As I continue with my learning of the Spanish language, this week I will focus on Spanish adjectives. Adjectives are important in any language as they “describe a noun or a pronoun” Adjective Definition & Meaning – Merriam-Webster (the full definition can be found using this link to the Merriam-Webster dictionary).
Some examples of adjectives in English include… alive, calm, colourful, different, energetic, fragile, good, handsome, happy, hungry, nice, proud, pretty, shy, and the list goes on and on…
So, what are adjectives in Spanish and how are they different than in English?
As we have already discussed that Spanish words (nouns) have a gender (masculine or feminine), we have the essential tools to understand adjectives. In Spanish, adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun or pronoun. This means that the most common adjectives that end in “o” will look like this…
Masculine + singular = -o
Masculine + plural = -os
Feminine + singular = -a
Feminine + plural = -as
BUT, if the adjective ends in “e”, then both masculine and feminine singular will end in “-e” and plural “-es”. The same occurs for adjectives that end in “-ista”, masculine and feminine singular will end in “-ista” and plural “-istas”. A detailed description explaining this more can be found here, Spanish Adjectives – Descriptive | SpanishDict.
Now that we know the endings, what are some Spanish adjectives?
This is a list with some of the most common Spanish adjectives with the corresponding English translation:
Please watch this screen capture video of me completing the first four questions of a Spanish adjective quiz. The quiz can be found with this link, Adjectives Part I: Quiz #1 – StudySpanish.com.
This week is all about tools and technologies in education! Woohoo! This information is highly beneficial as a future educator as one must be knowledgeable about the technologies that they implement in the classroom. The tools and technologies that I will discuss are the SAMR theory of technology adoption, the SECTIONS model, sketchnotes, and infographics.
How can the SAMR theory of technology adoption help you evaluate technologies that you might consider using in your classroom?
The SAMR theory of technology adoption is important to know, especially in virtual learning environments. This theory signifies Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, Redefinition (SAMR). These different steps in the theory will either enhance or transform student understanding when implemented. The substitution step is simple as it is only the switch from in-person resources and instruction to virtual. The second step is augmentation, this involves utilizing extra digital resources (such as a blog, videos, images, etc…) to promote student understanding. Then modification allows a rethinking of virtual classroom structure as the teacher will incorporate different technologies to assist students. Lastly is redefinition which allows a complete redesign of a classroom as technology allows new lessons and activities possible. This website provides a helpful description of the SAMR theory of technology, SAMR: A Powerful Model for Understanding Good Tech Integration | Edutopia.
The SAMR theory of technology adoption will help me evaluate technologies that I will use in the classroom as the different steps increase student understanding. It is important to utilize numerous different resources as not all students will have access to the same technologies. Therefore, there is an importance on equity in the virtual classroom. I find that the SAMR theory of technology adoption must consider equity in the virtual classroom. Prior to utilizing strictly technological resources, I must understand the needs of my students and the positives/negatives of different technologies and websites. As a future educator, I will ensure that all students have the correct resources available to them to promote their learning.
How could the SECTIONS model help you select the most appropriate tool or technology to help meet your learning objectives for your class?
The SECTIONS model signifies: Students, Ease of use, Costs, Teaching functions, Interaction, Organizational issues, Networking, Security and privacy. This model will help me select the most appropriate tool or technology to meet my learning objectives for my class as these sections must all be evaluated prior to implementing technologies into the classroom. As a teacher, you must understand the learning needs and objectives of your students. From here, you must evaluate the rest of the SECTIONS model to ensure that a certain technology will enhance their learning and not diminish it. The chosen tool or technology must be easy to use, accessible, and follow proper privacy and security. Technology is an extremely useful tool to use in the classroom to help students meet their learning goals, but the teacher must evaluate this model prior to implementation.
Could sketchnoting benefit learners in the grade level you hope to teach at? If so how?
Sketchnoting is a highly beneficial learning tool that can be used for learners of any age. This is due to the usage of both images and words, which allows the brain to process the information in multiple ways. Young primary students can utilize sketchnoting through drawing without words. These drawings will be meaningful to the students as they are the ones creating the images to enhance their learning. Older students will be able to incorporate words with their drawings to create sketchnotes as well. Through sketchnoting students at any age can enhance their learning of new knowledge as this is a learning tool unique to the learner.Â
Infographics are similar to sketchnoting as they both incorporate words and images to process information. Infographics relay information in a visual manner that is easy to comprehend by simply looking at the images. This is an example of an infographic with all the important information that you need to understand their usage.
