Exploring Spanish Language and Culture through Technology

Jackson Headley
Website Link: https://jacksonheadleyteacherwebsite.weebly.com/

Standards and Learning Objectives

Standards World Language Standards (idaho.gov)

COMM 1.1 Interact and negotiate meaning (spoken, signed, written

conversation) to share information, reactions, feelings, and opinions

COMM 2.1 Understand, interpret, and analyze what is heard, read, or

viewed on a variety of topics.

CONN 1.2 Relate information studied in other subjects to the target

language and culture.

Learning Objectives

1. By the end of the lesson, students will be able to analyze and

interpret cultural aspects of a Spanish-speaking country, as
demonstrated by creating a multimedia presentation (e.g. Google
Slides or Prezi) highlighting important landmarks, cuisine, or
festivals.
2. By the end of the lesson, students will be able to evaluate the
effectiveness of various Spanish language learning tools (e.g.
apps, websites, podcasts) in order to determine which ones are
best suited for their individual learning style.
3. By the end of the lesson, students will be able to demonstrate
proficiency in conversational Spanish through participation in a
virtual conversation exchange with native speakers. This will be
measured by using a rubric that assesses their ability to use correct
grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary.

General Introduction Spanish 4

Duration: 4 sessions (50 min each)
20+ students
Background: Inland Northwest

Learning Path Overview

ENGAGE - Grab Students’

Attention I designed the activities to start the teaching and grab students’
 attention. I motivate students’ interest in the learning topic by
providing interesting ways to engage with the content through
technology. I decided to use different websites to guide the
lesson’s activities because there is a wealth of information out
there on the internet and much of it is very interesting to
students. I activate students' prior knowledge by using
websites that are interesting and that students may have
already used before. I designed slides to further elaborate and
that contain the activities I designed.

Engage - Jackson Headley

EXPLORE - Students
Explore the Content I designed the activities so that students will be able to take
control of their own learning. They will be the ones directly
engaging in the content instead of just being lectured to. I will
be there for guidance as they are accessing the activities and
making sure they are using them safely and responsibly. I
listed out the activities in my slides as well as the rationales.

Explore Jackson Headley

EXPLAIN - Students
Explain Their Learning In the activities that I have designed, students will be able to
showcase and explain what they have learned from the content
exploration. I have provided a variety of ways for students to
explain their findings including presentations, podcasts, and
discussions. I elaborate more and the rationales in my slides
below.

Explain Jackson Headley

ELABORATE - Students
Apply Their Learning in At the end of each class (10 minutes) I will link the lesson
Real World content of each day to students’ real life experiences.

Day 1:
On this day, the students took a virtual tour of a Spanish-
speaking country using Google Earth. Then, they collaborated
with a group to create a presentation about a specific aspect of
the country that they were assigned. We will discuss as a class
how these activities can apply to real world contexts. I would
have the class consider the importance of being literate in
other cultures especially when you are learning their language.
I will explain how the activities they did and what they created
can be useful in a variety of contexts including international
travel. They can also use Google Earth in their real lives and
use it as a tool for future learning and exploration.
Day 2:
On this day, the students were introduced to popular Spanish
language learning apps. Students were able to explore these
apps. As a class we will discuss the importance of dedicated
study if they want to learn a second language as well as the
larger theme of developing daily habits to progress towards a
goal. I will have the students reflect on their experiences with
the apps and if they are something they can see themselves
using consistently.
Day 3:
On this day, the students were introduced to the Spanish
language podcast Radio Ambulante. We will have a class
discussion on the importance of staying involved in world
events and what it means to be a global citizen. This applies to
their lives because I will show them that there are many
different ways to access information about the goings on of the
world that aren’t Instagram or Snapchat. We will talk about
the importance of developing knowledge and taking
information from multiple sources and engaging with different
points of view whether they be culturally, politically, or
geographically different from theirs. I also want to go over
their podcasts that they created and show them how they are
capable of creating and being creative just like different
figures they see in the media.
Day 4:
For this final day, students engaged with a conversation
partner in Spanish. We will have a class discussion about what
they learned from the discussion. I will point out to the
students that they took a risk and put themselves out there by
engaging with someone from another culture that speaks
another language, but also show them how rewarding it can be.
Students will be engaging with people from other cultures for
the rest of their lives, so it is important that they make an
attempt to do it in the classroom. I will also have the students
reflect on what they will try differently next time they engage
with a native Spanish speaker in conversation.
EVALUATE - Assess
Students’ Learning I will be formatively assessing student progress throughout each class by
monitoring their progress such as when they complete the lesson on the
learning apps. I will also have students submit informal reflections about
what they learned at the end of each class. I also created rubrics to formally
assess student performance on the different assignments in the lesson.

401 Lesson Plan Rubrics

 Reflection Section
Part I: Reflect on your decision making process about using the technology tools in your
lesson plan.

● First, please describe what technology tool you use in each section briefly.
● Second, select three appropriate questions from the following list to help you frame your
answer.
1. What is your rationale for selecting the technology tool?
2. There are tons of resources online, what is your rationale for using the image or the
video in your lesson plan?
3. The instructor provided multiple options for each performance task, what is your
rationale for selecting the tools?
4. Where did you get the idea of using a specific technology tool?
5. Why do you think the technology tool that you picked is going to work?
6. Why do you think your design will help students’ learning?

