Digital Storytelling

Ever since I got my Macbook, I have wanted to make use of the iMovie application.  When I first saw the words, "Digital Storytelling,"  I had no idea what to expect.  I was envisioning something along the lines of narration with a slide show or something similar to the "In Plain English" videos.  I was excited to realize that it involved the iMovie app.  When thinking of a topic, I knew I wanted to make it on a city I had visited.  Then, I decided to do it on the French city I called home for four months last fall, Nantes, France.   This way, I wouldn't have to worry about violating copyright rules by using internet pictures, and I could use photos from my personal collection. 

The actual process of making the movie was pretty straightforward.  I only had a couple problems with text not fitting on the space provided.  In the end, I think my movie turned out pretty good.  Being that it was my first "Digital Story,"  i know that if I were to make another, it would be even better.  I can see many possibilities with this tool.  Especially in a foreign language room, this could be a great tool to give virtual tours of different cities!

Here is the link to my Digital Story about Nantes: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U435axfzjgQ&feature=g-upl

Digital Diagrams

This is what my unfinished diagram looks like!

Digital diagrams were never something I have really had much exposure to.  I guess we used them in science classes to better visualize processes and things like that.  It actually took me a little bit to find a French topic I was satisfied with to make a digital diagram.  My first idea was verbs.  I was going to use irregular verbs and put them into the three categories of "IR," "ER," and "RE." Unfortunately, I soon realized that it would not be a very interesting chart since most of the irregular verbs are very difficult to describe with a picture.  So, I looked in the French I textbook I had checked out for help.  I found a perfect diagram in the book of all four seasons and the activities one can do in each.  Perfect!  Making a digital diagram was much easier than I expected it to be, and I think it would actually benefit French students if used in a productive way. 

Digital Diagrams and Storybird

First, last Thursday, we started to briefly talk about digital diagrams, and I'm excited to start to work on my own.  It seem like it would be really useful in an elementary school, but I'm hoping I can figure out a way to make it work for foreign language as well. 

The other thing we worked on last week was Storybird, which I thought was a really fun tool!  I loved the different artworks, and even though I do see it being used more in preschools and elementary schools, I was already thinking of an assignment.  I could have the students write short stories in French and present them to their classmates. It's obviously not planned out, but I could see myself using it!  The storybird team did a great job presenting even though there was the glitch with the embed link.

I'm finishing up my interactive white board flipchart this weekend, and I'm really excited about it! I could see myself using flipcharts often!

Timetoast & Interactive Whiteboard

First of all, my group presented this past week. I felt like it went really well!  I wasn't as nervous as I thought I would be, and I really enjoyed myself.  Afterward, one of my classmates came up to me and told me I'll be a great teacher and that I have a really good voice.  It made me feel really good, and it also made me get really excited about my internship next year! 

Secondly, we've been working with the interactive white boards this week.  My high school never had interactive white boards, and none of my professors at UT had ever really used them.  I think that if I'm lucky enough to be in a school with this technology, that I will really take advantage of them.  While making my story board, I saw endless possibilities for how this tool could be used in a foreign language classroom!  I'm excited to really get into the production of my storyboard, and to get to show my creativity with this project!

Google

Something I have really found amazing in this class is how useful Google is.  There are so many different products that can be used in so many different ways!  I have even started using Google Drive more for group projects and for just storing my data.  In my RA job, I have also used Google forms to send out surveys to my residents.  I've been a blogger for a while, but I had no clue that it was associated with Google.  I've really realized how many great free resources there are out there that I can use in the classroom. The Google Drive is just so versatile, and I have found many different ways to use it.  For example, the presentation option is great if you want your presentation to be easily accessible. The forms option is also great because the information you collect is easily organized in a spreadsheet automatically. I wish I had taken advantage of these resources earlier! 

Scavenger Hunt

This week, we went on a scavenger hunt!  With the two social studies guys, I went around campus and took pictures of things like political bias, important dates in history, and things that changed the world.  After we had finished taking all the photos, we came back into the classroom to start editing and putting them together.  In order to incorporate French, I would use a scavenger hunt to allow students to connect words and things.  Sometimes, students struggle to learn vocabulary without seeing the object and actually using the words in a real life situation.  On Tuesday after taking the photos, I was a little confused about the project.  After exploring pixlr a little bit more, I feel like I can comfortably resize and edit all the photos easily.  Here are just a few of the pictures we took:

Something showing bias. 

Something more than 40 years old:  A rock! 

 We also talked about the tool Glogster which gives you the ability to make online interactive posters.   I feel like this would be really cool to use to introduce a lesson or to give instructions for a project.  It might be hard to use with students because you have to have an account to access it.  It would be possible, but not easy. 

