Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Monday, April 7, 2008
podcasting
This is a podcast that my friend Kennedy and I recorded together about podcasts and some ways that they can be used in the classroom. In addition to the activities we talk about in the podcast, which mostly came from an article by Dolly J. Young, podcasts can be an easily accessed learning tool for students inside and outside of the classroom.
The idea of portability really appeals to me. I know that if I had the opportunity to download all of my homework assignments and carry them with me in the car or on a walk or during the other daily activities that fill up my time, I would definitely take advantage of that opportunity. Unfortunately, I haven't found audiobooks for the novels we are reading in my Spanish classes, which would definitely be a time saver for me.
Other than that, though, none of my current classes have made use of podcasting or of audio recording in general. I think this activity could be useful for helping students become more comfortable with their ability to produce the foreign language and their ability to communicate with others in the foreign language. It is often hard for foreign language teachers to gage students' speaking abilities when the only formally assessed oral language production takes place in the form of individual interviews or class presentations, where students have environmental factors that negatively affect their production of the foreign language. The idea of having students record even a brief response to something they have read, heard, or learned about in the foreign language classroom, as a sort of audio journal, seems like something that I might be interested in including in my classroom -- not only does it incorporate a different form of communication than most graded student work, but it could be entirely portable for me, too! I think that podcasting has advantages for students as well as teachers!
The idea of portability really appeals to me. I know that if I had the opportunity to download all of my homework assignments and carry them with me in the car or on a walk or during the other daily activities that fill up my time, I would definitely take advantage of that opportunity. Unfortunately, I haven't found audiobooks for the novels we are reading in my Spanish classes, which would definitely be a time saver for me.
Other than that, though, none of my current classes have made use of podcasting or of audio recording in general. I think this activity could be useful for helping students become more comfortable with their ability to produce the foreign language and their ability to communicate with others in the foreign language. It is often hard for foreign language teachers to gage students' speaking abilities when the only formally assessed oral language production takes place in the form of individual interviews or class presentations, where students have environmental factors that negatively affect their production of the foreign language. The idea of having students record even a brief response to something they have read, heard, or learned about in the foreign language classroom, as a sort of audio journal, seems like something that I might be interested in including in my classroom -- not only does it incorporate a different form of communication than most graded student work, but it could be entirely portable for me, too! I think that podcasting has advantages for students as well as teachers!
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Second Life...in the classroom?
From what little I've seen so far of second life, I have serious doubts about its potential uses in the classroom.
I understand that it could potentially provide interactive situations for students to practice the language they are learning, but the hurdles and time required to set up those situations seem disproportionate to the perceived benefits.
It takes a long time to learn how to move around and communicate in second life. I think that the amount of class time that would have to be dedicated to learning how to maneuver in this virtual world would take away from the over-all learning time in the classroom. Unless all of the instructions for moving around in second life were in the target language, it would be hard to limit students' access to English instructions given by second life. I think it would be very challenging to hold students accountable for their movements in this virtual world and especially challenging to track their conversations.
Exploring teen second life would have been interesting for our class, because it seems like it might have a few more behavior limitations for its avatars. At least, I think I hope it does -- I'm not sure that it would be appropriate for my students to be able to walk around with their shirts off in a class activity, even if it was only in the virtual classroom.
So, although real-time interaction with others does seem to be important for language learning, I think that second life presents too many options and too little accountability for me to include it in my classroom. At least until a whole lot more research has been done on it!
I understand that it could potentially provide interactive situations for students to practice the language they are learning, but the hurdles and time required to set up those situations seem disproportionate to the perceived benefits.
It takes a long time to learn how to move around and communicate in second life. I think that the amount of class time that would have to be dedicated to learning how to maneuver in this virtual world would take away from the over-all learning time in the classroom. Unless all of the instructions for moving around in second life were in the target language, it would be hard to limit students' access to English instructions given by second life. I think it would be very challenging to hold students accountable for their movements in this virtual world and especially challenging to track their conversations.
Exploring teen second life would have been interesting for our class, because it seems like it might have a few more behavior limitations for its avatars. At least, I think I hope it does -- I'm not sure that it would be appropriate for my students to be able to walk around with their shirts off in a class activity, even if it was only in the virtual classroom.
So, although real-time interaction with others does seem to be important for language learning, I think that second life presents too many options and too little accountability for me to include it in my classroom. At least until a whole lot more research has been done on it!
Monday, March 31, 2008
mini-project #2
Here it is!
(if only I was happy with it...)
Writing this philosophy of teaching statement came at a busy time for me, in between working full time and trying to keep up with all 15 hours of classes I'm enrolled in right now. I wish I had more time to dedicate to each class, but for now....I'm doing my best. Even though sometimes, like with this one, I wish that my best could be a little bit better.
(if only I was happy with it...)
