MAKING CURRICULUM POP!: MODERN LANGUAGE EDUBLOG

“The end of French political power has brought the end of French,” “Now even the French elite have given up. They don’t care anymore. They all speak English. And the working class, I’m not talking just about immigrants, they don’t care about preserving the integrity of the language either.” ~ Michael Kimmelman

French is a diminishing language, much to my dismay. As a fluent speaker of French, having studied at the University of Paris, I must concede of its decline. However, I refuse to resign myself to the demise of what is arguably the most eloquent, exquisite language on the planet. VIVE LA FRANCE!

PODCASTING APPLICATIONS

I found this week's adventure in podcasting practical, applicable. Hillary and I teamed up to create the perfect World Languages blog commercial with Garageband... effortlessly! We were surprised to find the activity useful, as it introduced us to the program.

This has been, in my opinion, one of the more useful exercises we have covered thus far. I believe there are real-world applications for foreign language, as it provides a medium for recording and exchanging messages in the target language.

Practical applications to include: online language forums, virtual "pen pal" conferencing, online French lessons, etc. The possibilities are endless in the foreign language teaching disciplines.

Merci! Kristin & Jeff...

READINGS: GOOD GAMES & GOOD LEARNING

Identity. "... Games capture players through identity. Players either inherit a strongly formed and appealing character ... or they get to build a character from the ground up. Either way, players become committed to the new virtual world in which they will live, learn, and act through their commitment to their new identity ..." ~ Good Video Games & Good Learning, James Paul Gee

As I read the principles, I reflected upon the notion of games and virtual identity. Who are we really in the virtual realm, an extension of our real selves, or do we assume an entirely different persona? Are we more likely to misrepresent true reality and take risks for the purposes of forwarding the game? And for what true purpose? As we pursue the goal (for entertainment value, or conquest), do we sacrifice ourselves or others? Interesting points to consider.

In relation to teaching, I advocate that games may have phenomenal potential in the classroom, if used responsibly. Games do promote problem solving, strategy, and performance under pressure (real-life application). However, I think that video games should be carefully aligned to instructional curriculum, and the skills or knowledge acquired should be strategically considered.

MR.GEE'S VIEW

Mr. Gee made several compelling points about advocating for video gaming as instructional learning tool.Critical thinking was his most compelling argument. As we enter the global economic environment, we must develop skill in critical, or high order thinking. If video games can be integrated in such a way that they are both entertaining, and instructional, they might provide purposeful, motivating learning tools to complement curriculum.

Sophie raised an excellent point regarding video gaming as learning tool: the notion of failure. While school is aligned with success (failure is discouraged), video games are forwarded by failure. I think this has real-life application, as often life involves failure as a means of learning. Through persistence in failure, we reconstruct means to succeed. Great point to consider!

EDUBLOGGER SITES:

Langwitches http://langwitches.org/blog/

Exploring world language blog sites...

Learning & Teaching with Twitter

BONJOUR DE PARIS!

Media Embedding Assignment

This week's Media Embedding Assignment (EDUC511.Records of Practice) provided a meaningful application activity, a means to integrate technological tools in ways with which we may not be familiar. That is to say, we may have been proficient at creating video, voice, etc., but perhaps not familiar with TextEdit, or means to connect them... This exercise, for me, was a fun way to practice using MAC applications (I'm previously PC). Our team spent the afternoon in Paris attempting to master copy/cut/paste functions on MAC... C'etait vraiment chouette...

Merci, Liz, et Bon Anniversaire, Chris (Happy Birthday, Chris)!

Learning & Teaching with Twitter

With respect to the readings, I must admit that I am not a Twitter follower; my initial impression is that the posts seem limited; however, there is an advantage...

"The wonderful part about having only 140 characters is that there isn't much room to make a fool of yourself, and if you do, it passes quickly and no one remembers." ~Learning & Leading with Technology

The Twitter vocabulary section was particularly useful as we approach this assignment, as Twitter linguists manipulate variations of the verb: "to Tweet". So I suppose the question we will address in this section, "to tweet, or not to tweet?"... EDUC504 has taken the initiative to answer this question for us, if we value our class grade...

Reflections on Dewey Readings

Dewey's 19th century educational philosophy has modern academic implications, particularly as it relates to foreign language acquisition. According to Dewey, children learn by "doing" rather than passively internalizing information unilaterally presented by a teacher. Students, in Dewey's view, should be participants in their individual learning.

This academic theory was embraced, and forwarded, by Stephen Krashen, the preeminent foreign language acquisition researcher who theorized that language is acquired through natural immersion, or by "doing". The Krashen method is supported by modern linguistics research, and widely applied in univerisity modern language instruction.

Krashen's methods support Dewey's earlier presumptions that children internalize language by means of exposure. He writes, "through the response which is made to the child's instinctive babblings the child comes to know what those babblings mean; they are transformed into articulate language and thus the child is introduced into the consolidated wealth of ideas and emotions which are now summed up in language."

Bonne chance (good luck) on the MTTCs everyone! Bon week-end!

Post-Class Reflections

6.30.10

The introductory session (June 30) presented topics to include various technology applications with which the SMAC students will be expected to become familiar: wikispace, webinar, PLNs, podcasting, and audio/video recording and evaluation.

I am particularly interested in Wikispace for Educators (K-12). Foreign Language teachers have found this venue to have phenomenal real-world application. In my limited secondary teaching experience, a "French Cultural Exchange" wikispace was developed to serve as a multiple-user pen pal website. The exchange connected our high school in Michigan with a lycee in the French Alps. The students posted class photos, blogged discussion topics (the discussion on French slang was both entertaining and dangerous)!

The wiki brought the subject content to life for the students, as it provided them with the opportunity to practice writing in the target language, to communicate in French with their overseas counterparts. Through the discussion topics, they discovered surprising similarities and dispelled cultural stereotypes. And learned some colorful French slang... The wikispace was a complement to the course curriculum, and its technology application was directly relevant.

Although I am unfamiliar with the webnar and podcasting applications, I am looking forward to developing at least a basic working proficiency with them. As an advocate for technology integration in the secondary classroom, I can only begin to envision their creative use.

Mindy Broderick

Section B