After two days of dealing with all the things that can go wrong when working with a computer, I finally managed to finish my Digital Story.
I was so excited playing with all the features of the new Windows 7 that it took me almost forever to get my pictures right.It didn't come out as well as I expected it to ( The music didn't work) but I learned a lot.

Book Discussion in Voicethread

Coauthored writing

Is language developed as a symbol system to express knowledge acquired through interaction with the physical world? Is thought essentially internalized speech that emerges in social interaction? or is it both? The struggle between Piaget's and Vygotsky's theories that is going on in my head was sparkled by my some what frustrating experience when participating in a collaborative writing exercise.It took me a while to find a connection with the prompt, so I waited for someone else to start.Once I felt I couldn't wait anymore ,I decided to take one element from the lead, and go with it. At times, I thought to go with the flow of the writing was the responsible thing to do, but then after a long day's work, the need for a laugh was more powerful than the sense of duty. I wasn't satisfied with the result, and felt guilty.Since the activity had the option of editing someone else's work, I waited to see what would happen.Finally someone was brave enough to give it a twist and the result was great. The experience made me aware of how our students feel when they are asked to write about something that they have no idea what it is or have no connection to.The value of using the collaborative writing technique is what the authors can learn from each other.It gives the learner a better look into the writing process.
Listen to this interview from NPR about an author's experience with Coauthored writing .It is really interesting.

Using Voicethread

In my search for the most didactic voicethread tutorial, I found some that were interesting but dull, others fun but too simple.(Others had been already taken)
These had the most profesional and enjoyable presentations of all.Although I feel that effective learning takes place when there is more face-to-face interaction, the use of voicethread can allow those that cannot be physically present, to participate and be heard. This makes a good tool for distance education.

My first Prezi !

Pause and Ponder on Prezi

After struggling for several hours I finally managed to finish my first presentation using Prezi. This is a more dynamic way of combining words and images than power point, the tool I use on a daily basis.I might have missed some editing, but I feel good knowing that I am one more step ahead on the path towards Digital Literacy Land.

Ahchoo!!

Trial and error

Words .. Words.. Words..

One of the key elements in teaching ESOL is getting our students to increase their vocabulary .
They are expected to make connections among words thinking about their meaning and incorporating them into their active vocabulary . By getting our students to dig into the meaning of words, we are helping them better understand what they read and improve their ability to express themselves through the written and spoken word.
As a result of all the blog reading I have been doing lately, I have found these two great web sites. The first one ,recommended by Pat Hensley is called Vocab Ahead which provides very nice short videos and flash cards for more than 1000 words. It not only illustrates them , but gives nice examples of situations in which these words can be used. After sharing it with the students and letting them use it , I’m going to ask them to make their own little videos of words.
The other web I have been playing with and have found very interesting is Tagul. It is more than just a word cloud. Each word is a tag that is linked to an URL and when clicked on , it gives you the meaning of the word.How cool is that !!

Speaking of Literacy..

Ahh! A white morning!

 It was 5:00 o'clock when I woke up Saturday morning. I looked out through the sliding doors in the living room out into the back yard. A flashback placed me in Rochester N.Y. where I spent my childhood.
I could hear it loud and clear. The  voice on the radio said " The heavy snow storm that  fell over the city last night has left the roads impassable .. " Come on say it !  As all the kids in my neighborhood , I awaited impatiently to hear the magic words.." All the schools will be closed today" YES !
 But as the geese made their morning call, I cameback from memory land and realized that  it was Saturday and there was no school anyway,so half the fun was gone.
Although SC panics once a year when the snow covers the ground, I knew that it wouldn't be long before the sun would come out and the beautiful white carpet would start to melt. I was going to enjoy it while it lasted and with my eyes open, try to relive my bundled up days up in the north.

Snow in SC

Why don’t they speak English ?

  

  Although there are still many teachers who regret the fact that they have to teach the children of immigrants, I never thought I would have to face one, and think about how to respond to her comments.

