In my quest to utilize visual aids that would be helpful in the language classroom, I turned to Twitter and clicked on some of my reliable cyber-colleagues to learn what they have used in their classes.  I also explored some visual apps that were suggested by our library media specialist and decided to try out Tellagami.   This is a free app that can be downloaded onto any smartphone or ipad and I demonstrated the uses of this app with my Spanish 2 classes.  Tellagami allows you to create an avatar and records your voice for a sharable message and video you can send to whomever!  There are lots of fun features to create your character and so far most students have created self- reflecting characters.  I encouraged the use of short messages for people learning the ropes, such as "Buenos dias" or "feliz cumpleanos" or "feliz navidad".  Students can send their finished video message to a friend or to their teacher (ME) for extra credit!
 
The students in my 3 participating classes were extremely receptive to the idea of using an app for Spanish class.  Some students immediately suggested ideas for similar apps which showed familiarity on their end.  It's quite effective to tap into the areas of interest among our students and apply a concept learned in class in order to connect technology and learning.  I was thrilled with my students' willingness to try out a Tellagami and think this is a MUST for language teachers, as it facilitates speaking in the target language so easily.  Also, by asking for a short message, the task is not overwhelming and can be applied to all levels of language.  A teacher can create a concept- specific assignment that requires students to use a specific grammatical skill or utilize vocabulary terms.  

In addition to Tellagami, I have been including various other visual aids in the classroom thanks to Pinterest!  The other day, I pulled up a board I was following to show students several infographs pertaining to Christmas around the world.  Through short captions in Spanish and pictures for support, students learned what other countries do to celebrate Christmas.  After sparking students' interest with all of the names for Santa Claus, I quickly pulled up other infographs that showed common gift ideas around the word.  I also viewed diagrams that showed gifts purchased by men and women.  All of the infographs where in the target language and these quick visuals provide up- front information to students about ANY subject.  I loved how effortless it was to captivate my class and also show them how I enjoy using apps for learning and sharing information. 

 I recently attended a faculty meeting and it was a rare pleasure to be among a small group of teachers with the principal leading the discussion points.  We are usually an informal group of 100 in an auditorium where I can only hear every other word.  Teachers were in departmental groups and for this reason, our meeting started off small and personal.  During this time, our principal and library media coordinator gave a mini lesson on Gaggle.  I attended a workshop last spring on Gaggle in the classroom and set up an account.  I had already learned the basic essentials of using this platform but was particularly interested at this meeting about using it "for real" in my classroom this time.

     As the librarian demonstrated the primary uses of Gaggle using the SMARTboard and a staff member's actual account, we saw firsthand how important a web based resource center is for students in every class.  Instead of just listening this time, I decided to actively plan how to understand the uses of Gaggle and implement them as an organizational resource for all of my classes and as a "homebase" for homework assignments, quiz and test dates.  

    I spent a few hours that night exploring the site and building my own excitement for the possibilities of helping so many students, so I was truly looking forward to the next school day.   When I arrived the next morning, I took a brief survey of which students had already created an account and or used Gaggle for retrieving documents, submitting assignments, or email.  In each class, nearly every student indicated familiarity with Gaggle.  I shared my enthusiasm for joining in on what other teachers have been using for the past year or more to help students use web based tools for learning.  

     The ironic part of this "epiphany" is that I am quite used to using web platforms for learning, as most of my college and graduate school assignments were submitted online.  Frequent discussions with other classmates and the professsors were other mainstream learning experiences I had.  I hadn't made the connection of my previous learning to the students I currently teach mostly because I let the numbers (too many of this, too few/little of that) hinder my belief that this could work for my students.  I am not sure at this time if my effort to use Gaggle will make a positive impact on the learning of my students.  I expect that certain students will find this a great tool that he or she is already using and enjoying in another class, and for others, they won't bother to check Gaggle, or do the homework in the first place!

    For now, I have created a folder for my high level class to access a book we are reading and have posted upcoming assessments dates on the I recently attended a faculty meeting and it was a rare pleasure to be among a small group of teachers with the principal leading the discussion points.  We are usually an informal group of 100 in an auditorium where I can only hear every other word.  Teachers were in departmental groups and for this reason, our meeting started off small and personal.  During this time, our principal and library media coordinator gave a mini lesson on Gaggle.  I attended  workshop last spring on how to use Gaggle in the classroom and set up an account.  I had learned the basic essentials of using this platform and was particularly interested at this meeting about using it "for real" in my classroom.

     As the librarian demonstrated the primary uses of Gaggle using the SMARTboard and a staff member's actual account, we saw firsthand how important a web based resource center is for students in every class.  Instead of just listening this time, I decided to actively plan how to understand the uses of Gaggle and implement them as an organizational resource for all of my classes and as a "homebase" for homework assignments, quiz and test dates.  

