A Look Back & Forward: Maker Experiment 3

Me: The Teacher & The Maker

In this adventure that has been the class CEP 811, I have found myself challenged intellectually and creatively along the way. The biggest focus of CEP 811 was all about the idea of “making” and “maker culture,” or the idea that learners “make[s] something — from food to robots, wooden furniture to microcontroller-driven art installations. Makers are typically driven by their curiosity for learning and creating new things, as well as by an interest in sharing their work and processes with others” (Thomas, 2012). As a language teacher, I felt confused in the beginning as to how to implement my maker kit of choice, The MaKey MaKey*, in my classroom of beginner language-learners. My class, for most students, is their first introduction into the world of Spanish, so they have limited language skills to start, and each skill that they learn is introduced to them by me, the expert. How could I give them free reign to use a maker kit, while still using our precious class time to engage in the target language? Scaffolding them with unknown vocabulary that they might need is difficult when everyone is working on something different.

My decision to use the MaKey MaKey to control a language game was based on the fact that I don’t have much time in my classroom to break into English, as language proficiency depends on time and practice. This way, I could put the maker tool into the hands of the students to control as they tried to use the language in a practical, everyday task of giving directions through a game. I read through some wonderful ideas from my classmates, teachers of other subjects, from science to math, and economics to music. These projects gave students the free reign to create something entirely using the maker kits, and I found their lessons to be engaging yet focused on a specific goal at hand. I must say that I look at some of their open-ended project ideas using the maker kits as my ultimate goal. I believe that I could let the reigns out some on having such structured maker lessons. I do, in fact, want to see my students making things themselves. I may not necessarily have them working with The MaKey MaKey, as the cost of buying enough kits would be too much. However, I can envision lessons in which students are using the language to share about something they have created – a step-by-step demonstration or “how-to” presentation of sorts.

*The MaKey MaKey is a circuit kit which is easily connected to any computer-based program that uses the space bar or arrow keys. It has six color-coded cables that can connect to any kind of conductive material, from metals or fruit to Play-Doh.

How Far I’ve Come

As this class comes to a close, and I look back on my development from the start of this class and the program as a whole, I feel that I have a better understanding of how technology can transform a classroom into something more student-centered, as opposed to teacher-centered.  Set free to create on their own, my students are capable of tasks that I couldn’t have thought up. Additionally, some of the tools that I have discovered via CEP 810 and 811 have given me new means to better reach all of my learners. The Universal Design for Learning was an area of focus that fully grabbed my attention and gave me better perspective on how to help the core-area teachers at my school support our English Language Learner population.

The program encourages self-reflection and learning from errors along the way. If I received a grade with which I was not satisfied, I was free to re-work the assignment, and submit it for reconsideration. I took advantage of this on one occasion when I felt that I hadn’t fully understood the instructions, but wanted to make sure that my assignment consisted of good digital citizenship. This course was designed to meet each learner where he or she is regarding technology, and to help him or her grow and push limits. I have most certainly felt my limits being pushed, and I am pleased to know that I am developing into a better teacher as a result.

References

Thomas, A. (2012, September 7). Engaging Students in the STEM Classroom Through “Making”. [Web log comment]. Retreived from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/stem-engagement-maker-movement-annmarie-thomas

 

Scholarship of Teaching & Learning: Technology & Language Learning

This week, CEP 811 focused on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). While there is much debate over the definition of “Scholarly Teaching” vs. SoTL, one primary element of both is the study and implementation of scholarly writings by others in the field. That in mind, I set out on my mission to find scholarly articles pertaining to technology integration in language classes, specifically, Spanish and English as a second language.

The Michigan State Library was a wonderful resource for helping me research articles. I sent them an e-mail via their website through their “Ask a Librarian” service. The site said it would take up to forty-eight hours to hear back from them, but I was thrilled to have a response the following morning. I explained to the librarian my background as a Spanish and ELL teacher, and I told them I would be interested in learning more about technology integration in the classroom. She linked me directly to two educational databases, where I was able to find each of the articles listed above. One was “Education: Full Text,” and the other was “ERIC.”  These troves of educational research are wonderful resources for professionals looking to engage in both scholarly teaching and the scholarship of teaching and learning. They both require an MSU NetID and password. Below, I annotate five articles that I found prevalent to my teaching as a language teacher working to implement technology in my classroom.

 

Cornelius, C., & Vest, T. (2009). Spicing up spanish class. Learning & Leading with Technology, 36(7), 32-33. Retrieved April 23, 2014 from http://ezproxy.msu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/61797983?accountid=12598  

In this article, a teacher explains in detail a technology-based research project assigned to students over Spanish-speaking countries. The aim of this project was to increase speaking confidence while also expanding the class’s knowledge about the people, products, and perspectives of each country. Students were given safe places and ways to connect with one another, as well as with the embassies of the countries assigned, and they compiled information collected into a self-created wiki. They then used this information to create a voice-narrated presentation in Spanish to be presented to the class. Each presentation was then recorded for students to reflect on their overall performance upon completion.

This project is something most Spanish teachers require of their students at some point or other. The integration of technology used by this teacher furthers students’ exploration of the topic. Connecting students directly to first-hand sources (from embassies, for example) is a tool not often afforded to students in a foreign language classroom. The ideas laid out in this lesson plan are well-thought-out and integrate a variety of media to enhance engagement and learning.