Below are some tips that older students can use for sketchnoting. It is a process that is unique to the creator as the words and images will be meaningful to them. As for younger students, teachers can give students a prompt on something to draw (without words) to reinforce their learning.
Now…here is a sample sketchnote that I created! My chosen topic was my morning routine. I followed the outlined steps above which gave me this wonderful result.
Sketchnote by Kyra TysonVoice note explaining the sketchnote that I created
Since you are now knowledgeable about different tools and technologies that can be used in the classroom, which will you incorporate into your teaching practice?
Last week my inquiry focus was on masculine and feminine words in Spanish. But, Spanish is much more complex than just that. With any language, it is important to know different verbs and how to properly conjugate them. Therefore, I will be learning the Spanish present tense (presente indicativo) with regular verbs
Nosotros vivimos en victoria (We live in Victoria)
Ella escribe los libros (She writes books)
This image below displays the regular -ar, -er, and -ir verb endings side by side. I find this image to be very helpful as it shows the trends between the different endings. They all follow a similar pattern, only the -a, -e, and -i are different.
Now that we know the regular verb endings in the present tense, what are the steps for how to conjugate a verb? The brief video provides clear steps on how to conjugate a verb. You begin with the regular verb, keep the root, remove the ending (-ar, -er, -ir), then add the conjugated ending.
Since we know understand how to translate verbs in the present tense, try a practice quiz! I find that practice quizzes are a valuable method of self assessment for checking my own understanding of a certain topic. Here is a good practice quiz that I completed Spanish Present Tense Forms Practice Quiz | SpanishDict.
This week really helped develop my inquiry process of learning Spanish. Verbs are the basis of any language. Once you deeply understand the present tense, you can begin learning more complex verb structures.
Another week…another blog! The focus this week is about digital citizenship. Digital citizenship is very important for everyone that uses the internet. Many people forget that the things that they post on the internet will stay there forever. So, my goal for this blog post is to bring awareness to your online identity and presence.
What was the most interesting thing you found when you googled yourself?
I’m sure that when you first meet someone, you google them. You’re curious about who they are, their accomplishments, what they look like, the possibilities are endless. So, why would someone not google you? It is an interesting experience googling yourself, you can learn so much.
I do not have a large digital footprint. When I simply google “Kyra Tyson” only one result of myself appears. I have made a TikTok video about a month spent in Thailand. This video encapsulates my wonderful experience in this beautiful country. I am happy to share it with others…please see below!
As an effort to try to find more results, I searched “Kyra Tyson Victoria BC” which brought up my private Facebook profile and academic and athletic scholarships from my secondary school education. Throughout my education, I have put in tremendous effort. So, I am proud to have these results appear in a google search of myself.
Being a future educator, I find that it is very beneficial to my career that I have been mindful about my digital footprint and the possibility of others googling me
Will you change your use of social media after the talk and Q&A with Jesse Miller?
Social media has become a huge aspect of people’s lives. It has both a positive and negative power in society with lots of impacts. I believe that it is important for everyone to know safe and mindful internet usage, especially as an educator.
As Jesse Miller discussed, the upper elementary students will search you up on the internet to find your social media. Therefore, it is very important to be aware of your internet presence. As a future educator, I will ensure that my social media platforms are private so that my students will not be able to access these profiles. Students should not be connected with their teacher on social media platforms. I find that this in inappropriate and unnecessary as it is private information that students do not need access to.
I currently have a positive digital identity. The talk and Q&A with Jesse Miller were helpful reminders on being mindful on the internet. My digital identity will not be available to my students as this is not information that they are granted. I am aware of my digital identity and my profiles uphold my values, which is essential as a future educator.
How can we help our learners manage their digital footprints?
As Jesse Miller suggested, we need to prepare kids for a connected world. The government of British Columbia is taking digital footprints seriously as they provide helpful resources to teachers, parents/guardians, and youth. This website discusses numerous components of online safety, Online safety – Province of British Columbia (gov.bc.ca). I find this website to be highly beneficial in helping teach learners how to manage their digital footprints.
