PLN #14

Code Combat

I found another coding app as I continue to my quest to find the perfect coding program for students. They all seem to focus on visual programming with blocks where the students don't actually write or see the code, but understand how coding works and go together. CodeCombat would be good for older students that doesn't focus on cute cartoons like Scratch, Code or Tynker. CC works on a gaming platform which is different from the other apps for learning code. What sets CC apart from the other apps, is that it doesn't rely on step-building and progression, but rather throwing the students into the fire and learning as they try to win the game. This app focuses on game play to learn coding, the students have to master the code so that they can be good in the game. The game play is based on fighting knights and ogres, so the RPG can be enticing for some students but not all. The app also allows the users to create their own levels and games that they can share with other users of CC. The teacher can create and select courses like in Code and Tynker, and access curriculum guides and lesson plans.

In a nutshell, the students have to master the code to manipulate their character. They provided an example "Want a knight to run down a hallway and taunt an ogre? Write a little JavaScript or Python that directs the character where to move and what to do. Want to roll a cannon across an open field and lob a bomb onto a patrolling enemy? Program the coordinates and launch your missile by calling the correct function. Each puzzle-like level challenges players to win the level by typing in code and running it to see what happens." CC users will have to learn all types of programming to be proficient enough to be successful in this app. I think it is a great concept; the students have the opportunity to really apply themselves, get creative and engage in problem solving.

As I mentioned before, I think this would be great for advance student coders and/or for high school because this requires high-order thinking. I am not saying younger students wouldn't be able to handle this, but I think it would be best suit students in high school. 

Week 14 Blog 4/20-4/27

Week 14 Blog
4.20-4.27

Tonight was the last of the presentations. Meg presented on ClassDojo and she showecased some features on  Dojo that I did not know about. I use Dojo with my high school students and they love it. They range from freshman to Seniors, and I can attest that even the seniors get into the rewards and points system that this BMS provides. The avatars can be customized and the students enjoy personalizing them to fit their personalities. It is a great app to keep track for attendance and other behaviors. The app allows the teacher to generate reports and it is fairly easy to use. If the teacher does decide to use it, they have to ensure it is done every day or cannot forget to give students their points. They will remind you. I like to keep it up on the SmartBoard and have the students add the points when they earn them. It's funny that even the oldest senior gets a kick when the receive points. If any teacher is having doubts using this with high school students, I say go for it. I have and have had great success with it.

PLN #13

Tynker

As I continue to look for apps on coding, I've been finding that are several apps out there, each having their own twist to coding. Tynker starts the user with simple programming logic like Scratch and Code.org and builds on progression as the user can get into more complex coding. The concept is the same as Scratch/Code; the user has to drag and build blocks of visual code. The puzzles are themed like Code but what separates Tynker from Code is that in Tynker, the user has to complete the levels to unlock the next level. In code.org, the user has the freedom to jump around and doesn't have to finish a level to move on to the next. Just like Code, Tynkera allows the user to develop apps and games for devices. What separates Tynker is that the app allows users to create programs for robots, create flight paths for drone and learn Javascript and Python. Definitely something I am going to look into with my students.

Week 13 Blog 4/13 - 4/20

4/13/4/20

This weeks presentation was from Tes and it was on HTML. It was a great refresher because I haven't wrote code in HTML in over 9 years. Tes definitely knew what she was doing and what she was talking about. We were able to create a quick page using HTML. It is amazing that only a few years ago, programs like Wix and CafePress did not exist and websites had to be created by writing code. Now, with the advent of these sites, one can create a published page in a matter of hours. It was still nice to go back to the grass roots and create something from scratch. Attached is a picture of my HTML code.

PLN #12

PLN 12

Crescerance
After being introduced to Scratch, I've been looking around for apps that revolve around coding or app-builders for mobile devices. I found Crescerance in a Google search and it looks like it can be used to create apps. They recommend writing the content in a text editor or even in Google docs and designing the graphics in a program like Photoshop. It appears that Crescerance allows the user to bring everything together. Crescerance allows the user to upload the content and test the app out and upload to make the app live.

