Podcasts

When I began exploring the many websites available for locating podcasts, I was amazed at the resources available that I could use in my classroom. I found a great podcast on Podcast Pickle, called "Notes in Spanish-Intermediate". It is two people, one Spain native, and a guy named Ben, who has been living in Spain for awhile. They create podcasts about various topics, and I found that many of the topics they talk about are not only rich in cultural topics, but include a lot of the vocabulary that my students are learning. The topics also coincide nicely with the topics on the New York State regents exam. You can also reach this specific podcast from their website, Notes in Spanish, and can then access various levels of podcasts in Spanish.

I could use these podcasts as listening practice for my students, to enhance their comprehension abilities, and teach culture at the same time. This also allows my students to hear an authentic accent, which they don't get when the listen to me read the passages on their exams. I think that this podcast could have great potential in my classroom!

ePals with Skype

I think that the ePals program could have a lot of potential for many of the tools we have learned about in this course, such as TalkShoe, Tokbox, Voxopop, and Skype. For this blog post I am going to focus on how I would use an application like Skype with the ePals program.

I would first use ePals to find and connect with a classroom in a Spanish-speaking country. I want my students to practice writing, and therefore would definitely have the students communicate via e-mail, but I also think that they need to hear and practice using Spanish with native speakers. Only then will they truly become proficient enough to use the language.

Skype not only would allow students to call their partner in another country, but they could also use it to video with their partner if that feature was available. This is probably as close as we could come without having the students meet, to communicating authentically. This would give my students and their students listening and speaking practice. Conversations could alternate between Spanish and English to give both students a chance to practice speaking. I think that this would be a great tool to use with students around the world!

EPals

I spent some time exploring the ePals program, and am amazed at the potential this website has in helping teachers to connect their students with other students from around the world. The website allows teachers and administrators to monitor e-mail, to create and monitor blogs, and to connect with classrooms around the world to collaborate on projects. I really like the fact that teachers and administrators have complete control over what e-mails are sent and received, and the content of those e-mails. This makes communication much safer, and provides a positive learning environment for our students.

I think that this website really lends itself to language learning, especially since one aspect of the website is Classroom Match, which allows teachers to look for classrooms around the world, that they can connect with, and have students work together towards a common goal. I would be very interested in using this website to have my students develop a connection with a student in a spanish-speaking country. This would allow the students in the Spanish-speaking country to practice their English, and would allow my students to practice their Spanish. This creates a REAL meaning for using language. Students are actually trying to communicate and share information.

It would also be easy enough to develop a common topic for students to discuss on the blog section of the website. This would allow students from Spanish-speaking countries, and my students, to collaborate ideas about the world, about current event issues, etc. Not only does this allow students to practice their language use, but also opens their eyes to a different perspective. Certainly the students in Spain, or any other Spanish speaking country, will likely hold differing viewpoints than the students from the United States. This opens a lot of doors in terms of cultural learning and understanding.

I would love to set up some type of ePals program with another school, and get my students communicating and using authentic Spanish. I also want them to see that learning English is not as easy as they seem to think it is, and hopefully will show them that "No, not EVERYONE needs to learn English!". This is a great website and a great resource. I can't wait to explore it more.

Conjugations Back Video

I came across the video, Conjugations Back, posted on teachertube.com. The link is to the right of this post, under the category titled "Videos". This is a highly entertaining video that I think students will really enjoy. It reinforces the grammatical concept of conjugating "AR" verbs. It is put to the tune of a Justin Timberlake songs that students are most likely very familiar with. I would use this video after introducing the "AR" verb endings, and how to conjugate the verbs to reinforce what was taught. This video could also be introduced before teaching this grammatical concept, so that students have a general idea of what an infinitive is, a nd what the endings are, just from watching the video. Students could be given a note sheet and asked to fill in things such as "What is an infinitive" and "What is the "yo" ending", etc. This would keep students engaged in the video, and help them realize that they are learning as they watch it. I got a good laugh out of the video, hopefully you all will too!

