Assignment 4 - Using Audio in language instruction

Published at July 28, 2008 in Using technology for Foreign Language Learning. 0 Comments

In this lesson you will be practicing your listening comprehension skills and vocabulary words related to the house.

Vocabulario de casa en esta actividad

  1. el techo
  2. el estante
  3. la mesita de noche
  4. la cama
  5. la ventana
  6. la puerta
  7. la pared
  8. el ventilador
  9. el armario

Vocabulario de localización

  1. a la derecha
  2. a la izquierda
  3. enfrente de
  4. detrás de

Listen to the following sound clip describing my room in Spanish and then draw a diagram of it. You may listen to the clip more than once.

Descripción de mi habitación

You will be evaluated based on how accurately your diagram of my room matches the description. Use the ‘Vocabulario de casa’ from above to label each item in your diagram.

Assignment 3 - Analysis of Google Docs

Published at July 28, 2008 in Using technology for Foreign Language Learning. 0 Comments

New Communication Tools: Google Docs

Description - Google Docs is an on-line word processing software site. It also provides on-line storage and multi-user access. It allows for most common file extension types including those used in MS Office suite such as .doc, .xls and .ppt as well as .odt from the Open Office suite. They have also recently added .pdf as a save option though it can not be edited within Google Docs after making it into a PDF. Lastly, Google Docs is provided free of charge. Check out their video presentation: www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRqUE6IHTEA

Using the tool - To create a Google Docs account you must either have a google email account or use another existing email account address with a new password to log in. You must log into the email account address you provided and follow the link to verify your account before you can use the features in Google Docs. The basic benefits of using this tool is being able to keep all your files on-line giving you access from anywhere you can get on the web. Additionally, you have the ability to set permissions on each file to allow other users (by email address) to either be able to view the file or collaborate on it where they would have write access.You can comment something so other users can consider the suggestion before changing the document (Note: comments don’t show up on published or downloaded versions) -Knowledge7 7/24/08 9:12 PM(And it puts the user’s tag and date of their comment like this) It is a very Web 2.0 tool. The following is new info, I found in researching the site further. -Knowledge7 7/24/08 9:15 PM When viewing or editing the document at the same time a box appears in the bottom left telling you who else is viewing or editing the document. Up to 10 people can be editing a document at the same time and several more can be viewing it. A chat feature option comes up when multiple users are working with or viewing the same document at the same time.

Instructional uses - Having a virtual storage container with multi-user access lends itself very well to group projects. A group does not have to physically be together to work on creating a project. Neither is there any issue over using a specific computer or jump drive to work on the assignment. Since it is stored on-line they can update changes and then contact another member of the group to look over the work from his/her location over an internet connection. Secondly, it is a useful place to store powerpoint presentations, word documents or spreadsheets that one would like to present to a group/class. It provides an alternative option to carrying a jump drive or emailing oneself. However, the main advantage is the Collaborative feature of multi-user access.

Other Considerations - Assigning students a group project is often a tricky venture because it is hard to know who contributed what to each part of the project. With Google Docs it displays which user last updated the file and because of its share feature a student group could give their teacher view access where the teacher could monitor their progress without them having to submit anything physically. This is advantageous since printing something is sometimes not an option for students. Lastly the share feature lends itself well to teacher monitoring even for individual projects.

Prepared by
Christopher Mathews
for MODL 5308
on July 24, 2008

Using photo sharing - Assignment 2

Published at July 24, 2008 in Using technology for Foreign Language Learning. 0 Comments

Instructor: C. Mathews

14 de julio del 2008

Analysis

Goal - My learning goal with this assignment is for students to use technology to learn more about the culture of a Spanish speaking country, Costa Rica in this case.

Why Flickr? – The online photo sharing site Flickr allows for comments and is accessible outside of the classroom for anyone with an internet connection and browser. It allows me to store the pictures that I want my students to see, make cultural inferences from and write about in the target language in a site they can access from any where in the world. This gives it an advantage over having the pictures saved on a desktop because they can access it from any networked computer in the world.

Resources – I need pictures, video or realia to help my students really understand the practices and perspectives of another culture. Pictures are the easiest to obtain and since I have pictures that I personally took from Costa Rica and a couple other Spanish-speaking countries I can use them without having to worry about copyright issues. Since Flickr is both a public photo sharing site and free with a yahoo account it fits my current situation well and enables me to provide this experience to my students.

My student needs – Again as before having pictures at a local location at my school is an issue, I rarely have access to video projection technology and usually only one computer in the classroom on the net, so I need an activity where access is more flexible. The on-line photo sharing site provides this. Second, my students love to look at pictures. If I were to let them gather around my computer to look at pictures I have stored on it, we would not get any work done however and it would be hard to ensure each got a turn. Even though many of my students do not have internet access at home, most know how to get on-line. By having an assignment that can be accessed outside the classroom it makes the assignment more accessible to all my students. I can still allow those few students who aren’t able to get access at home or elsewhere to use my computer during class time if necessary. The comment feature on Flickr also gives us a chance to interact and discuss the photos as a group and allows each student to benefit from the comments of others.