Week 12 Blog

4/6 - 4/13

This week I had to present on coding and Mike presented on Socrative. Socrative was a tool I was not familiar with and provided some great options for the class. The interface of Socrative looks much cleaner and professional looking than Kahoot. Kahoot has more of a game-show feel to it and although it is great for reviews, I feel as if the students will take the quizzes generated on Socrative more serious. I like the vace that Socrative has so many more options and the ease of creating quizzes. I will definitely be using Socrative in lieu of Kahoot to create quizzes for the classroom.

Presenting online was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. Once I got used to all the tools on the Webex interface, I felt comfortable and it became second nature. Dr. Sponder gave some good feedback during the presentation and I am glad we got to experience presenting online. It is something I would like to do in the future and it is something we can definitely put on our resumés. It was a great learning experience and I would like to do it again.

Week 11 Blog

Blog#11
3/30 -4/6

Today's presentation was on a variety of Google apps presented by Don. Don recommended Team Shake a few weeks back and I was able to use the app for my volleyball team. The interface is user-friendly and is fairly easy to use. I was able to create a roster of my players and the app creates the team with a shake of the device. A great tool to create teams on the fly versus trying to figure teams out during practice. Also, I am going to use the Print Friendly extension to print articles and get rid of a similar extension I added to Chrome that was not as easy to use. I am excited to try the other apps that Don presented on and I did not realize that Google had so many extensions available especially ones that can be used in the classroom.T

PLN#11 3/30-4/6

Code.org

As I was working on my Scratch project with my students, I wanted a way to bring all our work together in kind of an LMS format where I can track their progress. I saw Scratch had a sister app called Itch, but unfortunately, the free version did not offer much and it was too expensive to pay for. I searched for other coding apps and I came across Code.org. It is very similar to Scratch where the user can drag pieces of code and create a script. What I liked about Code, is that they offer the teacher the opportunity to create a class and the teacher can create a curriculum and enroll their students in it. The teacher can follow the students' progress and create assessments, too. The platform is similar to other popular LMS's. There is a dashboard where the teacher can have their own feed and classes that make it easily accessible. The site is very user-friendly and I have found that the loading time of the page is quicker than Scratch. There is a significant difference in the loading time of the Scratch page vs the Code.org page and that is a huge plus for me. There are tutorial videos that the students can watch before the lesson and this site really promotes student collaboration when working on their coding projects. There are a ton of activities; they range from drawing,  designing games to creating stories. There is a really cool feature call the Computer Science Fundamentals and teaches the fundamental of Computer Science using cartoon characters. The site also uses familiar games and characters like Angry Birds and Star Wars for their curriculum, which makes it attractive for everyone. As I continue to work on Scratch, I am going to try and implement Code.org and see which one the students prefer and which app they think is more user-friendly and easier to use.

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PLN#10 3/23-3/30

8 Free Online, Collaborative Interactive White Boards

This post was about other online interactive White Boards. The difference between the SmartBoard program and the ones in this post are that these are collaborative. In other words, these White Board apps are an online meeting space where the user can create a session and invite other users to collaborate. I chose one called Twiddla. I did not have to sign up and I did not have to create an account. In Twiddla, you have two options; you can start with what they called "Sandbox" or the user can start "A New Meeting". The Sandbox is a public session where the user can practice using the app. The user can upload images, URLs or documents and users can collaborate and discuss, add text, highlight or draw on the screen. This seems like a great tool to get my students together on a topic and bouncing ideas of off each other. This could also be useful for projects where the students could meet online and discuss and work on their projects. 

Week 10 Blog

Blog#10
3/23 -3/30

Ashley started things off this week with the first online presentation. She did a great job and is lucky to get it out of the way. She was organized, she used the time wisely and the presentation did not seem rushed at all. She was articulate and she engaged the audience by asking us questions and having us complete a couple of activities online. The presentation was on Schoology and even though I've used Schoology before, Ashley taught me a few things about the LMS that I had never used before. She showed us how to create quizzes and she had a us take a quiz, too. The online quiz had some features I have never seen online and I look forward to using them. I currently use Edmodo, but I favor the interface of Schoology. Schoology has come a long way the last few years and it seems as if Schoology has more features and looks more professional than Edmodo. I think I'm going to familiarize myself more with Schoology and give it a try. Edmodo seems to have peaked in terms of design and features and hasn't really changed in the last few years. A big thanks to Ashley for the awesome presentation and for showing us some cool features on Schoology. Now I have a better idea on how to execute my presentation and I hope to get this out of the way, also.

