Fall 2009 E-Portfolios

Our course has ended, but your professional development has just started. It was such a pleasure to read your reflections in your electronic portfolios and be part of your journey towards becoming better teachers. You have all included such valuable information in your e-portfolios that I think everyone will benefit from taking a look at all the artifacts you have uploaded in them.

For all interested, here is the product of Class Fall 2009. Congratulations to all of you!

• Nancy
• Crystal
• Chelsea
• Tomieca
• Kristen
• Janet
• Ruby
• Elizabeth
• Vivian
• Moises
• Joe
• Daniel
• Sarai
• Evgenia
• William

Best of luck to all of you!

Fall 2009 - Reminders

Some useful reminders:

• Your blog posts for this week should be 5 resources on speaking and/or pronunciation.
• Your original blog posts for this week (Nov. 8-15) are due today, Nov 12, by midnight. Your comments to other blog posts are due on Sun, Nov 15, by midnight.
• You may choose not to post resources on your blog this week if you are posting an answer to our discussion questions on Blackboard. Or you may choose to get extra points for posting 1) your answer to a question on Blackboard, 2) five resources on speaking/pronunciation on your blogs, and 3) comments on both Blackboard and Blog posts.

That is,

• To get a maximum of five points, you should post either 1) an answer to a question on Blackboard plus a comment to another answer, OR 2) 5 resources on your blog (including your reflections) and a comment to another blog. Please note your comments should appear in the same place you posted your original post.
• To receive the extra (2) points, you must do both activities in their complete form (original post + comment in the same platform) and as instructed. You won't receive extra points for just adding comments to other blogs and/or other discussions in the forum if you haven't completed both original posts as well. However, you are welcome to posts comments on both platforms if you have something to comment.

If you have any questions, please ask.

Fall 2009 - Resources for Listening Activities

If you are having problems finding good listening resources for your blogs, please visit my blog ITRLT. There is plenty there to help you get started. I have just posted five new posts with many websites each from which you can get good listening resources (audio, video, songs, webcasts, etc.) for different languages and teaching contexts. I hope you find these useful.
These are the links to the new posts:

• Portuguese Literature
• Media in Portuguese
• Bilingual Sites for Families and Educators of English Language Learners
• Songs for Teaching
• Russian Webcasts, Videos and Audio

Remember that you don't have to come up with anything new, or with 5 different websites. You need to list and reflect on the use of 5 (five) listening resources (videos, podcasts, songs, etc.) that are suitable for your chosen teaching context. You can even choose them all from the same website! Provide an embedded link to the resource and comment/reflect on how you will use it in your class, what for, etc.

Good job for those who have already posted resources. I'm very impressed by the quality of the resources you selected and your comments.

If you have any questions, please ask.

Clarification

Most of the links I provide in my blog (Instructional Technology Resources for Language Teachers) take you to websites that have useful links to many different activities and resources, and often even to other sites with more activities and resources. When you do your listings for your own blogs, remember to site where you got a resource from, but also say which specific resource you would use from that general website for your context. For example, if you choose a website that gives you access to wonderful videos for your class, list that website, but also choose a video that you would use in your context and briefly say why you chose it, what for, etc. Ideally, you should come up with materials from different websites for each of your postings, but if you can't, it's OK to choose some materials from the same websites (e.g., two YouTube videos from the same website that recommends many videos).

Fall 2009 - Resources for Russian and Portuguese Learners

I just posted in my blog (Instructional Technology Resources for Language Teachers) resources for teachers and learners of Russian and Portuguese. I'll be posting some more in a few days. So now I think that there is material in that blog to help you all started.

To reduce your search time, in this other blog I am posting relevant places where you can find lots of materials for different language classes. This way you'll be able to focus on looking for specific activities/materials for your own contexts. I hope you find these resources useful. Please check them out.

Fall 2009 - Four Blogging Assignments

After your first (introductory) blog assignment, you will have to do 4 more blogging assignments.

