Behind the Blog
My Blog List
-
-
-
2021 ASCD Summer Reading List3 years ago
-
-
I'm Blogging Again10 years ago
-
-
Philly Teacher has a new home!13 years ago
-
Monday, April 11, 2011
"You speak our langauge!"
Today I was teaching a group of tech savvy fifth graders. I had given them some time to investigate Mangahigh, a new interactive math website that I had just discovered the night before. I told them they were my "beta-testers" and would have 15 minutes to try out some games before recess, and then we would be gathering on the rug after recess to share what they discovered and give their recommendations.
The students were so engaged while using the website that they didn't want to go outside for recess (and today was a beautiful 80 degrees outside - so outside they did go)! When we gathered on the rug to share, all of the students said that they absolutely loved the site and wanted the url and password so that they could access it from home. I asked them what they liked about it, explaining that I needed to hear more details - specifically, what did they like about it? They loved the graphics - manga is creative and colorful, couldn't get enough of the way the games interacted, they were surprised by some of the games - "not your usual math games where you figure it out and get bored after playing it twice."
After a few minutes of sharing I explained that they would be finishing their mystery stories by continuing to create SCRATCH projects to animate them. At this point one of my students raised their hand and said with a huge smile, "Mrs. Kruse, you speak our language." I honestly wasn't sure what she was referring to and didn't have the opportunity to respond before all of them began to chime in with their thoughts.
Their language is digital. I have to admit, I don't speak digital nearly as well as they do...but I do try. The sad part is that most of their day they sit in classrooms where they are not speaking their native language. When put in this perspective, it seems so sad. Imagine trying to learn, really desiring to learn, but not being able to learn in your native language. This is no fault of their teacher, it is the result of lack of resources, time, and training. Interestingly enough I have found that the best way to teach these "digital speakers" is just let them go. Given time to investigate independently with a focus they are able to do amazing things and teach me a thing or two in the process.
The students were so engaged while using the website that they didn't want to go outside for recess (and today was a beautiful 80 degrees outside - so outside they did go)! When we gathered on the rug to share, all of the students said that they absolutely loved the site and wanted the url and password so that they could access it from home. I asked them what they liked about it, explaining that I needed to hear more details - specifically, what did they like about it? They loved the graphics - manga is creative and colorful, couldn't get enough of the way the games interacted, they were surprised by some of the games - "not your usual math games where you figure it out and get bored after playing it twice."
After a few minutes of sharing I explained that they would be finishing their mystery stories by continuing to create SCRATCH projects to animate them. At this point one of my students raised their hand and said with a huge smile, "Mrs. Kruse, you speak our language." I honestly wasn't sure what she was referring to and didn't have the opportunity to respond before all of them began to chime in with their thoughts.
Their language is digital. I have to admit, I don't speak digital nearly as well as they do...but I do try. The sad part is that most of their day they sit in classrooms where they are not speaking their native language. When put in this perspective, it seems so sad. Imagine trying to learn, really desiring to learn, but not being able to learn in your native language. This is no fault of their teacher, it is the result of lack of resources, time, and training. Interestingly enough I have found that the best way to teach these "digital speakers" is just let them go. Given time to investigate independently with a focus they are able to do amazing things and teach me a thing or two in the process.
Labels:
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments:
Post a Comment