A Friday in
Spain

A Telecollaboration Lesson
for third year
Spanish Language
Students

Designed by Matt Moore

matt@mattmoore.net

Introduction

Because students in their third year of Spanish language study have a strong grasp of grammar and a broad base of vocabulary, they are ready for advanced authentic communication activities such as email correspondence, on-line foreign language chats, and live videoconferencing. This telecollaborative lesson, which was developed at San Diego State University for EDTEC 570, Advanced Teaching with Technology, follows the telecollaborative principles outlined in that class.

In this lesson, students are going to communicate directly with native Spanish speaking
students in Spain. The end goal is to describe a student's adventures on a particular Friday. Friday was chosen because it not only gives students the opportunity to share moments within a school setting but also interesting moments after school. Students will be assigned a pen pal with whom they will communicate via email, live on-line chat sessions, and video conferencing. Students will also need a digital camera in order to take pictures of five unique occurrences that they wish to describe to their foreign counterpart.

Learners

This lesson is intended for third year Spanish language students at the high school level. These students will correspond with social studies students at the high school level in Spain. Local students should have a solid understanding of Spanish grammar and Spanish vocabulary because they will communicate in Spanish only. The learners also need to be comfortable making educated guesses based upon contextual clues. As for technological skills, students should have access to the Internet from home and school, an email account, access to a digital camera, and access to videoconferencing equipment.

Curriculum Standards

Foreign Language Standards Addressed :

• Students engage in conversations, provide and obtain information, express feelings and emotions, and exchange opinions
• Students understand and interpret written and spoken language on a variety of topics
• Students present information, concepts, and ideas to an audience of listeners or readers on a variety of topics.
• Students acquire information and recognize the distinctive viewpoints that are only available through the foreign language and its cultures
• Students use the language both within and beyond the school setting

Technology Standards Addressed :

• Students use productivity tools to collaborate in constructing technology-enhanced models, prepare publications, and produce other creative works.
• Students use telecommunications to collaborate, publish, and interact with peers, experts, and other audiences.

By immersing in the Spanish language with students from Spain, local students will learn to troubleshoot communication problems while improving their language skills. By using a variety of motivational communication techniques students will interpret and understand real situations so that they can produce meaning for the rest of the class. Upon completion of the initial pen pal correspondence, local students will then collaborate to create one DVD project that describes that particular Friday. This project will attempt to describe that particular day in Spain based upon the findings and data gathered in the initial exchange. The final group project will be a unique narrative that gives a global definition of what happened on that day in Spain.

Partners

The high school Spanish language classrooms in San Diego will participate with high school Social Studies classrooms in Spain. In order to partner with a school in Spain the local school teacher can set up an identity on EPALS that describes the intended project in the teacher’s searchable profile. The teacher can also search for participating classrooms or projects by using tools through EPALS. Similar web sites that promote telecollaborative partners are Global School House and iEarn.

Process

This lesson is based on the Global Classroom Activity Structure as described by Judi Harris. The following Action Sequences (as described by Judi Harris) will be implemented in the project. Students will prepare correspondence and exchange authentic digital photos of that particular Friday. Students will communicate via email, online chatting, and teleconferencing. Students will also creatively collaborate to co-construct a DVD project after accumulating their research. The collaborate effort between pen pals is what forces the students to communicate in the target language, Spanish. The creative DVD project is what forces students to critically synthesize all the data and then construct a meaningful interpretation of that particular day in Spain.

Other Suggestions / Pitfalls Anticipated:

The lessons are taught one period a day for at least three weeks, and the lessons do not need to occur one after the other. It is recommended that the lessons occur with several meetings in between so that correspondence between the two pen pals can have adequate time to flourish and so that the teacher can still cover the standards of the textbook. Students will need help on the beginning collaborations, and it is highly recommended that teachers and students create a template for the first attempt so that communication is clear on the first attempt. This is a situation where first impressions will matter in the success of the project. Also during the class communication sessions, some students will finish early or need to wait for a response. When this happens, teachers will present other textbook activities for those particular students. Finally, The success of this project depends upon the frequency and quality of communication between students; and therefore, it is highly encouraged that teachers assign most of the email correspondence, on-line chat sessions, and videoconferencing after the school day.

Teacher Skills:

In order to accomplish this lesson plan the teacher has to have adequately prepared the students with total immersion techniques so that students are accustomed to thinking in Spanish versus translating to speak and write in Spanish. The teacher should also have advanced skills in using the technology so that the teacher can troubleshoot technology problems and questions as they arise. The teacher should note that Spanish language settings can be changed upon the computer to account for Spanish accent marks.

Variations

This lesson can obviously be used with any foreign country using any foreign language as the basis for discussion, and the selection of technologies can be limited to email, a digital camera, and on-line chats if video equipment can not be located or purchased.

Resources Needed

The following is a list of what is needed to implement this lesson:

• Digital Cameras
• E-mail accounts for all students
• Access to online chat rooms
• Videoconferencing equipment
• DVD burners

In addition to these resources, it is possible that the teacher may need a technology resource teacher to help out with the videoconferencing equipment and the DVD burner.

Evaluation

This project can be evaluated in several stages. First, a rubric for the email communication can be established. When the student believes that he/she has achieved a certain set of communication goals, he/she can carbon copy an email to the teacher to be evaluated. Second, a project rubric can be created that clearly states the evaluation goals of the narrative that describes the exchanged pictures. Finally, the "best photo" narrative can be polished and submitted for another grade which is based upon a rubric with higher standards. Note that each project should elevate in standards so that by the third project the teacher is setting very high communication goals for the student. By this point the student will know the material very well; and consequently, all grammar rules and vocabulary questions should have been addressed.

Credits & References

Original Inspiration :

Cohen, David and Smolan, Rick. A Day in the Life Of Spain, 1998. Harpercollins.

Thanks to :

Frank Watkins, my teaching mentor from The McCallie School in Chattanooga, TN : He has always inspired me to create and use foreign language immersion techniques.

Sally Miller, Technology Director at Westridge School in Pasadena, CA: She has inspired me to integrate technology into the curriculum as a lifelong goal.

Bernie Dodge, San Diego State Professor of Educational Technology: He has helped me envision new ways of using technology in the classroom.

"We all benefit by being generous with our work. Permission is hereby granted for other educators to copy this lesson, update or otherwise modify it, and post it elsewhere provided that the original author's name is retained along with a link back to the original URL of this lesson. On the line after the original author's name, you may add Modified by (your name) on (date). If you do modify it, please let me know and provide the new URL."