Summary of Learning

So..here we are.  The end of the road.  How has my journey in ITA 575 progressed?

I decided to use Bubbl.us as a way of sharing all that I have learned in this class.  I liked the idea that it was easy to use and provided a clean looking mental map.  It was a great way to demonstrate how the knowledge in this class continued to build on itself.  You can find my map here.

I had four big takeaways from ITA 575.  (1) Internet sites, blogging, and twitter can provide great opportunities for professional development.  (2) Using apps allows teachers to increase engagement, promote creativity, and collect valuable data for formative assessment.  (3) Technology can change the nature of face to face instruction, encouraging more efficient use of those personal interactions.  (4) Technology has changed the nature of how we communicate and forward looking teachers will change their classrooms to prepare students for an increasingly technology rich future.

"TEACH" by Ben + Sam licensed under CC BY 2.0

I plan to use technology in my classroom in a few different ways.  As a future social studies educator, I would love to use the connected online world to access primary sources.  It is so much easier to get access to first hand accounts.  Second, I imagine using a lot of different cool tools to help in formative assessment.  The tools encourage creative thinking, check for understanding, and help build technology skills for students.  Also, I would cultivate the idea of a flipped classroom.  This would allow students to cover content at their speed and use face to face time to engage deeply in discussions and debates.  Finally, I plan on assigning some online writing assignments to get students used to the different rules for writing a blog post.

I have enjoyed the journey this semester and hope my classmates have as well.

Major Project - Summary of Learning

So, here we are.  At the end...what did  I learn from this major project?

To start, I did actually learn some French.  What a surprise. 👍As I was translating Complainte de la Butte, it became clear to me that I actually understand sentence structure.  I knew luna was moon and that it was a noun.  As I was translating, it became clear to me what were proper names and should be left untranslated.  However, I obviously still struggle with understanding the spoken word.  As my post on the Daffy Duck cartoon illustrates, I am only able to pick out a few phrases here and there.

However, I did learn more than just French.  I enjoyed facing challenges and then figuring out how to use technology to solve them.  I wanted to translate a song and found a tool that allowed me to embed a translation into the Youtube video of the song.  I wanted to provide side by side translations and Google documents allowed me to do that.  A project like this allows you to see how technology can provide opportunities to help solve problems.  Once you have a tool belt of online goodies, you can choose the ones that fit in a situation.

"Always the mobile" by Uitleg & tekst licensed under CC BY 2.0

I also enjoyed the more authentic learning tasks that I undertook.  Though Duolingo provided a great foundation, it is not really what I wanted.  I am not necessarily concerned about being able to be fluent in French.  However, it was a hoot to watch a Daffy Duck cartoon in French.  My Moliere project demonstrated how Wilbur's translation mimics the actual rhyme scheme of the original French.  That was something I was not aware of, but my time in translation made very clear.  Finally, to take a song that I already loved and learn about its imagery was such fun.  This is a great reminder to keep authentic assignments and assessments in the classroom.

In the end, I enjoyed this project.  I certainly know more French now that I did when I started.  However, I would consider redesigning the project, slightly.  To keep me engaged, I would have thought of a few more authentic translation assignments.  I seemed to get the most out of those types of assignments.  I also would have liked to have built a few assignments about learning French culture.  What do I know of modern France?  What do I know of its geography?  I would have loved to have baked some French bread and enjoyed French cheese and wine with it.  Hopefully, though, this is just a first step to becoming a bona fide Francophile.

"Paris" by Moyan Brenn licensed under CC BY 2.0

Vive la France!  💕

Daffy Duck en francais

So, as one of my final posts, I wanted to see how far I had come.  Has any of this French actually stuck with me?  What did I actually understand?

So, I decided to watch a short cartoon in French and see how much I could understand.  I settled on a Daffy Duck Cartoon called Yankee Doodle Daffy.

I generally followed what was going on.  It helps that it was a cartoon that is built around slapstick humor.  Porky Pig is a casting director who is trying to leave work early to go golfing.  Before he can rush out the door, Daffy Duck scoops him up and pushes him back into his office.  Daffy then spends the rest of the episode doing performances to try to convince Porky that he ought to be cast in the show.

A few interesting things that I noted.  First, I think it is worth noting that the dialogue had been dubbed into French; however the songs that Daffy sang still remained in the original English.  I wonder if there was an artistic reason for this or if it was just a cheaper way to get the cartoon quickly dubbed.  I struggled immensely with actually understanding the dialogue in this cartoon.  So, I decided that it might help to turn on the closed captioning.  However, I quickly found that the captions did not actually match the dialogue.  I suspect that the program is a sort of 'you talk; it types.'  Therefore, in the middle of French sentences, you would see 'Michael Jackson' or some other non-sequitur.

