Monday, June 2, 2014

Climbing Mountains and Sailing New Seas

Polyglot Press
Turning the Tables On Language Teaching and Learning         
June 2, 2014

My compliments to the many fine things that are occurring around the county in world language classrooms. This has been quite a year. In terms of learning curves, many mountains have been climbed. In terms of adapting to changing winds, many ships have changed course.  Congrats to the many mountain climbers and sailors.

Out and About
·         Kahoot: Lots of teachers are using Kahoot for vocabulary practice and formative assessment
·         Kahoot – Alejandra Elliott made this game as her first practice with Kahoot for Spanish 3 at Marvin Ridge https://play.kahoot.it/#/k/88e84183-b641-4d75-8e97-97382ed7df39
Note – There are lots of public Kahoot games already made:
·         Realidades 2  https://create.kahoot.it/#public/kahoots?filter=1&tags=Realidades 2&audience=School&kahoots=quiz&cursor=   
·         Realidades 3 - https://create.kahoot.it/#public/kahoots?filter=1&tags=Spanish 3 Realidades&audience=School&kahoots=quiz&cursor=
·         Allez, viens https://create.kahoot.it/#public/kahoots?filter=1&tags=allez viens&audience=School&kahoots=quiz&cursor=
·         Deutsch Aktuell  https://create.kahoot.it/#public/kahoots?filter=1&tags=Deutsch Aktuell &audience=School&kahoots=quiz&cursor=
·         Ginger Polk’s Spanish 2 and 4 students at Parkwood HS created books in Spanish that will be printed and sent to a school in the Dominican Republic.
·         Walter Bickett Education Center was in need of Spanish children's books so Charlotte Hancock’s Spanish  students at Sun Valley HS  diligently worked on making children's books in Spanish, no higher than a 1st grade reading level (as requested) and that also entailed a moral lesson. The books were recently delivered  in person and students read their books to the children and ate snacks with them, etc.  As Charlotte says, this is about “students utilizing what I teach them in my classroom and putting it into practice in the real world, and making a positive impact on the world around them at the same time.” 
·         Mitzi Berry creates webquests with http://zunal.com/ for her Spanish students at Forest Hills.
·         Martha Hernández’ Spanish 4 students have used Photo Peach http://photopeach.com/  for writing projects. In the examples below, students addressed issues of ecology and in some cases focused on subjunctive commands as messages for solving environmental issues.  Enjoy these student works at http://photopeach.com/album/13fdha3?invitecode=472ca2a128; and http://photopeach.com/album/bctfmy?invitecode=2fdb63b3e3 and http://photopeach.com/album/w8gvqu?invitecode=f2501cebab

Advocacy

§  American author and poet Maya Angelou died May 28, 2014 at age 86. She is said to have spoken French, Spanish, Italian, Arabic and the African language Fanti.


Professional Development
·         June 2, 8 p.m.– World Languages Twitter Chat #WLchatNC.
·         Jun 2, 2014 to Jun 23, 2014  Technology in A Foreign Language Class provided by the Canvas Network .There is a free online course. . The course information is at - https://www.canvas.net/courses/technology-in-a-foreign-language-class The course is about integrating technology into foreign language classes.  The first two weeks will be dedicated to discussion and assignments and week three will be dedicated to a final project. This course will provide Web sites and programs that may be used in traditional and online foreign language classes. The focus is placed on all skills, especially speaking and listening. There is an expectation of 3 – 5 hours of course work per week.
·         June 5, 2014 3:30 DPI WL Webinar http://wlnces.ncdpi.wikispaces.net/2013-2014+Webinars
·         August 6, 2014, Wednesday, Learn More about Edmodo at EdmodoCon. Their annual educator conference for educators from around the world learn about new ways to use technology and share creative ideas for integrating Edmodo in the classroom. EdmodoCon is an 11-hour virtual event that will be live streamed. You may come and go throughout the day as you please, and all sessions will be recorded for viewing at your convenience.  https://blog.edmodo.com/2014/05/19/register-for-edmodocon-2014/