Creating Objects for use with Flickr

I decided to visit the website Big Huge Labs. It is a website designed for creating images with photos found or posted on flickr. For example, you can make posters, magazine covers, mosaics, jigsaw puzzles, collages, maps, mini photo albums, calendars, wallpapers, cd covers, billboards, comics, and much more.

I chose to make a comic out of a bullfight photograph that I found on flickr. I would not necessarily use this particular photograph in my classroom, but I would use this website and have my students create their own comic strips for various pictures. For example, if we are doing a unit on art, I may have my students choose a work of art, and create captions for the people in the art. This not only has the students using language, but requires them to think about the context in which the work of art was developed.

Flickr.com

Flickr has a lot of potential for use in the classroom, in my opinion. The pictures that people take of various objects can be incorporated into your lessons.

Let's say a person takes a trip to Spain, and takes a ton of pictures of various foods, shops, streets, signs, buildings, monuments, etc. This person then comes home and uploads his/her photos to Flickr, and groups them together based on what the pictures are of. This person then may tag these photos with information about what's in each photo.

As a teacher, if I am searching for pictures of Spain, with a simple search I may come across this person's photos of the trip to Spain. These photos are authentic pictures of the country that I will be able to share with my students. There will be pictures of many things that I can incorporate into my lessons. Perhaps there will be pictures of vocabulary words that are in their lesson, or pictures of some cultural aspect of Spain that we learned about. Students can analyze these pictures to discover exactly what is going on in each one. Ex. What type of clothes are people wearing? What buildings are in the background? What kind of signs do you see?, etc.

My only concern is that locating these pictures may take a significant amount of time, something that is limited in the life of a teacher.

The above picture, downloaded from flickr, illustrates the potential that flickr has in connecting people, content, and context.

Twitter and Microblogging in the classroom...

As new as I am to using Twitter, I can DEFINITELY see the potential that this microblogging tool could have for increasing interest and motivation in my classroom.

Tom Barrett has a very interesting article about Twenty-Seven Interesting Ways to Use Twitter in the Classroom.

He mentions using Twitter to keep parents and administrators up-to-date with what is going on in your classroom. Since I'm still getting the hang of "tweeting", this is about all I would feel comfortable with at this point. I can see the potential of tweeting about what is going on in class, what upcoming due dates are important, etc.

Since I haven't had the chance to experiment with privacy settings, who can see what, etc. I don't feel comfortable yet with having my students develop their own twitter accounts to tweet as a class assignment. However, once I become more comfortable with using Twitter, I would love to extend it to assignments that involve students. For example, I could have them respond to my tweets, or have them post "tweet conversations" in Spanish about various topics.

After reading an article by Times Higher Education, Tweet Yourself to a New Circle, I realized the potential for Twitter as a professional development tool. Not only that, but it allows you to connect with people interested in the same things as you, and share your resources easily around the world. I would love to know of interesting websites people find, new and interesting project ideas, unique vocabulary games or classroom games, etc. I also am extremely excited to be able to share all of my ideas with my colleagues around the world. Although creating a large network currently seems like a daunting task, I'm sure that I will have created a large network of colleagues from around the world in no time!

Embracing the internet

I have been following the Technology and Education Blog; Box of Tricks, and found this July post "Ask what the internet can do for you..." to be extremely interesting and thought provoking.

The author discusses the importance of Communication, and the effort that is being made to make teachers these days "technologically literate" to keep up with the students. What I think is interesting that students do not even think twice about the resources available to them. They are growing up in a world with Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, etc. They have an endless amount of information at their fingertips, and yet there are teachers who stick to their old ways, and refuse to learn these new tools.

This article was about embracing the internet, embracing all of the tools available, because not only can they enhance our professional practice as educators, but can also make our lives easier.

