Langwitches Silvia the EduBlogger

 


I recently read a blog post on Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano's website about exposing students to a more "explorative" (don't know if that is a word) classroom pedagogy. In one of her blog posts that I responded to called: Global Pedagogy in the World Language Classroom, Silvia talked about the importance of exposing students to a curriculum that had variety in teaching language and that exposed students to outside resources that developed students oral proficiency skills. I found this post interesting because as a new Spanish teacher the most difficult task is giving students different outlets to practice the Spanish language outside of the classroom.

Often times, students in our classroom take the foreign language because it is a requirement for high school, this gives the classroom a very different feel compared to students who genuinely want to be there. Because of this it is important that language teachers learn new ways to engage the classroom, which can be very difficult when school policies and administration keeps your students from engaging with the language in an innovative way. I found this to be the case when I was in high school. Many of my teachers thought of ways to teach and engage students with science, math, and English topics but were restricted by funding and by policy. This can be detrimental to a language classroom that relies so much on community connection and practice of the language. I believe the first step to making this an important issue is trying to convince others of it's importance. In order to do this, we must show others how useful community involvement and connection with culture can be in teaching students. In my case, my entire upbringing with the language was very influenced by these factors, because of it I have a passion for the language and culture that I cannot replicate with any other form of education. I want to provide my students with this opportunity as well.

Below is a link to a a YouTube video that is a great example of what I would like to show my students. The video talks about Manuel Recio and his wife, Leslie Lukas-Recio who take over a family farm and take their love for Spanish culture and their love of food to become farmers. They grow many Spanish foods in their farm and discuss how they use that food afterwards. This is a great example of where I would take my students. I would use this as an opportunity to show my students Spanish culture and how that can be seen agriculturally. This is an education platform that involves students with both culture and life.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=H9hD1acIId8

Global Pedagogy in the World Language Classroom

Read more at: http://langwitches.org/blog/2014/10/08/global-pedagogy-in-the-world-language-classroom/comment-page-1/#comment-314408 | Langwitches BlogGlobal

Global Pedagogy in the World Language Classroom

Read more at: http://langwitches.org/blog/2014/10/08/global-pedagogy-in-the-world-language-classroom/comment-page-1/#comment-314408 | Langwitches Blog

Global Pedagogy in the World Language Classroom

Read more at: http://langwitches.org/blog/2014/10/08/global-pedagogy-in-the-world-language-classroom/comment-page-1/#comment-314408 | Langwitches Blog

Tech in My Placement- Lincoln High School

When I first arrived at Lincoln High School I was excited to hear that a new grant proposal had made sure every classroom had a SmartBoard. Since I have never used a SmartBoard, I found this tool to be very interesting and most of all useful in my own teaching at Lincoln. When we were first told about the "Tech in My Placement" assignment, I am not shy to admit that I thought our school would bomb the worksheet and not have as many of the tools listed. To my surprise, we did have a lot of what the sheet asked for, and more suprisingly I learned about tools that I had never heard of before. This was eyeopening to me as a new teacher and quite frankly something that I am glad I realized. Unfortunately, despite being able to "fill in" many of the options on the assignment sheet, the school itself does not have wide access to WiFi. The only computers that have internet are the teachers and although they do have WiFi available, it is not open to the school or students to use, which I found frustrating. I see part of the reason why they decided to do so, but I also believe that this lack of access can be limiting to the student and the classroom, especially if a student does not have internet access at home or on their cell phone. I think that this is impart due to not wanting students to be off track, and because attitudes towards technology inclusion is not common in our school. 

I believe other schools do promote technology more than our school does. Our students are constantly being told to put their cell phones away. Cell phones are a huge issue in our school. Because of this I believe that as a new teacher I can have the flexibility to include technology in my classroom and to use this to my advantage.

Tech Tools in Use- Voice Thread and the wonders of Prezi

 

I enjoyed both the presentations on Voice Thread and Prezi. The Voice Thread presentation was great because it introduced me to an application that I have never heard of before and that I actually found compelling. Since I am a very vocal person, I appreciate applications that allow students to use their voice, literally and metaphorically. I believe giving a student the ability to discuss something using their own voice gives them the power of self-expression but also the power of realization. There is a whole other feeling that comes about once your voice is "out there" , you become conscientious of what is being said and how it is being delivered. I believe that this is an important skill to have and to perfect. Voice Thread allows this skill to be practiced but in an innovative and interesting way. I would use this application in my own classroom in order to help with pronounciation and with gauging more oral communication in the target language.

The Prezi presentation was very interesting because it made me love the creativeness of Prezi even more than I already do. As a visual learner, I enjoy presentations that are eye catching and made creatively. Prezi does just that. The presentation delved more into the application and how to use it best, while also providing us with great examples that were used in the classroom. I found the "Prezi Awards" portion of the presentation most interesting. The reason for this was because we were introduced to people who used this platform amazingly and effectively. I hope to use this presentation platform instead of PowerPoint. I believe that it is a more creative way to present otherwise bland information.

