Dreamlandia

2006-07-11T14:35:00.000-05:00

Hello from Mexico! Viva Mexico! Viva Dreamlandia!

2006-06-04T20:24:00.000-05:00

viva dreamlandia

2006-05-30T21:24:00.000-05:00

2006-05-30T13:01:00.000-05:00

hello! Genevieve is the cutest. (don't tell the doof I said so).

2006-05-25T17:31:00.000-05:00

The hottest spot in Gardens is now the Bristol Club. Daddy Bob serves up the Appletinis like a pro.

Shake it.

2006-05-16T19:20:00.000-05:00

On the wall at the rock and roll coin laundry is my brother's bar mitzvah photo and the JFK print that hung in dad's old office "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."

2006-05-16T13:34:00.000-05:00

Tres de mis cosas favoritas: mi monstercito, mi nueva cartera de blue fizz y una botella de agua.

2006-05-14T18:53:00.000-05:00

Happy Mothers Day 2006!

2006-05-13T15:35:00.000-05:00

For Mother's Day we gave mom (you too Harry!) Maya Angelou poems and Mr. Mom (thats dad--who we didn't want to feel left out) the book Blue Dog Man. Strangely prophetic, George Rodrigue's Blue Dog Man was written years before Katrina. "Deep in Blue Dog's eyes will always lurk the hopes and longings of its melancholy people, but, like the Cajuns, who always trained their eyes on the future Blue Dog must move forward."

2006-05-11T14:30:00.000-05:00

we went to Jupiter beach today. me and dad went in the water while mom gabbed on the phone. afterwords I was beat, so dufus and I relaxed in the easy chair.

2006-05-08T20:24:00.002-05:00

2006-05-08T20:24:00.001-05:00

2006-05-08T20:24:00.000-05:00

Graduation! Graduates: Li'l Mons, Big Mons and Melissa

Tobes

2006-05-08T20:04:00.001-05:00

2006-05-08T20:04:00.000-05:00

Last week was a big week because the Sapo game came into my life. The game is drink beer and throw gold coins at the sapo.

2006-05-04T10:07:00.000-05:00

Hot on the case, Duf's sharp nose takes me to Joy and Alberto's front door. Case closed.

2006-05-04T09:59:00.000-05:00

The lovely Miss TIFLE herself. Class is over, but the blog will live on! Tomorrow is graduation but I'm not walking because those caps and gowns are soooooooo unflattering.
CONGRATULATIONS to everyone graduating. You did it! You've made me and the Duf proud.

2006-04-29T12:09:00.000-05:00

With Harry in Iraq, my parents in Italy and Alfredo in Venezuela, Little Debbie Webbie and Rufus Dufus are left alone to head up the Homeland Security.
"Brother, we will make you proud!"
We are planning a Major (pun intended!) birthday bash for baby Genevieve's 1st year (YEAH!!) and Grandma Nettie's 94th (YEAH!! although, hasn't it been her 94th a few years in a row?) and of course, my littlest monster Rufudufu will be turning 2 (Oh no the Terrible Twos! What am I going to do?) rrrrrraaaaargh. WOW. This year the line up is MUCHO CALIENTE. For the first time ever, the Herrick All Star's will meet the Southeastern Haute Couture ladies. Nobody knows what to expect... Stay tuned.

2006-04-13T19:26:00.000-05:00

Technology Teaching Philosophy
I find the spirit of my teaching philosophy echoed in the following words borrowed from scholar bell hooks: “To educate as the practice of freedom is a way of teaching that anyone can learn. That learning process comes easiest to those of us who teach who also believe that there is an aspect of our vocation that is sacred.” I teach because the longest most consistent joys of my life have been my family and my studies. I intend to devote my life to teaching others the skill, freedom and honor of clear, crisp, brilliant thoughts. As a Spanish language and culture teacher, I have the particular privilege of teaching students to not just think about, but actually think in an overtly foreign and challenging subject.

Today’s teachers have more resources than ever. In my classroom, I blend traditional methods (textbook, workbook, aural lab, discussion, etc.) with new technology, like Power Point, email, blogs, and internet groups. For example, in a lesson for beginning Spanish students, we set as our objective practicing “ser” and “estar” (to be) in terms of geography and culture for different Spanish speaking countries. The lesson began in the classroom with a Power Point I prepared that explained the different uses of “ser” and “estar.” A “culture” article from the textbook and a brief discussion in small groups followed. I then showed a Power Point example of a description of Peru. Students asked me questions and enthusiasm rose as each student selected the country they would present the following day. In order to do the assignment students would need to do research on the Internet and prepare a short write up (in Spanish) with a picture. As you can see, throughout the entire lesson, technology played a key role while not undermining the value of traditional methods. The lesson was concluded with a variation of the traditional “show and tell.” While Power Point and Spanish Internet research is a great tool and complement, in my classroom, face to face communication and discussion are equally important.