RSS feeds and having all of our updates in one place, not only makes new/useful information more accessible, but reduces the amount of time we spend searching for it. Also, it allows us to more easily collaborate with colleagues and other people in the education field, to meet the needs of our students.

Our students are living in an age when the internet is the most common source of information. Why would we not embrace the the abundance of tools out there, and find the ones that work for us. Every new website will not be ideal for every teacher, but surely there are useful tools out there for teachers and students, and if we do not embrace this idea, and "ask what the internet can do for us", we really are losing out.

Social Networking

On the social networking website, Ning.com, I was able to locate a social network that has potential to be extremely useful in my classroom.

The "La Casa Rojas-Podcast" social network is a website with uploaded podcasts by native speakers of the Spanish language.

The podcasts could be screened, and then played for the students in my classroom. I could have the students respond to the podcasts, write essays, respond orally, or answer questions about the podcast they heard as a method of assessing listening comprehension.

This also allows the students to hear native speakers, and develop their listening comprehension skills. Since I'm not a native speaker of Spanish, it's essential to create opportunities for the students to be exposed to native use of the language.

A learner is like an ingredient...

A learner is like an ingredient to a recipe. Without all of the "ingredients", meaning input from colleagues and other learners, the final product just will not be quite right.

Learners are social and learn from others. As George Siemens states in his article, Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age, "Within social networks, hubs are well-connected people who are able to foster and maintain knowledge flow. Their interdependence results in effective knowledge flow, enabling the personal understanding of the state of activities organizationally." In his video The Impact of Social Software on Learning, he also states that "Our learning today is one of forming networks with each other...Most of us enjoy conversation, we're social beings...When we have that dialogue, we ourselves grow in our knowledge and in our own understanding of our own ideas...".

I compared the learner to a the ingredient of a recipe, because one person does not know everything that there is to know about a specific topic. Individuals need to discuss and combine their knowledge, to deepen their understanding, clarify misunderstandings, and grow in their own learning. In my opinion, all "ingredients" need to be combined to create the perfect final product.

In a recipe, you can always experiment with various ingredients. The inputs of various individuals can change the outcome, for better or for worse. It is important to experiment, and consult various individuals on specific topics, to find the best outcome and the most relevant information possible.

Social network software such as Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, etc. all make it easier for people to communicate, to share information, to collaborate, and develop a collective understanding of knowledge.

The future of our students

I must admit that I was left semi-speechless after viewing the video Did you know 2.0?

It really puts the importance of technology at the forefront, and brings about a harsh reality that our world is changing at such a rapid rate, we can barely even keep up with it.

The video mentions we are preparing students for jobs that don't even exist. I think back to my time in elementary school, when we used ancient computers and microsoft did not even exist. I think about all of the computer technology, information technology, and computer programming jobs that my friends are involved in, and how when we were born, those jobs certainly did not exist. It makes me wonder what the new jobs are that will be created within the next ten years. Certainly we can predict that they will involve technology, but what will they be?

It's scary to think that the students in my classroom need to be prepared for these types of jobs. How in the world will I ever prepare them for that?

It leads me to the importance of critical thinking, of being able to create and function in a world full of new technology, to be able to analyze and problem solve, etc. As teachers, it is our responsibility to stay on top of the latest technology, and to incorporate it into our classrooms as much as possible. This is how our students are functioning today. This is how they are learning. What a disadvantage to them if we don't teach them how to communicate and collaborate with people around the world.

The video mentions that China will soon be the number one English speaking country. Why not teach our children how to collaborate with students in China, how to combine their knowledge and change the world? The students sitting in our classrooms right now are our future leaders. They will be the ones responsible for international relations, for running our country, for working in these new jobs. We need to make sure they are prepared with the skills necessary to do so.


