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1. Observation: ELL students sometimes feel discouraged  and embarrassed  when trying to learn, an environment needs to be created in which students feel safe to learn and flourish.
2. Connection: Online resources help ELL students to create their own voices and alter their identities which help them feel confident about what they do and say within their learning, dropping that barrier.
3. Surprise: That this hasn't been as exposed until now for online resources.
4. What are some of the digital tools we can use in the classroom to support ELL students in the everyday class?

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observation: ELL students feel marginalized in the classroom because some teachers fail to acknowledge and value diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds

connection: In one of my placements, I had a French student who did not feel comfortable with speaking because he had a thick accent and also had difficulty with speaking in English.

surprise: Using social networking sites (SNS) in the classroom can help ELLs develop positive writer identities and increase their social presence online and in the classroom community.

question: How can teachers ensure these technological tools are being properly used in the classroom?

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Observation: teacher may forget the importance of ELL resources in the classroom

Connection: I worked with a few ELL students in my previous placement, and found that they work harder to truly understand the concepts, but also that they could relate to other based on different social media that is used

Surprise: I knew technology could play a big role in assisting ELL students, but it still surprised me to read about how effective it really is

Question: what are the best digital ELL resources for students?

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1. Increase learning.
Social performance and interactions promote engagement and participation in class.
2. ELL students freely express themselves.
3. I was amazed to see their responses because in class they do not participate much.

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1. Increase learning.
Social performance and interactions promote engagement and participation in class.
2. students freely express themselves.
3. I was amazed to see their responses because in class they do not participate much.

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1. Observation - ELL students must be given many opportunities to flourish.
2. Connection - As an ELL student develops a sense of place and identity in a new setting, a comfort with and desire to use and operate in english emerges.
3. Surprise - Social networking in the classroom has the potential to develop the positive writer identities of ELLs and increase their social presence, both in the classroom and online.
4. Question - How can digital forums be monitored to ensure appropriate conduct and behaviour while allowing the students to flourish independently?

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Observation - ELL students are sometimes neglected or singled out.
Connection - Creating a online community.
Surprise - The effects of online community in building social skills.
Question - What is the best practice to monitor/discipline negative online actions?

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Observation: ELL is not about "Surviving" it is about flourishing.  In order to accomplish this, the learning of the language must be done contextually and through a variety of literacies.

Connection: The idea of communication fits in with the Learner to learner modal of learning implemented in my EFL classroom.

Surprise: participating in online communities helps build a social presence.

Question: Is an online social presence the same as a IRL social presence? In what ways do they differ?

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1. Observation: ELL students are underestimated in terms of what they are capable of producing because of their inability to communicate effectively.

2. Connection: In my previous placement I had a student who had such a thick accent that other students felt uncomfortable speaking to him in fear that asking him to repeat himself would embarrass him.

3. Surprise:

4. Question: Assistive tools for ELL (or apps) that can be used in the classroom or at home?

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1. Observation
All students including ELL need opprotunities to learn to communicate and express themselves through a variety of means. (written, oral etc..)

2. Connection
- I have studied Romanian while in Romania during my undergrad summers. It was very tough to communicate and express what I actually wanted to get across. At first my limited vocabulary in Romanian got me frustrated as I often said a snippet of what i actually felt and thought about.
My last summer there things Improved drastically as i spent the next year in the language but it was a tough process to experience.
3. Surprise
- How different it is to talk about ELL compared to your first experience with an ELL in your classroom. Expectations vs. reality

4. Question.
What is the best tools to approach the educational realities for all students and ELL's?

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Observation: ELL are found in nearly every mainstream classroom
Connection: having worked with many ELLs in both palcements (grade 1 and grade 5/6)
Surprise: that many teachers do not have the skills needed in order to teach and reach this group of students. it should be something that all teachers should be trained in.
question: why are future teachers not being properly trained to teach this group of students? why is it not in the teaching program that all future teachers must have training?

