Spanish Podcasts for Beginners

I searched for a while on the web and found a few sites that had many spanish language podcasts like podbean.com and learnoutloud.com. In both of these I found a series of podcasts called "Spanish Podcasts for Beginners." As I explored the various podcasts, they start by introducing a topic and a few vocabulary words and phrases that are then used in a conversation between two individuals using diverse situations. I liked the fact that they coach you into practicing the pronunciation of the words and then have you listen to the dialogue. I think this can be easily added into my teaching by listening to these dialogues in class. These would serve as models of conversations by native speakers of a different dialect than mine. It would expose students to the dialect and also serve as a means for listening comprehension excercises. This would give them broader exposure to the diverse dialects and accents of Spanish speakers. Students could also listen to these at home and practice their speaking more. I would have to sit down and find the podcasts that match the topic I am teaching because the titles are by lessons, not specific topics, but it would still be worthwhile. I listened to lesson 2 (4 minutes) and was able to pair this up with my travel unit. I plan on using it when I get to this topic because it is good practice for the speaking task of the final exam in June. The more exposure they have to various topics and conversations, the better prepared they will be because it will be a "natural" setting for them.

Global cooperation project with TalkShoe

In the last module I explored TalkShoe which is an internet community where you can join, listen or create discussions on-line where others would join in by your choice of topic. TalkShoe can be used in a global cooperation project where you post a specific topic and have others from around the world join your discussion via the internet or landline. The only difficulty might be getting enough people from around the world to join in and speak understandably in the same language. In my case, I would want for my conversation to be conducted in beginner-level Spanish, to involve my students, and it might be difficult to get beginner-level Spanish speakers with global cooperation where you can have diverse dialects and fluency of the Spanish language. Using a class and classroom oriented website may benefit more since you can easily find a "perfect" match for your classroom students.

GlobalSchoolNet.org and ePals

I chose to compare GlobalSchoolNet.org and ePals. When I went to GlobalSchoolNet.org It interested me because it had an inviting mission statement "to support 21st century learning." That in itself was eye-catching and interested me to read and explore more. I really like the various services they provide: collaborative teaching methods and stategies that can be shared, inservices they provide. I really think their services are attainable and profitable not for just teachers but for education as a whole with their consulting services and presentations they provide. I think they have a reputable and respectable status in education since they have been around since the 1980's. They started out with 2 collaborating teachers and have been able to expand to a world-wide audience and collaboration through the use of technology. This respect and honor is noticeable through the many awards they have received. As far as their services, they offer, there are too many to mention but the one that interested me the most was their "Project Registry" where you can post or look for projects for your class with members across the globe. I like that it is sectioned off according to date, age level, geographic location, collaboration type, technology tools or keyword. It is very easy to just pick out what is most important for your project and purposes and then browse through and begin to collaborate with others and begin your project. I think this could be really useful for finding other Spanish classes of native-speakers of Spanish to pair off with and communicate in real-life situations versus the plain, old and boring situated speaking that could be uninteresting to this era and generation of students.
ePals I also found is just as reputable and respectable through the various awards and testimonials that were posted on their website. I found it was very easy and safe to use. I like the fact that you as a teacher, along with any other administrators, can monitor the emails, posts and conversations. You can choose language to "ban" from being used and as a consequence you can suspend an account or change their names and/or passwords. I really like the added security for the classroom match, school mail and school blog. I looked through the variety of projects they also had available and I really liked the "The way we are" project I think this could be very useful in having students understand the target culture. I am going to explore and try to set this up with atleast one of my classes. I think it could be very useful in getting students to understand the many similarities there are as human beings and the different perspectives we have due to our geographic areas and values.
Overall, I would recommend both of these global collaboration sites I really think they are both useful and beneficial. It's really up to your personal preference which you choose.

"Microblogging and Education" -- Twitter and Youth Twitter

I recently read the article "Educators Test the Limits of Twitter Microblogging Tool" found at http://www.edweek.org/dd/articles/2008/06/24/01twitter_web.h02.html where various educators talked about their use of Twitter in the classroom. I found it interesting when a school teacher said he set up his students with an account and had them write a book online using the small posts of 140 words per post. In a matter of 6 weeks, he had a final copy of a book which he later published. His book ended up being written by his students and others from various parts of the world, including China! That was amazing. One of the things they did mention was the lack of guidance and editing that can be done by the teacher since Twitter does not allow much room for it. They then talked about "Youth Twitter" a device like Twitter that has been developed by the NYC School District to keep up with greater monitoring of student posts. It has the same benefits of Twitter but teachers can go in and remove unwanted posts. Overall, teachers discussed the increased learning they can have with their students by using such microblogging tools. It creates a constructed learning environment where all students can participate and create a diversity of things: stories, projects, discussions, etc. One thing I definitely agree with is David Parry's (an assistant professor of emerging media at the University of Texas at Dallas) comment, "The citizens of the future are going to have to learn how to participate in these writing mechanisms... Learning used to center around memorizing facts...it’s a matter of learning how to navigate information...in that regard, Twitter is really important.” Twitter or Youth Twitter is just one more way in which educators can prepare student's for today's world and those tasks that will be "normal" and "required" for tomorrow. This is just one more way to prepare students to enter society as informed and learned citizens.