Faszer-McMahon, D. (2013). Social Networking, Microlending, and Translation in the Spanish Service-Learning Classroom. Hispania, 96(2), 252-263. Retrieved April 24, 2014 from http://p2047-ezproxy.msu.edu.proxy2.cl.msu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy2.cl.msu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eft&AN=89579708&scope=site

In this article about service learning through social networking, a post-secondary instructor organized a project for Spanish language learners in which they were able to use their language knowledge to help people in need around the world. The project exemplifies a way in which students can engage in service learning connected to their language learning despite the fact that their immediate community may have a limited Spanish-speaking population. Using Kiva, an online, non-profit organization that works to connect microentrepreneurs around the world with individual lenders. Each microentrepreneur must submit a proposal that can then be viewed by willing lenders around the world. Lenders are private individuals, typically, and can offer to support an entrepreneur in another country with as little as a twenty-five dollar loan. Students engaged in this activity were asked to translate the entrepreneurs’  proposals from Spanish to English using a guided process organized by the instructor. Thus, these students were able to engage in service-learning and use the Spanish language to reach out to people around the world, something that has proven increase student interest and engagement in language learning.

I find this article to be relevant to my teaching, as I work in an area where the Spanish-speaking population is limited. My students, though younger than those mentioned in the study, rarely have the opportunity to use their Spanish outside of the classroom. The idea of using technology to connect my students to causes around the world, while also engaging them in the language, is something I hope to be able to do some day.

Lee, R. (2006). Effective Learning Outcomes of ESL Elementary and Secondary School Students Utilizing Educational Technology Infused with Constructivist Pedagogy.International Journal Of Instructional Media, 33(1), 87-93. Retrieved April 27, 2014 from http://p2047-ezproxy.msu.edu.proxy1.cl.msu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy1.cl.msu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eft&AN=507855552&scope=site

In this article, the author, Rebecca Lee, utilizes research conducted by CELA (National Research Center on English Learning and Achievement) to focus on the integration of technology in English as a Second Language classrooms. Her primary focus is on the implementation of technology in conjunction with the constructivist theory. She mentions the use of muted television or movies and closed captions to give students context and visuals as they construct their own meaning from what they see. Additionally, she suggest inexpensive ways for districts to use technology, with the simple example of radio. The radio gives students native input while allowing them to construct their own meaning. A teacher can pause the recording to have open class discussions and informally assess their understanding of the content. The constructivist element of her suggested practices allows the students to feel a level of comfort with one another and look to each other as a resource, rather than a competitor.

This is relevant to my classroom, as the students are all coming in with different language proficiencies. There are some who were born in the United States, and others who only arrived a year ago. In implementing the ideas laid out by Lee, we can build a stronger peer support system in my ESL classroom.

Li, N. (2013). Seeking best practices and meeting the needs of the english language learners: Using second language theories and integrating technology in teaching. Journal of International Education Research, 9(3), 217-222. Retrieved April 24, 2014 from http://ezproxy.msu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1509084388?accountid=12598

The author of this article aligns technology with language acquisition theory and the following four English language teaching practices: “Increasing comprehensible input, encouraging social collaboration, relating learning to the real world and providing supportive learning environments” (Li, 2013). Along with stating each practice, the author suggests specific, aligned programs to support  Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP) over the Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS).

This article keeps in mind the key language acquisition theories that I learned in college, and it is always helpful to be reminded. Those guiding principles are what must never be forgotten in planning out any unit or lesson. I can utilize the technology resources mentioned by the author to further support my students’ CALP.

Rance-Roney, J. (2010). Jump-Starting Language and Schema for English-Language Learners: Teacher-Composed Digital Jumpstarts for Academic Reading. Journal Of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 53(5), 386-395. Retrieved April 25, 2014 from http://ezproxy.msu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/61799210?accountid=12598

In this article about scaffolding English-language learners (ELLs) through digital storytelling, the author, Judith Rance-Roney, lays out the reasons for ELL teachers to use digital storytelling, the tools to do so, and examples of in-service and pre-service teachers’ digital stories. Among the field of ELL teaching, the teaching of language through content has become the norm. It has replaced the former ELL teaching practices of focusing on isolated language instruction. Because ELLs are not at the same language proficiency as their native-speaking classmates, they need to have added supports to help them understand the content. Enter the main focus of this article: digital storytelling. The author argues that digital storytelling gives learners the visual scaffolding that they need to create background knowledge. The benefit to making storytelling digital, says Rance-Roney, is that it can be made available to students beyond class hours. Programs that can be used include any movie maker pre-installed on a computer, or other free programs found online. Example digital stories illustrate the ways in which teachers have employe this practice. One teacher’s use of digital storytelling to preview Arthur Miller’s (1976) The Crucible to high school students, allowed them to create a visual, geographical, and emotional schema to represent the time in which the story is set. Another educator highlighted in the article used digital storytelling to preview a biography of a former migrant worker. She used the video to illustrate vocabulary and the genre “biography.” Through pictures and more simplified stories that also pertain to migrant workers, students were able to conceptualize the biography they would soon be reading. This article is relevant to my teaching, as I currently use digital storytelling in my Spanish classes and have been looking for a way to implement it with my ELLs. My Spanish stories are focused solely on the vocabulary, as that is the content; however, in following the suggestions laid out in this article, I could use the same concept to support my English-language learners in their core content areas, just as I am supposed to be doing.

