A not so boring first week of school

Reading Reaction #5

The routine of the first week of school is pretty much drab.  You go to your classes; you get assigned a book or books, maybe a seat too.  You get a packet of rules and a list of stuff you have to buy for next week.  You get your affairs in order, get a locker, maybe change up your schedule, and you are at some point forced to go around the class and say something about yourself.

In my dream…

I finally have my own classroom in High School, and I eagerly expect the arrival of my Spanish 1 kids (9-12 grades).  We go through the basic attendance routine and then we come to the boring part of the day, or so they think!  For instead of standing in front of the class and letting them listen to me talk about myself and what I expect from them I have a surprise.  I’ve been working all summer on a cute 3-5 min. Prezi that encompasses my background and what I expect of my students this year.  This presentation along with my PowerPoint of classroom rules should definitely be different than what they are use to. 

After I do my little presentation I turn the lights back on, and I ask the class “How many noticed that was all in Spanish?” (Clearly imagining results here) The class mostly answers that they didn’t notice, because they thought the video was full of interesting tid bits. 

And this is where the fun really begins.  While I do ask my students to tell me their name and grade level, I also want to dive in right away in showing them that this Spanish class is going to be fun and different.   Therefore I break the cardinal rule of the first day of school, and have an assignment for them.  I want them to create a little digital story of who they are, and have it ready for class on Monday.  It needs to have text in Spanish, and I have a rubric for them to follow.  The rest of the week we’ll do fun stuff in class to get them to have ideas for their project, and they can bring in questions by Thursday to me so that they can be on track for turning in their assignment after the weekend.  They can even share what they’ve done so far with friends on Friday so that they can peer edit the information.

A very detailed rubric would be essential to my students in guiding the creation of their digital storytelling project.  Giving students and example and a brief synopsis leaves a Great Wall’s worth of ideas and directions that students could still take.  Without a detailed rubric I’d be afraid of my students lacking content, using inappropriate content, lacking focus, using too much of one media and not enough of the others, or even missing the mark all together.  I feel that it’s important for students know what is fully expected of them, and a rubric is a great way to do this.  Plus, if I’m upfront with what I want to see and why this can be useful outside of the Spanish classroom, it is my hope they would see the usefulness in the project and maybe use it in their other courses. 

I would recommend to my students to use Prezi, PowerPoint, or any other digital media to produce their storytelling projects.  I would require students to pick a digital software tool by Wednesday so that I could review any sites I was unfamiliar with for their application in the class.  I would require text in the target language (Spanish), as well as pictures and/or video, lastly I would give my students the opportunity for sound –although it would not be required.  This presentation would have to be available either through removable media or the internet for the class to view, and be less than 5 minutes long. 

For the storytelling project to be successful, I feel that there would be two kinds of resources my students would need to complete their projects.  One resource would be language oriented and the other would be technology oriented.

For the language I would have my students use any of the following sites to translate or research the words/phrases they would want to use for their project presentation.  (After all this is the first week of school, I don’t expect them to have any significant Spanish vocabulary!)  These sites contain a wealth of information and in one case how to pronounce the words/sentences too!

Spanish Dictionary (http://www.spanishdict.com) – This site has single word and whole phrase translation, video tutorials on grammar and syntax, pronunciation aids, as well as fun ‘games’ to help you retain the vocabulary further.

I would also highly recommend the web site for whichever book the class was using, as they normally have resources on vocabulary, conjugation, verb usage, etc.

The class would also have available to them –through me- the use of my vocabulary dictionary.  This book (Mastering Spanish Vocabulary: A thematic approach by Navarro and Navarro-Ramil) breaks Spanish vocabulary into thematic units and places all the necessary words together so as to aid complete a project with relative ease.  If necessary I could make copies of the particular theme unit available to all my students. 

For technical help, my students would first have to choose which software application they would be using to present their digital storytelling projects to the class.  The following are a few sites that have the available resources for a good story telling project that are also free to use for everyone.

