Adding New Technology

Today I started to present my first lesson using Nearpod. The theme of the lesson was Versailles and how Louis XIV and his efforts to centralize the government affected French society. My ninth grade students have not yet discussed the Louis XIV in their western civilization class, so I was interested to see what they knew. One students knew quite a bit about Louis XIV and Versailles, a few students confused Louis XIV with Louis XVI, but most did not know much, if anything. I really liked the sticky note activity where students could share what they knew anonymously and we could discuss it.

Student responses to “What do you know about Versailles?”

When I asked the students what they thought about the activity, they gave it a thumbs up. I am looking forward to using Nearpod to introduce new grammar. I really like the idea of being able to receive immediate feedback from students. Additionally, I find that they are more engaged.

Learning Deeply

As I reflect upon the idea of deep learning tasks, I am confronted with the challenge of offering such opportunities to my first and second year French students. How do I make these task truly authentic? Are guided conversations deep learning tasks? How about elementary level e-mail responses? How do students “discover” grammar structure and correct pronunciation without direct instruction if they are not in an immersive environment throughout their day?

Learning Management

This year my school district adopted Canvas as our new learning management platform. I warned my students that, as with anything new, it would be rocky at the beginning, but that in the end, it would change the way they learn. Four months into this new venture, there are still some rocky days, but there are more successes than failures!

Journeying

I have just begun a second Master’s Degree. My first Master’s degree is in French literature. This new venture will lead – hopefully – to an M.Ed. in digital learning and leading. Consequently, I am in the process of developing a website to highlight my observations and projects, and I have decided to include a blog to chronicle my journey. I have also joined Twitter in order to connect with professional organizations in educational technology and world language education. I have always been hesitant about social media. I did not join Facebook until about fifteen months ago. However, if I am going to talk the talk about lifelong learning to my students then I had better be willing to walk the walk, so social media and digital platforms, here I come!