 

Design

(For the Design see La Cultura de Costa Rica por fotos below)

 

Development

As I was considering whether to use video or photos for this assignment I quickly chose photos. Videos are much more difficult to get your hands-on and copyright is a major issue if I were to post one to the web unless self-made which would limit the time students could access the resource. I already have lots of photos from Spanish speaking countries and so posting them to the web where students could access them virtually anytime fits my needs better at the moment. Flickr is easy to use and its feature allowing for comments provides an opportunity for students to interact with the photos and each other as well as access elements of the culture of the country we are studying that we may not have time to present if done in class. The main challenge was finding photos that reflected the culture, in other words products or practices from the country I picked. That is something I will be looking for as I take/collect pictures in the future.

 

Implementation

As I had our MODL 5308 class go through the assignment in the lab I got to see how it would work. The only difference is that I would have to ensure all the students had an account and if not that they get an account before they could do the task. I also would need to create a group and invite each of them to it. (The rest of the tasks and considerations are outlined below and the results are on my Flickr account, Espteacher7)

 

Evaluation

Strengths - I like this assignment because it is realistic and authentic. As I take pictures in different Spanish-speaking places around the world I think about my Spanish students and this assignment creates a way that my students can create stronger links to the culture of these places without using large amounts of class time or having to juggle in-class resources.

Changes and Future Considerations – I would like to link my Flickr account to a class Blog where students could access the photos from a link on my blog. The picture of the Volcano through some of the students off, but not all and it allowed for a different kind of thinking about the culture of a country so I think I’ll still include it in the assignment for now. I’d like to make photo commenting an activity that my students would engage in a few times each semester and use it for them to become the creators in posting their own pictures and comments. Pictures are something we like to share naturally and if picture sharing can lead to my students using Spanish authentically to comment on each other’s photos it will increase student interest in learning and mastering the Spanish language.

I think this could be overdone due to the fact that even though Flickr allows for comments it really isn’t designed as a writing tool, but I do think it has serious advantages over using something like powerpoint to present a slideshow where pictures are the majority content. I will have to experiment with it some in at least one of my classes this year to see how useful it is and if it is easy to assess students comments or too time consuming.

 

 

La Cultura de Costa Rica por fotos



TEKS: 	(2) Cultures. The student gains knowledge and understanding of other cultures. The student is expected to: 




		(A) demonstrate an understanding of the practices (what people do) and how they are related to the perspectives (how people perceive things) of the cultures studied; and


		(B) demonstrate an understanding of the products (what people create) and how they are related to the perspectives (how people perceive things) of the cultures studied.




Learning Goal: Students will use the photo-sharing site, Flickr on the internet to evaluate at least 2 photos from Costa Rica using Spanish to comment on what the photos tell us about the cultural perspectives of Costa Ricans through their products and practices.




Tasks: 


    

  1. Sign-up for a yahoo mail account at mail.yahoo.com (If you already have one skip to task 2)
    2. 

  2. Go to www.Flickr.com and create an account. (If you already have one skip to task 3)
    3. 

  3. Send me your account name or give it to me in writing so I can add you to the group.
    4. 

  4. After you are a part of the group, click on your group icon and then select the Carter_Spanish group.  Once you enter that select the icon entitled group pool, scroll to the bottom of the page and select the group tag, Costa Rica.
    5. 

  5. Pick at least two of the pictures in the group to comment on.  Your comments must be in Spanish and you must use complete sentences. (Note the questions/comments with the photos to aid you.)
    6. 

  6. Read the comments of others and be prepared to discuss the photos and what they reveal about Costa Rica and its culture.
    7. 





Internet Resources: mail.yahoo.com, www.Flickr.com




Activity Considerations:  


             
    

  • 

    If you already have a Flickr account and don’t want it linked to our class, create a new one.
    

    • 



             
    

  • 

    You may not post objectionable material to the group account.
    

    • 



             
    

  • 

    If have trouble creating an account ask for help from a classmate and/or the teacher.
    

    • 



Assessment:
This assignment only has three grades.
You follow the directions and comment on 2 or more photos – 100
You follow the directions but comment on only 1 photo – 50
You fail to comment on any photos – 0

Note: Your comment(s) must be in Spanish and use complete sentences to count.


							
 

		
 

	
		
		

			

				
Using the Web - Assignment 1

				
				

					
						Published  at July 24, 2008					

					
						in Using technology for Foreign Language Learning.					

					0 Comments
					
									
 
			
 

			

				
Instructor: C. Mathews                                                                                                              14 de julio del 2008


Analysis


Goal - My learning goal with this assignment is for students to use the internet to explore the city of Madrid and create an itinerary in Spanish for a one day tour.


Why the web - The internet is a natural source to use when planning travel and it makes sense that students gain confidence in using the internet and its Spanish language sites to aid in travel plans or basic research of Spanish-speaking countries.


