Hello folks,

Here is my completed Mini Project #1. It involves the showing of Pan's Labyrinth to enhance Cultural Awareness. I look forward to reading your comments, reactions, suggestions, or any other little nuggets of joy you may leave for me to read. Enjoy!

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dh2c6cg_0cqkvwk2x

ABOUT ME

So here is a little more about me, since it didn't fit in my profile.
Before I speak, I have something to say. This is in no way a complete outline of my life or who or what I am. This is just a convenient way of satisfying curiosities and informing people who would like to get a better notion of who it is that I am. I am either much more interesting or much more boring than all of this blabber, it depends on what your personal opinion is. I know mine, and I would say that I know myself fairly well, although I don’t know too much about my first days of life, because I was born very young. In fact, I was so surprised when I came into this world that I didn’t speak for a year. But I figured it was better than a dark, watery chamber, so I decided to stay and try out oxygen and solid food. So where do I start? Well, for the sake of brevity I will write only a short summary...I was born in Miami, I am of Cuban descent, and I currently attend and am in the employ of the University of Florida. I wake up, have breakfast, go to work, have lunch, go to class, come home and eat, and go to sleep, and wake up the next day and do it all over again. It's a generally enjoyable experience, although I encounter some ferret-faced shyster along the way now and then. Although there may be times when I feel that my work goes for naught, I reconsider and think that if I can make an impression on one person a day, myself included, then it is all worth it. As I sit in my office hours waiting, I contemplate various ideas and ponderings. One conclusion I have come to is that if it’s true that our species is alone in the universe, then I’d have to say that the universe aimed rather low and settled for very little. Also, I enjoy watching some sports, but I believe in calling things what they are. Swimming is not a sport. Swimming is a way to keep from drowning. That’s just common sense! Another thought that is gnawing at my mind is that isn’t it a bit unnerving that doctors call what they do “practice”? It’s always embarrassing to ask a doctor what his fee is, but if you are going to go you’d better find out how much you’re going to be rooked. When it comes to real obscurantism, no group has been as successful in concealing its shady activities as the medical profession. The dentist is another individual who gaily drills your wallet in addition to your teeth. He then informs you that you must floss more often and brush four times a day so that you can scrape the enamel off very effectively, thereby making it more convenient for him to charge your 200 dollars for a mini tube of toothpaste and a brush so small that it can only brush a tooth at a time. As you turn to say goodbye, three of his teeth fall out. It is my humble opinion that as much as 60% of doctors deserve to be tossed in the clink for highway robbery. I drive my car and adhere to the general regulations, but I don’t like to think of laws as rules you have to follow, I like to consider them more as suggestions. As I cruise the campus at the surprisingly difficult speed of 20 miles per hour, I see various cars with different messages on them which are just there to divert your attention from traffic activity. Here’s a bumper sticker I’d like to see: “We are the proud parents of a child whose self-esteem is sufficient that he doesn’t need us promoting his minor scholastic achievements on the back of our car.” Another problem we have on campus is that the lesser privileged solicit money from the students. Poverty of course is a shame to see in a country such as the one we live in, but I have noticed that I’ve never seen a homeless guy with a bottle of Gatorade. To my mind, History is a very interesting topic, and it occurred to me the other day as I was walking from one classroom to the next as I saw the American flag that George Washington’s brother, Lawrence, was the Uncle of Our Country. I attend church fairly often, yet I believe that the temple of God is in your heart. Nowhere in the bible does it say that you must go to church in order to be saved. If some religions are monotheistic and others polytheistic, then Atheism is a non-prophet organization. I have considered studying Law, especially after seeing how easily some lawyers make a living in this country. These racketeers find irresponsible fading pop stars and spend years and years living off of their shenanigans. Also, I would just like to say that “No comment” is a comment. I enjoy the outdoors for a limited period of time, I enjoy the beach and consider the sea the only place that man will never completely conquer. I enjoy get-togethers and social reunions; in other words, parties. Whether they involve a plate of hors d’oeuvres and a bevy of martinis, or just chips and beer, I believe that social interaction is a crucially necessary factor in human life, and yet finding a party on campus with decent food I as scarce as hens’ teeth. (I don’t know why people insist on using this silly simile when even the rooster knows that the hen hasn’t any teeth, and very little of anything else. I believe that there is love, and that there is lust. I also believe that all you need is love. I recently heard that somebody found Tony Bennett’s heart in a hotel room in San Francisco…I guess he just left it there…but this is just pure conjecture on my part. I enjoy visiting New York and when I leave for that city, I ask people to spread the news and I feel I want to be a part of it, because I want to wake up in the city that doesn’t sleep. I recently visited the Empire State building, and I realized that I don’t have a fear of heights. I do, however, have a fear of falling from heights. I hope that my tirade hasn’t fallen on closed ears, and look forward to your reactions and comments. Thanks and come again, and remember that everybody loves somebody, and I love all of you, or most you, rather.

