Steve Dean

Week 1 Blog Assignment

EDUC 5313

My name is Steve Dean.  I am married to a wonderful woman and have two wonderful children attending college.  I have been teaching high school Spanish for 29 years.  I recently started teaching AP Spanish and would like to be more adept at using technology to increase my students’ interest in Spanish and using Spanish to become more linguistically and culturally aware individuals.

In previous years, our Spanish 4 students have written letters in Spanish to 6^th grade Spanish students at our feeder schools.   I would like to extend this to my AP classroom by using a blog where my students can learn about the culture of native Spanish speakers in their classrooms in Latin America or Spain.  One example might be to discuss bullfighting.  This would allow students to have real-world discussion about a relevant topic in Spanish culture today with peers of other cultures while practicing their communication skills. 

This lesson follows the ISTE Standard 1.7a (using digital tools to connect with learners from a variety of backgrounds and cultures, engaging with them in ways that broaden mutual understanding and learning) and Kolb’s Triple E Framework (Engage students in authentic discourse with others).  The lesson also meets the KSDE (Kansas Department of Education) Standard for World Language 1.1 (Interpersonal: Learners interact and negotiate meaning in spoken, signed, or written conversations to share information, reactions, feelings, and opinions).