RSS feeds - My experience

After creating an account on bloglines.com, I encountered a feed that I thought would be great to use in a Middle School Spanish classroom. The feed is from http://www.expatica.com/, which displays headline news from Spain in English. I would use this feed in my classroom in order to teach current events. I could take some of the most up to date headlines from this website and incorporate them into my lessons, relating these events to the topics being covered in class. I like how the feed is posted in English. Even though it is very important to practice reading in the target language, at times, newspaper articles from the target culture are very difficult to read for beginner students such as those in the Middle School. Having them read about the Spanish culture in English will give them a better understanding of what is going on in Spain today. It also takes away the frustration of reading a Spanish text at a difficult level, which makes learning a more enjoyable experience. Check it out!

Social Networking

http://nextgen.ning.com

I chose this social networking blog because it is geared toward teachers who want to continue to use different forms of technology in the classroom, such as blogging. After creating this blog for class, I am very interested in creating one in the future for my own classes. NextGen Teachers allows educators to post their own comments on their personal experiences using different forms of technology in the classroom. Different teachers from all over the country make suggestions as to what works, what does not, and posts other links to try out. It is also a great forum for asking for advice, especially for beginner bloggers. As a young teacher, I am always looking for different ways to present the material I teach in my Spanish and French classes. I think this network is useful to me because I could login to get ideas for a lesson or to ask others in the network for help with my own classroom blog. It is always great to share ideas, especially when it comes to using technology!

Today's learner is like a chef

After reading the article by George Siemens, "Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age", I believe today's learner can be best compared a chef. According to the theory of connectivism, decisions that a learner makes are "based on rapidly altering foundations, which are not entirely under the control of the individual". When a chef is preparing a meal, many different possibilities may occur. He could run out of a specific ingredient needed for a dish, or he could have a dissatisfied customer. In either situation, or one similar to these, a chef needs to think on his feet to make instant changes. He needs to be flexible to necessary changes that are out of his control.
The article also states that "decision-making is in itself a learning process". Our learners need to be able to make decisions on their own and understand that the right answer today, may not be the right answer tomorrow. A chef is constantly changing recipes and the ingredients he/she uses in order to stay up-to-date with the current trends. The trend right now in food is eating healthy. How a chef cooked in the past may not be how he/she prepares meals today. As teachers, we need to keep this mind especially. The way that we were taught in school, may not be the best way to teach our own students. Teachers, learners, along with chefs all must be open to change.

Top 3 Ways I Can Use Blogs in My Classroom

In a Spanish or French classroom, I think it would be great to have my students linked to a classroom in a Spanish or French speaking country and blog with native speakers. My students would be getting first hand experience communicating in the target langauge with a native speaker. They would also be able to communicate about cultural differences. My students could learn about Spanish or French culture, while the foreign students could learn about American culture.

Another way I could use blogs in a second language classroom is to provide online readings from newspapers or magazines in the target language for my students to read and react to. This would give my students more exposure to the target language, working on their reading comprehension skills, as well as keeping them up to date with current events from countries who speak the target langauge.

Lastly, I like the idea of having my students create a portfolio of their work using a blog. Students would be able to have easy access to their work, making it easier for them to reflect on what they accomplished in class. Using a portfolio online would also make it easier for parents to get involved in their child's learning.