Web+2.0


 * For this assignment we were asked to write about 5 web 2.0 tools that we thought were really beneficial for our teaching. In the writing we had to include how we would use it in our teaching, and give examples. I learned a lot about amazing online tools I can use once I become a teacher. This is great. Well, here is what I wrote: **


 * I’m a prospective Spanish-language teacher, and I find many Web 2.0 tools so incredibly helpful in teaching. Personally I use some of these tools on a daily basis (Facebook, Blogger, Twitter, MySpace, Podcasting, RSS Feeds, YouTube, Flickr, Google docs, etc.). It is true that these great tools are compulsory to have in order to educate, mobilize, socialize…live nowadays. Well, some of the Web 2.0 tools that I’d choose to have in my teaching are: **


 * 1. Blogger: Some of the features of Blogger are that it allows you to be totally free and creative when writing. It allows you to have a personal website (a blog) -like a journal- in which to record all your writings. It also allows people (your friends or strangers) to read what you write and leave some comments (you can restrict the comments for only friends or for authorization before they are published below your writings.) I would use the great Web 2.0 tool that is Blogger by making each student in my classroom to set up a Blogger account and start writing there about a certain topic or assignment. For example: Every time I assign a reading task in Spanish (e.g., a short story, novel, or poetry), my students will be expected to write a summary or a reaction paper or the answers to a provided questions sheet on their blogs. I would give them my e-mail so that they could e-mail me all their blog addresses. This would be graded. I would also encourage them to be creative at the time of designing and decorating their blogs with the only condition that all the design and decoration in some way relate to the Spanish language. I know that there is a Spanish option in blogger, so just this fact of looking for a foreign language option in an Internet website would also help a lot my students by telling them that, yes, there is another world out there in Internet where Spanish is written and spoken. I would also ask them to link their blogs to their classmates’ blogs, to my blog, and to important sites in Spanish such as the website of newspapers, magazines, etc. **


 * 2. Wordle: This is another Web 2.0 tool that really caught up my attention. It is so fun to use it; it creates word clouds that highlight the words that appear more frequently in a text. This highlighting is so important and vital when learning a foreign language: students don’t need or shouldn’t know every single word in a text but only the most frequent ones. It is unwise to ask a language learner to look for any unknown word in a text, but it is recommended to encourage a language learner to only focus on the most important words, on those words that appear many times throughout the text. The meanings of those words should be looked for first because the understanding and the comprehension of the entire text depend primarily on them. I will use Wordle in my teaching by recommending, encouraging, and asking my students to use Wordle with reading assignments. For example: let’s imagine the reading assignment is a whole single-spaced page, and it is about a summary of the history of Spain. So, my students will use Wordle to find out what words they will need to look for their meanings first and which ones can be just understood by the context. Doing this, my students will save time looking for necessary words, have fun doing the reading assignment (because the whole layout of Wordle is very creative and impressive), and be encouraged and motivated to use more and improve their visual skills when reading a text (and of course finding the most important words). **


 * 3. Writewith: This is another Web 2.0 writing tool that I find really so appealing and very helpful. Writewith is especially for online group writing. This allows students to get together, set up an account, and start writing assignments, editing it, discussing, etc. This also allows teachers to supervise all the writing process that takes place and track each student’s contribution. This is perfect for out-of-class activities that can’t be done in class due to lack of time. I would use this tool for my group activities. Instead of setting up groups in the classroom and give them time to work on a project, I will take them to the computer lab, assign each of them to a group, and then show them the website of Writewith. They will be asked to set up an account, get together with the members of their group online and start working on their projects. I will be watching their progress in my computer. When the class is over, I will ask them to continue working online at home or at a nearby library. **


 * 4. Chirbit: As a foreign language teacher, I know that reading is not the only necessary activity to learn new language. Other vital activities are also speaking and listening. Chirbit is a tool that allows me to cover these activities in a great way in classroom. Chirbit allows users to record, upload, listen, and share audio files. Other features are: direct record, text to speech, and embedding audio files to any website. I would use Chirbit in the many speaking and listening activities of a foreign language classroom. For example: I would give my AP Spanish class a text, and would ask them to go to Chirbit, set up an account, and record their voices reading the text. Then I will ask them to send me all their audio files to my e-mail account for grading. Before that, I can even give another text to my students and then e-mail them also an audio file with my voice reading the text so that this can help them with the pronunciation, rhythm and flow I expect in their audio files for the assigned text. I will also encourage them to share their own audio files so that the ones who pronounce better can help those who struggle with the pronunciation part. I can make them do this in groups too, doing this we save tape, time, and a monotonous ordinary class activity. **


 * 5. Prezi: I firmly believe that learning happens visually too. Now in this time of images, the ability to present information through a high quality set of images, videos, drawings, PDF, etc. in a non-linear way helps students feel motivated to learn a lot in a brief time. This is why Prezi has really caught my attention. We all know how PowerPoint works in its linear secuence, and it is boring to see it work in its limited area. I just saw a Prezi presentation titled “Math is not linear”. Wow, I can’t think of a PowerPoint presentation more dynamic, more motivating than this made on Prezi. Prezi provides physical visual movement over the information you present; it makes your eyes be always alert paying attention. Prezi makes you feel motivated, attached to the presentation: it seems as if you are traveling through the world of the information of the presentation. I would use Prezi basically to motivate my students at the time of presenting, and at the time of presenting my own lesson too. For example, when giving a lesson about the history of a country (which is always kind of long and boring, and requires you to use every technique available to catch your students’ attention), I would use Prezi. The same for my students: if they are doing a presentation about the history of a country or the culture of a civilization in Spanish, I would encourage them to use Prezi. I want them, first of all, to have fun learning. Having fun while learning is the key to succeed. I know that if they have fun doing the presentation, the information they are dealing with in it will last in their memory for very long. **