I cannot believe that this course is finally over!  

 No, in all seriousness, I have gained so much from this Web 2.0 course.  My goals in this course were to stay focused, stay positive, and find the FUN in technology.  I am proud to say that I achieved those goals.  Initially I didn’t think I would take a lot away from this course because of my content area, but I was very wrong.  The knowledge that I have now is so immense, and I could potentially use every tool and apply them to my classroom to benefit my students in the future.  While there are a few tools that I probably won’t use, it is still beneficial for me to learn about the many tools that my students use frequently and probably know more about that I do!  The thing that surprised me the most was that I had more and more fun as the course progressed.  My motivation grew tremendously, and I was anxious to incorporate new technology tools into my classroom.

My success in this course did not come without a lot of work! It was definitely time consuming (especially because I do not have Internet access at home), and there were several times when I questioned my dedication to this course.  Fortunately I stayed the course, and I now know that I can accomplish tough tasks in the future.  There is only one thing I would change…or should I say, request…

 MORE PLU’S PLEASE?!?!?!

Shelley was not kidding when she said that there was an enormous amount of social networking used in education.  While browsing through the endless number of tabs, links, groups, forums, etc. of Classroom 2.0 and Ning, I knew that I was bound to find something of interest to me professionally or personally.  Lucky for me, I found some incredible professional networks that I learned a great deal from – mostly ideas for my own foreign language classroom.

On the Classroom 2.0 network, I browsed through the following tags:  Content > Foreign Language and Area > Middle School.  Most of these simply allowed teachers to vent, share, express concerns, etc. about their classrooms and to seek guidance from those with different experiences.  I benefited mostly from the “Videos” tab, where I found two videos that explained and showed two great games that I could use in my Spanish classroom.  The first, El Juego del 7, is an appropriate game for beginners who learned how to count from 1-30 (or any number once they understand the game).  It will be a great game to use in my classroom in order to get the kids to think more instead of just memorize.  The second game, ¡Alto!, is an easy (and FUN) activity to review vocabulary in a foreign language classroom.  It doesn’t need a lot of preparation and the kids will enjoy it! It’s almost like the game Scattergories, but in a different language and based on Unit content.

During my exploration of Ning, I found three social networks of professional interest.  The one I was most interested in, International Classroom, was only available to those who had an invitation only (¡Qué locura!).  It is a social network for classes around the world – perfect for a foreign language classroom – where they can share, talk, show pictures and video, and learn about other cultures and languages.  Another network, Global Education, helps students and teachers reach the world via media, conversation, and collaboration on projects and lessons.  The final tab of interest, Primary MFL, is an interactive network for teachers who teach or plan on teaching Foreign Language at the Primary level (ages 3 – 11).  Even though I teach ages 12-14, I thought that I could still benefit from this network because teachers are able to share their worries and successes about their own classrooms.  One can always learn from others’ mistakes and successes!

I see myself using social networking professionally in the future, but I do not think it will be a prominent part of my teaching/development.  It is definitely a great way to find new ideas for your own classroom.  Seriously, in just 30 minutes on Classroom 2.0 I was able to find some great review techniques for my Spanish classes, which I am confident will be highly effective. 

While at first glance I thought this task was going to be very overwhelming, it was actually pretty easy and fun….yes, fun….to create.  I feel like I’m constantly repeating myself, but this tool could definitely enhance classroom learning and professional practice like the many other tools that we’ve learned about in this course.

I tried to make my Pageflakes reflect my content area, Spanish, while also providing links and resources about general education.  There are a couple of fun links on the page as well, because I personally can’t handle an overload of information without a bit of entertainment on the side :^)  Using Pageflakes in the classroom would be a great way (in my case) to expose my students to many different aspects of a language and culture via different links and downloads on the page.  However, if a teacher chooses to use Pageflakes in the classroom, s/he would need to be sure to include appropriate, content based, age-related material.  I noticed that when I opted to add pictures from Flickr or RSS feeds, I was unable to select just one thing to display on my page.  On a few occasions, I scrolled through the pictures and feeds that matched my tag words, and many were pretty racy and inappropriate.  I recognized how important it was to browse through my own site before allowing others to do so.  I can see myself using Pageflakes more as a personal tool than as a classroom tool, but I look forward to brainstorming more options for classroom incorporation.