Maker Experiment #2: UDL Re-design

One-size-fits-all education. Who knew a statement so small and simple could be so detrimental? The fact is that learning is not a one-size-fits-all concept. The idea of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is “an approach to curriculum that minimizes barriers and maximizes learning for all students” (CAST, 2010). This week in CEP 811, I took a look back at the MaKey MaKey lesson plan on giving directions in Spanish that I created and posted about earlier this semester. I was asked to adjust the lesson plan to align with the UDL approach, which includes reconsidering the following: representation (of vocabulary and concepts), action and expression (varying the learning tasks and assessments), and engagement (providing options for engagement).

Re-designed Lesson Plan: Makey Makey Spanish Directions Lesson

1. As a world language teacher, material representation is always an area of focus. In my lesson plan, I gave the students multiple representations of the vocabulary with which to practice, including: a map of the school, arrows for directions, flashcards (on Quizlet.com), and an interactive map of a town (videogame). However, I realized that my lesson plan relies heavily on visuals. This could be a problem for those who are visually impaired. While Quizlet does have an audio function that pronounces words (in Spanish!), a student with difficulty seeing would have trouble in the other activities where he is supposed to be looking at a map. For this, I came up with an alternative where the student with a visual impairment gives directions to rooms in the school verbally to a classmate, while the classmate, rather than points and traces the route, verbally narrates his path, then they switch roles.
2. Secondly, still under the category of “Action and Expression” comes the idea of self-monitoring. My lesson, I recognize, had very few opportunities for students to self-monitor, aside from seeing whether or not they were able to give and follow the directions leading them to the correct place on the map. So, for the re-designed version of the lesson, they will be given a check-list giving each direction vocabulary word with the following tasks to master:

I can…

Read it

Say it

Define it

1. The final component of UDL refers to “Engagement.” This involves getting students to love learning by giving them some choice and autonomy, as well as creating a safe and comfortable environment in which to take risks.  To further give them more options, I will give them a classroom map to start, but allow them to branch out to choose their own maps on the internet (could be a map of an amusement park, a sports stadium, a theater, or some other venue. This would allow them to incorporate their own interests into the activity.

Reflection

From what I’ve learned about Universal Design for Learning this week, I feel as though I can better identify ways to make my lessons more accessible to all students. As I reviewed the UDL Guidelines (CAST), I found that I was already providing many of the supports to my students by presenting the material in various ways. However, there was so much more than I had ever considered. Under the three focuses of UDL, there are many considerations that teachers must keep in mind. I think that a great start was to identify what I am already doing, so as not to feel so overwhelmed by it. From there, I was able to look further at my MaKey MaKey lesson plan to find areas of weakness. I realized that the activities were overly reliant on visual representations of the material, and this could be a problem for students who have different needs in this faculty. I also found that the original lesson did not give students the opportunity for choice when it comes to demonstrating their learning. So, I integrated that element of choice into my re-design. This week has inspired me to search for additional tools for my Spanish and English as a Second Language students to support their needs. I am excited about getting my department on board with thinking about making our curriculum universally reachable for all students.

 

Sources

CAST (January 6, 2010). [Video]. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/bDvKnY0g6e4

CAST. (2011). UDL Guidelines 2.0 – Organizer with links to examples. Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/site/udlguidelinesexamples/

 

Classroom Design Experiment #1

This week, in CEP 811, we delved into the topic of “Experience Design.” What is experience design, you ask? I asked myself this as I read, watched, and explored tools related to this concept. The concept is nothing new, and is something that cinematographers, advertisers, educators, web designers, and engineers, among thousands of other fields, have been implementing for decades. The premise, according to Tedde van Gelderen in this video is based on human behavior in day-to-day experiences. Within these experiences there is usually a clear flow, or clear order, to the way in which people interact with experiences.

Taking this idea, my task this week was to re-think my workspace (my classroom), then redesign it using a free tool called SketchUp, which is a 3-D modeling software.

The space that I chose to re-design is my lovely classroom. I don’t have any great pictures of it as it currently is arranged, but I will update with those pictures as soon as I return from Spring Break next week. It’s a decent-sized room, but it lacks space for small, quiet, work. In a Spanish class this can include group collaboration for projects or audio recording to practice listening and speaking, among other activities. I’m often having to send students into the hallway for such things, but this doesn’t allow for much teacher guidance/observation.

In addition, my classroom is not ideal for implementing my curriculum, which involves a great deal of story-telling and skit presentations. Students that sit toward the back often are unable to see up to the front where the story or skit is being presented.

In thinking about the best way to restructure my classroom, I went into “dream mode” to imagine the ideal classroom for the day-to-day experiences that my students have in that room.

The Re-Design Plan

I imagine it combining three elements: university library-style group rooms, standard classroom desks, and a semi-circular theater.

• Small Group Work Rooms: First, there would need to be added square footage. With this extra space, the classroom would add 4 “Cuartos de Colaboración” (Collaboration Rooms) with retractable walls to give the desks in the rooms dual functionality. They could be used as both standard desks, as well as collaboration room tables. The walls would be plexiglass in order to encourage openness and connectedness among the class. Each room has a small projection screen or TV for students to use for a variety of purposes, from Skyping with native Spanish speakers around the world, to creating and rehearsing story presentations. These rooms would be used to create an environment conducive to experiential learning and constructivism, wherein students can use the language in real-life experiences to construct their own proficiency (Kearsley, 2013).

• Technology-Friendly Desks: The desks in this classroom have outlets installed into each one, which allows students to plug in their Chrome Books, which my district already supplies. This would solve the ever-present issue of uncharged computers that we encounter every day.

