Tuesday, March 29, 2011
CEP 810 Personal Learning Reflection
My experience in CEP 810 was very timely! Before I took this course, I had an “idea” of what Web 2.0 was, but really didn’t understand the concept and its consequences fully. So not only do I have a much more solid understanding of the opportunities in education offered by Web 2.0, but I have explored many of these tools within the context of my teaching.
When I looked back at my personal learning goals, I planned on a) learning about and practicing new technology, b) to consider how it might be useful in all aspects of the foreign language teaching methods I have learned and used, and c) to make a point to use what works for me as an educator. I believe that I have achieved these goals as a learner.
My learning grew largely through simply exploring new applications through labs and then applying them to my subject through sharing assignments. I really took advantage of the Atomic Learning Labs tutorials, and I am a huge fan of the topics in “Plain English” created by Lee and Sachi LeFever of the Common Craft Show. I shared several of their tutorials and will probably seek them out again and again as I learn new technologies.
One small regret that I had was not choosing Wikis for the group work project. I was really excited about the potential to use them, that is, once I learned what they were from the project my peers did! Google Earth was an interesting project to work on as well, but I really see a lot of use for Wikis in my teaching future. I was happy to have the opportunity to learn from others in the class.
Some things I learned about effective teaching strategies when integrating technology is to slooooowwww down and really evaluate the tool, perhaps by looking at the learner, the subject, the teacher, and the context, like we did in our group projects. Some tools will have value in one area but not in others, and thus decisions will need to be made about what tools are worth the time investment to pursue. For example, Google Earth was excellent for students, and some content, but not really for connecting teachers. Thus, if I really felt that I needed to connect with more teachers in my personal learning network, Google Earth would not be the tool to do so.
The assignment that I felt really exemplified good teaching with technology was my Personal Learning Plan. I hesitate to say this, because it was a very “one-way” presentation type of product. Also, I had issues with the timing in the presentation and the slides were not moving forward very well with my speaking. Still, I was proud of the presentation and the use of technology. One goal I have for the future is to create robust grammar presentations with this tool that I can share on my future school’s CMS, Merlot, Wikis, etc. I need to learn more about making these presentations interactive so learners can self-assess. And, I’d like to check out Lynda (the tool my instructor mentioned that is available to MSU staff!).
Overall, I do believe I met my established goals in my Personal Growth Plan in this course. I gained much more than I outlined in my goals however and my students will benefit from it. I do have some new goals. I’d like to continue reflecting on my personal learning network and check in to make sure it is healthy and effective. I’d also like to continue to learn more about some specific tools we covered, such as Wikis, blogging, and Google Docs. I’d like to take the time to create Spanish learning tools to share as well. And, I plan to model appropriate referencing of copyrighted materials and to use and contribute to Creative Commons. I plan to continue my learning through CEP 811 and 812. Long term goals include teaching in the high school classroom again and putting my learning into practice! From there I will be able to self-reflect and establish new goals.
Many thanks to my peers and instructor for helping to make this learning experience so enjoyable and empowering!
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Share Activity for CEP 811
Hola,
I'm a fan of the MERLOT concept and the website full of so many wonderful peer reviewed materials. I think it is a great place to share and hope to add some of my activities in the future that could be helpful to Spanish teachers. After spending quite a bit of time searching through the Spanish language activities I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed. I was hoping for more than simply a digital textbook or workbook activities or PowerPoint presentations. I searched for animations and fun grammar games but didn't find much. What I did find were several digital textbook type activities, and some cultural presentations that might or might not fit into my curriculum. I think culture is easier to teach than complex grammar so I wasn't very interested in those lessons. One subject that is always difficult for English speakers learning Spanish is the use of the subjunctive tense. I found one activity that was promising based on Juan Luis Guerra's song Ojala Que Llueva Cafe. (I hope it rains coffee).
Quality of Content
The quality of content of this tutorial is high. The use of the subjunctive in the song is prolific, and it will be fun to connect a hip song to the use of this grammar. The song models the concept throughout, and the website follows through with example after example of the subjunctive being used throughout this Dominican song. Further, the website puts the song into the context of life and culture in the Dominican Republic, so it integrates the grammar into the lifestyle of this island nation which is a plus. The tutorial is educationally significant, playing on the concept of the present subjunctive, modeling it, and providing exercise activities.
Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching-Learning Tool
1. The materials should be used as review and practice of the present subjunctive, not as an introduction to the concept. It will be best used as reinforcement and to help students understand the real-life usage of mastering subjunctive skills. The tutorial lacks a basic explanation of how and when to use the subjunctive tense, but it does include practice, demonstration of the use of the subjunctive which is the focus of the materials.