Overall, I had a lot of problems trying to translate and actually make sense of the dialogue.  I think it is the combination of the speed at which the actors speak, the accents that the actors put on (Daffy Duck still has his signature speech impediment), and my command of French.  I did pick out a few phrase here and there.  Daffy Duck keeps saying that he is going to give Porky Pig an opportunity.  Daffy Duck also talks about the great celebration of Thanksgiving.  Finally, he talks about what is owed to the great story of American history.

"John Gannam - He Was Our Yankee Doodle" by Susi Pator licensed under CC BY 2.0

In the end, I fear that I was too ambitious.  50 hours is really not that long of a time to gain my expected amount of fluency in French.  However, some progress is better than none.

J'adore cette chanson

One of the reasons I undertook this project was because I enjoy many songs in French but have no idea what they mean.  I figured taking some language lessons would help enlighten.

Who would I select to explore their lyrics?  Edith Piaf?  Eartha Kitt?  Jacques Brel?

After much consideration, I decided to take one of my favorites Complainte de la Butte and translate it into English.  I wanted to sing it, but decided to save you the joy of my singing voice.  Besides, who could top the joyous sound of Rufus Wainwright?  Without further ado, enjoy my translation.

 "Moulin Rouge" by Gabriel Villena licensed under CC BY 2.0

J'aime Moliere

So I know that most of this blog has focused on my love of Shakespeare.  But...there are other playwrights who hold equal weight in my esteem....Tony Kushner....Tennessee Williams...Edward Albee....Sarah Ruhl...

But, all of these of Anglophones.  But, no list could be complete without my favorite Francophone writer - Moliere.

I decided to take a look at another speech from one of my favorites of his plays - The Misanthrope.

This is spoken by Alceste.  I am comparing a translation I have prepared to one of the most famous translations done in rhyming couplets by Richard Wilbur.

Here are the results.

"Moliere" by leesean licensed under CC BY 2.0

Je nais se quois

Hello, dear readers.

In my study of French, I also wanted to be aware of certain common French phrases.  Things that are not likely to appear on a vocabulary list.  So, I did a bit of research and pulled together this Prezi as a way to show what I learned.

Happy readings!

"French flag" by Francois Schnell licensed under CC BY 2.0

Though this be madness, yet there is method in't.

The educational world that we inhabit right now can often seem overwhelming.  Technology is such a large part of our students' world.  This video shows so well as that students set up tablets as easily as they might wash their hands or brush their teeth.  In addition to the rise in technology, more is being expected of teachers and schools.  Accountability is the law of the land and teachers need to work to get students motivated and taught or may find themselves out of a job.  However, the method of technological tools can be a help for teachers.

There are many tools out there for helping teachers to increase their productivity.  This article suggests a few including Rescuetime.  The focus here is on helping teachers do everything that they need to do more efficiently.  Another article focuses on tools that help teachers deliver content better in a technology rich environment.  Teachers can use tools such as Audioboom or Screenr.

"Tech" by Mitah Val Karem licensed under CC BY 2.0

As a future social studies educator, I can see myself using these productivity tools tools in my classroom.  As I began my master's program here at the University of Akron, I purchased a Chromebook.  Previously, I had spent double or triple the amount of money on laptops buying Dells or other comparable brands.  I wanted to try out the more economical Chromebooks and had to learn Google Documents and other Google solutions.  I have fallen in love with Google documents and could easily see using this in my classroom.  I love how easy collaboration is with the Google suite of products.  Users with the right link can get in the document and make immediate changes.  I would value being able to use this to answer questions collectively.  I love the idea of using a Google Slide as a Graffiti Wall where students could go in and write on top of a quote or a picture.  Then, the whole class could see the wall.  I also would like to start using Google Docs as a way to have students submit papers and then provide feedback.

"Graffiti" by Automatomato licensed under CC BY 2.0

I also plan to use technology as a way to keep students and parents aware of what is happening in our classroom.  I have already seen in my PLN several teachers who use their Twitter as a way of keeping families informed of what is happening in class.  I could see using the Twitter account I set up for this class as a way of sharing pictures and media of what is happening in class.  If I needed some help, I could use Remind 101  as a way to send text messages.  This would be especially helpful for reminding families about due dates of big projects and when big exams are happening.  Text messages are direct and a great way of sharing very important information.

I can also see using a tool such as Poll Daddy both for formative assessment in the classroom as well as a productivity tool.  This is a great way to give students a practice quiz in preparation for an exam as well as a way to let students share their thoughts.  Both of these are great formative assessment practices.  As a productivity tool, it can be used to gather thoughts of parents on everything ranging from a date of a potential field trip to attitudes around class discipline to parents' perceptions of the classroom.

Overall, these methods can help control the madness.