PLN#9 3/16-3/23

App Ed Review Roundup: Multicultural Apps and a Website

This review caught my eye because of the title: Multicultural Apps. This blog reviewed a few multicultural apps and I found one that I think I can use in my classroom. It is called HiNative. HiNative allows users to ask other users using the app multicultural questions. The questions may include inquiries into language, customs, traditions, and politics, among others. The feature that caught my eye is that HiNative automatically translates questions and answers from the user’s native language into other users’ native languages. My students can create an account and throughout the year have them use this app. In my last PLN, I stated I had trouble differentiating with Spanish and making their homework relevant to the real-world. I feel like I can hit both targets with this app. The students can ask other Spanish speakers questions about the grammar or the cultural theme of the unit that I am teaching. The app can be accessed from a PC, Android or Iphone/Ipad so it is easily accessible.

Week 9 Blog

Blog#9
3/16 -3/23

PLN #8 3/9-3/16

Are you Bringing Your ‘A’ Game for Your Students? 25 Questions

This was an interesting read about teachers bringing their 'A' game for their students everyday. She poses 25 questions she recommends teachers ask themselves to reflect on and help motivate teachers to continuously improve and bring energy to the classroom. I'm to test myself on each question and see where I stand. Here are the 25 questions:

1. Do you set the tone of respect by showing your students respect? Yes, I greet my students everyday at the door before every class. I comment on the new sneakers, hairdo, or ask them how their day is going.
2. Do you model lifelong learning (if you aren't inspired to learn, why should your students be)? I make it a point to tell my students that I have not stop going to school since I graduated high school. I tell them their are other options besides college but the key is to always learn something new. 
3. Would you want to be a student in your classroom? Yes, because I motivate, cool and hilarious. Haha
4. Do you regularly look for ways to better serve your students? I'm always looking for tech or ways to differentiate my lessons.
5. Do your students have opportunities to make choices about how they learn in your classroom? Yes and no. I'm in the process of creating other ways for students to reach the final goal. My colleague, Mrs. Rodriguez has a template that she gives students every week with a list of activities that have to be completed by the end of the week. The students can pick and choose what activities they want to complete.
6. Do your students have opportunities to make choices about how they demonstrate what they've learn in your classroom? As of now, only with their projects. The students usually have 3 or 4 ways to present their projects.
7. Is the homework that you assign providing students an opportunity to connect what they are learning to the world around them? No. I'm still trying to figure out how to do that effectively with Spanish.
8. If a student demonstrates on an assessment that they don't understand something, do they have an opportunity to correct that? If not, why not? Yes, they do.
9. Are students afforded the opportunity to master what they are learning in your classroom (or do you just move on whether they've learned it or not)? Yes. If they students don't get a 90 or better, they have the opportunity to re-take it until they get a 90. Most students don't take me up on the offer.
10. Do you throw up your hands and say, “I have no choice … the system makes me to do this”? Everyday.
11. Are you having fun teaching? No.
12. Have you thanked a student lately? No.
13. How aggressively do you look for ways to allow students to learn and demonstrate learning in a way that works for them? I feel as if I'm not as aggressive as I want or need to be. I will have dedicate time this summer to look for different ways for students.
14. If you're forced to “teach to the test”, do you feel that means you have no choice about how you teach? As a Spanish teacher, I just laugh at that notion and ignore it.
15. Do you require students to be quiet, sit still, and just listen? Only when I'm talking. I generally talk for the first 5-10 minutes, and then students are off in groups working on their tasks.
16. Do you think flexibility in your classroom equals a loss of control? Not at all. If one has good classroom management skills, that allows you to be as flexible as you can be.
17. Do you feel that it's not your responsibility to motivate your students to learn? It is my responsibility.
18. If you had the choice to make again, would you be a teacher? Yes.
19. Does the homework you assign have enough value to make it worth taking away a student's opportunity to do extracurricular activities, have a life, chill a little, or get enough sleep? The homework I assign is always pertinent to what we are learning. No work should have enough value where it would affect someone's life.
20. Have you “always taught this way”? No. The way I taught 10 years ago is different with the way I teach today.
21. Do you make a point of trying to get to know your students? Yes. I do a survey at the beginning of the year and that helps me tailor my lessons to students' needs and interests.
22. Is your classroom focused predominantly on you, or on your students? The students.
23. Do students have opportunities to make choices regarding some homework activities (selecting from a range of options for example)? At this point, no.
24. Are you helping your students learn how to learn? I'm helping my students acquire and discover.
25. Would you want your children to be in a classroom like yours? Yes, like I said, I motivate, I'm cool and I'm funny.

