Card Games on Cellphones

An important aspect of Italian culture that many do not often think of is the use of cards in Italian society. At family functions following dinner, it is common that small groups form in order to play cards. This tradition was especially evident when I was in Calabria due to the fact that not one day of  my stay went by without me playing at least one game of cards. I plan on introducing card games into the curriculum when I become and Italian teacher in order to teach my students how to engage in this crucial component of culture. Though it would be possible for me to supply cards to the class, another technological alternative includes the use of cellphones. The Apple iTunes store as well as the Android Marketplace offer applications where many card games such as scopa, briscola, sette mezzo, and others can be played. The apps can be found simply by searching the name of the game and the majority of the games can be downloaded for free. What is even more wonderful is that each application includes a tutorial to how to play the game and understanding the cards themselves. Seeing as how Italian cards are much different than American ones, students may hesitate to engage in the lesson and therefore proper instruction is essential as well as the reinforcement that can be provided through the games via cellphone. Though each region contains a slightly different set of cards, the more commonly used Neapolitan set looks like this:

A foreigner to these cards will obviously not understand that the standing man/lady represents 8, the figure on the horse represents 9, and the king represents 10. Additionally the first and third cards in this image represent 1, which may also confuse students. After making students familiar with the cards and rules in class, they may still have difficulty with playing the game and therefore the use of cellphones to play is a great way to reinforce what was learned in class at home.

I believe that a lesson like this would promote content area literacy for many reasons. For one it promotes cultural literacy because by the end of the lessons the students will be able to read the cards and mentally assign the correct value to each. Additionally, they will be able to reinforce number vocabulary as well as incorporate new vocabulary such as "le figure" (the figures), il cavallo (the horse), il re (the king), and la donna(the lady). Additionally, mathematics is incorporated into this lesson because calculations are vital to many Italian card games. Taking Scopa for example is constantly counting in order to obtain cards and at the end one must count different card categories in order to tally points (if anyone is interested in a more comprehensive explanation of the game please let me know for I would be more than delighted to provide one!). Furthermore, I would also be able to use an informal assessment while the students are playing in order to measure how they pick up on the game, how they work in groups, and how they are using Italian language and culture just to name a few. Overall,  I believe that a lesson like this one, reinforced by the playing of the game at home on a cellphone, would be a create way to promote cultural literacy while ensuring that the students are enjoying themselves.

Yabla

As a requisite for READ 411, I am required to complete a tutorial with a middle/high school student who demonstrates need and assistance with learning Italian. In order to complete this I tutor a Sophomore Italian III student at my old high school during her lunch and study periods. In between periods I usually sit in classes that my high school Italian teachers instruct and observe/assist them as needed. Today my cooperating teacher used an interesting video technology called Yabla who's aim is to completely immerse students into the Italian language and culture through video. A link to the Italian website is found here but Yabla also offers its services to many other languages including Spanish, French, Chinese, and German. 

Though my cooperating teacher pays monthly for use of this website, she says it is worth every penny! The videos on the site allow students to to submerse themselves in Italian culture and hear the vocabulary they study being used in real life situations. The site also offers a variety of documentaries that also serve for cultural instruction. Additionally, since the videos are filmed throughout all regions of Italy, the students have the opportunity to hear the many dialectal differences and accents that can be attributed to different parts of Italy. Another helpful tool is that Yabla offers removable subtitles in both the target language and English. What is even more beneficial is that if one does not understand any particular word, they can click on it in the subtitles and a dictionary with the definition of the word and all of its uses pops up in the right hand corner. Additionally, every video also comes with comprehension activities that the students complete interactively as a class.

Furthermore, my cooperating teacher has just discovered that Harvard uses this website to create classes and assign assessment activities. As a result she is currently looking into the steps that she can take to create classes for her Italian III classes so the students can benefit from Yabla at home free of charge. Overall, I was very impressed with this website and plan to use it in the future and hope that all language teachers and students can benefit from it as well.


 

Interativity 4- The Pedagogical Uses of Technology

When searching for an appropriate lesson plan I was quickly shocked by how many lesson plans exist on the web that do not include any form of technology nor coincide with standards at all. Eventually I came across a lesson plan on the Rutgers website and selected it due to the fact that it coincided with standards, integrated technology, and was well organized. A link to my analysis of the plan can be found  here.

I am pleased to announce that there were not many gaps within this lesson plan. It is quite clear that the educators who developed the plan were very knowledgeable about state curriculum standards as well as how to successfully incorporate technology into the curriculum. When I looked at the plan I was quickly able to identify which standards were met and how technology supported the lesson, and therefore the gaps that I filled in included very few neglected standards. Additionally, the PowerPoint was used to sustain the lesson and therefore, I included other visual presentation alternatives when it came time for student created presentations. I also included a couple other technologies into the mix, such as iClickers, to increase student participation with technology and supplement the lesson overall. Moreover, the majority of the lesson was student centered and therefore I added ways in which technology could include more teacher centered roles, especially regarding assessment.

Each technology provided in the lesson plan is essential to achieving curriculum goals especially since state standards require cultural knowledge. Through the use of the technologies listed one can virtually travel to Italy and learn about various aspects of culture that they would never be able to learn from a text book.  Additionally, the technologies used teach students practical skills that they will use in the future such as trip planning.

Dragon Voice Recognition

During the last holiday season I had been frantically searching for gifts for my loved ones when I came across this commercial on television. 

