Get outside- good weather= fun and learning outside
Ideas here: Simple dreams in educationDepartment Meeting May 17th
Lower School Room 130-
3:30-4:30
Goodbyes, Birthdays, Subbie awards and
Goodbyes, Birthdays, Subbie awards and
Abroad Program Possible Vendors: YFU and Jumpstreet
PLEASE READ OVER- Potomac Abroad Programs Mission (draft)
PLEASE READ OVER- Potomac Abroad Programs Mission (draft)
World Language Department Award
This year the department award goes to Aylar Banafshe!
Congrats to all! AP exams are over!
Governor's School
Congrats to Ben Lasota who will be attending the Latin school this summer.
Upcoming June Training on the Supersite (Vista Higher Learning)
Monday, June 13th
Location TBA
All Spanish and French teachers (Latin and Chinese can come for fun but are able to use the time to update your Atlas Rubicon and review your units to update, change and look to order any resources or materials.)
This is the first of three trainings. The next trainings will be in August and October.
One question to ask is how useful something like the practice partner app may be. Take a look below:
8th grade Genius Project to help Spanish teachers with tech
Malachy Dwyer, Dillon Weinburg submitted a website in Spanish about games that teachers can use in their classes. Click to take a look.
Summer Language Work Options for Students
No one wants to do homework over the summer but our students do need to keep up with their language skills so they are not so rusty in the fall. Some ways that other teachers have worked through this issue is by offering activities that are independent and motivating.
Once "old-school" non-tech idea is just having our students keep a journal of their summer experiences. We can collect the journal in the fall and capitalize on the error analysis as a place to begin.
Other teachers have used some tech type options. Here are some:
Duolingo: is a free language-learning platform that includes a language-learning website and app, as well as a digital language proficiency assessment exam. Duolingo is ad-free and offers all its language courses free of charge. As of April 2016, the language-learning website and app offer 59 different language courses across 23 languages; with 23 additional courses in development. The app is available on iOS, Android and Windows 8 and 10 platforms with over 120 million registered users across the world.
Blogs we curate: HERE is a sample blog from last summer with some video clips and questions. Some of the video clips we can use can be films. CLICK onthe link to see Summer Learning through film by Edutopia.
Online Courses:Students can continue watching Destinos in Spanish or they can use BBC Languages for an interactive course.
Native Speaker Conversation Apps: Here are a few. I've not used any but it would be interesting to see which ones we could even carry into our classes in the fall.
Hellotalk
Talkabroad
Wespeke
Online Courses:Students can continue watching Destinos in Spanish or they can use BBC Languages for an interactive course.
Native Speaker Conversation Apps: Here are a few. I've not used any but it would be interesting to see which ones we could even carry into our classes in the fall.
Hellotalk
Talkabroad
Wespeke
Research
Research
Teachers Report: OER In; Textbooks Out
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By Dian Schaffhauser
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03/09/16
More teachers said that technology has changed how they approach time management (93 percent) than how they approach instructional delivery (88 percent). It has also transformed how they handle parent communication. A solid 7 in 10 reported that they now use tech to do that. On the instructional front, most teachers apply tech to classroom lecture time (84 percent) and differentiated instruction (74 percent).
Those results came out of a survey of nearly 1,000 American teachers who were contacted in January and February 2016 by TES Global, a company with a teacher community and marketplace. The findings were shared during a panel at SXSWedu taking place this week in Austin, TX.
The survey found that most teachers have enough computers and tablets in the classroom. Just under 3 in 10 respondents (27 percent) said they lacked a sufficient number of those devices. At the same time 4 in 10 (37 percent) noted that they'd still like more of those in their rooms. The next most popular wish list item would be the addition of game-based technology, cited by 25 percent of teachers.
This year far fewer teachers lack the Internet connectivity they want for getting their students online (16 percent) compared to last year (35 percent).
A profusion of tech has also shifted the kinds of educational materials used in the classroom. Nearly three-quarters of respondents (73 percent) said they now use open educational resources more than textbooks.
"We are thrilled to see improvements around access to technology and high-quality open resources," said Rob Grimshaw, chief executive officer of TES Global, who shared the survey findings at the conference. "Arming teachers with the tools they need to succeed is the right way to ensure that innovative technologies can impact student performance."
About the Author
Dian Schaffhauser is a writer who covers technology and business for a number of publications. Contact her at dian@dischaffhauser.com.
