Assignment 12 Just the Beginning

As I think about this summer and the places that this course has taken me I am so sorry that I didn't take it sooner. I think that I actually sold myself short by thinking that just because I still can't type doesn't mean that I am forever stuck in tech limbo. I found this course to challenge my thinking and open doors to countless opportunities. I am asked to discuss how my classroom teaching will change as a result of taking this class. One thing that immediately pops into my mind is that I am going to start utilizing the best resource that has been right in front of me for years....the kids. I don't want a classroom where I deliver my great wisdom to students who secretly giggle as I struggle to show them this really cool thing I stumbled across on the computer when in reality they have most likely mastered the technology behind it in elementary school. Instead I hope to tap their potential and challenge their skills to help bring my classroom into the 21st century. I want to learn with them!!!! My job has been tweaked to where I need to challenge them but at the same time give them the opportunity to complete a task in a variety of ways. I need them to experience the world and now that is a very real possibility through Skye, the Internet, and blogging.
On another level I am also thinking about ways that my department can grow by infusing technology and communicate together on a larger but simpler way. We do need however to be afforded the opportunity to have time to work together and grow. I would so love to have time with one another to gather the excitement from one another. I know that together is the way that we will truly grow and reach our potential

Assignment 11

After looking at the information about School 2.0 I have to say that I think there is a very big piece missing that people would argue. I love the ideas and the wealth of information that are available to my students, colleagues , and myself at a speed that's faster than even Superman envisioned. I am amazed by people who have the ability to think so far outside the box that the box itself isn't even visible. I am such a huge fan of the ease that we can collaborate in an effectively boundriless (don't think it's a word) world with people whose very life experiences can enrich my teaching in ways I never thought possible but........ I LOVE people. I love laughing with people, getting excited with peoples ideas, crying with people, just basically "being" with people. I think that all too often in the world of technology the people part is lacking. The supportive hug, the encouraging back pat, or even the hair tussle sum up the need for the human tough on so many levels especially when you are dealing with kids. I can care about them in cyberspace but I think that value it more qwhen I am standing by their side cheering them on. If that's old fashioned them I am just OK with the label.

It's a Small World After All

I just finished listening to the podcast interview with Dr Zhao. I am so excited by the opportunities that exists on a global level if we'd just had the time. It is so rare that I ever hear of a focus on foreign languages and the global arena needing to take the forefront regarding learning. I get so frustrated at times by the math science focus in our educational system where LOTE is pushed back as a "filler" class. I was very excited to hear about not just teaching a "closed" curriculum but instead infusing learning through problem solving. I love the idea that our students are not just receptacles for the knowledge that I have and thus limit them to but instead view them as contributors to my class. I know that they have so much to offer me in terms of what technology has to offer.
Because of my LOTE background I feel that I am so open to the thinking that in our educational system we shouldn't be so egocentric to think that the US has the best way of doing everything. So many times the students show this thinking in my classroom when we discuss other cultures. They neglect to see the great contributions that other countries have given the world. Quite often their mental "borders" limit them tremendously. This is where it is my responsibility to open the doors on their thinking and help to expose them to what the global arena has to offer. We need to be mindful that these kids are our future so if we can begin to infuse the acceptance of the values, cultures, and languages of our world our students will be so much more willing to indeed go out and seek what the world has to offer.
On a lighter note I can't believe how cool the virtual game sounds on learning Chinese. The description of the challenges directly support our curriculum. What an exciting way to bring technology and language learning into our students new world.

A New World

After listening to the podcast from Kevin I must say that I am feeling a bit guilty about holding my students back with my own ignorance and fear of technology. Challenge to create an assignment for my kids has left me both enthused and lacking. I know that our opportunities are endless but I am afraid that I am too narrow minded to really embrace the choices that are available for my students. I can envision us (due to the level that I teach) having the opportunity to actually correspond with students abroad. This would allow my kids the opportunity to engage in conversations at their level and at the same time have the opportunity to have a culture awareness session that I simply wouldn't have in the classroom. The challenge is to find an opportunity when we can have access to the computers. When I hear about the lap top schools I must admit that I am envious. We rarely have the opportunity for computer time due to limited access.

It's time for me to reflect again on my technological journey. I am still feeling very much like a toddler but hopefully with each step I am gaining a bit more stability on my climb. Thankfully my curiosity hasn't diminished and quite often I catch my reflection on my monitor and remind myself that although it's all super cool, I need to close my mouth:) I must say that I still find the wiki to be the most interesting option for me in terms of what I could use with both my students and department. This past year I was lucky enough to receive a framework fund grant. Our department was able to purchase i-pods and headsets to use along with the free on-line tool known as audacity. Because so much of our content area relies on listening this tool allowed us to record ourselves in the second language that we are teaching and then have our students be able to access these listening act ivies outside of our classrooms. This was particularly helpful for our learning labs and resource rooms where we can't be present but additional support is so important. As a result we became more and more proficient in using audacity so it could reach out to all of our students. The challenge was that the files were too big to download onto our classroom web sites. I think that by setting up a wiki all of our students would be able to reap the benefits from audacity because they could access the activities right from home and listen to parts that were a bit challenging for them. The possibilities are endless and exciting. I only wish that our department could set up a time to work on this together. Sometimes I do feel a bit closed out especially when my ideas start flowing and only the cat is listening.