ePals Global Community

So when I first read the term ePals, it reminded me of Pay Pal. When I went to the site, I couldn't have been more off. I loved the fact that teachers and students can use this website to talk to other students or teachers in other countries in a way that is protected since security is so important these days especially on the internet with underage children. I liked that as a teacher you have the option to sign up for a bulk registration where the whole school/district can sign up. What I would be concerned about is for the children ages 13 and under needing their parents email address and having the parents not give it or not follow through and having that student not be able to partake in a class activity using ePals. I really like the fact that there are precreated projects to use as a teacher, but you can also upload projects for others to use. It really is great for collaboration. I also like that I could find a classroom in Germany speaking either English or German. That would help students get involved with the culture even though it is in their native language if they are still beginners or have them get the change to speak in the target language if they are advanced. Another thing that I was surprised to see is that it is not just classes who are on here but some families have signed up as well. For example when I was searching through the Germany section, I saw a family of 4 that was interested in getting to know English speakers in the US. Not only would I use this in my classroom, but I am actually going to sign up my class and show the other foreign language teachers in my school and district this website. I had often contemplated the concept of having penpals with the students before but I never really found a site that I thought was reputable. But since this site has National Geographic and Truste Kids Privacy backing it up, I feel both the school and parents would trust it.

Podwhat?

The podcast that I chose to take a look at, that I would use in my classroom is "ESL Podcast 682-minor medical injuries". Although I teach German currently, I am studying ESL and perhaps will teach ESL in Germany. So when that happens, I need to be prepared with materials. I know that over here a big LOTE unit is health and wellness. So this podcast would be great to use for that unit since it discusses vocabulary that fits in with specific health related situations. What I REALLY liked about this podcast is that it offered the dialogue both spoken slow and fast with explanations in between. It also gave you the specific time of where the teacher can find each part throughout the podcast. This would be great for different difficulty levels. It also provides a script so that perhaps students could act it out later. Plus as you can see this is podcast 682 so there are probably 681 great podcasts just like this that I can't wait to explore.

Flickr # 2

Because I discussed the application Bookr in my googledocs mod, I figured I would practice what I preached and create something using it that I would use in the classroom.

Since I didn't have any pictures currently uploaded on Flickr, I decided to do a search on Bookr for pictures of modes of transportation (the theme of my book for my class, and what I am currently teaching my 8th graders). What I was really plesently surprised to find out was that an option was given to "recycle" a book and create your own book out of a previously made one. This made my job a whole lot easier and used great pictures. The only problem was I was unsure of how to add more pictures into the recycled book. I would probably use this as an example book for my students and have a day in the computerlab where all of my students would create their own "Verkehrsmittel" books.
My Bookr

Cars_of_Berlin_007 by JMV on flickr

Flickr #1

First off, let me state that my flickrname is rcoleman5.

There are 6 main different types of licenseing for Flickr: Attribution, Attribution-ShareAlike, Attribution-NoDerivs, Attribution- NonCommercial, Attribution- NonCommercial-ShareAlike, and Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs.

The Attribution license lets people take your work use it (privately or commercially) and even change it as long as they give you credit for it.
The Attribution-ShareAlike license is basically like the Attribution license but the person using your work must both credit you and license their new creation.
The Attribution-NoDerivs license lets people take your work and pass it around as long as it is not changed and you are given credit for it.
The Attribution-NonCommercial license this license lets people use your work and change it as long as it is not commercially and they credit you. They do not have to get a license for their new work.
The Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license this lets people use your work and change it as long as it is not commericially used and they have to both give you proper credit and licensce their new work.
The Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs license lets people download your work and share it but cannot change it or use it commercially and proper credit must be given to you.