This was a good questionnaire to assess what and how I am doing with my students. My strengths are that I look for different ways to reach my students and the focus is on the students. My weakness is that I offer no differentiation when it comes to students being able to select how they meet the objective.

Week 8 Blog

Blog#8
3/9 -3/16

Dr. Sponder posted another job in the Education Technology and we re-assessed our strengths and weaknesses in relation to the job description. I definitely have a few needs that need to be addressed if I were to one day to get into this profession. At first, I joined this program to get the bump in pay, but now that Dr. Sponder has shown us what opportunities are out there, I definitely want to refine my skills and learn as much as I can because I definitely would like to pursue something in this field. We went over a few PLN's, Moodles and ToonDoo. Most of the Moodles look complete and I'm finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel on mine. I'm about 90% complete and I'm looking to complete my Moodle this weekend. It is just a matter of fine-tuning, looking for errors and testing all of the links. Finally, we were shown how to segment our online activity; I'm hoping to get this Moodle done this weekend, so I can start planning for that. I would like to go on an earlier date so that I can be done with it and it will be one less thing to worry about.

PLN#7 3/2 - 3/9

Popplet

I discovered Popplet through our Periodic Table of Ed Tech assignment and have already incorporated it in my Spanish 4 class. They are currently working on group projects and are required to use this as one of their tools. Popplet is an app to organize ideas in a mind-mapping format. The user can post ideas, notes, sources, etc and put them together and create a mindmap. The one feature I do like is that you can add other popplets from other users into one popplet. The students have to do their research this weekend and add their findings to their popplets. They have to provide links, media and pictures. On Monday, the students will then combine their popplets into one popplet. This will be an easy way to keep all of their findings organized and in one place, and it will also let me keep track on who is contributing and who is completing their work.

Week 7 Blog

Blog#7
3/2 -3/9
7 Keys to Blended Learning

Even though this blog entry was about running a blended learning environment using Microsoft's version of their LMS (MS Classroom) exclusively, there were several tools they mentioned that can be used in the flipped/blending learning environment that can be applied to other LMS platforms. The blog also suggested several strategies one should implement when running a blended/learning environment. I found some strategies that I am going to implement in my Moodle and in my classes as I continue to plan and design a blended learning environment in my Spanish curriculum for next year. The article suggested seven keys that can be effective in blended learning:

1. Making participatory learning expectations clear - The blog states that blending environment should encourage students to be self-directed because it claims that "21st century jobs are fundamentally self-directed and education must adjust to that". The blog provided examples on how to make certain expectations clear. For example, students may think online learning is only to be done at home. To make this expectation clear, one can explain what is expected of them at home and in class.
2. Create a digital textbook for student reference - The blog suggests that students learn more when they are the authors of their own book. In other words, students can create their own content by writing and collaborating online, developing interactive content and creating cartoons, videos and podcasts. One method I thought was interesting was students creating their own rubrics and assessing themselves. This affords the students the opportunity to not only assess themselves but to also take ownership of their own learning.
3. Clarify grading overview - The blog mentions teachers take advantage of video annotation and quizzing tools. They give several options that I have used already and I agree video annotation is a great tool even if used in the classroom. One option I find interesting are the video platforms that allow the user to reflect, discuss and take notes during the video. This is a different approach from TEDed and Edpuzzle where the video stops and the student just answers a question. This tool allows the student to reflect, take notes and think more profoundly about a topic rather than just answering a multiple choice question.
4. Set up an online presence for to share instructional resources - Basically, it recommends an LMS that is easily accessible from multiple devices so that the activities and resources are readily available.
5. Select a screen-casting tool to record instructional videos - One of the most important features is to select a screen-casting tool that is reliable and it recommends several choices one can choose from.
6. Create class videos online for easy access across devices - The blog also suggests hosting videos that are created online. The blog recommends using YouTube and other methods of accessing videos if teachers/students don't have access to YouTube.
7. Implement engaging classroom activities - Finally, the blog suggests ways to implement hands-on activities. This key was interesting because I did not think of including any hands-on activities for the online portion of the blended instruction. It recommends sites like Minecraft, Padlet, collaborative apps for student groups and forum based applications. Implementing these activities will give a nice mix of synchronous and asynchronous learning for the course.

This was a good read considering we have been taking online classes and have read some articles on blended learning. This blog entry applies to what we have been learning and practicing in this program. As I went through the keys, I found that I am currently incorporating many of the things in the Moodle course that I am designing and look forward to implementing some of the other keys that were suggested.

PLN#6 2/23 - 3/2

Glogster

I found Glogster when I was looking for alternatives to Thinglink. Glogster is a site where the user creates "glogs". I have never heard of the term "glog" until I came across this site. A glog is a digital poster that allows the user to import all types of media. The user can create a free account, but will have to pay to get access to more features. I plan on creating a glog for my Moodle in lieu of the Thinglink to provide some variety. This looks like another great tool that I can use to present information. Students can create this a glog when brainstorming and they can post all their ideas in media form on their glogsters. It can probably be useful as a project for the students where they can display all of their content on this visual poster. The site also states that the teacher can follow the students' progress of their glogsters, so I would be able to make sure the students are on schedule and to give them feedback.

Week 6 Blog

Blog #6
2/23 - 3/2

We continued going over the Moodle pages. I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed because some people have a ton of content on their pages already. I need to start producing more content this weekend. I feel like I have the design and organization of my page down, so now it is just a matter of plugging in some content. It was beneficial to get feedback outside of class; Tisa noticed a couple of things that I did not. I probably would not have noticed it if she didn't point it out. Dr. Sponder gave me some ideas about changing my menu and I took his advice and changed the labels. I now understand fully the segmenting principle and it makes the Moodle look cleaner and more organized. I find that I can navigate my own Moodle much easier now that I have applied the principle to each section. In the second half of class, Dr. Sponder showed us some administrative functions on our Moodle pages such as backing it up and checking what users are enrolled in the course. He also introduced us to some apps to make some animated gifs so that we can embed into our Moodle. He also showed us an app to create comics and went through a quick demo on Ted.ed. I have already created a couple of EdPuzzle videos for my Moodle so I will try to create some content on Ted.ed and the other apps for my Moodle. I'm hoping to find some cool apps from the Periodic Table of Education Technology that I will be able to use for my Moodle, also.

PLN#5 2/16 - 2/23

Dotstorming

 

 Dr. Sponder introduced Dotstorming to us in class and recommended Maria and I use it for our PD on Tuesday. We are presenting with other colleagues and this can be a great way to get feedback on the presentations. I also think this would be good in our data team meetings and can be used as a tool to brainstorm. 

 

Basically, the user creates a bulletin board. This reminds me of Padlet; another online tool that Dr. Sponder introduced to us last semester. I guess the difference between the two is that Dotstorming allows the users to vote. 

 

The board is not limited to just posting ideas or voting on a subject. The site claims that the user can create boards to collect links, pictures and videos and post them on the board. They also gave examples of creating a board for grammar and vocabulary which I definitely can incorporate in my Spanish class. The user can also post assignments, reminders, updates, etc. It seems that Dotstorming is a versatile tool that can be used effectively by the teacher for many things.

