Teachnology

The opinions of these various speakers are all very strong in nature; Stephen Downes, Howard Gardner, Alfie Kohn, and Gary Stager explain their views on the direction that educational reform should adopt.  You can literally hear the passion in their voices as they grasp for the next word.  They care about education. They care enough about the meaningful and positive direction of children's' education to put together this video outlining their views that they have obviously been molding for decades.
As they each take their turns repeatedly and, may I repeat, passionately expressing their concerns and ideas for current and future education.  Many of the things said during this computer conference were very eyebrow-raising and I would like to share some of my thoughts on the talk.
The standardized test was said to "matter the least" at one point during the conversation, which got me thinking about what he would say next.  We all know that these measurements pertain largely to content area knowledge which at times can be quite arbitrary.  So we can then switch to the things that are measurable by these tests and many other assessments that occur naturally in the classroom that encourages curiosity, caring, and deep meaning.  We do not, however, need to assess and quantify all of these transient qualities that can not be defined by a number.  Competition can stunt the creative juices that flow naturally in our minds as we make sense out of the world around us.  Competition can also provide a spark to the fire that ignites an idea capable of bringing about wonderful things.  The trick then is to leave that which is not quantifiable and in need of a good, healthy competition aside from this rat race that so often sucks the fun out of classrooms and children's minds.
We can foster self-efficacy, critical thinking, and self-expression in a way that was not possible before.  We have ideas, frameworks, and technology that make possible a large array of possibilities in the classroom.  We can always do better and raise our voices so that we end up coming together in order to create community and make education a beautiful word.
Though technology can take voices away from students and teachers by dominating the classroom through the sheer possibilities available that it can provide, there lies the idea that a class room could be completely stripped of technology or utterly technology-laden; it matters most what you do with what you have.  Create the most out of you classroom by creating the most out of your students and self.  The focus should be placed back upon the community that can be created through student, teacher and technology.  We have some lovely tools, let us use them. But most of all, let us maintain our love of education, for may it provide us with the fire to speak up and support that which we are truly passionate about.

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.

Online storage and communication

I have found Skype to be a very effective tool for classroom usage.  The ways in which I can use Skype as a Spanish teacher are very diverse and helpful.  With the various accents and cultures that are present in the Spanish speaking world it will be very helpful for the students to not only be aware of them, but to interact with them as well.  In my future classroom I will link up with schools from different countries in order for the students to Skype each other.  This would be like a pen pal, but instead it would be a Skype pal.  I think that the students would find speaking English and Spanish with students from other countries to be a very fun and challenging activity.  We would be able to converse with students from different countries in order to work on listening comprehension and cultural knowledge.  This would also give our students the opportunity to express ideas and opinions about our own culture. 

Dropbox and other online storage tools are a fantastic way to make sure that your information is saved in a secure place other than your computer; which as Kristin put it, “Might get run over by a car.”  While this is a sad statement, it is also a very true one.  We have to be careful about our files.  I, however, am someone who can be easily overwhelmed by too many technology resources, so I must choose one and stick to it until it is on its way out.  Organization is crucial, find one with an interface and style that you like and use it.  At least for me that is what I will try to do. 

Diigo will definitely come in handy as a way to organize my bookmarks and place sticky notes on parts of the website to guide me to relevant information.  This will speed up my search process for materials that I have already encountered. 

Google reader will also aid in the speed at which I can find websites that contain information that I desire. This is exciting and I know I will make the most out of it.  

Zambombazo!

Now we're talking! I am blown away by the amount of people who have dedicated their on-line personalities to the art of teaching.  I am immediately drawn to one of Jeff's favorite blogs.  Zambombazo!! No sabia que habla espanol!

In this blog he posts videos and other fun things from the world of Latin America.  

I will translate his objective.

A varied supply of fun activities based on authentic cultural products (songs, comic strips, news, film reviews, publicity, etc.) with which one can learn about the Spanish language and the cultures of the Spanish-speaking world.  

