Reflections on a year of technology from a French Point of View....

NUMBER OF STUDENTS SERVED BY GRANT
Our Power To Learn grant served a total of 393 students (125 of which were in French 7, French 8 & in ESL Support classes)

GRANT IMPACT
One of the biggest impact of the grant in my classes is that it familiarized students with technology that many otherwise would not have access to. Students really enjoyed learning using the iTouches and were more engaged and thrilled about learning using technology. It was also a great tool for students who were more kinetic and needed a tactile environment to flourish.
This technology grant also was a great opportunity to teach students how to find answers on their own by surfing the Internet and becoming savvy in determining the importance and validity of information found online. It helped them learn to become learners for life.

WHAT WENT WELL
The iPod Touches were a great success with my ELL Support and French students. They liked using apps to learn English & French, particularly creating their own flashcards and then challenging themselves to get higher scores each time. For French class, I mostly used the iTouchwa as a listening and recording tools so that students could hear proper pronunciation and then record themselves for self-evaluation of their pronunciation.

PLAN FOR NEXT YEAR
Next year, I would like to use a more project-base approach with technology. I am also looking forward to using the iPod touches and computers in centers versus whole class. The additional hardware that the Board so kindly approved will make it really more feasible. I plan on using this summer to experiment and play with the plethora of apps that Karen Justl so kindly researched and posted on the technology website for us. In 2010-2011, I would like to create the ning that I didn’t get to do this year and maybe dabble with Skype or e-pals for French class and thus pursue our grant’s vision of using technology to enhance communication. [efm]