Virtual environment in the classrooms

According to some educators, 3D web will become a way to enhance education. According to them, students can explore and have experiences that they would not have in any other way such as visiting the Sistine Chapel, universities or famous museums in other places. Before we can judge on whether or not these educators are right, let’s introduce how it works.
In most of the 3D or virtual worlds, visitors can create their avatar which is the 3D resident that represents them in these worlds. Visitors can choose their appearance and clothes that the avatar will use. Depending on the world that visitors choose, they will have access to different features. There is a list of 3D worlds that offer different features depending on the age of the visitors. Most of these worlds are not free. Either you pay a monthly fee or you have very limited features.
These worlds offer a whole new life on the web where you can chat, play games, meet new people and even find a significant other. Only a few of these worlds can be cataloged as educational resources since most of them offer games and entertaining activities that do not aim at learning goals that could be used in the classrooms. Out of several virtual worlds I found two that I would explore more in depth to see if they could be used in my future classrooms, Mokitown and Whyville.
Mokitown is for children from ages 8-12. Children learn about traffic safety among other things. They gain points by crossing the streets safely and by following traffic rules. I think this could be a good and fun activity for 2nd or 3rd graders.
Another option for upper elementary, middle, and early high school students would be Whyville. In Whyville students can do science projects. This world has some language filters but it is recommended that the students visit under parental supervision.
Even though the creators of these two sites built them while aiming for teaching goals, I still would have to go through them with caution. I can see the potential that 3D worlds could bring to the classrooms. I’ve heard that an image is worth more than a 1000 words. It could help to make our classroom more inclusive by helping those students that are spatial, visual, or kinesthetic learners. However, I still think that today’s educational systems are not ready for the available online worlds. They are not easy to monitor and they consume a lot of money and time.

Rosetta Stone Software

A few days ago I was talking with a friend who is the principal of a school where most of the students are Hispanic. She told me that most of the students that start in kindergarden speak no English or it is very limited English. We also talked about the importance of resources that can reduce the gap that non-English speakers suffer in their education. She told me that they wanted to buy software to help the students to improve their English during their fist years of education. She said that the younger the better. This was not a surprise. As many of you know, English is my second language and learning it has been a little rough. Spanish is also my major and I plan to teach it in Middle or high school. As I was surfing on internet and talking with my husband about all this he told me about a software that was used in one of the schools where he taught. This software was created to help ELL students. The software is Rosetta Stone. So I went online to search and read some reviews. I found a website that compares the top ten software for learning Spanish. This software was rated number four. It is a little pricy but according to my husband it is worth it. I also visited the Rosetta Stone Web site and saw that it can be used to complement classroom teaching or to allow students to work independently, building their basic speaking, listening comprehension, reading and writing skills. Rosetta Stone Classroom is a language-learning solution for different educational segments such as K-5, 6-12, College level, adult education and ESL (http://www.rosettastone.com/schools/solutions). When I start teaching, Rosetta Stone is going to be one of the first resources I investigate in depth. I still have some questions about the program that I probably can clear up by visiting schools that are using it. I think that personal experience is the best review you can get.
I recommend also visiting the following website to compare Rosetta Stone with other software programs. It gives you a list of the software’s features.
http://learn-spanish-software-review.toptenreviews.com/

Ning

Ning is a website where anyone can be part of creating their own social networking site. You can either join a group that shares worldwide interests online. It is very interesting because it provides the opportunity to meet new people or set up a place to help in your classroom. There are so many features that can be used in a classroom. For example, Ning provides a text box where you can post weekly columns or short lessons. You can also upload pictures and videos, chat with members of your network, group discussion, and enable blogging for every member. One of the options that I believe is very helpful is that you can join other Ning networks in order to share ideas. And, if you want to create a group just for your class you can set it up to be private and invite your students to join the group.
As I went through the Ning site, some ideas came to mind for my future classroom; assignments, projects, vocabulary words to work on at home, student-teacher and student-student communication.
I created my own social networking site where I included a short lesson about learning Spanish, where I can eventually upload some videos that help to practice Spanish. There is a lot of potential.
Visit http://www.ning.com/ to register yourself and start your own site. Make sure you take a look at my Ning network at http://espanishlearners.ning.com/ to take a look at what could possibly be a tool in your classroom.
My network is called Spanish as a Second Language and the web name stands for electronic Spanish learners. Hopefully, in the future, my students will be able to go and use it as another resource.

Verbos con terminacion ar, er, ir.

