Camping Anyone?

             When browsing through these different podcasts, I noticed that ESL Pod seemed interesting.   After looking around, I noticed a specific Podcast that caught my eye.  Supplies for Outdoor Recreation, was the title of this podcast and reminded me of my favorite season, summer.  After hearing the podcast, I had an idea that would allow students to practice summer vocabulary as well as topics and conversations on a camping trip.    As a teacher, when introducing camping/outdoor vocabulary I would have the different supplies as a visual so students can visualize the objects as they hear it. 

                This podcast was clear and gave a variety of ways to say certain words.  The man spoke extremely clear.  Listening to this podcast will allow students to understand verbs, nouns, and adjectives as introduced by the speaker.   Students will be able to hear the correct spelling of most of the words introduced, as well as simple vocabulary definitions such as flashlight, bug spray, matches, tent, etc.  The speaker made connections to real life examples that will make it easier for learners’ to comprehend the podcast.  

 

                Not only did the speaker introduce summer fun vocabulary, but he also used everyday vocabulary to reinforce good social skills for the learners.  He used vocabulary such as saying please and thank you, and being kind to friends. 

                As a culminating activity for this podcast, I can have students take a hike in near woods near the school that I was teaching at.  This will allow for the students to make connections and see what the outdoors is like when exploring new vocabulary, terms, and definitions on camping outdoors. 

Communication + Collaboration = EPals

               

              First off, EPals was an extremely easy site to navigate through.  The tabs on top were all clearly labeled and allowed viewers to easily find their way around this site.  The logo of EPals; Global Connection, Where Learners Connect, is catchy in that it does just that!  It allows viewers to see the different options that are available to them from professionals whether learning is about holidays around the world, maps, habitats or natural disasters in Spanish.   

                Under each EPal project, it includes the project name, topic, essential question, overview, and the ability to connect with classrooms.  This is great feature because it allows teachers to easily view what each project entails.  One project that caught my attention was the Holidays and Festivals Around the World.   This would be a great introduction project so children can learn about the different customs, traditions, and cultures about different holidays throughout the world.  Children can construct similarities and differences between holidays in the United States compared to the holidays and festivals that are introduced with this project. 

                Another great feature was the teacher forum which allows teachers to communicate with one another.  This is a great way to discuss the different things that worked or didn’t work in each project.  There is always room for improvement and feedback is a great way to improve your ideas and lessons for other times. 

                EPals offers great support and resources for family.  This is a great way to get family involved in their child’s education.  There was a section under families that will allow parents and guardians to view their students work and accomplishments.  This is great way to not only make families happy for their kid’s accomplishments, but also incorporating technology with the visual effects of seeing their work on the computer screen. 

                All in all, EPals offers communication and collaboration between individuals.  This program offers online use of documents, student work, and communication tools that make students, parents, and educators stronger and more aware of collaboration between classrooms and home.  

Mi Familia en Madrid

     In the Mi Familia en Madrid Animoto, I showed my viewers some different photos of my family in Madrid, Spain.  This would have been a great introduction tool in the beginning of the school year when I was showing photographs of my trip abroad.  This is a great way to organize pictures and show them in a fun and engaging way.  In the Spanish classroom, you can introduce different units with photographs, music, and text from different Spanish speaking areas around the world.  Students, can create different Animoto's that allow them to be creative in bringing their writing pieces 'to life'.  Students can complete different writing prompts in the classroom, and with the help of Animoto, they can create different sections of their writings and use their imaginations to make videos of it.
    Animoto can be a free replacement for PowerPoint, field trips, digital storytelling, science projects and more.    

The Joy of Voice Threads

            Both Alyssa’s and Meng’s Voice Thread’s were interesting to respond to.  They both incorporated the use of adjectives and responding to a picture.  In this scenario, this would be a great tool to use in any English or ESL class to not only practice the use of adjectives, but to also practice using their voice or writing skills.  The threads that I visited, gave in depth directions as to how to use the Voice Thread so that learners were able to explore this tool with the help of their teacher.  It was great in that it allowed learners to use their own unique way of responding to the thread. 

                In my voice thread, I allowed the learners to respond orally, but then they had to give me a hard copy of what was said and reinforce their writing skills.  In reviewing my thread, I think that this will be a wonderful tool to practice for ANY type of speaking task for any exam.  It can allow for learners to hear themselves and give feedback to themselves as well as other classmates.     

Fruta, Fruta, Fruta

     This was a great tool that will allow students to think creatively in creating a book that will be beneficial to them.  In this case, I created a Bilingual Concept Book that will allow viewers to have access to some different fruits in Spanish as well as their English meaning.  I created this book in order for the young learners in my class (3rd grade) to understand the different fruits, names, and pictures that go along on each of the page.
     In any foreign language classroom, the teacher can model a story at first and show them the different things that can be included in their story.  Students can create stories on simple vocabulary (clothes, school subjects, things around the house, etc.) from converting English stories into their native language.  The teacher can work collaboratively with the technology/computer teacher to allow students to work on their creations in class.  This will allow students to ask questions,  work with others, and use their imagination and what was already taught/reinforced in class.
  For example, if I were to allow students to create books on 'School Supplies and School Subjects' in Spanish, I would create objectives such as; students will create a story on different school supplies and subjects in Spanish, students will use photos to design a book that will show their understanding of the major vocabulary on school subjects and school supplies.

Digital Storytelling

Photo taken from Flickr by Brian Alexander

                                        

                   Digital storytelling is a virtual tool that can entertain or enlighten any audience.  As stated by Jeniffer New in her one source titled How to Use Digital Storytelling in Your Classroom, she states that, in today's digitized world, visual storytelling is a favorite classroom tool, and the affordability and accessibility of technology such as iMovie provides opportunities not imagined a decade ago.  Digital storytelling can use a variety of text, video clips, music, narration, text, and recorded audio.  The length of these videos    can vary in length but for educational purposes, these videos usually last for two to ten minutes.  There can be a variety of themes and ideas for creating digital storytelling.  These themes and ideas can range from historical events, personal tales, and stories about planets and dogs and everything in between.  

 

         In order to fully understand digital storytelling and what it has to offer, watching this six minute video clip on Introducing Digital Storytelling will allow viewers to take into consideration the ways in which this tool can be beneficial.  

 

       The way students express their creativity and use their imagination nowadays can have kids be fully engaged in creating Digital Storytelling.  Students can use narration and clips that express their wide range of creativity.  Students can work collaboratively on creating digital storytelling that will allow them to use writing, speaking, and listening to make their story.  In a ESL or FL classroom, students can present these different digital storytelling techniques that introduces to other students their home life with pictures and possible dialogue that allow for complete interaction in the classroom.  Following the curriculum of the school is an important factor of teaching but using technology in ANY classroom will heighten students awareness of what is being taught due to the interaction, visuals, and sound opportunities that students can explore.  

 

His path, his journeys, his ACCOMPLISHMENTS!

Whether sitting in class or reading article, I always found it interesting to hear about people’s journeys on how they learned English.  As part of this MOD, I found that commenting on and reading these different posts opened up my eyes to the different accomplishments that individuals face in learning the English language. These accomplishments can either be the positive ones or the negative ones and how they learned from their mistakes.   A Journee in Langauge blog, introduced me to one man’s journey and the struggles, achievements, and accomplishments that were overcome in acquiring English.