Blog+Selections

=**Blog Selections:**= 3 best possible selections for true north.

**Selection #1**

 * This first selection I chose was made in the first week at MATSL. We were asked to reflect on our Thinking thus far and include it in a blog entry. I was thinking...a lot...there was a lot of tension, which according to Bahktin was a good thing, but looking back on this two weeks later, I had but a glimpse of true north.**

An Opportunity to Learn - Amy

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Our content in Spanish class has focused on two themes; silence and the voice. Through literature based on two very important time periods in Spain’s history, the Spanish Inquisition and the Civil War as well as more recent text derived from Mexico, we have discovered that both silence and voice can be powerful. Our guiding questions have pressed us to define and redefine what voice and silence mean and to examine the consequences of using one or the other. We have discussed the causes that sometimes trigger silence, such as fear and trauma, and the repression that at times demands the voice. As a result of our exposure to this sociohistorical literature we have been able to analyze the role that politics and religion have had in creating both voice and silence while establishing social norms for the two. The juxtaposition of the Spanish literature and the texts from Mexico, have provided contrast and connections. As a result of analyzing these texts we have gained a perspective on the history of Spain and its people. In the last four days I have opened my eyes to the idea of the silence and the voice in literature, history and in life, I have realized that the oppression of the Spanish people by the government and church during the Inquisition and Civil War still weigh heavily on its people, (through their recent and numerous writings on the Civil War that is only now socially and politically acceptable to discuss) and I have experienced the benefits of a content driven by essential questions. The Essential questions have given context to every dimension of our class providing a framework for all that we do. We have been able to identify the voice and the silence through a socio-cultural lens because we have learned the history through the literature we have read. We have learned to identify the roles of the “nobles” and the “campesinos” during the Spanish Inquisition and those (although still developing in understanding) of the “republicanos”, “falangistas” ,“nacionales” and “maquis” leading up to the Civil War and continuing without a known end. Knowing the history of Spain provides context while recognizing the roles (the socio-cultural identities including political and religious identities to which one belongs) gives perspective and creates an understanding of the voice and silence. The essential questions have given design to self-reflection and thinking. Our group discussions have afforded us the opportunity to share different or perhaps similar thoughts thus expanding our notion of opportunity to learn (//A Sociocultural Perspective on Opportunity to Learn//, Gee 76). As a result - we have learned a lot in the last 4 days!

====**Discussion:** This was the first day that I felt I began to understand the frog...something clicked, it was the first cool breeze I felt coming from the north! I clarified a few ideas swimming in my head with Peter and he seemed to understand what I was saying. I went back to the dorm, excited, ready to write. I tried to organize my thoughts and find something concrete amongst the ambiguity and insecurity I was feeling learning the new language amongst the critical thinkers in the second year. All of the new definitions and meanings were swimming around in my head yet I had a hope. I spent a lot of time rereading and trying to negotiate meaning but it was just a beginning...it was just a cool breeze despite my efforts to interpret the frog and put my ideas into words.====

**Selection #2**

 * This second selection was made one week later. The activity was to create an activity for students that would fulfill the design principles outlined by the New London group.**

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[| Thinking Together Amy] Suspiros de España (by [|chelseahotel2]) La tarea para el fin de semana, tu entrada de Blog debe estar mandado el domingo por la noche. Haz los ejercicios que pido y ten tiempo para reflexionar.
 * //Suspiros de España -//**
 * La clase de español – Señora Kirby**

· ¿Cómo es la voz afectada por el contexto histórico? ¿Quién(es) tiene(n) voz? ¿Qué es lo que nos puede unir en tiempo de guerra? ¿Cuáles son las relaciones entre poder socio-politico, silencio y la voz? ¿Es más importante usar voz o quedar en silencio cuando no está de acuerdo? ¿Cómo influye la guerra en la voz a su gente? ¿Dónde se encuentra el silencio y la voz?
 * __Las preguntas esenciales:__**
 * __Subpreguntas esenciales:__**

Haz un clic en el video y miralo.
 * __Tarea (5 preguntas, responde en una entrada de Blog y dos comentarios de tus compañeros)__**

1. ¿De qué se trata el video? ¿Cómo sabes? Explica. 2. ¿Qué emociones evoca el video? ¿Cómo evoca estas emociones? (Piensa en el sonido, la voz y los imágenes.)

3. Lee la canción, //Suspiros de España,// abajo. Escribe una lista de palabras positivas y otra lista de palabras negativas. 4. En tu opinión, ¿Cuáles palabras pertenecen al video?

//Quiso Dios, con su poder// //fundir cuatro rayitos de sol// //y hacer con ellos una mujer.// //Y al cumplir su voluntad// //en un jardín de España nací// //como la flor en el rosal.// //Tierra gloriosa de mi querer// //tierra bendita de perfume y pasión// //España en toda flor a tus pies// //suspira un corazón.// //Ay de mi pena mortal// //porqué me alejo España de ti// //porqué me arrancan de mi rosal.//

Mira el video abajo. Este video relaciona al otro video… 5. ¿Qué expresa la voz en el video? ¿Cómo sabes? Explica.

[] Escribe tus respuestas en un Blog títulado “Suspiros de España”. Lee las respuestas de tus compañeros. ¿Quién está de acuerdo contigo? ¿Quién no está de acuerdo contigo? Encuentra y da comentario a dos estudiantes que no tiene más que dos comentarios ya. Diles si estás de acuerdo y por qué o si no estás de acuerdo diles por qué.

