Friday, October 23, 2009

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.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

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

Friday, October 9, 2009

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

Friday, October 2, 2009

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.