• Next, considering the part of the curriculum mentioned earlier involving stories and skits, I would like the classroom to be set up like a small, rounded, community theater (reminiscent of the Erickson Hall Kiva for anyone familiar with the MSU College of Education). This arrangement would allow for a better view and more interaction with the class during stories and skit presentations. The projection screen would be centered to add visual support to stories.

Implementation

In order to implement this vision of this classroom, my school would need the funding to do so. I am no contractor, but I imagine the cost to build and install the technology would be substantial. There would need to be community support for a bond, or a grant of some sort to absorb the cost. DonorsChoose.org is one funding site that I am familiar with that allows one to raise money for various purposes, and there are many more out there on the web. Check out this link for more ideas of ways to fun technology in your own classroom.

The important stakeholders in this plan would primarily involve students, teachers, parents, the administration, and all community members. This type of technology and design for a classroom will not only provide students and teachers a better learning environment, but it will also make the school even more desirable for families choosing where to send their children.

To begin the implementation of the revision, there would need to be agreement among administrators, teachers, the school board, and community members. A bond proposal would need to be brought forth by the school board to be voted on by the community. In the plan, considerations for the actual construction timeline would need to be included, as well as any displacement of teachers. This plan would not need to happen all at once; rather, it could be done over a ten year span. I believe that starting with the desks that include outlets for charging ChromeBooks would be the best place to start. From there, the group collaboration rooms could be next, ending with the circular theater set-up.

Sources

ChangSchool. (2010, February 9). Tedde van Gelderen on Experience Design [Video file]. Retrieved      from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BB4VFKn7MA4

Kearsley, G. (April, 1, 2013). The Theory Into Practice Database. Retrieved      from http://InstructionalDesign.org

Ultra-Micro MOOC: Crafting Cakes for Beginners

This week in CEP 811 we explored the growing world of MOOCs (Massively Open Online Courses). These courses can cover literally any topic, and they are offered by many universities worldwide, including P2Pu, University of Saskatchewan, and MSU (check out their first MOOC here on Foundations of Science). These types of courses offer instructors the opportunity to reach a mass number of students on a weekly basis.

In my task of creating my own “Mini MOOC” I decided to work with one of my favorite pastimes. Baking and cake decorating is something I’ve been doing for the past several years to help me focus and relax in my free time. Not to mention, I have a huge sweet tooth, so testing out my creations is always fun, too. So, taking a step away from my standard Spanish-related curriculum, check out my mini MOOC, “Cake Crafting for Beginners.”

Cake Crafting for Beginners

Welcome, aspiring cake-decorators! In this course, Cake Crafting for Beginners, you will learn to bake, tort, ice, and decorate a two layer cake using buttercream frosting. In doing so, you will interact with your peers to create a video tutorial demonstrating your mastery of the terminology, tools, and techniques for making a cake your friends and family will love to both look at and eat.

Course Topic Cake Baking & Decoration

Tags: Baking, cake, piping, buttercream, decorating

Who should sign up? This course is designed for those looking to learn the basics of creating a layer cake from start to finish, including baking the layers, making the buttercream, stacking the cakes, and designing the decor. Do you like watching cake decorating television shows, or browsing your local bakery’s latest creations on display in the glass case? This course is for you!

Learning Goals for this 6-Week Course

• Goal 1: Students will learn to plan out the final design of a cake first, using backward planning to figure out their end goal and practicing skills that help them create their final cake
• Goal 2: Learners will be able to bake, tort, ice, and decorate a two layer cake using buttercream frosting.
• Goal 3: Learners will demonstrate mastery of the terminology, tools, and techniques for making a cake in the form of a video tutorial

What will you make? Peers will make a cake and a video tutorial demonstrating mastery of the skills: planning, baking, leveling, torting, layering, icing, and piping a cake.

How do these skills connect to learning theories and TPACK?

Starting with the basics of cake-making, the course is being designed using backward planning: basing all activities off of an end-goal in mind. Each student will develop his/her own unique end goal: a final layer cake designed using buttercrem frosting. To begin, we will give the students the content knowledge necessary to make cakes (the “C” of the TPACK model).

Content Knowledge for making a layer cake includes: recipes, ingredients, batter/frosting consistency, baking times and temperatures, necessary tools (mixers, spatulas, bowls, piping bags and tips), and where to find many of the materials.

Technological Knowledge for making a layer cake includes how to use those tools to create the cake.

Pedagogical Knowledge for teaching people how to make a layer cake includes giving students the appropriate tasks at the appropriate times, all of which should be hands-on, experiential practice.

Peer Collaboration

Weekly Discussion Forums: Topics will be generated by weekly student surveys, each centered around the focus skill of that week. In addition, students will submit their Twitter handle to a class list, and they will be asked to follow one another. They can use the hashtag #craftingcakesspring14 to communicate questions and advice with one another.

Finally, the last two weeks will be spent working on a video tutorial project explaining the steps of planning, creating, and decorating a layer cake. Students will be assigned one partner, with whom they will need to come up with an idea which they both are capable of creating, then split the work of creating the video.

One partner will need to create the first  five steps:

1. Planning the cake (demonstrating collaboration with partner)

2. Prepping the batter

3. Baking

4. Prepping the buttercream

5. Leveling and torting

The other partner will need to create the second half of the video demonstrating the final steps:

5. Icing the cake

6. Creating a design

7. Implementing design (be it floral or text, or a combination of both)

8. Finishing with a border

What is the design architecture for your course. How will each week’s modules be organized and why have you designed it in this way?  