I had one of these unpleasant encounters recently.A teacher came to me in the hallway and said some not very nice things about the   children who did not speak English well. Remaining calm and hiding my surprise, I thought for a while ..and then said : “ It is our duty to teach ALL children” I didn’t want to get into an argument trying to convince her of how wrong she was to think that we should not spend time helping them improve their English.

 Some mainstream teachers feel frustrated when assigned a LEP ( Limited English Proficient )student . They resent the fact that their average test scores will be affected by this particular group of  students’ performance. It doesn't seem obvious to them that the child can sense the teacher's disapproval ,and act accordingly by either isolating himself or becoming disruptive and defiant. Consequently,these students fail academically day after day.

 Those fortunate ESL students who are placed in a more friendly environment , show faster improvement. The anxiety caused by language barriers is lessen by a warm smile and personal care given by a well informed resourceful teacher who minds enough to spend time adapting and modifying his or her teaching so the ESL student’s affective filter is down, opening the door  to motivation. These students are more willing to make an effort to understand what is going on in the classroom and more eager to break that language barrier.

Some mainstream teacher express their frustration for not knowing what else to do to increase the level of performance of their students with limited English proficiency. They have not had any formal training in TESL ( Teaching English as a Second Language) and find it overwhelming.

Other teachers’ efficacy is very high.. They believed they are very effective as teachers and speak with great enthusiasm about the progress their students are making. What is the difference?

These teachers are taking classes to learn Spanish, learning about second language acquisition and working with the ESOL teacher on a regular basis. They meet and discuss the best way to teach each individual case .They take their time to expose the students to comprehensible input facilitating the process by repeating instructions, using visual aids, checking for comprehension and offering positive and immediate feedback.

The students’ motivation is a reflection of the teachers dedication.The students whose teachers are enthusiastic and show respect for their cultural background, demonstrate a more rapid improvement in their academic learning.

I hope all of us  teachers don’t let the daily demands of our jobs drive us away from one of the basic motivators that led us to choose our profession in the first place:

      Make a difference in our students lives .

" I want to read it first ! "

    One of the main concerns I have as a teacher is getting my reluctant readers motivated. Yesterday though , I had a very pleasant surprise when after reading to my 8th grade students, they got so excited that they fought over who would be the first one to take home my only copy of the book. I was using a story from "Chicken Soup for Soul for teens "  which gave excellent examples of the use of adverbs ( my grammar focus for the day) .

 I guess it goes to prove that if you use your story telling skills , reading aloud to teenagers can be as powerful as it is with younger children.

Classes Cancelled !

There are many times when we complain about our classes being interrupted or cancelled. Of course there is always a good justification : the mandatory fire drill , earthquake drill , code red , code blue ..

    Today I had the most unexpected reason. I was getting ready for my afternoon classes with the first and second graders, when I realized that I needed a puppet to use in my lesson. I opened the closet in my portable and reached inside the plastic container where I keep the animal toys . While tossing the lizards and the spiders around I noticed a wavy locomotion on one of the toys. I stopped for a moment trying to remember when I had bought such a realistic reptile. It was then that I saw its red forked tongue go  in and out of its elongated head. I dropped the talking monkey I was holding in my right hand,  and ran out the door in search of a brave male custodian willing to save me from the cold blooded menace.

Luckly a group of three courageous souls answered my call and after distributing tasks , the headless creature was sent back to the woods.

I am an ESOL teacher with more than 20 years of experience. Teaching is something I have loved to do since I was in high school, when I would sneak out of my chemistry class and go help the second grade teacher teach English to the little ones.

Although I have taught all the way from kindergarten to college, I have to say, fifth grade is my favorite.I really enjoy the challenge of working with the young ones. There is something about being ten years old and not wanting to be treated like a little kid anymore , that triggers their desire to explore and to expand their inquiring minds.

When I'm not teaching, I love to travel, take pictures and learn new languages. I have been to many fascinating places around the world, but always end up longing to spend another Christmas in my beautiful Cali, Colombia.

If you were ever to take a peek at my new years resolution you would find the following:

After loosing 50 pounds .. I will learn to paint like Diego Rivera and make my guitar sound like Paco de Lucia's.