by Rosanne Weeks and Patricia Zamorano
NewComersí Center, LCPS
Materials: Hyperstudio, Microsoft Works, audio equipment, music CD's, clip art from various sources, and a video link -up
Resources: Library reference materials
Approach: Process writing and graphics development
Objective:
1. To integrate the use of multimedia with the language learning process.
2. To highlight the valuable life-experiences of students who are in transition
from Mexico to the USA.
The students at the NewComersí Center, an intensive English Program for students grades 9-12, were asked to write a series of essays describing themselves and their country. They were told that they would be creating a writing and social studies project with both text and graphics to express their feelings and knowledge. ultimately their "stack" would be presented to their peers and to the public in various circumstances.
The essay writing was both formative and exciting. The series of essays followed this order: My Family, My Country, My State and Town, My First Experiences in School in the USA, and My Secret Self. Of course all of these topics were being explored in many ways within the context of our Language Learning through the Content Areas curriculum. The students did their primary writing using Microsoft Works. Upon a completed final draft, they imported the texts to Hyperstudio and added graphics, music, and voice. The process involved learning to create links within their texts using buttons.
Upon completion, several students were chosen to present their projects through an interactive video conference with participants at the NABE conference in Albuquerque.
This led to a tremendous amount of effort preparing the students for an oral presentation. In addition, they were to be interviewed about their interest in computers, their negative and positive experiences, and their suggestion for technology and education.
We traveled to NMSU and recorded the video conference. This field trip was a great opportunity and motivator for the students who felt honored to have been invited. They also got to see the extensive use of technology as the broadcast video link was set up. When I asked, "How many of you would like to be electrical engineers?" several students acclaimed "Me!"
We consider the entire project to have been a success. The quality of writing of the students notably improved as did their understanding of the writing process itself. They exhibited great pride in their work and wanted to work at it all the time. The students are enchanted with the computers and felt proud that they had mastered this magical technology. In addition, the presentation capabilities, such as graphics and music, allowed the students to be inventive. The series of topics were well graduated and allowed their language competence to emerge as they wrote about topics dear to their hearts.
We highly recommend this project to other teachers of beginning ESL. However, it does take much preparation training the students for the extensive use of the software programs. Be prepared for computer glitches and lost work!
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