Thursday, November 24, 2011

Podcasts in the Classroom

     Ever wanted to make your classroom more interesting?  How about using a Podcast!!  A podcast is a video or audio file that is available online about a specific topic.

     A Podcast I recently watched, Platos Espanoles, was all about Spanish food.  The Podcast was completely in Spanish and has great vocabulary for students.  The speed of the language use was not too fast so students should be able to understand it.  In my classroom I would use this audio file for practice with vocabulary, comprehension, and cultural learning.  The students could answer questions about what they hear that include vocabulary terms, a knowledge of their comprehension, and questions about specific cultural foods.

     By using a Podcast in your classroom you can easily make your classroom more fun, diverse, and interesting for your students!

Thursday, November 17, 2011

A Global Community

    Ever think the world wide web is just too dangerous or risky for your classroom?   We all have!  But ePals is a great site that can change your mind in an instant.  It offers many different features and ideas for your classroom and is great for teachers or students. 

     For students, there are links to other pages, such as National Geographic or the Smithsonian.  These are great educational tools for students to have at their fingertips!  Furthermore, there are pages about black history, digital storytelling, the Earth, and biodiversity.  There is also a student forum to talk about issues they are interested in and a book club where students can talk about the books they have read.

     The teacher page has some similar features to the student page, such as the link to National Geographic or other educational sites.  In addition there is a teacher forum (like the student forum) for teachers to discuss topics of interest to them.  Also, there are pre-made projects that teachers can use for their classes. 

     I think this program could be very useful for a classroom, in that it give the students some freedome to explore different topics but in a safe and educational environment.  Also, the projects available to teachers are a great source and would be fun and interesting for students to do!

Friday, November 11, 2011

Digital Storytelling for Teaching

     Until recently I did not even know what digital storytelling was, but now I see how easy and useful it can be for teachers, not to mention fun.  Using sites like  Animoto, Slideroll, or Stupeflix, teachers can create a story with pictures, text, and music about anything they want.  The basics of these sites are free, making it even easier for teachers to use it. 

     The site that I tried out was Animoto.  It took me at most five minutes to log in and begin creating a digital story.  I was able to add my own pictures, and then put in text, and select the music from the site.  It was a very simple process and could be used to teach anything, from culture, to grammar, or vocabulary.  Below is the digital story that I created about Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). 



Give one of these sites a try and you will see how easy, fun, and education they can be for you and your students.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Teaching about Food through Digital Storytelling

     A great way to teach students about cultural food is by using digital storytelling.  I created an example digital story about How to Make Paella on Bubblr.  Below is a copy of this story.  I would use this in order to teach students about other cultures.  It was so simple for me to create that I would definitely consider having my students pick another Spanish food and create their own digital stories showing how to make their food.  This would get students interested in the class by allowing them to use technology and have them learning about other cultures.

     If I were really to use this digital story in my classroom I would add some Spanish into the slides.  Instead of just reading all the ingredients in English, the students could learn about the culture and some new food vocabulary words all at once.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Digital Storytelling: How is it used?

Computer Setup
Photo by Karin Dalziel
     Before we can learn about how to use digital storytelling we must understand exactly what it is.  Digital storytelling is "the practice of using computer-based tools to tell stories" ("The Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling").  More specifically, it is "a short, first person video-narrative created by combining recorded voice, still and moving images, and music or other sounds" ("Center for Digital Storytelling").  According to "7 Things you should know about digital storytelling", a simple digital story can consist of "a set of slides with corresponding naration or music".  A more complex digital story would combine "narrative with digital content, including images, sound, and video, to create a short movie".
    
     Now, that we know that a digital story is a computer-based set of images or video combined with music or sounds to create a movie or slideshow, we can move on to the question: How can digital storytelling be used?  One way it can be used is to tell a story about personal tales of historical events.  If done correctly, these stories can be very emotional and effective in connecting with students.  Another way it could be used it to do a "show and tell".  This could introduce vocabulary by showing pictures and then orally or in writing present the vocabulary word that goes with the picture.  One more way it could be used is to have students create their own digital stories in a second language telling about either their own story or an imaginary story that they have created.  This is a great way to incorporate language and technology in the classroom to get the students more involved and having fun in school.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Twitter in Action

      There are so many ways that Twitter, a popular micro blogging website, can be useful for teachers.  I'll give a few examples of its use here just to get you started on this potential educational resource. 
    
