Monthly Archives: October 2013

This week we learned how important creating a community in our f2f or online classes is. What I love about my f2f classes is the close knit community that we build during the semester. How do I create community in my classes? I do a couple of things: 1) many, many group activities, 2) meet-ups  after class or before class in our study groups and 3) oral presentations/fiesta (party), where we learn more about our fellow classmates. It’s a process from begin to end. It takes great effort to establish a strong community but once you have it, it’s well worth it.

I believe the same approach can be taken in our online classes. Therefore, it is vital to begin on our first day of class. Here a voice-thread can be the perfect tool. You can ask students to introduce themselves by leaving a thread and comment on one or more threads. This can be a great opportunity for students to meet you as well. I know it works because I have used voicethread.com for my hybrid course.

In our reading this week it mentioned that Myspace or Facebook can be great tools for (a)synchronous communication. This week I’ll be working on my Facebook for my Spanish classes. I also created an IM on Blackboard and I’m working on incorporating other tools into my classes, such as Skype and Screenr.

I also think Pilar makes a great point. You need to make your online space inviting and pretty. As a student we want to feel welcomed and feel great in our environment, in our classes.

I have taught a hybrid class in the past, and I don’t know what to expect once I get an opportunity to teach a full-online class in the future. I do feel comfortable in the classroom because I have been teaching for a few years. I’m pretty sure I’ll find new challenges. The textbook mentioned that teaching an online class is based on trial and error, and I find that to be true. I say that because of my own experience teaching on campus classes. I find myself critiquing all my activities and trying to find a way to make them better. I am sure it will be similar to teaching an online course; it is scary but at the same time exciting.

Jinnefer Humber’s video summed it all up: Who, What, Where, When and How? The five questions can act as a check list for an online class.  For me, it has been very helpful. It will determine who my students are, what goals and objectives must be met, where they can access the course material, when they can access and submit it and how they will access it.

Finally, I have been visiting different (free) sites in order to get acquainted with other tools that might be useful once I begin teaching on online class. I have signed up for Twitter and began to follow a few interesting people, created my avatar and began creating a video presentation for my Spanish 101 class.

I had a blast creating my avatar. He and I even look identical–maybe not so much. Press play to hear him talk. Here he is:

This week I was introduced to html and other useful tools. Html is a bit intimidating to say the least but very useful and interesting.

I found a good internet site that incorporates lyrics, writing and listening skills to teach Spanish and other languages. This activity is great because I love using music in my classroom, and this website will help me embed music to Blackboard.  My students in this activity will be analyzing and applying information. 

This is what a student would have to do: Choose a song and a level (easy, medium or difficult), play it and type the lyrics in the blank space. The student can repeat the song indefinitely. The song will stop if the student cannot type the correct lyrics. Once the student types the missing lyrics, he or she can proceed.

I had a difficult time trying to layout the video. What I did was first post an image of the site. Because I am not tech savvy, I was unable to link the pic to the website. Here is the link to the website: http://www.lyricstraining.com/play/1822/yuridia/irremediable#

Yuridia, “Irremediable”

I also posted the YouTube video with the lyrics in case anyone wants to hear the song in its entirety.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPjAzhQ9QEM

Week 5: Online Syllabus.

Transforming my f2f syllabus to an online syllabus has been challenging, but fortunately I have gotten great advise, such as emphasizing due dates in bold and red, repeatedly sending announcements, chatting as much as you can to let students know that you are there, having an easy way for students to communicate with you, being prompt on responding, creating a contract in Bb and making things explicit. These greats tips are reiterated in chapter 5 of our textbook.

One thing that I found questionable was creating a class with weekly tasks or giving students an overwhelming amount of information. I think breaking up activities and assignments is the best way to go. My class is divided into chapters. I found this option at this time more appealing. I am pretty sure I will make many changes to my class with time.