 

Week 1

Cake Baking Basics: This week, students will begin by following one another on Twitter. The content of this week will explore the ins-and-outs of baking a cake and making buttercream frosting. They will be asked to gather up all of the tools they currently have, and make a cake and buttercream based on a suggested class recipe. Then, they will share in a Twitter conversation using #craftingcakesspring14 the following: any trouble they had making the cake and frosting, the tools they have and/or are lacking in their own kitchens, as well as suggestions or questions  about tools being used.

 

Week 2

Planning out a Cake: This week will explore cake design elements including coordinating colors, spatial cake design, borders, text, and focal points. In addition, students will explore a gallery of photos illustrating the techniques that are going to be covered in the course, including borders, text, flowers, and 3-D piping. Using Google Draw, students will be asked to submit a tentative cake design for their final cake (one that could change entirely before the end of the course) and tweet it using the class hashtag.

 

Week 3

Borders & Text: Students will watch a video tutorial of various border piping techniques, as well as script and standard text. They will need to Instagram a short video of their practice, as well as a final picture of their best border and text using the class hashtag. Students will also be given their partner assignments for the final cake video project. They should begin collaborating in a Google Drawing (shared with each other) to brainstorm ideas for the final cake, as well as listing necessary materials. Their homework in addition to Instgramming the video of text/borders is to go to a local bakery and get permission to take photos of their favorite cakes that look do-able (within reason). They can also search for inspiration online if they can’t get to a bakery or aren’t granted permission to take pictures.

 

Week 4

Flowers & Final Cake Planning: This week, students will be choosing their three favorite flowers to practice. Each will be defined by difficulty level and will have an accompanying video tutorial to help them practice. They should Instagram a video and picture of final flowers. They will continue to collaborate with their partner planning out the final cake project design.

 

Week 5

3-D Piping: This week, students will look at the use of 3-D piping to create focal points on cakes. First, students will explore a gallery of 3-D designs, then watch a video on how to create such designs. They will be asked to re-create the design of a cat, a cupcake, and a football using parchment paper, taking pictures of the process and posting them to Instagram using the class hashtag. Students will also be required to submit a final plan for the partner cake project in the form of a Google Document shared with the instructor. (This week would be a good time to get the finale cake and video started, leaving time to edit the video and complete the course reflection next week.)

 

Week 6

Studenst will submit their final cake and video tutorial through a tweet of the video posted to YouTube. They will also need to complete a final reflection over the cake making process that includes the skills they believe they’ve mastered, the struggles they’ve encountered along the way, and how they think the learning process suited their needs.

MaKey MaKey + Experiential Education + Getting Around en Español

The more time I’ve spent thinking about the MaKey MaKey kit, the more I am starting to recognize ways that I might incorporate it in my Spanish 1 classroom. Initially, as you read in my previous posts on the subject, I was a bit skeptical about how this science-y, techy device could  be used to promote increased communication in another language for beginning learners.

My learners are nowhere near experts of the Spanish language; however, they are becoming experts at being beginning language learners. What does that mean? It means that they are starting to find patterns in new vocabulary. They can point out important characteristics of Spanish words, both semantically (related to words’ meanings) and syntactically (related to grammatical forms and structures).

One challenge that language teachers often face is being able to incorporate experiential learning, “the process of making meaning from direct experience, i.e., “learning from experience” (Itlin, 1999). My students work day-in and day-out on practicing their Spanish in the classroom with each other; however, they rarely have the opportunity to utilize it out in the real world. Some Spanish teachers live in language-rich communities, in which they can take students out into the town for real-life language use. In my town, we don’t have many Spanish speakers, so I must contrive some of these experiences for my students. The good news is that, according to the learning paradigm of experiential education, it is totally fine for the teacher to contrive these types of scenarios for students. To quote Aristotle, “For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them.” Our students will learn to use the language in social, real world contexts, by using them in social real world contexts. It is my job, as the teacher, to find ways to bring them real world experiences.

Enter: technology. Technology opens new doors for language teachers to bring experiential learning to students while utilizing their second language.  I have been thinking about important, real-life, communicative abilities that my students need to develop, and one that came to mind was commands and giving directions. This gave me a couple of ideas for the MaKey MaKey kit, starting with a very necessary skill: giving directions to get around a city.

In a station-style lesson, students will move through activities to practice giving directions. At one station, they will be using this game from MySpanishGames.com, students will work in pairs to give one another directions in Spanish from one town landmark to another. The person being given the directions will use the MaKey MaKey, hooked up to arrows *metal darts with tips removed pointing in all four directions.

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Giving Directions in Spanish Station Lesson (46 minutes)

Materials:

All Stations: 1-to-1 Student Laptops

Beginning Whole Group – Structure Review:

Quizlet Flashcard Set – “Directions” (including words such as “turn left,” “go straight,” “turn right,” “at the corner,” and “stop”)

Station 1 – Getting Around the School:

This map of my school – shared with students in Google Drive (here)

A list of directions to 5 unnamed locations in the school (the pool, the gym, the art room, the office, the media center)

Station 2 – Getting Around the City with MaKey MaKey: 

Four MaKey MaKey kits

Access to internet

“Por la ciudad” – Directions Game

4 pieces of cardstock

16 metal darts (tips removed!) – four taped to each sheet of cardstock pointing up, down, left, and right ⇧⇩⇨⇦

Printout of directional words (from Quizlet list at station 1)

Printout of city landmark/location words (park, school, bus station, store, plaza, apartment, zoo)

Set-up: Set up half the room (8 desks) with computers hooked up to MaKey MaKey, and at the other 7 desks, place a map of the school.

