Podcasting en Español

Podcasting can be a very useful tool for foreign language classrooms.  After searching The Education Podcast Network, I was able to find many useful postcast websites that don't requiring downloading extra software to my computer.  At the El Bloguipodio website, students can listen to podcasts in Spanish that discuss a variety of topics.  I specifically would like for the students to listen to the podcast, De Fiestas Latinos y Reformas de Salud.  I really liked this website because I think it can be very useful for students to practice their listening skills.  After listening, students can leave comments on the blog.  To test student comprehension, I'd like to create my own blog and have my students answer several questions and post their responses on my page.

Podcasts open many different doors for students because they don't always have the opportunity to be exposed to a native speaker's voice.  These podcasts are a unique way for students to hear native speakers, and test their comprehension abilities.  With this tool and audacity, students can begin to record their own podcasts, which would be very beneficial for learning Spanish because the students can play back their recordings and try to correct their own errors in grammar and pronunciation.  Overall, podcasting seems like it would be a great resource for my students.

How "Global" is Global Collaboration?

Ethan Zuckerman raises some extremely important concerns in the video, Ethan Zuckerman: Listening to Global Voices.  He first shows the vulnerability of people who use social network websites such as Twitter.  Although we believe that we are globally connected, our social network is comprised of people that we choose to have contact with.  Therefore, our sources of information may only consist of people just like us, which limits our global contact.

Zuckerman also presents some very interesting visuals such as a map of flights around the country that show how much more limited the contact is between the continents of Africa and South America compared to that of the United States and Europe.

This video really would be great to show my students because I don't think that they realize how limited the information is that they receive, and they often forget about important issues that occur internationally.  Zuckerman's cause is a very important one, and I hope that changes can be made to help create a more global representation of world issues.

Collaboration Made Easy with ePals

The ePals website is a great way for teachers, parents and students to collaborate.  Most importantly, this website is safe and easy to use.  After exploring the ePals website and watching the demo, I found many features that would be very useful in this program. 

First, I think that the blog feature would be a great way for the teacher to communicate with students.  The instructor could post instructions and reminders for the students to help them keep up to date with classwork. 

The forum feature would be a great way to post homework or other class assignments.  It would be an easy way for the teacher to collect assignments, and it is paperless!  Absent students would be responsible for checking the forum to find their missing work.

The Wiki feature is my favorite.  This is a way for students to collaboratively contribute to a project from their own computer.  I think this feature would be very useful because all students work at different speeds, and this feature would allow students to continue working on a group project without the guidance of the teacher.

Lastly, the global community feature is very unique because it allows teachers to connect with other classrooms throughout the world.  This feature would be great for my classroom because my students would be able to communicate with Spanish speaking students.

Teach Grammar Quicker with Flickr

After looking at the Bubblr and Bookr tools that can be found at the Bubblr website and the Bookr website, I was very excited about the possibilities that these websites can give to my students.  

The Bubblr website allows you to create text bubbles and place them on photographs, and then add the text.  I think this would be a great project to use with my Spanish classes.  Not only would they be able to show their creativity, but they would also be able to demonstrate their abilities in Spanish by creating a Spanish comic strip type project. 

The Bookr website allows students to create a book, which would be great to use with my level 2 students.  I think it would be really fun for them to experiment with all of the features that the Flickr website has to offer, and it would be a perfect way to evaluate their comprehension of the Spanish language through a different form of assessment than a written test. 

Also, the students would have the projects on their Flickr webpage, so it would be something that they could share with their families and friends, or use as a part of an online resume.

This is a sample of a way that I could use the Bubblr website in my classroom (The students would create something more involved):

Photo by: Sixtopaz

                                                 

Proper use of Flickr

When using the works of others, it is very important to give credit to that person in order to avoid copyright infringement.  Some Flickr users will allow others to use their photographs, but only if the user follows the Creative Commons Licensing procedure.  Information about the various licenses can be found at the Creative Commons Licensing website, but I have described each in this blog post.

There are six different licenses to be aware of.  Each has their own specific requirements for use.

1. Attribution License-This means that others may copy, distribute, and display the work, but only if credit is given to the owner of the material.

2. Attribution-NoDerivs License-This means that others may copy, distribute and display only verbatim forms of the work and credit must be given to the owner of the material.

3. Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License-This means that others may copy, distribute, and display the work only in verbatim for, only for non-commercial purposes and credit must be given to the owner of the material.

4. Attribution-NonCommercial License-This means that others may copy, distribute, and display the work only for non-commercial purposes, it does not have to be verbatim, and credit must be given to the owner of the material.

5. Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License-This means that others may copy, distribute, and display the work only for non-commercial purposes, under a license that is the same as the license that govens the work, and credit must be given to the owner of the material.

6. Attribution-ShareAlike License-This means that owners may copy, distribute, and display the work under a license that is the same as the license that govens the work, and credit must be given to the owner of the work.

                                          Photo by: By CMYKcolours Mark Elzey Jr

The "Twitter" Bug

                                                 

Twitter is a great resource that can be used for professional development.  Some great websites with reasons for using Twitter were created by Laura Walker or Richard Byrne.  Be sure to check them out!

As educators, we spend the majority of our time working with students, and we don't have that much time to collaborate with our colleagues.  Using Twitter is a great way to collaborate with other teachers for new ideas or suggestions on how to better our teaching of a particular topic.  Twitter also gives us the opportunity to communicate with people from different areas of the world, so we have plenty of different resources.

