The conference is off and running. My presentation went very well last night. It was surprising easy to talk for almost 2 hours! I had many attendees come and tell me how much they liked it and were thinking about trying the flip...from all levels! I am excited to continue to make contacts and keep learning.
This morning, I attended a awesome session about Google Earth. I have always been fascinated with Google Earth and although I have played with it quite a bit, I struggled to really make it work for me. However, this session has inspired me to go back and revisit Google Earth. There is so much value in being able to get down to the street level in a country and look at the shops, people, streets, etc. The presenters had suggested using Google Earth prior to taking students abroad so that students could have a chance to see routes and landmarks prior to arriving. Since I am leading the trip to Costa Rica next Spring, I am curious about what this will look like for that trip. There were some other great suggestions for using Google Earth, such as a scavenger hunt, having students go to a landmark and then look around to find things of interest to them.
However, by far was the idea to use Google Earth as a springboard for conversation in the upper level (4/AP). For this, the students choose a country, city and then neighborhood. Then they choose an apartment building. The students create characters that live in the building. (I could see this as maybe some students are neighbors??) Then, students can use Google Earth in conjunction with their characters to discuss their character's lives. For example, one of the characters can work at the market which is two blocks away. They can discuss the specials. (You can see so e of the posters and prices from the window.) they can discuss which neighborhood restaurant to eat at, where to go on their day off, etc. I can see this as something that could work really well as an ongoing assignment in my conversation class. My only concern would be the bandwidth issues we sometimes have at school.
This application can be used for so much more than to find the places that a discussed it the books that we read. I am excited to explore the possibilities and hopefully figure out Google Earth once and for all. I hear there is even YouTube video that explains it! ;)
I attended another great session today that was my second choice, but I am so glad that it is where I ended up! This session discussed different ways to assess the different modes from ACTFL. (Actually I attended two sessions on this which were similar but different and will put them together.) There is this wonderful book from ACTFL which apparently I missed out on the conference last year which is full of ideas, rubrics, and some advice. It is called The Keys and I have linked it for you so you can check it out. So, the session focused on Interpretive, Interpersonal and Presentational assessments. Now, of course I work on all three of these in my classes, but as I now see, I wasn't doing it quite right....especially the Interpretive. However, from the discussions I had afterwards, I don't think I was alone.
The interpretive assessments, even at the higher levels are often completed in ENGLISH! I was a little surprised by this, but the more I think about it, the more it doesn't make sense to me. One of the things my students have struggled with this year is reading. One of the difficult parts for me has been to determine if a student really is understanding the material, or if they are use searching the text to answer questions. (Just talking about comprehension now, not higher level thinking). So yes, I do have some conversation with the students in English to help with their comprehension, but assessing in English? I am going to have to think about that.
There were other great ideas for Interpersonal assessment. For an art unit, the teacher had students do self portraits in finger paint. Then she hung them in the classroom in pairs, and students had conversations discussing the "works of art". They used art vocab, comparisons, discussed what they liked and didn't like about each. I was excited about this because I am just starting an Art unit in 4. There was also a good idea for preterite/imperfect practice as well. Have students research a famous person from Spain (or wherever) and then have the compare their childhood to the person.
Now, to finish my great day, I will celebrate with a margarita with some of my favorite language teachers.....it is National Margarita Day after all. ;)
Friday, February 22, 2013
Thursday, February 21, 2013
CCFLT begins today!
I am very excited to be presenting at CCFLT (Colorado Congress of Foreign Language Teachers) tonight and attending the conference for the rest of the weekend. I always value the sessions and can find great ideas and nuggets of information everywhere. By far the best part is the networking. Discussing the language classroom with people that really understand where I am coming from doesn't happen as often as I would like.
With that in mind, I will write a post this weekend with the highlights of the conference. You never know when one idea will light the spark for a teacher....and I this respect, I love to start fires!
If you are attending the conference, come find me!
With that in mind, I will write a post this weekend with the highlights of the conference. You never know when one idea will light the spark for a teacher....and I this respect, I love to start fires!
If you are attending the conference, come find me!
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
What is Google Voice?
In response to my last post, I have received numerous questions about Google Voice. So, rather than answer everyone individually, I thought I would write a quick post. (I don't want to grade these tests and projects anyway!!)
Google Voice is a website through Google that allows you to create a dummy number that is linked to your cell phone (I am not sure if you can use a landline). The website is www.google.com/voice . If you already have a gmail account you can use that, if not, you have to get one. Now, I do not remember exactly how to do the initial setup, but I know it was easy. My advice- make sure when you create a number, it is a local number. Last year, I set up a phone number that spelled the school and my name, which I thought was brilliant. However, it ended up being long distance which was the occasional problem. You can change the number (it costs $10), but instead, this year I just registered with a new email (shhhhh...don't tell!) and created a new number that is local, but doesn't spell out anything cool.
