Jigsaw Method

If I had a topic in my Spanish class to research (like an artist or event) I could break down the important details into sections of information. Each of the 5 small groups in my class would be responsible for teaching this information to each other within the groups. If my classroom only had five computers, I would allow each "expert team" on the individual subject to meet at the computer and do research together about their specific topic. The other students can be using their books and the library for other research methods until they have the opportunity to meet with THEIR specialized group at the computers. After meetings with the expert teams, all original groups can meet back and begin the instruction phase.

One advantage is that it makes the students responsible for their own learning and by doing that, they learn through experience and hold themselves AND others accountable.

The disadvantage is that this can be too much of an ideal concept. You could have unruly students or entire groups and your "methods of implementation" just go out the window. Also, I would guess that some follow up lesson plan would need to happen in order to ensure that the students understood the pertinent information. I'm sure that many students could feel panicked in this teaching method because they are relying on others to gain information for a future test.

Google for Educators

I think that this is a really cool concept that google has created in order to provide information on how to use their tools in the classrooms. My three favorites are iGoogle, Google Docs, and Goople Groups. I really like both concepts of Google Docs and Google groups in that you can work on things from ANYWHERE and I don't necesarily have to be in the classroom to help students. I think there is an advantage to students being able to consult their peers for help outside of the classroom. What I really like about iGoogle is that you can customize the location and time zone so in my Spanish classroom, we could have a custom page to view and be able to check out stories and events that are written in Spanish! Google Docs makes it possible to review and create documents that are easily accessible and do not require constant emailing or hard copies. It makes a student's (and a teacher's) life that much easier and integrating technology in our classrooms today encourages more positive, non-archaic learning.

Adaptive Learning Program

As children, we build our language through repetition and visual connections. As young adults and older adults, learning a new language is always difficult and mostly it is because we don't learn the language in the same exciting way that we did when we were younger. A new learning program called "Rosetta Stone" uses a combination of images, repetition, and speech recognition to deliver an effective teaching AND learning tool.

It creates a better learning environment for someone with for example, learning disablities, who may have traditionally not been able to pick up an additional language effectively. This program goes back to the root concept of learning our first language as children. It caters to all visual, auditory, and tactile learning styles. In addition, if there are more successful results for an individual within the program, you can focus in on it for even better results. What is even more exciting is that this program has the capability of "listening" to your speech and recognizing whether it is correct usage and sound of the phrases. If you make multiple errors, it will play back the audio it heard in comparison to how the phrase actually should sound. In turn, you are able to self-evaluate and learn how to correctly say something.

Check out this link and view the videos:

http://www.rosettastone.com/personal/how-it-works