Prezi.com –This site has tutorials, educational resources, and a slew of other tools to help students create a fun digital storytelling project.

How to use PowerPoint (http://presentationsoft.about.com/od/powerpoint101/PowerPoint_101_How_to_Use_PowerPoint.htm)  - This site helps students work through different aspects of PowerPoint with easy step by step directions and illustrations depending on their PowerPoint version. 

Empress (http://www.empressr.com) - This site looks like a ton of fun, and it has the option to embed your presentation in a multitude of social media and blog programs (perfect for your interactive students)! 

… back to reality.

This assignment is on the one hand tons of fun for me, and on the other hand very difficult for me.  I have a million ideas on what to do the first week of school.  I want to engage my students; I want them to understand that in my classroom they will be active participants in their education and that I am there to facilitate the expansion of their horizons through a new language.  Very idealistic, I know… but it is who I am as a person.  In my previous career I was one of the most open and willing to help supervisors the company had, and for that reason I feel my staff flourished (the nice awards we racked up helped to back up my theory).  I want my students to feel that they can flourish in my classroom too! 

An effective way to accomplish this goal for me is to use digital media to the fullest extent in my class.  I want to provide my students with authentic learning opportunities, and connect them to a world of learning outside the classroom.  I cannot imagine we would ever have the budge to take a trip to a Spanish speaking country to immerse them in the culture and have them see how it’s not so different.  But through digital media I can do that in the classroom.  Students can find sites related to their interest in Spanish, they can take virtual tours with me of towns, cities, museums, etc. all in Spanish.  They can explore the world the 2-D book introduces them to.  And they can make friends online with kids their own age who live in Spanish speaking countries. 

The chapter we read in our book this week reminds us of how important a resource technology can be in a classroom.  We as educators can use a myriad of resources to help bring our point across to our students in a multitude of ways so as to aid them connect the dots easier.  Our students are immersed in technology from the moment they wake up, and I feel it would make it an easier transition for the day if their school day had the same interwoven goal to learning.  The resources are out there, we just have to be brave enough to go find them!

This is a different kind of story...

AR 4

This is different than a slide show

This week’s assignment was different for me.  I’ve done Power Point presentations in the past.  I’m not fantastic at it, but I’ve done enough that I figured I’d try one of the new options.  The first option (Slideshare) seemed pretty neat.  The idea that you can tweak away on your computer and then take the ‘clicking’ away from the slide show and make it into something cool was interesting to me.  But I wasn’t sure how I could make it work… or if I wanted to do the Power Point first.  Then there were the few problems with uploading that my classmates seemed to have with it.  Honestly, that turned me off.

So I moved onto Prezi.  I’ve seen it in action before (in this class and in others).  So, I looked on the site, and I chose the free educator’s version.  You get an upgrade on the MB storage and a couple of extra features.  And since all you need is an .edu email, why not?  Lucky for me/us the knights email we have to have anyways counts.  Whala! Free Prezi account.

The creation process was fun.  For me it flowed a lot like a mind web I often use when planning out projects.  It was also a bit chaotic due to being able to move all the pieces so much.  I wanted to make sure that I sort of organized the information so that when the screened flew around the audience didn’t get lost.  Also, there was the problem that the images and the text weren’t automatically linked… but that can be worked around.

I knew what I wanted to do.  I wanted to show a few little phrases that told you (the audience) why digital story telling is engaging and fun, and really the way to go to keep students interest.  Then I wanted to have a cute little example of how Prezi can put on a rudimentary presentation.  I picked something easy; reviewing the colors of the rainbow in Spanish.  The mini-lesson also includes the names of the shapes the colors are in as a review (brining in that previous knowledge to keep it active).

The Prezi has lots of visuals for my visual learners.  And then I ran into a problem.  I want sound.  Turns out the instructions for sound gave me a head ache!  Seems there is some sort of issue with it and the formatting you need is a bit tricky.  I’m sure this is just a case of me needing more experience with Prezi.  To me it seems that there are a few ‘tricks’ with this program that are for a more advance user.  No worries, I’ll become said advance user before week 11.  I promise sound by then!

