Podcasts!

Hey everyone,

Spanish Podcast
Hey Everyone,
Believe it or not I have heard of podcasts a million times but have never even looked them up to see what they are. So, here I am in my last Mod for this awesome grad class and I find myself FINALLY learning to use one and found one that I added above.

Unfortunately I would have loved to use this in my Health and Welfare unit in my level three Spanish class, but that's okay. I can use it next year! This podcast is awesome because it has conversations between a doctor and a patient. I would have my students listen to this podcast and write down as many vocabulary words as possible. Then we would talk about the words that they heard and the "problemas" that each person had.

Lucky for us, there are a ton of cognates between the Spanish and English languages and we can find a lot of them in the health unit. I think this would be a great way for them to practice their listening comprehension skills and also to hear what a real conversation would sound like in Spanish!
I can't wait to use these in the classroom and find others to go along with each one of our units. It has definitely opened a new door for my classroom.
Hasta luego,
Alissa

ePals

Good Morning,
The first time I ever traveled outside of NYS I can remember thinking, "Wow, there is a whole world out there for me to discover." Unfortunately this is rubbed in my face everyday as I teacher right next to the Buffalo Airport and I can literally watch planes take off outside of my window. So, at times, I wish I was on those planes on my way to explore another part of this big ol' world.
Since I do not have the money or time to do so right now, and neither do my students. I should you things such as ePals to being the world to them. ePals is used in many classrooms across the world to practice languages, understand customs, and communicate with other classrooms.
If you have a classroom that is studying Spanish in the United States, it is very easy to connect with another classroom in another Spanish speaking country that might be learning English. Students can practice their language skills with other students all across the world. Students are able to learn languages through experience.
Immediately as I explored this site, I thought about using it in my classroom. There is a section on this site called "A Taste of Culture". Students participate in creating a cookbook in the target language and eventually bring one of the dishes in. I thought about using this during a food unit. Students could each pick a different recipe and different country. They could research a fairly easy recipe and write it out in English and in Spanish. At the end of the week, students could make the dish, bring it to class, and share it with their peers. They could tell them what is in the dish by making a list of the items in Spanish and leaving it next to the dish.
Another obvious idea is to connect with a teacher and their class that is using the target language. My students love to learn the "slang" of Spanish speaking countries. I think it would be fun to share some of this slang with another classroom across the world. Eventually we might be able to exchange addresses and send them some fun things from the U.S. I know I would love a Spanish spekaing teacher to send me things in the target language. Even if it was a newspaper, my students would love that kind of stuff.
Any suggestions?

Hasta luego,

Alissa

Imperfect Video!

Hey everyone,
I am checking back in to share a video that I created to teach my students the imperfect tense. Here it is! I decided that I would use this video in my classroom to introduce the imperfect tense. It's a quick video that I think that they students will appreciate. I would like them to be able to create their own video when they have a good understanding of the imperfect tense. I think that they could use either site GoAnimate.com or Animoto. I liked both of these sites and found it very easy to use both of them.
I think that teachers could create small videos with listening activities as well. I could have easily put these in the imperfect tense in Spanish and presented them and then gone over them with my class.
Both are awesome ways to incorporate more technology in the classroom. Go ahead! Try them!
Hasta luego,
Alissa

What's your photo story?

Hi Everyone, 

I hope you are enjoying your week so far! I wanted to share my video with you that I created to introduce the imperfect tense in my level three Spanish class. Each year I ask them to create a scrapbook using the imperfect tense and real pictures from their childhood. How awesome would it be if they could create their own video!? Well, today I put it to the test and used some of the pictures that I have from my childhood and it worked. Here it is! 

I think this tool could be fun for the students. I don't think that they have any other opportunity to create a video for any other class. I wish that we could pay for a longer version because I think it would be fun to have 8-10 slide each. Then they would get more practice with the imperfect tense and be able to show more pictures. What do you think? 

Have a great day. 

Hasta luego! 

Alissa 

Have a seat on the magic carpet! We are listening to a story...digitally!

            As we practice our 21st Century Skills, Digital Storytelling pops up a lot in our classrooms. One of the best ways to use it in the classroom is to practice listening skills and speaking skills. Students are also able to practice their vocabulary skills as well. It is a great tool that not many teachers use. Fortunately, these storytelling programs "promote the notion that users with little technological background should be able to create digital stories."-Educase Learning
            Digital Storytelling is described as  "the practice of combining narrative with digital content, including images, sound, and video, to create a short movie, typically with a strong emotional component" in an article by Educause Learning. Teachers can create this story for their students, or the students can create the story for the teacher! This a great project for students at the end of a unit. Here is an example.
If my students were learning about family life they could create a story about a family in French or Spanish. They could add digital content, images etc. and then add their voice to narrate the story. In this case they are practicing reading, writing, and speaking skills. Then when all projects are finished, students could listen to one or two of their peers' stories and write what they hear. They would be practicing their listening, writing, and comprehension skills. What more could a foreign language teacher ask for?
          As I was reading "The Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling", I stumbled across this quote:
" Digital storytelling provides an authentic personal learning experience- as such; student investment is greatly increased resulting in greatly improved motivation and end product. "- David Jakes I think that this is a fabulous quote that really sums up what digital storytelling is all about. I think that it is important for students to take control of their learning experience. They can also take ownership of their stories, or add their own photos to their story.
          One of the most important 21st Century Skills is collaboration. In the article from Educase Learning it says that students can collaborate on digital stories. It really does use the best parts of teaching. Give it a try!
Hasta luego,
Alissa