I've been hearing a a lot about the video site dotSUB.com where user volunteers translate uploaded videos into subtitles in any of about two dozen languages.
I see this as a great tool for classrooms with even just the English subtitles. For English speaking students and second-language learners, it adds that connection between oral and written speech. A speaker at the Computer Using Educators (CUE) conference this year (I wish I could remember who) discussed a study showing how much better non-hearing impaired children read in households where there were hearing-impaired family members thanks to television subtitles.
Subtitled videos could also be used in other languages in parent education settings where some parents speak English and others do not.
I'm excited to try this out this year.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
How do we make sure they can get to it?
I love the fact that so many people blog about education to keep us thinking.
This morning I read a post on 2¢ Worth from David Warlick which was a response to a Twitter from John Pederson about ccLearn which has a mission to "minimize barriers to sharing and reuse of educational materials — legal barriers, technical barriers, and social barriers."
The post and and comments reflected the feeling many of us have that publishers need to get on board with the fact that people are making valuable educational information available online.
My comment was "I would love to see the textbook publishers catch on this issue and the fact that they don’t control educational information as much as they used to. Hopefully, I’ll also be able to one day solve the issue of how to handle those students (almost all of mine) who have no computer or Internet access at home. For the use of Creative Commons & Open Source web content to be truly equitable, we have to do a better job of helping students to gain access to it outside of school as well."
Maybe this is an argument for parent education. Even if those students don't have a computer at home, all (or nearly all) have televisions and telephones. If we can convince the parents of the value of the Internet and all that is available on it (in multiple languages) then maybe we can convince them to invest in a computer and basic Internet access.
This morning I read a post on 2¢ Worth from David Warlick which was a response to a Twitter from John Pederson about ccLearn which has a mission to "minimize barriers to sharing and reuse of educational materials — legal barriers, technical barriers, and social barriers."
The post and and comments reflected the feeling many of us have that publishers need to get on board with the fact that people are making valuable educational information available online.
My comment was "I would love to see the textbook publishers catch on this issue and the fact that they don’t control educational information as much as they used to. Hopefully, I’ll also be able to one day solve the issue of how to handle those students (almost all of mine) who have no computer or Internet access at home. For the use of Creative Commons & Open Source web content to be truly equitable, we have to do a better job of helping students to gain access to it outside of school as well."
Maybe this is an argument for parent education. Even if those students don't have a computer at home, all (or nearly all) have televisions and telephones. If we can convince the parents of the value of the Internet and all that is available on it (in multiple languages) then maybe we can convince them to invest in a computer and basic Internet access.
Monday, July 23, 2007
"Assume"...You Know What They Say
The assumption is that today's kids are surrounded by and are familiar with technology. They are using MP3 players, texting, instant messaging and spending all their time pimping out their MySpace or Facebook page.
Those aren't the students I work with. There are a few who have access to those technologies, but most others have only heard about them. They are from low-income families, and most are learning English as a second language.
Educators all over the world (and I'm one of them) are looking at how we can incorporate technology tools of all types into education in an effective and efficient manner in order to facilitate learning and a love of learning. As we do this, we need to keep in mind that some kids are starting from the very beginning. We can't "assume" that all kids have prerquisite technology knowledge, skills, or experience.
When considering technology integration, we can't just include those who already "have", we also have to think about those who "have not". They deserve the option to one day "have" also.
Those aren't the students I work with. There are a few who have access to those technologies, but most others have only heard about them. They are from low-income families, and most are learning English as a second language.
Educators all over the world (and I'm one of them) are looking at how we can incorporate technology tools of all types into education in an effective and efficient manner in order to facilitate learning and a love of learning. As we do this, we need to keep in mind that some kids are starting from the very beginning. We can't "assume" that all kids have prerquisite technology knowledge, skills, or experience.
When considering technology integration, we can't just include those who already "have", we also have to think about those who "have not". They deserve the option to one day "have" also.
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