I don't know where it went, but I did a blog on libraries; they have been an integral part of my life since my mother, aunt, and sister were librarians and I went to school for the education. Reading and libraries have always been a place my family used, for pleasure reading and research. Public and school libraries always have the answers to so many of my questions, and I try to encourage kids to use them and now the computers that hold so many of the answers they're looking for.
Libraries have changed so much in my lifetime, and we have one at our school that is so up-to-the-minute because of the efforts of Linda Wise. She has done so much to introduce the staff to innovations and usable information. With the aid of her and the equipment we have for this project students are being introduced to the many resources they have to augment their education.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Thing 3 - RSS
Well, it's done, and I'm still not sure how to use the feed lines. I found help and tried using the instructions sent by email, but....
I'm not sure exactly how much time I'm actually going to be able to read other people's blogs, but have enjoyed reading people's comments.
I'm not sure exactly how much time I'm actually going to be able to read other people's blogs, but have enjoyed reading people's comments.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Thing 5 - Urban Planet
I know you told us not to do several blogs in one night, but I've been working at the "things" over the last two weeks and, 2) I now have a student teacher so I'm not swamped with paperwork every night and have time to write the blogs!!
Urban Planet is something that I've wanted to do something with for a couple of years. I set up the site but not until this year have I actually tried making is usable for students. So far I have put resources for students to use (only in Sp V,VI so far) and the culture points documents along with the course descriptions. My intent is to have something for the kids to use as a resource and also to have their parents have access to it. Keeping it current is the big question at this point; having a student teacher will help for a few months, so I'll take advantage of the time to upload other documents, video, etc. Urban Planet has great possibilities for teachers, just as email and online grading has opened communication between parents/students and teachers.
Urban Planet is something that I've wanted to do something with for a couple of years. I set up the site but not until this year have I actually tried making is usable for students. So far I have put resources for students to use (only in Sp V,VI so far) and the culture points documents along with the course descriptions. My intent is to have something for the kids to use as a resource and also to have their parents have access to it. Keeping it current is the big question at this point; having a student teacher will help for a few months, so I'll take advantage of the time to upload other documents, video, etc. Urban Planet has great possibilities for teachers, just as email and online grading has opened communication between parents/students and teachers.
Thing 10, Copyright and Plagiarism
Does this take the place of Google, the thing that's listed on our original list? I did this one earlier this month but it didn't get saved somehow, so I guess I'll start again.
Plagiarism is rampant and students don't seem to see anything wrong with plagiarism; they will copy anything and change a few words to call it their own. It's very easy in Spanish to tell if they have used another source because of the words and sentence structure they use that are not within their capabilities. One of the things I want to do with students this year is to use specific examples of what they should do to avoid plagiarism and I want to work especially to come up with research topics and ideas that are good questions as set out by the information I read. The criteria to do that and the steps to develop good topics will be very helpful to me and my students.
Well, I found what I wrote earlier; I'm not sure how it ended up there, but... here it is.
Plagiarism is rampant in research and projects with students; they will copy anything (or make a few changes) and say it is their own. Since I teach Spanish, there aren't as many opportunities, but still I have had kids turn in writings that were not their own.
I have found that keeping the assignments on a "personal" basis, meaning that they are writings about themselves keep them more honest, although a few students have tried translation sites to write their paragraphs. (It's really easy to see those!)
For Dia de los Muertos my level 5/6 students had a lot of questions to research on line; most of the sites were in English so they had to change the material to fit words they already know and they had to cite the sites they used. As they become more advanced in their Spanish and online searches, the topics will have to be more carefully thought out, as suggested in the site on how to make a plagiarism-free research project.
October 28, 2007 6:04 PM
Plagiarism is rampant and students don't seem to see anything wrong with plagiarism; they will copy anything and change a few words to call it their own. It's very easy in Spanish to tell if they have used another source because of the words and sentence structure they use that are not within their capabilities. One of the things I want to do with students this year is to use specific examples of what they should do to avoid plagiarism and I want to work especially to come up with research topics and ideas that are good questions as set out by the information I read. The criteria to do that and the steps to develop good topics will be very helpful to me and my students.
Well, I found what I wrote earlier; I'm not sure how it ended up there, but... here it is.
Plagiarism is rampant in research and projects with students; they will copy anything (or make a few changes) and say it is their own. Since I teach Spanish, there aren't as many opportunities, but still I have had kids turn in writings that were not their own.
I have found that keeping the assignments on a "personal" basis, meaning that they are writings about themselves keep them more honest, although a few students have tried translation sites to write their paragraphs. (It's really easy to see those!)
For Dia de los Muertos my level 5/6 students had a lot of questions to research on line; most of the sites were in English so they had to change the material to fit words they already know and they had to cite the sites they used. As they become more advanced in their Spanish and online searches, the topics will have to be more carefully thought out, as suggested in the site on how to make a plagiarism-free research project.
October 28, 2007 6:04 PM
Thing 10, Copyright and Plagiarism
Does this take the place of Google, the thing that's listed on our original list? I did this one earlier this month but it didn't get saved somehow, so I guess I'll start again.
Plagiarism is rampant and students don't seem to see anything wrong with plagiarism; they will copy anything and change a few words to call it their own. It's very easy in Spanish to tell if they have used another source because of the words and sentence structure they use that are not within their capabilities. One of the things I want to do with students this year is to use specific examples of what they should do to avoid plagiarism and I want to work especially to come up with research topics and ideas that are good questions as set out by the information I read. The criteria to do that and the steps to develop good topics will be very helpful to me and my students.
Plagiarism is rampant and students don't seem to see anything wrong with plagiarism; they will copy anything and change a few words to call it their own. It's very easy in Spanish to tell if they have used another source because of the words and sentence structure they use that are not within their capabilities. One of the things I want to do with students this year is to use specific examples of what they should do to avoid plagiarism and I want to work especially to come up with research topics and ideas that are good questions as set out by the information I read. The criteria to do that and the steps to develop good topics will be very helpful to me and my students.
Thing 9, Streaming Video
I was first introduced to streaming video two years ago when we were introduced to United Streaming and I used it for Spanish classes. It is now a permanent part of one unit and I want to try to use more of it with my projector, providing I can find some in Spanish. I have used the You Tube part of video several times already this year to add depth to cultural things like: La Tomatina, San Fermin bull running, etc. I plan to use more of it as I develop the units.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Webquest
I'm working on setting up a Webquest for Day of the Dead and have found so many sources it's hard to weed them out; planning to use them for an advanced class limits the sources available and now that I have lots of options I'm ready to start with the details. Hopefully someone can help with the process so students can begin their search of this really interesting holiday in Mexico.
Using the projector and laptop have added so much to my classroom. I can show video never available to us before, pull in exercises that classes can participate in without having to run off papers and kids watch and interact with this technology so much more than with overheads, etc. What an advantage!!
I'm still struggling with the 23 things and how to do them, so I'm hoping we get some guidance on Wednesday, and I need to spend more time reading some of what people are writing. There just aren't enough hours in the day!!
Using the projector and laptop have added so much to my classroom. I can show video never available to us before, pull in exercises that classes can participate in without having to run off papers and kids watch and interact with this technology so much more than with overheads, etc. What an advantage!!
I'm still struggling with the 23 things and how to do them, so I'm hoping we get some guidance on Wednesday, and I need to spend more time reading some of what people are writing. There just aren't enough hours in the day!!
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