Gifted 2.0: An Exploration of Web 2.0 Tools & Their Place in the Gifted Classroom

With the push to integrate more technology in the classroom, many educators are starting to take notice of different tools to use with their students. As we start integrating more tools, we also introduce students to different learning environments and 21st century learning skills. Further, these tools fit perfectly into the gifted curriculum, where project-based learning, collaboration, and creativity (among other skills) are encouraged. For the next few weeks I will share several tools that I have researched and utilized in my own classroom. In addition, I will offer some project ideas in hopes of starting a dialogue of how you are using Web 2.0 or other technologies in your own classroom.

Glogster in the Foreign Language Classroom

This semester was the first time I tried Glogster. I created a poster to introduce myself to my students and their parents, and hope to post it on my school’s website. As I was playing with this tool, I didn’t realize how engrossed I became. I thought, if this is fun for me, what would my students think of it?

What I like about glogs is that they are fairly simple to use. I signed up for a free educator’s account that allowed me to create up to 100 student accounts. Each student account has a nickname, which protects the identity of the author. But most important, the teacher has control over the account and what is saved, shared, or deleted.

Glogs also allow the author to be as creative as they want. Some of the features include choosing a background for your wall, text boxes, and images. You also have the option of uploading your own images or video. If you would like more advanced features such as inserting your own drawings or uploading documents (PowerPoint presentations, Word documents), you must upgrade to a premium account.

As I was playing with the different features I brainstormed several ways to use glogs in the foreign language classroom. Here are some ideas I came up with:

Back-to-School Glogs
As a way to get to know your students, why not have them create their own glog? To make it more challenging, your students can express themselves in the target language. Another variation to this activity would be to have students create a glog on what they did over the summer. They can upload pictures of their vacation or clip art to show what they did. As a culminating activity, they can present their glogs to each other in the target language. These glogs can also be posted on your classroom blog or wiki.

Famous Figures
In preparation for Hispanic Heritage Month or as part of a cultural unit, students can also create glogs on historical figures, authors, activists, famous artists, or musicians in the target culture. This provides a creative twist to traditional posters or written reports.

Country Research Projects
Every year, I like to incorporate some sort of research project about different Spanish-speaking countries. Normally, I resort to using PowerPoint but I think glogs would be more interesting. Students can make their glogs appealing by embedding YouTube videos of the target country.

Thematic Glogs
If you’re studying a particular unit, you can have students create a glog on the vocabulary they are learning. For example, students can create glogs that illustrate fruits or food from the target culture. Students can even add recipes or YouTube videos of someone preparing the selected ingredient.

Glogs are a variation to the typical Power Point Presentation or hand-made posters. The neat thing about them is that you have the flexibility to post students’ glogs virtually to share with families and parents. I would love to hear about how you use glogs in your language classroom. Feel free to leave a comment!

A Kid's Tour of Latin Music through Google Maps

In preparation for Hispanic Heritage Month, I wanted to start with a basic geography lesson. Many of my students have limited exposure to Spanish-speaking cultures both within and outside their communities, and geography is something that is abstract because many of our students and their families do not have opportunities to travel. Therefore, I feel that is it my responsibility to expose my students to as many cultural experiences as possible. So what better way to do it than through music! I find that music is an engaging way to draw students’ attention to different places and possibly ignite a curiosity for learning about those places. Being an aficionada of Latin music, this approach was fairly easy to adapt in the teaching of cultures and geography. As a result, I created a Google Map with embedded videos that reflect both popular and folk music in the Spanish-speaking world. Each tag also shows the city where each artist or group is from. With folk music, I tagged the capital of that country. Feel free to view the link and add comments about any artists, groups, or types of music that are age-appropriate for elementary, middle, or high school students. This map is not intended to be an extensive overview but rather a glimpse of the variety of music across Spanish-speaking cultures.

Although this is a teacher-created map, you can modify my approach to be more hands on. One modification can be to have students research different styles or genres of music and then label the map with an accompanying video. This would work best with upper level classes or with upper elementary to high school students.

