Kenneth L. Wallace Jr., Wake Forest (K-12 Spanish), Winston-Salem, NC
Phone Blogging Helps Students Learn Spanish

The NEA Foundation created its Challenge to Innovate (C2i) to discover innovative approaches in teaching and to enable educators to share and build on these ideas to improve student learning. Find out how C2i Mobile Project national awardee Kenneth L. Wallace Jr. is using mobile phone technology to change the way his students learn.

As a Foreign Language teacher, Kenneth L. Wallace Jr. understands the value of communication, where a student is “not just a citizen of their own country, but also a citizen of the world.”

Wallace believes that using mobile phone technology as a learning tool can provide a student with an innovative way to develop his or her foreign language skills, and, in learning a new language, take one step closer to bridging cultural gaps around the world.

Through a process known as phone blogging, his students call a number and record their oral language assignment. Messages are transcribed and posted where they can be reviewed, commented on, and graded. “Students are able to practice speaking Spanish without the fear of what their peers think, or the stress of a face to face interview with the teacher,” says Wallace. “This allows for communication to take place that does not fit into the instructional time of a regular class.”

Phone blogs can also be used to post brief summaries of class notes or to communicate with parents. Students can also use them to review for quizzes and tests or even post questions that did not get answered during classes.

“Often the oral piece of learning a foreign language is minimized because it is too hard to assess,” says Wallace. “This brings back in an important element to communication. With this tool, most students will be able to do their assignments anywhere and at any time.”