What Did I Learn This Semester?

I learned that I really do not need to be nervous about learning new technology! I also learned that when I become a full time teacher I will have to take my time looking for Web 2.0 Tools that will recognize the Spanish language. I really had fun trying out new things and I had many frustrating times. For instance Screen Casting, and Prezi drove me crazy!!!! I really enjoying making Voicethreads and I found that Read The Words is a great tool for foreign language user.

I will make sure to not be so afraid of learning new things and trying out new things. Except some of the new Web 2.0 Tools really frustrate me to the point I want to throw my computer out the window. But the most important thing I can say about this semester is that I learned new things!!! There is nothing wrong with that at all!

VoiceThread is Magical!

I found another Web 2.0 tool that can be used in any Spanish class and the best part is that students with disabilities or at-risk students might find this tool fun and interesting. Click on the link below and see the VoiceThread I made as a tutorial on how to use VoiceThread and how to make a Spanish lesson.



http://voicethread.com/?#u1702005.b1997060.i10545023

Read the Words.com Actually Works in Spanish!!!!

I am so excited I found a Web 2.0 tool that actually works in Spanish!!! 100% works!!! The best part that I liked about it was that I could create an avatar in almost any shape, size, or color that I wanted. I made a PowerPoint presentation then connected it to a Voicethread. I feel like I have conquered the "Technology World!" I know that tomorrow or next week there will be something else that I will be terrified to make or use. 

Read the Words.com takes a written text and creates an audio file. I really enjoyed it! I pronounces things correctly and puts the stress where it should be. Now the only thing that I did not like about the program is that If you have special characters it will say what that character is. For instance if you type 1/2 cup of sugar it will say "one forward slash two" so if you want it to say 1/2 cup you must type half cup specifically. The other thing that was odd was when I typed one sentence in English and the next in Spanish it will pronounce it in the language you have chosen to use. 

Other than those two little things at this point this is the best program I have found for reading text in specific languages. I know there are a couple of other programs that are better but they are expensive and mostly used by the government and United Nations. Below you can click the play button and hear what I recorded.

Here is the link to my voicethread.
http://voicethread.com/?#u1702005.b1974379.i10418242

Thank a Soldier Today!

This blog was made for educational purposes. I thought to myself why do I have to stay limited to that? I could create a second blog to Thank a Soldier Today but most of my family and friends look at this particular blog. If everyone could just read this and find a soldier and say thank you! It does not matter what your views of the war is remember that many of our soldiers volunteered to be in the military! It will only take you 30 seconds to shake a soldiers hand and say Thank You for your Service! Follow what Gary Sinise is doing on the following link about his band called Lt Dan Band. Watch the trailer about his movie!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLaI4jMOGR4

Many of you know that I lost my father in the military and great friend! I am currently pen pals with about 30 soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. I have made many friendships and have lost many! This is request to share 30 seconds of your life to say Thanks You!

Creating a Personal Learnig Network

I am not a very interesting person when it comes to my personal network and I am old fashioned so I enjoy putting pen to paper often. My biggest branch of my network is to all of my military pen pals all over the world! We communicate mostly via letters. The one thing that I try to do is send them a copy of an interesting article from the Houston Chronicle and the Sports section. I must have bought 500 newspapers during football season!

Here is the link to my personal network that I created via Powerpoint I have never created a pdf  image with Powerpoint it was fun and easy.


http://screencast.com/t/WFGf6n84A

MindMeister Creation

In module 6 I learned how to use MindMeister to create a thinking map. Since in many Spanish classes a student is not learning just a new language but a culture as well I created a map of the countries in Central America with a specific interesting fact. The one thing I enjoyed about taking a foreign language was learning new and intersting facts about different countries.