Writing this philosophy of teaching statement came at a busy time for me, in between working full time and trying to keep up with all 15 hours of classes I'm enrolled in right now. I wish I had more time to dedicate to each class, but for now....I'm doing my best. Even though sometimes, like with this one, I wish that my best could be a little bit better.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Intercultural communication
I think that intercultural communication done right is worth the effort. Done wrong, however, it seems like a waste of valuable time, especially considering the idea that it can reinforce negative stereotypes.
The research we've been looking at from various intercultural collaboration projects shows that the benefits of this type of collaboration can be multifaceted. With so many apparent benefits, it's hard to say that it could be a bad thing...Until one considers the examples of intercultural communication gone wrong.
We looked at several examples of what makes intercultural communication difficult, the tensions that arise from different expectations, time commitments, personal goals and motivation, and personal connections. Specifically, we looked at these from the side of conversations or projects that didn't result in greater cultural awareness, and then we talked about ways to start intercultural communication projects in a way that would have more potential for success.
The primary tenants for successful projects seem to be:
1. Make sure to introduce the project clearly. Be clear about expectations you have for students, and that students have for the project.
2. Communicate those expectations with the collaborating class. Talk about goals for the project so that everybody has a clear idea of the commitment required for the project.
3. Help students along the way. Expect to help students find a neutral or kind way to approach issues that they feel strongly about and help them to build a personal connection with their collaborating parter.
4. Introductory projects are a pretty good idea. Spend time letting students learn about who their partners are, what they like to do, etc. Value the non-academic as well as the academic aspects of the collaboration.
I'm sure there are more things to consider, but those were the ideas that seemed most important for ensuring the success of long-distance collaborative projects.
The research we've been looking at from various intercultural collaboration projects shows that the benefits of this type of collaboration can be multifaceted. With so many apparent benefits, it's hard to say that it could be a bad thing...Until one considers the examples of intercultural communication gone wrong.
We looked at several examples of what makes intercultural communication difficult, the tensions that arise from different expectations, time commitments, personal goals and motivation, and personal connections. Specifically, we looked at these from the side of conversations or projects that didn't result in greater cultural awareness, and then we talked about ways to start intercultural communication projects in a way that would have more potential for success.
The primary tenants for successful projects seem to be:
1. Make sure to introduce the project clearly. Be clear about expectations you have for students, and that students have for the project.
2. Communicate those expectations with the collaborating class. Talk about goals for the project so that everybody has a clear idea of the commitment required for the project.
3. Help students along the way. Expect to help students find a neutral or kind way to approach issues that they feel strongly about and help them to build a personal connection with their collaborating parter.
4. Introductory projects are a pretty good idea. Spend time letting students learn about who their partners are, what they like to do, etc. Value the non-academic as well as the academic aspects of the collaboration.
I'm sure there are more things to consider, but those were the ideas that seemed most important for ensuring the success of long-distance collaborative projects.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
using video in the classroom
I'm sure everyone has seen videos used in class before....But has everyone tried making their own? Fortunately, the actual editing of videos using windows movie maker is something I'm pretty familiar with....But not so much the making videos in a language class. At least the software won't hold me back on this one.
I'm not really sure where to start for my video project. I've been focusing a lot lately on a unit about Spanish American poetry for another class, and my first mini-project went easily into that unit. I think this one will be a little bit more tricky, although, if possible, I'd love to have another activity ready to go for when I'm in my own classroom.
What I'm thinking about, for Mini-Project 3, at the moment, is to record rhymes/guessing games (adivinanzas) and to have a paused spot in the video where students are supposed to discuss and guess what the answer is. It would be neat for the video to have time-released clues....like giving little hints every 7-10 seconds until the answer becomes really obvious. I think it would be neat for students to have the chance, after seeing some of these, to write and then perform their own -- we could make a video as a class to be used with future classes.
I think this would end up working out ok as a piece of my unit on poetry, because the grammatical focus of that unit is asking and answering questions. Adivinanzas are definitely conducive to questions.
Another idea would be to film the scene of a mystery, and then to have a follow up activity about who did what, where, how, when and why. I'm not sure what I'll end up using.
I'm not really sure where to start for my video project. I've been focusing a lot lately on a unit about Spanish American poetry for another class, and my first mini-project went easily into that unit. I think this one will be a little bit more tricky, although, if possible, I'd love to have another activity ready to go for when I'm in my own classroom.
What I'm thinking about, for Mini-Project 3, at the moment, is to record rhymes/guessing games (adivinanzas) and to have a paused spot in the video where students are supposed to discuss and guess what the answer is. It would be neat for the video to have time-released clues....like giving little hints every 7-10 seconds until the answer becomes really obvious. I think it would be neat for students to have the chance, after seeing some of these, to write and then perform their own -- we could make a video as a class to be used with future classes.
I think this would end up working out ok as a piece of my unit on poetry, because the grammatical focus of that unit is asking and answering questions. Adivinanzas are definitely conducive to questions.
Another idea would be to film the scene of a mystery, and then to have a follow up activity about who did what, where, how, when and why. I'm not sure what I'll end up using.
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