I have already been able to use the internet to organize classroom materials, connect with parents/other staff members, post assignments, use calendars to organize due dates, etc. with sites like Angel and Blackboard. These are all fabulous ways to keep all stakeholders abreast of the “need-to-knows” of your classroom community. However, after reading these three chapters, I am thrilled at the idea of using blogs in the classroom beyond simple organization and opening the lines of communication between staff, students, and parents. I had no understanding of the amazing products that were the result of a classroom blog undertaking. Since I am not currently teaching, I will frame my thoughts for this week around my most recent teaching endeavor: community college Spanish I.
If I were to teach those courses again in the future (and luckily, I may just do this) I would definitely encourage students to publish their written work (mostly paragraph level) so that they could comment on one another’s work. For example, one assignment that students completed last semester was a short description of their family members. Although the students had a very limited knowledge of Spanish at this time, they felt very proud that they could describe their family members in a foreign language. In this case, I would ask students to post their descriptions to a classroom blog and then have each student “ask/write” very basic questions about the family members that were not included in the original posting. For example, one clarifying question could be, “Is your sister older or younger than you?” This way, students are establishing rapport while taking the opportunity to ask meaningful questions of one another. The teacher could participate in this process, too. In fact, the teacher could use this as an opportunity to use various error correction techniques. This correlates with the communications standard 1.3: students present information, concepts, and ideas to an audience of listeners or readers on a variety of topics.
Another task that I would ask students to undertake would be to select from a series of teacher-prepared links to objects that are found in target countries (some that are not typically found in the United States others that are common in the U.S. but have unique uses). The students would have to look at the picture(s) and guess what the item is used for (they may need to write this in English). Then, once a few people begin commenting on certain items, online classroom discussion would occur. Next, students would research an “actual” use of the product online and report back to the group about their initial guesses. Further conversation would ensue (regarding the similarities and differences, guesses at the purpose behind the use of these items, connections to the target community’s perspectives, values, beliefs etc.) This task correlates with both cultural standards (2.1 and 2.2).
As a teacher, I would see myself using this tool to connect students to the target culture by posting interesting news articles, popular culture tidbits, important events abroad and in our own community for the students to explore. For example, if an opportunity presented itself for students to see a flamenco show or visit an exposition of work by Diego Rivera I would post the information. Then, I would provide some background information for the students or just my own thoughts on why it might be worthwhile. Students could do the same and after attending an event, could post their reflections/critiques for the whole class to enjoy and comment on. One areas that this correlates with in the national standards is communities (5.1 and 5.2).