General instructions:

1. All your blogs must have a posting date and title identifying the resources provided in the post.
   
2. Post a minimum of five web resources for each blog post. The resources should be appropriate for your chosen teaching context and on the designated focus for each blog. For example, you should have a post on listening resources for for Oct 22, on reading/writing resources for Oct 29, on speaking/pronunciation resources for Nov. 12, and on resources that interest you for Nov. 19
3. Provide an embedded link to each of the resources (make sure that they work!), and a short description of the resource.
4. Provide evidence of critical thinking: e.g., reflect on the strengths and limitations of the resources you listed, explain how you would use the resources in class or for homework assignments, comment on their applicability and usefulness for the language class, explain how they illustrate (or not) principles of good teaching and/or effective (or not) methodological practices. Feel free to add other types of comments/reflections in your posts, ask questions, voice concerns, etc.
5. Reply with a comment to at least one of your classmates' posts with a) additional information, such as other related resources or activities, b) reflective comments on the information provided in the post, c) questions or concerns you may have about the resources, and the like. Please do not post comments such as "Good resources/activities!" Your comments should reflect critical thinking, and/or provide additional related resources and suggestions on how to use them.
6. Reply to comments as needed, especially if they contain questions for you.
   

Due Dates

1. Due date for original blog: on Thursdays (10/22, 10/29, 11/12, and 11/19)
   
2. Due date for comments: on Sundays (10/25, 11/02, 11/15, 11/22)

Check list

1. Original blog must have a posting date, a title, at least 5 resources (with embedded link and description), and evidence of critical thinking
2. Comments to original blogs (at least 1) must have evidence of critical thinking.

Assessment

• 1 point for timeliness,
• 1 point max. for completeness and for appropriateness to teaching context and focus,
• 2 points max. for the quality of the reflections, explanations, comments, etc. in your original post.
• 1 point max. for posting a valuable and constructive comment to another classmate's post.

If you have any questions for me or your classmates regarding our blogging activity, please post them under Comments in this blog.

Enjoy the exciting world of blogging!

First (introductory) Blog

After you successfully created your blog:

• Post your first entry,
• Tag this entry as "purpose" in the box that reads "labels for this post" below so that we all know where to look for general information about your blog.
• Give this post a title.
• Provide at least the following information: purpose and intended audience, your chosen teaching context, and preferred type of comments in your blog. Although visitors may comment what they wish, it might help you get the kind of information you prefer if you state it clearly.
  

Make this entry personal. Organize the information in any manner you wish, and add whatever you think the visitors to your blog might want to know.

DUE DATE: 10/17/09

I am very much looking forward to viewing your blogs!

How to Create a Blog

Here is what you need to do to create your own blog:

1. Start a Google account if you don't already have one. You can do this at gmail.com
2. Go to Blogger.com and set up a new account using your gmail address.
3. Choose a topic for your blog. It has to be on teaching a foreign/second language. For example, you could choose a topic such as Teaching Children to Read and Write Better in French, or Web Resources for Adult Learners of German, or Media Resources for the English Class, etc. Please do not choose a broad topic such as Teaching French. Make sure your blog identifies a specific audience and, if possible, specific skills or types of resources.
4. Choose a name (preferably short) and url for your blog that reflects your topic, and then provide a good description of your topic for your audience. This description should clearly describe the intended audience and contents of your blog. Please choose a topic that is relevant for your teaching context.
   
5. Follow the steps provided in Blogger.com to create your user profile (add a picture!), and select your choice of layout and settings. You are free to choose any kind of setting and gadgets for your blog. I only require the following:
   a) Allow comments from your classmates. To do this, choose Settings-Comments-Show-Registered Users-Embedded Below Posts.
   b) Select Show Posting Date. (In fact, what you need to do is *not* select Hide Posting Date. Blogger shows the posting date by default.)
   If you decide to continue your blog after the course finishes, you can easily remove these setting requirements by changing the setting options.
   
6. Post a comment here (like in my comment example below). Choose subscribe, then post a comment that includes the url of your blog. This way I'll be able to copy it and provide a link to our blog in Teach L2.
   

Welcome to Methods Teaching Foreign/Second Languages

Welcome to the world of blogging!

Here we will share instructional resources for teaching foreign/second languages, suggest specific activities to use the resources in class or at home, comment on the strengths and limitations of the resources, suggest ways to enhance the resources with other materials, comment on others' suggestions, share concerns, ask questions, answer questions, and the like.

To know more about Blogging, see Blogs in Plain English