Teaching With Technology-- Liz Kolb

The most interesting guest speaker we've had this semester was Liz Kolb. Her presentation on using cell phones in the classroom was very engaging and based off of a platform that she has used and implemented for years. I believe it can be difficult as a beginning teacher to see how to use technology in the classroom innovatively and effectively, Liz provided examples of this. I especially appreciated her response when I asked how to use her platform in lower resourced schools and with children who have disabilities, in her response Liz gave examples of this platform being used in both ocassions and actually discussed solutions to doing so. 

I appreciated Liz's passion for the topic and her genuine want to continue to develop this platform. Often times, I do play devils advocate when technology platforms are introduced to  lower resourced schools, as a student to attended a lower resourced high school I know how difficult these platforms can be when trying to implement, even if the person doing so is highly passionate and optimistic about the topic. I appreciated Liz Kolb's real examples and advice on how to make technology available to all kids, not just those who are fortunate to attend high resourced schools, or those who live without  a disability. 

I hope to include technology as much as possible in my classroom while continuing to balance the use of traditional resources. The Spanish language can be expressed and studied many ways. Due to its creative nature technology can be used to connect to other Spanish speakers. I hope to build connections with other Spanish speaking teachers in other Spanish Speaking countries in order to give my students a better exposure to the language and world. I plan to do this by using Skype and the connections I have with teachers in Mexico. The presentations on technology given were interesting in providing innovative examples that teachers have used, not just hypothetical dream solutions. When doing so I will be sure to take advantage of the many bloggers who are passionate about technology platforms.

Connections Across Discipline Assignment- BYOD-to-Discover-Tree-Species

I read the "BYOD-to-Discover-Tree-Species" lesson created by Sarah Adcock, Jesse Antuma, Wilbur Tong, and Sara Abraham. I enjoyed this lesson plan very much because it incorporated the idea of using both technology and the natural environment to learn about science. Field trips and using the enviornment around you for education is not as common as it once was due to the advancement of technology and budget cuts made by education districts. This lesson plan incorporated the use of cell phones/student technology in order for students to identify plant/fruit species in the environment around them. The lesson plan demonstrated a well-though-out process of engaging students with real plants and fruits in order to become familiar with indntification techniques but in a fun and innovative way. The students were able to leave the classroom while also participating in a formal lesson--allowing students to retain information. The group created a lesson plan that was condusive to learning essential plant/fruit identification techniques which were outlined before leaving the classroom. The balance of formality and innovation was present in this lesson which I appreciated as a nature lover and a teacher. 

Another aspect of their lesson plan that I enjoyed was the explicit direction of "Teach[ing] students ways to use their senses of smell, feel, and even taste, depending on the plant species being studied to make evidence based inference about the species they are observing." This step in their lesson allows students to learn skills that are usefull not only in science but in everyday life. This lesson plan provides opportunity for students to become intune with human instincts ans senses that can help them become better learners and more aware human beings. I feel as though this lesson taught students more than plant/fruit identification but an appreciation of physical and human nature. 

This lesson plan reminded me of what I did this summer with the 6th graders at Scarlett Middle School. Our summer project was set up in a way that made students explore the Scarlett Forest but allowed them to use technology to further their knowledge around the plants, animal species, and weather they exprienced while exploring. I found this technique to be very useful in assisting students to retain  complex information that would have been more difficult otherwise. 

Organizing Your Online Life--Google Drive

I found the task of analyzing a lesson plan and delving more into the benefits of Google Drive very interesting.  This assignment allowed me to learn more about the benefits of Google Drive and the benefits of other resources such as Evernote. I found the task of creating a lesson plan around the Google Drive set-up to be quite difficult despite my familiarity with the site. Having to patiently write out steps and make sure all important information was available was a tedious experience--but ultimately one that made me learn more about a product that I thought I already knew. This process made me think about how my lesson and curriculum planning will go once I am a teacher. While I created this lesson I had to imagine that everyone was not familiar with the site at all, I could not write the lesson based off of the knowledge that I had, I had to take others into consideration.

It was also interesting to watch others present their topics. Even though we were only presenting a two page hand out, you were able to view the different teaching styles of our classmates. This made me think more about the teaching practice, and how different teachers develop their "voice" as teachers. I found that in order to make a rather "dry topic" more interesting, classmates were relating the topic to how these sites can help us as teachers and individuals. This made think about how I will do the same with "dry" content as a teacher.

Standardized Testing, helpful or harmful?

Our 504 session on the new standardized test format that will be implemented in the year 2015-2016 was quite interesting to discuss. This new format was essentially created to make using technology easier while also supporting the uprising of technology. After reviewing the topic I found this new system to be horrible. The "settings" page which is the first page that the user is able to access was complex in itself. The formatting was ridiculous and if anything a distraction from what the user is supposed to be looking at. This format of standardized testing angers me because they are using technology as a "quick fix" to improving standardized testing. If anything we know the issue of standardized tests goes far beyond making the format look "pretty and polished".

