Friday, May 27, 2011
Group Leadership Project - Part A Reflection
Our group met at 4:30 on May 24 using WebHuddle. All group members made a great attempt to be present and participate fully in the session, but due to technical difficulties, some were hindered. One member was able to log in but could not see anything. She ended up calling me and really helped by writing notes and posting our plan onto Google docs for us to work with in the future. Unfortunately, another group member was abruptly booted out of the session, or so it appeared. Near the end of the meeting, he was suddenly unable to see anything but gray boxes. It was quite frustrating for me as the moderator. My group is excellent, and we pulled through. I felt responsible, as the moderator, for troubleshooting the problems and I was unable to really help. I am still unable to provide my peers with a link to post in their blogs for their assignments. Overall, using Webhuddle made me feel helpless as I had so very few tools to troubleshoot, but proud of my group as we persevered and actually worked together to brainstorm. I also felt responsible because I selected WebHuddle in the first place, so I feel guilty! The only advantage of using WebHuddle for us is that it was free. We were unable to share a workspace or microphones, or practice any of the other tools the application is supposed to offer. The technology was a bust, but we all had a good sense of humor about the situation and got through what we needed to get done. I don't think I would ever try WebHuddle again unless I had a friend who loved the application and was very experienced with it sitting right by my side! I would not want to ever subject my peers or students to the frustration of this application again.
Wicked Problem Project - Part B
In thinking about my Wicked Problem Project, I find it easiest to begin with the PC portion of the model, the pedagogical choices and the content. As stated in Part A of the project, I described my desire to use vodcasts to have students have authentic language exchanges via the web. I’d prefer to have students share conversations with students from a different country and I mentioned that I’d like to hook-up with students or a class at a technical college in a Spanish-speaking country. I used to live in Costa Rica and studied at a sustainable agricultural college ( I did a dual major- Spanish, Agriscience) and tutored English as a volunteer. The English instructor is still teaching at the college and I figured she would be a first contact in networking. Costa Rican Spanish is quite clear and the time-zone difference isn’t a huge issue. At the same time, I’d like my students to have some ownership of the project, and if they have the option of finding a speaking-partner then they would be more likely to stick with it. I have decided to use the Costa Rica connection as a back-up. Also, since there are so many Spanish-speaker’s in Michigan (and the US) I would also accept vodcast conversations that are more local. This vodcast activity is replacing a face-to-face activity where my students meet a native speaker and basically report back to me (honor system!) that they have had a conversation. Pedagogically, I would like to incorporate more of the course content into the project by giving students talking points that I’d like them to discuss, much like we do for journals (which are going to become blogs by the way!). For instance, in Conversational Spanish 101, students learn how to introduce themselves, say where they are from, ask how the other person is, describe their state of being (good, bad, so-so) etc. This is much simpler language than chapter 4 which provides grammar and vocabulary that enables students to describe their work or school schedules, or another chapter where they learn to describe and discuss their friends and families. So basically, the PC knowledge will be based on the progression of the course. Using vodcasts for each chapter, I’d like to incorporate several more conversations per semester so students get the authentic language experience more often as a practice activity rather than as a final course summary activity. I can’t wait to see how this goes!
The TC, technology-content, knowledge needed by students needs to be at a level that allows them to focus on the assignment, not the technology. They will be so nervous anyway, that having to worry about troubleshooting technology errors and issues will be harmful. Also, the institution I work for might provide tech support, but the Spanish-speaking user’s will not have access to these services. Thus, the technology has to support the activity as smoothly as possible. I am currently learning towards using Skype for this project. I have used Skype to chat, but never with video chatting and I have never recorded anything. Skype is free and so many people use it that perhaps it is big enough and established enough to have better support. One other positive is that I think having the option to both write and speak might be helpful in the conversation. It is common and perfectly legitimate for people practicing conversations to ask someone to write down the word they are saying as they might not be able to hear the word clearly due to pronunciation, etc. In a face-to-face setting, people just jot words down on paper. Having the chat along with the video would enable these channels of communication to exist, synchronously. Students can listen, respond, read lips and body language, and share new vocabulary/double check with written language. The extra-benefit of doing this activity digitally is that students can go back and review the conversation to practice listening. Not only that, they can SEE and HEAR their progress which is such an inspiration!
The TP, technology-pedagogy, I am trying to enable with this project is to provide authentic language exchanges without the burden of a delay. After experiencing a lot of trouble using WebHuddle, I am really evaluating the technology tools I’d like to use for this project. I plan to contact the Lansing Community College tech support to see if they support any free videoconferencing software. This way, the videoconferencing could be real time and more authentic than shared screencasts which provide accessibility, but also the burden of a delay in language use. The shared screen-casts would be a last resort. I am really seeking to replace a face-to-face conversation that puts my students in the Spanish “survival” hot seat. I’ll do my best to reassure them that they can pause and will encourage them to just do their best! Adults have such a hard time making mistakes sometimes which is one of the reasons young children are said to pick up second languages more easily.
