Saskia Schulte
Curr 501: Digital Media Literacy
Final Digital Literacy Project
The Written Assignment
Summer 2022
Using Technology To Build Three Way Relationships
Who Am I?
I would like to introduce myself so my audience will have a better understanding of my background and how I got to my Why? How? And to What my Believes are for picking a technical tool to that will add to the optimal learning of my students.
My name is Saskia Schulte and I am happily married for 29 years to my husband Korné. We have two boys Kai (25) and Tim (23) and two cats, Nike and Polliwop. We are currently empty nesters with the boys studying and living in Amsterdam.
Where do I come from?
I was born in The Netherlands out of Dutch parents. As a four-month-old, we moved to Aruba, an Island in the Caribbean (still a Dutch colony, with an “Independent Status”) in front of the Venezuelan coast (South America), by freight ship. I grew up there, went to kindergarten, elementary, and high school. Dutch is the official language in the schools. And Dutch is also the language we spoke at home. I am fluent in the native language Papiamento and as an islander I became fluent in English and Spanish as well.
The Journey Continues
After high school, I moved to The Netherlands to attend the Music Conservatory to become a music teacher. After living in The Netherlands for eleven years, I moved to Rhode Island in the USA, where I have been living for 29 years.
Traveling from the Netherlands, I was very excited to move to the USA and to be living, experiencing, and understanding a different culture
My husband was given the opportunity to work for a couple of years for a Dutch company (Philips Semiconductors) in Rhode Island. We accepted the offer and moved to Rhode Island as expatriates.
The move to the US, being a western culture, felt quite like where we came from. We adapted quickly, had an open mind and were ready to take on the challenge.
Why Am I Here
Until taking the FNED 546 Context in Schooling class at RIC 6 years ago, I never realized how easy my move to the USA was. I didn’t realize my privileged situation.
For the Context in Schooling class, I had to do fifteen hours of field work to examine the social and cultural forces that affect schools. I worked with an ESL student in 4th grade in North Providence, Rhode Island. This was my first encounter where I learned how a move to the USA can be so different for everyone. The student I worked with was a Hispanic and Spanish speaking student. He did get ESL services in the school, but I don’t remember how many hours a day. Through this mini-internship, I learned about ESL, English as a Second Language, and why it is so necessary. My interest in this subject was sparked.
Teaching
I am a substitute teacher in the North Providence School District in Rhode Island. Two years ago in February 2020, I was asked by the principal of the Centredale Elementary School, a public elementary school in North Providence, RI if I was interested in giving ESL services to 14 students in the school who at this moment were not receiving any service because the regular ESL teacher was on leave, and no other ESL teachers were available. The ESL students receive service depending on their proficiency. These 14 students received none.
Technical Tools
I jumped on the offer since my interest was already sparked a couple of years ago, and because I am an ESL person myself, I could connect with the students well. Unfortunately, the Pandemic hit, and we moved on to distance learning. That’s where the Pandora box of technical tools opened for me.
TESOL M.Ed.
In February 2021, I was approached again by the principal of Centredale School to work with 13 ESL students since there was no ESL teacher available again. I took it and then decided to apply to the Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, TESOL M.Ed. program. I want to enrich myself and to be able to share my knowledge in a professional way in this subject.
Introducing My Students
Since January of this year, I was assigned seven newcomers to this country. Two students came from Bolivia with Spanish as their native language. The brother, who can read and write fluently in his native language Spanish, was placed in second grade and his sister was placed in kindergarten. Their cousin joined kindergarten in April. They had no English language skills when they came here. Three siblings, placed in third, fourth and fifth grade came as refugees from Afghanistan. Unfortunately, we don’t know any background information about these students. We don’t know if they had any schooling or traumatic experiences. They also had no English language skills. The fifth grader can read in her native language Pashto, which is a language that consist of symbols and is read from right to left. The two others are siblings and came from Congo, Africa. Their native language is Swahili. Also, for these students there is no background information. These siblings can also not read or write Swahili. The language of Swahili consists of letters of the western alphabet. The second-grade student from Bolivia was handed over to another assistant MLL, Multilingual Learner teacher, who was assigned all the MLL students except the newcomers. My work was cut out.
Building English Language Vocabulary
My principal advised me to start with building up vocabulary. I tried to do that in many ways. I had picture cards in all sizes and styles with all different themes on it. From the different foods to transportation machines, body parts, school related objects, etc. The music teacher in me, taught them the body parts through the “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” song. I also introduced numbers and colors. I would add new cards often. I also started to introduce the Fundations Alphabet. www.WilsonLanguage.com/programs/fundations/.