Computer Mess, a photo by phil_g on Flickr.
Via Flickr:
By Phil! Gold

Microblogging and my use for it

Before this module, I had actually signed up for Twitter when it had become "big". After initially signing up, I never actually used Twitter since I just assumed I would use Facebook Status Updates instead. So I didn't remember my user name or password and I had to create a new account. That was my first realization as to how little I knew about microblogging. The two articles that I decided to read to help open me up on into the concept of twitter was the Langwitches Blog article What is a Hashtag? and the Free Technology for Teachers Blog article Don't Eat Lunch Alone. The first article's title really captivated me since I would see people making references online to hashtags but I had no clue what their actual use was, and the second one caught my eye since I am the only German teacher at my school and because I am only a .4 position at my school I can relate to the concept of "eating lunch alone". In the first article, was very descriptive as to what a hashtag specifically is. I always assumed it was just the number symbol but they explain the term applies to the number symbol along with the phrase following it. It then explains the purpose of hashtags as acting just like tags in a blog or on Flickr but included in the post. This article is even more helpful because it links to other articles that explore Twitter's use in the classroom even more. The second article contained two different videos that helped give tips on how to find other teachers on twitter and then use twitter to connect with those teachers and share information with them just like you would through socializing with eating lunch with them. This is a great tool for professional development and something I would really use because as the only German teacher in my school, it is often hard for me to find other teachers to connect with and though this I can not only find other German teachers but perhaps teachers who are in the same situation as me. This helps build camaraderie along with giving me people to bounce ideas off of/ learn from. Another great thing is that since I am only a .4 position teacher and I am not at school the whole day, I would be able to access my Twitter account from my home computer or my iPhone. Both of these articles were really positive in helping to change my view on Twitter's usefulness and both gave me ideas on how to personally apply Twitter in my teaching career. These ideas focus more so on connecting with other teachers to get ideas about activities, lessons, or classroom management but another idea I had for using twitter was having a Twitter account for my class where I could blog the homework assignments. This idea then led to maybe blogging in German and giving extra credit to the students to translate or respond. Or perhaps even making it homework. This really has opened up many opportunities!

Class Outside of the Classroom

While looking at different educational blogs and their posts I came across the blog Teacher Reboot Camp with the post about having a goal to change the learning enviornment in the classroom. This really interested me because I always strive to have a safe enviornment in my classroom where students are more open to learning. But I never really thought about how my classroom and the learning could extend beyong the four walls. It was really interesting to think about whether or not I could complete the activites suggested, and I am going to now talk to the principal at my school about perhaps having a scavenger hunt since my current unit with my 7th graders is scbool vocabulary so it would be cool to have them get out of the classroo and search the school. It also made me think about how when I was in high school taking Latin we got to go on a field trip to the zoo and look for the latin names of the animals. It clearly was something memorable and brought out classroom outside of a normal context.

Mod 4: Post 2

When looking for a group that would be useful to me professionally, I came across EFL Classroom 2.0. This is a great site for me since I am currently learning how to teach English as a Second Language. At first I thought the site was going to be easy to navigate due to the home page, but quickly found out that it was a little overwhelming on the inside. I did like the surveys though that popped up such as "I ____ correct my students when they are speaking" and you can then select from how often and vote. I feel that there is really a plethora of information available on this site as far as forums to connect with other teachers and resources. This will definitely be a site that I will frequent often for support from experienced teachers as I make my way into the ESL field.

Mod 4: Post 1

A learner to me, as cheesy as it sounds, is like a tree. It is constantly growing and if it does not adapt itself to its environment it will die. That is why trees are different based upon where they are from. Learners are constantly growing with their funds of knowledge, and if they do not keep up with the the times or the ideas in their environment, they will fall behind. This is shown in a quote from the video “The Network is the Learning” where he said “if I'm not continuously learning I'm becoming obsolete I my particular field”. We sometimes forget as teachers that we are also learners, and we forget that we too have to keep up with the current knowledge and practices and constantly be adapting ourself. A quote from the article "Many learners will move into a variety of different, possibly unrelated fields over the course of their lifetime" lets us think about the learners path as a series of stages throughout their lifetime, just as a tree moves from a seed, to sapling to full grown tree. Learners have many transitions and because they all vary from one another, specifically the fields they may choose, they need to consistently be growing. Networks make that possible because it gives us people to help support us in our growing and adaptation. This can be taken in the sense of my analogy to a learner as the forest around the tree. One tree by itself may not be able to survive, but with a forest, it gives it strength.

Mod 3: Video Reaction

Well when I first looked at the list of videos to choose from, I decided upon A Vision of K-12 Students Today, because it seemed both relevant and interesting. I got more than halfway through watching and taking notes when I realized I had actually seen it already. I know that the instructions said to choose a video that I hadn't seen before, so I decided to go with Educational Change Challenge. I was picturing some sort of a high energy video with the word "challenge" in the title, but I got anything but.