Webconferencing Blog Post - Reflection
Wow! WebHuddle was quite an experience for Team Highschool. I am very grateful that our group members are so flexible and patient. I usually use Adobe Connect (through MSU) or Skype for webinars, but decided to try WebHuddle as an experiment for this assignment as we need to stretch ourselves and technology use. I chose WebHuddle for a few reasons. First, nobody had any suggestions or preferences, second, it looked easy enough to use! I went in, created an account, and uploaded PowerPoint Slides with the project requirements for both Part A, Part B, and the final project. I invited everyone to the webinar (this past Tuesday, May 24, at 4:30 PM- we decided on this time with a Doodle Poll). I played around with changing user rights from moderator to participant, and tested my microphone. I went through the two tutorials, which really are simply demonstrations of recorded meetings and not much more. I figured we were all set and I got into the meeting at 4:25 to begin the meeting. That's when things began to go downhill.
The first person to appear was Shannon. We had some time to play with microphone settings while we waited for others. We mainly communicated using the chat feature until she could hear me speak. I tried giving her microphone rights and the buttons to do so simply didn't work. I felt awkward being the only speaker, and it was kind of strange to communicate verbally and in writing, but that is simply what we had to do at the moment. Scott Hudson come in second and we updated him on the situation via chat and I spoke. We decided to begin without Sami as about 10 minutes had passed, so we went through the PowerPoints with the assignments and began to brainstorm. As I was chatting and talking, my cellphone rang - it was Sami. The poor thing had logged into WebHuddle and could only see empty gray boxes where the chat feature and the PowerPoint should have been. She had been troubleshooting for the past 15 minutes or so and finally just called me. I didn't really have the tools to trouble shoot, and since everyone was connected at some point (me in the middle on the phone, microphone, and chat) we just decided to have me type in chat for Sami and read to her! What can I say, my group persevered! :-) We went through a few ideas in the Brainstorming session and finally settled on focusing on using Weebly to create a course website. Then, suddenly, Scott dropped off.
The next thing I knew, Scott was calling me on my cell phone. I didn't answer because I had Sami on the phone and was afraid the call would drop as it often does with my low-budget cell phone. Sami took notes for everyone, and posted them onto Google Docs and we made another date for a group meeting for us to check in on our progress. We plan to use the chat feature in Google Docs next time around. We ended the meeting and I called Scott back. His experience was similar to Sami's. He went from seeing the PowerPoints and Chat to just gray boxes. He tried entering the meeting over and over and it didn't work. I reassured him that everything was posted in Google Docs and we discussed the ending of the meeting. I found it interesting that two of four people had the exact same error occur. Fortunately, Scott was able to see and actively participate in the majority of the meeting.
After the meeting I went to the recording tab in my WebHuddle account and tried to download and view the recording. The only options they provide are to delete or download the file. I was able to download the file, but saw no place within WebHuddle to actually do a play back. I tried sending the zipped file to my classmates via gmail, Outlook, and through ANGEL. I also tried to post the file into the Team discussion board. In each instance I got an error saying the file was too large. I tried Storemedia but that didn't work either. The MSU helpdesk tried to help me out by going through the file extensions to see how I could open and share the link but they were at a loss as well and explained that they don't support WebHuddle. The WebHuddle help was not very helpful to me, but perhaps that is just me as a non-technical person. I feel awful that I have not been able to get a link to my classmates yet. Maybe the answer is so simple that it is right under my nose. I guess at this point it had been an hour and a half, I was feeling under the weather, was tired from troubleshooting, and balancing a microphone, chat, and telephone communication during the meeting. In short, WebHuddle was very frustrating!
I'm glad we tried something new, especially since I'd like to do some sort of video communication for my Wicked Project. I definitely will not use WebHuddle. I could virtually feel the door closing of my affective filter while the frustration of using this application grew. I can't imagine having students use this, whether they be college or high school. The experience reaffirmed my belief that one should always consider, and heavily weigh, the amount of support provided by either a school's tech support, helpdesk, or that of the application itself. If the technology doesn't work well, the learning is simply hindered. Students come away more frustrated than inspired.
At this point, the only advantage I can see for using WebHuddle is that it is free.
