Eight Ways Technology is Improving Education- Response

Overall I feel that the article that Dr. Domine shared with us is a great way to disprove skepticism when it comes to technology in the classroom as well as give us ideas of technologies that work (in contrast to those that are used just for the sake of being used). The most beneficial of the eight for a language classroom would be glovico.org due to the fact that it offers language lessons from native speakers to students all around the world. Though this website does not yet offer Italian, it does offer Spanish, Portuguese, French, English, Chinese, and Arabic. This website is very simple to use given that one has a a computer, a web cam, and a Skype account(which is free). All that one must do in order to receive lessons is go to glovico.org and create a free account, add credits using a credit or debit card, select an instructor based on their profile and ratings, and arrange an appointment. I feel that this website is a great way for students, who do not speak the target language at home, to receive practice when they are not in class and over the summer. I hope that Italian will be added to the list of languages soon so my future students will also be able to benefit from this program. 


Additionally, Geniverse has given me quite a few ideas regarding student assessment. Though this program is specialized to fit the needs of genetics students, I feel that I can use the concept behind the program to assess student progress more fairly. By conducting periodical observations of students while they are working on performance tasks I will be able to see how much progress they have made and also be able to tell when and where students need assistance. I believe that it is important to conduct these sort of checks in order to make sure that all students are on the same page and are each understanding the concepts presented to them. 

Moreover, multimedia projects are also a great way for students to learn and retain information. I remember all of the times in high school that I was asked to create videos and to this day I still recall the information I presented in the videos I stared in. Like the article
states, this is a great way to motivates students as well as teach them how to work successfully in teams. Ideas that I would have for multimedia presentations in an Italian classroom include recreations of literature selection, the art of presenting and creating a recipe(especially since food is such a great part of the Italian culture), and documenting a trip taking to Italy just to name a few. Ultimately, I feel like students will be able to have fun with this type of project especially since it calls upon their own creativity more than anything else. 

Furthermore,  electronic textbooks and epistemic games can also prove beneficial. In the high school in which I tutor the Italian classes are currently using the Sentieri textbook (which is also used here at Montclair and at William Paterson as well). Though students are required to have the hard copy textbook in class they are also provided with a free online version that they can access at home. Additionally, the textbook also comes paired with an online workbook where students can practice their skills at home with various assessments. It is evident that this tool can be beneficial to student learning while relieving the stress of lugging a giant textbook back and forth from school and home everyday. When it comes to epistemic games, I feel like these are a great resource for students to make Italian concepts relevant. Some may wonder when they will ever use Italian in the real world and this can be a great application. Games that I would strive to find would include eating at an Italian restaurant and shopping at an Italian store using Euro just to name a few. In the end, I feel that students would take a great liking to these sort of games and as they enjoy themselves they will also be learning concepts that they will bring with them for the rest of their lives.