I honestly have to say I did not care for this video. I understand that the main point it was trying to make is the importance of technology in the classroom and how education and the classroom itself needs to be updated, and that students don't learn like they did hundreds of years ago. At one point in the video the narrator makes a point of saying that if you take a doctor from 100 years ago and put them in an operating room today they would be lost but that if you take a teacher from 100 years ago and put them in a classroom today they wouldn't. That to me is a little much since so many classrooms do in fact incorporate technology at least minimally in the classroom. The narrator mentions that the classroom is born of an industrial mode of thinking. I completely disagree with that since classrooms have been around way before the industrial revolution in the 18th century. He also states that society doesn't have a clear vision as to what school is for. I know that when I went through undergrad at Canisius they told me that a teacher's job is not just to teach their subject but to help students to learn how to become productive future citizens. That to me is what school is for.

What I did like about this video was in the beginning when the narrator mentions how all students learn at different times, through different ways and at different levels speeds. Thats very true and it is something that an effective teacher should constantly be taking into account while hitting upon different learning styles and paying attention to Gardner's multiple intelligences. I also liked the quote at the end where it is said "Because the generation of students that I am teaching is an instant pudding, drive-through, microwave, download-it-from-the-Internet, media-driven generation, I know that I must be innovative to keep their interest and to inspire in them a creative curiosity." Doug Martin. I notice this everyday, even with myself and my lack of patience. Students are so used to

getting everything within a few seconds, it is tough to keep their attention.

Again I do agree that it is important for teachers to constantly be changing and improving upon their practices and making sure their instruction meets the needs of the students, but I also think we have really come a long way from the time of one room school houses and 100 years ago and it is unfair to say that education has not been advancing.

My second post Mod 2

Internet safety is something very important whether it be to keep your computer virus free or to protect yourself from identity theft. One site that I found that gave good information to be used within the classroom for both teachers and students is . This website also gives many links to other sites with even more information.

If I was specifically teaching internet saftey to my students, I would focus on the following points:
1. Never give personal information out online. This seems like common sense, but many people fall victim to this.
2. Never share passwords. Even if you trust the person at the time such as a friend or boyfriend/girlfriend it is never a good idea.
3. Never post anything (photos or words) that you may regret later. Once it is on the internet, it is always there. Even if you think you have deleted something, there will always be the chance of someone having copied and saved it.
4. Ignore unwanted posts. Responding to them will only egg that person on even more.
5. Never meet someone you met online. Even if they write really cool comments on your blog and you think that you know them really well, you don't and you could be putting your life in danger.

As a teacher in the Kenton school district, I had a vague idea that there was an internet usage policy and I knew that as long as I stuck to academic things, or at least was able to give a reason as to why whatever I was looking at or showing the students was educational, that I was in the clear. So it never really effected me or my students as far as how I was incorporating the internet into my instruction. I was completely unaware of how in depth the district policy on internet and webpage usage was until I looked it up for this class. The following is taken directly from the policy handbook for the Kenton school district:

The availability of Internet access in the School District provides an opportunity for staff and students to access information and contribute to the School District's presence on the World Wide Web. The District/school/classroom Websites must relate to curriculum or instructional matters, school authorized activities, or general information of interest to the public pertaining to the District or its schools. Staff and students are prohibited from publishing personal home pages or links to personal home pages as part of the District/school/classroom Web Page(s). Similarly, no individual or outside organization will be permitted to publish personal Web Pages as part of the District/school/classroom Web Page(s).
Internet access for the creation of Web Pages is provided by the District and all information must be reviewed by the Website Manager (Webmasters) prior to publishing it on the Web. Personnel designing information for the Web Pages must familiarize themselves with and adhere to District standards and procedures. Failure to follow District standards or responsibilities may result in disciplinary sanctions in accordance with law and/or the applicable collective bargaining agreement.
The District shall provide general training on relevant legal considerations and compliance with applicable laws and regulations including copyright, intellectual property, and privacy of student records as well as relevant District procedures to those staff members and students who are allowed to develop or place material on the
District/school/classroom Web Page(s).