The first person to appear was Shannon. We had some time to play with microphone settings while we waited for others. We mainly communicated using the chat feature until she could hear me speak. I tried giving her microphone rights and the buttons to do so simply didn't work. I felt awkward being the only speaker, and it was kind of strange to communicate verbally and in writing, but that is simply what we had to do at the moment. Scott Hudson come in second and we updated him on the situation via chat and I spoke. We decided to begin without Sami as about 10 minutes had passed, so we went through the PowerPoints with the assignments and began to brainstorm. As I was chatting and talking, my cellphone rang - it was Sami. The poor thing had logged into WebHuddle and could only see empty gray boxes where the chat feature and the PowerPoint should have been. She had been troubleshooting for the past 15 minutes or so and finally just called me. I didn't really have the tools to trouble shoot, and since everyone was connected at some point (me in the middle on the phone, microphone, and chat) we just decided to have me type in chat for Sami and read to her! What can I say, my group persevered! :-) We went through a few ideas in the Brainstorming session and finally settled on focusing on using Weebly to create a course website. Then, suddenly, Scott dropped off.
The next thing I knew, Scott was calling me on my cell phone. I didn't answer because I had Sami on the phone and was afraid the call would drop as it often does with my low-budget cell phone. Sami took notes for everyone, and posted them onto Google Docs and we made another date for a group meeting for us to check in on our progress. We plan to use the chat feature in Google Docs next time around. We ended the meeting and I called Scott back. His experience was similar to Sami's. He went from seeing the PowerPoints and Chat to just gray boxes. He tried entering the meeting over and over and it didn't work. I reassured him that everything was posted in Google Docs and we discussed the ending of the meeting. I found it interesting that two of four people had the exact same error occur. Fortunately, Scott was able to see and actively participate in the majority of the meeting.
After the meeting I went to the recording tab in my WebHuddle account and tried to download and view the recording. The only options they provide are to delete or download the file. I was able to download the file, but saw no place within WebHuddle to actually do a play back. I tried sending the zipped file to my classmates via gmail, Outlook, and through ANGEL. I also tried to post the file into the Team discussion board. In each instance I got an error saying the file was too large. I tried Storemedia but that didn't work either. The MSU helpdesk tried to help me out by going through the file extensions to see how I could open and share the link but they were at a loss as well and explained that they don't support WebHuddle. The WebHuddle help was not very helpful to me, but perhaps that is just me as a non-technical person. I feel awful that I have not been able to get a link to my classmates yet. Maybe the answer is so simple that it is right under my nose. I guess at this point it had been an hour and a half, I was feeling under the weather, was tired from troubleshooting, and balancing a microphone, chat, and telephone communication during the meeting. In short, WebHuddle was very frustrating!
I'm glad we tried something new, especially since I'd like to do some sort of video communication for my Wicked Project. I definitely will not use WebHuddle. I could virtually feel the door closing of my affective filter while the frustration of using this application grew. I can't imagine having students use this, whether they be college or high school. The experience reaffirmed my belief that one should always consider, and heavily weigh, the amount of support provided by either a school's tech support, helpdesk, or that of the application itself. If the technology doesn't work well, the learning is simply hindered. Students come away more frustrated than inspired.
At this point, the only advantage I can see for using WebHuddle is that it is free.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Wicked Problem Project - PART A - Description of Need or opportunity
As a High School and even college-level Spanish student, I had very little, if any, exposure to real-life Spanish language communication with native Speakers. It wasn’t until I actually traveled to Spain (after graduating) that I realized that the skills I learned were a tool that I could use to communicate with many people that I wanted to communicate with! Now, as a Spanish teacher, I am constantly trying to help my students understand that learning this language is something that they can use NOW. I try to provide as many authentic communication exchanges as possible in the classroom (such as inviting guest speakers from several different Spanish-speaking countries). But what about outside the classroom, when “real-life” happens?
I recently attempted to incorporate authentic language exchange experiences outside the classroom after seeing Dr. Dee Fink speak about his model of Significant Learning. I was so inspired by his research and ideas which, when implemented, tend to result in students continuing with the subject in their studies, and remembering more skills learned in the class than usual. I decided it was time my students had some “Significant Learning Experiences” with Spanish language. I was teaching a college-level Conversational Spanish language course at the time. The assignment I used was to have students meet with a native Spanish speaker and have a conversation (Spanish only) for a half hour. I provided students with a form that the native speaker signed to verify that the conversation took place and helped them set up conversations. The second part of the assignment was for student to reflect on the activity in writing. I was really surprised at how well the activity was received as many students took the time to positively mention the activity on the course evaluations. They also turned in quality and thoughtful reflections on the activity, many times mentioning how the conversation inspired them to learn more. This activity was worthwhile, but I can improve upon it and would like to use it as a springboard for my Wicked Problem Project!
