Ning Sites

I am not new to Ning because last year I took a culture course which was not an online course but required us to utilize Ning to submit assignments and comments on classmates' work.  However, I stuck to our private class Ning page; never venturing out to search for other useful ones to join.  I did just that today and was amazed!  I found a bunch of sites that I look forward to using for professional ideas regarding foreign language teaching and learning (sites where you can practice Spanish , others where you can see how a Spanish teacher utilizes it in a real classroom situation, and sites where educators get together to converse about technology).  In a preliminary glance at these sites, I have found wonderful applications for the classroom and I am excited to have time to really investigate them in the future.  One example that I found to use in the future is the site Go Animate that I have been looking for in years past.  I always wanted to find a way to use the computer to allow students to make cartoons in the target language.  I am so excited!!!

A Learner Today is Like a Tree...

 

 

A learner today is like a tree which can come in any variety of sizes, shapes, and colors.  So too, do our learners today.  Trees can live alone or in groups like students who prefer to work collaboratively and others solitarily.  Trees can live in various climates – some prefer the tropics, others the desert, still others are suited for the cold.  Students thrive in various environments, they have strengths and weaknesses that are exacerbated by the context that they are in.   In the article Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age by George Siemens the connection is made between a tree and a learner flourishing in their respective environments.  "Connectivism provides insight into learning skills and tasks needed for learners to flourish in a digital era."  The climate is crucial for the growth of the tree.  Certain trees can only grow in particular climates.  As teachers, we must remember that our students are very individual, just like a tree.  By getting to know our students, we come to better understand their individuality and use it to assist them in learning to the best of their ability. 

Trees adapt to their climate for survival, deciding to store water in the desert where water is scarce.  Learners today are most successful when they do the same thing.  They are most effective when they learn their learning style and how to capitalize on it in their context.  The classroom is a place where the students should have an opportunity to utilize their strengths to succeed if they are provided instances where they can be individualized.  However, if students are not given the freedom to do so, if they are expected to all learn the same way, some will fail to grow.  This works in the same way that a palm tree should not be planted in the desert with the intent that it will grow.  In the video The Changing Nature of Knowledge, another correlation can be made between learners and trees regarding their unique needs,"A dramatically different need for knowledge," just as trees have dramatically different needs for their survival in various environments.

Trees also have extensive root systems that firmly connect them with the earth, providing a network of connections with the ground.  Learners, too have prior knowledge and experience that makes them unique, rooting them in the ground.  Most importantly, trees absorb carbon dioxide from the air and release it as oxygen which fuels life.  Branches and leaves grow uniquely in each tree based on its vitality.  Learners who are able to glean the important parts from an unending influx of information (carbon dioxide), can process it and turn it into something spectacular (oxygen) that fuels life and makes contributions to the earth just as a tree gives us oxygen that is essential for human life.  A learner who captures and internalizes the input, working on his/her prior experience and using his/her system of tools to apply this knowledge can release a wondrous product.  It could be a solution to a problem that results from this process.  

The Profession of Teaching: Stuck in a Rut?

  

Educational Change Challenge Video- 
“We already live in a time of disconnect - where the classroom has stopped reflecting the world outside its walls”

            Although one would be hard pressed to find a school where all teachers lecture at students who are expected to keep silent, not required to investigate, explore,  discover, create and connect with the material, there are some “stragglers” who have not moved ahead with the times.  It is these individuals that stick out from our own experiences in schools (either as a student, parent, or staff member) and hold the public opinion of the teachers as irrelevant.  But this is at the expense of acknowledging of all those teachers that are already using wikis, podcasts, blogs, etc. effectively in their classrooms. 

They always say “it takes one bad apple to ruin a bunch.” We can finger-point at those that are not on board with using technology in the classroom or we can show them its relevance, connect the world inside the classroom and out.  It has been my experience that a good number of these “stragglers” are in fact stuck in the mud; they have never received or sought out the training that is essential for mastering technology use in the classroom.  Some of them are scared of what will be lost if all classrooms move away from the pencil –paper, lecture style because that is what was “successful” for them in the past (as either students themselves or as teachers).  It has been said that it is human nature to avoid change and not all that difficult to find yourself “stuck in a rut.”

“I have to ask myself, do I create lifelong learners?  Am I preparing students for my age or for theirs?”

However, I know that taking the time to demonstrate the ways that technology can greatly enhance the classroom experience is one way that administrators, staff members, and even parents can raise awareness and pique interest in the “stragglers.”  Teachers are usually involved in the profession because they love learning; this provides an opportunity for them to learn also, demonstrating to students the importance of being lifelong learners.  I would be shocked if a good majority of the lecture-style teachers had ever been approached by someone who wanted to teach them about using technology without a judging eye, rather than lecturing them, blaming them, and forcing them to change. 

“In Education, the use it or lose it rule may mean that if you don’t use technology for learning, you may lose relevance.  An educator, must be relevant.”

I have spent time viewing a lot of these videos and all of them were very powerful.  The proof is in the pudding; the numbers don’t lie.  The world outside of the classroom is full of facebook, youtube, and text messages.  Pioneers of the profession who work on technology advocacy can and should positively impact the current situation.  As the number of technology users continues to sky-rocket, technology will be even more avoidable by the staunchest educational critics.  We must work to engage our students, melding the world outside and inside the classroom, working together harmoniously towards student engagement and achievement.  Classes like this one help to do just that; as young educators we must stay abreast of the times and do our part to assist others in adopting it in their classrooms, too.  After all, our main goal is preparing students for the world, and in this day and age it looks more and more “digitized.”

Cyber Safety Ideas

Safe Blogging

Students should consider the following items:

-never give out your personal information

-only post content that is age-appropriate, school appropriate and legal

-only access content that is age-appropriate, school appropriate and legal

-be careful what you post because even if it is “erased” it is not “completely gone forever from cyberspace” like you might assume

-posting pictures of yourself is dangerous

-do not agree to meet anyone with whom you chat online that you do not already know “face-to-face”

-keep all important personal information personal: do not post things like your telephone number, address, social security number, locker number, etc. and do not purchase anything online (let your parents be responsible for that if they so wish)

-in cyberspace, anyone has the freedom to post what they wish but they remain responsible for the outcome

-accessing sites that are widely recognized as reputable is the best way to go

-blogging can be fun and rewarding if it is used with caution and good judgment

Cyber Safety

Three Ideas For Incorporating Blogging in the FL Classroom

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).