2. The teaching and learning goals were not specifically stated, but from what I see in the tutorial, the main goal is to practice the use of the present subjunctive by listening to the song and finding the subjunctive verbs, experiencing Dominican culture, and practicing the subjunctive through drills within the context of the song and the culture of the Dominican Republic. It would seem that the students should be able to recognize the use of the subjunctive in the song, apply the correct form of the subjunctive when provided questions or statements, utilize vocabulary in context, appreciate the use of the subjunctive as a tool in Spanish language, utilize the subjunctive within the context of specific Dominican situations.
3. The tutorial specificially says that it is "especially appropriate for introducing and practicing the present subjunctive mood of Spanish". I disagree that it is appropriate for introducing the present subjunctive however I believe it would be good for practice and review,especially in a lab setting where students could work on their own or in pairs. If I were to use it as an introduction, I would use an LCD projector to bring up the tutorial and go through the song which highlights the subjunctive tenses and guide my entire classroom of students to deduce what the rules of grammar are for this tense. Since the subjunctive is so difficult for learners to grasp (we generally don't use this tense in English), I believe there are more effective ways to introduce this traditionally problematic topic. Indeed, the subjunctive is a concept for which Spanish teachers anticipate confusion and frustration on the part of students. We do what we can to ease their stress so they can learn!
I do believe this is a helpful tutorial for practice, and thus it can improve faculty ability to teach the subjunctive by providing a solid example of the use of the subjunctive in daily life and pop culture. It can also help students learn by seeing and experiencing real life use of the subjunctive in daily life and pop culture. The tutorial can readily be integrated into curriculum and pedagogy within the Spanish curriculum. Since it is often difficult to find a Spanish substitute-teacher, if the timing was right within the course schedule this would be a great sub-day activity. The tutorial can be visited and revisited for practice, the variety of ways to use it is limited to the 5 or 6 tabs presented. Quality learning assignments can be easily written using this tutorial. Teachers can expand on the tutorial and create new instructions and activities. A nice feature is that students can actually input their teacher’s email and send them their work directly.
Ease of Use
The tutorial is extremely easy to use. The layout is simple and intuitive, buttons and text are clear. Users do not get lost or trapped into the site. The practice activities provide immediate feedback (correct, incorrect, and check your answers). The tutorial is flexible, students can jump around between tabs and begin where they wish or review when they need. There is little need for technical support or instruction, students and teachers can simply enter and explore within the tutorial. The material should look familiar to students, it looks like a professional website with tabs and clearly marked buttons and links. I believe it would be attractive to students because it has many places to explore, such as links to vocabulary in the song. It is also very tidy and neat. This site is not busy at all. Teachers would find it appealing for the same reasons. Overall I do believe this is a tool that I would use as a teacher as a review/reinforcement activity. It would be a fun homework activity and a break from the textbook/workbook activities.
I'm a fan of the MERLOT concept and the website full of so many wonderful peer reviewed materials. I think it is a great place to share and hope to add some of my activities in the future that could be helpful to Spanish teachers. After spending quite a bit of time searching through the Spanish language activities I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed. I was hoping for more than simply a digital textbook or workbook activities or PowerPoint presentations. I searched for animations and fun grammar games but didn't find much. What I did find were several digital textbook type activities, and some cultural presentations that might or might not fit into my curriculum. I think culture is easier to teach than complex grammar so I wasn't very interested in those lessons. One subject that is always difficult for English speakers learning Spanish is the use of the subjunctive tense. I found one activity that was promising based on Juan Luis Guerra's song Ojala Que Llueva Cafe. (I hope it rains coffee).
Quality of Content
The quality of content of this tutorial is high. The use of the subjunctive in the song is prolific, and it will be fun to connect a hip song to the use of this grammar. The song models the concept throughout, and the website follows through with example after example of the subjunctive being used throughout this Dominican song. Further, the website puts the song into the context of life and culture in the Dominican Republic, so it integrates the grammar into the lifestyle of this island nation which is a plus. The tutorial is educationally significant, playing on the concept of the present subjunctive, modeling it, and providing exercise activities.
Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching-Learning Tool
1. The materials should be used as review and practice of the present subjunctive, not as an introduction to the concept. It will be best used as reinforcement and to help students understand the real-life usage of mastering subjunctive skills. The tutorial lacks a basic explanation of how and when to use the subjunctive tense, but it does include practice, demonstration of the use of the subjunctive which is the focus of the materials.
2. The teaching and learning goals were not specifically stated, but from what I see in the tutorial, the main goal is to practice the use of the present subjunctive by listening to the song and finding the subjunctive verbs, experiencing Dominican culture, and practicing the subjunctive through drills within the context of the song and the culture of the Dominican Republic. It would seem that the students should be able to recognize the use of the subjunctive in the song, apply the correct form of the subjunctive when provided questions or statements, utilize vocabulary in context, appreciate the use of the subjunctive as a tool in Spanish language, utilize the subjunctive within the context of specific Dominican situations.