The Educational Need:
Students do not have opportunities for authentic language exchange. This includes the four components of communication: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. I would like the project to focus on the listening and speaking skills as they are often the most difficult skills to utilize when first learning a new language.
Technology Plan to Address the Need:
I would like to set-up a speaking/listening language exchange activity between Spanish-speaking students in a technical college in a Spanish-speaking country and my community college students in Michigan. I believe that vodcasting would be the appropriate tool to achieve this sort of exchange as students could both hear the language and also read the body language and lips of the speaker. I’d like to set up the activity as a series of exchanges between students from both areas. Discussion subjects would relate to the materials studied in the classroom. For instance, week one would include very basic introductions and related vocabulary, while a few weeks into the course students would be able to describe their jobs, their families, or their daily activities. I believe that utilizing vodcasts as a series (rather than a one-time exchange) would help students build real-life relationships with Spanish-speaking peers that include authentic language exchanges. Doing more than one vodcast would also allow for skill building and practice. The proposed approach is achievable, even if students do not have computers or video recorders, as Lansing Community College’s students can check out these tools as well as get technical assistance from the Media Services Department. This assistance is crucial to success as the primary goal should be for students to communicate in the target language rather than trouble shooting technology problems.
Scope: Students will be required to send a vodcast to their peer in the Spanish-speaking country every two weeks. That would include about two exchanges before every exam and would allow for about eight exchanges per semester.
Relevant research and resources:
1. "Designing Courses for Significant Learning: Voices of Experience," Jossey-
Bass' Series on New Directions for Teaching and Learning, Issue #119 (Fall 2009).
Co-edited with Arletta Knight Fink.
2. Creating Significant Learning Experiences: An Integrated Approach to
Designing College Courses, by Dee Fink. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2003.
3. http://www.finkconsulting.info/files/Fink2005SelfDirectedGuideToCourseDesign.doc
Plan:
Fortunately I am scheduled to teach a Conversational Spanish course at Lansing Community College this fall semester. My plan for the portion I will implement during this course includes the following steps:
1. Identify a partner institution in a Spanish-speaking country with enough technical infrastructures to support the language exchanges. I will do this with the understanding that some students may identify their own partners in countries of interest.
2. Discuss the plans for the activity with the Foreign Language Coordinator (to whom I answer to!).
3. Make arrangements with the Media Services Department for equipment rentals and also solicit any technology tool recommendations from staff.
4. Solidify the project requirements, directions, and corresponding rubric. Post these into the ANGEL course.
Implementation After CEP 812 Completion:
1. Discuss the activities with students on the first day of class and arrange partnerships as soon as possible.
2. Carry-out the Plan as identified above throughout the course.
3. Add evaluation questions specific to the language-exchange activity in the end-of-semester evaluation to gain student feedback.
Thank you for reading and I look forward to your feedback!
I recently attempted to incorporate authentic language exchange experiences outside the classroom after seeing Dr. Dee Fink speak about his model of Significant Learning. I was so inspired by his research and ideas which, when implemented, tend to result in students continuing with the subject in their studies, and remembering more skills learned in the class than usual. I decided it was time my students had some “Significant Learning Experiences” with Spanish language. I was teaching a college-level Conversational Spanish language course at the time. The assignment I used was to have students meet with a native Spanish speaker and have a conversation (Spanish only) for a half hour. I provided students with a form that the native speaker signed to verify that the conversation took place and helped them set up conversations. The second part of the assignment was for student to reflect on the activity in writing. I was really surprised at how well the activity was received as many students took the time to positively mention the activity on the course evaluations. They also turned in quality and thoughtful reflections on the activity, many times mentioning how the conversation inspired them to learn more. This activity was worthwhile, but I can improve upon it and would like to use it as a springboard for my Wicked Problem Project!
The Educational Need:
Students do not have opportunities for authentic language exchange. This includes the four components of communication: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. I would like the project to focus on the listening and speaking skills as they are often the most difficult skills to utilize when first learning a new language.
Technology Plan to Address the Need:
I would like to set-up a speaking/listening language exchange activity between Spanish-speaking students in a technical college in a Spanish-speaking country and my community college students in Michigan. I believe that vodcasting would be the appropriate tool to achieve this sort of exchange as students could both hear the language and also read the body language and lips of the speaker. I’d like to set up the activity as a series of exchanges between students from both areas. Discussion subjects would relate to the materials studied in the classroom. For instance, week one would include very basic introductions and related vocabulary, while a few weeks into the course students would be able to describe their jobs, their families, or their daily activities. I believe that utilizing vodcasts as a series (rather than a one-time exchange) would help students build real-life relationships with Spanish-speaking peers that include authentic language exchanges. Doing more than one vodcast would also allow for skill building and practice. The proposed approach is achievable, even if students do not have computers or video recorders, as Lansing Community College’s students can check out these tools as well as get technical assistance from the Media Services Department. This assistance is crucial to success as the primary goal should be for students to communicate in the target language rather than trouble shooting technology problems.