I am going to require the students to use this app for their next project to collect their ideas and dump their resources into. This will make it easy for me to track their progress and the other students could also check on each others boards to get or bounce ideas off of each other. It will be interesting to see how this works out.

Week 5 Blog

Blog #5
2/16 - 2/23

This week we continued to look at the other Moodle pages. I've watched most of the videos other classmates have posted to their Moodle and they are good. It's just amazing to me that even in the early 2000's, recording a video was a cumbersome ordeal. One had to record on this huge camcorder and then if one wanted to watch it, one had to connect it to a VCR so that it could be shown on the tube. Now, recording can be done on a handheld device and uploaded to the internet: wireless. It's amazing how technology has come along. Dr. Sponder then re-introduced edShelf and I am glad he did. I signed up for an account a few weeks ago when he introduced it and I did not spend enough time to familiarize myself with it. He showed us some quick and dirty tips to get started and it was a good refresher to see him use it. I'll also make sure I get on the edShelf emailing list like he recommended. We also learned about Bitstorming and Maria and I are going to try and implement that into our PD on Tuesday. I have a better idea on what I would like to do for my Webex demonstration after hearing suggestions from Dr. Sponder and from my classmates. I have a couple of ideas, so now it is a matter of which one I would like to do. Finally, we were paired up to give each other feedback on our Moodle pages and were re-introduced to Google forms. I had to create a feedback form last semester for EDT 500. It was great to see Don demo how to create one because I had only created it once last semester and I forgot how to.

PLN#4 2.9 - 2.16

Educlipper

EduClipper is an app that allows the user to organize classroom content; it reminds me of Edshelf and Pinterest. Like many websites, one has to set up an account and once that is set up, the user can search for content, clip websites, videos, images and documents. The user can search for lesson plans for many subjects and levels and one can also search for clips that offer answers to a problem that one might have.  

What I like is that each eduClip contains an image and some information about the clip. If you click on it, one can access more information on the clip. The user can fill their board like Pinterest and share their findings and lesson plans with other users and students if the teacher chooses to allow the students access. This can be beneficial for supplemental assignments that students can complete out of the classroom. It can also be useful if one is doing flipped instruction with their classes.

The only con I can think of is that their is so much content that one would have to spend a lot of time researching and creating an effective board.  Other than that, I think it could be a good resource for teachers.

Week 4 Blog

Blog #4
2/9 - 2/16


I felt a lot better about my Moodle after Thursday's class. I was able to add my banners/logos for each section and thanks to Maria, she helped me figure out how to remove the default name for each section. Who would've thought that by tapping the space bar a couple times would do the trick.  Once again, thanks Maria. Making a menu for the Moodle is going to be key; I agree that the Moodle by default should have the option of rearranging the topics by date, but it does not, so having a menu will make it much easier to navigate. If it weren't for the tutorial in class on how to make a menu, there is no way I would have figured out how to create one. To be honest, I didn't even think on including one in my Moodle. As I move forward and create my syllabus and menu, I have to keep in mind the Segmenting principle, and I am hoping the syllabus will help me stay organized. As I mentioned before, this past class has me feeling less stressed about the Moodle and I can now see it coming together. I look forward to learning more tips and tricks(hacks) for the Moodle.

PLN#3 2.2 - 2.9

Edshelf



After Edshelf was introduced in class, I created an account. I was looking to organize my PLN's into one place where I would be able to easily access them. I am able to organize my library of apps by creating "shelves". The user can label the shelves and then add the apps or web tools to that shelf.  The shelf is the same as a creating a folder on an iPhone, labeling it and then adding any pertinent apps to that folder. I was able to create a couple of shelves; I created one to organize apps that I have used or would like to use to create presentations and one for assessments. Another feature that I like is that you can follow other people and see what types of shelves they have created and what types of apps and tools they are using. Another feature that is very useful besides organization of apps and tools is that all of the apps are reviewed by other users. I always find it useful to read reviews before I purchase something, so I find that being able to read reviews from previous users makes it easier to narrow down options and make a better decision on choosing the right app for me for what I want to do.  There are more options that I have not explored on Edshelf, but I will update the PLN once I am able to navigate and get more comfortable with the app.

