In the past 8 days of class, I feel as though I have learned so much and honed skills in many programs that I had been familiar with before the course. Although my head was spinning a bit at times, I feel as though I have been introduced to so many new things that I can really integrate into my class. The top things that comes to mind are podcasts, blogs, universal design, GoogleDocs, GoogleBookmarks, and open-source software.
I really appreciated the project for this course. Since I had already had something in mind for adding technology for next year, I was able to use my idea (portfolio blogs) and build it based on what we learned in class. I liked how open-ended it was to design for something that I would really use in my classroom, not requiring us to use webquests (which I would be less likely to use in my class) but yet orienting us to how to use a variety of programs.
If I'm honest, I have not always been a teacher who integrated lots of technology into my classroom. Part of this is because I am teaching a foreign language, and my teaching is based on very basic communication. So many of the things that educators take for granted at higher grades (e.g. "Okay, kids, write down some ideas you have about this topic" or "Read this authentic website") simply won't work in my classroom because my students' vocabulary is very limited. However, being introduced to some new elements of technology has helped me think that I really can use technology in my classroom to enhance communication and apply real-life situations.
In the future, I am absolutely going to use my CIP idea of portfolio blogs in my 7th grade class. I am confident this will help them develop their reading and writing skills, two things that are rather hard to motivate middle schoolers to practice in authentic situations that won't make them look silly. I am excited to use Prezi instead of PowerPoint to mix things up in my lessons that require more visuals to support understanding of the new vocabulary. As I progress, I would like to find more ways to allow students to use technology at their appropriate level of language ability.
One issue that I am still figuring out how to deal with is how easy it is when students use the internet to just click a button and translate entire web pages or translate their own words into Spanish without actually applying what they have learned in class. I see a value in GoogleTranslate (although I never use it myself; I prefer using online dictionaries, not rote translation), but I want my students to be able to communicate without needing to rely on technology to express themselves. But then I open my email in Spanish and see Google's helpful offer to translate everything into English for me and wonder about what my students would do in a similar situation. How can I train them to see technology as a language resource but not as a crutch? This will certainly be an issue that comes up as students use their personal laptops more in my class.
jueves, 28 de junio de 2012
martes, 26 de junio de 2012
External Blog #3
On http://blog.web20classroom.org/2012/06/power-of-lurker.html -- posted as Emily619:
"This is a valuable message for those who are a bit nervous or unsure about blogs, social media, etc. I believe that many who are unfamiliar with these sites may become more open to engaging if they just started by listening in. I appreciate your comment --
Certainly, we hope that those who are introduced to these new technologies will not just want to be lurkers, that at some point they will want to engage in discussions and add their perspective to the many voices. This is, after all, what makes internet technology such a powerful tool: the ability to speak and be heard, and to listen and learn in a multicultural and diverse community that stretches around the globe. Who couldn't help but be swept up in something as exciting as that?!"
"This is a valuable message for those who are a bit nervous or unsure about blogs, social media, etc. I believe that many who are unfamiliar with these sites may become more open to engaging if they just started by listening in. I appreciate your comment --
"Many say to me they find value in lurking and searching. But the true value was when they took that next step and signed up and added their voice to the conversation. I didn't have to push. They discovered that on their own."
lunes, 25 de junio de 2012
External Post #2
On http://www.teach42.com/2012/04/16/are-your-children-on-facebook/ -- posted as Emily 619.
""Th real problems hit when kids feel like they have to hide their actions from their parents. Because then when something goes wrong, they feel they have to hide that as well."
Thanks for this comment. I think there is reason to keep young children off facebook, but some of our obsessions about bullying and safety are sometimes a screen. As a teacher, I have had conversations with my students about what is appropriate to post online and what is inadvisable. I have talked to them about why it is important to choose friends (yes, even the online kind) wisely and control what kinds of comments are associated with you and your name.
Excessive fear that results in autocratic "No you can't do that" pronouncements are seldom effective long-term. I wonder how many of the parents who said their under-13-year-old doesn't have facebook have actually talked to their children about appropriate online behavior. I also cynically wonder how many of their kids actually *do* have facebook, but Mom and Dad just don't know . . ."
""Th real problems hit when kids feel like they have to hide their actions from their parents. Because then when something goes wrong, they feel they have to hide that as well."