Finally, I want to acknowledge my Twitter experts @gret and @felissa2. I have had the wonderful experience of Skyping with these two educators and it was through our conversations that I learned about popular music in their countries.


View Tour of Latin Music in a larger map

Finding Global Partners

This past school year I had the amazing opportunity to Skype with elementary schools in Argentina and Spain. The idea of connecting with other schools had been on my mind for quite some time, however, I did not know where to start. I wondered how teachers found partners who were willing to connect with their classrooms. Then I came across Twitter which pointed me in the direction of a few global collaboration sites worth exploring. Here is what I came across:

Around the World with 80 Schools- The mastermind behind this site is Silvia Tolisano, 21st Century Learning Specialist and Globally Connected Learning Consultant. The idea is to connect with 80 schools around the world through Skype. In order to be a member you must be involved with or serve students from grades PreK-16 or adult learners. I have had the most success with this site since this is where I came across my two abroad contacts. Because it started off as a Ning and later switched to its current site, the community is rather small but quickly growing. Also, this site includes a space for blogs to document Skype experiences.

Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration (CILC)-This site has many ongoing projects created by other teachers and institutes such as NASA. Once registered, it is recommended to post a collaboration (a description of your project and possible dates) and update it. One of my favorite features from this site is that it includes a directory of its members by country. I have had success finding national partners with this site.

eLanguages-This site was developed by The British Council, which is an international organization for educational opportunities and cultural relations in the United Kingdom. Their goal is to provide a secure global online community for teachers who are looking for international partners and who want to share their projects and resources. Teachers have the option of viewing other’s projects, joining them, or creating their own project. Another neat feature is the ability to upload a wide variety of resources that include PDF files, videos, and links. Also, this site is available in 23 languages and you can search for partners or projects by country, language, or type of school (i.e. elementary school, middle school, high school, adult education). I just recently registered with this community and have found members from various Spanish-speaking countries.

Collaborations Around the Planet(CAP Space)- This site also provides many ongoing projects posted by other teachers around the globe. Although I haven’t had much luck with this site, it is definitely worth mentioning.

Some More Tips

No Cost-Creating an account is free of charge for all of these sites. Also, there is no service or participation fee for joining projects.

Profiles- After you have registered for these sites, it is best to update your profile with school name, contact information, grade(s), subject area(s), interests, and upload a picture. This makes it easier for other members to contact you. Please be advised that once you register, contact information that you include on your profile will be made public to other members.

Messages-All sites allow you to send a message to other members. Some sites also give you the option of posting your email address.

Email Notifications-Some sites(CAP Space, CILC) have email notification features that contact you directly when someone posts a new project. Others have the option of sending email notifications when you have received a new message.

Groups- You can also join groups within these sites that pertain to your specific grade level or content area (3rd grade groups, Foreign Language Group, Math teachers). These groups also help in narrowing your search. A great start would be to post a message on the group’s page (much like a status update on Facebook or Twitter) and briefly introduce yourself and what you’re interested in doing with your students.

Outlining your Project- For CILC, CAP Space, and eLanguages it is recommended you create a collaboration or description of your project. Be as specific in terms of: 1)Project Title, and 2) Project Details- the activities you want to complete, age group(s) involved, content areas to be covered, time frame(one time conference, two weeks, once a semester), and duration for each activity(50 minute class periods, 30 minutes). It is also best to list possible dates for your project and don’t forget to take into account TIME ZONES. Usually, these descriptions are sent out to members via email and posted on your profile (CILC, CAP Space) or on a separate Project Page (eLanguages), where you can update the status of your project. This section is very important in giving other members an impression of what you are planning to do.

Another effective way of finding partners is by word of mouth. Once I have established a collaboration with a school, I ask my contact person if they would be interested in connecting with my other contacts. I make sure not to share any contact information unless I have been given permission to do so. Many times, my national contacts are interested in connecting with my abroad contacts and that’s how we spread the word.

I hope this information is useful in your quest for global partners. I have listed the links to these sites under my “Global Collaboration Sites” for future reference. What other ways have you found abroad or national partners? Are you a part of a global collaboration site not mentioned in this blog post? Please share!