PLE #6, continued- Le Vieux Mans Google Earth Tour

This is my tour of Le Vieux Mans. By using Google Earth, students will be able to get a better feel for the layout of a French city. They will better understand the cultural and social aspect of France through virtual technology, without even setting foot in the country... though a trip would definitely be the ultimate goal.

Final Survey

I completed the final survey and the online BYU evaluation.

PLE Week 7

I read all related articles

Reading:

I chose to read "Tangle in the Web", written by an anonymous writer. Reading about true story always seems to bring to reality a problem. The internet affects all of us. It is so easy to "just" surf for a few minutes and then end up spending hours on-line. It is important to realize that surfing can become an addiction just like smoking or pornography. Our children will grow up thinking that the only way to have a life is to be on-line for hours. Their school work will suffer as well as their social life.
Elder Bednar is very much aware of the negative impact the media has on our life. In our home we chose a few years ago not to have cable in order to spend more quality time with each other. It has helped but much more needs to be done because browsing the internet and watching You-Tube seems to be my children's pass-time. Many times we only worry about the sexual content of an activity, but we fail to see the violence in some show or game. Violence can be just as bad if not worse. We need to teach children to avoid watching violent movies or playing violent video games.

I want to do better as a parent and teach my children the real danger of the internet. Teach them that it can be a very useful tool as long as it is used appropriately.

Watching:

These videos were very informative. Cyberbullying is a fact of life. Children, and in some cases adults, have resorted to the internet to belittle their peers. The bullying can even lead some to suicide. The internet is so easy to use, you feel like you can be on and nobody really knows who you are, at the click of a button you can hurt someone more than words could.

The frontline PBS documentary was very interesting. Teachers will not have a choice but to be technologically savvy in order to keep up with this generation. If we cannot keep our students focused, we will probably have to deal with more chaos, more boredom, and more discipline issues. Time is an issue for many students who go to school and try to earn money. So yes, sparknotes will be used, but teachers could find a way to incorporate this site, and still make sure students do some reading.

Doing:

I discussed with my 15 year-old daughter the danger of cyber-space chatting after watching Amy's and Julie's experiences on the Netsmartz site. I know that she has chatted with strangers in the past and I quickly ended it. But having her watch those videos of girls being lured by older men brought the issue closer to home. We discussed the real dangers associated with those social networks. I believe that she will be more aware of this and stay away from such sites. She told me that at first she didn't see anything wrong with it, since of course the person she was chatting with was her age, and lived so far away (so he claimed). I can see how very easy and flattering for a teenage girl to get that much attention. But the dangers are real, and I do hope to be able to keep her safe. We discussed that listening to the promptings of the Holy Ghost will be a great help. She knows right from wrong, and hopefully will be better equipped now to follow the counsels of those who care for her.

PLE Week 6

For this project I will be using google earth. The purpose of this project is to show students who would like to visit France that there is more to France than Paris. The town used for this project is called Le Mans. It is famous for its medieval town (many movies have use Le Vieux Mans as their backdrop, such as The man in the iron mask), it features a beautiful cathedral, and the countryside with its rolling hills is gorgeous. 

This project should fit with the Utah Core Curriculum for language, as the student will learn about France, historically and geographically.

PLE Week 5-TPACK

TPACK or Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge helps teachers use certain knowledge to integrate technology in their teaching. There are three different kinds of knowledge: Content (CK), Pedagogy (PK), and Technology (TK).

• Content knowledge deals with facts, concepts, and skills in a certain domain, in my case French.
  
• Pedagogical knowledge is the general knowledge and skills related to teaching, such as classroom management.
  
• Technological knowledge is the knowledge needed in order to be able to use the many different technologies, or tools available.
  

TPK or Technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK) is the general knowledge used to incorporate technologies in any teaching context.  TPK is able to support teaching using multimedia technologies, or tools. For example in my French class I could use a website where students can view assignments, lessons using videos, etc. TPK can encourage students to learn about the French language and culture in a more advanced and interesting way.

My Jing Video Extra Credit

PLE Week 5-Synchronous vs. Asynchronous

I like the asynchronous video better because instead of feeling pressured to talk, I could think of what I had to say. It wasn't as awkward as the synchronous video. The synchronous video would be a great tool if I happen to have a home bound student. We could have a conversation, and he could ask all the question needed in real time. The students would be able to keep up with the lessons, and stay on track. As we discuss subject matters, the student will be able to better retain what is taught. With this method there wouldn't be any loss of time as there would be in asynchronous communication such as emailing or messaging in facebook. 

Here is a picture of my synchronous video chat on Skype with Jasmine:

And here is my facebook video chat with Jasmine!!!!!

PLE Week 4

This week was a very interesting and useful week. I have learned a lot about how to create website. Though my younger daughter thought a pre-made website was not the real thing! I started by using pbworks and went on to create a second website on wetpaint. You could choose different layouts on wetpaint, and it seemed easier to do things with. As I was creating my website, called français 3, I learned to  embed using googledocs, maps, calendars, pictures, and videos. I also started a discussion thread, in order for student and teacher to communicate better. In order to edit the pictures I'd upload I used the free web tool called picnik. I loved this tool. It will be very useful in my personal life as well as in my professional life. 

The most useful tool will probably be googledocs. I believe that letting the students take quizzes and assessment online will be very convenient. My other preference will be the videos. I would like them to be able to hear the language and be able to pronounce it correctly. They can make their own videos where I can check their fluency. The biggest difficulty I had was to use googledocs with wetpaint, it took a little research to get it to work and add it to the website. But it all made sense once I figured it out.

Instructional Video

Storyboard for video

Here is the story board for our video on the Versailles Castle:

Instructional Video

Kirsten and I decided to make a video on the different architectural and natural marvels of France. Our video will focus only on the Versailles Castle. The students will get an example of a video describing the different aspects of the castle and the king that built it. At the beginning of the video, there will be a list of other French wonders. The students' assignment will be to make their own video using the example of Versailles.

Utah core curriculum standards for foreign languages:

http://www.schools.utah.gov/curr/core/corepdf/ForLan.pdf

What I know about RSS

RSS is a tool bloggers can use to keep them updated on news headlines. A website that can be RSS will have an orange icon with three white curving bars. If you click on it, it will bring you to a window that lets you add the RSS to your blog, so you can be kept updated on the website's new post. I could use this tool as a French instructor by adding to my blog websites such as French newspapers, French authors, French radio stations, and French celebrities which would help the students get a feel for the social life of the French.

Gania's IP&T 286 Personal Learning Environment

I do not have much technological background. However, I do use facebook everyday. I check my facebook and my hotmail several times a day. I know how to use word to write school papers. My daughter has taught me how to blog and how to use excel. But my excel knowledge is very limited. I hope to study hard in the next few weeks to pass that test. That is the extent of my knowledge in computers.