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FAMILY BLOGS

 

DAY 1

 

I think that Web 2.0 is incredible.  I thought I already had a pretty good grasp on technology before this class, but I'm finding out some of the coolest things that I've never known before.  For example, FLICKR, picknik.com, and zamzar.com.  Also, I've never embedded a video file on the internet before.  Nor have I posted links, pictures, or audio on a wiki before.  I feel like a whole new world has been opened up to me and it's very exciting!

 

I wrote down a definition of Web 2.0 before I came to class.  To open Kyle's definition, click: Web 2.0 según Kyle

 

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DAY 2 

 

I edited this picture using picnik.com

This is one of my 15.5 nieces and nephews.  Isn't she cute?!?   This was her reaction when I told her to "show her teeth".  :)

 

About Me

Name	Major	Minor	Career	Email	Hobbies
Kyle	Spanish	Chemistry	Optometry	wilson.kyle.d@gmail.com	Piano, Singing, Studying O-Chem until I get a headache...

 

Today was very fun!  I created my own video, which is really cool.  The one I made was dumb, in that it was experimental, but I could make a real one and send it to a friend or family member for a special occasion, etc.  Also, the YackPack is really cool.  Our group was going to all join Google Talk so we could be chatting as we were working together on our group project, but the YackPack is even easier.  One thing I noticed, though, is that as soon as someone starts editing the page, they can no longer be in the YackPack conversation :(.

 

In short, today made me excited to create and experiment with my own wiki.  It's becoming clear that this is a tool that I need to learn how to use in my life.

 

These tools can be very useful for language learners, because if all students are collaborating on a single wiki, they can post questions and respond to them getting peer feedback from eachother.  Also, the teacher could post some authentic recordings, or put in some games in Spanish with a GoogleGadget, or something like that.  AND, students have access to this tool any time they want to log on... no waiting for office hours, etc.

 

Kyle's Photo Story

Here's a very brief introduction of my family.  The background music is sung by my sister.  Be sure to stop the background music at the top of my page before you start this video!

 

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DAY 3

 

Today we learned about Voki, VoiceThread, and adding Google Gadgets to our wiki pages: 

 

AC_Voki_Embed(300,400, '56685cf8844da793964e4ff6fc7496a1', 221873, 1, '', 0); Get a Voki now!
Don't you just love my Voki?	I had to put Frogger on!  (I named it "Kygger" because it's on my page).  It's such a classic game.  It's so simple, yet sooo addicting.  I encourage you to try getting across a couple of times...	I LOVE GoogleTalk.  I used to chat all the time in my Gmail, but then I discovered GoogleTalk and downloaded it to my computer... so now I can chat even when I'm logged OUT of Gmail!

 

 

Useful Second Language Learning Gadgets
With this gadget, you could create an assignment to memorize one phrase every day and come to class prepared to be quizzed on it.  I like this over other "phrase of the day" gadgets because it spells it out phonetically.	You could do a similar daily assignment for students for the word of the day.  Have them come prepared with a sentence or context in which to use the new word they have found.  I LOVE how it gives you an authentic audio of how to pronounce the word!!!	This is probably  my favorite Gadget because it's interactive.  Your studnets that visit the website can learn to identify the countries in South America in a fun way!!  When I had to learn South American geography in 10th grade, having this gagdet would have made all the difference.

 

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DAY 4

 

Today was very enlightening.  I wasn't really sure what a webquest was before the class started.  I feel that now we've done a WebQuest on WebQuests, I have a good grasp on what it's supposed to be.  Also, I learned some good rating criteria when viewing (and designing my own) WebQuests.

 

Here's something that I've needed for a long time.... I'm the 6th of 7 children, so as you can imagine, it's hard to keep track of everyone, so each of the married couples in my family have one by one created their own family blog.  The problem:  I can never remember the blog sites, so I don't visit them very often.  So, I'm creating a blog page to keep track of them for my personal reference.  For my own convenience, I placed this link at the top of my page as well:

 

FAMILY BLOGS

 

I added my audio today.  Wow!  Playing around with embedding mp3s was very fun.   I knew nothing about HTML before I started, but with the help of a website that I googled (www.htmlcodetutorial.com), I learned how to lengthen the size of the play bar, adjust the volume (tell me if it's too loud or too soft on your computer... I can CHANGE it :) ), and set it to automatically or manually play when the page loads.  I'm so proud of myself.

 

The song you hear was recorded by One Accord, a dissolved vocal group that I was in (along with my sister and my brother).  If you listen to the first few notes, I'm the "cello" singing a fifth from the bottom note.  I'm also generating those haphazard cymbol noises in the background during the chorus :)... not my proudest vocal moment, since I prefer to sing, but my brother needed someone to help him on percussion... I think you can tell that he's the real vocal percussionist of the group.

 

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DAY 5

 

Today was learning about SecondLife.  That was very fun.  I was able to think of three learning benefits that could develop from this online virtual world:

A) Students can speak their target language with native peers across the nation.  For some students, this benefit may not be locally available, depending on the ethnic prevalency.

B) Students can travel through SecondLife as a class in a space created by the teacher... you could create a mini-Mexico and go there as a class and be given a presentation on culture, etc...

C) In general, it's a very attractive learning tool.  Learning doesn't have to be a "chore".  It can be "playing" in SecondLife.

 

**Today I added color to the "DAY" titles.  They are hideous, I know, but the point is that I know how to manipulate the text.  :)

 

Also, check out this cheesy comic strip I created at www.pixton.com

 

 

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haz clic aquí para aprender de don Quixote de la Mancha