greatly important at the college level, preparing students to do research with these tools is invaluable for their academic careers.
ESL Methods & Tools for Research and Organization
Throughout my career as a graduate student in the field of TESOL, the importance of scaffolding with graphic organizers has consistently been impressed upon me. Typically, these worksheets are used as scaffolds towards a larger product (e.g., a Venn diagram is used to create a compare-and-contrast essay; a timeline is used as an outline for a social studies essay). Furthermore, they are often used as informal, formative assessments. ESL teachers rarely collect graphic organizers for grades and commonly glance at them to see where a student stands among his or her peers. With the emergence of technology that allows students to organize the same information in interactive ways (i.e., through embedding multimedia), students can be more proactive in their research while the scaffolding effect remains present. Moreover, teachers can assess not only the content, but also the actual use of the technology by evaluating the creative ways students integrate images, video, and sound into these applications. Through the use of technology for research and organization, English language learners (ELLs) are practicing language skills, delving into the academic content, and also becoming savvy with technology they previously only used for personal enjoyment.
Various types of pen-and-paper graphic organizers.
ESL teachers use various methods of scaffolding to meet the "strategies" component of the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) Method as proposed by Echevarría, Vogt, and Short (2013, pp. 115-42). However, the implementation of graphic organizers in an ESL classroom is not limited to organizing data. A prime goal for scaffolding is the explicit teaching of cognitive learning strategies, metacognitive learning strategies, and also basic language learning strategies (Echevarría, Vogt, & Short 2013, pp. 117-8). Therefore, students must be made to understand the purposes for which they are completing graphic organizers as well as strategies for completing them so that they can apply them in other areas and contexts. That being stated, I believe teachers must use class time to explain any digital tools for research and organization or make succinct tutorials for their implementation. The big advantage of using interactive graphic organizers is the ability to embed them with video and images making them more three-dimensional as opposed to pen-and-paper worksheets. However, ESL teacher must keep in mind the goal of fostering learning strategies that can be applied in other subject areas as they are learning this technology.
(Watch this video on the "strategies" component of the SIOP Model. How can tools for research and organization enhance a SIOP Lesson?)
A final concern involves the informational content students are gathering for their research and inputting into multimedia applications. Moving beyond simply teaching students how to become strategically good learners and adept at manipulating apps, emerging 21st century skills dictate that students become ethical researchers. As students are culling images and video from the net in order to make their interactive graphic organizers flashy, they should be wary of the content they post. Rules concerning intellectual property and copyright laws should be instilled at young ages, so that they are prepared for an academic setting where plagiarism is not limited to copying text without citation, but might include the use or alteration of copyrighted media. As teachers increasingly use online tools for research and organization in classroom projects, I believe it will be much easier to recognize when students make mistakes with copyrighted media and correct their errors.
Tools for Research and Organization in an ESL Setting
Tiki-Toki:Tiki-Toki is an application for creating interactive timelines in which images and video can be embedded to supplement text. For a social studies activity, students can be given a list of events for research and then create a timeline demonstrating their knowledge through the multimedia they choose. For ELLs, this tool can be used to research their home countries' history and create timelines focusing on politics, culture or geography depending on the purpose of the lesson. Moreover, as portfolios are increasingly used as assessments for ELLs, interactive timelines like Tiki-Toki can also be used to show portfolio works in a linear manner. These students can feel a sense of accomplishment if they can see their progress over time.
Padlet: This application functions as an interactive bulletin board; therefore, it can be used to display individual interests or for collective research. Padlet could be used as a way for ELLs to research their home countries by selecting news articles, photos, and videos. If students of several countries are in the class, these Padlet pages could be used for a cultural exchange. In this example, technology is being used to validate the various backgrounds of diverse students.
Gliffy: Students can create organized flow charts using Gliffy which can then be printed, included in presentations or embedded into Web sites. ESL teachers understand that ELLs need special attention when approaching academic content in areas of science and social studies. Gliffy can provide an engaging scaffold as students are sequencing events in a contextualized manner. For example, students who can make flow charts for scientific theories or government processes with Gliffy are organizing information in a way that they can explicitly visualize.
Supplemental Links
Digital Passport - This site has several games can help elementary school students understand ethical issues (e.g., intellectual property, copyright laws, etc.) in a digital age.
Digital Compass - This game can help middle school and high school students understand ethical issues (e.g., intellectual property, copyright laws, etc.) in a digital age.
Common Sense Media - A site for teachers and parents to help navigate multimedia and online content.
Simple English Wikipedia - This version of Wikipedia is an approachable resource for young learners. As it is a wiki, information may not be reliable, but it can aid research.
Wikimedia Commons - This site includes images in the public domain or specially licensed images that students can use for research purposes.
References
Echevarría, J., Vogt, M., & Short, D. J. (2013). Making content comprehensible for English learners: The SIOP Model. A. M. Ramos (Ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.
Krashen, S. (1982). Principles and practice in second language acquisition. New York, NY: Pergamon Press.
Overview
As students are learning the processes of research much earlier, there is a need to supplement traditional methods of organization with applications that students can access more readily. In the field of teaching English as a second language (TESOL), pen-and-paper-based graphic organizers are viewed as necessary scaffolds for building skills with academic content. As students are increasingly using devices and devices are increasingly being provided in schools, English as a second language (ESL) teachers must find ways of using them to help students organize the data interactively. Doing so will increase student engagement which has been shown to lower the affective filter (Krashen, 1982) and improve second language acquisition. That being stated, ESL teachers are tasked with familiarizing themselves with apps that can take the place of worksheets like Venn diagrams, semantic webs, story maps, outlines, timelines, and the like.
