I introduce technology into my class to provide another means of stimulating my students. These tools prompt their imagination and can assist them in expressing their unique creative abilities. I believe that technology can enhance learning environments, and as an instructor of Spanish I feel that I have the commitment to create meaningful technological resources that my students can use for learning and entertainment.
Voice Thread Activity
I use Voice Thread a tool that allows users to record text and audio comments about uploaded images. Students enjoy the immediate feedback that the program provides. I also use the program to provide visual images that solicit oral comments from student. They enjoy listening to their own voices and the images serve to “warm up” students to write their own compositions. As a Spanish teacher, I believe that this technology really helps improve the fluency of my students. Download link to full activity (pdf)
Short Video-clip Activity
The use of short videos in the classroom is an excellent method for teaching the grammar of a foreign language, and for providing rich cultural information. In this presentation I offer la classroom activity aimed at teaching informal commands through the use of a video about a traditional Peruvian dish called cebiche. The combination of audiovisual components and more traditional teaching strategies helps address the five C‘s of foreign language education. In terms of Communication, students will be practicing his/her reading, writing, listening and speaking skills through the different activities. They will also gain an detail knowledge of a significant element in Peruvian Culture: its cuisine. The ingredients used in the preparation of cebiche are unique products of Peru, and have particular names and cultural meanings, thus addressing the standard of Connections. Moreover, through Comparisons between Peruvian and American ingredients, students will able to established cultural links between their own experience and foreign culture. Finally, knowing about a foreign country‘s cuisine is an excellent way of gaining insight into the way Communities work. Download link to full activity (pdf).
Photo Story 3 Activities
I have created Photo Story 3 projects to cover one of the most difficult things for second language students to learn in the classroom, grammar. My beginning students have difficulty doing mechanical exercises such as fill in the blank activities, without understanding the context of the exercise. My intermediate Spanish students need to review this grammar that reinforces their learning in an effective way that is not boring for them. I used familiar and interesting events as a basis for my digital story narration. For instance, I created Un viaje a Perú to review the Subjunctive grammar. It allowed me to incorporate appropriate vocabulary and grammar for my students that they could easily recognize on their own.
Additionally, my final goal is to motivate my students to create their own project. They chose the events that are the most interesting and familiar for them and brought their own pictures to the class. We worked together in class using a handout that I created with the instructions that they needed to follow. This project was very easy for them to create. They were able to create their own videos, make changes to it throughout the process. And the end result was a fun and creative video for my students. Here there are some videos that my students created to review the Preterit and Imperfect Past Tense and the Subjunctive.
Comic Life Activities
I used Comic Life in my classes as a tool to develop writing skills. I developed activities using comic strip characters from different countries, for instance Mafalda, a character from Argentina. I have some activities that emphasize difficult verbs such as verbs gustar, ser and estar, and reflexive verbs.
Other activities practice verb use in a storytelling context. I wrote only the transition words and they filled in the rest. Here there are two short stories where I wrote only the transition words and the students filled in the rest.
I developed another activity for my Intermediate Class to review the Sequence of Verbs with Subjunctive. In this activity my students created their own Comic using characters that they are very familiar with. It was very easy to use characters for them. It took one session of 50 minutes. They learn easily how to use Comic Life and then they wrote the story. To conclude the activity I printed their works for them in order to correct the mistakes. Here there are some examples where my students used different characters.
Class Blogs
I am currently working to create a class blog for each of my courses using Blogger.com. The blog will contain the homework assignments for each class. The blog additionally, will contain information about the course such us the syllabus, grammar activities and explanations, instructional handouts for technology activities, upcoming Spanish cultural events and opportunities for the students to practice their Spanish in the community or in other countries.