Procedure

Warm Up

1. Begin lesson with a “Diario” (warm up) to practice the direction vocabulary introduced and practiced in previous day’s lesson: Think about how you would get to the mall from here. Correct these directions:

“Sale de la escuela. Dobla a la izquierda. Sigue derecho. Dobla a la derecha cuando pasas por Uccello’s.”

Students should cross out and re-write the correct directions to the mall. After five minutes, review with the class. (Note: It should read “Sale de la escuela. Dobla a la derecha. Sigue derecho. Dobla a la izquierda cuando pasas por Uccello’s.”)

Vocabulary Drill – Quizlet

1. Students should open their Chrome Books, and find the link for Quizlet Direction Vocabulary on class website. Once there, challenge the students to earn the highest score on “Space Race,” and “Scatter” in 8-10 minutes.

Station Practice – Giving Directions (@school and with MaKey MaKey)

1. Pair students off using their country partner sheet (filled out at the start of trimester).
2. Send half the class to the MaKey MaKey computers, and the other half to the school maps.
3. Give students at MaKey MaKey stations instructions to take turns giving one another directions to various places on the map. One gives directions, while the other controls the MaKey MaKey using the dart arrows. After spending 10 minutes trading off, challenge them to spend 5 minutes finding more games that can be controlled with MaKey MaKey which require players to give each other directions. (These may be English games with the sound turned off.) Paste the links into a document in your Spanish shared folder.
4. Explain directions to the students with the maps. They should be giving one another directions to various places in the school. One student gives directions verbally, and the other traces out the route being dictated on the map.
5. Students should trade stations after 15 minutes.
6. On the way out, have students answer these questions on an exit ticket:

¿Doblas a la derecha o a la izqiuerda primero cuando vas a la oficina de la clase de español?

¿Sigues derecho para ir al gimnasio?

 

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Sources

Itin, C. M. (1999). Reasserting the Philosophy of Experiential Education as a Vehicle for Change in the 21st Century. The Journal of Experiential Education 22(2), 91-98.

Experiential Learning. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved March 27, 2014 from
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Experiential_learning#cite_note-itin-1

Thrift Shop Invention

Out-of-the-box thinking was the key to this week’s CEP 811 assignment. From the moment I checked the syllabus before class even began, I was perplexed by one thing: the maker kit (i.e. invention kit) that I needed to purchase for the course. After some research, still having no clue how this would apply to my educational technology course, I decided to order the Makey Makey kit. It looked fun, and it could be hooked up to bananas or Play-Doh to control a computer. That sounds pretty cool, right? But, what on Earth would I, a Spanish teacher, do with this? I would soon find out because this week our task was to come up with an invention using our maker kits to be used in our classrooms.

The MaKey MaKey kit comes with everything you need for creating a remotely-controlled keyboard using everyday objects. It has a MaKey MaKey board, a USB cable, seven alligator clips cables, and six connector wires.

This assignment was all about repurposing, something that the world of education has been doing forever. Very few major technological advances came about for the main purpose of being used by teachers in classrooms. When it came to the Makey Makey, I saw obvious tie-ins to science, and even simple, and straight-forward connections to music (using the Makey Makey to make a variety of instruments using various music programs available on the Makey Makey website itself). I took out the kit and began to play around with it following the instructions included in the kit.

I had parent-teacher conferences this week, so during my time between meetings with parents, I tooled around the internet searching for ideas to inspire me. I was truly at a loss as to what I could do. I did a search for Makey Makey ideas for language learners. Poster, yanivcogan, on a Makey Makey forum, gave the idea of simply connecting the kit to different items that, when touched, prompt the computer to play a sound clip giving the correct pronunciation of the word. I liked this idea, and I stored it with Evernote as I continued to search.

Next, I found an idea that inspired me even further. Blogger and teacher Josh Burker had his students use cardboard boxes, copper tape, and the Makey Makey kit to create game boards reminiscent of the classic game “Operation.” Check out his post here. This idea took the capabilities of the Makey Makey to a new level for me. I realized it didn’t simply have to connect to singular, separate objects, but could be connected in one centralized, board-like set-up. I searched for Spanish games, and I found this great one that practices household vocabulary on myspanishgames.com, and uses the arrow keys to move a character from room to room. It perfectly would work perfectly with the MaKey MaKey’s capabilities, and that’s great, but I really liked the board-style activity created by Josh, so I kept looking.

My wheels started turning, connecting the idea of a board game from Josh had used with his students and the poster yanivcogan’s idea of making it a vocabulary practice tool. When I set out on my trip to my local Salvation Army, I went into it with a basic semblance of an idea in mind, but I was open. I headed straight toward the kitchen supply aisle because, well, I love kitchen supplies. I came across a number of items, which I noted in my Evernote app. The one that stuck out most to me was the divided brownie pan, as it reminded me of the rooms of a dollhouse, or a floor plan layout. Hello, inspiration! Thinking back to  further than controlling a digital house on a pre-made game. I will make my own house out of this pan that can be manipulated for learning and practicing Spanish.

Without further ado here is my invention:

The MaKey MaKey Casa de Español (Spanish House)

Game Purpose

This game will give students hands-on practice with Spanish household vocabulary, in a way that actually mimics the appearance and layout of an actual house. Students will interact with the “house” by listening to sentences given in Spanish about various rooms, and selecting the correct room that corresponds with the sentences given.

