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.