Thanks for this comment. I think there is reason to keep young children off facebook, but some of our obsessions about bullying and safety are sometimes a screen. As a teacher, I have had conversations with my students about what is appropriate to post online and what is inadvisable. I have talked to them about why it is important to choose friends (yes, even the online kind) wisely and control what kinds of comments are associated with you and your name.
Excessive fear that results in autocratic "No you can't do that" pronouncements are seldom effective long-term. I wonder how many of the parents who said their under-13-year-old doesn't have facebook have actually talked to their children about appropriate online behavior. I also cynically wonder how many of their kids actually *do* have facebook, but Mom and Dad just don't know . . ."
External Post #1
On http://theedublogger.com/2012/06/13/no-more-memorizing-in-schools-yes-really/ -- posted as Emily619.
"At first glance, this thought seems very out of place. There is so much memorization and regurgitation in education that it is hard to imagine a world where we as teachers would be not be allowed to test basic facts.
However, it was helpful to think of the example in the original post of using calculators on standardized tests. Contrary to fears that calculators would not allow tests to measure student knowledge, they actually allowed students to answer questions that dipped deeper into math than just x+y=4.
Certainly, in my own life, I use technology frequently to check facts, to look up words I am uncertain about, and to learn more about topics that interest me. But I would have to admit that if my students could access basic facts during tests, I would need to build more higher-level thinking into my class and especially into my evaluations.
That doesn't seem like a bad thing, at all."
"At first glance, this thought seems very out of place. There is so much memorization and regurgitation in education that it is hard to imagine a world where we as teachers would be not be allowed to test basic facts.
However, it was helpful to think of the example in the original post of using calculators on standardized tests. Contrary to fears that calculators would not allow tests to measure student knowledge, they actually allowed students to answer questions that dipped deeper into math than just x+y=4.
Certainly, in my own life, I use technology frequently to check facts, to look up words I am uncertain about, and to learn more about topics that interest me. But I would have to admit that if my students could access basic facts during tests, I would need to build more higher-level thinking into my class and especially into my evaluations.
That doesn't seem like a bad thing, at all."
Blog #2: Curriculum Integration Project
My CIP will be based on students blogging in order to practice their Spanish skills in reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Students will blog at various times throughout the semester and post a podcast of themselves speaking in Spanish for other students to listen to and comment on. These skills are ones that are essential to developing their fluency in Spanish, and by using a blog, students will be able to develop real-life application of blogging as a way to communicate with others.
For my CIP, I will use my already-created curriculum for 7th grade and add an extra layer of a blogging unit that will last through a whole semester. Depending on how the blogging goes, I will decide whether to continue using it during the second semester as well. By creating a unit on blogs, I hope to learn more about ways to practically allow my students to develop their language skills. It has been my goal to integrate more technology into my classroom, and this would be a perfect way to integrate meaningful technology into my Spanish classroom.
In 7th grade, students learn specific skills about ordering food at a restaurant, describing Christmas celebrations in different Spanish-speaking countries, and study the Solar System. By adding blogging to the course, I know that my students will have an extra opportunity to practice writing, reading, speaking, and listening skills in a creative and communicative way. This will positively support my current curricular and standards-based objectives, as well as integrating skills and experience with online technologies of blogging. I can use my own class blog to model skills and etiquette related to blogging for my students, thereby fulfilling NET-T standards, too.
Applicable Standards to my CIP
METS
For my CIP, I will use my already-created curriculum for 7th grade and add an extra layer of a blogging unit that will last through a whole semester. Depending on how the blogging goes, I will decide whether to continue using it during the second semester as well. By creating a unit on blogs, I hope to learn more about ways to practically allow my students to develop their language skills. It has been my goal to integrate more technology into my classroom, and this would be a perfect way to integrate meaningful technology into my Spanish classroom.
In 7th grade, students learn specific skills about ordering food at a restaurant, describing Christmas celebrations in different Spanish-speaking countries, and study the Solar System. By adding blogging to the course, I know that my students will have an extra opportunity to practice writing, reading, speaking, and listening skills in a creative and communicative way. This will positively support my current curricular and standards-based objectives, as well as integrating skills and experience with online technologies of blogging. I can use my own class blog to model skills and etiquette related to blogging for my students, thereby fulfilling NET-T standards, too.