Because each Twitter page is unique, teachers can use their pages as a journal to reflect on their teaching.  For example, if I felt my lesson went really well, I could tweet about it so that other people following my Twitter page could find new ideas that might work for them.  On the contrary, if I was having trouble with classroom management, I am sure their would be many other experienced educators that could offer me some great advice.  For these reasons, Twitter is a great resource for teachers!

Escucha la Musica

I was excited to find this blog, A Kid's Tour of Latin Music through Google Maps, through LanguageJourneys blog, that focuses on the Spanish speaking areas of the world, and has embeded videos for the students to watch that demonstrate music from the different regions.  This tour is linked together with Google Maps so the students can explore the various countries and watch music videos.  The videos are a great idea because they will capture the students attention.  This same idea could be used to identify typical food of each region, or a variety of other information.

It's Just the beginNING...

Using a NING is another fast and easy way to get connected.  This network allows you to join groups that discuss a variety of topics.  For me, one useful website that I am interested in for professional use would be the Classroom 2.0 NING.  On this page, there are other professionals having discussions about the Social Media that they use in their classrooms.  This site would be especially useful to me because I noticed that there are other teachers that are looking to use Skype to connect classrooms around the world.  Also, there were educators discussing new technology that they had used and ordered for their classroom such as video cameras.

Another NING that is useful to me is a private one called FLES.  This website connects the members of the West Seneca District and is a work in progress.  It's goal is to introduce Foreign Language in the elementary schools.  Both of these websites are very useful ways to keep everyone updated with new ideas and developments in the professional world.

Making Connections: Today's Learner

In the article, Connectivism: A Learning Theory For the Digital Age, George Siemens quotes the definition of learning as “a persisting change in human performance or performance potential…[which] must come about as a result of the learner’s experience and interaction with the world” (p.11).  He describes learning as simply, "A way of being."  I believe that Siemens was trying to say that today's learner must be an intuitive, creative and resourceful one, with the abililty to make connections with others.  Therefore, think today's learner is like a detective for several reasons.  

In the article, Siemens stressed that rather than actually knowing the answers to our questions, today's learner must know where and how to find that information just as a detective must know where and how to gather information to solve a crime.  Technology has influenced the way in which the learner is now able to learn and the speed in which they can do so. 

In the video, The Impact of Social Media on Learning, the influence of technology is discussed.  Social Media websites such as Wikis and Blogs are constantly being updated and sharing information in order to keep people informed with the newest information.  The video stresses the way in which people are able to easily make connections with others and share information, just as a detective gathers information about a crime from witnesses and other contacts and makes connections.  The video suggests, "we derive our competence from forming connections."

Overall, today's learner must be able to socially connect with others in order to continue to grow and must keep up with the most current information.  Through social media, today's learner has endless opportunities to learn and connect with the world.

 

"Did You Know?"

The, "Did You Know?" video was really interesting and got me thinking about Social Media and how it affects my life and the lives of my students.  The video stated that if MySpace was a country, it would be the 8th largest in the world.  This statistic shows the tremendous popularity of Social Media websites such as MySpace and the influence that computers and the internet have brought to our lives. The video inspires me to try and incorporate these new forms of media into my teaching because they are so popular among my students.

The video is also a bit overwhelming.  In a world where everything is changing so rapidly, I fear that I will not be able to keep up with the new technology and definitions.  Watching this video really helped me to see the importance of continuing to develop as an educator and to take advantage of workshops that are offered on Social Media.  It is our duty as educators to stay informed and to help prepare our students for the future and for jobs that haven't yet been created.

 

Using Blogs in My Class

I am very interested in setting up a blog to use with my students.  There are several ways in which to use the blog.  It is important to start out small as you familiarize yourself with how a blog works.  

My first step would be to create a blog for the parents of my students.  I think this tool would be a great way to establish and maintain contact with parents.  I would use the blog to post class news and assignments so that parents would know what we were studying in class.

Secondly, I'd like to use the blog to allow my students to practice their Spanish writing skills.  We would have "paperless" assignments where students could log on, read the assigned article, and post a response.  It would be great for students that don't always like to raise their hand to participate in class, and they would have the ability to respond to their classmates posts as well without feeling any pressure.  Through this activity, ACTFL communication standard 1.2 would be addressed.

My third use of a blog would be to try and connect my classroom with Spanish speaking students.  It would be very beneficial and fun for the students to have a blog "penpal" that they could write and respond to.  This would give students the opportunity to learn from native speakers in a comfortable environment.  ACTFL comparison standards 4.1 and 4.2 would be addressed because students would be able to compare the Spanish language and culture with their own.

I'm excited to explore the different ways in which a blog will help my students to learn about the Spanish language and culture.

Internet Safety For Students

The internet is a very valuable resource in education, but we cannot forget about the importance of student safety while using the internet.  The West Seneca Central School District has a link on their website to the Town of West Seneca website that shares information on how parents can keep their children safe on the internet. (http://www.westseneca.net/netsafety.html)

The following in a list of important rules for students to follow when using weblogs and other internet pages.

1. Do NOT reveal any personal information (name, address, telephone number, photographs or school name) 

2. Protect your reputation! Remember that pictures and stories can come back to haunt you if they are inappropriate.  

3. Remember that nothing is private online.  Assume that everything you post online can be seen by anyone, and think twice before you post.

4. NEVER meet with anyone that you meet online.  Someone may not be who they say they are online. 

The district policy for West Seneca does not allow for photographs of individual students to be posted on the school website.  They must appear in pairs or groups.  Also, students may not be identified by their full name in photographs (unless parental permission is given).

When used properly, the internet and internet tools can be a great, fun way for students to learn.