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 03/09/16
More teachers said that technology has changed how they approach time management (93 percent) than how they approach instructional delivery (88 percent). It has also transformed how they handle parent communication. A solid 7 in 10 reported that they now use tech to do that. On the instructional front, most teachers apply tech to classroom lecture time (84 percent) and differentiated instruction (74 percent).
Those results came out of a survey of nearly 1,000 American teachers who were contacted in January and February 2016 by TES Global, a company with a teacher community and marketplace. The findings were shared during a panel at SXSWedu taking place this week in Austin, TX.
The survey found that most teachers have enough computers and tablets in the classroom. Just under 3 in 10 respondents (27 percent) said they lacked a sufficient number of those devices. At the same time 4 in 10 (37 percent) noted that they'd still like more of those in their rooms. The next most popular wish list item would be the addition of game-based technology, cited by 25 percent of teachers.
This year far fewer teachers lack the Internet connectivity they want for getting their students online (16 percent) compared to last year (35 percent).
A profusion of tech has also shifted the kinds of educational materials used in the classroom. Nearly three-quarters of respondents (73 percent) said they now use open educational resources more than textbooks.
"We are thrilled to see improvements around access to technology and high-quality open resources," said Rob Grimshaw, chief executive officer of TES Global, who shared the survey findings at the conference. "Arming teachers with the tools they need to succeed is the right way to ensure that innovative technologies can impact student performance."
About the Author
Dian Schaffhauser is a writer who covers technology and business for a number of publications. Contact her at dian@dischaffhauser.com.
Shared Space- WL Office
A couple teachers tend to leave a student in the language office alone with a quiz or test (they drop the student off and then leave the office). The office is a space for us to use for more private work (printing tests, grading, storing materials and documents, make phone calls), but I also realize we don't always have the tutorial to use for testing. How should we handle students left alone? Are sensitive materials left out?
Put your ideas in the comments!
Put your ideas in the comments!
In the News
FESTIVUS MAXIMUS
Over Spring Break, 23 eighth grade Latin students stepped back in time during a trip to Italy to explore the wonderful attractions of Pompeii, Rome, Sorrento, and Tivoli. Students enjoyed seeing the country's many sites and immersing themselves in Italian culture!
LE VOYAGE EN FRANCE
During their Spring Break trip, IS students didn't just explore the geography, history, and culture of France; they lived it. Over the first half of the eight-day trip, students visited the cities of Nice, Monaco, Nîmes, and Avignon, where they danced on the famous medieval bridge Pont d'Avignon.
A TASTE OF LANGUAGE
On the last two Fridays, the Intermediate School has hosted 6th graders in its foreign language classes. By experiencing lessons in Chinese, French, Latin, and Spanish, the younger students have been able to get a sense of what language classes are like in the IS.
STUDENTS EXCEL ON NATIONAL FRENCH EXAM
Upper School French students earned top honors for their performance on the Le Grand Concours National French Exam, which was taken this winter by more than 85,000 students nationwide. Of the 51 Potomac students who sat for the test, 38 earned either a gold or a silver medal (scoring in the top 15% or higher nationally), while the other students' scores merited a bronze medal or honorable mention.
IIE Awards $50,000 to Teachers to Globalize K-12 Classrooms
1,000 Teachers Join Generation Study Abroad, Pledging to Motivate their Students to Study Abroad
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Submission Deadline: June 15, 2016 | Learn More
IIE is pleased to announce, in partnership with The New York Times in Education, the 2016 Generation Study Abroad Voices Video Challenge. By hearing and seeing study abroad alumni articulate the value of their study abroad experience, we hope to inspire Generation Z and others to seek out an international experience as part of their college education. Study abroad returnees are encouraged to submit digital story submissions between 0:30seconds and 2 minutes long that demonstrate how study abroad gave them an edge, the impact it had on their personal or professional life and the world, and how The New York Times content helped them navigate, enhance or make sense of their experience. Winners will receive a $1,000 cash prize, an iPad, a trip to the IIE Summit on Generation Study Abroad in Washington D.C., and a video spotlight on The New York Times in Education website. Winners will also be recognized as a Generation Study Abroad Voice.
Check out last year’s winners Alejandro Alba and Christine O’Dea on IIE’s Generation Study Abroad YouTube channel.
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