Study Tools

I like the possibilities with Tagxedo. I found that it was tough at times to manoever and I spent a lot of time trying to find the perfect shape. I was thinking that this could be used with a cultural project and the kids could find the shape of the country they are focusing on. When I tried to find the shape I wanted, they didn't have it and then when I tried to find an image myself it wasn't copying correctly. So, I used this one just to get my point across but I would like to tweak this a bit more. If anyone has ideas or you have found your own image, let me know! I love, love , love Quizlet!! This is perfect for that vocab practice that the kids need with each new unit. I especially loved the practice set where they listened to the word in Spanish and then had to spell it correctly in Spanish. This is so great for learning the sounds and how to start telling some of those vowel sounds apart. I will definately use this! Very easy to set up.

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MV You Tube Channel

So the channel creation was easy! I liked that! Now being able to upload videos without the ads will be great!! Last year I was trying to stream a Juanes video (of course) and as it paused and buffered it froze on the stayfree maxi pad commercial!!! So, this will be helpful:) I tried to record Nilla from my phone and when I emailed to myself it came in upside down. Had a hard time trying to turn it, but on my phone it showed an option of sending if right to YouTube and it looks like it's in the right position. We taped this numerous times with Nilla sometimes going after the ball and sometimes not! Once she basically fell into the water, one time she stopped and looked at me like I was nuts and then we got this one, so here you go!

Screencasting

Ok, so I like the idea of this but as Linda mentioned, this took a TON of time and I am still having trouble with the volume. I got a video from Youtube and I made a few comments but you can barely hear them. Not sure how to change it once its added. That will be my question for next week....

Digital Storytelling: Storybird

Mi familia interesante by terinelson on StorybirdI created an example using specific, simple elements of language that the students have learned.  I took the visuals and focused on descriptions and body parts to create a story.  I actually had to do this two times- the first time I tried it I registered with a normal account- not a teacher's account.  I think that was the reason that after I had created with Storybird I wasn't able to publish it and had a really hard time navigating through the site and finding what I needed.  After I went in and re-registered as a teacher it was MUCH easier.  The first time through I was feeling like there was NO WAY I could use this in class- the students may focus more on what they CAN'T say than what they can say.  We are still at such a basic level, to create a story with the pictures already there may be too much to ask of them.....with that said, today as I created this example, I felt that as long as I really control the language and limit what they  can/should say in their stories, it would be a lot of fun.  I can see myself using this with 8th grade- not 6th at this point.  Overall, a fun tool to use.

I chose Glogster as my presentation tool. I chose this because as a review project with 6th and 7th graders we have them start out with an "All about me" project. The project is a review of all concepts reviewed at the beginning of the course and let's the students create a representation of themselves all in the language. When I saw that Glogster was a poster creator I had to try it out! It was pretty easy to use and I could see students using this tool and presenting in class. I will say that I need to check the age limit in the user agreement section but overall I really liked this tool!

Blog Bling

When I first started using Blogger, I wasn't that excited- I thought it was difficult to navigate through the site, I repeatedly got lost in in my blog and just felt frustrated.  I felt like there was no way I'd use it in my classroom! 

After embedding the video and looking at some other options, I became more intrigued.  I especially liked Weebly and Edmodo.  Both of these seemed to be more of what I think I could incorporate into the classroom.  Edmodo seemed to have more of what I'm after - the class calendar, the polls, the videos and the blogging... the wheels are turning!

This is a video that I have used with my classes to work with direct object pronouns.  Juanes is a Colombian singer/political activist and is one of the most well known Latin artists.  Music is such a  great way for students to see the language in a "real" way.  When we use it in class, students have most of the lyrics and follow along.  At times they fill in the missing words that I leave out and they also will discuss in groups what they think the song is about based on the video and the tone of the song for example. What is great about this song is that students can actually recognize vocabulary and grammatical concepts that we have studied in class and really for the first time they realize that they CAN understand something authentic!