     An article titled, On the Deeper Connections Built Into Throw-Away Questions, by Shelly Blake-Plock, discusses one of these great uses of Twitter.  It talks about what as teachers we may call a "throw-away" question and how one of these seemingly pointless questions can spark a great debate among students through the use of Twitter.  By posting one of these questions, such as: "Latin Students: How many museums can you find on Twitter? +10 pt coupon to anybody who Tweets 20 museums with collections in Ancient Art!", a teacher can really motivate their students to start thinking out of the box and using a site like Twitter as a resource (Blake-Plock).  The next day so many students will come into school with a list of museums to get their bonus points and for once they will (not admittedly) like doing their homework cause students enjoy the use of social networking sites.
    
     In Educational Twitter Chats Calendar, the author writes about using Twitter for educational chats.  These are basically a way to connect with other educators who are interested in the same topics as you.  For example, if you want to know about using Twitter to teach Spanish, there may be a chat specifically about that.  So you would go on the chat and be able to discuss the topic with other teachers and get new ideas about how you would use Twitter for a Spanish classroom.  The article also mentions a new calendar feature that can make it easier for teachers to keep track of all of their educational chats on Twitter.
     These are just two basic uses of Twitter but there are so many other ways that Twitter can be used to enhance and improve any classroom!

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Social Networking Group: Learning with Computers

     There are many social networking groups available for teachers, but the one I checked out was called Learning with Computers.  This groups site is a place for foreign language teachers to post what they know about integrating computers into the classroom.  Teachers can then read each others' ideas about how to best use computers in teaching students a foreign language.  This seems like a great place for L2 teachers to post and take knowledge from each other about technology to make the classroom a better place for learning.

A Teacher is like a...

     A teacher is like a "Surrogate for knowledge", connection maker, database for learning, and social mediator.  Teachers can and should be all of the above according to Siemens.  In the article titled "Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age.  International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning", Siemens discusses the idea of connectivism.  This is basically that using new technology, all ideas, principles, and knowledge are linked through networks.  Siemens says that "nurturing and maintaining connections is needed to facilitate continual learning".  The teacher must help students to make the connections, be it online on social networks or other learning websites, so that the students can learn more knowledge.  There is so much knowledge and information out there in this new digital era and it "needs to be connected with the right people" (teachers) "in the right order to be classified as learning".  Teachers need to therefore give students the access they need to all of these great sources of information to connect them to so much useful knowledge.

    
     Siemens continues to explain his theory of connectivism through a video titled "The Impact of Social Software on Learning".  In the video he says we must "learn from each other".  Teachers have to give information to students, the Internet can give information to students and teachers, and students can even give back information to teachers.  Also, Siemens says that we are social beings, we enjoy conversation, and this helps us to grow in our knowledge.  This means that by using social software we can have conversations about learning with other people ("forming networks with each other") and this can increase our knowledge base. 
 
     Overall, I think Siemens gives some great ideas in his article and the video about connectivism.  It makes a lot of sense that we can gain knowledge from one another.  Just because you are the teacher does not mean that you have to have all the information, but you can use the Internet and other sources to share with each other and provide more important knowledge to your students.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Ways to Memorize Vocabulary (according to Kristen Winkler)

     The site that I commented on was Kristenwinkler.com and the name of the post was "How to memorize vocabulary?"  The author gives five methods for learning, memorizing, and practicing vocabulary in foreign languages.  The five ways are: internet vocabulary drills, social learning websites, language programs by broadcast companies, video lessons, and by singing.
 