The above image was taken from 21st Century Support Systems. A website dedicated to describing essential elements that need to be taken into consideration in order to prepare our students for the 21st century. The idea is that teachers need to create assessments and curriculum that align with the needs of a 21st century learner. Technology is key, interdisciplinary studies are essential for deep understanding, etc. I think that this is a good representation of the need to modify our curriculum and teaching, in an effort to better prepare our students for the world that they will face in the future.

Safe Blogging Tips

After reviewing some websites such as Safe Blogging Tips for Teens, Know The Risks, and Blogger Privacy Tips, along with the textbook Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for the Classroom by Will Richardson, I have developed a list of safe blogging tips to be shared with students and parents in my classroom.

1. Keep students' identities private (have students use aliases, don't mention location or school in postings)

2. Don't post pictures of yourself, your friends, your community, etc. on your blog

3. Only post things that are appropriate for school and family, your blog is part of your "Online Portfolio" that will remain for years to come

4. Monitor who can and cannot leave comments on your blog (only allow people who know you to read and comment on blog posts)

5. Control who can and cannot see your blog

6. Don't respond to rude, mean, or embarrassing comments, delete them before they are posted to your blog.

7. Don't meet people that you meet online

8. If you wonder whether or not something is appropriate to post on your blog, don't post it. If you really want to share the information, ask a teacher or adult how you can post the information safely.

9. Be careful and use your head!

Top 3 uses of blogs in the classroom...

After reading the textbook, Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms (2nd Ed.) by Will Richardson, I really got a lot of ideas about what types of things I could use a blog for in my language classroom and with my students.

I think that since I'm just starting out, I can handle developing a simple blog in which I can list daily homework assignments, classwork, a brief review of what was learned, etc. The students and parents would have the link to the blog, and would be able to visit it each day to review homework, review how to do various things (conjugate verbs, etc.), or see what they missed if they were absent. I can also post links to helpful websites that my students can use to do review activities, play games, or enrich their cultural understanding of Spanish speaking countries. I could also post links to newspapers from various countries, and news articles about important things going on around the world. I'm thinking that eventually I would allow students to comment on each blog with their homework questions, questions in general about material, things they would like to learn, etc. Then, I can address these comments the following day in class. It would get the students interacting with the material, and would allow me to become familiar with blogging and using it in the classroom.

Once I become more familiar with blogging and its potential, I could see how it would be useful to use blogs to connect my students with other Spanish-speaking students, or with other students learning the language. As I was reading, I had a thought that I could get together with one of my colleagues who teaches in another district, and our students could each develop their own blog. My colleague and I could put together groups of students who would interact with each other on their blogs (this could be divided by ability, mixed groups, etc.). Each group of students would receive the URL of the blogs for the students in their groups. My colleague and I could then discuss what the topic of the week would be, for example, and our students would write their own blog entry, and then comment on the blogs of their group members. This could be done in Spanish or English, depending on the requirement for the blog post. This not only allows us to assess our students' abilities, but also allows the students to use the language in meaningful ways, and share their thoughts with others. My only concern is how to monitor what my students are posting, how or if I should correct the errors on their posts, and whether class time should be dedicated to posting, or if students should work on their blogs outside of class. There are a lot of logistics that would need to be developed, and I would have to be sure my administration was on board, but I feel like it would really be a motivational tool for my students, and educational at the same time.

I also was thinking of using the blogs to enhance student writing. I could have each student develop their own blog, or have them comment on my blog posts. Each day, or each week, I would give the students a "story starter" or something to blog about, and the students would be required to complete the story starter, complete the sentence, or blog about a specific topic (either in their own blog, or in the comment section of my blog). This would allow students to practice writing, and also let me see how each student is progressing. I am thinking it would be easier for me if I developed a separate blog for each of my classes, so that it is easier to keep track of who is and is not responding. If I tried to have all 5 classes comment on one blog I would give myself a headache trying to keep track of everyone.

I think that the use of blogs in the classroom has a LOT of potential. My only concern is how to get enough computer time each class period or each week to do a lot with them.