Content Standards
a) Approval for posting a Web Page must be obtained from the Website Manager or his/her designee(s). If at any time, the Website Manager/designee(s) believes the proposed material does not meet the standards approved by the District, it will not be published on the Web. Decisions regarding access to active Web Pages for editing content or organization will be the responsibility of the Website Manager/designee(s).
b) A Web Page must be sponsored by a member of the District faculty, staff or administration who will be responsible for its content, design, currency and maintenance. The sponsor is responsible for ensuring that those constructing and maintaining the Web Page have the necessary technical training and that they fully understand and adhere to District policies and regulations. The Web Page must include the name of the sponsor.
c) Staff or student work should be published only as it relates to a school/classroom authorized project or other school-related activity.
d) The review of a Student Web Page (if considered a school-sponsored student publication) shall be subject to prior District review as would any other school-sponsored student publication.
e) An authorized teacher who is publishing the final Web Page(s) for himself/herself or for a student will edit and test the Page(s) for accuracy of links and check for conformance with District standards and practices.
f) A disclaimer statement about the content of Web Pages must be part of individual sites:
Example: "The District has made every reasonable attempt to ensure that our Web Pages are educationally sound and do not contain links to questionable material or material that can be deemed in violation of the School District's Standards and Guidelines for Web Page Publishing Policy."
g) Commercial advertising or marketing on the District/school/classroom Web Page(s) (or the use of schoolaffiliated Web Pages for the pursuit of personal or financial gain) shall be prohibited unless otherwise authorized in accordance with law and/or regulation. Decisions regarding Website advertising must be consistent with existing District policies and practices on this matter. School-affiliated Web Pages may mention outside organizations only in the context of school programs that have a direct relationship to those organizations (e.g., sponsorship of an activity, student community service project).
h) Web Pages may include faculty or staff names; however, other personal information about employees including, but not limited to, home telephone numbers, addresses, e-mail addresses, or other identifying information such as names of family members may be published only with the employee's written permission.
i) All Web Pages must conform to the standards for appropriate use found in the District's Acceptable Use Policy(ies) and accompanying Regulations regarding standards of acceptable use; examples of inappropriate behavior; and compliance with applicable laws, privacy, and safety concerns.
j) All Web Pages must be approved through the designated process before being posted to the District/school/classroom Websites.
k) All staff and/or students authorized to publish material on the District/school/classroom Web Page(s) shall acknowledge receipt of the District's Web Page Standards and agree to comply with same prior to posting any material on the Web.

My first post Mod 2

Since I had never used blogs at all let alone in my classroom, I was really interested to get ideas of how they could be used most effectively. The first thing I really liked about the concept of blogs discussed in the text was the concept of collaboration and discussion through comments. When teaching a foreign language, it's important to have communication and to have a community. The first way I thought I could use this in my classroom is to have a class blog where each student creates a post a week about what they have learned and we could could have students in another German class in the district or area or a class in Germany comment on it. We could also then comment on that other classes blog creating a learning community. This activity would accomplish the Communication, Cultures and Communities standards in the ACTFL standards. For the Technology Standards for Language Teachers goals it would reach goals 1, 2, 3 and 4. Another activity that was given as an example in the book that could be used with blogging would be where students have their own blogs and they could use them as a portfolio of the best pieces of work. Other students could then go through and correct their peers pieces or give them feedback in the forms of comments. This meets the Communication standard of the ACTFL standards and goals 1, 2, 3 and 4 in the Technology Standards for Language Teachers. Another way of using blogging is having students for every month find a holiday in a country where the target language is spoken and a holiday in their home country and give links in their blog to that information while comparing and contrasting the holidays. Then students from said country (if an exchange program was set up for example) could give their thoughts in the comment section. This would meet the Cultures, Communication and Comparison standards in the ACTFL standards. For the Technology Standards for Language Teachers it would reach goals 1, 2 and 4. Another thing that I liked about using blogs that wouldn't necessarily relate to the standards was the concept of how it can help organize both myself and my students. I teach middle school so students are rarely if ever organized. But if I had all of the assignments and the due dates listed on a blog where students to could refer if they forgot to write down the homework, things would probably work a lot smoother. Also I could incorporate classroom news or put information on about the German club  or foreign language club activities coming up. I could even give the job of "editor" to students. This is really something that I am going to look into. The only thing that I am worried about is the lack of technological resources that my students have. It would be hard to move the assignments to the web since quite a few of my students do not have access to a computer at home and are often stuck watching their siblings and can't get to the library.