My Spanish 12 teaching style is quite different. The course is not really split into units at all. The students were given a Vocabulary packet on Day 1 of the course and I will intermitenly teach 20 grammatical concepts throughout the semester. It is a very self-paced, self-guided class. The students will have the choice in how much of the vocabulary they want to learn and what grammar concepts they want to apply to said vocabulary. In my other classes, I have specific units that dictate which grammatical concepts are paired with a certian vocabulary units. For instance, my Spanish 11’s learn how to give commands (the imperative) whilst giving directions within a city. However, commands can be given in many other contexts.

Spanish 12 is mainly a BIG review + 1 (new comprehensible input – Stephen Krasen’s concept). I want the students to be able to manipulate everything that they have learned over the previous 2-3 years while adding in some new gramatical concepts and new vocabulary. I don’t want them to be told they can only use the future tense if they are talking about their future careers (the follow the textbook unit scenario). My Spanish 12 class is set up so that

1. the students get to choose how they are going to show me their learning, with the idea that they’ll be able to build upon and share it with others, via two big projects (one per term) that they propose and carry out, as well as
2. complete various tasks that I specifically assign (collaborative short story, famous person portrait, etc – for more info, go to http://css.sd33.bc.ca/sp12)

So my big question is, since the assignment says we must have

• Two (or more) complete learning modules largely based on HTML pages
• One (or more) module programmed for selective release

Do we have to set up the modules as a traditional unit? Or can I set it up the way I am actually teaching, keeping in mind that the students must learn certain grammatical points and certain new vocabulary context by certain dates – complete with ample practice and formative/summative assessment?

Well, my second and much more indepth encounter with Moodle has been enlightening and I’m actually finding it fun… and since FUN + REFLECTION = EDUCATION (a saying my UVIC EDCI 353A professor J.A. Dimm would say), I’m going to keep this posting up! Not to mention, it’s a good way for me to remember what I did, and you never know, someone might learn something from my posts as well!

So, yesterday was my attempt to make my Moodle site look pretty. So, with the guidance of a friend (Megan Buyks – recent graduate of MET), I began my splash page! I learned that the basics are:

1. make a table in a label
2. inserts pics with just a few clicks

And whalla! Now I’ll still need to make pages to go with each of my pics (DUI)… but that I know how to do, just need to get my content for them and a way I go!

My first experience with Moodle took me awhile. First, because my internet connection or something wasn’t working properly so that I couldn’t even get into it. When I was finally able to get in, I found some things did not match the intructions we were given. For instance, it doesn’t say Web Page, it just says page.

Overall, the process was not labour intensive. I do need to learn what all the different options are for each of the activities and resources and what they actually do. I still find websites such as this wordpress site to be more intuitive than Moodle is so far. I really want to change the “theme” of Moodle because I think it looks boring which does not reflect what my classroom would EVER look like. I am known for having the colourful, welcoming, “busy” classroom. So hopefully I will soon figure out how to do this.

As for a challenge, it doesn’t seem to fit my teaching style. It seems more like a stack of books placed in rows of desks. I have tables in my real classroom. I have bulletin boards that have specific/fun information. I teach grammar lessons. The students participate in listening, reading, writing, and speaking tasks based on the grammar taught and incorporate various vocabulary components. I guess I want my course page to allow the kids to choose from visual (as opposed to text) boxes… I guess I’ll jsut have to see what I can do/learn in the next month or so.