Thing 16: Content Area

I found the following apps using the app, Appolearning. I looked at the top 5 Spanish apps for preschool and elementary school.

I chose Little Blue Jackal app because it had high ratings and it was advertised that it would become more difficult as the student improved. I was disappointed with the app. It teaches very little Spanish.

When you enter the app, you choose a level then you listen to the story of the blue jackel. The story is in English unless you choose level 3. In level three, the story is read in Spanish with the English written to help students understand. After the story, there are questions and a matching game to practice comprehension. I don't feel like it teaches Spanish very we'll because it speaks upper level spanish and has a written translation without breaking it down for students to learn the vocabulary.

I chose Little Pim Spanishbecause it was rated very highly for preschoolers. Pim teaches vocabulary from three categories. I would consider using this app with young fives. Each time you choose a category it teaches you new vocabulary. The vocabulary gets more difficult as you play. The games are very repetitive, would be entertaining for young students. Most games require you to choose the picture that goes with what Pim the Panda says.

Otter Call Es is the app I evaluated. I didn't give it many check marks. I was excited to download it because it had voice recognition to practice pronunciation, but the game only asks you to repeat the word it gives. The words are not used in any context.

Now that I know about the app evaluation rubrics, I will try to find them for apps I consider buying to see other people's opinions. I may fill out a quick checklist for a lite version to see if it would be worth buying a full version.

I did not find any Spanish specific apps in the Apple Volume Purchase Program, however I did see some apps and programs that could be cross-curricular such as Office and photo editing programs. I also thought it was interesting to look through the devices and accessories to see the price differences. I think Apple is doing a great service to schools districts by trying to make technology more affordable.

Thing 15: Assessment

The single question activity could be used as an exit ticket, unfortunately I don't have the technology available. I currently do pencil/paper exit tickets.

The 5 question quiz could be used during a center to check for understanding of vocabulary. I would be able to check scores and see who is on task. 

I thought Soapbox was easier to use. I like the feature that allows students to show they are confused or getting it. This would be another app I would have to use in centers since I don't have technology available for a whole class. I plan to experiment with Soapbox and create center activities so I can check understanding and so students are held accountable.

Thing 13: Classroom Tools

Remind 101

Remind 101 would be very helpful to communicate. With everyone texting, a parent probably would find this method of communication very convenient. Also, scheduling when messages should be sent takes stress off the teacher. The messages for a week or month can all be entered and scheduled so nothing is forgotten. The app is also a way to keep a record of parent communication since it saves your messages.

Class Dojo

I tried using Class Dojo last year. It is an easy way to record data on students. I wasn't sending reports to parents. I was using the information to help group students and create seating charts. I did not use it this year because I had a hard time marking students during small group work. I use a seating chat to call students by name since I have so many. It was difficult to record everything since students often do activities out of their seats. If I had a smaller number of students or my own classroom, I would definitely use this app.

Teacher Tools

Group Maker would be a useful app because you can create more than one class which is a feature I need. I try to use small group and center activities often and this will make grouping easier since it uses information you put in about students. I can stop worrying about losing my lists of groups for each class since they can be stored here instead.

Having Power Teacher on my iPad has been helpful because I always have access to a class list. Because I move schools, I often need new class lists every month because students move between my visits. By using this app, I am always looking at an up to date list. The app also includes the student's photo next to the name which is helpful since I don't have all names memorized.

The only negative aspect of this app is it's difficult to insert grades. I think it is much easier to use the computer for entering grades.

Thing 12: Learning Managament

Edmodo

Schoology

I don't use any learning management tools like this in my class. Many of my students are too young or they still need a lot of guidance because of the short time we have together. I have used Edmodo in professional development opportunities. This was my first experience with Schoology. I prefer the layout of Schoology. I feel it is more organized and easier to find resources. With Edmodo, you have to scroll down a long list to find the post or assignment you need. Schoology has categories so your searching through fewer resources.

If I was able to use this with my students, I would post survey questions that use the vocabulary we are practicing. I think the students would feel,less pressure knowing there isn't one correct answer. I would also post listening practice. Students could listen to a song or movie clip and write their opinions or what they understood. By doing this independently, students could listen to the clip as many times as needed in order to understand and respond which isn't always possible in class.

Thing 11: Productivity

Digitizing my documents is very helpful since I travel. I don't keep binders of lessons and resources since that I one more thing to cram in a box. I haven't been using Evernote even though it seems to be very easy to use. I have started to put everything on Live Binder. This tool has been easier to navigate than all of the folder on my computer. I'm horrible at remembering what I named a document or what folder I put it in. Live Binder's format works better for me.

I don't see many negatives to keeping documents digitally. I feel it has less of a chance of getting lost than a loose piece of paper, especially if everything is backed up. This is especially true for disorganized students we all find in our classrooms. If they are able to scan evidence of their work, it won't disappear in the disaster sometimes called a desk or locker.

Thing 10: Collaboration

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fegyGRC2kFkfbq_-XLCgW19M7sdyXRDFNCmQFZZqXHk/edit?usp=docslist_api

I would use this tool as a collaboration tool more then I could use it with students. The document I created includes several links I use while planning or during a lesson. I shared it with a elementary Spanish teacher I met on Twitter. We teach similar concepts so I thought it would be helpful for us to use the document to easily share resources. I know several education chats on Twitter use Goggle Docs in a similar way. My students don't do much writing that would make this useful for them. I do have a couple native speaker that I want to encourage to do more reading and writing. I may be able to use this with them in the future with simple writing prompts. If I taught high school Spanish, this would be a great tool to use when students are creating skits. They can work on the content outside of the classroom without having to meet in person. Also, I would use this if students were writing essays in Spanish. Students can share the document for peer editing. Most importantly, I would be able to give feedback while students are writing instead of after it has been handed in.

Thing 6: Screencast

<iframe width='480' height='300' src='https://www.educreations.com/lesson/embed/8210420/?ref=app' frameborder='0' allowfullscreen></iframe>

This video shows chore vocabulary. Each slide shows a picture, asks what a child is doing, then gives the verb. Once all chores are introduced, an A or B quiz is given followed by true or false.

http://www.educreations.com/lesson/view/dan-queria-un-gato/4214893/?ref=app

This video tells a story about Dan wanting a cat. This would be used after a TPRS lessons to quickly tell the story with out circling questions.

Both videos make the spanish vocabulary clear and we're made by teachers. I found the second video to be more engaging. The structure of each slide changed. The first video felt very slow and was very repetitive. Both videos used pictures and clip art that we're probably found on Google Images. Annotation was used more on the first video, but only to show correct quiz answers.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/1btyxzwg2s097ck/Buddy%20reading%20directions.mp4

I made this screen cast to show students what to do at a center. Recording these instructions has made centers easier because students can listen to the instructions as needed. I am also using Explain Everything to record students describing an invented school uniform to check for their understanding of clothing vocabulary and how to describe it in Spanish. Also, I have used this app to create QR codes so students can scan it and see the meaning of the word. This has been especially helpful in kindergarten and first grade where reading in Spanish is very difficult.