Twitter v. Plurk

I tested out the microblogging tools Twitter and Plurk. I have to admit that my access to these was limited becuase I am having problems with my wireless internet signal at my house. It is up sometimes and down most of the time. I have been waiting for my internet provider to come and fix it. In the limited time I had with each I can definitely say that I enjoyed Plurk the best. I think Twitter has a out-dated design and I find it boring. I liked the way Plurk was based on a timeline where you can scroll and see what happened with all of the people you follow. I found Plurk much easier to use and it was also easier to find people. I would definitely choose Plurk over Twitter any time. In teaching though, I found that Plurk was a restricted website on our server and Twitter was the only one I could access from school. If I were to have my students use these then they would have to use Twitter because the district has not blocked it's use -- atleast not yet.

Microblogging and Education

I found an interesting video that sparks anyone's thoughts on the role of technology in education. It is a more general view of the role that computers should have in our classroom. You can see the video at http://youtube.com/watch?v=Fnh9q_cQcUE . The question it poses is interesting to say the least, Are we preparing students for a factory or are we preparing them for the vast ammount of technology they will be encountering in various fields: medicine, engineering, etc. If we are working in a "traditional classroom" of the 40's or 50's technologically speaking we are preparing them for lower-scale jobs. If we use and TEACH technology then we are preparing them to be competent and proficient in the technology they will have to do in their future careers. It gives the impression that education is the starting point that will affect student's entire lives and I can only agree!!

Feeds

I found the feeds interesting to say the least. As I searched through the various feeds, I found one that caught my eye, "Noticias Locas." I thought it would be interesting to share funny news stories to break the monotony of language teaching and bring in an aspect of humor. I decided to look through some of these and read "Los Diez Sombreros mas ridiculos." ( http://www.noticiaslocas.com/EkkkuFZEAp.shtml) It was definitely funny and something students would enjoy reading but most of all viewing. News stories like these could help motivate students and show them another perspective of Spanish cultures and events.

Social networking group

I searched the ning website and found a group that seemed interesting. It's called teaching with ning. As I looked at the comments it seems like there could be a wealth of information that can be exchanged with the members. I specifically liked the post on "how to reach kids?" If this is a group with a lot of activity, it can enhace and expand on what I provide my students with, referring to Spanish learning and technology. The url is: http://networkcreators.ning.com/group/teachingwithning

A learner is like a ...

A learner is like a mediator. For learning to take place both within the learner and in his surrounding, the learner needs to get a perspective of both sides he is mediating -- himself and everyone else. It is the mediator's responsibility to take a situation and bring both parties to a resolution, without picking sides. If we view learners likewise, as a mediator, he/she needs to look at both sides of the story (information in this case) and analyze these. The mediator brings information from one party to the other (him/herself to the community and vice versa) and lets them ponder what has just been exposed. The mediator's job is to bring some kind of compromise -- new views, ideas, etc. In his article "Connectivism: Rethinking learning in a digital age" Siemens states the role of the learner's knowledge as "a network, which feeds into organizations and institutions, which in turn feed back into the network, and then continue to provide learning to individual." The learner himself is that network that negotiates new ideas and loose thoughts, analyzes these and comes up with a "new" set of knowledge for the whole. In the digital age, this role is crucial but it must not just occur with one learner, it must continue to occur with all of the participants of a community. If not, learning is stagnant and the entire learning process is limited for all. The effectiveness of the whole community will never reach its prime and may in fact fail. As learners, we must continue this process in our lives and within the network, it must be a never-ending cylcle. "Information flow within an organization is an important element in organizational effectiveness." (Siemens)

Top 3 ways to use blogs in my own teaching

Blogs are the new wave of communication with students. In my teaching, blogs could be easily implemented to...

1. create a new venue of communication in addition to the in-class face-to-face encounters. Many students are afraid to speak their target language in front of others. Blogging could be a way to lessen the shyness and anxiety since pronounciation would not matter, the focus now is on written not verbal communication.
2. foster greater communication among the students and myself. Through blogging, important announcements can be repeated, homework assignments can be posted and additional help via the internet can be given through links.
3. upload samples and actual student projects or work and make it available for others to view (parents, administrators, friends, etc.)

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