magnet-conf

Magnet Schools of America Conference Presentation = =

Adriana Guzmán de Myers and Marty Daniel - Houston ISD
Adriana Guzmán de Myers, Spanish Teacher at Kolter aguzmand@houstonisd.org Adriana's Wiki - http://myersrules.wikispaces.com/

Marty Daniel, Teacher Marty's wiki and website - martyd.wikispaces.com | plaidcircuitry.com

With little or no additional software, produce authentic work such as, videos, comic strips, and pod-casts. Spanish and technology teachers demonstrate a plethora of web 2.0 tools used to teach foreign language. These tools engage students and enhance instruction in dynamic ways.

Some of our favorite tools...


 * 1) Wiki – @http://wikispaces.com/site/for/teachers; http://kolterelementary.wikispaces.com This is the best resource as you students can create their own pages and then maintain a portfolio of work throughout the year. See http://curryatkolter.wikispaces.com/Kevin for a simple example.
 * 2) Make Belief Comix - @http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/Comix/ - I think this is the best comic creator around. It’s very easy to use and they are continually adding options.
 * 3) Create, copy, and then paste your special Spanish and French characters from here -
 * @http://spanish.typeit.org/
 * @http://french.typeit.org/
 * 1) Read, Write, Think - @http://www.readwritethink.org/search/?resource_type=16 - 57 interactive resources including many thinking and planning maps as well as a comic creator.
 * 2) Blabberize - http://blabberize.com – write and then have your animal or cartoon speak your words for you.
 * 3) Google Docs – http://docs.google.com
 * 4) Edmodo - @http://www.edmodo.com/home
 * 5) Quiet write - @http://www.quietwrite.com/ Because sometimes you just need a quiet place to write

@http://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/25774/5-Questions-for-Planning-Successful-Web-Based-Activities

 * 1) What is the curriculum related purpose of the activity? The outcome or assessment should be aligned to your lesson objectives and standards.
 * 2) Does the Internet enhance the activity? If the answer is no, find a more appropriate place to integrate the web.
 * 3) How will students use the online resources? Once students locate information, they should be asked to apply, analyze, synthesize, evaluate, or create. The activity should require them to move to higher levels Bloom's Taxonomy.
 * 4) Do students have necessary information analysis/information synthesis skills or am I including these in instruction? The project should not become simply an exercise in locating information. Students must have the necessary background knowledge and pre-requisite skills to complete higher level tasks or these must be included in instruction prior to the web-based learning activity.
 * 5) Do I have the necessary time and support for the activity? Double your original time estimate and always have access to technical support to resolve problems efficiently.

Using a Wiki
There are various reasons for setting up a class wiki. They make a quick and easy way to create a website and share resources. Ultimately, wikis are a useful tool for student collaboration. @http://wikispaces.com/site/for/teachers Setup your own personal wiki without advertizing at @http://www.wikispaces.com/content/for/teachers Make sure to check the box that this will be used for K-12 education.

Check out some examples of wikis used for LOTE education:
 * ===Spanish===
 * http://myersrules.wikispaces.com/
 * http://srakinson.wikispaces.com/home
 * http://dhsespanol.wikispaces.com/home
 * http://sraburden.wikispaces.com/home
 * ===French===
 * http://madamefrazier.wikispaces.com/home
 * https://readingresources4frenchteachers.wikispaces.com/
 * http://ah-bon-french.wikispaces.com/
 * ===Chinese===
 * http://kolterchinese.wikispaces.com/home
 * http://chenkolter.wikispaces.com/
 * http://chineselanguagelearninglinks.wikispaces.com/
 * ===Japanese===
 * http://haadobenkyoo-fuu.wikispaces.com/
 * https://imatj.wikispaces.com/
 * http://bellinisensei.blogspot.com/ (a blog but still good)

Check out some examples of wikis used for ELA education:

 * ===High School===
 * @https://wik-my-pedia.pbworks.com/w/page/8172007/FrontPage
 * @http://westwilkeswickedwiki.pbworks.com/w/page/13929096/FrontPage
 * http://sheehy-english.wikispaces.com/Odyssey+9
 * @http://ahsmedia.barrow.wikispaces.net/
 * https://thecavesofmull.wikispaces.com/home
 * http://bookleads.wikispaces.com/home
 * Middle School http://mslew.wikispaces.com/home (see the portfolios)
 * @http://6thgrade-07.pbworks.com/w/page/1071815/FrontPage
 * Restricted access - http://andersenhandcart.wikispaces.com/home
 * http://bhms-summer-read.wikispaces.com/home
 * ===Elementary===
 * http://mrsibrahim.wikispaces.com/home
 * @http://mrsanderson10.pbworks.com/w/page/33263525/FrontPage
 * http://mrsoskil.wikispaces.com/ (see the class bookshelf at the bottom)
 * http://curryatkolter.wikispaces.com/home
 * http://ashlynhigie.wikispaces.com/home

Make Belief Comix - @http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/Comix/
It’s amazingly easy and students don’t have to have an account. In order to grade these, students email them to an email created just for the class. Koltertech@gmail.com. Students could also share their work with parents or friends. In order to create the appropriate diacritical marks, you can use the alt codes or if you are using a laptop with Asian languages installed and the Alt keys do not function, then there are some great sites for copying and pasting just the characters you need.
 * Create, copy, and then paste your special Spanish characters from here - @http://spanish.typeit.org/
 * Create, copy, and then your special French characters from here - @http://french.typeit.org/

Blabberize - http://blabberize.com
Here are some basic instructions for using Blabberize:
 * 1) [[image:techapps/blabber1.png align="right" caption="blabber1.png"]]Find an image to use. One way to do this is to use Creative Common’s licensed photos from Flickr. @http://www.flickr.com/creativecommons/by-nc-2.0/ Images do best if they are facing forward. Download this image to your computer.
 * 2) Go to www.blabberize.com and click on MAKE. Click on BROWSE to locate the picture you saved in your computer.
 * 3) Next, you can select just the part of the photo you want to use. By dragging the pink handles.
 * 4) Now you position the by dragging the circle over where you want it to be.
 * 5) To resize or reshape [[image:techapps/blabber2.png align="right" caption="blabber2.png"]]mouth click and drag the blue and green dots.
 * 6) When you are done click on the blue arrow and you can record via the microphone on your computer. You can also upload a pre-recorded 30 second mp3 file if you like.
 * 7) Follow the wizard to record your sound and when it is uploaded, preview it and save it. To re-record, click on the white circle “Pick a Sound”.
 * 8) To save it students will need to log into the class account or they can create their own accounts if they are over 13.
 * 9) Now click on Share It. Put in the teacher’s class email address and you are done.
 * 10) To see our Lego Darth Vader saying Bon Jour, visit Claire Frazier’s wiki at http://madamefrazier.wikispaces.com/home.

Google Docs Options
> > The ways you can use Google Docs in your classroom are endless. I’ve encluded some resources to give you a few ideas to get started.
 * [[image:googledocs.png align="left"]]can use your own gmail to set up your docs or If your school district is set up, you can create a school email google account. The HISD site can be accessed at docs.google.com/a/houstonisd.org
 * Another good option is to set up a special gmail account just for school.

How many students can collaborate?

 * 10 people can edit a Presentation at the same time.
 * 50 people can edit a Spreadsheet simultaneously.
 * 50 people can edit a Document at the same time.

Read about more ideas using Google docs:
> ====
 * Ideas for Using Google Docs
 * [|10 Google Forms Ideas for the classroom]
 * Using Google Docs in the Classroom: Tips and Tricks
 * [|Snag a Table of Contents, Dictionary or Thesaurus for your Google Doc]
 * [|Google Docs Classroom Ideas Wiki]
 * Teach Collaborative Revision with Google Docs - a great collaborative book using the presentation tool!
 * [|Esther Wojciki's Docs and Spreadsheets in the Classroom]
 * Google Docs Blog
 * Keyboard Shortcuts for Google Docs
 * An Overview for Educators
 * How to Create a Self Grading Quiz Using Google Forms
 * New! Drawing Tools
 * Research Projects- Putting it all together

Additional Tools

 * Communicating IdeasCreate and learn about the important elements of a poster, comic strip or newspaper (4-6)
 * Pic Lits- Use Photos to develop word skills
 * My Story Maker Fun interactive tool used to create stories (K-4)
 * Smart Notebook – Check the serial number on your Smartboard to get the download code. Download the software from @http://smarttech.com/us/Support/Browse+Support/Download+Software