BP14_2009113_PeerReview_Babble

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2009

BP13_2009113_Web 2.0 Tool_Babbel

I, like most of you, have been in a situation where a little more knowledge of a foreign language would come in handy. Babbel is an online language-learning system that teaches conversation skills for different languages. The languages that users can gain knowledge of are Spanish, French, Italian, German and English. With Babbel, users can learn words and phrases in foreign languages and connect with people from all over the world. Students and teachers can practice on their own with the intuitive online lessons or find a study partner in the international Babbel community.

Babbel contains a bunch of vocabulary (around 150 Vocabulary Packages, 3000 words), grammar exercises and explains how to put it all into practice. Whether the user wants to learn the basics or they are looking for special exercises for travel or for work, Babbel’s extensive collection of learning material offers lots of interesting and high quality content.

I am actually going to be using this site to see if I can learn a little Spanish seeing as how that is the popular language down here in Florida.

Video was taken from Babbel home website: http://www.babbel.com

BP4_2009112_Storybird

Web 2.0 tools abound, but the tricky part is finding one that can be used in Kindergarten. The really tricky part is finding one that can be used in Kindergarten and that is free. I came upon Storybird, which is designed to let friends and families collaborate on a story. Two or more people can create a Storybird by writing text and inserting pictures that are uploaded to the site. One starts it; then the other writes a bit or picks out a picture; then the first one takes over again. Then you can share your Storybird privately or publicly on the network. Right now making, sharing, and reading Storybirds is free. According to the site, they will always be free. However, later in the year, the site will introduce new options such as printing and premium services, which will not be free.

I am still exploring the site and reading different stories. I have not created a Storybird yet, but I would like to make one with the students in my class. Initially, what I would do would be to read a story from Storybird to them. Then we would reread it and pay close attention to the elements of the story--how the pictures relate to the words, is the grammar correct, etc. Then I would read the following story, my town. It is a great story, but it has grammatical errors, which could have been purposeful. First, we would read the story. Then we would reread the story and begin to analyze what needs to be corrected grammatically. Finally, we would collaborate on a story together making sure that the pictures match the words and that our grammar is correct. Using the site to collaborate on a story would allow us to begin to learn the process of writing and editing in a simple way. Since it is collaborative, the children would all be involved in the writing and editing and have a sense of ownership. One story is much quicker to edit than 20 stories so they wouldn't get so incredibly tired before the process is over.

my town by purplebeckyv on Storybird


purplebeckyv. (November 2, 2009). my town. Retrieved November 2, 2009 from http://storybird.com/books/my-town/.