Week 3 Blog

Blog #3
2/3 - 2/9

Dr.Sponder introduced talked about EdShelf, a free website that not only organizes ed tech apps, but it also has reviews of the apps.  The user can create different "shelves" where one can put the apps on the shelf.  The shelf can be labeled and is a great way to keep all of the apps one uses in one place. It is exactly what I needed, because I have apps saved in various places and sometimes it is difficult to find one. It looks like Edshelf can help me put all of the apps that I have reviewed and used in one place. 

I enjoy reviewing everyone's blogs. There are some cool looking blogs from this class, and there is also some interesting content in many of them. It also helps to see other students' Moodles and I look forward to the finished product on everyone's projects.

Adding a logo should not be a problem; Dr. Sponder showed us a quick and simple way to use Microsoft Word to manipulate text to create a logo and labels for our Moodle page. I understand that Moodle is a free platform, but it would have been convenient to be able to create these features on Moodle instead of another platform and importing back to Moodle.  

I have some thoughts on what I would like my title to look like and some ideas on what each section should look like.  I have to go back to the drawing board and set up the sections correctly after reading the chapter on segmenting. 

PLN#2 1.26 - 2.2

Audiria










Audiria is a site that offers podcasts in Spanish as a learning tool. All of the podcasts are free and has a variety of materials like games, learning idioms, quizzes and tests. The site posts a new podcast everyday, so the content is current and one can always find new and different material. One feature I liked is that all of the podcasts are tagged by how complex the language is, so it will be easy to find ones that are suitable for my Spanish 1 and Spanish 4 classes. The podcasts cover a wide range of topics and cover several topics that are in my curriculum so I can add this as a supplement to those chapters. I have never used podcasts in the classroom and I think I will start using this site because not only is the Spanish authentic in the podcasts, each podcast comes with prepared activities for the students to complete.

Week 2 Blog

Blog #2
1/26 - 2/2

We looked at Moodle courses created by past EDT students and it gave me a better idea on what my Moodle will potentially look like.  It was interesting to see how many different applications were utilized that I have not used yet like Vocaroo, MyOn, ShowMe, Padlet and Flubaroo.  I will have to look into these apps and add them to my PLN.  I also learned how to change the sections and rename them properly and how to add an activity or resource to each section.  It seems relatively easy to manage the Moodle and to keep each section organized now that I know more on how to edit the sections and what I need to include in each section.  Adding a glossary will be useful to my Moodle lesson because there will be many terms in Spanish and the students will be able to look the words up that are not familiar to them.  Adding assignments and forums can be added with just a click on the activities/resource menu and the menu has quite a few options like labels, links, files, URLs, etc. for the user to add to their Moodles.

PLN#1 1.19 - 1.26

Purpose Games

Purpose Games is a site that reminds me of Sporcle.  If you're not familiar with Sporcle, Sporcle is a website that contains timed trivia games on almost any category one can think of.  Just like Sporcle, Purpose Games is free. The user can create custom games, share them and play them.  The only difference I was able to see between the two sites was that on Purpose Games, the user can use images and maps instead of text.  I have not seen or used this feature on Sporcle, so I am not positive if it is an option on Sporcle.  Both are great sites for trivia or review on a subject matter.

Week 1 Blog

Blog #1
1/19 - 1/26

Today in class we learned how to use Blogger. First, we created an account and then we selected the appearance. Next, we learned how to add an link and then how to save our blog. I then learned how to add a title and how to publish my blog and view it. We reviewed how to add a link to our Moodle so that it could be viewed. We then learned how to use basic functions on our personal Moodle. We were able to make our Moodle visible to the other students in the class. It was nice putting some faces to some names from last semester's EDT 500 online course.I started using Blogger back in 2008 when we took a school trip to Costa Rica and used it as a means to keep the parents updated every day. I also used it for our school trip to China and to Spain. I have not used it since, so I'm looking forward to blogging again.