In the future, I hope to expand the role of technology in my classroom. Currently, I have a Yahoo group and email for sharing notes and communicating outside of class. These tools are used in a fairly limited fashion where I as the teacher communicate with students and students communicate with each other minimally. An excellent future project that is being successfully implemented in other classrooms is the use of student blogs. With a personal blog, students have the opportunity to develop their personal identity and creative expression in Spanish. Also, a discussion board, chat room or Wiki have enormous potential for creating community and interaction amongst Spanish language learners. As a teacher, I have yet to lead my students in projects incorporating blogs, Wikis or discussion boards. However, as a student I can attest to their benefits and charm.

These new technologies have the potential to increase student autonomy and sense of education ownership, two qualities that I work hard to instill in my students because their value extends beyond Spanish proficiency to lifelong learning habits. The challenge I find in incorporating technology that will be worked on outside of the classroom is how I will inspire students to participate not just because of grades but also because they want to practice Spanish in different mediums, such as writing and chatting. This of course, is an essential challenge of higher learning across disciplines, how to create great students and thinkers; as I stated earlier and as an apt conclusion, as a teacher it is my goal to share with my students that somehow “sacred” aspect of education.

2006-04-13T13:40:00.000-05:00

Santa Barbara onirica

2006-04-13T13:23:00.000-05:00

Los Angeles!

2006-04-13T13:14:00.000-05:00

I think I may wait for the super duper easy wiki technology before I take the plunge... but when I do I'd like to create a project similar to the New York/Spain Cultura Project. I know that's not a wiki but something similar could be done on a wiki. What I liked was the salience of diverse voices in a cohesive form. I'd have my students answer questions about culture and contribute to an exchange, ideally with students from a Spanish speaking country. Questions were answered based on personal experience; I think this kind of maintenance of individuality is what fosters the community spirit in the Cultura Project, and what I'd like to encourage in my classroom. If interested, here is a link to more of my ideas about wikis on the discussion board

2006-04-02T00:04:00.000-05:00

Saturday night, studying for the Comps... Like Neruda pealing an onion, Kate caught in thought while eating a piece of cheese.

2006-03-30T18:31:00.000-05:00

We are subleasing our house furnished/unfurnished for the summer with the possiblity for a long term lease if interested. We're one minute from campus, two big bedrooms and a huge livingroom, wood floors, lots of windows, backyard/garden, garage, pets ok, the nicest place I've ever rented... If you want it, let me know. Its gonna go fast, its a hot one!

2006-03-29T19:48:00.000-05:00

Mooooo. In response to my mooving experience mooing: I'm not a hooge fan. I wasn't in English or Spanish. On the other hand, it is good practise of the Imperative Mood and specific vocabulary. If I were a Programmer, the Moo could be used for specific vocabulary, as in objects. If I programmed the moo scenario to correspond with the course material, we could have a winning sitooation. On the otherhand, free exploring was less interesting than the scavenger hoont. The scavenger hunt kept me focused and goal oriented. So, it appears once again that lots of planning, structure and a good task based project is the key. There's just no easy way out. Also, its worth mentioning the novelty of the non-conventional avenue for foreign language exposure. All foreign language exposoore is great, and some stoodents may find that the EsMoo is their ticket to Espanol success.

2006-03-29T19:25:00.000-05:00

Preguntas de comida
Hola chicos! Aqui tienes preguntas de mi amiga Stephanie. Ella quiere saber de tus costumbres digestivas! Por favor escuchalas y contestalas, primero en voz alta y despues escriba una respuesta a cada una en fraces completas. Esta tarea es para entregar el viernes.

2006-03-22T10:00:00.000-05:00

2006-03-21T23:20:00.000-05:00

2006-03-21T19:24:00.000-05:00

Rational: Project “Mi blog tu blog”

The project: Over the course of one semester students are required to maintain a personal blog using www.blogger.com. Students are given a specific question each week and required to post their response. The questions derive from the in-class lessons, specifically chapters 8-14 of Puntos de partida. Students are also required to post one comment each week on another student’s blog—these comments are free response.

The main goal of project “Mi blog tu log” is to guide students in creative expression in the target language: Spanish. While students will inevitably practice grammatical points, the goal is rooted in an Interactionist approach. The activity is intended to encourage students to communicate creatively in Spanish, expressing personal views and negotiating meaning with others. The novelty of a blog, in which students can control content and appearance, hopefully will stimulate personal interest and encourage students to use the foreign language creatively. Furthermore, the project will promote student autonomy, out of classroom Spanish language community and practicing required grammar and vocabulary.

Project “Mi blog” is designed for advanced beginner Spanish language learners, specifically the second course of a two semester introductory level, usually known as Spanish II, ll31 or 1116. Basic understanding of the present tense is assumed at the start of the project. Grammar and vocabulary is from Puntos de partida, directly corresponding with chapters 8-14; however, streamlined vocabulary is emphasized, so as to make the project acceptable for non-Puntos de partida classrooms.

