After attending the DEN National Institute I was really excited to try out Google Docs not only with my co-workers but with my students as well. I am a BIG fan! The students are all really excited about the collaboration that they are able to do on projects and the faculty love the ease of use. I had a Google Page webpage last year but I switched to Google Sites and it is super easy to integrate Google Docs within this site.

As a Spanish teacher I am always curious to see if accent marks and punctuation are supported and they are in Google Docs which is an added bonus.

The virtual conference this past weekend was awesome! I gathered lots of info and found news ways to incorporate tech into my Spanish classes (this idea could really be used with any language class).

Many Spanish classes begin each school year with a review of “Who are you?” and students are asked to create posters sharing things about themselves with their classmates. In recent years, I had asked the students to create picture collages using MS Word or MS PowerPoint. The students create visuals and then use the visual as an aid while they present to the class in the target language.

After hearing about some of the awesome sites from the Virtual Conference next year I am going to ask my students to create their posters about themselves using Glogster. I think not only with this create a renewed sense of enthusiasm for the project but now I am able to take all of the URLs from their digital posters and create a website or blog or giant Glogster that links to all of the individual pages.

Give it a try the site is awesome!

I stumbled across ning. Is anyone using it right now? How is that going? I am debating the use of it next year with a Spanish AP class. I right now require my students to participate in weekly blogs and to also use Voicethread. Is Ning a way that brings all of these types of tools together? Just curious.

On a different note I think I have checked email a thousand times hoping to see about the Discovery Student adventures trip. =)

What an absolutely amazing opportunity for teachers and students! I am excited to even have been able to speak with someone about it.

In past years I have been able to travel to Spain and Italy with students. It has always been fun to bring back pictures and share them with the students. This year I tried something different and I placed all of our pictures online so that students and I could comment on them/about them. It helped to carry our conversations on well past our return date. I also had the chance to create digital movies out of the still images and put them to music. Of course I selected music from the region. The students did the same! It was a fun and great way to answer the age old question what did you do this past summer.

I have had so much fun exploring all of DEN and the DEN blogs. As I explore I have stumbled across several really cool ideas and links. I am looking forward to trying these since as a teacher in Arizona I am being asked to become more and more creative with less and less. My school district has frozen all spending and so little things like paper are hot commodities. My theory is adapt and overcome! Discovery Streaming and all of the “Builders” have helped me to make a transition to more eco friendly assignments not to mention I am helping to conserve and make use of resources better.

 The most interesting link I came across was that of VoiceThread. I can use this immediately in a Spanish classroom. I can post videos, images, etc and have my students comment in written or spoken form in the target language. The students will love the use of this 2.o medium and I love the fact that everyone becomes more engaged!

Thanks DEN for the great tips.