     I think there are some great ideas here!  For me the best way of learning vocabulary was doing flash cards (the old way though, paper cards and a pen).  I think actually writing the flashcards is just as useful as studying the cards, so this might be more effective than some of the websites.  I haven't had the chance to use social learning websites but I imagine it would be very interesting and effective.  I have used video lessons and songs in my classrooms and these are great ways to practice vocabulary.  Lastly, lanugage programs by broadcast companies I do not know much about but I would love to learn more about and use in the future! 

Here are some links to websites that could be usefule for memorizing vocabulary (taken from Kristen Winkler's blog):

Monday, September 12, 2011

Use Technology to Teach

     I just had the chance to view a youtube video about paying attention to your students.  The video gives some statistics that may shock teachers.  The average college graduate has spent over 10,000 hours playing video games, 10,000 hours using a cell phone, and 20,000 hours watching television. 
     But what do teachers do in school? We do not allow cell phones, iPods, or other technological advances in our classrooms.  This is a mistake.  Instead of banning technology, we should let students use it to create in the classroom.  Technology can be used to write, research, and learn about many different topics. 
     I know it seems surprising and possibly detrimental but the use of cell phones in the classroom may be the future of teaching.  I have already heard of schools that use cell phones in some advanced classes as sort of clickers for students to buzz into their answers.  This saves the school money on buying clickers and gets the students interested in the class because they can use their cell phones (for an education reason, of course).  This has to be done with great effort though in order to prevent students from using their phones for texting or other uses.
     In my student teaching experiences, many students asked me if they could listen to their iPods while working and as much as I know this may have helped them I had to say no due to the school's policy on iPod use.  Personally, listening to music helps me relax and do my work, so why can't my students do the same thing?  There is no good answer to this.  If the students are working and learning then let them use their technology as a tool, not as a hinderance.


Summing up, technology such as the internet, phones, and iPods need to be used in the classroom instead of prohibited, as they can greatly help students learn while not being a distraction!

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Will technology replace teachers??

NO! 
     The simple idea that a computer or the internet could take over for a what a teacher does on an every day basis is just absurd.  And what is worse?  That some teachers are actually not using technology, because they are scared it will contribute to the loss of their jobs.  Teachers must realize that someone has to "teach those distance learning courses, write the curriculum, and train students to work within this format" (Blake, 14). 
     The reason we are becoming foreign language teachers is to best equip our students with the tools necessary to learn a second language.  Clearly, using technology is a major asset to their success in learning a language.  There are an infinite number of technological resources that can help students learn a second language, such as "the web, CD-ROM/DVD, and CMC" (Blake, 14). 
     We, as foreign language teachers, need to take advantage of all these resources to best help our students.  Not for a second can we believe or even worry about our own jobs.  We are there for the students, not for ourselves.  Our jobs are safe and technology will enhance our classrooms!

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

How to be safe on the world wide web!!

Students, there are many things that you need to be aware of when using the internet to be safe.  Here is a quick list of ideas to keep you safe while online:
  • Do NOT put personal information online or share information with strangers, such as your name, address, or phone number because you never know who will read it or when it will be read.
  • Do NOT install or download and software/programs that could be dangerous or harmful.
  • Do NOT click on advertisements online.
  • If you accidentally come across something that seems inappropriate leave the webpage immediately.
  • Do NOT share your passwords with anyone else, even friends.
  • Do NOT accept a gift or present from someone online; it is almost definitely a scam.
If interested, you can go to this website for more information on internet safety: safekids.com

How could I use blogs in my classroom??

There are many ways that myself or any educator could use a blog to enhance their classroom.  Firstly, a blog could be a way to communicate with parents, letting them know what is expected from their students, as well as what the daily homework assignments are.  Another way a blog could be used is to have students communicate with students from other schools, possibly ones in other countries that may speak the target language of the class.  This could potentially cover the standards: communication and culture.  Students could communicate in the target language if they are at a high enough level and could also learn about the culture of the other students through the blog.  One other way that a blog could be used is to provide students with readings online that they could read and respond to on the blog.  This would use the communication standard, because the students would be reading and writing about the topic.  There are of course many other ways that blogs could be used in the classroom but here are just a few!