3. The tutorial specificially says that it is "especially appropriate for introducing and practicing the present subjunctive mood of Spanish". I disagree that it is appropriate for introducing the present subjunctive however I believe it would be good for practice and review,especially in a lab setting where students could work on their own or in pairs. If I were to use it as an introduction, I would use an LCD projector to bring up the tutorial and go through the song which highlights the subjunctive tenses and guide my entire classroom of students to deduce what the rules of grammar are for this tense. Since the subjunctive is so difficult for learners to grasp (we generally don't use this tense in English), I believe there are more effective ways to introduce this traditionally problematic topic. Indeed, the subjunctive is a concept for which Spanish teachers anticipate confusion and frustration on the part of students. We do what we can to ease their stress so they can learn!
I do believe this is a helpful tutorial for practice, and thus it can improve faculty ability to teach the subjunctive by providing a solid example of the use of the subjunctive in daily life and pop culture. It can also help students learn by seeing and experiencing real life use of the subjunctive in daily life and pop culture. The tutorial can readily be integrated into curriculum and pedagogy within the Spanish curriculum. Since it is often difficult to find a Spanish substitute-teacher, if the timing was right within the course schedule this would be a great sub-day activity. The tutorial can be visited and revisited for practice, the variety of ways to use it is limited to the 5 or 6 tabs presented. Quality learning assignments can be easily written using this tutorial. Teachers can expand on the tutorial and create new instructions and activities. A nice feature is that students can actually input their teacher’s email and send them their work directly.
Ease of Use
The tutorial is extremely easy to use. The layout is simple and intuitive, buttons and text are clear. Users do not get lost or trapped into the site. The practice activities provide immediate feedback (correct, incorrect, and check your answers). The tutorial is flexible, students can jump around between tabs and begin where they wish or review when they need. There is little need for technical support or instruction, students and teachers can simply enter and explore within the tutorial. The material should look familiar to students, it looks like a professional website with tabs and clearly marked buttons and links. I believe it would be attractive to students because it has many places to explore, such as links to vocabulary in the song. It is also very tidy and neat. This site is not busy at all. Teachers would find it appealing for the same reasons. Overall I do believe this is a tool that I would use as a teacher as a review/reinforcement activity. It would be a fun homework activity and a break from the textbook/workbook activities.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
My Personal Learning Style
I remember studying for Spanish final exams in high school vividly. I laid on my belly on the floor of my bedroom and wrote, and rewrote the rules of grammar and vocabulary words. (Over and over and over...) later I learned more about learning styles and realized that I am generally a tactile/kinesthetic learner. As I look back, I see that when kinesthetic opportunities were not presented to me, I made them up! For example, with Spanish vocabulary, I used to walk around the house, touching items and saying the Spanish word aloud. "Mesa" (Table), "silla" (chair), "naranja" (orange), etc. In college, I had many large courses in auditoriums with 500 students. I didn't mind these, as long as the professor was a great lecturer, and had good pics. I never felt the need to sit in the front, and was a little offended when people assumed that the person in the way back, sitting comfortably was not paying attention. I really enjoyed sitting back and taking everything in during these large lectuers. Of course, in my Spanish courses, we had classroom caps at 20 and one HAD to participate to earn a grade, so maybe I just liked being a number for once! :-)
The worst case scenario for me was just listening. If there were no pictures or charts to supplement the lecture it was very difficult for me. I can't get through a lecture today without taking extensive notes. I can't get though a meeting at work without taking extensive notes. They are a way that I keep my hands busy and seeing the words makes concepts more tangible for me.
As an educator, I always try to plan auditory, visual and kinesthetic activities into EVERY class. Usually the subject I teach allows for this. My students are up and moving around talking, playing, listening, speaking, and creating. One activity I am particularily proud of is a "Cranium" game I made as a test review for my high school classroom. I modeled it after the popular game using the grammar concepts and vocabulary for the chapter. Categories included different "Pictionary" types of activities, straight "Trivia/facts", and art activities. This really was challenging and new for the students. For example, one student drew the "Creative Cat" card which required him to show "Hace viento" (It's windy) using modeling clay. He sculpted a tree and bent the branches in one direction. The students on his team were bouncing up and down yelling "Hace viento!, Hace viento!". We played that game for 2 days straight and the students were engaged, learning, and having fun. The test scores were excellent, including the speaking part of the test. Of course, making several copies of this game took an enormous amount of time. I couldn't do it for each chapter, but I could modify different activities for daily use. I felt like the game was a good compromise for all types of learners at the time, but I felt good that my kinesthetic kids were able to actually move around and use visuals and their hands.