Basically I am using the Google Voice as a voicemail service. I record a new message every Monday, and the students have until Sunday night to respond. Then, I change the voicemail on Monday and we begin again. I grade the students fairly leniently. It is a 25 point assignment. 10 for demonstrating they understand the prompt, 10 for content/grammar/pronunciation and 5 for length. I require the messages to be 45 seconds to 1 minute in length. I encourage the students to call and say something, even if they don't understand the prompt, and depending on what they do, I give them 10 points.
Now, I realize that many of my students listen to the prompt together. Many listen multiple times. They talk about what the prompt says and some even ask me if they are right. To this I say, Hooray!! They did a listening 10 times to figure it out!! Woo hoo!!
I also realize that students write down what they are going to say and read that. Well, they are thinking about the grammar and vocabulary. They are still practicing their speaking. So, again...WOO HOO!!!
As for themes for the voicemails, I try to make sure that three out of five during the (five week units) are somehow related to the unit we are studying and then two on "every day" topics like current events, Homecoming, etc.
As I have mentioned in other posts, making sure I get listening and speaking done in class is something I really struggle with, so worst case scenario, using this, I know that they have done some. To be honest, I have yet, in the almost two years I have been doing this, have every student do the assignment. But, the vast majority do it, because as a weekly assignment, it really adds up if you skip it every week. It is also wonderful at conferences because kids have no excuses for not doing it. They have to take responsibility for getting it done when it fits into their schedule. And, yes, if they have time during my class, I let them do it in class.
I hope this helps all of you. Please feel free to comment and ask questions.
**Another good point someone emailed to me- In the settings, you need to set the "do not disturb". That will keep your phone from ringing when the students call the Google Voice number.
Google Voice is a website through Google that allows you to create a dummy number that is linked to your cell phone (I am not sure if you can use a landline). The website is www.google.com/voice . If you already have a gmail account you can use that, if not, you have to get one. Now, I do not remember exactly how to do the initial setup, but I know it was easy. My advice- make sure when you create a number, it is a local number. Last year, I set up a phone number that spelled the school and my name, which I thought was brilliant. However, it ended up being long distance which was the occasional problem. You can change the number (it costs $10), but instead, this year I just registered with a new email (shhhhh...don't tell!) and created a new number that is local, but doesn't spell out anything cool.
Basically I am using the Google Voice as a voicemail service. I record a new message every Monday, and the students have until Sunday night to respond. Then, I change the voicemail on Monday and we begin again. I grade the students fairly leniently. It is a 25 point assignment. 10 for demonstrating they understand the prompt, 10 for content/grammar/pronunciation and 5 for length. I require the messages to be 45 seconds to 1 minute in length. I encourage the students to call and say something, even if they don't understand the prompt, and depending on what they do, I give them 10 points.
Now, I realize that many of my students listen to the prompt together. Many listen multiple times. They talk about what the prompt says and some even ask me if they are right. To this I say, Hooray!! They did a listening 10 times to figure it out!! Woo hoo!!
I also realize that students write down what they are going to say and read that. Well, they are thinking about the grammar and vocabulary. They are still practicing their speaking. So, again...WOO HOO!!!
As for themes for the voicemails, I try to make sure that three out of five during the (five week units) are somehow related to the unit we are studying and then two on "every day" topics like current events, Homecoming, etc.
As I have mentioned in other posts, making sure I get listening and speaking done in class is something I really struggle with, so worst case scenario, using this, I know that they have done some. To be honest, I have yet, in the almost two years I have been doing this, have every student do the assignment. But, the vast majority do it, because as a weekly assignment, it really adds up if you skip it every week. It is also wonderful at conferences because kids have no excuses for not doing it. They have to take responsibility for getting it done when it fits into their schedule. And, yes, if they have time during my class, I let them do it in class.
I hope this helps all of you. Please feel free to comment and ask questions.
**Another good point someone emailed to me- In the settings, you need to set the "do not disturb". That will keep your phone from ringing when the students call the Google Voice number.
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Individualizing Curriculum
I have been looking for a way to excite my students this year. They have worked through all of the given material, and even in the units that have been fun in the past, many have acted as though it was all a chore. So, I hit upon an idea. Probably a crazy one, but what else is new!
In their Google Voice prompt last week, I asked them all what they wanted to learn. After all, they are approaching the end of Spanish III, and for many of them, it could be the end of their journey learning Spanish. They should get a chance to learn what they had hoped someone would teach them in their Spanish classes.
First let me begin by saying that the first flaw in my plan was thinking that everyone would actually do their weekly phone call. Every week, I hope that they will all do them, but inevitably, there are some that do not. Well, this really hampers my custom curriculum plan. But, if you chose not to participate, you lost you voice to complain about where you end up. I will however choose carefully where I put these kids....I am almost thinking about a group of their own....hmmmm.
