Concept Map Assignment

I made a concept map trying to show the benefits of being bi-lingual with an emphasis on speaking both English and Spanish.  When children first come to the United States, there is the obvious need to learn English as soon as possible in order to keep them from falling too far behind academically.  Sometimes, depending on the age of the child and the point of view of the parents, learning English comes at the cost of losing their first language.  The parents reasoning for emphasising English versus their native language is easily understood since they want their children to avoid some of the struggles they may face by speaking little or no English at all.  The concept map I made is an attempt to illustrate that if the students were able to learn English while keeping their native language (in this example Spanish), their opportunities for employment, education, and over all marketability would multiply tremendously.  The map shows some of the countries that have English as their native language and then some examples of Spanish speaking countries.  The line connecting the 'Spanish' bubble with the 'English' bubble shows that if a student could make that connection and be bi-lingual in Spanish and English,  he or she would now have access to all of those other countries for whatever interest they may have. 
In this example, I focused on Spanish/English.  This activity can be used to demonstrate how other languages can open the doors to other countries as well.  I showed a little bit of that with the connections of the French language etc.  but this can obviously be changed to show other languages and countries. 
The brainstorming/concept map software is a great tool to get students involved by just throwing out ideas and seeing where they fit.  The instant visual aids that come from this software would help in keeping some children's attention rather than just asking them to write down what is being said or taking notes. 
In other areas of TESOL, I think that concept mapping and showing the connections between some immigrant groups could help highlight some common issues that certain groups share and maybe give examples of what they have in common instead of focusing on their differences.

Cool Cat Teacher Blog

I spent time taking a quick look at most of the blogs on the list.  The first thing I noticed was that some blogs were definitely updated on a regular basis and some had irregular posts. But overall, there didn't seem to be a lot of comments regarding the posts. 
The blog site that I like the most is 'Cool Cat Teacher'.  It seems to be the most frequently updated and touches on a variety of topics.  The last three posts on this blog range from Steve Jobs 2005 commencement address to Stanford University, to a double amputee competing in an Iron Man competition, to the issue of how some schools limit what you have access to on the Internet while at school.
All of the posts are interesting in their own way and can be linked to some challenge teachers face in the classroom setting.  I was interested in the limitations imposed on Internet access within the schools.  The author explains that the Internet should be treated as a library for the modern teacher.  She asks why would we put limits on 'library' access when it gives us the ability to get lesson plan ideas, video for lessons, live-event coverage and generally is like a never ending encyclopedia of teaching/learning materials. 
As is the case with most institutions in the world, schools face budgetary constraints, and that comes into play as far as paying for bandwidth and how much you can get out of the Internet at school.  However, although it seems like the education system is slow in evolving, the next wave of educators or administrators will be more comfortable with technology in general and be aware of how useful an aid it can be in the classroom.  While still keeping budgets in mind, I think that embracing technology and making it more available to teachers and students, will prove to be more efficient in the long run.
Overall, I'm looking forward to following the 'Cool Cat' to see what issues are brought up next.

Target of Focus

My target of focus for this semester will be 'World Languages grades 9-12' with an emphasis on Culture.  The content standard of culture requires students to identify and gain an understanding of perspectives common within that culture, traditions, patterns of behavior and products associated with the culture being studied.
I think culture is a topic of study that lends itself to various styles of learning.  Traditions for example, can take the form of food, music, styles of dress or dance.  Using music as a more specific example, and world language lessons focusing on traditions, it would be easy to incorporate activities using music as a way to expand vocabulary outside of the traditional lists of words to memorize.  Depending on the music being used, folk, current top 40 etc... we can then use the ideas brought up by the lyrics in those songs to expand the discussion.  While some folk songs give an insight to older perspectives or beliefs shared by a particular group, incorporating some modern music might also bring to light a more current representation of what the sentiment of the younger generation is. 
I feel like introducing a topic that might be a little dry to the average student in a new and vibrant way, might result in the student taking a genuine interest in the topic.  As an auditory learner, I think activities using music to learn vocabulary and even touch on beliefs or social issues would be a welcomed change versus being sent home with pages to read.  Even if their initial point of interest was due to the method being used and not necessarily the subject matter, they might retain more because of their personal interest in the new approach.

Teddy Bears Go Blogging

The article 'Teddy Bears Go Blogging' highlighted a great use of technology in the classroom.  Using the Internet and more specifically, blogging, is a way to introduce technology to young students.  Technology changes so frequently and rapidly,  it is important for young learners to become comfortable with that type of learning environment from the beginning, since it will become a main point of focus in their education as well as in most of their professional careers. The 'Teddy Bear' example was a highly interactive way to teach some aspects of technology while making it fun for the students.  Along with the initial steps of setting up the blog, signing-in, passwords, posting etc... the issue of Internet safety ties in easily to those lessons as well, and since this article referenced 2nd graders, the safety issue was very important.  The ability to use text, pictures, and audio recorded messages as posts, opens this activity to a wide range of students with different abilities, which makes this activity even more useful.  I liked the fact that the students were so engaged in this activity that they kept it going after the school year was finished, how often does that happen?  I also was impressed on how the parents and relatives became involved with the blog, not only giving the students more practice at the lesson, but also providing some extra interaction at home.
The other point I really found useful in this activity was that it was an exchange with a different country.  Just being able to communicate with peers from other countries can help increase children's awareness that there is more out there than what they see everyday at home.  Along these lines, I feel like this blog activity can be changed and structured to be used in various classroom scenarios or lessons: language learning, cultural lessons, geographical lessons, ESL, etc...
Technology plays a major role in our everyday lives.  The children beginning school today should be exposed to educational technology as soon as possible so they can make it work for them and not feel the need to throw their laptop out of a 3rd floor window...like I feel quite often...