Materials

• MaKey MaKey kit (preferably enough kits for groups of 3)
• A divided brownie pan, or regular brownie pan with tin foil dividers (1 for each house board)
• Electrical tape (or another insulating material)
• Small paper squares – same size as squares in the pan grid – with pictures of various rooms in a house printed on them (hand drawn or printed from actual photos)
• Tape
• A list sentences describing various rooms of the house in Spanish
• Recording Program (vocaroo.com is free and works great)
• Game making software – Stone Elementary School in Crossville, TN has compiled a great list of game making programs for educational purposes

Step 1

Print off and/or draw six different rooms on 2″x 2″ squares – examples: living room, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, garage, office, basement, etc.

Tape a different room onto the bottom of each square of the brownie pan. (Note: You may not fill all squares.) To see what I mean, check out my sketch, using Creative Commons licensed images of room layouts:

Step 2

Connect USB cable to computer and plug it into the MaKey MaKey.

Connect one alligator clip to “Home” on the bottom of the MaKey MaKey. Hold on to the other end of the alligator clip between your thumb and finger, making sure you are holding the metal clip part.

Step 3

Connect remaining alligator clips to the MaKey MaKey board:

Step 4

Then, attach the opposite ends of the alligator clip cables to the right edge of each picture (clip directly onto the brownie pan divider).

Wrap electrical tape around the pan divider on either side of the alligator clips to insulate them from each other.

Step 5

Open up Spanish house program, and students will hear sentences in Spanish describing rooms, and they must touch the correct room’s clip.

To Play

In my research, I didn’t find the exact program that I am looking for, but I would use one of the programs mentioned above to create one. A brief explanation of the program follows:

The program that I envision this brownie pan game board using would have a very basic visual interface which shows what each room corresponds to on the keyboard:

Up Arrow: living room

Down Arrow: kitchen

Right Arrow: bathroom

Left Arrow: bedroom

Click: dining room

Space bar: garage

1. To start, it will say a sentence in Spanish, for example: “Hago mi cama aquí.” (I make my bed here.)

2. A student would have to touch the correct room in the board. If they get it wrong, it tries a different statement for the same room.  For example: “Yo duermo aquí.” (I sleep here.)

3. Continuing to give clues until the student selects the correct room.

Owner/author. (Publish date or n.d.). Title of image in italics.[ image’s media – photograph, painting,

outdoor mural]. Retrieved from URL

Sources

Burker, Josh. (2013, January 15). Makey Makey Scratch Operation Game. [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://joshburker.blogspot.com/2013/01/makey-makey-scratch-operation-game.html

LaMenta3. (2009). Living room rearranged. [Graphic picture]. Retrieved from http://flic.kr/p/6yodYC

Sanders, Josh. (2008). Old, and Bad. [Graphic picture]. Retrieved from http://flic.kr/p/5o7iXc

Urban, Inner. (2010). New Kitchen Layout. [Graphic picture]. Retrieved from http://flic.kr/p/7Edpax

Yanivcogan. (2012, August 17). Teaching with MaKey MaKey. [Forum]. Retrieved March 19th, 2013, from http://www.makeymakey.com/forums/index.php?topic=530.msg1008#msg1008

Remix, Reuse, Recycle – The Buzz Around Gamification

This week, my eyes were opened to the idea of remixes. Thus far, I had defined remixes as songs in which rappers change things around a bit and add a few lines. In the video series by Kirby Ferguson, “Everything Is a Remix,” I watched example after example of ways that one person’s work influences another’s. Who can really stake claim over an idea, when there are very few original ones out there anymore? The creation of Creative Commons licensing leads me to the video I remixed which is posted below.

Let’s talk gamification. When I first heard that word four years ago, I was a scared little student teacher intern at Michigan State University, and my TE 800-level instructor (I’ve forgotten exactly which class) was doing a special study on gamification for her thesis. She told us about how great gamification was, but, I will be honest, I was simply trying to make it through my internship year and find a full-time job. I didn’t give it much more thought at the time.

My, how I wish I had. Gamification, or the idea of using game mechanics for real-life purposes, has become big everywhere, from from the commercial world of shopping, to public education and research. Even the world of fitness has adopted gamification.

In its essence, gamification is intuitive. It’s also social in that players are interacting while trying to reach the next level of the game. Finally, it taps into extrinsic motivation by rewarding “players” – learners in the case of education- for improvement. It’s no wonder that it is so widely popular across various fields. Bosses can use it to keep their staff motivated. Less-than-motivated gym-goers might stay on the treadmill to earn their “5 Miles!” badge on their fitness app.

What does all of this mean for us as educators? We have been using games in classrooms for years. I recall the go-to “Jeopardy” review game in math class in middle school. I loved those days! This mock game-show activity gives rewards in the form of “dollars” or points, and it taps into the competitive nature of human beings. It is a great start in the world of gamification in education; however, we should consider the vast functionalities of the video games that our students are playing at home. Those games have come a long way since the creation of the simple review game. Gamification brings limitless possibilities to student engagement in the classroom.

Check out the essence of gamification in my remix, reuse, recycle video. These clips, all Creative Commons-licensed, exemplify the basics of what you, the educator need to know to start exploring gamifying your own classroom. The videos, images, and sounds that I chose, I think exemplify the ways that gamifying classroom activities motivates students. Students find gaming familiar – classic games like Super Mario, Monopoly, Chutes and Ladders, among others, have specific elements that students know and love. Gamification is really the best of fun and learning combined.

