Richard Byrne: Free Tech 4 Teachers- 1.31.18

I've always struggled with my English Learner (EL) students and presenting the lesson in a way that's best for them. As our demographics continue to diversify, I continue to look for ways to best communicate expectations and objectives to these students. This week on Richard Byrne's blog, he posted a how-to video on using Microsoft Translator. This is a tool used for translating conversations in real-time. The teacher and students can host conversations from their computers or devices and these conversations are translated to the preferred language. Also, as the conversation is taking place, not only can the conversation be read, but it can also be recorded and played aloud so participants are hearing AND reading the conversation. Multiple participants can be involved and it also supports various languages at one time. Participants can select their preferences during the joining process.
He also posted a video of how to use this tool during a PowerPoint (PPT). This would be very useful in my classroom because I do teacher-led instruction about three different times throughout each unit. Usually, this is lecture-style and I am introducing, reviewing, or reteaching via a PPT presentation. As I lecture, my EL students can listen to the conversation using their device and headphones and the tool provides a transcript of what I am saying in their native language. This tool allows EL students access to the content in their own language. I am very excited to try this out!