Jing I probably will not use as much as Audacity, however it is nice to know that there is an alternative to the "print screen" function on a PC. Screen casting is a powerful Jing feature that I can see myself and my students using to present a mini lesson which can be posted on Black Board or Edmodo for viewing at the student's discretion. If several students were to be absent from class, it is also nice to know that it is easy and not time consuming to post a mini lesson on the web for my students.
I enjoyed this week's field trip to Giverny. I had already visited Monet's house and gardens twice before so I was not super excited about a 3rd visit. However, once we received the Social Learning Challenge on Tuesday, this gave the trip a whole different meaning and focus for me. Armed with my seven "I wonder" questions, I did not feel so much like a tourist but like I was on a mission to photograph my responses.
I am happy to report that this challenge taught me some new things about Claude Monet that I was unaware of prior to this 3rd visit. For example, I did not know that Monet enjoyed the finer foods in life and that he enjoyed entertaining his many friends in his home. This challenge also taught me to look at things I have seen before but in a new light, i.e. I did not think much about asymmetry or curves in Monet's water garden during my 2 previous visits to Giverny, (might have something to do with the fact that I was in charge of HS students and making sure that they were behaving), however, this challenge allowed me to do so. Should I visit Giverny in the future with students, I plan to challenge my students with an activity like this so that they can get more out of the visit.
Lastly, it was fun to have been a part of the TPACK video which several of my classmates put together last week. That experience allowed year 1 students to take ownership of our learning through a process of collaborative brainstorming, critical thinking and problem solving. We then used our technology knowledge and skills to creatively transmit information we have learned from the TPACK readings and discussions to the MAET faculty and students during the cross share. :-)
I especially appreciated the manner in which you grounded each segment of your reflection in the concrete learning experiences you have had this week and indicated what you will take away from each experience in terms of general concepts or principles that you can apply to your teaching in the future.
ReplyDeleteAudacity and Voicethread are excellent tools for FL teachers. You'll find a lengthy list of other tools here, including links to examples of how some of them have been used in K-12 FL classes: http://click2collaborate.wikispaces.com/Tools
Here are some examples of projects that might be fun for you and your students to try: http://teensntech.wikispaces.com/List+of+Projects
Over the course of my career as a world language educator, I have become increasingly convinced of the importance of guiding students' attention and scaffolding their engagement with content. The more field trips for which I generate activities, the more I find I think about bringing the Communities standard into my lessons--which dimensionalizes them for students in powerful ways. In other words, for me, the processes of creating materials and of field trip planning are mutually reinforcing--each sparking additional ideas for innovation. It is nice to hear that you felt the activities were useful and I loved the TPACK video you created!
So your next step will be to outline in more concrete terms what you hope to try during this coming year, what gaps you see in your professional understanding or skill that you might need to address in order to accomplish those goals, and the practical "next steps" you intend to take to do so.
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