Take a look and my ”now public” Pageflakes page!    

Using Google Docs this week as my office online was a really awesome, and productive, experience for me.  I thought of a long list of ways that I could use this tool in my professional and personal life.  To clarify, there are certainly some classroom and professional documents I want to, and will, keep private.  However, there are so many that I could display on Google Docs that my students and co-workers could have access to and benefit from! I began my Google Docs journey by uploading some of my classroom ideas that I thought others would be interested in.  There are a couple of documents/activities/project ideas that I can think of right now that could really improve and be more effective once I receive input from those that I collaborate or share with via Google. 

One document that I posted on Google Docs is titled ”How to Study for Spanish Class.” I use this form during the first week of school to introduce positive and effective study habits to my Spanish students.  I used this one as a collaborative document so that other language teachers could offer their pieces of ”language learning” advice.  I could also have the students collaborate and come up with more study tips to add to the list to make it more student-related.

A classroom document that I came up with (of course using Google Docs) is a Spanish song activity.  The document has the lyrics written out with several blanks.  The students are responsible for several things.  They must highlight/underline/bold certain verbs, vocabulary words, or grammatical devices and identify those on a seperate document.  They must then listen to the song (I would provide a link for them) and fill in the blanks with the words that are missing.  This would probably take a bit of trial and error on-line, but it’s a very effective activity on paper. 

Another document I added title ”Cheer List” does not directly relate to my classroom, but it does relate to my job as a Cheerleading coach.  I collaborated with one of my assistant coaches so that we could continue to add new cheers to the list as the athletes learn them.  I also thought it would be neat to have the athletes add cheers that they know to the list eventually.

I thought it was really awesome that Shelley came up with a fun Spreadsheet questionaire to get to know her colleagues.  So…I was inspired to make and post one of my own called “All About Me” on Google Docs! Another “first week of school” activity I like to do involves getting to know fun and silly things about my students, instead of the boring name, address, phone number business.  By using Google Docs, the students could fill in their own information, share, and view fun things about one another.

I will definitely start using Google Docs in my profession.  It’s just amazing that I’ve never heard of this tool until now! I guess that shows how untuned I was to the world of technology.  No excuses now! There are a few other documents (in addition to the ones I mentioned) on my Google Docs account including PowerPoint presentations, attendance spreadsheets, and project instructions.              

Let me just begin by saying that I am so glad that we as teachers are finally allowed to view YouTube on our school computers.  Undoubtedly, there is an enormous amount of “junk” out there on this site, but there is also a tremendous amount of insightful and useful material that we can use in our professional and personal lives.  I had already added a few funny videos about learning Spanish to my de.lici.ous account before this assignment, so I decided to find additional videos that took more serious glimpses into the Spanish-speaking world.  The videos I viewed on YouTube dealt with cultural events, food, and music that directly relate to some of the content that I teach in my classroom:  Day of the Dead 2006 at Rancho la Puerta, Salsa Dancing, Spanish Soap Op’, and several more.  These videos would help me bring various lessons and topics to life as well as give me more creative ways and ideas to teach them.  

On TeacherTube, there were several videos that caught my eye related to second language learning.  I was very surprised to see the diversity and creativity of foreign language teachers in their classrooms.  Some of these videos include:  I Love Lucy in Paris and All About Me.  Both of these videos touch on the importance of learning a second language by using very different approaches.  The I Love Lucy video is a hilarious video that basically shows the importance of learning the language of the country that you decide to visit.  Of course, anything with Lucille Ball is over the top, but it’s still a fun way to get kids excited about learning additional languages.  Take a look at it below! All About Me was a project that asked students to create a picture slideshow (hmmm…perhaps Flickr would come in handy?) of themselves and their family and describe in Spanish their “life story.” While this particular student was quite advanced, I could easily use this same idea in my level I classes and make it pertain to the skill level(s) of my students.