Verbos con terminación "ar, er, ir"


En español hay tres categorías de verbos que son determinadas por las dos últimas letras de la forma infinitiva:

- Terminación ar (jugar, caminar, hablar)
- Terminación er (leer, comer, correr)
- Terminación ir (asistir, vivir, resistir)

Al igual que en inglés, en español hay verbos regulares e irregulares. Los verbos regulares son verbos que siguen las mismas reglas para conjugarse. Ahora veremos la conjugación de verbos regulares que terminan en ar, er, e ir.


Pronombres personales:

yo (I)
tú (you - informal)
él (he)
ella (she)
usted (you - formal)

nosotros/nosotras (we)
vosotros/vosotras (you-all - informal)

ellos/ellas (they)
ustedes (you-all formal)



En español los verbos tienen dos partes; la raíz y la terminación. Recordemos que la terminación son las últimas dos letras (ar, er, ir). Entonces la raíz es todo lo demás. Para conjugar verbos regulares en tiempo presente, solo tenemos que cambiar la terminación. Vamos a ver el verbo caminar en tiempo presente.

camin + ar --------------------- caminar
corr + er ----------------------- correr
asist + ir ----------------------- asistir

Verbos que terminan en ar:

caminar (to walk)

yo (I) ---------------------------------------- camin + o ---------> camino
tú (you - informal) ------------------------ camin + as --------> caminas

él (he)
ella (she) ----------------------------------- camin + a ---------> camina
usted (you - formal)

nosotros/nosotras (we) ------------------ camin + amos --> caminamos
vosotros/vosotras (you-all - informal) --- camin +áis -------> camináis

ellos/ellas (they)
ustedes (you-all formal) ------------------ camin + an -------> caminan


Ahora veamos verbos con terminación er. Al igual que los verbos con terminación ar, solo tenemos que cambiar la terminación er.

correr (to run)

yo (I) --------------------------------------- corr + o -----------> corro
tú (you - informal) ----------------------- corr + es ---------> corres

él (he)
ella (she) ----------------------------------- corr + e ------------> corre
usted (you - formal)

nosotros/nosotras (we) ------------------ corr + emos -------> corremos
vosotros/vosotras (you-all - informal) --- corr + éis ----------> corréis

ellos/ellas (they)
ustedes (you-all formal) ------------------- corr + en ----------> corren


Verbos con terminación ir.

asistir (to assist)

yo (I) --------------------------------------- asist + o -----------> asisto
tú (you - informal) ------------------------ asist + es ----------> asistes

él (he)
ella (she) --------------------------------- asist + e ------------> asiste
usted (you - formal)

nosotros/nosotras (we) ----------------- asist + imos --------> asistimos
vosotros/vosotras (you-all - informal) -- asist + ís ----------- > asistís

ellos/ellas (they)
ustedes (you-all formal) ---------------- asist + en -----------> asisten


Para conjugar verbos regulares con terminaciones ar, er, e ir solo tenemos que cambiar la terminación de los verbos por:

ar
o
as
a
amos
áis
an

er
o
es
e
emos
éis
en

ir
o
es
e
imos
ís
en

Blog Response 2

"Technology: The Modem Ate My Homework"
ROB FRENCH IN SEATTLE

http://www.newsweek.com/id/108516/page/2#CommentBox/CommentSuccess/true#CommentBox

Online learning

Online learning has a lot of potential because it offers the opportunity of using endless resources and different teaching approaches to help different learners. It also exposes students to technology keeping them updated. It also results convenient for students that work or have to travel long distances to attend classes. Furthermore, it gives opportunities for networking, flexible schedules, learning self-discipline, etc.
On the other hand, accessibility to technology can be limited. Previous basic technology knowledge is a must for students, the teachers have to go through professional development to prepare to teach, lack of human interaction, among other issues can be a down side of online learning.
Personally, I found online classes a little bit challenging but at the same time convenient. I like the fact that I can work when I have access to the internet or print the lectures and read between my classes to respond later. I like that I can manage my schedule. However, it has been a little challenging because of my lack of experience with computers and some languages obstacles. I’d still prefer face-to-face classes because I can make questions and find answers right away. I would take another online class if my schedule would not allow me to attend a classroom.

Blog Response

http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/techtonicshifts/archive/2009/09/17/taking-technology-out-of-the-classroom.aspx?CommentPosted=true#commentmessage


Taking Technology Out of the Classroom

First, "naked classes" is ignorant. We, as teachers, would use technology as a resource to enhance learning. I think that technology should be used to aim for better comprehension of the material but sometimes it is used only to fill the class with activities. It also depends on the subject. For example, math has been one of the subjects that definitely needs computers or calculators especially on the college level. On the other hand, there are other subjects such as social studies or music where teachers do not have to rely so much in technology. I do think that technology should be used wisely to create a truly favorable learning experience.

First blog experience

First practice post and everything seems to go smoothly :-)