Integrate Technology for Free!

    It is ideal to integrate technology into our classrooms and I know that I plan on integrating it in mine. With the continuous rise in prices I can not even imagine how much technology and programs will cost by the time I am a teacher. What if the school district will not support our technology any longer? No one likes to beg for money so do we go out and spend money from our own pockets? Maybe. But what if there was a way to integrate classroom technology with no money? That is right, FOR FREE! Many of the popular programs we use cost tons of money but one thing many teachers do not know is that many of these popular programs have replicas that charge 100% less! I am even using one right now.

    As long as the school has a computer lab or some form of access to computers then practically anything can be done. For example, we all know that Microsoft Office is not cheap but we also know the value it adds to lessons with Word, Powerpoint and Excel. Well, instead of Microsoft Word teachers can use Google Docs. Instead of Powerpoint teachers can use Prezi and instead of Excel teachers can use Google Spreadsheet. There are many more replicas of popular programs that can be easily found with a quick Google search. There are also other programs to help with different aspects of the classroom. I read an article that some teachers use Classdojo for behavior management and something else Edmodo to keep conversations going outside the classroom and online with classmates.  Integrating technology in the classroom does not always have to be ridiculously expensive. Integrating technology can actually end up cutting costs. That is, if you integrate the right technology.

In my opinion I think this is a great way to integrate technology without spending too much money. I use Google Docs for almost every one of my assignments since I do not have Word and I have found that it runs more smoothly than Word.

How do you all feel about this?

   

Technology in the Special Needs Classroom

    While there is so much buzz going around about how to integrate technology into a Foreign Language class or an Art class or an English class, I thought I would take some time to focus on how technology can help our Special Needs Class. You may not think technology can play a big role in this class but the truth is it can! Students who suffer specific learning disabilities, speech impairments, mental retardation, emotional disorders, hearing or visual impairments, and many other disorders can benefit from technology. However, while this is great news there is a downside; The Federal Government is only covering about 15% of the cost of educating a special needs child. I believe that if we brought more awareness to this problem that this can change and we can get the technology needed in the Special Needs classrooms.

    Thanks to modern technology, children who suffer from different disorders have found new ways to express themselves. Some technologies that can be used to help these students include digital textbooks which offer high quality images and audio capabilities, voice recognition technology for the students who have trouble using keyboards, text-to-voice which reads a text back to a student who needs audio reinforcement, and many others. For the visually impaired, there are screen readers, descriptive video services and computer screen magnifications. For the hearing impaired there are captioned televisions, hearing aids and infrared systems. There are different technologies for different disorders so I understand why it would be extremely expensive to supply Special needs classrooms with all of this technology but can we really put a price on education in today’s society?

I know that the cost of all this does not seem practical, but if you had a friend or family member who suffered from one of these disorders, would you change your mind?

Technology Integration Plan.

In creating my Spreadsheet Matrix, I used an existing Spanish Lesson Plan from last semester and aligned it with certain Core Curriculum NET-S Standards. Along with the standards, I was careful in making sure the technology I incorporated did not only add on to my lesson but that it also enhanced and  transformed it. The objective of my lesson plan is for my students to pair personalities and preferences with particular tourist destinations in Latin America. My students will  be able to use the vocabulary incorporated in the lesson to create a PowerPoint presentation advertising their ideal Latin-American destination.   

In the first part, which falls under Access, the students will play “Hangman” to review the tourist vocabulary they learned previously.  In the second part, which falls under Analyze, the students will participate in an interactive Powerpoint presentation about personalities and tourist destinations. During the presentation they will respond to the teacher’s questions about their own preferences. Students will then talk briefly with a partner about their own personalities and answer questions about their own preferences. They will then report back to the class and make a list of personality types on the board: activo, tranquilo, intelectual, aventurero, etc. In the third part, which falls under Evaluate, the students will scan a brochure in Spanish about a variety of possible tourist destinations in Latin America. Working in pairs, they will then choose three personality traits and select three tourist destinations in Latin America that would accommodate those preferences.This in where I decided to integrate certain technologies.  In revising the lesson plan, I made it so that my students will use web searches to learn more about the different locations. They will be given a list of different Latin destinations and they will search each one to gather information. Through the web searches they will hear the specific dialect spoken in specific locations and decide whether it sounds more laid back and slow or more up beat and fast. They will also see what the people in specific destinations look like. They will notice whether the people are dressed up or dressed down. My students will use computers and the internet to see the difference between a location meant for sightseeing verses a location meant for night life. By using the web to find all of this, the students will not have to ‘guess’. Rather, they will be able to more authentically make an educated decision and pair specific destinations with specific personality traits. In the fourth part, which falls under Produce, the students will remain in their pairs and collaboratively choose the destination that they think would be most fun to visit. The teacher will explain the instructions for the Powerpoint presentation that students will prepare in Spanish to advertise that site. The students will brainstorm a list of key vocabulary and design ideas for their presentations and they will use the computers and Internet during the subsequent class to collect more detailed information. In the fifth and final part, which falls under Communicate, the students will present their Powerpoint presentations to their classmates. The rest of the class will listen and ask questions they may have regarding the presentation and the teacher will clarify any misunderstandings.