This is a method used at the elementary school where I work to teach the alphabet by letter, word, and letter sound. It was interesting to notice how challenging pronunciation of the English alphabet letters are for the newcomers. The pronunciation of the English alphabet letters is a whole different physical feel in their mouth compared to what they are used to in their native language. I was appreciative of the fact that I took a linguistic class with professor R Toncelli, where we used the book, The study of Language by George Yule. In those chapters I learned all about how sounds of letters are physically pronounced and where their place of articulation lays. With that knowledge I was helpful to the students to make sure pronunciation was done in the correct way.
WHY?, HOW?, WHAT? and the Golden Circle
I wanted to give this background information about these newcomer students I work with because I want to gear my final project idea towards them.
This will lead to my WHY, HOW and WHAT portion of the project. These three words are based on a model called The Golden Circle, inspired by Simon Sinek in a Ted Talk. He explains that you should work from the inside out of the circle. You start with your Why. What are your believes. For this project it’s about what my believes are for the optimal learning experience for my students and the next step is how do you make your believes happen? https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action
Connections and Relationships
I work with small groups, and I need to come up with a good technical tool that will help me to create an optimal learning environment.
I believe that optimal learning can happen when there is a good relationship between teacher- student, teacher-parents and students -parents.
Communication
The parents of most of the newcomer students I work with don’t know the English language. They can speak their native language but especially the mothers can’t read nor write it. I chose for the idea to once a week record a “family lesson” that my students will share and teach their families at home. The lessons at the beginning of the school year will consist of vocabulary words. The first step in learning a language, I experienced past school year, is to build up vocabulary so communication can start taking place.
In return, I would want the students to make a recording for me at home with the vocabulary words I taught them in English translated in their native language. In this case that would be Pashto, Swahili, and Spanish.
Translanguaging
By trying to make connections this way, the parents get to learn the English language alongside their children, and I show them that I respect their culture and language. This way of communicating or teaching is called translanguaging, the practice of encouraging the seamless use of all languages spoken by the students and teacher, rather than enforcing separation between the home languages of students and the language of instruction. (Dictionary.com, Translanguaging). I added a link of a video on YouTube about translanguaging by Ofelia Garcia. https://youtu.be/5l1CcrRrck0
What Tool To Use
The next step is which technology tool will I be using to record my mini classes. I haven’t made a choice yet because I am experimenting with the different devices. I lean towards recording in Zoom or using Flipgrid as my platform. I must use a tool that is user friendly for the students and that they have access to on their Chromebook, which they all have one from the school.
Relationship Building Through Technology
By using one of these technology devices to record English language mini lessons I hope to create a strong relationship where collaboration, trust and bond between students, parents and teacher will add to the learning process.
Pleasure, Critique, and Baby George
By using one of these technology tools to enhance communication and learning between the three bases, Teacher-Student, Teacher-Parents and Parents-Student, I wish for my students and their families to have a “Disney” way of a journey.
The road will not always be smooth, and struggles must be overcome. It will be a “Falling Down and Getting Up” path as Michael Wesch showed us with his son, George in a Ted Talk. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SP7dbl0rJS0&ab_channel=TEDxTalks
Determination wins. By conquering a new culture and language, gives hope and believe. These will be the “Pleasure & Critique” moments in life.
There will be sweet achievements after rocky road adventures.
Hope and Happiness
With perseverance and the always smiling of my students, I believe in a happily Ever After!
Resources
- TESOL & Bilingual Education Program Pathways
- TESOL M.Ed. Rhode Island College
- George Yule, The Study of Language Chapter 3, p 27-36
- Dictionary.com, Translanguaging
- Flipgrid
- Google pictures
Pecha Kucha Presentation Saskia Schulte: https://www.loom.com/share/028fe0c2f58140d0bd53a95f0c7f849f
My to do list this summer:
I will experiment with the Zoom Recording tool and the Flipgrid tool to determine which one will work best for me and my students.
I need to plan out the lesson en how to present it on on of the technology tools.
I will choose pictures with the English names attached.
I will introduce the alphabet.
I will add sight words CVC words (consonant, vowel, consonant)
I also want to share a fun family game, such as a scavenger hunt or a puzzle based on themed items. For example, weather related words, colors, seasons, days of the week, months of the year etc.
The goal is to have it all set up and ready to use and share in the Fall.
The Narrative Assignment
The Presentation