While I consider myself a proficient researcher, I came of age when my teachers and professors were extremely wary of sources found on the Internet. In addition, it was much easier to differentiate credible sites from unreliable ones. ESL teachers must guide their students through the quagmire of information found on the internet and help students become successful data gatherers. While the information is still in the hands of the students as they plug it into apps for research and organization, I think it will become much clearer for teachers to recognize what is appropriate and what is not as opposed to viewing it on pen-and-paper graphic organizers. As research skills are greatly important at the college level, preparing students to do research with these tools is invaluable for their academic careers.
ESL Methods & Tools for Research and Organization
Throughout my career as a graduate student in the field of TESOL, the importance of scaffolding with graphic organizers has consistently been impressed upon me. Typically, these worksheets are used as scaffolds towards a larger product (e.g., a Venn diagram is used to create a compare-and-contrast essay; a timeline is used as an outline for a social studies essay). Furthermore, they are often used as informal, formative assessments. ESL teachers rarely collect graphic organizers for grades and commonly glance at them to see where a student stands among his or her peers. With the emergence of technology that allows students to organize the same information in interactive ways (i.e., through embedding multimedia), students can be more proactive in their research while the scaffolding effect remains present. Moreover, teachers can assess not only the content, but also the actual use of the technology by evaluating the creative ways students integrate images, video, and sound into these applications. Through the use of technology for research and organization, English language learners (ELLs) are practicing language skills, delving into the academic content, and also becoming savvy with technology they previously only used for personal enjoyment.
ESL teachers use various methods of scaffolding to meet the "strategies" component of the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) Method as proposed by Echevarría, Vogt, and Short (2013, pp. 115-42). However, the implementation of graphic organizers in an ESL classroom is not limited to organizing data. A prime goal for scaffolding is the explicit teaching of cognitive learning strategies, metacognitive learning strategies, and also basic language learning strategies (Echevarría, Vogt, & Short 2013, pp. 117-8). Therefore, students must be made to understand the purposes for which they are completing graphic organizers as well as strategies for completing them so that they can apply them in other areas and contexts. That being stated, I believe teachers must use class time to explain any digital tools for research and organization or make succinct tutorials for their implementation. The big advantage of using interactive graphic organizers is the ability to embed them with video and images making them more three-dimensional as opposed to pen-and-paper worksheets. However, ESL teacher must keep in mind the goal of fostering learning strategies that can be applied in other subject areas as they are learning this technology.
(Watch this video on the "strategies" component of the SIOP Model. How can tools for research and organization enhance a SIOP Lesson?)
A final concern involves the informational content students are gathering for their research and inputting into multimedia applications. Moving beyond simply teaching students how to become strategically good learners and adept at manipulating apps, emerging 21st century skills dictate that students become ethical researchers. As students are culling images and video from the net in order to make their interactive graphic organizers flashy, they should be wary of the content they post. Rules concerning intellectual property and copyright laws should be instilled at young ages, so that they are prepared for an academic setting where plagiarism is not limited to copying text without citation, but might include the use or alteration of copyrighted media. As teachers increasingly use online tools for research and organization in classroom projects, I believe it will be much easier to recognize when students make mistakes with copyrighted media and correct their errors.
Tools for Research and Organization in an ESL Setting
Tiki-Toki: Tiki-Toki is an application for creating interactive timelines in which images and video can be embedded to supplement text. For a social studies activity, students can be given a list of events for research and then create a timeline demonstrating their knowledge through the multimedia they choose. For ELLs, this tool can be used to research their home countries' history and create timelines focusing on politics, culture or geography depending on the purpose of the lesson. Moreover, as portfolios are increasingly used as assessments for ELLs, interactive timelines like Tiki-Toki can also be used to show portfolio works in a linear manner. These students can feel a sense of accomplishment if they can see their progress over time.
Padlet: This application functions as an interactive bulletin board; therefore, it can be used to display individual interests or for collective research. Padlet could be used as a way for ELLs to research their home countries by selecting news articles, photos, and videos. If students of several countries are in the class, these Padlet pages could be used for a cultural exchange. In this example, technology is being used to validate the various backgrounds of diverse students.
Gliffy: Students can create organized flow charts using Gliffy which can then be printed, included in presentations or embedded into Web sites. ESL teachers understand that ELLs need special attention when approaching academic content in areas of science and social studies. Gliffy can provide an engaging scaffold as students are sequencing events in a contextualized manner. For example, students who can make flow charts for scientific theories or government processes with Gliffy are organizing information in a way that they can explicitly visualize.
Supplemental Links
Digital Passport - This site has several games can help elementary school students understand ethical issues (e.g., intellectual property, copyright laws, etc.) in a digital age.
Digital Compass - This game can help middle school and high school students understand ethical issues (e.g., intellectual property, copyright laws, etc.) in a digital age.
Common Sense Media - A site for teachers and parents to help navigate multimedia and online content.
Simple English Wikipedia - This version of Wikipedia is an approachable resource for young learners. As it is a wiki, information may not be reliable, but it can aid research.
Wikimedia Commons - This site includes images in the public domain or specially licensed images that students can use for research purposes.
References
Echevarría, J., Vogt, M., & Short, D. J. (2013). Making content comprehensible for English learners: The SIOP Model. A. M. Ramos (Ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.
Krashen, S. (1982). Principles and practice in second language acquisition. New York, NY: Pergamon Press.