I’m actually going to use this program to do a project in another class this semester.  It’s an option available that I had originally dismissed, and due to this project I’m intrigued enough to want to use it.  The description was apt; this does ‘blow your mind.’  And I know it’s a different presentation tool for the students who are so use to seeing their teachers show them Power Point slides.  That right there is enough for me to give this tool a few more tries.  I have to figure a few more things out, but so far, I’m happy with how this works.

Therefore, I ask you to watch my presentation…  (Bring on the comments!  I want to know if anyone remembers their Spanish colors)

Imaginary classrooms in Z school

Reading Reaction Z - Week 7

My computer background:

After reading chapter 4 in our book, I found it to be helpful in reminding me of some options for the peripheral hardware and the upgrades in USB technology/capacity; but overall I’m pretty familiar with the inner workings of a computer.  I’ve built or rebuilt several desktops over the years; either due to a need to upgrade or to save some money.  I also seem to be beyond the basic level of help offered by the ‘help line’ of the computer assistance… the last few times I’ve called they’ve had to transfer me to a specialist in California (so there is the bonus of no strong accents to decipher).  Even then it was a waste of time and I had to just crash and re-install the OS on the desktop (luckily we have two external backup drives at home so nothing was lost).  I have been known to upgrade the RAM, add a TV card, upgrade the modem (forever ago when you used one), and a fan; but I’ve never messed with the processor.

 I also set up the wireless network in our home to include the two laptops, the desk top, and the Wii having internet access and networked all 3 computers so that I can access data from any of the PCs on the one I’m currently on.  This is very convenient when I’m uploading pictures and they are still on the desktop or they are on one of the backup drives.  My husband also finds this a very convenient option when he wants to upgrade the fuel ratios on his car (the second laptop) and wants to save the run results on the desktop for further analysis.  I am by no means an expert on hardware and software, but I’ve mastered the basics and when I do run into a wall it’s usually something major that requires a lot of help – or a new computer! 

The cool imaginary classroom:

This is what my classroom computer has.  It’s a Dell laptop, it was purchased not too long ago to help facilitate my moving from room to room inside the school.  As a Spanish teacher, and the newest member of the staff I don’t have my own classroom yet.  But the school was great at providing me with a good mobile ‘desk’.    

Operating System:  Windows Vista, Home Premium. Processing Speed: Pentium-R, Dual CPU, T4200 @2.00 GHz.  Memory (RAM): 2 GB. Screen Resolution: 1366 x 768, 32 bits of color. Video Card: Generic PnP Monitor on Mobile Intel ® 4 Series Express Chipset Family. Removable Media Options:  1 network cable port, 1 monitor/peripheral port, 3 USB ports, 1 DVD/DVRW, 1 SD card reader slot, microphone and head phone jacks. 

As far as the software acquisition for my classroom, my principal has given me the funds and I have decided to purchase: Kids Spanish, published by Promotions.  The program is available at a reasonable price with all the options from www.k12software.com.  This program is a great way to introduce concepts to my students and has many interactive tools to keep my students engaged in their learning.  The program has the following requirements according to the web site:

Windows 98, Me, 2000, XP, Vista; 486 or better processor; 16 MB RAM; 10 MB free hard disk space; 640x480 monitor, 256 colors; 16-bit sound card & speakers; Microphone (not included); CD-ROM drive. 

My computer has the right Operating System and processor.  I have plenty of RAM and hard disk space, I can adjust the monitor settings and the sound card is up to speed.  I have a microphone from my mobile class cart, and the CD-ROM is ready to roll.  Installation was relatively easy.  

My first real concern was my microphone not being up to date, but the USB worked just fine on the backwards compatible USB 2.0 on my computer (as mentioned in Ch. 4 of our book).  This allowed my students to be able to pronounce and practice along with the software (one of its best features) and pass the microphone around so that everyone could have an equal opportunity to participate. 

