My Experience Thus Far With An RSS Aggregator

Since I have a Gmail account, and use iGoogle, Blogger, and other Google-based apps, I decided to use Google Reader to consolidate my RSS feeds. I LOVE Google Reader. I am one of those people that loved to collect information. Before suscribing to Google Reader, I belonged to a few email update types of accounts. For example, I got daily news feeds from two different newspapers, The NY Times, The Miami Herald (which has better coverage of current events and elections in Central and South America). On iGoogle, I had local news piped in and a few other news sources. Google Reader is actually more functional for me. For one thing, it keeps everything in one place and doesn't add to my email pile. I can visit it when I want and it tracks what I have scanned or read and what I haven't touched. I added the required sites, and a few more related to teaching a foreign language and Spanish in particular. I've been checking feeds about every other day. Sometimes there is nothing new, unless it is RSS from a news source like the NPR Education feed. I was even able to link my Delicious bookmarks over into Google Reader.

I especially like the ability to aggregate blog subscriptions. I responded to one blog post where I learned about Tuenti, a Spanish social networking site that takes some Spanish cultural practices into account. It was fun having a response back from the blogger herself! I imagine that with practice I may find even more helpful blogs and online communities to add to my personal learning network. On a personal note, I enjoy being able to mix more personal items in Google Reader too, such as my friend Dan's blog with pics of his new baby. It's fun to see whats happening and to see pics of his little boy!

I have learned from following my feeds, even for such a short amount of time. Some of the info on the tech sites is very "technical" such as reviews of new keyboards or other hardware. I am hoping to find some sites that discuss more about the application of technology to teaching in the future. Such resources and interactions (it IS web 2.0 after all!) will really help improve and enhance my classroom teaching. I especially look forward to connecting with teachers in Spanish-speaking countries.

Here is a pic of my Google Reader Page in all of it's glory.

Learning about PC Maintenance and Security

I just viewed the 4 short videos titled "Cleaning Up and Speeding Up Your PC" from Atomic Learning Labs. I chose to view these videos because I have always relied on the tech people at work to fix things for me and I was drawn to the prospect of being able to speed up my computer. I wouldn't normally put in a tech help ticket for a slow computer until it gets unbearably slow. The information I learned in these videos is very empowering because I can use it to keep my work (and home) PC organized and cleaned up so that it runs efficiently and starts up as quickly as possible. Yea! I was already familiar with the uninstall option to get rid of programs I don't use. The Disc Cleanup utility and the Windows Cleanup utilities were completely new to me and will now become a regular, probably monthly, routine to conserve space. I am most excited about using msconfig to speed up the start up on my computers. Waiting for a computer to start up is SO frustrating when it is slow. I was surprised at how simple and available all of these applications are and was also impressed at the amount of space they saved in the video demo! I will definitely share msconfig, Windows Cleanup, and Disc Cleanup with friends and family.

Social Networking and my Personal and Professional Workflow

I have really enjoyed social networking on a "social level" so far. I have been on Facebook for over a year and really have come to enjoy it. I have reconnected with old friends, connected with friends of friends with whom I have shared interests, and had a great time with friends sharing interesting, noteworthy, funny, and nostalgic things to me on the internet.

I can only imagine the role of Facebook or other social networks for my previous secondary students. When I was their teacher they emailed each other. Now they probably Facebook each other. I text, they text, I Facebook, they Facebook. I think one of the biggest differences between the my texting and Facebooking activities and those of high school students is the amount of time doing these things! That and the speed at which we can text!

My first problem with social networking first arose with crossing personal and professional lines on Facebook. I first used Facebook for personal networking. Then, a few co-workers invited me to be their friends. I felt uncomfortable, I ignored their requests, then I opened up an alternate account to be active on a social network professionally. I'd probably do the same as a teacher.

So much has changed in the 3 years since I have been a teacher, and that's not much time! I imagine that social networking plays such a strong role in the social lives of students, that I would need to harness the powers of the tools. I imagine a Spanish Club Facebook page and a Spanish club Twitter account. Maybe even accounts for Spanish class itself so my students could show off their new skills and have fun expressing what they are learning to parents, peers and their communities.

Professionally, social networks seem to be an extraordinarily powerful tool for teachers to collaborate, share ideas, and communicate in general. In less than one week of having a LinkedIn account, a Ning account, and a Twitter account, I have been in touch with other teachers about current topics. One thing that I don't miss about being a teacher is the isolation I experienced in the classroom sometimes. Social networking is a solution to this problem. I was the only foreign language instructor in the district. I had no team members or departmental colleagues to bounce ideas off of or to learn from. I literally had to come up with departmental meeting reports with myself as the only participant! If I were to be in the same isolated situation next time around I would reach out to other foreign language teachers on the web using social networking tools. My departmental meetings would certainly be more dynamic. I could benefit from this networking and thus my students would.

What?!? Why "waste time" on a foreign language???

Wow, I was pretty blown away by a recent column in the Washington Post titled "Why Waste Time on a Foreign Langauge?". He argues that not much fluency is gained in two years of HS language courses. Who ever gave this columnist the idea that learning a second or third language is easy? At the beginning of every Spanish course that I teach I have my students answer several questions in writing. This information is between the student and I, as their teacher. It gives them an opportunity to let me know if they are shy, if they have any special needs, typical background information (Have you ever studied a foreign language?, Have you every visited a Spanish-speaking country?) and more. I always ask them to explain to me what they would like to get out of the course. I am always inspired by their answers to this question. They are driven, they want to learn, they are excited at the prospect of being able to communicate in Spanish. Often they respond with statements like "I want to be fluent.", "I want to be able to hold a conversation." and other ambitious goals. I work hard to design my course to help them reach their goals, but what people often don't realize is that learning another language is a lot of work! Of course people aren't "fluent" in two years! As a Spanish teacher I am continually working on my fluency. In fact, I usually opt to say that I am "proficient" in Spanish instead of fluent. To me fluency comes to one after years of study and immersion into the language for several years. My aunt, who came from Greece to Michigan 25 years ago is fluent in English, but she is still learning. And to be honest, I learn more about English daily! I was happy to see Language Magazine's staffer, Kate Sommers-Dawes response to the article in a letter to the editor. I appreciate her much more eloquent response! :-)

The difference between a traditional web page and a blog...

is huge!  Before I went through Session 1 of CEP 810 I didn't really have a sound understanding of what Web 2.0 even meant.  I knew it was a more "evolved" Internet and that President Obama was credited with harnessing it's powers during the last presidential election.  Now, I see that web 2.0 is a new era of the Internet where people can interact with each other more readily.  A traditional web page is more static.  A blog is more dynamic.  Anyone can create one to share personal or professional interests.  I web page can do that too.  But a blog allows for interactions between the blogger and their blogging friends and even non-blogging followers.  Bloggers can quote, link and share their ideas.  In the realm of education, students can do the same.  The blog opens up their classroom to input from literally around the world among different mentors, age groups, demographics, languages, and more.  In a traditional web page, a user may browse.  In a blog, a follower shares and interacts.  It's alive!