My name is Kerianne Bethea and I am an Elementary ESL teacher for Wake County public schools. I am a 2010 graduate of Meredith College where I am currently pursuing a M.ed in ESL education. After graduating college I ran away to teach English as a Foreign Language in Spain. The school had very few resources and little access to technology. I was exposed to many aspects of technology in education while completing my student teaching at Meredith. Making the jump from an abundance of resources to very limited access helped me to appreciate the use of technology in today's classrooms.
While student teaching, I was able to incorporate technology into my lessons everyday. Now, as a current teacher, I still utilize technology and see the many benefits technology has on 21st century learning. In Spain the students had no computers, video cameras, CD players, or even projectors. It's safe to say that my students completely lacked the exposure to technology. In my school now students are able to use the smart board, ipads, ipods, computers, audio-players, etc. While the situations are different, I was able to see the benefits of technology through student learning.
Technology has impacted my students learning in many ways. ESL students NEED visuals and constant repetition in order to be successful learners of English. Students are able to listen to ebooks on the computer that highlights words for them. They are able to watch videos, participate in smart board activities, and play a variety of educational games. A piece of technology that I frequently utilize in my classroom is the use of voice thread. Through voice thread, students can record their own voices and create visuals to accompany their presentation. We have found this to be a low anxiety way of completing required classroom presentations. It is also a good assessment for students to hear how they sound.
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