One of the reasons that I LOVE teaching a language is because you can really be creative in lesson planning. Games and activities are so effective, and just about anything that encourages spontaneous use of the target language is beneficial rather than drill, repeat, drill, repeat. I can't imagine doing a fashion show in biology class. Maybe some skits though? I am imagining the instructions: "Act out a cellular process". I would have loved that!
The worst case scenario for me was just listening. If there were no pictures or charts to supplement the lecture it was very difficult for me. I can't get through a lecture today without taking extensive notes. I can't get though a meeting at work without taking extensive notes. They are a way that I keep my hands busy and seeing the words makes concepts more tangible for me.
As an educator, I always try to plan auditory, visual and kinesthetic activities into EVERY class. Usually the subject I teach allows for this. My students are up and moving around talking, playing, listening, speaking, and creating. One activity I am particularily proud of is a "Cranium" game I made as a test review for my high school classroom. I modeled it after the popular game using the grammar concepts and vocabulary for the chapter. Categories included different "Pictionary" types of activities, straight "Trivia/facts", and art activities. This really was challenging and new for the students. For example, one student drew the "Creative Cat" card which required him to show "Hace viento" (It's windy) using modeling clay. He sculpted a tree and bent the branches in one direction. The students on his team were bouncing up and down yelling "Hace viento!, Hace viento!". We played that game for 2 days straight and the students were engaged, learning, and having fun. The test scores were excellent, including the speaking part of the test. Of course, making several copies of this game took an enormous amount of time. I couldn't do it for each chapter, but I could modify different activities for daily use. I felt like the game was a good compromise for all types of learners at the time, but I felt good that my kinesthetic kids were able to actually move around and use visuals and their hands.
One of the reasons that I LOVE teaching a language is because you can really be creative in lesson planning. Games and activities are so effective, and just about anything that encourages spontaneous use of the target language is beneficial rather than drill, repeat, drill, repeat. I can't imagine doing a fashion show in biology class. Maybe some skits though? I am imagining the instructions: "Act out a cellular process". I would have loved that!
Using Images in the Spanish Classroom
As a Spanish teacher I rely on images in the classroom daily. I have created memory games, board games, and many, MANY activities utilizing photos and pictures. One of my classroom management techniques is to have an activity waiting for my students when they walk in the room. We call it Trabajo de la Pizarra, (Board work). This is basically an activity on the projector that asks the students to complete an individual activity in a notebook that I collect at the end of the week. The activities include review from previous lessons or primers to get them thinking about the lesson for the day. I use pictures and photos in board work constantly. I have used my own but also many from the web. I like the free items available from Microsoft, but Flicker has MUCH more to offer a Spanish teacher and classroom. We can rely on other people's travels to enhance our classroom! An example is this picture here of Tikal, some wonderful Mayan ruins in Guatemala.
Original Image: Tikal Mayan Ruins 2009
http://search.creativecommons.org/?q=amazon&sourceid=Mozilla-search
By: chensiyuan
Released under an Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share-Alike Liscense
License URL: http://search.creativecommons.org/?q=amazon&sourceid=Mozilla-search
On another note, I LOVE my new Flicker account! I like that I can hold pictures there and make them completely private, OR make them available to friends and family, OR make them public. On a personal note, with a baby on the way I can see my husband and I using Flicker to share baby photos more privately than Facebook using Flicker. I started to practice uploading photos of my first "child", our dog Winnie. :-)
Original Image: Sleeping Beauty 2
http://www.flickr.com/photos/k_raphael/5519890352/?edited=1
By: K_Raphael
Released under an Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share-Alike Liscense
License URL: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/
I have dozens of my own photos that I think other Spanish teachers might enjoy but I never posted them to the web for fear of what would become of them. With using a Creative Commons license is really a great tool for educators to share. It's free and easy! Creative Commons is truly a gem of Web 2.0.
Tikal Mayan Ruins 2009Original Image: Tikal Mayan Ruins 2009
http://search.creativecommons.org/?q=amazon&sourceid=Mozilla-search
By: chensiyuan
Released under an Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share-Alike Liscense
License URL: http://search.creativecommons.org/?q=amazon&sourceid=Mozilla-search
On another note, I LOVE my new Flicker account! I like that I can hold pictures there and make them completely private, OR make them available to friends and family, OR make them public. On a personal note, with a baby on the way I can see my husband and I using Flicker to share baby photos more privately than Facebook using Flicker. I started to practice uploading photos of my first "child", our dog Winnie. :-)
Sleeping Beauty 2Original Image: Sleeping Beauty 2
http://www.flickr.com/photos/k_raphael/5519890352/?edited=1
By: K_Raphael
Released under an Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share-Alike Liscense
License URL: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/
I have dozens of my own photos that I think other Spanish teachers might enjoy but I never posted them to the web for fear of what would become of them. With using a Creative Commons license is really a great tool for educators to share. It's free and easy! Creative Commons is truly a gem of Web 2.0.
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