I was starting to understand the design principles that the New London group had proposed for a multi-literate social future. I used my essential questions to guide my design. I was working from the bigger ideas down to the design, hey, making some moves forward. I included two Youtube videos related to one another and I understood that the video provided students with many more ways of negotiating meaning but I wasn't yet thinking about the students' ability to manipulate the video as an affordance. The activity of watching the video was chosen because it allows students to call on many design resources they are familiar with (voice, sight, movement) and combine the familiar designs within an unfamiliar context. Students will hear a song and see a soldier is dancing with a rifle in the rain. The non-uniformed men, watch the soldier who is apparently guarding them and clap for him after he dances. Students are familiar with song and dance and with soldiers, guns and prisoners yet these images of apparent captors and soldiers interacting in this way is not familiar. Students must negotiate for meaning by calling on the design resources they are familiar with in order to find meaning. The video is on Youtube, a site that has video which can be manipulated by the individuals viewing it. The video allows students to manipulate the text; to slow it down, mute it and play it over as many times as they would like. This is an important feature given that I ask the students to pay attention to the voice. The students can isolate design features such as voice or video if need be. Because I posted this on a blog entry and my goal was also to develop a community of thinkers, students were required to answer questions and explain thoughts (in response to my questions) in their own blog entry. Another criteria for students was to read through their classmates blog entries and comment on two blog entries (that had no more than 2 comments already) in response to the text. Students had to find one person who they were in agreement with and see if their rationale was the same and if not explain how it was different. They also were to find someone who they were not in agreement with and read their rationale to see if somehow that person could convince them of meaning. If not, they needed to explain why. In this way the community of learners was formed. All students needed to respond in Spanish. Students were reading in Spanish, seeing how their peers wrote and perhaps starting to find that area of "tension" when finding differences and beginning to negotiate for meaning, beginning to notice their own learning. “When asked to negotiate meaning, L2 students are forced to notice what they do not know and, subsequently, seek a resolution to their linguistic or cultural misunderstanding before resuming the free flow of dialogue.” (Gass)
 * Discussion:**

 The comments may provide them with perspectives helpful to their negotiation for meaning. The blog entry provides a community of thinkers interacting with the same text. Comments are relevant to the activity. Research suggests that the use of discussion online via the computer has many advantages for the foreign language learner. Robert Blake cites that these types of interactions “amplifies students’ attention to linguistic form (Warschauer 1997b); (and is) a stimulus for increased written L2 production (Kern 1995); (provides) a less stressful environment for L2 practice (Chun 1998) (and is) a more equitable and nonthreatening forum for L2 discussions.” (Blake 2008). Digital text also allows for more student L2 practice within the classroom.

**Selection #3**

 * This third selection was made this week - week 3! This selection is of my reflection on the webquest.**

[] Webquest Reflection - Amy

“El arte tiene la bonita costumbre de echar a perder todas las teorías artísticas” Marcel Duchamp.

This webquest explores “El arte alternativo en España”. The essential question is ¿Qué es el arte? This task is done on-line. The assignment has multiple tasks **critically framed** with that essential question in mind. Groups are created on line and given different **design resources** in which they explore alternative forms of art, as a small **community of thinkers** within the larger community of thinkers. Students create their own terminology and define these terms in their own glossaries with which they attach visuals to reinforce these concepts. These small groups are therefore creating their own **metalanguage**. Students are then to act as art critics, determining within their group what they perceive as art and what is not art. As critics of the forms of art the group must create a rationale for their thoughts. Students are then to **transform their** practice by finding new forms of alternative art to present to the class with their critique and rationale. The professor asks students to create their own final product and adds that a video that could be put on Youtube or a simulated version of art. As a final reflection the professor asks Who decides what art is? And finally speaks to the students about the linguistic goals.

One constraint that I see in this webquest is the division of the groups into smaller groups and creating their own glossary list. The idea that the smaller community of thinkers has a separate metalanguage may be a constraint rather than an affordance. Perhaps different interpretations of the terminology will not enable the group to think as a whole on the meta level thus confusing meaning rather than expanding understanding. The picture above of the balloons is representative of a community of thinkers, the individual clouds (balloons) represent the separate thoughts of individuals, and in this case small groups while the picture as a whole becomes an artistic cover for all who are underneath it. The art included in this webquest is from all over the world and is shown through still images and video. The video can be played and replayed at the students will, an affordance when using situated meaning with familiar design forms in an unfamiliar context (such as the alternative art).

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 * Discussion:** My final artifact of true north! Having at this point created blog entries and reflected on them, I was able to look at this web quest with a more critical eye. The design principles that we had adopted from the New London group as well as the blog entry criteria that we spoke of as being relevant in class were making sense. This web quest had most of the design features that we had discussed as being crucial, but with a more critical eye I could see that there were flaws. In creating smaller groups within the larger community of thinkers there seemed to be a constraint, that was not beneficial to the group as a whole. Within the division of the groups into smaller groups, the smaller groups came to create their own languaculture. This was clear as the professor required each of these small groups to create their own glossary of terms to then be given to the larger group. Although there weren't any posts to support what the glossary looked like, the divide into a sub-languaculture would differentiate interpretations of terminology. By not having a common language as a larger community of thinkers the opportunities to learn was restricted. The group as a whole would be unable to think as a whole on the meta level thus confusing meaning rather than expanding understanding.