Resources - To aid in this task I spent time looking for Spanish-language sites that directly support the task such as the Spanish ministry of Tourism’s official site, the Madrid city metro site and google’s Euroave maps page.  (This is by no means exhaustive but gives the students the basics needed to achieve the task and allows for variation in selection.)


My student needs - There is a lack of computer access at my school and only a portion of the students have access from home, so I need an assignment that is more broad where each student will come up with a different product so that I can also be flexible with the due date.  This will allow students with limited access to have time to network and research on the web through friends and family, teachers’, and/or public library computer/internet resources and not feel pressured or be given the opportunity to plagiarize their friends.


Design


(For the Design see Tour por Madrid, España below)


Development


As I was searching for websites to help accomplish my learning goal I had three basic criteria.  Is the site reliable and accurate?  Is it attractive/user-friendly? Does it directly support the goal of planning a day trip in Madrid? The best way for me to figure this out was to walk through the assignment myself. The first site I decided to use was www.spain.info put out by Spain’s ministry of industry, tourism and commerce.  It is very professional, attractive and user-friendly and it has links to major cities in Spain including Madrid with detailed information, links and addresses of places to visit.  It also supposedly has links for maps to help in traversing each city, but I could not get them to load in my browser at home so I looked for an alternate source.  I found that with maps.euroave.com put out by google.  It has detailed maps of European cities including streets and even metro stops.  This led me to my third site, www.metromadrid.es which I had seen earlier in a google search. Since I have been to many European cities when I was studying abroad I knew from experience that the metro is the best form of travel, besides walking within the larger European cities.  Learning to use the metro and read a metro line map is an important part of visiting most large cities in the world today including New York and Washington, D.C. right here in the United States so it made sense that I include it in the assignment.


Implementation


As stated in class when presenting.  I would first need to present the websites to the students and do a demonstration where I navigated the websites showing them how each site worked and how it could be used to accomplish their task.  Not all of my students grew up on the web, and having them visually see me navigate each site would aid many of them significantly when it was their turn to use the web. I’d probably need to borrow an Infocus machine for this.(The rest of the tasks and considerations are outlined below)


Evaluation


Strengths - I like this assignment because it is realistic and authentic. I have been in a similar situation where I had one day in Paris and I had to decide what to do with it, where to go, what to eat and how to get there.  It’s also adaptable to any level depending on how I want the students to use the information.  I also like asking the students for feedback especially since this is a new venture both for them as learners and for myself as facilitator.


Changes and Future Considerations – JD made the comment that they should all start from the same location.  I had originally envisioned letting them start wherever they wanted, but his comment has merit.  Along with this I think I need a better hook and a starting point would be an essential part of this plus it would give the students a bit more structure in where to begin. My own experience aids in creating the right hook.  I think the hook will be that they have just arrived in Madrid at 8:00 a.m. after an overnight flight or train ride and your flight/train doesn’t leave until 8:00 p.m. that evening.  In my case it was a train, but I’ll have to look at the airport location in Madrid and see if that’s a feasible option since it would be more likely that they had a layover at the airport than the train station.


Secondly, Kellee included a grading rubric for the assignment so students could see what grade they would receive if they did not fully follow the tasks outlined.  I will add a rubric to this assignment because I can foresee that some students may decide to skip a step or not fully develop an aspect of their itinerary and I’d rather they know beforehand how that would affect their final grade.


I’m also going to have to make connections with some of my colleagues in the core areas at my school so that I can arrange with them to switch classrooms on those days in which I need access to the technology necessary to support this task.


Tour por Madrid, España


TEKS:


(3)      Connections. The student uses the language to make connections with other subject areas and to acquire information.


The student is expected to:


(A)     use resources (that may include technology) in the language and cultures being studied to gain access to                                 information; and

(B)     use the language to obtain, reinforce, or create knowledge in other subject areas.




Learning Goal: Students will use the internet to explore the city of Madrid and create an itinerary in Spanish for a one day tour.


Tasks: 


*     Your itinerary must include 3 or more sites to visit or things to do in Madrid, one of them must be a restaurant.


*     Additionally you must include a map highlighting each site/location of activity and the route to use to get between each.


*     Include a list of things to look for or do at each site in Spanish(French)


*     Your itinerary must include at least one picture of a location on your itinerary and it must be labeled.


*     You must include a list of all resources(websites) used in planning your tour itinerary


Internet Resources:

http://www.spain.info

http://maps.euroave.com

http://www.metromadrid.es/


Activity Considerations:


*     Where would you like your trip to start in Madrid?


*     For each site you plan to visit did you record an address so you can locate it on the map?


*      Consider the location of each site and the distance between each when deciding the sequence of your itinerary.


*      Before selecting a site for your itinerary ask yourself, Is this an interesting location? Are there things to do here?


*      Is your itinerary easy to follow? Does it provide complete information and directions between each location?


Feedback (Evaluation and improvements):



1. What did you like about this activity? Be specific.


2. How could this assignment be improved?  Be specific.