The last class of the summer term, how bittersweet it is...

I am glad that we got to talk to a set of teachers who have been through the MAC program.  They were very informative and interesting speakers that had diverse teaching positions.  It really opened my eyes to the various types of schools that could be part of my future.  I enjoy the use of technology in the classroom, but I really enjoy the use of farms and goats in the classroom.  That sounds amazing. I have never milked a goat, but I'm sure I will someday very soon.  

The ways in which the teachers described the use of tech in the classrooms outlines a very important point.  It is essential in this day and age to use technology and stress its importance to our students.  In this day and age students must be typing, searching online, and problem solving with computers.  One of the grew points that was brought up is that the job field is changing, and the jobs themselves are changing.  The shift in jobs has brought us to an era where positions are filled by tech-savvy applicants that work with computers for the majority of their days.  If a student is going to be ready for the "real world", they must be ready to handle business on a computer.  Even if a student is not particularly fond of technology, they should be taught to have the basic skills and comprehension that most jobs will necessitate their understanding of computers.  

The level of usage in the various classrooms differed a lot, this leads me to believe that I must do a large amount of planning activities that could be formatted in terms of a technological activity.  I may not be able to use the smart board that day, for example.  So I would have to alter my presentation of the material.  I feel that we must be very flexible in our attempts to use tech in the classroom.  I also think that we should use it whenever we can in order to orient them towards a more modern view of education and communication.  

Viva la vida loca -Rick Ross ...or wait... Rick James?.. no,  -Rick Riordan. 

I am finding a lot of edublogger's who share similar ideas as I, but have fantastic ideas of their own.  Mrs. Huff is a Spanish teacher at Denver High School.  She is in support of using technology in the classroom too!  She also believes that we can use the students knowledge about technology to connect with the changing skills of modern students.  She also feels strongly that we "MUST" nurture a learning environment where technology is at the forefront.
She says that technology is her saving grace, I don't know if i would go that far, but it will be a time saver and an excellent way to diversify my lesson planning.
She is a Psych and Spanish Major too!!! Oh my gosh! Aiii Chihuahua!
She shares blogs that her students have made.  She also has vocabulary podcasts, which is fantastic because then the students have audio input as well to help with memory, listening,  and pronunciation.
She collects information from many places on the world wide web.  She posts them, We read them, listen to them, watch them and learn from them.  I like her blogspot.  I like her.
The other blog that I read from is Mr. Saitta's Spanish Classes.  In his blog he makes public his assignments, handouts, on-line assignments, homework and cultural connections.  I think this is a great way to receive feedback from people outside of your school community.  It is also a very kind thing to do, for teachers all over the world are looking for great ideas that they can use in the classroom.
The cultural connections link on his blog is very cool.  The first part is dedicated to music, he has many styles of music on his list.  If you click on a link you are brought to a brief description of that style and where it comes from.  He describes the instruments, and the history of those instruments, and there is even a link that takes you directly to a website full of that style of music.  I plan on using music in the classroom.  The sheer magnitude of music on the internet dwarfs my music library, so i might as well get searching for new songs that my students and I would love.  I have already put many campers and students of mine up on many Andean artists, I will continue to do so, asi nomas.