Second, although many of the students gave me some great things that they would like to learn, there were those few, you all know them, that told me what they thought I wanted to hear. No way do I believe that I have ten students just dying to spend more time practicing conjugating verbs in all the tenses. I did get some good topics, such as: more real world conversation, insults and pickup lines, food and culture, sports, animals, space, science and technology, travel phrases and art.
So, here is what I have decided to do. I have grouped the students by their interests, and those who did not call, or express a specific interest are grouped together. I am going to do my Spanish Civil War unit, which will encompass the first half of the unit (and some additional movies and movie clips). For the second half of the unit, students will be working in the groups I have put them in based on their interests. I will expect them to sit together and work together on the readings, vocab, etc that I assign. I will expect each group to come up with a vocabulary list that they will be tested on (approximately 40-50 words). Additionally, they will use these themes in their conflict projects that I assign at the end of this unit. They will get to determine how that will happen. But basically I will be looking for a cultural connection of what they have learned. So, for example, they can do two sports teams. They can give the background for each team and explain who would win if they met. They could also do food from two countries, and do an Iron Chef type battle of which food is better. (Of course they would have to explain each).
I am hopeful that this will help engage them in this crazy time of Spring and soften the unit of the Spanish Civil War. I also hope this will be a good lead in to the final exam where I let them do their own cultural presentations. I will probably have to tweak that assignment as well.....more to come.
In other news, I am working on the finishing touches for my CCFLT presentation in two weeks, and I am really excited to be presenting at AATSP in San Antonio in July. I am hoping that I will be chosen to speak at ACTFL in Orlando in November...fingers crossed. If you know of any other conference where they might welcome my flip presentation, let me know. I love networking and meeting all of my fellow WL teachers face-to-face!
Also, for Spanish teachers out there......Have you seen the new Blancanieves movie coming out? It is releasing March 15th and is in Spanish with English subtitles and is rated PG-13. It is a different version of Snow White where she is a bullfighter! Can you say FIELD TRIP??? Check out the preview! There are other trailers at Fandango.
In their Google Voice prompt last week, I asked them all what they wanted to learn. After all, they are approaching the end of Spanish III, and for many of them, it could be the end of their journey learning Spanish. They should get a chance to learn what they had hoped someone would teach them in their Spanish classes.
First let me begin by saying that the first flaw in my plan was thinking that everyone would actually do their weekly phone call. Every week, I hope that they will all do them, but inevitably, there are some that do not. Well, this really hampers my custom curriculum plan. But, if you chose not to participate, you lost you voice to complain about where you end up. I will however choose carefully where I put these kids....I am almost thinking about a group of their own....hmmmm.
Second, although many of the students gave me some great things that they would like to learn, there were those few, you all know them, that told me what they thought I wanted to hear. No way do I believe that I have ten students just dying to spend more time practicing conjugating verbs in all the tenses. I did get some good topics, such as: more real world conversation, insults and pickup lines, food and culture, sports, animals, space, science and technology, travel phrases and art.
So, here is what I have decided to do. I have grouped the students by their interests, and those who did not call, or express a specific interest are grouped together. I am going to do my Spanish Civil War unit, which will encompass the first half of the unit (and some additional movies and movie clips). For the second half of the unit, students will be working in the groups I have put them in based on their interests. I will expect them to sit together and work together on the readings, vocab, etc that I assign. I will expect each group to come up with a vocabulary list that they will be tested on (approximately 40-50 words). Additionally, they will use these themes in their conflict projects that I assign at the end of this unit. They will get to determine how that will happen. But basically I will be looking for a cultural connection of what they have learned. So, for example, they can do two sports teams. They can give the background for each team and explain who would win if they met. They could also do food from two countries, and do an Iron Chef type battle of which food is better. (Of course they would have to explain each).
I am hopeful that this will help engage them in this crazy time of Spring and soften the unit of the Spanish Civil War. I also hope this will be a good lead in to the final exam where I let them do their own cultural presentations. I will probably have to tweak that assignment as well.....more to come.
In other news, I am working on the finishing touches for my CCFLT presentation in two weeks, and I am really excited to be presenting at AATSP in San Antonio in July. I am hoping that I will be chosen to speak at ACTFL in Orlando in November...fingers crossed. If you know of any other conference where they might welcome my flip presentation, let me know. I love networking and meeting all of my fellow WL teachers face-to-face!
Also, for Spanish teachers out there......Have you seen the new Blancanieves movie coming out? It is releasing March 15th and is in Spanish with English subtitles and is rated PG-13. It is a different version of Snow White where she is a bullfighter! Can you say FIELD TRIP??? Check out the preview! There are other trailers at Fandango.
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