Time and time again we see ourselfs (educators) having to live with the decisions set by non-educators who "think" they know that they are doing. I believe they justify their actions by saying how they were all once students in the school system--this is not a right way to look at the situation. There must be more educators going into policy and curriculum development, not politicians who think they are credited because they have a master's degree in Engineering, no offense Adam Zemke. But really, I do not think these new standards are being well thought out. While I was in high school we barely had 10 working computers in our library let alone internet connection. Our computers were outdated and would not have been able to support hundreds of children taking stansardized tests on them. This is my issue with these tests being mandated for all Michigan schools. Urban and rural areas might not have the proper technology to support these exams, how will that make testing fair? I believe this will make things much more stressful for admin, teachers, and students. Ultimately, if this is truly implemented our first year as teachers, I believe it will turn into a disaster.

"Super Saber"

I chose to check out the Spanish game "Super Saber". I have not played online games in years so I was excited to check out new games. I found this game to be exciting. When I first clicked on the game sites page I was impressed with the set up. I found myself rereading some of the Spanish words despite my fluency in the language--which is good when wanting a challenging game. I played a game that had the player distinguish between the usage of "V" and "B". The questions were not all super easy which I thought was good.

Although the game was intriguing, there was only a set of about 5 fill-in-the-blank sentences which I thought should have had more sentences. Overall the gaming experience was interesting and allowed me to look at technology in education differently. My educational experience was very traditional so I am still getting used to the idea of using more technology in classrooms. I hardly ever used technology in high school classrooms unless it was powerpoint or film.

Dewey-- Discussing Social and Cultural Capital

     “I believe it is also a social necessity because the home is the form of social life in which the child has been nurtured and in connection with which he has had his moral training. It is the business of the school to deepen and extend his sense of the values bound up in his home life.”—

I agree with this statement because things such as cultural capital can be affected by home life. Cultural capital—a factor that can affect social mobility within society is hugely influenced by the family structure. Cultural capital is stated in Allusions, Gaps, and Glissandos in Recent Theoretical Development as being: “operationalized as knowledge of high culture and educational attainment” (DiMaggio and Useem,1978). Sociologist’s Pierre Bourdieu, & Jean Claude Passeron continue with this topic by explaining the importance of cultural capital, stating that an “individuals’ social position and family background provide them with social and cultural resources which need to be actively invested to yield social profits.” If a child is not given the family background to provide them with the skillsets to interact with different classes/cultures a child could be excluded from particular jobs, resources, and high status groups that embark these cultural identifiers. This can make it difficult for a child from an underprivileged background to achieve social mobility. This is not to say that those who come from underprivileged backgrounds will not succeed in the classroom, but it is to say that the family background of a child can determine how this child will adjust to an environment when the majority is not their own. In the world of academia there are socially acceptable cues and institutions that must be followed in order to be accepted. Some students derive from families who teach this culture off hand, others do not.

It is a mater of “code-switching” that one must perform in order to receive the most social and cultural capital from an environment. Personally, I believe that the difficulty does not lie in the action of assimilating, but instead in the action of code switching and remembering to maintain your own previous identity. Failing to do so can result in acceptance into the majority, but exclusion from an identity you once called “home”.

“True education comes through the stimulation of the child's powers by the demands of the social situations in which he finds himself.” –

I agree with Dewey’s interpretation of education in relation to social situations. Students cannot be expected to socialize and acts in ways that they are not familiar with. Often times, when students are placed into uncomfortable situations they act out, or do not participate because they are being forced to socialize in ways unfamiliar to them. I believe this is true not only in education but in other social contexts. For example, if a student moves to an affluent area for college but comes from an area with completely different social norms and cultural capital the student will have difficulty adjusting or understanding why other affluent students act or network the way they do. If you have never experienced the cultural norm, you must educate yourself to understand. This can be difficult. As discussed above, some students are more disadvantaged in the sense of receiving social and cultural mobility because of lack of capital which can result in social isolation.

“I believe that all education proceeds by the participation of the individual in the social consciousness of the race.”—

Dewey explains how the process of race framing your educational experience begins at birth and continues to develop as societal interaction occurs. I agree with this statement. I believe that I am the woman I am today because of my experiences of being Hispanic and White. My mother’s experiences of being Mexican-American also helped shape my upbringing and investment into culture and education. Although I was not raised by my father, I have interacted with that side of my family. I knew growing up that his fathers family was English-Welsh and traveled here on the Mayflower, and his mothers family came from Ireland.  My identity of being Mexican and Irish has definitely shaped by experiences and much of who I am.  Because of my race and upbringing, I am able to understand and identify with others from minority backgrounds. Not many people can do the same. This is not to say that one can never relate, but I do believe that there are experiences everyone encounters that can only be truly understood by another who has gone through the same thing. Our experiences and identity shape our biases, our perspectives, and our willingness to educate ourselves.