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Observation: Students must be given ample opportunity to show what they can do and flourish
Connection: in my previous placement a majority of the learners in my classroom were ELL. The statement that students who are ELL are not weaker in the slightest could not be more true. These students were often working much harder to understand concepts and in the end gained a deeper understanding.
Surprise: Not all online resources are created equal when it comes to ELL learning. We need to really be mindful of this as some resources can be overwhelming.
Question: whatare some online resources that can really assist ELL learners when it comes to understanding content.

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obs: like all students, each ELL has different skills and needs
connect: ELL students can find themselves lost in a classroom without support. this disconnect can lead to increase anxiety (speaking from personal experience as I was an ELL)
surprise: the use of technology to support ELL as compared to previous years when I was in school
question: challenges of training parents of ELL students with technology being used in the class

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Observation - ELL students may need extra assistance to learn the curriculum and the teachers need to be willing to assist the students
Connection - there are many online sites or tools that are able to help the ELL students when they are struggling with the curriculum.They can access the tools from home and not just in the classroom.

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Observation: Students must have the opportunity to succeed, as such, they must be given tasks that are accessible to them.

Connection: Having worked as an a Foreign English Teach in South Korea,  I found this article to be very interesting. It is true that students can have plenty to say but not have the ability to say it. As such, it is important as teachers to make changes necessary to our classroom structure to accommodate and modify our lessons for ELLs

Surprise: I was surprised by how effective digital technology can be for teaching ELLs. I had not been able to use technology in my own classes. Instead, i created English learning games and used text books.

Question: What are some of the best digital tools for ELLs which can help assist with normal class work.

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1. Observation - ELLs should be given multiple opportunities to practice their oral and written communication skills. Using multimodal communication tools and a social networking site allows for more opportunities for all learners including ELLs. Students can use images, buzzwords, comics, articles to connect their understanding of what is being learned with their communication.
1. Connection - When reading this article I thought of one student from my last practicum who was an ELL. She was quieter in class, but had no problem coming up to me after class with a question or a request for MORE MATH HOMEWORK (believe it or not). I think the key to accessing each student is to try to play to their strengths. She loved math, so I gave her extra math homework/units to complete. She also LOVED reading, so we took time each week to visit the library, even though she was the only one taking any books out (20 and 30 at a time). Feeding that natural curiosity and interest, especially when it is helping with developing her language skills, is something that teachers need to go the extra mile with.
1. Surprise: I was surprised and reminded that it is so important to give ELLs immediate and detailed feedback for their written work. Grammar and spelling errors should be edited asap. Giving immediate feedback clips those misconceptions in the bud.
1. Question: Tech to help with this?

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Observation:how multi modal tools and SNS can help students to share their identities  and engaged in the classroom
connection: https://www.ted.com/talks/salman_khan_let_s_use_video_to_reinvent_education
surprise: How SNS students to present themselves in digital space
Question: How can I make sure that students are are using appropriately social media sites?

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1. Observation: If marginalization continues, it can affect ELL's success.
2. Connection: By using technology, it can be a way for ELLs to be more comfortable in the way they learn.
3. Surprise: Not many teachers possess the skills to teach ELLs.
4. Question: What are some online resources that can be available to ELLs.

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1 observation: teachers tend to forget or leave out the importance of ELL resources in the classroom. Teachers should ensure they are accommodating and thinking of all their students and all their needs.
1 connection: different social networking sites allow students to find their sense of belonging and a way to express themselves which is important to have for an inclusive classroom.
1 surprise: That there should be more of an abundance of multimedia tools easily accessible for all ELL students. These tools can make a big difference for the students and make them feel as if they belong in the class and are able to express themselves more freely and not feel limited.
1 questions: How can I ensure that all my students, including ELL students, feel as if they belong to the class community?

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Observation
ELL students are often placed on the backseat of learning
Connection
Multimodal tools and SNS allow students to not only learn better, but also give their thoughts. We often think of them as distractions, but they truly help those who are not so extroverted.
Surprise
The way ELL is viewed as a disability rather than a natural thing. We are privileged to know English, but not everyone does.
Question
How can we moderate these tools and devices in our classroom to ensure that they are not being misused? Is it up to trust with the students?