Download Video: Posted by Madame Thomas at TeacherTube.com.

We do a lot of projects in my classroom and I thought of a few that I would love to record and post on TeacherTube for several reasons.  For one, I think it’s great to recognize students for their hard work, effort, and creativity.  I also think that making the “YouTube” or “TeacherTube” page would be a huge boost for them, and they may actually ”enjoy” being in classes and doing projects.  I also think it’s a great idea to post projects on TeacherTube so that we know what’s going on in other classrooms besides our own.  Many teachers are convinced that their students are unteachable, or they run out of ideas to actively engage their students.  TeacherTube is a site that offers endless project ideas and classroom activities for those teachers who either lack in creativity or simply run out of ideas.  Here are a few project ideas that I will attempt to record and post on TeacherTube in the near future:  Un día en el mercado (A day in the market), A bailar la salsa (Salsa dancing), La rutina diaria (Daily routines skit), A conjugar (Conjugating verbs through song), and Los Mandatos Irregulares (rapping irregular commands).  These are some fun ways to learn the Spanish language that my students have enjoyed for years now.  I would love to share these ideas (some original, some not) with the education world!

My experience using Evoca to create a podcast recording was quite a friendly one.  The website was extremely simple to navigate through, and Shelley’s “help” video most definitely erased any doubt or apprehension I had before starting the journey.  This experience has built my confidence as a “podcaster” (is that a word?) and I can definitely see myself using Podcasts in my classroom in the near future.  The only problem I had was the numerous amount of ”takes” I had to do.  WOW! The first time, I had no idea what I was talking about…I just rambled (never a good idea.)  Once I decided to write down what I wanted to say, I couldn’t get pass the sound of my voice…yipes! Once I finally made a decent take, it sounded like I had some Cindy Brady action going on.  We’ll just blame it on the congestion….good ol’ Atlanta pollen! :^)  Listen to my Podcast!

I was super excited to learn more about Podcasts this week! I have heard from many language teachers that they are a great way to provide supplemental vocabulary and listening activities, and it also gets the students involved and excited about learning a second language.  When my students are happy, I am happy, so I was ready to learn and take it all in. 

I have added three Language Podcasts to my reader this week:  SpanishPod101, InstaSpanish Podcast, and LearnSpanish – Survival Guide.  These podcasts were found in the following directories:  Education Podcast Network and Learn Out Loud.  I am in the process of finding more Spanish podcasts that relate more to my teaching styles and methods using iTunes, but these will have to do until I find those “perfect” casts. 

Browsing through various podcasts of interest was very easy.  The educational podcast directories are organized very well by content area, which makes it more convenient to find those podcasts that are related to your classroom.  For the most part, I think that the information (vocabulary, grammar, culture, etc.) that is provided in the Spanish podcasts is extremely valuable for beginners and can be easily related to a classroom setting.  However, the majority of the podcasts did not speak in the target language, which is something that I find imperative in a second language classroom.  The presenter(s)/speaker(s) would explain too much in English, so the students would receive a minimal amount of information in the language they are trying to learn. 

I think that this activity served as more of a self-motivator for me.  Listening to these Spanish podcasts inspired me to start creating more relatable podcast videos in the target language.  Learning a second language through listening only is a very challenging task.  So, instead of asking my students to listen to various podcasts, I would want them to listen to AND watch podcasts so that they could see gestures, facial expressions, read lips, etc. that would better facilitate language learning.  Podcasts will make a great addition to my classroom if they are presented in the target language and applicable to the real world.     