Images and Wordle

This week, we started our discussion on images, and Sandy and Monica gave their Web 2.0 presentation on Wordle.  I am actually really looking forward to getting into more depth concerning images.  I've always loved using Photoshop and using images to decorate my blogs and anything else I make online.  We talked on Tuesday about how websites like facebook automatically re-size your photos for you.  I've actually had to work with this in the past when I needed a photo that was an exact size to send to my school in France.  I really struggled in resizing it, but I eventually found a way to do it.  I'm sure the way we learn in class will be much more straight forward than the way I did it. 

The other thing we learned about is Wordle, a tool that creates word clouds out of any words you choose.  I've seen some of my professors use a word cloud as decoration on the blackboard class site, and also on their own personal websites.  I think that I would use it when introducing a lesson.  For example, if I were talking about regular -er verbs, I could make a wordle with the verbs we would be using that day and have it on the board when the students come into the classroom.  Here are a couple examples of word clouds of common French verbs I made using Wordle.  I used the same verbs for both, but I changed the formatting a little bit.  I really enjoyed how many unusual font options were available on Wordle.  I could spend a lot of time just changing the formatting on the word cloud because it was really fun! 

Timetoast!

My group was assigned to work with Timetoast!  Timetoast is a tool that allows you to create your own interactive timelines.  It is a perfect way for students to be able to learn about an historic event without being overloaded with information.  It's also great because there is already an enormous database full of timelines that have already been created.  

The process of making a timeline is actually really easy.  All you need to do is add either an event or time span.  For each event, you can add a photo and a paragraph or two of information.  You could even attach links to different websites. When the timeline is finished, you actually embed it into a webpage.  So, students wouldn't even have to leave a wiki, for example, to see the timeline.   I really wish I had known about this tool when I was taking some history courses a couple years ago.  I think that timetoast could be really beneficial to history teachers, and also to foreign language teachers when they teach about the history of the country/ language. 

Inquiry-Based Activity

When I saw the words "inquiry-based activity" on the syllabus at the beginning of the semester, I really wasn't sure what to expect.  An inquiry based activity is a learning tool where students explore a topic on their own and use the provided materials to answer questions.  I found that these inquiry based activities could be extremely useful in the classroom.  Using my mom's classroom as an example, I know that they are assigned certain days in the computer lab.  In addition, her school has a set of Ipads that travel to a different classroom everyday.  These activities would be perfect for days like this.  Also, with the amount of technology being used today, the inquiry based activities will help students get acquainted with how to find and navigate reliable and credible sources.  This will help them when they need to do research papers in both high school and college. 

When I was creating the activity, I was getting really excited about all the great resources available for French inquiry based activities.  There are so many possibilities for different types of activities that will be really beneficial for the students! 

WebQuests

This week, we spent quite a bit of time using and learning about WebQuests.  I remember doing webquests when I was in elementary school, and I see how they can be useful to me as a teacher.  In this week's assignment, I was the "technophile," so I was responsible for evaluating each webquest on a basis of graphics and usability.  I really learned how to make a webquest interesting, but not to overflow it with information.  I think that evaluating the different webquests showed me what components make a webquest better than another.

The best webquests were the ones that were easy to navigate, creative, thought provoking, and manageable.   The ones that my group did not like were text heavy and had several dead links.  This evaluation helped me make mental notes so that if I ever make a webquest to use in my classroom, I will know how to set it up so that the students will get as much out of it as possible. 

Website Evaluations

I use the internet every single day.  Usually, it's one of the very first things I do in the mornings....Most days, I check my email, facebook, and twitter before I've even brushed my teeth.  However, I had never really thought about how each website could be evaluated for use in a classroom.  The website I chose to evaluate is called Epals.  I liked it because it could be really fun to link my classroom with actual French students that are learning English.  The detailed website evaluation form really made me think about how careful I will have to be when choosing websites to show to my class.  It also opened my eyes to all the different websites that are there just for teachers.  I felt comforted that there are so many resources at my disposal.  I'm excited to look for more sites in the future that will be useful in my classroom.

Expectations for course

My expectations for this course are to gain a basic knowledge of ways technology can help me in my career as a foreign language teacher and to be able to use technology to create fun, interactive ways for my students to learn. Since I already have a basic knowledge of some of the useful tools on the internet, I'm hoping I will be able to expand my knowledge and learn how to apply it to teaching, specifically.  I also hope to be able to gain confidence in using these tools so that I can be very comfortable in using them with my students in the future. 

I will be using this blog to document my journey through TPTE 486.  I will blog about what I learn in the course, and how I will use the technology I've learned in my future career as a high school teacher.