Technology+Projects

Here are some examples of different ways that teachers are using technology to support teaching and learning in foreign language classrooms:


 * Brittany Droste (TE 804) :** I used the website Comeeko to have students create their own comic strips. Students created their own fictional characters with problems and gave their fictional characters advice. Additionally students used audacity to record their comics written spanish and air it to the class. I was shocked when I introduced this to my class because they ended up teaching me about the features that I hadn't discovered. It was easily one of their favorite activities and they were very excited to share their fictional stories with the class. It was an extremely engaging activity. The one problem that I encountered with Comeeko was that I had saved your comic I was not able to go back and edit it. As a result, time restrictions were imperative and I could not have students fix problems with grammar or content. If you would like to see some samples visit [|www.comeeko.com] and use the search function to look for my students' comics. Example searches : probrecito david, juan pablo (using Napoleon Dynamite), la problema de Emily

user:KMaiolatesi
 * Katy Maiolatesi (TE 804) :** I made a google page to display a few things about myself and my teaching. I made a page for each course that I taught during my internship. Students are able to go to the site to check what homework they missed in class if they are absent, or in case they forget. I plan to use this website for the classes that I will be teaching in the future and I intend to update it daily so students are always up to speed. [|http://katy.maiolatesi.googlepages.com]

-user:nutterky
 * Kyle Nutter (TE 804) :** Like a lot of you, I also created a google pages website as a way to introduce myself to students, parents and the school community. Looking through schools' websites that I was interested in, I noticed that there was usually a place to click on a link to individual teachers, and that many of those were dead links. This site would also be useful in reminding students of homework assignments, due dates, and just to give parents a general idea of what their students are up to, as well as sell the foreign language program! I suppose as with any sort of technology of this nature, it is constantly changing and updatable, and can be linked to the website of whatever school I end up working for. Feel free to take a look! [|Srta. Nutter's website]


 * Sarah Paquette (TE 804) :** The google pages website I created is still a work in progress and is continually being modified. However, it has been published and can be accessed at the following site : [|http://sarah.paquette.googlepages.com] Ideally, I would like this website to be something that could be altered in the future to include a page for things like lesson plans, upcoming class and school events, etc. I am also trying to get the calendar on my homepage to coordinate with my actual google calendar. Enjoy! Make sure to check out the picture slide shows under //Mexico, 2005//! user:SarahPcat


 * Heinke Raymond (TE 804) :** I created a website using Googlepages. It is currently an informational site for students participating in this summer's exchange trip to Wuerzburg, Germany. Here they can find information about when our language club meets, weekly discussion topics, handouts, and general information about traveling abroad. Parents can use the site to find information related to the US Embassies in Germany, travel tips, etc. I have also included an "About Me" page, which can later be switched to my homepage and expanded for future classroom use. Here parents and prospective employers can learn about me as well as view my resume. Check it out at: http://heinke2.googlepages.com/home Viel Spass! user:heinke_raymond

user:whitesa6
 * Sara White (TE 804) :** I created a google pages website as a way to facilitate learning and communication with my Spanish 1 students and their parents during my internship this year. It is a constant work in progress as I am continually adding lesson plans as the year progresses. I did not begin until late this February, so it only goes back that far for my students. Students can find extra help, handouts & notes given in class, a homework calendar that summarizes what we have done each day in class, access to their BUEN VIAJE textbook online, and many other things. Check it out at: [|Senorita White's Spanish 1 class website]


 * Katie Winokur (TE 804) :** Here is an excel spreadsheet that I created for 4 of my classes. When the March Madness NCAA basketball tournament started, I had students fill in brackets about their picks for the tournament. I received a template from a friend, and then put in all my students' brackets. These brackets were connected back to a master sheet, which would calculate their scores depending on who //actually// won in the tournament. There was also a leaderboard, which would change the rankings of the students after each new game was played. Here you go! [[file:ncaa bracket.xls]] user:winokurk


 * Megan Gutierrez (TE 804) :** For my technology project I created a website that I would like to use next year. It is for parents and students. It shows the homework for every day, my lesson plans, my philosophy, pictures, projects, cultural links, a link to their textbook webpage, etc. I would post it here but it is not going to be published until I get my own classroom. I don't want parents at Renaissance maybe finding it. But I am going to show it at class! user:gutier50


 * Brooke Bator (TE 804):** I had my students make iMovies and use Garage Band to enhance a project on "Family". The students' scenerio involved their families having to go live in a Spanish-speaking country and therefore they had to create a video, power point or book about their family to give to potential host families. I gave non-high tech options for those without access to a video camera, however, I pushed the video idea. Students were given the attached assignment sheet and rubric and chose their partners. In class we brainstormed by creating story boards and I checked students' dialogues to make sure they were on the right track. Student brought their completed videos to school on either a DVD or their camera. The media specialist showed me how to use the basic funcitions of iMovie and Garage Band so during the three days we were in the Media Center we could trouble shoot together. Students used iMovie to load their video, splice them, at captions and voice in Spanish and special effects if they had time. Students that had made power points or books used Garage Band to record their voices.

[|[[http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=473873201474|Click here to take survey]]]
 * Christina Bastanfar (TE 804)** I created a website using Googlepages. I did this because I really wanted to use Survey Monkey with students, but you have to have a page in order to have students take it (or you need their emails, which at the time I didn't have--some students don't have an email address and "aren't allowed") So in addition to creating a Googlepage, I also created two online surveys. One to have the students assess me, and another to have the students assess themselves with regard to their Spanish abilities. I did this to get an idea of where they felt the "holes" in their learning stilI were. On the google page, I also have a link to my blog page--another new technology for me. While I didn't really have the students do anything with it, I encouraged them to take a look and post if they wanted to. I didn't make anything on the google page mandatory, because I felt that since this wasn't something that had been required at the beginning of the year it would be unfair to start making weekly requirements with it. But I can see how I might make participation on a class page mandatory. Here is the link to the page. http://utawkin2me.googlepages.com/home And here is the survey students took to self-evaluate


 * Debra Kim (TE804)** I made a Googlepages website for the three week Japanese exchange at my school. There were resources for host families, a recap of school sponsored activities, a page for journal entries and a page to put extra photos (picassa). Additionally, Google Analytics was added on so that we could track where hits were coming from and how often. Parents in Japan were constantly checking the website and we were able to see how much the popularity has grown.user:kimdebra

I plan to use a lot of technology in the classroom and have passed out this sheet to the students so they are able to look at the technology before class. Students these days catch on so quickly and I want to give them an opportunity to be a autonomous learner. [|Litwinski - Tech Sheet.doc] user:litwins5