Technology Using Decision Making Reflection

ENGAGE - Grab
Students’ Attention In this section I used a variety of technology tools. I introduced
my students to Google Earth, language learning apps (Duolingo,
Babbel, and StudySpanish), a podcast (Radio Ambulante), and a
conversation partner website (HelloTalk). My rationale for using
these tools was to get students engaged in learning Spanish
through technology. I wanted this unit to show students the
wealth of resources they can access when trying to learn any
language. I know there are tons of resources online, so I chose
the resources and tools that are the most reputable and have a
long history of being effective and free. I got the ideas for using
these tools from my own journey learning Spanish. Each of these
tools have been invaluable to my learning, so I thought that they
would facilitate learning for my students as well. I also thought
that these tools would catch the attention of my students and
make sure that they are engaged in the lessons from the get-go.

EXPLORE - Students
Explore the Content In this section I used the same tools as in the engage section. The
difference is that in this section I have the students explore these
 tools on their own. On the first day I have my students explore
an assigned Spanish-speaking country on Google Earth. On the
second day I have students download and explore a language
learning app of their choice. On the third day I have students
explore a Spanish language podcast. On the fourth day I have
students engage with a Spanish language conversation partner
using a conversation exchange app. I think that the technology I
picked will work because these tools work for millions of
independent second-language learners outside of the classroom.
There are many language learning tools online, but I chose these
tools because they have a long and proven track record of
working for Spanish language learners. These are the flagship
tools in their industry. I think my design will help student
learning because it allows for student choice. When students are
empowered to make choices about their learning, they are much
more engaged than students who have no choice.

EXPLAIN - Students
Explain Their Learning In this section I chose technological tools that allow students to
explain what they’ve learned. On the first day I have students use
presentation software (Google Slides or Prezi) to present
information about a specific Spanish-speaking country. On the
second day I have students engage in a group discussion using
either a verbal group discussion or a Jamboard. On the third day
I have students create their own podcast using voice recording
software. On the last day I have students engage in another
discussion about their conversation partner. I chose the
presentation for the first day because it is a good way for
students to be able to explain the knowledge that they’ve
attained. It also allows students to have more practice with
presentation software which they are going to have to use for the
rest of their school career and college. I have students use a
jamboard on the second day because it allows students to use
technology collaboratively. It also allows students to share their
information that they’ve gathered with each other. I have
students create their own podcasts because it allows them to
express their knowledge verbally while also using technology.
My rationale for using these resources is to have students explain
their knowledge while also incorporating technology into their
explanation.
 ELABORATE - Students
Apply Their Learning in I didn’t choose to use technology tools in this section because I
Real World feel like I inundated the earlier parts of the lesson with too much
technology. I feel like students need some part of the lesson to
decompress and step away from technology. I chose to lead a
class discussion for this section because it allows students to
verbalize their thoughts and feelings. I also can assess student
learning in this stage as well as during the evaluate stage. I know
there are many ways to have students connect their learning to
their life experiences, but I think that a guided discussion by me
will provide a different perspective from an adult with more life
experience.

EVALUATE - Assess
Students’ Learning In this section I created rubrics to assess student learning. I
created rubrics to assess the student presentations, their podcast,
and their group discussion participation. I created these rubrics
using an online rubric generator. The reason I used an online
rubric generator was to save time and also other teachers have
had much more experience with creating rubrics than I have. I
think that it is important to learn from other teachers and find
sources of knowledge and resources wherever a teacher can. I
provided multiple options for success in these rubrics just like
the instructor in this course provided multiple ways to complete
each performance task. I also wanted to make these rubrics
flexible so they could be adapted to assess student performance
if they choose a different modality of expression of their ideas. I
think this design will help student learning because the
expectations are extremely clear and achievable. This will
motivate students and allow them to complete their projects with
effort.

Part II: Reflect on what you have learned in this course. Be sure to answer the following
questions:
● First, highlight one technology tool that impresses you the most from this course, then
explain why.

One technology tool that impressed me the most from this course was the jamboard. I think that
a jamboard could be incredibly useful for my students because it would allow for collaboration
and anonymous group discussions. Students would be more comfortable sharing their thoughts.

● Second, highlight one technology tool that impresses you the least from this course, then
explain why.

The technology tool that impressed me the least from this course was the hour of code. I think
that this tool is not very useful for most classrooms. I don’t see how these skills will be
transferable in different parts of student learning.

● Third, answer the following questions:

1. How did you feel about technology integration at the beginning of the course? Did your
feelings change at the end of the course? How? Why?

I felt skeptical about technology integration at the beginning of the course. This is because I
thought that technology detracts from learning in most cases and is a distraction. My feelings
changed by the end of this course. I felt more comfortable incorporating technology into my
classroom. This is because I didn’t know the amount of tools that were available to me.

2. What did you learn about technology integration? Provide examples and specifically
explain why you think these are important for you?

I learned a lot about technology integration in this course. The most important thing I learned
was about the learning management system. I think that learning management systems are
integral to almost every classroom today, so I need to be knowledgeable about them.

3. What would you do differently for the lesson plan? Use your own lesson plan as an
example, and explain it in detail. How would you change your process for creating a
lesson?

I would spend more time explaining the steps in detail. I think that the google slides
presentations I created are sufficient, but I could’ve provided more detail. I also think that if I
had to do the lesson plan again I would spend more time aligning my activities with the
standards.

4. What would you do differently for the teacher website? Use your own teacher website as
an example, and explain it in detail. How would you change your process for creating a
website?
For the teacher website if I had to do it again I would have looked up tutorials beforehand in
detail. I also would have integrated the theme more into my website.

5. How will you use what you have learned from this course in your future classroom?

I will be using a lot of what I learned from this course in my future classroom. Like I said earlier
I will be using a learning management system in my future classroom. I also think I will be using
the strategies for creating a newsletter in my future classroom.

6. What technologies/tools that you used in your assignment were not provided in the class?
(If there is any, optional.)

Google Earth, Duolingo, Babbel, StudySpanish, RadioAmbulante, HelloTalk