Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Interactivity # 3 Technology Inventory for Languages
Working with a group to make an online technology inventory took quite a good amount of time and planning. Creating a google spreadsheet is a great way to easily collaborate with other group members because we were able to stay updated with everyone's postings. The group that I worked with did a great job at keeping this a group project because everyone did their part. before going into this interactivity I thought that it was going to be difficult and that we might not work well as a group. I was proved wrong.
After reading all the technologies that my group was able to come up with I was very surprised to see many interesting ones that I would have never thought of myself. Every technology listed in our spreadsheet is a great strategy to use to one day teach a language to a class. A few really good technologies that my group came up with are the use of language labs to use programs such as wimba or to do exercises such as recording your voice to improve fluency the language you are trying to learn.
This technology inventory can serve a really good purpose in my Read 411 course because I am required to do a lesson plan to my class that has to do with my content area. This can be great practice for me when I have to teach lesson plans to my future classes. Using the ideas incorporated in the inventory can be very useful in getting comfortable using strategies that will one day serve a helpful purpose to me. I believe that it takes a good amount of practice to feel comfortable and confident teaching a lesson plan and this activity as well as activities we are doing in Read 411 and Curr 314 are giving me the practice I need.
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Melissa, I agree with you when you say that the use of Google Spreadsheets was very helpful. Once the page was created we were all able to contribute our findings and organize them coherently. I feel that I will use this program in the future due to its accountability. Far too often in group projects does one person get stuck doing the majority of the work while the others float along doing the bare minimum or nothing at all. I like that one can see the revision history and note who contributed what to a document. I also agree with you when it comes to the outcome of our project. Upon being assigned the interactivity I thought that it was going to be a very difficult process but in the end we worked great as a team and completed the assignment well. This also gave us an opportunity to explore new technologies that we have never even heard of before and discover new ways to incorporate them into our own instruction.
ReplyDeleteMelissa, I definitely agree with you that our group came up with some really good technologies that we can use in the classroom. One in particular that caught my attention that you mentioned was the use of Wimba on the computers in the foreign language labs. I remember using this program many times in my Italian 3 and Spanish 3 classes early on in my college experience and I have to say that they are very helpful especially with learning correct pronunciation, reading skills, etc. and can be used in every foreign language.
ReplyDeleteMelissa, you mention the use of a language lab. Can you help me understand what a lesson centered around a language lab would look like?
ReplyDeleteKevin, a lesson centered around a language lab would consist of every student having access to a computer as well as a microphone and headphones. The teacher can use many programs to allow the students to be able to practice their speaking skills. A good strategy would be to have the students record themselves saying a few sentences and then replay the recording so that they can hear themselves speak. This will let the students identify any mistakes they are making and help them become more fluent.
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