Although integrating computers seems like a ‘safe’ way to go, there was much thought that went into the decision. I asked myself “which of these technologies do my students already use? And to what degree do they use them?” (Domine, 22). Most, if not all, of my students use some form of a computer whether it be a Mac, PC or iPad so they would know how a computer operates. I felt that the students being able to identify with the technology was important so they do not waste time trying to figure it out. Rather, they could use their time meaningfully completing the assignment  without having to rush due to a lack of time.

    Even though it is much easier to lecture the students about each destination and provide my own photos of what each area looks like, I decided that it was not about me and what was the easiest teaching style. Giving the students a technological activity that gives them control and that is more student-centered is vital. This revision “is an important step, as it emphasizes the significance of how learning occurs, not just what or how content is taught” (Domine, 23).  When the students go out and learn on their own it will stick with them more. Lessons become more meaningful to both the student and the teacher as the students will become more engaged.

My Technology Integration Matrix:

 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AjOJ-0FHxSH7dHYwS2lwTlNISzdsWkFkd0h4cjZUd2c&usp=sharing

Go Green, Integrate Technology

         Growing up, I was never that student who used book-socks for my books and I always ended up being faced with a damage fee at the end of the year. My parents would not understand how I always managed to do this and I never had an answer for them. When kids are young they are still learning about responsibility and so they do not fully understand the importance of caring for something, especially something that is not theirs. For this reason, I think that school districts and teachers should integrate online textbooks into their classes rather than paper ones.

         I came across a website called “bookos” a few weeks ago and I thought it was awesome. Once you enter, you put in the ISBN of the book you want to find and if it finds it, you can download it FOR FREE. I used it for some classes this semester and avoided paying over one hundred dollars. For college students this tool is really helpful as many of us support ourselves and look for ways to save money. For younger students this tool is helpful since it will avoid the need for parents to pay their childrens’ damage fees. It is also helpful for both the younger and older generations of students as it lightens the load of books to carry. My mom always made me use the backpacks with wheels so I would not hurt my back from a young age but with online books, students will not get stuck rolling their backpacks with embarrassment.

The website requires that you use either an ipad or iphone since the books download to the application iBooks. I understand that teachers can not expect the students and their parents to go out and purchase an Apple product but there are many other websites similar to this that may not require this purchase. All these websites require is a computer and in today’s society there is access to computers everywhere. I think that parents would also like this tool since it is not harming the environment. No trees had to be destroyed in the making of online textbooks and in a world where many people are trying to go green, this is a perfect tool.

Have your teachers ever suggested for you to use online books?

Would you suggest it for your future classroom?

Sorry Art Teachers but Technology is Needed

       Many would argue that integrating technology in the classroom is harmful. The Art teachers would say that it takes authenticity away from art and the English teachers would say that it allows for more plagiarism but what would a Foreign Language teacher say? While it is true that technology in the classroom has different negative aspects in different classrooms, it is unfair to deny its significance in other classrooms such as those of a foreign language. I do not believe that schools should be for or against technology in their classrooms. Rather I believe they should refuse it where it may harm the learning process and provide it where it may enhance the process. I am convinced that Foreign Language classrooms need technology and, in my opinion, supplying Foreign Language classrooms with technology would create a more authentic learning atmosphere for the students despite what the Art teachers may say.

       When students learn a new language, they are not only learning the vocabulary and sentence structure but they are also learning about the people who speak it. Through the use of technology, students would be able to hear the different dialects and accents a language consumes. Instead of learning about the culture through textbooks, they could be digitally transported to Spain or to China, for instance, to see what their cities look like in 3-D instead of through colored-in photos the textbooks provide. If technology was readily available in Foreign Language classrooms, the students could practically walk amongst the people to see what they look like and how they dress. Instead of trying to create a vision in their minds they could hear it and see it in all of its genuine, unfeigned forms. Technology needs to be integrated into Foreign Language classrooms for only then will students learning a new language be able to authentically absorb the true nature of it.

Many people are fighting for the wrong thing. The battle is not over whether or not technology should be integrated; The true battle is allowing people to see that integrating technology should not be a choice but an obligatory option in specific classrooms.