I was also able to use a USB cable to hook-up my computer to the classroom projector.  That way I was able to project the image from my screen onto the whiteboard in the classroom.  My only real problem was adjusting the screen resolution, my highest available setting (where it normally resides) made the screen too small, and I had to adjust it so as to make it viewable to the students from their seats easily.  This took a bit of time and tweaking, but I was finally able to get it to fit the whiteboard and be viewable for everyone. 

I am very excited about the possibilities this program gives to my students for introduction of new material, as well as review of material before their unit tests.  Plus, the voice practice options available with the microphone are a great way to do practical tests on their pronunciation and sentence construction in a low anxiety environment. 

Here I am hidding behind the trash can!

AR #3

Online persona

I was a teenage girl once.  I don’t say this to point out the obvious; I say this because it’s very relevant to our discussion.  As a teenage girl I attended middle school, and I am not ashamed to say I was a geek… not a particularly liked geek either.  And as any teenage middle school girl will tell you, other teenage middle school girls can be mean!  Their favorite weapon, humiliation.  Easiest way to achieve said humiliation is a rumor based on a blatant, yet believable lie.  These lies can cause all sorts of trouble, spread quickly and can follow you for years, even when proven to be wrong.  After all, what is easier to remember… the boring truth or the juicy lie? 

Whether we know it or not, this humiliation at the hand or our ‘friends’ is probably the first encounter any of us have in our reputation being ruined/injured within our community.  You can think of a middle school as a medium size village; you kind of know everyone by face, but you don’t really know everyone well enough to know what can be or cannot be true.  In other words these girls have figured out what Solove was warning us about regarding our reputations and how fragile said reputation can be.  The injury to your reputation can be relatively easy to fix, or seemingly impossible to repair until you move onto a bigger pool… high school. 

The internet can be a mean middle school teenage girl.  Luckily I am now old enough to see most of it coming.  That is why I am rather paranoid about the online portion of my life.  I’m a fan of virus protection; I regularly monitor my wireless internet to make sure it is secure.  Because, I live in different spheres, compartmentalizing my private life from what I want the public to know of me.  Working at a bank for years and actively participating in identity theft investigations makes you paranoid too!

Social networking features (blogs, wikis, tweets, etc.) are now a day’s easy to set up (as mentioned in our chapter reading), and almost instrumental in our societal contact with our friends, family, colleagues, etc.  How does it apply to me?  After all, I’ll be a public school teacher (positive thinking starts early!).  Brevard County gives teachers space on the individual’s schools web sites for teachers to set up their own classroom site… something I plan on using extensively to communicate with my students and their parents. 

I plan on linking my Google profile(click here ),  and my blogs to my future teacher web page, so that I might give my students further insight into who is teaching them, Spanish as a language and how it applies to their lives outside school.  [The profile would obviously have to be updated before this.]  Blogs can and should be public; otherwise, why are you writing a blog?  My Facebook page is a bit different.  Mine is very private (security measures to the max and I check for upgrades frequently).  Why you ask… it is a social networking site after all.  Yes it is, but I use it for my family social networking.  I have lots of cousins in various countries all over the world; Facebook is just easier than 19 emails about the same information.  My sister works with individuals who have a mental illness and a drug problem; she set up both our security systems on it so that we can’t be found easily. *grin*   I’ve yet to get a wiki or a Tweeter account, so I can’t comment on those mediums. 

So, I straddle the fence.  I am willing to allow some of my information out there.  Allowing my students and their parents (and anyone browsing the web for an older Canadian actress with my name according to Google) to get to know me a bit better.  But I’ve drawn the line at my family pictures and names.  And in my opinion, that’s ok.  There should be some sort of buffer between who the world at large sees and who I get to be at home and/or with my family and friends.  After all, we are all entitled to some place where we can let our hair down and relax just a little bit.  I know that sounds silly since all these places I describe are online, but think about it… nowhere is now offline, a phone can take your picture picking your nose at a stop light just as easily as someone can Google a bad email you sent to the wrong person 10 years ago… no one’s reputation is 100% safe.