So I think that my age is showing.  I'm 22.  This week we discussed a time when kids made the games on the computer instead of playing them, and there are students in my program who remember this.  

What?! I only ever played Type to Lean and Zoombinis.  And allegedly the games that my generation is learning secretary skills.. What could helping Jelly Bean people get to Zoombini Island by winning a series of pattern based games in an enchanted forest possibly do in an office?  Nada.


Anyway, I think that it's interesting how the times have changed - the age gap between me and my fellow students shows how the goal of elementary school students with computers is to teach them to type and save the Zoombinis, while back in the day, it was to teach them how to...use a computer, maybe, and all that you can do on it.  But the reason our technological up-bringings are so different is because of the constant advancements in technology.  


Which leads me to my point: in my last blog I speculated what I would do in a classroom with regards to the NYC soda ban.  However, if I were to theoretically teach this lesson next year (when I'm finished with my program) there will likely be some new form of technology or some new trick that I maybe have to learn!  I like to think of myself as up-to-date with technology, but what if I'm still teaching this lesson 15 years down the road?  Will I still know what's going on? (I would like to think so...)


The lesson received some revisions during class, because I got to bounce my ideas off of the other world language teachers, specifically the Spanish teachers.  The parts of my lesson plan that could be affected by changing technology will be made apparent:

• Goal - Have the students express opinions and recommendations about human rights in Bolivia
• Start with the movie También la lluvia - a film about the water politics in Bolivia, and the conquest..
• Have the students do research on sites like BBC Latino América, http://www.jornadanet.com/
• Have the students write news paper editorial pieces about their opinions
• Langauge assessment - I will be looking for their use of subjunctive, recommendations, use of vocabulary, and the demonstration of what they learned about Bolivian culture and history

The bolded purple is what will likely change with the tech advances.  I don't know that in 15 years BBC Latino América will still be a viable news source, nor can I say the same about jornadanet.com.  I also think that in 15 years print newspapers may become obsolete with the increasing popularity of online news - so perhaps the more likely candidate for expressing their opinions would be a blog post, much like this one.  So when indeed the tech options for my class do change, I'll be waiting with my plans of how to adapt!

That's it and that's all!

I decided, very early on, just to accept life unconditionally; I never expected it to do anything special for me, yet I seemed to accomplish far more than I had ever hoped. Most of the time it just happened to me without my ever seeking it. 

     -Audrey Hepburn

Recently, New York City has been trying to enact a ban on the sale of soda, that would reach from delis, to cinemas, to fast-food restaurants.  For this course we had to read an article about this soda ban, in which the sited reason for the ban is obesity.   

Okay, so soda... Technology...? How in a class about technology can you relate these two seemingly unrelated topics?  Well, I can foresee two possibilities in a future class.

First.  As a teacher you can relate the ban of soda to the ban of technology in a classroom.  Across the country, phones, laptops, iPads, and so on, are prohibited from being in a classroom - with the argument from administration that the students will focus better on the material at hand (and perhaps that there won't be any desire to contact the outside world while in class...).  But!  If you're like me, you see that there is a benefit to having an iPhone or iPad in class, because the students could be using apps like flashcards or maybe a virtual tour of that weeks Spanish speaking city on a guide book.  And the article presents soda as the sole contributor to obesity (um, no), there are many other factors, just as there are in a student's level of focus.  They could be thinking of that cute boy who said hey to them in the hallway, or the fact that they didn't have breakfast.  So in a future classroom, I think that as a teacher, you could relate the topic of banning something like technology, may not be as beneficial to a classroom environment as the administration might think it is.

Second.  It's actually difficult to find a solid application of this a Spanish class, but here goes.  You could relate the ban of soda to the ban of, let's say, illegal substances in Central America currently.  In an application to technology (as that is the topic of the course) you could have the students research on the internet ways in which bans are working, or more likely, not working in countries like Mexico or Guatemala.  This way, they can build an argument saying why banning soda is a good or bad idea, and they will be learning about current events in the countries that they are studying.  

Everything I learned, I learned from the movies. - Audrey Hepburn

And that's it!  I'm going to try to finish each blog post with either an Audrey Hepburn quote (she's my favorite actress) or an applicable Spanish saying.  Today's, you will note, that I am placing great value on movies.  I mentioned in the last post that I find music very beneficial to learning a second language, and the same can be said for movies, as you learn about a culture in addition to learning the language. 

Education 504 - Teaching with Technology


Opportunity.  This course is about exploring the vast opportunities that technology can provide to teachers.  The first day of the course examined the story of a middle school science teacher who implemented the use video cameras to encourage more and better class participation.  What the discussion in class made me think of was the way in which the most inspirational teachers in my high school used technology, and how I hope to use what I learn in this class in my future Spanish classrooms. 


Señor is the teacher who inspired me to study Spanish at the University of Michigan.  In his classes we would listen to music to study vocabulary and pronunciation of words.  We would play "¿Qué dice la gente?" (a Spanish language Family Feud) with Eggspert (a colored buzzer system that were shaped like eggs).  It almost never worked because even in 2005 it was outdated, but having the chance to buzz and know the answer before another classmate was exciting!  And the game itself, presented in PowerPoint, was beyond interesting, because I would learn cultural nuances about places like Mexico (for example, they think that purple is the worst color for a car - and that's something I've held onto since the 10th grade!).  There's a website that he introduced that I actually still use as a Spanish tutor here at the University of Michigan, conjuguemos.com, to help students with conjugating verbs in the proper tense. 


It was activities like these that made my language learning more engaging.  In my classes I hope to be able to incorporate more up-to-date technology, like iPad or iPhone apps to help with vocabulary or cultural knowledge.  I also hope to use music like he did in class, because I know that my pronunciation is very good because of repeating the sounds I hear from the musicians (even if I don't know the word, I can say it properly).  


I hope that this course will give me the opportunity to learn how to use fun and exciting activities and technologies in my future classroom, to inspire students like Señor inspired me.  This blog is therefore more than just an assignment for Education 504 - it is a space for me to explore how I can be an exciting teacher, who is "in" with the technology of the day, and who can ignite a passion for Spanish in doing so.