What do you think?

Is Technology Harming There*Their*They're Grammar?

      In this country, we are surrounded by native English speakers. From a young age, we were taught to read, write and speak English so fluency in the language was inevitable. But just how much about  the language do we truly know? While all languages have grammar that can be easily taught, English is known to be one of the more difficult ones with all of its sets of rules and sets of exceptions which contradict the very same rules! Certainly our Language Arts and English teachers covered the topic and assessed our knowledge of the contradictory rules to the English grammar but from my experience and from the experience of my family and friends, we memorized our way through the assessments and spell-checked our way through the papers. So let me ask again, just how much about the language do we truly know? I believe that while technology has surely gotten us ahead, that it has also pushed us back. If we did not have constant access to tools such as auto correct, then maybe we would spend more time learning the right grammar instead of relying on technology to do it for us.

Being that I am what you might call a ‘grammar police’ and from the way I cringe when people write ‘then’ instead of ‘than’, I know just how important grammar is to our language. I went to a blue ribbon high school yet it took me until my freshman year of college to understand the difference between ‘effect’ and ‘affect’ and when I edit my friends’ papers I can not comprehend some of the mistakes they make in their grammar. Just because English grammar may be difficult to teach does not mean it can not be learned. Therefore teachers should not simply feed their students with information for them to memorize, they should make sure their students actually understand. We go to school to prepare ourselves for the real world and the real world is telling us to go back to our Language Arts class. Our iPhones on the other hand are saying, "dont wry ur good"

 

In such a competitive society where how we communicate our thoughts is constantly being judged and is, in more ways than we know, a representation of how we carry ourselves, it is important that we do not mix up our “there, their, and they’re”’s and our “then and than”’s. Clearly, changes need to be made to the curriculum and in doing so I believe that grammar should be added as its own course. Even though we are surrounded by English speakers and have been hearing the language from an early age, what we hear and pick up in our surroundings is not always correct especially since much of what we hear is coming from people who memorized their way through their assessments and spell-checked their way through their papers. I do not think that schools are giving grammar as much thought as it needs in the classrooms and I think that in order for students to be grammatically prepared for the real world, they will need to read, write and speak grammar until they are fluent in it so that they won't rely as much on autocorrect. 

Stimulate Your Mind, Read a Book. Write a blog about it!

    Growing up, I was never really a fan of reading. I did not like my Language Arts classes and I never enjoyed the books they assigned. I did just about everything to get out of reading to fulfill assignments and did so through websites like Google and Sparknotes. My teachers would critique our opinions of the books and I did not feel as though they were genuine when asking if we liked the books. However, if someone were to ask me if I like to read today I would probably start to ramble about all the books I love and show them my iBooks application. I would explain the way I could spend hours reading a plethora of quotes from books which I think are phenomenal. So where did this change occur? Well, it all changed my freshman year of college with my writing professor. He taught me that reading did not have to serve a purpose other than to bring me a feeling of serenity and he showed me that with the right book and the right environment, that is just what I will get. I describe myself as an expressive person and I find that with the right thoughts and with the right words any emotion can be expressed in the perfect way. I regularly look back to my highschool years and think that maybe if I took the time to read more books that I would be able to express myself to a higher degree. I think of my future students and I do not want them to have the same regret that I do.

There are various things teachers can do to encourage students to read. One thing that really inspired me was the way my teacher went about assessing us. He did not make us feel like we were reading for a grade. He would hold regular class discussions where my classmates and I would express our opinions on the chapter(s). There were clearly democratic values instilled in his classroom since the students led the discussions and in instilling these values it was easy to see that he genuinely wanted to know how we felt. Instead of giving us homework or tests on the reading, we wrote book reports about a specific aspect of the book in which we wanted to write about. This helped because I felt as though I was reading for myself, without the pressure of reading for a grade. I did not mind writing the book reports because I was able to get my thoughts across knowing that my teacher would enjoy reading them rather than marking them up with his own thoughts.
Another tool my teacher used to engage us was blogging. After completing a book, he would give us the option of blogging our opinions of the book for extra credit points. Although it was not mandatory, most people in the class did the blogs on a website he had created just for us. In creating these blogs, we were able to anonymously converse with our classmates about the book and in doing so we felt like our blogs meant something. The first step in getting students to enjoy reading is to change the way they feel about reading and in just a few, simple steps my teacher was able to do this for me. Reading is important as it stimulates us to think in different ways and in today’s society, everyone is looking for that one student, that one partner, that one worker who sees the world in a different light and who thinks in a different fashion than the others.