I took the plunge today…and set up an account with 43 Things.  Will I use it? No clue! But, I felt like “stretching” myself today.  Initially, I took a few steps back and wondered why people were getting so personal with total strangers on the web.  While I am a very outspoken and outgoing individual, there are many of my personal and professional goals that I would rather keep to myself.  Goals are funny like that to me.  It’s like I really want to share my goals and aspirations with the people I come in contact with everyday, yet I don’t want to be “judged” if those goals aren’t met…or if they seem uncapable of being met.  All that to say, I wasn’t sure if I would really connect with this site.

I can see now how a site like this could really inspire and help people.  There are many people in this world who feel “alone” in their weaknesses, professions, troubles, successes, dreams, etc.  43 Things is a way for these people to connect with someone that can share, encourage (“cheer”), motivate, and learn from one another.

That nervous and awkward feeling still takes hold of me when I think of connecting and sharing personal goals with a total stranger, but perhaps it will build my confidence and “fuel my fire” when it comes to setting and attaining goals.  As far as classroom incorporation…not so much! I could only imagine some of the unrelated, immature goals that some of my students would come up with…not to mention the comments they would have for others’ goals.  Maybe they’ll be ready for this in a few years.   

Okay, where to begin?! The first thing I read when beginning this task was “As long as you don’t hate books, this will be a fun one,” so I basically decided to put on my positive pants and just for it! From what I gathered during the tour, LibraryThing  is a social web place where readers can discuss, comment, share and read about thousands of books and authors with which they have had experience.  I found it very interesting that there were so many diverse groups at a single site.  The first group I viewed was Off-Topic, which was exactly like its name.  It’s description caught my eye because it encouraged those who were not “experienced” readers to come and chat about anything they wanted.  I thought it would still be related to books and reading, but it was about totally unrelated…stuff! However, once I kept browsing, there were several groups that I would be interested in viewing…if not joining. 

Eventually, I started thinking about some of the few books that I have read and really enjoyed, and I realized that most of these were Spanish novels or dramatic works.  I was reluctant to enter these works in the search engine because I didn’t think many people would really comment on them.  Surprisingly, there were hundreds of reviews and chats related to each work that I entered! Needless to say, that made me very happy.

I think that LibraryThing is a really great tool for those who love to read or for those who teach Literature classes, etc.  On a personal note:  The optimistic side of me says that perhaps this tool will encourage me to read the reviews and discussions of other people, which would then interest me enough to actually read those books and contribute to the site.  However, the more realistic side of me says that I probably won’t utilize this site much because of my differing interests.  From a professional standpoint:  Incorporating LibraryThing into my classroom would be quite difficult.  The students that I teach are just learning how to speak a new language.  I’m talking basics:  the alphabet, phonics, numbers, basic grammar, etc.  I do, however, have my students read short passages/stories in my class, so perhaps we could set up our own class ”LibraryThing” and students could comment on those passages/stories and have web discussions to test comprehension.       

I was introduced to del.icio.us during a teacher workday last year.  I set up an account, tagged a few sites, and honestly never gave it a second thought after that session.  I seriously couldn’t even remember the username and password I used!!  Basically, I went through the motions of setting up a great tool, but I did not put it to use.  Little did I know that we, del.icio.us and I, would be reunited (and it feels so good)!! Everything about Del.icio.us is muy fácil (super easy!), from exploring the site, to setting up my account, and finally to tagging sites of interest to my own account. 

Del.icio.us is yet another web tool that reassures me of technology’s amazing power and influence.  Like many other tools we have explored during this course, this tool allows me to not only share what I have found interesting on the web, but it also gives me the opportunity to explore and learn from the sites that other professionals (from different parts of the world) have tagged as important or interesting. 

However, like our first relationship, Del.icio.us and I may not be too commited to one another.  While I know it has the potential to teach me about things related to my content area, I am already so overwhelmed with the other great web tools that I have been introduced to!!  I have also found that there are other tools that will be more beneficial to me, my profession, and my classroom.  I will definitely do my best to ”keep up” with the trends, but I cannot make any promises!!