I chose to use Glogster – from that many that were presented by Alan Levine. I have previously played with some of the other tools such as prezi and toondoo, but I wanted to take the time to learn something new and learn how to use a tool that I could see my own students using. However, I do think that I could have told this particular story (a condensed version of my life) using a number of web 2.0 tools. That being said, I chose glogster because it was visually appealing (similar to a scrapbook). I use scrapbooks in my class all of the time to share with my students real-life experiences in Spanish speaking countries. And since my students often take my course because they want to be able to communicate with people when they go to Mexico or Cuba or wherever, the scrapbook concept speaks TRAVEL. Glogster turned the traditional homemade, cutting and pasting solo activity into one which is interactive and complex.
Here’s my story:
From a pedagogical perspective, glogster enabled me to create a single visual that told my story in multiple ways, which is what I teach my students to do as they are learning a second language. First, due to the ability to upload images and use the provided graphics, this tool can tell a simple story (the visual aspect). Second, it allows text to be inserted into various text boxes (a writing piece). And third, glogster has the ability to embed audio and video files (an aural component). When I have my students to tasks in class, whether it be reading, writing or speaking, I expect them to incorporate as many “tools” as possible in order to understand and to be understood.
This story works beautifully with my Spanish 12 course that I have been teaching now for 4 years. I have always had my students write a biography and tell their story (to me). They write their story, hand it in, I mark it, and give it back. End of story. Glogster allows my students to still write their story, but it adds in other language learning /proving affordances. Not only do they have the opportunity to continue to improve their writing skills, glogster affords audio and images to enhance their stories. The audio component, which is an aural production of their writing, allows them to practice their speaking production skills and improve their pronunciation and fluidity – which accounts for about 10-15% of the learning outcomes at the grade 12 level.
To broaden this assignment, I would like to have my students share their glogs with each other and provide each other with verbal and/or written peer assessment in the target language. The peer assessment could be done via the comment affordance that glogster and many other web 2.0 tools provide. This affordance also permits a record (which the students do of course have the choice to remove) of their learning. I would hope that upon peer review, they would comment back providing justification and/or modifications to their work to show their continued learning. However, I find working with some of the web 2.0 tools at my particular school site tedious and trying due to poor internet connections, lack of flash ability, and extremely slow login/boot-up time – it takes my students about 5-minutes to simply log-in to the computers before beginning any work.
Technology matters aside, with the knowledge that my school site will be brand new with all the latest equipment and faster, more reliable connections (my site is being re-built!), I believe that incorporating web 2.0 tools into our various teaching subjects is a definite step in the right direction with 21st Century Skills and the New BC Education plan on our doorstep. Glogster takes the traditional concept of scrapbooking and turns it into a modern, interactive communication tool that can be shared and even collaborated upon. I believe that it is important to realize that the tools we used before (paper, scissors and glue for example) have been reinvented and that the foundations of yesterday are still valid; they have just taken on a new shape. The learning that occurs, if not more so, is still there – it’s just modern!