At the beginning of the semester students are asked to start a blog using www.blogger.com. In the first post students are asked to describe themselves (where they are from, what they study, interests...). After the initial post, students each week will post a response to a question provided by the instructor. While the instructor’s question is specific, the students’ answers should vary. For example, a possible question for Chapter 11 is: ¿Sufres muchas presiones este semestre? ¿Por qué sí? o ¿por qué no? Based on their experiences, students will answer differently. For example: Sí, porque trabajo mucho en las noches y asisto la Universidad en el día. No, no sufro presiones porque mi única clase es Español. Because students are encouraged to answer honestly, students will practice communicating their ideas and expressing themselves in a way similar to “real life” conversation.

While a large part of the project is students maintaining their personal blogs, one post per week is required as a response or comment to another classmate’s blog. This response is free and open (within decency) and any length is permissible as long as the comment in some way demonstrates that the student read and understood the original post. This aspect of the project will transform the blog monologues into blog dialogues and promote community, comprehension and communication. In this way, the project reinforces an Interactionist approach; asynchronous CMC is used to negotiate meaning in the foreign language.

Students will be evaluated using a rubric: 40% weekly personal blog posts participation, 20% weekly classmate blog comment participation, 30% quality of weekly posts, development and expression of ideas, 10% overall fulfillment of project objectives.

2006-03-01T16:01:00.000-05:00

Hello, I haven't advanced incredibly in my final TIFLE project research. I still can't decide if I should offer students extra credit (totally against the rules) to participate in my FL blog making experiment or if I should just hypothesive about how great it will be. I know the first step is seeing if students would even be interested. I can do that any time in class just as an informal survey. Would a more formal survey of interest be valuable to my study? I don't know. I did start a really cool Yahoogroup for my SPN 1131 students. I was surprised that out of 25 students only 5 have joined. I think closer to the next exam more will want access to my really cool powerpoints.

2006-02-23T08:07:00.000-05:00

The Rufadoof stretching as he pulls himself out of bed after sleaping in (again!).

2006-02-23T07:51:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, we went to St. Augustine. In the photo of us, you can really see how much bigger Alfredo's head is than mine.

2006-02-15T19:32:00.000-05:00

2006-02-14T17:14:00.000-05:00

this morning, a happy Valentines for the monstercitos

2006-02-13T21:48:00.000-05:00

Because I've really enjoyed maintaining a blog, I’m thinking that I’ll research how blogs may increase student confidence in their foreign language. Blogs are an opportunity for students to express themselves in the foreign language. As a teacher, I love when students think creatively in Spanish because it reflects flexibility, sense of humor and personality--all traits that are important when a student tries to communicate with native speakers. I hope the research will help me learn how to lead a blog project in the classroom.

2006-02-12T00:24:00.000-05:00

2006-02-11T23:50:00.000-05:00

visiting my family

2006-02-09T20:50:00.000-05:00

gainesville in Spring looks like Fall

2006-02-09T20:49:00.000-05:00

2006-02-09T20:45:00.001-05:00

2006-02-09T20:45:00.000-05:00

2006-02-09T20:43:00.000-05:00

2006-02-09T20:40:00.000-05:00

2006-02-09T13:27:00.000-05:00

2006-02-08T13:19:00.000-05:00

Hello! Here I am a tiny tiny tifler to be, a beach bum and a tifler at heart.
I'm really excited about the possibilities for technology in the classroom. I'd like to assign foreign language blogs, email correspondences and of course the much spoken of IM Chat! Actually, inspired by tifle, I started an email correspondence with one of my- kind of shy- students. Its great. He writes me about regular stuff, like what he did on Saturday or an exam he has on his mind. I think (hope) that the medium is helping him build confidence and think creatively in Spanish. I can see first hand that epals is a great tool and I look foward to organizing partnerships for more students. All in all, I think its true what they say- once you go tifle, there's no going back.

2006-02-03T14:01:00.000-05:00

he has my eyes...

2006-02-03T13:57:00.000-05:00

i like to puff up rufi's hair

2006-02-03T13:55:00.000-05:00

little rufi nesting...

2006-02-01T11:32:00.000-05:00

my little tiny tiny mons, the littlest mons of all...

2006-01-29T16:28:00.000-05:00

me and mi mons

2006-01-29T16:19:00.000-05:00

beautiful saint augustine...

2006-01-29T16:16:00.000-05:00

winter in gainesville

2006-01-29T16:07:00.000-05:00

this is my lovely niece Genevieve

2006-01-29T16:01:00.000-05:00

2006-01-26T11:20:00.000-05:00

2006-01-25T17:48:00.000-05:00

dreamlandia, buena suerte!!