Webquest with Web 2.0 product creation

Every year, I have my Spanish II students watch the movie In the Time of the Butterflies based on the novel by Julia Alvarez in order to help them recognize not only a different perspective of Latin America but also how important that actions of one individual (and family) can be.



I designed this Webquest - Latin American Dictators - as a lead-in to watching the video. Originally, I had planned for this to be a quick, one-day assignment with the students writing 1-page essays about their assigned dictator. After all that I have learned about Web 2.0 resources and the online collaboration possibilities, I decided to incorporate three of them into the assignment. Now I want the students to work in online collaborative groups to create a Wiki of their research findings, which will be used by the whole group to create a single PowerPoint visual. At the same time that they are getting all of this experience collaborating, I also need to know that each student is getting something about the history and culture from the assignment, so I will expect each student to use the PowerPoint visual to create a PhotoStory presentation in their own voice in which they personally narrate what they have found out about the Dictator and his rise to and fall from power.

Once my students have completed this assignment using the Web 2.0 resources, I will post some feedback of how it went. If anyone else decides to try something like this, I would like some ideas for tweaking or any possible pitfalls I need to watch out for. Of course, I plan to front-load lessons on each of these resources as well as online collaboration before I would even introduce this assignment to them.

The World of WIKIs

Ever since the onslaught of Wikipedia, which I'm still not too sure about students using for research purposes, I have heard the word Wiki thrown around. I have not, until now, ever had the interest or need to create and/or collaborate on one. I have to say that, as a student, group collaboration is an oftentimes frustrating experience. For example, posting in a forum is fine if you simply have to post your thoughts, opinion, and research findings; however, when you must wait for others to post their thoughts, and hope they post something worth commenting on, this process of collaboration can become an endless series of waiting. I'm hoping this group Wiki will not be the same process.

Having stated my worries, I will say that I am glad to see that anyone can see who has added to the Wiki and the changes they have made. As a student, this aspect is important because it is often one or two students who do all the work on a group project when everyone shares the grade. As a teacher, this aspect also helps one keep track of who is and who isn't taking their learning seriously. One piece of a Webquest I have designed, and will post shortly, is for the students to post their research findings on a group Wiki so that I can see where they are finding their information and that all members are contributing. Since I have designed this activity for Spanish II, I hope to implement the group project across my various classes for an added real life dynamic.

Early in the semester, I came across this video that my professor has recently shared with the group, and I think it is very helpful with explaining the premise of how Wikis work.



The creators of this video have many videos on using all different types of technological resources including navigating the Web, understanding and using Wikipedia, and blogging. Another thing that I, as a foreign language teacher, find wonderful is that these videos can be viewed in multiple languages. This capability could be really helpful for introducing Internet-based projects to ESL students who may not have a strong knowledge of English yet.

Teaching Tech-onomy for Spanish

One of the requirements for my technology class is that we create our own digital tech-onomy based on Bloom's taxonomy for the cognitive domain. In teaching Spanish, however, I know that the affective domain is just as important as the cognitive one because students who feel uncomfortable with and around the language will have a much more difficult time understanding the teacher and interacting with their peers in the language.


I chose to combine the two--cognitive and affective--into a cyclical taxonomy. I decided on the cyclical format because language learning does not simply progress up the levels of Bloom's taxonomies. There are many factors that often return students to the remembering level one second and push them to the creation level the next. Many language teachers spend a great deal of time shifting between the Remembering/Receiving and the Understanding/Responding stages, but we must also help our students apply that knowledge to real life and create personally valuable connections. In addition, we must show them the value of what they are learning, which doesn't simply mean a culture lesson, and how to organize that learning into something meaningful.

Technology provides our students with so many possibilities that to not tap into this wealth of resources is counterproductive. My goal is not just to teach my students how to communicate in Spanish but also to communicate in the world. It is important that I take into account their need to be social, especially in terms of technology, and help them learn the responsibilities that come along with this open world. I can't, as an educator, say "it is someone else's responsibility to teach them how to effectively, safely, and responsibly navigate the Web because I have to teach my content." Therefore, I am looking for ways to integrate teaching and learning technology within my content. This taxonomy is my attempt at integrating all of the layers of effective learning--students' affective, cognitive, social, and technological needs--in a way that makes sense for foreign language study.

File Converter

In looking for a way to covert my PDF to JPG in order to post my tech-onomy, I found www.zamzar.com This site automatically converts files for you. It was quick: 30 seconds to upload and 1 minute to receive e-mailed file.

Hmmmm...Can I get a ladder to climb from 1.0 to 2.0???

This whole Web 2.0 thing has me thinking that I don't know nearly as much as I thought I knew. I mean, who would have thought that you could co-create documents, websites and resources in real time and then share them with the whole world? Who would have known that my children and my students would know how to do this before I did? Who would have imagined that cooperative learning groups wouldn't have to take place in the confines of a classroom?

I remember when I first took a class on teaching with technology in 2003; the only thing we learned to do was to create documents to send home and PowerPoint presentations to share with our students. I thought I was cool because I used clipart to create hyperlinks in my PowerPoint presentations. Wow, have times changed!!!

Now I'm taking another class in teaching with technology, and I'm having a hard time getting my mind around how to not just familiarize myself with these tools but also how to get my students on this Web 2.0 bandwagon. So, this blog is dedicated to my journey of how to integrate Web 2.0 into my Spanish classes so that my students will not only become proficient in the language but also in the tools they need for the jobs of the future.

THIS is going to be a bumpy ride!!!