25.4.08
20.4.08
15.4.08
Cocinando con Cristina (technical difficulties)
It is finished! Wow did we have a hard time making this video! I feel relieved that this project is over and I mean that in the best way. What started out as a simple video ending up becoming one of the best learning experiences of my life. All of the filming went smoothly (shout out to Christine!) my good friend who decided to take part in the making of this video.... however when it came to actually uploading, splicing, editing, and posting the video it came along with many bumps on the way. First we did not have the correct cable, then our edited video was not saved on our USB. So we had to start over, at the lab the computer froze and finally we were able to load it and go global! Making this video made me realize that we have all this great technology but in the end it can backfire on you and decide not to work. I officially have no luck with technology I guess we are not meant to be....
On another note, this video is meant to provide culture and grammar for students of a lower level spanish class. Our goal is to show students in a creative way a recipe going over commands and at the same time give them the opportunity to create their own... hopefully they will not have as many technical difficulties as we did.
Hope you enjoy and leave comment por favor! :)
7.4.08
4.4.08
ON SL 2
I have to say that experimenting with SL in last week's class was a total shocker. Initially, I was hesitant to even sign up for it because I did not know what I was getting into. Getting involved in a virtual reality has its limitations and definitely has no place in the classroom. After reading the articles for class last week, I was still not convinced about using SL in the classroom. I found SL to be hard to use, and very complicated. Yes, it is true that students can practice typing in the target language, listen to voice chat, and 'teleport' to different cities, but the truth of the matter is they are experiencing language learning in a virtual world. Language learning should be done in the real world, because in the end we want to communicate with real people. Students should strive to actually visit other countries, taste the food, speak the language. etc. In an age where it is more popular to become someone else, to escape from reality with technology, we as educators will be stooping to the lowest level if we encourage programs like Second Life in the classroom. If you want to do it for fun then so be it. But it has no place in the classroom and I will not try to justify its use. Technology is a good thing but we cannot pretend to implement every new program into education.
31.3.08
Mini project #2
I am posting my mini project #2 directly on here because I forgot how to make a link for it. It is not that long or great (most likely) because my experience as a 'teacher' has been limited and for only 2 semesters. However, I hope that with the experience I gain teaching at UF and later on will help me polish my future teaching philosophy.
Lucia M. Montas
03/31/2008
TIFLE
“The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery.”
Mark van Doren
This quote best describes what I believe is teaching, which to me is the art of assisting discovery. With teaching, I feel that I am a facilitator of knowledge; my goal is to allow students to discover new ideas, make connections, open themselves to accept and see a new culture, embrace differences and change their world.
Even though I am relatively new to teaching, I have realized my mistakes, what works and doesn’t work, and how to be more confident in my abilities as a teacher. Having the opportunity to teach Spanish at the college level has reaffirmed my decision to become a teacher, and even though I am young, I continue to learn what makes someone a good teacher. I can say with confidence that in this short amount of time, I have been able to assist students in the discovery of the Spanish language and culture.
Since taking AP Spanish literature in high school, I knew that I wanted to be a teacher. This was a significant time in my life (living in Nicaragua) and I knew in my experience that Ms. Ruiz inspired me to consider a career in teaching.
When I came to college, I immediately declared a major in Spanish and pursued a degree in education. While taking education classes I decided that I did not want to limit myself to the K-12 level but wanted to become a professor. By becoming a college professor, I feel that I will have the power and the ability to teach what I want to teach (which is literature) and have more flexibility than the typical high school teacher.
I describe myself as a teacher who is fair and at the same time someone who cares about the students and their learning process. I want my students to be able to feel comfortable enough to express and communicate in another language, to be engaged and opened to new culture, to break stereotypes of Hispanic culture within the US etc. I believe that students should be active participants of their own learning and not make the teacher fully responsible in the classroom. Students should be able to show autonomy and the teacher should be able to demonstrate authority and knowledge in the classroom.
During these two semesters of teaching, I have maintained an open and carefree environment with my students, I want them to feel at ease with language, ask each other questions, and not be afraid to make mistakes. My classes are filled with facilitated group work, diverse activities, videos, and culture. I try to make my classes different each day so that the students are encouraged to go beyond what is expected of them. This can easily be passed to the teaching of literature, which is eventually what I would like to teach.
In Liberal Arts, literature is seen as something very unattainable; culturally speaking it is for the elite. As a professor of literature, my goal is to make literature accessible to students, help them make discoveries and break barriers that separate them. Reading literature in another language has become the main focus of language teaching today, because language is not just grammar concepts and rules; words have the power to add meaning and transform people. As the world changes rapidly, and technology becomes the focus of our lives, it is important to remind students of the simpler things in life. Reading is becoming a foreign concept to many students, and books themselves are becoming digital or available online.
Therefore, the use of technology in the classroom will be efficient for teaching literature. Currently in my classroom I use technology to explain grammar concepts, introduce different activities. I show video to introduce culture and dialogue. Technology can be beneficial for the foreign language classroom whether it be a focus on language itself or literature. Currently, I have had the opportunity to develop lesson plans using technology in the literature classroom. It is often difficult to introduce technology but beneficial for the students. One of the topics within technology that interests me is ICC or Intercultural Communication. This concept is important when teaching culture, it incorporates different CMC or computer mediated communication. It can include email, chat, video, and podcasts. In the future, I would like to incorporate this concept into my teaching because it enables students to make connections and improve their writing and oral skills. I can see myself using this in a intermediate level Spanish class and perhaps in a literature class exchange ideas about a certain time period, author, or novel. For example, a video chat can generate discussion of a specific book that is being studied in class. Students can exchange ideas not only with their classmates but with students in another country studying the same thing.
Finally, being a teacher is significant to the passing of information and knowledge. Teachers have the ability of opening people’s minds and helping them create and make new discoveries, and using technology will only help teachers accomplish this task.
28.3.08
Intercultural communication
Hello!
This entry will be a focus on my thoughts about intercultural communication. I have to say that of all the classes I really enjoyed last weeks discussion on intercultural communication. I thought that Dr. Lomicka's project with the honors French class was very interesting and could be adapted and used here at UF. I think it is an excellent idea and would be beneficial to UF students studying spanish. One of the ideas within ICC, Noticing and reflecting were the most beneficial to my understanding.
Noticing and reflecting are important concepts, for students to experience when doing ICC. Not only do students notice another culture, but they are able to reflect and think about their own culture. I think that Culture is very abstract and difficult to teach but that ICC makes it possible. It is also important to note that without the proper technology none of these things will be attainable, but its worth trying to implement some sort of technology in the classroom.
This entry will be a focus on my thoughts about intercultural communication. I have to say that of all the classes I really enjoyed last weeks discussion on intercultural communication. I thought that Dr. Lomicka's project with the honors French class was very interesting and could be adapted and used here at UF. I think it is an excellent idea and would be beneficial to UF students studying spanish. One of the ideas within ICC, Noticing and reflecting were the most beneficial to my understanding.
Noticing and reflecting are important concepts, for students to experience when doing ICC. Not only do students notice another culture, but they are able to reflect and think about their own culture. I think that Culture is very abstract and difficult to teach but that ICC makes it possible. It is also important to note that without the proper technology none of these things will be attainable, but its worth trying to implement some sort of technology in the classroom.
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