Ji Yun Kim - Teaching with Technology

There are many benefits of working with technology in the Spanish Basic Language Program. By using ANGEL, I am able to manage many pedagogical aspects beyond the classroom, because it allows me to keep open the lines of communication with my students. When they ask questions in class that would take time away from the lesson, and especially when it is a question about grammar that all the students could benefit from learning, I address these in detail and with examples, using ANGEL (see attachment of example of "mas vs. más" in a Microsoft Word document). In the near future, I would like to use ANGEL to create a discussion forum, as well as anonymous questionnaires to get feedback from the students starting early in the semester. The image below is an example of a Class Discussion Forum in ANGEL.

The virtual discussion forum in ANGEL allows instructors to interact with their learners even outside of the classroom

Below is an image of the Calendar in ANGEL, which serves as a tool for one-way communication in a course. On the Calendar, the instructor is able to post any upcoming events and make the information available to all those who are interested or concerned about such events.

ANGEL also allows the instructor to create grammar, vocabulary, and other types of quizzes, following the pattern that learners are have already gotten used to by doing their ANGEL online assignments. They can take this quiz and get immediate feedback, and thus they are enabled to focus on the aspects that need improvement without delay.

This grammar quiz will test the learner on the Spanish present progressive, giving contextual instructions and questions that engage the test-taker in a realistic and practical application of the material learned in class; thus the material tested is not a series of drills that simply verify the learner's capacity to memorize content and regurgitate the grammar and vocabulary. The benefits of this approach to testing are therefore much more far-reaching and long-lasting than the previously mentioned method.

An important aspect of second language acquisition is reflected in the "Escrituras" (short essays, or anecdotes) that the learners write weekly, in order to strengthen their ability to apply what was learned in class in the written form. Some students write "Escrituras" that are exemplary and from which all their fellow students could benefit. I would like to regularly post these anonymously in the near future using ANGEL.

In the classroom, I use websites like YouTube and wordreference.com, to enrich the learning experience of my students. Before some class sessions, I connect to YouTube to play the music of artists from Spanish-speaking countries around the world. This additional cultural exposure sparks the interest of many students that are entertained while they learn through this audio-visual medium. Another very useful website is the virtual dictionary wordreference.com, which I use to have quick access to unfamiliar vocabulary.

Click the image to view the video on YouTube

Click the image to visit wordreference.com

ANGEL Gradebook

One of the features of ANGEL that is very useful for both the instructors and the learners is the Online Gradebook. It automatically grades each quiz and keeps track of the students' scores on the online assignments. It is useful to instructors because it automatically evaluates the online portion of the students' grade, giving an accurate and efficient account of students' progress and overall performance on the ANGEL assignments. Students also benefit from the gradebook, because they are enabled to monitor their own perfomance on the online assignments as the semester progresses. The immediate feedback allows them to see where they need to focus in order to improve their second language skills.

Image of an ANGEL Gradebook sample

Ji Yun Kim - Teaching With Technology

Pedagogical innovation with technology

ANGEL Gradebook