I have the pleasure of picking Dr. Karen Tharrington’s brain regularly on #langchat, and once as a co-presenter for SCOLT! @kltharri is a Senior Lecturer and Methods Instructorat North Carolina State University and an advocate for online Professional Learning Networks, technology and online learning, as well as future language teachers Read more…
Badges help my students keep up with their progress–and they like them. But keeping up with badges usually means extra work for me: I’ve made spreadsheets and rubrics, had students submit evidence to earn badges on Google Sites, Livebinders, and Blogger, with links on ForAllRubrics, Seesaw, and Google Classroom. I needed to simplify. So Read more…
I started playing Pokemon GO! for my students and now I can’t stop. That’s right. It’s for work. As I harnessed the power of the Netflix binge with the telenovela unit, I need to harness the power of Pokemon, or rather of gaming, to “catch ’em all” in class this Read more…
Are they still First Day Fun Stations if it’s their second time doing them? It’s not their first day of Spanish, so the element of surprise is out the window. Plus they’ve already built up their own ideas of what “fun” means in Spanish class. But there’s still too much Read more…
You really need a whole class period–and a pack of fun stickers–to update e-portfolios. You could maybe squeeze two updates into one class period, but you’re basically just handing them excuses not to finish either if you do. Not so long ago, portfolios were a thing I expected my precious Read more…
When students leave my class, they should have a record of what they’ve accomplished, tangible evidence of their proficiency. I want them to have that evidence at their fingertips when they’re applying for jobs or looking to skip some college Spanish courses down the road. A portfolio is a useful tool. Read more…
ForAllRubrics has helped refocus students’ attention on proficiency and learning. Sure, there’s still a little grade grubbing here and there, but now instead of requests for extra credit, I get requests to redo and fix–to demonstrate proficiency! Now students talk in terms of Novice Mid and Intermediate Low instead of ABC or 9/10 Read more…
The first three-ring circus of grades is done for this semester. Three rings, because this was my first attempt at incorporating Integrated Performance Assessments as tests instead of portfolios, and I’m trying to make use of badges in a meaningful way now too. As you can imagine, though, managing all Read more…
I think tests are stupid. A test can’t tell you how well I do my job or live my life–or anything you really need to know about me. Now, I’m really good at taking tests, and if you were to look at various test scores I’ve accumulated in my life, Read more…
Students need to be able to access assignments and grades. They need to be able to monitor their progress and locate resources to help them advance. They need information to come to them, something to simplify their responsibilities–not add to them. Unfortunately, I don’t think there’s a single platform out Read more…