Research topic

Tonight in class we discussed our ideas a specific topic to research. I wanted to focus on the research of new technology and its effectiveness. I thought that working with 3 main things: the chalkboard, which would be the control group, the Smartboard, and Powerpoint. The point of this study would be to see which of these would be the most effective as a pedagogical tool, and the study would be less focused on SLA. It would also have a specific feature, such as the use of one of these three used to teach the preterite tense, or something to that effect. Before using each of these, I would give a pre-test, and then after a post-test. Then compare and see which showed the most student production. I would be interesting in seeing the students' perception of each of these. These are just some rough ideas I have, which definitely need to be smoothed out, but for now, at least it's a beginning, sort of a skeleton.

This week I have been trying to add different videos to my blog and some other elements. Last Monday's time for doing that was mostly a learning process for me, and I can now say that I have added a video. It shows the importance of learning a foreign language. Not one of the best videos for that, but humorous to say the least. Also, I have seen that others have added a poll, which I am thinking of doing. The readings are interesting, and last week I discussed them one on one with another partner. While I thought it would be better, I now think that groups are much more interactive because you get everyone's opinions at once. Some find that distracting, but I actually find it to be more interesting and conducive to discussion.

This page needs updating!

Tonight we are planning to edit our blogs in class and add new elements in class, which my page particularly needs because it's not all that exciting yet. I'm still trying to figure out how to move the elements around. Obviously technology and I are still being introduced, but for tonight I think I'll add an inspiring picture to get us all through this week.

Powerpoints are my favorite!

In regards to PowerPoint, let me say that I am a very huge supporter of using this type of teaching style in the classroom. Whether or not it is appropriate to use all the time in a language teaching environment is another story. I personally use PowerPoint in the classroom almost every day, reason being that my students have always responded positively to this type of class. That’s not to say that I use it for the whole class period, though. Throughout the past two years or so I have tried varying my formats and including grammar exercises in my presentations because it gives students a chance to interact more with me and themselves and also keeps the classroom alive, whereas if I present a grammar topic all on PowerPoint and all they do is look up at the screen and write down answers, then everyone falls asleep on me, and that’s not too good for learning.
PowerPoint is also very useful in vocabulary lessons in my classrooms, because it lets the students practice their pronunciation when they identify an object on the screen, and I can also improvise conversation with different students when they see the different pictures based on the lesson that day. I also send my students the power points that we use at the end of the week, with additional exercises they can do at home to practice what we have gone over. Some students are actually dedicated enough to come in to office hours, but usually they all prefer to check them in the classroom as a whole.
PowerPoint has its setbacks, unfortunately. One of them is that the presentation tends to get boring if I don’t include exercises between them. My voice going on and on and the monotonous screen can be a bad combination that just leads to everyone falling asleep, which is why I decided to start doing exercises in the presentation along with on the board. Also, I have included different sounds and effects which students always seem to like. Another drawback I have found is that if the students know I’m going to send them the presentations, then some of them don’t pay attention in class and decide to look at all of it on their own, which is why I am now sending them all at the end, when we have covered everything.
In short, I have been a fan of using PowerPoint since I started teaching. It gives students a chance to look at and hear something else besides me, and vice versa. It also gives me the freedom to change my lesson around if need be, and go back and forth and compare slides whenever there is confusion, and initiates participation among themselves when it comes to group activities.