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1. Observation
After finishing the readings, it became clear to me that not only schools must be safe spaces, but there also must be individual safe spaces within the school. This can be found in the "Toward a Theory of Anti-Oppressive Education" reading.
2. Connection
The connection that I made with this piece of the reading has to do with my high-school experience. I remember many students having their favourite spots in the school to spend time. What I did not realize at this point is that these were their "safe spaces."
3. Surprise
What surprised me is the repercussions and negative consequences that can come from a lack of these spaces. These are listed off in the Kumashiro reading and made it clear to me just how important this is.
4. Question
How do we create safe spaces? In my experience, these were often determined or created by the students themselves. Maybe collaboration would be an excellent solution.

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1. Observation:
ELL students are not "weaker" students, but they can be perceived as "weak".

2. Connection
While on placement there was an ELL student in science class. He too wasn't very vocal or did not participate in class, but he knew the content, if not in English but in Chinese.

3. Surprise
How comfortable SNS made the ELL students feel within their own classroom.

4. Question:
A couple students started using inappropriate language, how can that be dealt with, without shutting down the whole project?

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1. Observation
The questions posed to students were about their interests, likes, feelings. i.e. p.617 after the poetry unit. That as much as there was quantitative information being presented, the theme of the article was about perspective. And that it is important to understand the students' perspectives as well.

2. Connection
The tools presented and used produced outstanding results, were motivational in nature. They would be fantastic to adopt and to use as proof/evidence to shift perspectives of current teachers who do not understand ELL students.

3. Surprise
The writing tool that starts erasing words as students type was a surprise to me that it would yield positive results!

4. Question
Where do I begin to form my own multiliteracies pedagogy?! Love it.

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1. Observation - Teachers assume that English Language Learners have lower academic skills which prevents teachers to see these students capable of learning.
2. Connection - I was born here and until grade 5 I attended an Armenian private school where we were taught mainly in Armenian and French with minimal effort in teaching English. In grade 6, I began attending a Catholic Elementary school where I felt like I was not able to communicate as well as my classmates.
3. Surprise - how teachers are still not trained to teach ELL in the classroom
4. Question - how can we ensure that parents of ELL students are on board with online resources to help these students especially if they are nervous for their children?

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1. Observation
- Many teachers seem to misunderstand that ELL learners are not any different than any of your other students, they simply speak a different language. As teachers we need to help them to be capable of expressing all of their ideas and knowledge in English, as well as helping them learn English. This may mean that they need to use objects, pictures or other multimodal forms of communication to aide in expression. But, this does not mean that they do not know or understand, they just don't know how to say it in English.
2. Connection
- I have studied both French and Spanish through University and as such I can relate to an ELL. It is very difficult to learn a new language and I remember being in class many times when I knew what I wanted to say, but I did not know how to say it in my second or third language. I thought I must have sounded so dumb, but in actuality I was trying to express a very complex, well educated thought.
3. Surprise
- I am surprised by the number of educators that think that ELL learners having a learning impairment or disability. Obviously, there is a need to change this perception in education, but I would not have thought this explanation was necessary.
4. Question
- One question I still have is what practical stratagies I can use a teacher to help my ELL learners better express themselves. The article explored technology and multimodal forms of communication, which I think is one incredibly useful tool...but it is only one tool. What other tools can I add to my tool kit as a educator of ELL students? Furthermore, what resources are available to help me understand how to better help my students who are learning English?

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Observation: Students who are ELL are not weaker students
Connection: I connected this to something my AT told me. We had 4 students that were ELL and she said they are smart, if you asked them in their language they would know the answer right away.
Surprise: SNS as tools to help alleviate pressure from ELL students and invite them to co-create/ learn in "third space" - this idea was really cool because I never really saw social media or social networks as ways to engage these learners.
Question: for students who really struggle with English not just speaking but writing as well, how will SNS's help alleviate that anxiety?