In Jesse Miller’s talk and Q&A on Zoom, I found this quote to be very powerful…
“Part of the guidance role in the 21st Century isn’t preparing kids for a reality of the past. It is to help children make sense of their on-demand media and online experiences. Teaching and guiding how to uphold enduring values and empowering their communications expectations in the reality they live in, not the one we grew up in…”
We can help our learners manage their digital footprints by demonstrating a positive digital citizenship and the values that relate to this. Maintaining a positive digital citizenship involves “thinking before posting” as once it is posted, it stays on the internet forever. Many learners do not comprehend this and that the things they post may have negative consequences in the future. Therefore, an educator must teach students all these important aspects to properly manage their digital footprints. This website provides information on how to help students manage their presence on the internet, 12 Tips For Students To Manage Their Digital Footprints (teachthought.com). The video below is a very helpful resource to help learners manage their digital footprint as it incorporates various community members.
My goal with this blog post is to inform educators on the importance of being mindful on the internet. What you post will stay on the internet forever…including this blog!
This week to progress my inquiry on learning Spanish, I completed a Duolingo lesson. This lesson focused on the Spanish words for man, woman, boy, and girl. The gender of these words (el, la, un, una) are the basis of the Spanish language. The majority of other words are either masculine or feminine. Once you understand this then you can progress into more complex words and sentence structures. This blog explains the importance of masculine and feminine in Spanish, Masculine and Feminine Spanish: 3 Details That Are Often Overlooked | FluentU Spanish.
Below is a video of a Spanish lesson on determining if a noun is masculine or feminine. I find this video to be very useful and very explanatory.
I find all the resources that I have listed above to be very beneficial to my inquiry learning process. From here, I feel confident in moving forward to basic verb structures, such as the present. It is important to have a deep understanding of the basics of a language before processing to more complex components. For me, I have found that the masculine and feminine nouns in the Spanish language to be very straightforward as this is my third language. I am bilingual in French and English, so I find Spanish to share similar aspects with French.
I hope to keep processing my learning of Spanish as it is such a beautiful language.
This week we learned all about screencasting and utilizing technology in the classroom. Screencasting can be used to incorporate multi-media learning and teaching in the classroom. The following screencast shows learners how to find different languages on Duolingo (an application that assists in learning languages) and how to begin your learning journey.
After viewing this video and classroom learning, the following questions can be analyzed:
How does multi-media learning theory help us create more effective instructional videos and tutorials?
Multi-media learning theory is an extremely valuable approach to learning. This theory assists students in learning as they are able to analyze and engage with information in different ways. Instead of solely hearing, reading, or seeing information, multi-media learning theory utilizes various learning methods simultaneously. This theory enhances learning and understanding as students can hear and see images of the information that they are processing. Multiple senses are utilized in the multi-media learning theory. This helps us create more effective instructional videos and tutorials as we can understand the best ways to promote learning. Some examples of websites that utilize multi-media learning theory are Khan Academy | Free Online Courses, Lessons & Practice , TeacherTube Educational Videos for the Classroom and Home and YouTube. These website resources are not extensive, but this provides a helpful baseline for multi-media learning theory.
What would a Flipped Classroom teaching model look like at the grade level you’d like to teach along with some of the strengths and weaknesses of this approach for your grade level?
For grades 1-3 a Flipped Classroom teaching model is possible, but not ideal. These young learners require hands on activities to promote their learning. This is a major weakness of this approach as children would not be as engaged in this teaching model. However, a strength would be less classroom distractions as students will be engaged independently with the content. For these young grades, the teacher would need to be very creative with this model by utilizing multi-media learning theory, reading story books, and incorporating very hands-on learning for classroom time. I find that the Flipped Classroom teaching model would be most beneficial for high school and post-secondary students as opposed to primary or intermediate students.
This class proved to be very beneficial in my learning of incorporating technology in the classroom. Screencasting is very valuable to know for both in and out of the classroom. As a future teacher, I will be implementing screencasting, multi-media learning theory, and the Flipped Classroom teaching model in my classroom.
