My 21st Century Classroom

Welcome to the Academy of Environmental Leadership a high school located in Brooklyn, New York. A school chosen by yours truly in order for me to build my twenty-first century classroom. This school follows a demographic that that requires a lot of bilingual assistance in the classroom. Located in the neighborhood of Bushwick this urban area contains a high concentration of both Hispanics and blacks. A surprising 75% of the school is of Hispanic heritage meaning that most of the children in this school either speak little English or no English at all. This school is also located in an area where the average income estimated to be $26,386. This means that there are children attending this school with limited resources or are forced to assist the family even if it means missing some days of school. A usual classroom in the Academy for Environmental Leadership, or AEL, has about twenty to twenty-five children some speaking little English.

Now enter the classroom. As explained in the above video I am an American History teacher for the Academy of Environmental Leadership. The class I will describe is my third period American History class that contains a student with a learning disability. This class begins at  9:55am and ends at 10:43am. This class consist of mostly tenth graders with a few eleventh graders that need the course as a review for their New York State Regents. When class starts and the bell rings students come in and read the do now that is written on the Smart board. After completing the Do Now students then get a Kindle from the cart and begin to open to the E-book page that is on the smart board at the time. After initial instruction is completed students join in a Turn and Talk session in their groups where they review the content information that was just talked about in class. After this is done students then share the information with each other to the entire class.


Meet Oscar Rivera a bilingual student in my 3rd Period History Class

In this class I have a student by the name of Oscar Rivera. Oscar was born in the Dominican Republic and made the transition to the American school system in 9th grade. Now in grade ten Oscar has just moved into the mainstreaming class. Oscar is a former English Language Learner and was deemed knowledgeable enough to begin mainstreaming with the students. Oscar has trouble communicating in English but can read and write in English fluently. Sometimes Oscar runs into words that he can not understand on the board but due to his shy demeanor he doesn't raise his hand in class to ask what the word means. Also knowing that he has a heavy accent when speaking in English he feels ashamed to participate in class when he is not understood by his fellow peers. This shy demeanor of Oscar's is halting his progress in class as he is falling behind in classwork because he does not understand the work and is not verbally communicating his problems. Seeing that Oscar's problem is not a learning disability but a handicap I take matters into my own hand an set him up with success. After seeing that Oscar is struggling to communicate in English I request to my supervisor that our school should invest in a Rosetta Stone Program in order to help Oscar learn how to communicate in class. I decided that before class starts he does one session in Rosetta Stone in order to learn how to easily communicate in the English language. By following this link here you can read all about the Washington case study and it's success using the Rosetta Stone Program. I also decided to give Oscar an electronic translator so he can translate any words written on the board quickly. Here is a look at the translator given to Oscar.

As you can see by my diagram of my classroom I have Oscar sitting in a group of four. This is a group I specifically put together in order to maximize Oscar's potential. Two of the students in this group are fluent both Spanish and English. This way they can converse with Oscar in his native language when he finds it difficult for him to speak English  Also the third child in this group Pam is a student who excels in this class. Since my class will be heavily based around group work i would ask Pam to assist Oscar on anything he seems to have problem with. This group would be able to use teamwork in order to help each other out in order to succeed in my twenty-first century classroom.

As  for the rest of the classroom you can see that I have them sitting in groups. All groups are designed to help the students work together in the class in order to achieve due to the fact that my class is based on group work. This will be a way for children to learn how to work together outside of the classroom when they integrate into the working world. This can be seen in this video link. This also allows for a great classroom atmosphere where everyone can assist each other at anytime. This classroom setup is also helpful to the parents in the class because they would be able to see the influences that are around them. Also it would be easy for them to communicate with me due to the fact that i would have a Twitter, Gmail, Facebook, and Blogger account setup for the parents to view to ask me any questions concerning their child's grades or upcoming test. This also allows for parents to cross the barrier that is usually blocking the relationship between them and their child's teacher.


Types of Technology used in my Classroom:

SMART Technologies are leading the way in classroom interaction between students and teachers using computers. Smart boards are a fantastic way for students to stay engaged in lessons. A Smart board is an interactive white board that allows the teacher to project an image from a laptop to the front of the room. The amazing part is that the teacher can then digitally draw on that image. Graphs and tables are available templates in Smart boards  Smart boards can store lessons and digitally enhance plain templates into customized learning tools. Hundreds of applications are possible with this technology, and students are benefiting immensely from it.

 

 Some educators are lucky enough to have individual PCs for every student in the class. When every student has his or her own laptop, learning takes on a whole different dynamic. For example, a teacher can allow students to follow along during a writing lesson on Word programs. In addition, students can research and explore on their own. PCs can store a student's work more efficiently than folders. Bulky encyclopedias and dictionaries are unnecessary if every student can access the Internet on his or her own time using a personal computer. A paperless world in the classroom can be organized as well as environmentally friendly. Finally, students become empowered in their education by having their own personal tool to better their academic outcomes.

The Kindle similar to the PC would be used in order to used in order to eliminate the use of Bulky dictionaries and encyclopedias.Currently, the Kindle is being explored at several universities as a way to eliminate/reduce the need for hardbound textbooks Also it ends up costing significantly less than textbooks over time. Although the initial cost may be a little expensive after the initial investment the cost of E-books will cost much less than physical hardcover books. Also E-Books lessen the load that a child has to carry. Since now all the books will be in a portable device instead of hardcover textbooks.

Email makes it possible for teachers to send out important messages about topics, such as breaks, changes in assignments and class cancellations, to large groups of students at once, saving the teacher's time. This is especially helpful if last-minute changes have to be made. Teachers are also able to answer individual questions via email, discuss student progress and send links for additional research materials. Students and teachers are able to reach each other more easily after-school hours through emails. When teachers or students receive documents or messages from each other that others may want to share with others, they can use the forward feature within most email accounts to send the info on to others.

Rosetta Stone is a language-learning software that teaches language by immersing you in that language. Unlike many other language-learning methods, Rosetta Stone teaches you the language by having you observe that language being used, without context in your native tongue. This is very effective in schools where students are diverse and consist of multiple English language learners. This has been proven to be an effective learning tool for English language learners.

Bibliography

"Academy for Environmental Leadership." In Brooklyn, NY. Inside Schools, n.d. Web

City Data. "Bushwick Neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York (NY), 11237, 11206, 11207, 11221 Detailed Profile." Bushwick Neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York (NY), 11237, 11206, 11207, 11221 Subdivision Profile. City Data, n.d. Web.

Academy For Environmental Leadership. "Academy for Environmental Leadership: Schedule." Academy for Environmental Leadership: Schedule. Academy For Environmental Leadership, n.d. Web

Rosetta Stone. "Language Skills and Solutions for Schools - Rosetta Stone®." Language Skills and Solutions for Schools. Rosetta Stone, n.d. Web.

Inside Schools. "Academy for Environmental Leadership - Insideschools.org." Academy for Environmental Leadership - Insideschools.org. Inside Schools, n.d. Web

Academy For Environmental Leadership. "Welcome to AEL." Academy for Environmental Leadership. Academy For Environmental Leadership, n.d. Web

Washington Public School. "Rosetta Stone Use in Class." Http://resources.rosettastone.com/CDN/us/pdfs/Case-Study/Rosetta%20Stone%20Education%20Case%20Study%20-%20Washingtion%20ESD.pdf. Washington Public Schools, n.d. Web.

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