• Before choosing a book to read, do you read blogs and reviews about it?

Rosetta Stone: ¿Habla usted español?

Diversity plays a key role in today’s society. Everywhere you turn you find people of different cultures and who speak different languages. Since English is the most commonly spoken language, other language speakers tend to reside in the same regions to feel safe and united; to feel home. But if this is the land of the free and if our country depends on the various existing cultures to make it as great as it is then it would be vital to make our diverse counterparts feel comfortable. They should not have to be reassured that there are others like them and they should not feel threatened when all their neighbors look and speak differently than they do. Although this is the way things should be, it does not necessarily mean that this is the way things are. One way to break down barriers between different cultures and language speakers would be to learn different languages, and  as easy as it is to make this claim is as easy at it is to realize that it  would be naive to think that everyone will voluntarily go out of their way to learn a new language. I guess it is a good thing that many people do not have the choice anymore. In many schools throughout the country changes are being made to the curriculum. With Spanish as the second most commonly spoken language in the country, school districts all over have decided to make Spanish a mandatory class that all students take regardless of personal opinions.

In my opinion I think this is awesome and I am so thankful that my district was one of the many that decided to take this route. When I was in the second grade my district added Spanish to the mandatory curriculum and from then up until I reached high school I was learning Spanish. After taking it for 7 years I thought it would be a waste to not continue it throughout high school where I then had a choice to take it.  Knowing Spanish has not only been really helpful but it has also been fun. It was helpful for me the two times I vacationed in Puerto Rico and it is still helpful for me day to day. At work there are many Spanish speaking customers and many times they do not speak English so being able to connect with them on some level makes things easier for both me and the customers. I find Spanish fun too because I am one of the only ones in my group of friends that can speak Spanish as well as I do so whenever they have questions about the language I am the one they come to. I wouldn’t trade my knowledge of Spanish for anything and I plan on continuing to pursue more languages to learn. 
I understand that not every district has the appropriate funds for this however an alternative may be to integrate technology such as Rosetta Stone into the 'study' periods many middle schoolers have once a day. Schools can keep the computer lab open to the students during these periods so that they can further expand their education.   

Do you guys think this would be practical?

Online Articles: Right or East? Only Language Can Tell

I came across an article on the New York Times website about languages and the ways in which languages affect the thoughts of their speakers. The article starts off discussing Benjamin Lee Whorf and his hypothesis that “Native American languages impose on their speakers a picture of reality that is totally different from ours” (DEUTSCHER, NY Times). At first I was fairly skeptical to this idea and laughed at the thought that the people around me think differently than I do because they speak Hebrew or Chinese. However, after reading through the entire article I looked around and could not see how people of different languages did not think differently.

The article explains some different ways in which languages shape our perception and these differences seem to mainly stem from the grammar and structure differences between the languages. In English one might say he went to lunch with a friend without ever mentioning whether the friend was a male or female. In German or French on the other hand, speakers are obliged, through their grammar, to disclose this information. While in English, speakers are grammatically forced to say whether they ate, are eating, or will eat, in Chinese the same verb is used for past, present and future so speakers do not have to specify when they did something. Another major difference between languages is the distinction between direction and coordinates. In English and in many other languages such as Arabic and Spanish, the speaker would use directional words such as Left, Right and Straight. While this may seem like the only way to give directions, the article explains how “languages that rely primarily on geographical coordinates are scattered around the world, from Polynesia to Mexico, from Namibia to Bali” (DEUTSCHER, NY Times). Therefore when we might say “make a right,” other people may say “turn East.” I thought this difference was incredible because the article explains how an English speaker might go to a hotel where all the rooms are exact replicas of each other. If he walks into another room he would see the exact thing. However if someone else who speaks using geographic coordinates walks into two rooms, he would see something completely different in each. In one room the telephone may be on the north side whereas in the room across it is now on the south side. The English speaker may see the same room twice but the speaker of a geographic language will see two different rooms.

Certainly there are other differences such as the ways different speakers perceive colors and inanimate objects but the underlying idea is that different languages actually do affect the way people think. When people are taught to speak a certain way with specific grammatical rules from a young age, these rules become innate and natural. They turn into habits; Habits of speech and habits of thought. These habits do more than allow you to identify with right and left or north and south. These habits allow you to see a world your classmates may never see and what better way to share a vision than to challenge your mind and learn a new language.  I believe that Foreign Language Learners need to understand this concept to truly connect with the language. If I did not search the NYTimes Website I would not have learned this information about Foreign Languages. Therefore I think having Websites like this readily available to students is important. Just like it taught me something crucial about languages, it could do the same for them. I may have my students spend some time at the end of every class researching news articles relating to the lesson in hopes of them learning something crucial too. 