Scope: Students will be required to send a vodcast to their peer in the Spanish-speaking country every two weeks. That would include about two exchanges before every exam and would allow for about eight exchanges per semester.
Relevant research and resources:
1. "Designing Courses for Significant Learning: Voices of Experience," Jossey-
Bass' Series on New Directions for Teaching and Learning, Issue #119 (Fall 2009).
Co-edited with Arletta Knight Fink.
2. Creating Significant Learning Experiences: An Integrated Approach to
Designing College Courses, by Dee Fink. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2003.
3. http://www.finkconsulting.info/files/Fink2005SelfDirectedGuideToCourseDesign.doc
Plan:
Fortunately I am scheduled to teach a Conversational Spanish course at Lansing Community College this fall semester. My plan for the portion I will implement during this course includes the following steps:
1. Identify a partner institution in a Spanish-speaking country with enough technical infrastructures to support the language exchanges. I will do this with the understanding that some students may identify their own partners in countries of interest.
2. Discuss the plans for the activity with the Foreign Language Coordinator (to whom I answer to!).
3. Make arrangements with the Media Services Department for equipment rentals and also solicit any technology tool recommendations from staff.
4. Solidify the project requirements, directions, and corresponding rubric. Post these into the ANGEL course.
Implementation After CEP 812 Completion:
1. Discuss the activities with students on the first day of class and arrange partnerships as soon as possible.
2. Carry-out the Plan as identified above throughout the course.
3. Add evaluation questions specific to the language-exchange activity in the end-of-semester evaluation to gain student feedback.
Thank you for reading and I look forward to your feedback!
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Screencast Intro
http://www.screencast.com/t/cCcwQJtug
Hi everyone in CEP 812! Please see my screencast introduction at the above link.
Thanks!
Kathy
Hi everyone in CEP 812! Please see my screencast introduction at the above link.
Thanks!
Kathy
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Final thoughts and reflections for CEP 811
CEP 811 challenged me! I really enjoyed learning about TPACK and am happy to see that in CEP 812 we will explore this model further. The ISTE Guidelines challenged me to think about my Spanish curriculum on another level. One thing I am still struggling with is how to include all of the speaking and spontaneous language practice in my teaching along with the delayed and non-spontaneous practice that most of the technology tools we have studied provide. I hope to work on this struggle further in CEP 812. I have thought a lot about my STAIR project too. It was a frustrating and worthwhile project for this course. It was frustrating because the technology I had the ability to apply did not allow me to do everything I wanted to do! This reminded me of the frustration of learning a language, mostly at the ill-fated moment when you want to express yourself but don’t have the words or grammar to do so! (a.k.a. You WANT to say: “This is the best meal I have ever eaten here in Argentina, and anywhere else! You are an amazing cook! Please teach me, you are a master!” BUT all you CAN say is “Yes, this is very delicious. Thank you. I like soup.”) So I rearranged my project to try to meet my goals, and to use the technology I can use, all the while struggling with the idea that I think it is time that I actually break down and take some classes in programing or something (I don’t even know what) to create useful applications for my classroom.
Some things that I learned about effective teaching strategies when integrating technology include: Be deliberate, use a model (ITSE, UDL, TPACK), and do a little at a time!
How did integrating web-based technologies help me think about and evaluate uses of technology? I have respect for the time it takes to create effective technology that is appropriately applied to pedagogy. With that, I have learned that if I am going to do something, I should do it well and thoroughly. Master one or two skills, apply them to teaching, and move on. It’s a circle.
How have I met my own personal goals for learning about technology integration? I created my first website (that I will actually use!), I created a wiki and actually understand what that is, and I have some very nice resources (TPACK, ITSE) to guide my work!
Do I have new goals? Yes, I want to learn more tech skills to create great, interactive, teaching tools. Remember the digital eye that we looked at where students could change the color, the iris size, etc (it was in the UDL module)? I would like to update my skills to create great teaching tools such as this for Spanish, and then use them throughout my curriculum (CMS, WebQuest, etc.) My current plans are to participate fully in CEP 812, to get through the 7 weddings we have this summer and have my first child in mid-July. Maybe I’ll take that course in the fall! :-)
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