My chosen free inquiry topic is how to learn Spanish. Learning a second language is an enriching experience. It is important to know the best ways to learn a new language as languages can be very complex. When learning a new language, one must utilize their oral expression and comprehension, and written expression and comprehension skills. My experience of learning Spanish involved all these components which enhanced my comprehension and fluency.
Below is a TED Talk on how to learn a language. I would recommend watching this prior to commencing learning a new language.
There are multiple ways to learn Spanish. You can do so independently or collaboratively in a classroom environment. If you choose to learn Spanish independently, a great resource is an application called “Duolingo” (Duolingo – The world’s best way to learn a language). Duolingo will teach basic words and then progress to different conjugations and sentence structures. This application utilizes oral expression, oral comprehension, written expression, and written comprehension skills. Another suggestion on how to teach yourself Spanish is through podcasts and reading books. The book “Spanish For Dummies” (Spanish For Dummies: Wald, Susana, Kraynak, Cecie: 8601400007815: Books – Amazon.ca) can be used as a learning resource. The chosen independent way to teach yourself Spanish greatly depends on the type of learner that you are.
My personal experience learning Spanish was very hands on in a classroom environment. My Spanish teachers can from Spanish speaking countries which allowed me to hear different accents and interact with a first language speaker. Learning Spanish in a classroom environment with others allowed me to utilize conversational skills in addition to oral expression/comprehension and written expression/comprehension. Typically, Spanish teachers incorporate a textbook, videos, quizzes, presentations, discussions, and essays to develop language skills.
I find that learning a new language to be an exciting and rewarding experience. Learning a second language creates many opportunities such as travelling, friendships, and employment opportunities. It is important for an individual to choose which learning method is best suited to them. Once this is determined, Spanish can be easily learned with practice and dedication.
Over the course of the last few days, I have had the opportunity to reflect on important questions concerning education. The focus of this reflection is about change in the educational system. The following questions and responses are based on my own personal opinion as a future educator.
Do we need to reimagine education?
I believe that education is constantly evolving. As time progresses and new knowledge is discovered, education is reimagined. This change is beneficial to society as children learn what society deems important. By focusing education on important real world problems, the children of today will have developed the correct skills and competencies to improve the future. However, some individuals may view this change in education as problematic. Some individuals may view the reimagination of education as allowing too much freedom and not focusing on solely academic skills. I find that education must be centralized on social, academic, and career skills to allow children to discover their interests in the real world.
What obstacles do educators often face when they try to change pedagogy?
The definition of pedagogy is “the art, science, or profession of teaching” (Pedagogy Definition & Meaning – Merriam-Webster). Every educator has their own personal approach to pedagogy which is developed through teacher training and personal experiences. When educators try to change pedagogy, they often face some challenges. These challenges may include difficulties balancing the different learners in the classroom, losing focus of the curriculum, extensive planning time, and funding. In addition to this, changing pedagogy does have some equity issues as not all schools have the same resources to allow them to do so. Changing pedagogy is a difficult task for an educator as it requires extensive time and planning which is not abundantly found in the classroom.
What concerns and/or excites you about this approach?
This approach allows more freedom as an educator but also creates more pressure to incorporate everything from the curriculum. It is exciting to allow a teacher to create a personalized learning plan that best suits their classroom. By abandoning a strict curriculum and pedagogy that mandates all teachers to teach identically, it creates a more positive learning environment for the children. This is a wonderful change that has occurred in the British Columbia education system as teachers have the ability to teach to their students needs as long as the curriculum is being followed. The only concern that I have is ensuring that everything in the curriculum has been completed. Evidently, there are positive and negative factors associated with changing pedagogy. With all this being said, education should be centralized around the learner.
I have never written a blog before, so this experience is new (and slightly challenging). I found that the process for setting up a blog and the course material to be rather confusing, but this is not new with technology. It is important to be challenged as it is through challenging yourself that learning takes place. I am confident that with time and practice, I will become skilled in the technological aspect of education.
This blog will serve as a means of discovery for inquiry. I find that learning through inquiry to be a highly valuable experience. It is through this process that individuals are able to deepen their learning in an individualized way. I have completed one inquiry project before that focused on technology within the classroom. Therefore, I am eager to learn more about education and technology as it is becoming a staple of modern education.
I hope that you will enjoy following along on my inquiry process of education and technology. This will be beneficial in my career as a future educator as education is constantly changing.
