Juegos para la Clase

I was definitely looking forward to this weeks assignment but when I started to do it, it was extremely time consuming and frustrating. Mostly because I teach an elective course... Spanish. Surpsrisingly, I struggled with finding ANYTHING relevant to my classroom. I even tried to shuffle my way around it.



First, I searched Spanish. Nothing.

Then, English. Nothing. (Rationale being that in order to understand a new language you have to understand your own.)

Music. Nothing worthwhile. (Rationale being that language and music are linked to the same area of the brain.)

Then Spain, Mexico, South America, Maps, Foreign, Language. NOTHING.

There was even hope when I found a game about Aliens speaking their own language but it wasn't.



So then I strayed from all the listed sites to find some games on my own. Not necesarily embedable but still worth while. I will link one of them below:



Cocina con Abuela (A cooking game that would be fun during that section of the text)

http://pbskids.org/mayaandmiguel/espanol/games/cooking/index.html


However, I must stick to the assignment and I found a fun alphabet game. There is no sound but what I found myself doing, was saying each letter out loud in Spanish before I allowed myself to click on the corresponding letter. It was a blast and gave me practice with my Spanish letter sounds. See the game from addictinggames.com below:

http://www.addictinggames.com/alphabethunter.html
(I wanted to embed but there wasn't an embedable code and I tried using the html I know of to embed and it just popped up with an X.)

This may be a strectch but I think it is worth the alphabet practice.

If I had really bad taste... I could post the game about illegal immigrants from Mexico trying to out run the police.

Classroom Nettiquette

"Nettiquette" de Esta Clase

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It is important to protect and respect each other while in cyberspace. It sounds like a self-explanatory situation but the smallest changes and awareness with what we online can streamline the process and make it far easier to understand each other. :-)

Una Guía Para Usar la Red Informática

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Communication

• Keep emails/messages short and concise. It is important to understand that people value their time and do not want to sift for valuable information.
• Even though it may seem like it saves time and space, using too many acronyms (e.g. BRB, LOL, TTYL, etc) can cause confusion and distraction. It is ok to use them once in awhile as long as they are widely known and appropriate.
• Refrain from using CAPS to emphasize a word. IT LOOKS LIKE YOU ARE SHOUTING. Try using an italicized word or underlined work instead.
• Control your "forwards." Yes I know it's funny and I have received it from 12 of my other friends but excessive forwards can become overwhelming in any mailbox.
• Please include a subject in the subject line when sending messages. It helps with visual scanning and effiency.

Respect and Privacy

• Treat others as you would want to be treated. This is a day-to-day value and one that should be used online. It is important to not bully or discourage others. If you experience this or have questions, you can see me confidentially or email me.
• Do not give personal information online. If someone asks for your address, phone number, social security number, or anything similar, do not give it to them. We will not be using any sites that require this information.
• Ask questions! I continually learn new things from you and you should share these tips with your fellow students.
• Be patient and helpful to those who are new at using certain online tools.
• At no point is it acceptable to share or read personal accounts from other students unless there is specific permission to do so. You all know the importance of privacy :-)

Remember: What you do and say will represent you not only in life, but online. All life's core rules and school rules should be observed when participating in online environments.

YouTube Playlist

On my YouTube Homepage I decided to make 3 separate playlists in order to separate content for my future students of Spanish. The playlists I created are:

Spanish Mini Lessons
Spanish Funny Tidbits
Cultural Videos from Spanish Speaking Countries

I decided to do this for students who want to view certain types of videos. The mini lessons are videos that may aid a student in further understanding of certain topics we have covered. The current playlist can be viewed here:



The Spanish Funny Tidbits will be for some comic relief (in Spanish of course) and will be fun for students to relax while listening to the language they are learning. See some here:



The last category I created was Cultural Videos from Spanish Speaking Countries. I want students to gain a new cultural perspective about the countries that speak the language we are learning. Watch these cultural videos here:



To make these playlists, I created a homepage through YouTube and compiled my favorite videos thus far. After choosing my favorites, I added them to the separate plalists that I just told you about. I hope that you explore this tool and create your own page of favorite videos for your future students to utilize!