Thing 23

Wow - I can't believe that I have made it to Thing 23!!!!!!!  What a fun and exciting journey.  I have learned a ton and am very happy that I had the opportunity to take this class.  I can't even begin to describe how I have developed from Thing 1 to Thing 23!  Truth be told, prior to taking this course I thought - it would be an easy and fast way to knock off some SBCEU's.  Well, to my delight I learned so much more than I ever could have expected!  If I had to do it all over again, I would have done it with or without the added incentive!  It was worth it :)  It just amazes me how technology is ever changing.  I am one of the younger teachers at my school, and thought of as pretty technologically savvy - wait until they see me now!  Ha ha ha!

I am so excited to implement many of the Thing's I have learned into my classroom.  The last video that we just watched couldn't have said it any better.  The Internet has become a place not only to explore, but to share, trade and collaborate.  What an awesome tool - especially for educators!  Although I am finished with the "Things" - my journey is far from over!  I can't wait until summer vacation (42 days - not that I am counting or anything ;) - to have time to sit and discover new ways I can spice up my Spanish curriculum!  Thank you for reading my posts - what a fun adventure!

Thing 22

Click HERE to view my wiki site!  (https://efhs-espanol.wikispaces.com/)

It was fun being able to embed several different types of mediums into one site.  I focused on Alebrijes - which are brightly-colored Mexican woodcarving sculptures.  I not only included the wikipedia Spanish site, but also my own personal photos and videos of how alebrijes are made.

I think a blog would be useful to describe week to week lessons, list homework, etc.  However, a wiki I think would be more useful when researching or focusing on a specific topic.  It would allow students to view and collaborate on the topic.  Both ways would add an a ton of educational value to the classroom! 

Thing 21

I explored several different wiki sites - however one that I found related to Spanish teaching was: http://cartierm.wikispaces.com/

Srta. Cartier had a great idea to have students go to her wiki site and fill out a "What did I miss" form for homework.  What an awesome idea!  Too many times students love to ask the teacher (many times WHILE you are teaching) to gather the materials that they have missed.  Not only do you have to tell them to wait until the end of class, but it is a huge disruption.  This totally puts the students in charge of being responsible, filling out the form - and allowing the teacher to respond to their request during his/her prep period.  How cool!  

Again, the availability to the Internet would be a problem - but in a perfect world where every student was connected - this would be such a cool tool!

Thing 20

I could see myself becoming easily addicted to this iTunes thing!  This was my first time to explore the use of iTunes - what an awesome tool!  I subscribed to several podcasts, however the one that I thought was cute for the classroom was the Sesame Street en espanol :)  Some of my students joke that it's like they are in elementary school again - but they are "new" learners to the language, so if they can relate to some things, like Sesame Street, they may be able to understand it more!  

I used all of the search tools, however my favorite was iTunes.  I like being able to not only listen, but view as well.  It was easy to tell what type of media you would be getting with iTunes - I found on the other sites, you had to search a tad more for the video.  As far as EPN vs. Podcast Alley - I preferred the EPN.  Podcast Alley - had me downloading MORE things to my computer - I can't believe all of the new bookmarks and downloads I have!  But hey, I'm on the final stretch...only 3 more things to go!!!!!!  This has been a fun journey!

Thing 19

The first Podcast that I listened to was off the English Idioms and Slang site :
http://cdn4.libsyn.com/diemrob/Lesson161.mp3?nvb=20090322170329&nva=20090323171329&t=0df05e5d1cf02d41d4fa9

I thought it was interesting and good, especially for English learners to be able to HEAR not just read the lesson.  This would be great for an ESL class and to allow students to engage in listening skills, outside of the classroom.

The second Podcast that I listened to was from the Learn Out Loud.com website: http://www.learnoutloud.com/Podcast-Directory/Travel/Europe/Notes-from-Spain-Podcast/6922#plink

It was pretty interesting to hear this man, Ben Curtis, tell you about some of the site from his travels around Spain - could be cool to use in the classroom.  

I must say, however, that my students and myself - would much more be inclined to SEE the sites, not just listen to them.  I'll have to search for more v-casts in my next "thing"!

Thing 18

Here is a great slide show that would be useful during our Spanish food unit!

Tortilla Española - Spanish Omelette

View more presentations from vbayon.

I am the queen of PowerPoint presentations at my school!  I use them on a daily basis and it was almost laughable at how many I created - that already existed out there in cyber space!  We travel to Chicago every year with the Spanish classes, and I compile a slideshow of all of the photos I have taken.  I usually compile them on to a DVD with music and sell them - this year I could just download the presentation to Slideshare!  

Thing 17

Knowtes.com is a World Language teachers DREAM!  Although the site took a long time to load, it was worth the wait!  In the language classroom, a key to acquiring the language is through repetition.  This tool not only allows the students to be "green" and throw away those paper flash cards, but also allows them to focus on set vocabulary.  I loved the fact that you could move your mouse to keep track if you answered correctly or incorrectly.  What a great way to help student focus on the vocabulary  they need to know!