Would you guys do the same?

Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/29/magazine/29language-t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

YouTube: This is America, Speak Arabic!

          With the ongoing clash between cultures in today's society, I find that communication plays a big role. Many times, when someone gets frustrated with a non-English speaker you may hear certain phrases such as, "This is America, speak English!" or "Go back to your country!" If I were to hear a phrase like one of those a few years ago I would not have paid much attention to it. However, if I were to hear it now I would laugh. It is a fact that there is NO official language in the United States. Therefore, if I were a non-English speaker and someone tried to hit me where it hurt with a phrase like "Speak English!" I would tell them, "This is America, speak Arabic!"
          When looking closely at countries throughout the world, it is clear that close to all of them have an official language. In France it is French, in Spain it is Spanish, in China it is Mandarin and in Egypt it is Arabic. Why then is the United States different? Although English is surely the most commonly spoken language in the country, its historical roots play a role in the reason why it is not declared THE official language. Research explains that many anti-American activists consider English to be the language of oppression rather than of democracy. The activists began this claim after the War in Vietnam and made sure that any attempt at passing a bill declaring English the official language was brought down.
          Alongside English are other commonly spoken languages such as Spanish, Chinese, French and Arabic. Most people I know can not speak more than two languages. Many times, what they know of their second language is what they learned in school. This saddens me because in a country where everyone shares different cultures and backgrounds our sense of unity could be greatly strengthened if we took the time to learn more languages. This way we could communicate and interact with more groups of people. Either that or any type of diversity this country contains will slowly vanish and we really will be just like one another; With nothing to give and nothing to gain. For that reason, learning foreign languages does more good than one may think. Learning the language of other cultures may in turn save cultures from fading away and dying out.In order for my students to understand just how many languages are spoken in the United States I would use YouTube. I would let them listen to the plethora of different languages spoken in the country so they understand that while they live in a predominantly English speaking country, the very same people who surround them may have a different native tongue. I have used YouTube for similar research in the past and it always helped me.

Do you guys think YouTube is appropriate?

Integrate Online Research to Get Students Engaged!

As we have grown throughout the years, we have come to accept that learning a foreign language is important. It is mandatory in many elementary and middle schools and it is required in order to graduate from highschool and college. Although we accept this, I am not sure we fully understand why it is so important. Yes it fulfills our education requirements but studies prove that learning foreign languages does so much more for us. It not only makes you smarter, as you will know more than one language, but it will also make you better at English and will allow you to retain memory more easily, will make you more decisive and perceptive, and will possibly add a few more years onto your life.Instead of hearing the all too famous question, "why do we have to learn this," teachers should show students that this answer can be answered with just a simple internet search.

There is more to learning a language than simply memorizing new vocab words. It requires you to pay attention to its mechanics such as its grammar and its sentence structure as well. When you understand the different formations of words and sentences in this new language, you are automatically more aware of the language as a whole. This awareness thus allows you to become more effective and efficient in communication and writing as a whole. People who learn other languages can also distinguish meaning in speech as well, as they will be able to use their understanding of other mechanics alongside their knowledge of English mechanics to communicate more concisely and clearly. Along with speaking, remembering comes more naturally to those who learn other languages. The brain is often compared to a muscle in the sense that exercising it will strengthen it. Learning other languages helps strengthen the brain and its memory. Studies show that people who speak more than one language can remember things such as lists, sequences and directions much more easily.

A study from the University of Chicago shows that people who learn more languages are more prone to making better decisions. Each language contains its own set of rules in its vocab and knowing them can subconsciously influence the speaker’s judgement. Since knowing another language allows you to think something over in more than one way, it inturn gives you more confidence when making a decision. Another study from the University of Pompeu Fabra in Spain shows that learning another language enhances perception. When you are able to think of something in more than one way, then you will also look at it and observe it in more than one way as well.

To many, these advantages to learning a foreign language do not matter, however there is more. Learning a new language can be beneficial to your health as well. Many studies have been done and prove that people who have learned other languages put off being diagnosed with Alzheimers and Dementia longer than people who are monolingual. 71.4 is the mean age for monolingual adults who have just started seeing signs of Dementia while 75.5 is the mean age for multilingual adults who have just started seeing signs. The studies were done in numerous ways and they all came back with the same results. It is clear and proven that learning a foreign language is meant to do much more than get you through highschool and college and I believe that if teachers presented this information to the classroom that their students would want to be there rather than feel like they have to be there. If students knew how easy is it to research the importance of things, I believe that they would want to use the Internet to beneficially research what they learn and ultimately become more engaged and intrigued in the lessons.