Applicable Standards to my CIP
METS
6-8.CI.2. create an original project (e.g., presentation, web page, newsletter, information brochure) using a variety of media (e.g., animations, graphs, charts, audio, graphics, video) to present content information to an audience
6-8.CC.1. use digital resources (e.g., discussion groups, blogs, podcasts, videoconferences, Moodle, Blackboard) to collaborate with peers, experts, and other audiences
6-8.CC.2. use collaborative digital tools to explore common curriculum content with learners from other cultures
National Standards for Foreign Language Education
Standard 1.1: Students engage in conversations, provide and obtain information, express feelings and emotions, and exchange opinions
Standard 1.3: Students present information, concepts, and ideas to an audience of listeners or readers on a variety of topics.
Standard 5.2: Students show evidence of becoming life-long learners by using the language for personal enjoyment and enrichment.
lunes, 18 de junio de 2012
Blog Entry #1: General Thoughts on Educational Technology
Welcome to my blog!
EDT 619 is one of my first classes in the Ed Tech program. I am looking forward to learning a lot of basic information that will make the rest of my studies much easier as I progress in the program. I hope to learn more about integrating technology into my classroom in a way that really helps my students learn better and helps me teach more effectively. Even small lessons related to Google searches and practice with blogging can help me be a better teacher.
Since I teach Spanish from 1st-8th grades, I have diverse ways that I have tried to integrate technology into my classroom. I use programs like PowerPoint, Word, and iTunes extensively in planning and presenting for my classes. I enjoy using YouTube for music and audio, since there is lots of Spanish-related content online. One cool tool I utilized a couple years ago was Mi Vida Loca, by the BBC. Outside of my classroom, I use facebook, GoogleDocs, Gmail, Skype, and blogging as daily ways to keep in touch with friends and family, as well as to keep myself organized.
I would definitely want to use the Technology Integration Project as a way to enhance one or more of my classes. I write my own curriculum, so I would want to find something in my own curriculum that I could improve through adding technology. One goal that I had for next year with my middle schoolers (part of the 1-to-1 laptops initiative) was to have them create blogs for class. On their blogs, they could give examples of what we are studying in class and respond to each others' work. I know this could really help them develop their reading and writing skills in Spanish, and that it would motivate them to think about Spanish as a way to express themselves.
I see myriad of ways to incorporate what we are studying here into my own classroom. I am always looking for ways to make my classroom more effective and more engaging. By using technology, I can see that students are often more motivated, and I can be teaching them valuable technology literacy skills that they can use outside the classroom. It's important that what I am doing inside my classroom is relevant to real life (it's one of the main goals of foreign language teaching), and technology is one great way to do that.
EDT 619 is one of my first classes in the Ed Tech program. I am looking forward to learning a lot of basic information that will make the rest of my studies much easier as I progress in the program. I hope to learn more about integrating technology into my classroom in a way that really helps my students learn better and helps me teach more effectively. Even small lessons related to Google searches and practice with blogging can help me be a better teacher.
Since I teach Spanish from 1st-8th grades, I have diverse ways that I have tried to integrate technology into my classroom. I use programs like PowerPoint, Word, and iTunes extensively in planning and presenting for my classes. I enjoy using YouTube for music and audio, since there is lots of Spanish-related content online. One cool tool I utilized a couple years ago was Mi Vida Loca, by the BBC. Outside of my classroom, I use facebook, GoogleDocs, Gmail, Skype, and blogging as daily ways to keep in touch with friends and family, as well as to keep myself organized.
I would definitely want to use the Technology Integration Project as a way to enhance one or more of my classes. I write my own curriculum, so I would want to find something in my own curriculum that I could improve through adding technology. One goal that I had for next year with my middle schoolers (part of the 1-to-1 laptops initiative) was to have them create blogs for class. On their blogs, they could give examples of what we are studying in class and respond to each others' work. I know this could really help them develop their reading and writing skills in Spanish, and that it would motivate them to think about Spanish as a way to express themselves.
I see myriad of ways to incorporate what we are studying here into my own classroom. I am always looking for ways to make my classroom more effective and more engaging. By using technology, I can see that students are often more motivated, and I can be teaching them valuable technology literacy skills that they can use outside the classroom. It's important that what I am doing inside my classroom is relevant to real life (it's one of the main goals of foreign language teaching), and technology is one great way to do that.
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