Below is the link to the map that I created.

http://viking.coe.uh.edu/~mrbeemer/CUIN7316/Countries_in_Central_America.pdf

Screencast-O-Matic is Easier Than I Thought

When I noticed that I had to do a different type of Web 2.0 tool this week I got nervous. I decided to use Screencast-O-Matic while I created a map with Mindmeister. Here are the URL's for these two websites, www.screen-o-matic.com and www.mindmeister.com. I was a nervous a wreck when I started looking at all the different things that are possible with these two tools. I thought to myself what kind of information do I want to use for a mind map. Then it came to me when I was taking Spanish I, II, III, IV, and V I could have used this mind map program to make my life easier in learning all of the Spanish speaking countries in the world.

So, I decided to make a mind map of the Countries in Central America! The map that I created was a simple map with simple facts. Look below to see what the end result was.


http://www.mindmeister.com/maps/show/84630499
I created an amateur tutorial of how to create a mind map using www.screenomatic.com. This was my first audio file that I have created so please be gentle in your critiques of my performance.

Please click below to see the tutorial that I have created.

http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/watch/cXeQ0m2wQ

VocabGrabber by my niece.

In this example of VocabGrabber I used what Jasmine used in her homework assignment. I am doing my best to think outside of the box in finding tools that will allow for Spanish characters. I am not a teacher but I using my niece as an example I believe works out great. Here is the link below of her example in VocabGrabber.


http://screencast.com/t/14RcMp0d

VocabGrabber not a Great Grabber!

In module 4 I was supposed to find an innovative and creative tool for my Spanish class of the future. I struck out again! This tool is called VocabGrabber it is a great tool for an English class but it is not useful in a Spanish class. The only word that it acknowledged was San Juan because it is the name of the capital of Puerto Rico. I have added a link to an example of the text that I copied and pasted to VocabGrabber in Spanish.

http://screencast.com/t/uvCVfdZXh

I am not saying that this innovative tool is not great for an other class that is in English. IT IS FANTASTIC! The link below is for VocabGrabber in English it is a great tool for any class that needs clarification in vocabulary.

http://screencast.com/t/G4Ib6lsrW

I hope that with this posting it will assist anyone who is looking for a new vocabulary tool.

Penzu in Theory is ok!

I choose Penzu thinking that I could use it in my future Spanish classes and was highly disappointed. My assignment was to create an actual assignment for Module 2 but I can not. I am currently not a teacher but I can say that if I have an English class then I would use Penzu as the application students would use for their daily journal activity.

Penzu.com Just Busted my Bubble!

My second assignment for my Design Online Class is to review a Web 2.0 communication tool. I was almost beside myself with excitement when I found www.penzu.com. I have been wondering how could I integrate an electronic journal application into my Spanish class in the near future. I said to myself "I could have a computer section in my classroom with 4 or 5 workstations where the students could come in and privately write anything into their journals". Then I saw that on Penzu it had an option to print it out I became even more excited. I thought that the class could print it out at the end of the year and keep it forever. This journal would not only full fill their writing area of their grade it would also be something that they may take pride in. 
But my bubble was completely busted when I started typing in Spanish and I realized that Penzu is only programmed for English. This application automatically has a word count log, spell check, and it is free! Of course anyone could pay $14.95 for the Penzu Pro but it really doesn't add that much variety in my opinion. 

I have a link below where you can see where I started my first journal entry in both English and Spanish you will clearly see within just a few words in Spanish it has a wiggly red line below it for spell check. I will have no problem using this for my English classroom but for my Spanish classroom I will have to find another 

http://screencast.com/t/vhkiNpiBxr8




If anyone knows about a Spanish online journal application please let me know.

Learning about Personal Learning Networks

When I was first introduced to Personal Learning Networks(PLN) I was totally confused. Technology is not my best friend and I have to spend a lot of time researching and learning. While I was doing research on how to make a Blog I realized that a Personal Learning Network is the same thing as a study group.The only difference is that we are not meeting personally in a library or in a coffee shop etc... The moment I realized that a PLN is the same thing I was not so worried. Then I had to create a Blog the fear returned. It was not as bad as I thought. My sister sent me a text saying: "Welcome to the 21st century!" I will eventually become comfortable with technology but in the mean time if something is off with my Blog let me know gently so that I may work on it to fix it.