 After watching the commercial for a couple minutes I was completely fascinated with all that this new computer program had to offer. Reminded of the telephonic assistant on the iPhone 4s, Siri, I was amazed that a computer program was able to open programs, applications, web browsers, as well as many other computer features. Not only that, but this program also writes down dictated speech (about 160 words per minute) and follows directions to modify text (such as bold, underline, delete, etc). The commercial expresses how writing writing papers can be done with ease and how research can be done in a flash just by telling dragon what to do.

I was instantly inspired at the conclusion of the video as to how this program can be used in the classroom. Clearly it can help students with special needs by accommodating the writing process and facilitating an arduous task. Additionally, the program can be used in any classroom due to the fact that all classes require written work as well as some level of research.

Furthermore, this semester my Commercial Italian class was issued iPads to aid our learning of the Italian business world. I was astonished when one of the required applications for the iPad was Dragon due to the fact that the program that usually runs for over $100 was easily downloaded through the iTunes store for free! Upon downloading the application I set the program to Italian (as there is a large spectrum of languages offered) and began to use the program with great frequency. Dragon allows the class to write a Curriculum Vitae, cover letters, itineraries, and other documents with ease. However, I feel that the most powerful use of the application is the speaking itself. This program forces one to improve pronunciation through practice as well as trial and error. In Italian, there are many words where the modification of a single letter can change the meaning of a word completely. With this program one can practice pronunciation and ensure that they are dictating correctly. Overall, I feel that this tool is beneficial to Italian classes of any level and hope to be able to use it in the future!

Uses of Modern Technologies

   In my research I have stumbled upon this website which shows the various ways in which modern technologies can be useful for students.
  

  The article starts off by discussing the various iPhone/iPad/iPod applications that can be useful for teachers. Briefly listed they are:

• TeacherPal: a free app that helps teachers organize classes and students. It can be used to  track attendance, keep grades, and even monitor behavior.
• Evernote: I actually have experience using this application in my advanced Italian grammar class last semester. This free application allows one to take notes and also allows pictures to be inserted into the evernote document. Each document can be shared with others.
• iStudiesPro: This application serves for organizational purposes and comes in handy when teachers are to instruct on an A/B day or block schedule.[Costs $2.99]
• School and Stuff, Grades and Timestables: The most effective use of this application is the connection of the parents. Teachers are able to upload student grades and parents are then able to view them as they are updated. This allows a parent to be extremely involved with student academic progress and take appropriate action. [Costs $2.99]
• Powers of Minus Ten: specifically designed for biology instruction this application allows one to  take a close look at all of the cells that compose a human hand. Future science teachers will probably benefit the most from this application and more information can be found here.

   Additionally many Kindle applications such as the one's listed on this website can be applied to history classrooms [with the acquisition of the fifty states], science classrooms [by keeping up to date with current events from NASA and viewing photographs of past missions, and exploring various habitats]. The Kindle also offers applications that allow students to practice their art skills by painting and drawing. Additionally, I am sure that everyone is familiar with Words With Friends, the online version of Scrabble. This application helps students increase their vocabulary which is especially helpful in an English classroom. Though it can be viewed as "just a game" teachers can set tasks and "accomplishments" for the class that will ensure that students are acquiring new vocabulary and are able to use the words in sentences. The students will be learning without even realizing due to the fact that they will be having so much fun. Furthermore, one must not forget the basic value of the Kindle: books. With this device students will be able to consolidate heavy textbooks in one light and simple tablet. Additionally, the screens on the kindle resemble that of paper rather than that of a computer screen and text can be made larger/smaller thus accommodating to various student needs. Overall, I feel like I would be able to use each aspect of the Kindle in an Italian classroom to aid student learning. I would encourage the acquisition of the text book used in class via the Kindle device and use many of the applications to build vocabulary, master geography, learn about various aspects of culture, as well as many other applications.

  Moreover, social media is also discussed in the article due to the fact that studies have proven that students perform more efficiently while engaged in learning communities. As a future Italian teacher I plan to integrate social networking sites into the curriculum in order to have students practice their grammar and writing skills while doing something that they enjoy. Additionally, I feel that this type of platform will allow students to learn aspects of Italian language and culture that are not covered in the classroom such as slang and various other aspect. However this article does warn teachers of the pro's and con's to using this type of technology and ways in determining when it is appropriate and when it is not. A supplementary article provided discusses this in more detail.


   Furthermore, the article also suggests a visual organizing site called popplet, which I personally have never heard of before. Upon reading about the uses of this website I can see that students will be able to utilize it in order to organize ideas for various classes as well as organize other aspects of their lives. Additionally, teachers can find use in organizing ideas for students as well. Overall, this program allows one to use as much creativity as possible while organizing their schoolwork.

  Finally, the last educational tool discussed in the article is Pintrest. As an avid "pinner" my self I can see how this virtual bulletin board can be used in the classroom to benefit student learning. Personally, I would use this website to construct a cultural project in which students created various pinning board to represent different aspects of Italian culture. Possible boards can include "food", "clothing", "daily life", "music" and many others. As students find pictures that fit into the various categories they will be able to provide links with recipes, videos, and music clips in order to share the cultural aspects that they have discovered. As a final product each student will have an interactive collage of Italian culture that they will be able to present to the rest of the class. As a side note the site also allows following which allows the instructor and other classmates to view the contributions made to the project as they arise. Additionally, the site itself includes an "education" tab where one can post ideas to use in class, a contribution that may prove useful in the future.