    I spent a few hours that night exploring the site and building my own excitement for the possibilities of helping so many students, that I was truly looking forward to the next school day.   When I arrived the next morning, I took a brief survey of which students had already created an account and or used Gaggle for retrieving documents, submitting assignments, or email.  In each class, nearly every student indiacted familiarity with Gaggle.  I shared my enthusiasm for joining in on what other teachers have been using for the past year or more to help students use web based tools for learning.  

     The ironic part of this "epipany" is that I am quite used to using web platforms for learning, as most of my college and graduate school assignments were submittied online.  Frequent discussions with other classmates and the professsors were other mainstream learning experiences I had.  I hadn't made the connection of my previous learning to the students I currently teach mostly because I let the numbers (too many of this, too few/little of that) hinder my belief that this could work for my students.  I am notsure at this time if my effort to use Gaggle will make a positive impact on the learning of my students.  I ecpect that certain students will find this a great tool that he or she is already using and enjoying in another class, and for others, they won't bother to check Gaggle, or do the homework in the first place!

   More later! 

Using Twitter for my professional and technological growth has been an eye opening experience.  It was initially overwhelming and a bit intimidating but at the suggestion of our school library media specialist, I gave this assignment a real chance.  At this point I have already read and connected with dozens of people and articles pertaining to my areas of professional interest.  I feel that my education world has blossomed and I've been enjoying a more positive side of this job than what I am used to at school.   I've used many lunch shifts to talk about this tech adventure and it's broadened my knowledge of teaching and learning Spanish and continues to be a fantastic conversation topic with any educator.
 I've even enjoyed sharing my discoveries with my students; recently I've gotten many kids into the app called Duolingo.  It's an authentic language program that can be accessed on an iPhone or iPad and it's engaging for my teenage students and for me too.  Sharing Duolingo and receiving a thank you from a student has encouraged me to continue searching for learning tools that I can pass along to my classes.  For the students who are more inclined to practice Spanish at home, I feel that I can now offer more options that are often free, fun, and authentic.  Sparking the curiosity of my students has been an unexpected bonus from my involvement in this technology assignment.
My next focus will be engaging in language chats so that I can develop deeper connections to the information I am reading and to form more of my own opinions.  I am still working on jumping into a conversation with strangers but I feel that the twitter community is open and approachable.
 I'll follow up soon!

A recent web search of mine resulted in a great Bell Work activity that I can use in a variety of my Spanish classes:  https://docs.google.com/a/nyu.edu/file/d/0BwpTsZx0NUnlYzA0YTcwYzItM2U3Mi00MmFiLWJjMmYtYzdjZGIzNzI4ZjE4/edit?hl=es&pli=1

Known as FICHAS in Spanish, these are essentially flash cards that can be printed out, which depict real information in the form of a nutrition label, a cover of a DVD, an advertisement in a store, etc.  A series of questions referring to the picture asks students information that they extract from the image.  It requires no background information but solely on looking at the picture to answer the questions.  I have used my SMARTboard to project the Ficha, or flash card and give my students a time frame of about 5 minutes to answer the questions.  The visuals are a great way of getting the students' attention, and because the Fichas have a variety of topics, the students are often curious and interested in this exercise.  It's a neat way to start class, allows for the use of different vocabulary from that of the text book, and because all of the answers can be found on this one card, it shows students how to pinpoint answers from text.   Try the link to show your students Fichas that have already been created, and maybe have students make their own!

I recently downloaded an APP on my iPad called Zite.  This program allows you to select topics of interest, like education, travel, health etc., and articles from a variety of reputable resources will pop up on Zite.  I've seen articles from The New York Times, The Huffington Post, and the Time magazine show up on Zite that all pertain to my areas of interest.  I love the ease of sharing relevant articles with other people, or even sending them to my school e-mail so I can pull them up for the class to read on the SMARTboard.  Zite has made reading the news more personalized for me and provides yet another resource for me as a teacher to share information with my students.  I would suggest downloading Zite and selecting your favorite topics, but also add a few topics that you don't know much about so you can expand your knowledge! It's great for your own pleasure reading and will certainly be useful for classroom if you are looking for authentic resources!

I spend a lot of time browsing the web to find useful resources to teach my Spanish classes.  I love when I find power point projects that I can borrow.  Recently though, I've been coming across "infographs"- a visual, graphic organizer that can be about ANY topic and it can be found in ANY language.  I have used infographs to introduce new vocabulary to my students and to spark their interest in a variety of topics.  Here's a recent example of an infograph that worked well in my Spanish 4 classroom.  Because we emphasis 21st century skills, it's important that students have an understanding of the history of technology.  The kids found this infograph to be fascinating and they learned new vocabulary words that we don't normally find in textbooks that tend to be out of date.  Feel free to copy this and try it in your Spanish class!
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