In the Clouds

I chose three cloud site related to language learning. The first is Word Dynamo. It offers a wide variety of word-related games and activities. Foreign language learning represents only a small portion of what Word Dynamo provides. I like the flexibility to customize activities to grade level and to topic, such as food, travel or grammar. In addition, each of these categories offers the choice of matching, listening or flashcards. This means that activities are available to support each student’s style of learning. Flashcard Database is an example of a collaborative resource. Teachers create and share sets of flashcards. The number of sets and topics available at all levels seems limitless. Users can shuffle sets of cards, print them, listen as the information is read and track progress. No doubt, there are other sites that offer similar options, but the blog available here caught my attention. Teachers share questions and suggestions. The site provides links to related content. Users can create banks for storing favorite sets and browse according the popularity, recently added or topic. Palabea.com offers many of the features of the other two and much more. Beyond games and flashcards teachers and students are offered interactive learning opportunities. Activities are included which offer writing practice. A library offers video clips covering a variety of countries and topics. It is possible to connect to native speakers. Participants indicate which language/s he or she speaks as well as any language they wish to learn. It is possible to chat via the Internet or search for speakers in your home town. The appropriateness of some activities would vary depending upon the age of the students. The past couple of weeks spent exploring the use of technology in the classroom has been enlightening. The quantity of creative, low cost, high-quality resources offers advantages we couldn’t conceive of just a few years ago. This can also be a disadvantage. That same immense quantity of information can be overwhelming and unwieldy. In striving to find just the right materials or data, one can easily end up spending hours researching and re-searching. This lost time negates the convenience we were hoping to gain by taking advantage of Internet tools. This is where diigo and tags can help manage content to its fullest advantage. We see tags in a variety of places, from academic journals to most Web pages. Tags make searching easier and more efficient. A tag can be broad or more specific depending on the user’s needs. I was interested to learn about tag clouds and all their forms and uses. The idea of weighting tags according to popularity, importance or personal preference helps a user manage content in a way that is more meaningful. Tag clouds can be customized to reflect the needs or tastes of its creator, but also provides creative classroom uses. For practicing spelling and vocabulary, analyzing text content and encouraging creative writing, words clouds offer endless possibilities. I was completely unaware of diigo before this assignment. When I watched the first video (on YouTube; it didn’t work for me in vimeo), my first thought was, “this is just what I need!” I am excited to finally have my own library of items where I can store and organize my favorite teaching resources as well as search for additional ones. The fact that I can connect to others who share my interests is helpful, too. Diigo is perfect for storing items that I can customize by highlighting and adding sticky notes. I can see where I will make full use of diigo for professional and personal purposes. According to the 2011 K12 Horizon Report, the Kentucky Department of Education can decrease expenses by $6 million over a four year period by using the cloud for storing and accessing data. This represents a crucial factor in considering technology uses that goes beyond the creative and management advantages. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tag_cloud https://edunology.wikispaces.com/Word-Clouds#Word%20Cloud%20Generators-Ways%20to%20Use%20Word%20Clouds Johnson, L., Adams S., and Haywood, K. (2011). The NMC Horizon Report: 2011 K-12 Edition. Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium.

Blogging & Twittering

My experience regarding both Blogging and Twittering has been limited. I have on occasion followed blogs of personal interest. Twitter seems to have a place in every news item from Occupy Wall Street to the Kardashian wedding. Neither has been utilized in classes I’ve taken or taught. After exploring the information provided, I can see how both can be very valuable. A common theme throughout the Horizon Reports is the trend toward collaborative learning. Blogging and Twittering provide a range of opportunities for innovative teaching.

I was encouraged to read that even a tech expert like David Pogue had initial doubts about the value of Twitter. My first instinct was, “Who cares what I’m doing?”  The idea of Twitter being used to create a network or community outside of the classroom caught my attention. The brevity of postings encourages participation without requiring much of time commitment outside of class. The notion of metacognition mentioned in the Tweets for Education video would reinforce concepts covered in class. Students often struggle with writing in the target language and knowing their response is limited to 140 characters would not seem too daunting.

The opportunity to establish a blog dedicated to a specific theme creates an online community of people who share concerns or interests. These people would likely not be able to connect without blogging. A classroom blog is a no-cost supplement to teaching; this is especially important when schools face severe budget constraints. Researching cultural topics and blogging about them is one example of how blogging could support foreign language learning. Teachers recognize that learning about the food, history and customs of native speakers is essential. Often, the material for culture is found online through YouTube, government or tourism Web sites, just to name a few. Students are already accustomed to using the Internet to do their research. A classroom blog would be a logical place for them to share their information.

The videos and articles about Blogging and Twittering provided an exciting introduction to their use. I’m looking forward to learning more about each and putting fresh ideas into practice. On Twitter, I have chosen to follow ACTFL, the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. This organization provides professional development, establishes standards and other services to language teachers. I am also following NPR, my preferred news source. What’s next? I may even join Facebook.   

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkGj0YXPGok

http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/15/twittering-tips-for-beginners/

http://wp.nmc.org/horizon-k12-2010/chapters/collaborative-environments/

Welcome

The title of this blog means “Stick out your tongue,” a phrase we associate with a physical exam in a doctor’s office. Here, however, it is a play on words to encourage the examination of language. In Spanish, just as in English, the word “tongue” or “lengua” has more than one meaning. It refers to a part of the mouth or to spoken language.  Much of this blog with explore foreign language acquisition beyond grammar and vocabulary and “check up” on how technology can take learning beyond the classroom.