Gamification Remix: https://kchris409.makes.org/popcorn/1u8q

References (Post)

Ferguson, Kirby. (2010). Everything is a Remix Part 1. [Video clip]. Retreived from http://vimeo.com/14912890

References (Video)

(Note: All media used are Creative Commons licensed for reuse with modification.)

ictQATAR Doha. (2012). Gamification! [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPZ8NI2-JWY

Fleming, Mike. (2009). Monopoly. [Image]. Retrieved from https://flic.kr/p/5NUMKx

Hu, Sharon. (2014). Gamification in Education. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfivasin9j4

Husman, Ben. (2008). Chutes and Ladders. [Image]. Retrieved from https://flic.kr/p/5KHiPK

Nerio, I. (2013). Super Mario Bros – sound18. [Audio file]. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/search?q=super%20mario%20brothers%20sound18

Page, Larry. (2007). Cribbage. [Image]. Retrieved from https://flic.kr/p/4m9eFS

Novak, Kae. (20112). Week 3 – Intro to Gamification. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sujOK9rG6Q

Sputzer, Smabs. (2010). A 1948 App. [Image]. Retreived from https://flic.kr/p/8rvoTc

Farewell, CEP 810

Oh, CEP 810, how I will miss you. This class has taught me a great deal about teaching for understanding through technology. This class came at the perfect time for me, as my students just received 1-to-1 Chrome Books in December, and, as a district, we were feeling pressure to find ways to utilize them. Lots of teachers, myself included at times, found easy ways to substitute Chrome Books for paper

– “I know! I will have them write an essay on Google Docs and submit it by sharing it instead of printing it. That’s really using technology!”

It is using technology, however, it is not maximizing technology to improve student understanding. These simple substitution activities can and do make life easier as a teacher, but they should not be the be-all and end-all of technology integration in classrooms. Following the TPACK framework, teachers need to find the balance and connections between content knowledge, technological expertise, and pedagogical best practices.

In my 21st lesson plan, I got to put to use a technology called Nearpod, that, I believe, epitomized the TPACK model for me as a Spanish teacher.

A little background on my classroom: My curriculum follows the teaching style of Total Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling (TPRS) – a pedagogical practice which stands firmly behind the idea that in order for students to commit vocabulary to procedural memory (i.e. long term memory), they should only be learning 3-4 terms at a time, and should be practicing it across various medias. In my classroom we read stories. We listen to stories. We tell and write our own stories. Then, we may take a story out of order, and put it in the correct order. We may illustrate stories or make a venn diagram comparing two different versions of a story. We do all of this in Spanish, and we focus it all around three words per story – about six words per week.

So, enter Nearpod.com – a program that can do all of those things, incorporating listening, reading, writing, speaking, drawing, sharing opinions (via class polls), checking comprehension (via mini quizzes). I was hooked, and so were my students. It is taking the pedagogy of my TPRS class, the content knowledge about vocabulary retention (repetition, repetition, repetition – through various medias), and the technological piece, and it’s putting it all together. I loved it. I have used it a number of times since creating my 21st Century Lesson Plan, and I even am in the process of getting my school an account.

One thing that is ongoing, and probably always will be, is the search for more technologies that can engage my students while following the TPACK framework. I think I have barely scratched the surface on all of the possibilities out there.

Another thing that I loved in this class was the week that was taken out to focus on our organizational sanity. Evernote has become my savior, and the TED Talk about getting things done rings in the back of my mind all the time. Literally all the time.  He told us, “Write EVERYTHING down. Nothing is too small to write down.” And, Evernote allows me to do just that, and I get to check things off my list, which I just love.

Finally, I can say now, thanks to CEP 810, that I am a calligraphist. Okay, not the best one that ever walked the planet, but I am decent. I know a lot more about calligraphy now than I ever knew there was to be known. If I can learn to do calligraphy through YouTube and help forums, what else can I learn on the internet? What will my students be able to learn a year from now? Or five? Or ten? The world is ever-more connected, and the internet is becoming a place for sharing ideas, skills, and knowledge. I find it baffling, yet awesome, when I come across some of the wonderful resources out there online that people took their time to make, if only to share a little bit of themselves with the world. Who knows if they ever intended for a random Googler to find it, but there it is, in this instance, helping me complete a class assignment.

Thanks, CEP 810. Thanks, Ben. You were awesome.

Becoming a Calligraphist Step 4: Practical Use

When I decided to take up calligraphy for my Network Learning Project for CEP 810, I had in mine creating beautiful cards, invitations, and stationary to send to my family and friends. Thus far, I’ve been scrawling out random letter on scratch paper (i.e. all the letters to write the word “pecan.”)  Now that I’ve had some practice and have checked out several scripts from videojugartscrafts, OvernightArtist. and CalligraphyArtVideos, I decided it was time to take a stab at making some kind of practical product with my calligraphy.

Looking for some tips on how to do this, I found a video posted by PensandLeather.com, which lays out the steps to writing out cards.

Steps Include:

1. Shake out and relax your hands.
2. Sit up straight with both feet flat on the floor (something I found oddly difficult to do, since I prefer to cross my legs or sit on one of my feet  – it doesn’t sound comfortable, but it is to me. )
3. Select an ink color.
4. Practice makes perfect – Use the scratch paper to write out your message before writing on the card or stationary.
5. Measure and mark your lines with a pencil.
6. Begin!

In my final video, you can see my efforts at making a birthday card for my dad and anniversary card for my boyfriend, among some other cards that I can use for various occasions. I’m a perfectionist, so I’m still looking to improve my script. I chose a standard serif script called “Chancery Italic Hang” and a special Sheaffer.

Mother’s Day Card

An up-close view of the anniversary card.