From what I understand as a Spanish teacher, the overhaul to Common Core has been an intimidating one for some teachers and schools.  Change is always a little tough– documents have to be edited, exams have to be revamped, even links in PowerPoint presentations for the parent community have to be redone in the name of the new thing.  Topics of study have moved up and down the ladder of grades.  Some teachers have to give up their favorite unit; some only have a week to teach what they view as an in-depth topic.  It must be frustrating.

I say ”it must be” and not ”it is” because I’m not sure what the Common Core rollover feels like.  The evolution from the NCSCOS into the World Language Essential Standards has been a less jarring one.  World Language standards are very broad.  The plus is that this allows a good deal of freedom.  The downside is that something vague is a bit difficult to assess and thereby to teach effectively.  Take my favorite, NL.CLL.1.3:

Use a variety of verbal and non-verbal communication strategies to ask memorized questions and express ideas or thoughts with prompting and modeling

Although the whole point of World Language classes is indeed to get students to be able to ”say words about stuff”, it’s a bit daunting to look that standard in the eye and dare to say you’ve assessed it accurately.

The only standard on the Novice Low spectrum (where students should be in the presentational speaking communication mode after a Level I course) to mention technology directly is this:

NL.COD.3.3 Use readily available technology tools and digital literacy skills to present in the target language

It gives you a great deal of freedom, yes.  And I love autonomy as a teacher.  I think Voki is an awesome tool, for instance, but if there was a district mandate that said I had to use it once a quarter, I’d find a reason to hate it.  So if I don’t want things prescribed to me, what do I want?

Guidance.  Perhaps I want guidance.  Guidance for the beginning teachers who have enough on their plate, for teachers who feel technologically inept, for teachers who want to stay on par with their peers.  So, I look to the posted Assessment Examples.  Curiously, there is no AE posted for this standard, so I roll up to its Novice Mid equivalent, ”Use readily available technology tools and digital literacy skills to present academic information in the target language”.  There is an AE for this:

Create a multi-media presentation about the culture of a target country.  Use two photographs from the target culture and say one sentence in the target language about each.

Again, freedom, which is great.  Multimedia can be anything, and a teacher that doesn’t have enough exposure to the great wealth of tools out there in the world may default to PowerPoint.  PowerPoint pictures and oral presentation in the target language are completely appropriate.  It’s a rigorous task in your second language, and it is technology.

But PowerPoint isn’t everything.  Quite frankly, it’s not worth battling the wonky laptop cart, the fickle machines within it, and the internet connection just to let the kids look up some authentic pictures in class.  They could bring in pictures on flash drives.  They could flip through magazines.  They could draw them, honestly.  It’s the same, communication-wise.

I want the kids to be able to truly create with technology.  If you’re assessing digital literacy skills, say exactly what those are.  Do you want them to use Audacity to record their sentences, convert them to MP3 format and embed them in their presentation?  Would you rather them interact with each other and bring the communication up to interpersonal as well?  Create a Voicethread and comment on three of their classmates’ presentations?  Set up a class-collaborative blog post?  There are so many places to go with technology, but we all need a little incentive.  If I am going to ask every teacher to teach technology, I want them to have the tools to teach it well: to know what specific skills are appropriate within their curriculum, and to know software and apps that not only fit the bill but engage students in creating.

I don’t think the Essential Standards are a hindrance to using technology at all.  I just think they could reach a little more.

photo credit: <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/annayanev/3491617954/”>a n i. Y.</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a> <a href=”http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/”>cc</a>

photo credit: <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/dennissylvesterhurd/5877708209/”>DennisSylvesterHurd</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a> <a href=”http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/”>cc</a>