I have to admit that at first I really had to stretch to think of a useful way to use a spreadsheet in a world language class. Then I remembered one of the units I do with some classes about currency exchange. I think that my students would really enjoy creating a spreadsheet to see and calculate the different currencies in different Spanish speaking countries. However, I think that the spreadsheets can be very useful for the teacher and student to track speaking data or cultural information. The students can use the spreadsheets to compare the cost of living in different countries as well.
I use spreadsheets in my personal life to budget expenses, and keep track of students for field trips and sports teams. I enjoyed the Magic Square activity quite a bit and I surprised myself by solving the puzzle on my first try!
I have found this weeks readings to be very beneficial as well. The story in the textbook about the teacher scolding the student for having a train car with non traditional colors made me very sad. I also thought of several instances where my students constantly feel challenged because some of the teachers in our school do not allow them to express themselves creatively. I also thought of some areas in my own class where I could be more open to creativity on projects.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
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I agree with you about trying to stay open to the creative process of students. With all the time lines and self imposed deadlines it sometimes clouds the vision. I use spreadsheets in several activities including introduction to graphing using excel spread sheets.
ReplyDeleteThe currency exchange spreadsheet sounds neat. It's interesting to see some of that data adjacent to each other. Spending 10,000 of one denomination is only spending $20 in ours. I remember, in a geeky sort of way, having fun with that in Italy.
ReplyDeleteSpreadsheets can be fun in almost any curriculum - I wonder if one could be made for verb tenses (I bet one has been).
ReplyDeleteIt is sad when we teach students to stay inside the box instead of being and valuing their creativity. Hopefully more of us encourage rather than discourage.