Micronesian Educator, Special Edition, November 2017
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Photograph by Carim Yanoria Nåna by Kisha Borja-Quichocho Like the tåsa and haligi of the ancient Chamoru latte stone so, too, does your body maintain the shape of the healthy Chamoru woman. With those full-figured hips features delivered through natural birth for generations and with those powerful arms reaching for the past calling on our mañaina you have remained strong throughout the years continuously inspire me to live my culture allow me to grow into a young Chamoru woman myself. Through you I have witnessed the persistence and endurance of my ancestors who never failed in constructing a latte. I gima` taotao mo`na the house of the ancient people. Hågu i acho` latte-ku. You are my latte stone. The latte stone (acho` latte) was once the foundation of Chamoru homes in the Mariana Islands. It was carved out of limestone or basalt and varied in size, measuring between three and sixteen feet in height. It contained two parts, the tasa (a cup-like shape, the top portion of the latte) and the haligi (the bottom pillar) and were organized into two rows, with three to seven latte stones per row. Today, several latte stones still stand, and there are also many remnants of them throughout the Marianas. Though Chamorus no longer use latte stones as the foundations of their homes, the latte symbolize the strength of the Chamorus and their culture as well as their resiliency in times of change. Micronesiann Educator Editor: Unaisi Nabobo-Baba Special Edition Guest Editor: Jacquelyn Cyrus Editorial Board: Donald Rubinstein Christopher Schreiner Editorial Assistants: Matthew Raymundo Carim Yanoria Design and Layout: Pascual Olivares ISSN 1061-088x Published by: The School of Education, University of Guam UOG Station, Mangilao, Guam 96923 Contents Guest Editor’s Introduction ................................................................................................................4 Perspectives, Reports and Commentary Instructional Technology and Multi-Media as Change for Teaching and Learning Opportunities in Micronesia and Wider Oceania: The Use of Multi-Media OERs in Pacific Primary and Secondary Education ................................. 10 Ian Thompson From the Caribbean to Pacific: A Writing Teacher’s Odyssey with Technology ...................................................... 23 Pauline Baird Photographing FestPac: Confessions of a Self-taught Shutterbug .......................................................................... 33 Donald Rubenstein An Introduction to Chromebooks for Education ..................................................................................................... 44 Dean Olah Technology in a Rural School .................................................................................................................................. 54 María Eugenia Trillo, Deirdre Sue Bizarro, Esther Kovari, Shari Osgood Engaging Adolescents with the New Digital Literacies .......................................................................................... 59\ Anne Marie Harvey Minority Report on the Role of Critique in Technically Fortified Learning Culture ................................................. 64 C. S. Schreiner Action Research The Effect of Multimedia-Based Instruction in Increasing ESL Students Test Scores in Eighth Grade Language Arts ................................................................................................................................................................................. 90 Doris Maria Techaira Increasing Student Achievement Through the Use of Technology in Art: An Action Research Study Done on Guam ..................................................................................................................................................................... 111 Ai Miwa The Results of Interactive Whiteboard Technology Usage on Oral Reading Rates for Second and Third Grade English Language Learners .................................................................................................................................... 127 Katrina Rose Iriarte Baza Academic Research Survey and Analysis of Online Learning Experiences and Expectations Among University of Guam Teacher Candidates ............................................................................................................................................................. 147 Mary Jane Miller, Geraldine James Digital Literacy: How Can the Flipped Classroom Help?........................................................................................ 164 Evelyn Doman Teachers' Perception of the Role of a Technology Integration Coach, an Ethnographic Case Study.................... 193 Jackie Brandstetter Luft, Nancy Maushak Japanese Undergraduate Students' English Communication Problems and Learning Motivation Outside Formal Classroom Environment ........................................................................................................................................ 205 Patrick Lo, Dickson K.W. Chiu, Kevin K.W. Ho MICRONESIAN EDUCATOR, SPECIAL EDITION, NOVEMBER 2017 Guest Editor’s Introduction 4 MICRONESIAN EDUCATOR, SPECIAL EDITION, NOVEMBER 2017 Guest Editor’s Introduction Digital technology has become a part of a college student’s daily life. Students interact with this technology on a continuous basis, from digital alarm clocks to microwave ovens, from cell phones to touch key pads at dormitory and apartment building entrances, and from digital watches to digital cameras to digital phones. As the price of technology continues to drop, computers and other digital devices have become integral parts of college classrooms and curricula. The digital technologies of today bring the tools of empowerment into the hands and minds of those who can demonstrate some facility with them. Graduates of education programs are no exception. Pre-service teachers exit their training programs and graduate from colleges with the expectation that they will be hired by school districts and boards of education that are impressed with their skills in their content areas, e.g., math, science, social studies, language arts, etc. During the last decade, pre-service teachers have needed to become competent as well in the use of digital technology (Cyrus, 2006). Given the great advances and innovation in educational technology allowing for greater student engagement, access to superior academic resources, and allowing for a wider range of creative projects, digital and instructional technology is the theme of this edition of the Micronesian Educator. We look at the broad spectrum of instructional technology uses, from novice introductions to software and hardware, to advice about adoptions of specific tools, an onward to expert opinions about the use of specific hardware. When the discussion turns to instructional technology within the educational environment, the conversation generally heads in one of two directions: the unanimity of tech savvy students versus teachers or the inclusion versus exclusion of certain technology devices within the curriculum. Our contributors, in both large and small educational environments, share some of their seemingly intrepid forays into the realm of introducing technology into their own curricula activities resulting in interesting discussions and suggestions. Many pre-service teachers have, indeed, learned the basics of computer technology in previous high school classes or in college courses, some of which are pre-requisites for graduation. It is common in undergraduate and graduate courses for instructors to require that term papers and projects be submitted via a text-processing program. Instructors often use presentation software (or handouts from these files) to present lesson objectives and activities. Yet, digital technology, if it is integrated into the curriculum, revolutionizes the learning process and increases their awareness and “which areas of knowledge they integrate into their curricula, what the goal of this knowledge is and which strategies are best suited to help pre-service teachers acquire this knowledge” (Instelfjord & Munthe, 2015). More and more studies show that technology integration in the curriculum improves students' learning processes and outcomes. When pre-service teachers were introduced to computers as problem-solving tools, it changed the way they perceived teaching (Cyrus, 2008). Sections The reading audience for this Instructional Technology (or Information Communications Technology — ICT) edition of Micronesian Educator includes both pre-service and in-service teachers, and academicians of all content areas, as well as researchers and administrators. As you will discern from the 5 MICRONESIAN EDUCATOR, SPECIAL EDITION, NOVEMBER 2017 breadth of approaches to IT that our contributors span, digital technology touches our educational environments in a myriad of ways. Given that approach, this IT edition will be divided into 3 succinct areas for examination and discussions: perspective reports, action research (graduate student research), and academic research. Perspectives, Reports and Commentary The authors included in this section are as follows: Thompson, Ian Instructional Technology and Multi-media as Change for Teaching and Learning Opportunities in Micronesia and Wider Oceania: The Use of Multi-Media OERs in Pacific Primary and Secondary Education Baird, Pauline From the Caribbean to Pacific: A Writing Teacher’s Odyssey with Technology Rubenstein, Donald Photographing FestPac: Confessions of a Self-taught