Pedagogy
·         Technology and World Language Instruction:
o    The Digital Foreign Language Classroom - How Mooreseville HS French Teacher Uses Technology in the WL Classroom – Students record a speaking sample at the start of the course so that they have a comparison for their growth. Mooreseville HS has a one-to-one platform. Teacher addresses differentiation and reteaching. 4 minute video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvB08FLPxll
o    ACTFL position paper on the Role of Technology in Language Learning Interesting quotes:
§  “There is currently no definitive research to indicate that students will acquire a second language effectively through technology without interaction with and guidance from a qualified language teacher.”
§  “ACTFL also recognizes the pivotal role of a qualified language teacher to incorporate and manage the implementation of technology so that it effectively supports the language learning experience.”
§  “Further, all language learning opportunities whether provided through technology or in a traditional classroom setting, should be standards-based and help develop students' proficiency in the target language through interactive, meaningful, and cognitively engaging learning experiences, facilitated by a qualified language teacher.”  https://www.actfl.org/news/position-statements/role-technology-language-learning
·         Assessment
o    If you are still interested in Flubaroo to automatically grade multiple choice and fill-in-the –blank quizzes that are created in Google forms, go to the three minute video for a quick tutorial http://www.flubaroo.com/instructional-videos

Global Resources
·         The Asia Society has very interesting World Language rationale, rubrics, I can statements and performance outcomes at http://asiasociety.org/competence/foreign-languages-are-global-competencies


Chinese Resources
·         Nuli - Students can practice their reading skills with http://nulinu.li/ They can select which characters they know from common vocab lists or HSK lists. Students then practice multiple choice checks where you choose the correct English translation. The computer also checks your comprehension of the characters you know in a variety of phrase or sentence combination.
·         Chinese Free Dictionary online http://www.thefreedictionary.com
·         China File ChinaFile is a new English-language, not-for-profit, online magazine about China published by the Asia Society’s Center on U.S.-China Relations. ChinaFile publishes original reporting and analysis in print, photography and video. ChinaFile’s work appears in The New York Times, the Atlantic and the The New York Review of Books among other publications. We also translate and archive outstanding content from a growing list of partner publications in China and around the world. http://www.chinafile.com/ 

French Resources
·         Digital Dialects – simple interactive practice for lower levels: numbers, colors, conjugations, dates, etc.  http://www.digitaldialects.com/French.htm
·         Tex’s French Grammar http://www.laits.utexas.edu/tex/gr/overview.html
·         French Free Dictionary online http://fr.thefreedictionary.com/

German Resources
German National Soccer League webpage http://www.bundesliga.de/de/  (found using Schoolnet)
·         German Free Dictionary online http://de.thefreedictionary.com/
Spanish Resources
·         WEDDING – mnemonic device for learning reasons for the subjunctive http://www.brighthubeducation.com/learning-spanish/33236-verbs-use-the-wedding-acronym-for-the-subjunctive/
·         PPT created by Alice Shrader (¡Gracias!)
·         BBC Mundo for Intermediate and Advanced students - http://www.bbc.co.uk/mundo
·         Spanish Free Dictionary online http://es.thefreedictionary.com/
·         Notes in Spanish audio files – Inspired Beginners http://www.notesinspanish.com/category/beginners-podcast/
·         Notes in Spanish audio files – Intermediate http://www.notesinspanish.com/category/intermediate-spanish-podcast/
·         Notes in Spanish audio files – Advanced http://www.notesinspanish.com/category/advanced/
·         NFL in Spanish http://nfl.univision.com/
·         MTV in Spanish http://www.mtv.es/musica/artistas/kt-tunstall/
·         Noticias Adolecentes Contemporáneas http://adolescentecontemporaneo.blogspot.com/
·         Spanish current event articles at three levels with interactive features (Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced) Anahi Brusa from Monroe High suggests ‘Mire el video introductorio’ http://www.practicaespanol.com/es/didactica-proyecto-practica-espanol/art/17/ 



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