The first blog that I looked at was a an interview with Pamela Rodriguez, a peruvian singer-songwriter. Not only does the visitor get to practice listening comprehension, but her song and interview are about the "cuna de hielo", ice crib, where the babies in the Andes during the winter die at an alarming rate due to not having access to heat.  She explains that they provide large amounts of clothing but that the babies still pass away.  This is an issue that your normal Spanish class would not focus an hour to, nor one second.  With blogs come the ability to disseminate so much information that students will never be at a loss for a learning opportunity.  I had never heard about this.  But now i have!!! 

Thanks Zambombazo!!! (which translates as a strong blow that sends an object very far away, essentially) A goalie would utilize one of these blows in soccer. 

The comics strips comment on things from various light humor all the way to dark political metaphors.  There are even word games and writing contests that appear on some of the blogs.  It is a truly extensive look at the Spanish language and culture.  

Paz y amor

The class this week was informative and beneficial.  We got to hear a current teacher's ideas on using technology in the classroom.  Though angry birds would be completely out of place in my Spanish classroom, the idea that games can create competition.  Competition that engages the students will create motivation.  I would like to investigate ways to make my classroom collaborative and competitive.  I enjoyed the idea of involving some sort of point system so that students can monitor their  success and their involvement in the game.  

Putting together an on-line profile is a great idea, it will make interview processes go faster and our ideas will be expressed through many media.  We can put anything that we want to on this profile, and I enjoyed learning how to accomplish this because we did it as a group.  This helps me understand things much better when the group achieves their goal together.  We end up helping each other and providing great ideas.  I will work hard to make sure this is something that I can feel happy showing future employers and colleagues.  

As I learn more about the ways that I can utilize these resources, it makes me feel that I will be creating opportunities for my students to use them too.  We can all benefit from using our content knowledge along with technology so that we expand both of them and intertwine their usage.  This way we become more proficient and resourceful when it comes to the both of them.  

Have fun, work hard, live with hopes and dreams   

Blog #4 Gamers = Super Heroes

I was a little skeptical at first but, the reading has its merit, and Pajama Sam has a friend named Darkness.  I can see why starting with the full attention that his child gave the reading, he was able to see many other psychological learning and thinking lessons that were in the video game.
This is also a sign of the times because the author is an eloquent writer, presumably a great thinker.  However, he struggled with the video games that many people deem simple mental activity.  This led him to believe that there really is something to these video games.
I do like how he describes the hidden learning objectives in video games.  Adaptation and the utilization of skills in new areas is a very real representation of one of the core ideas of learning: Application.  During the course of a video game, a student of the game must understand how the controller works and apply these  combinations of buttons to the game play.
There is also intrinsic motivation involved with video games. Once we start playing, we want to win.  Therefore, the students attention is on the game and the processes that they must develop in order to beat the game.
This surprised me a lot at first, but now that it has been presented by a curious author I can see that it makes sense and is a real learning activity.  The students identify with their character, allowing them to make a commitment to the game process.  Just like in a classroom, the interaction with the student and the material presents problems that must be solved.  The players also produce a unique version of playing the game just like a student writes an essay in a completely unique manner.  Risk taking is something to instill in students because it allows them the opportunity to see that we can make mistakes and use them to learn from.  Trial and error is something that occurs in all facets of life, including the world of video games.
Understanding that video games follow well order problems shows another very important similarity to generally accepted rule of education.  We start with the basics and move on to more complicated combinations of the preexisting knowledge.  This involves the rethinking of knowledge and readjustment of schemata.
The question that arises is then, how can we use this style of teaching, where the students are actively engaged and intrinsically motivated, into the classroom?
The TED talk explains some of these ideas.  Games help us draw a parallel between real life and video game life.  If the gamers can solve problems in game world, then they can solve them in real life.  If we develop these skills in the game world we will become more able to solve these skills in real life.
However, many gamers aren't motivated by real life, they get more acceptance, excitement and praise in the on-line world.  The games do help us evolve as problem solvers but we need to incorporate these skills into our communal relations and everyday life.  This way we can benefit as a species from our acquired skills.  So instead of using games to escape real world suffering, we should use our skills to help solve this ubiquitous problem.