Voki

Becoming familiar with  new technology as a teacher is really important! It's a fun way to keep the students interested while still teaching necessary content!
This week I learned about Voki. You create your own avatar (there are lots of cool options to choose from) and then use your own voice recordings or use their animated voice options to make your character speak. Very easy to make. Es ist Spaß!

Here is the Voki I created just now:

Netiquette

It is true high school students far surpass the average teacher when it comes to the use of technology. But while you may be a whiz with the internet, it will take some guidance to learn how to use it respectfully in a professional environment.

"Netiquette" is the term used to describe the proper way to conduct oneself online. Here, I have narrowed down the guidelines to what I find most important and would expect of my students.

1. Keep e-mails concise and use a professional tone.
2. Use correct grammar and spelling in anything school or work related. This means no texting language.
3. Introduce yourself, regardless if the recipient knows it is you.
4. Avoid unnecessary capitalizing, UNLESS YOU WANT EVERYONE TO THINK YOU'RE SCREAMING.
5. Do not post anything online that you would not a want a future employer to see. Your digital reputation is important.
6. Keep profiles on social media sites set to private.
7. If you have unwanted contact online, do not respond, block contact and report it to me or another adult you are comfortable telling.
8. Only use secure websites and do not post personal information.
9. Use strong passwords and change them regularly.
10. Do not on any occasion engage in cyberbullying.

Here is a link for proper e-mail formatting:

http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Formal-Email

For a challenge here is a link about netiquette in German:

http://www.bertelsmann-stiftung.de/de/fehler/

The 20 Years of Emily

By looking at the title you might think this will be a long, tedious retelling of my life. On the contrary, I will choose to spare you the boring details and just stick to the highlights (you're welcome).

Growing up I took your run-of-the-mill family vacations. Resorts in Mexico, cruises to pretty islands and one time a water park in Canada. That last one was weird but still you get my point. While I enjoyed laying by the pool I would always become frustrated with my parents for never exploring the places we were visiting. Yes, we snorkeled and took guided tours into the jungle but we never actually knew what life was like in those places. I couldn't understand why people would travel somewhere exotic just to be treated like they were still back in the U.S.

Flash forward a number of years to my junior year of high school. My German teacher is showing us a PowerPoint for the foreign exchange program coming the following year. Those who participate would have a partner come stay in their home for a month and then would have the opportunity to go to Germany for a month to stay with them. I knew I had to do it. It was my chance to finally experience another culture first-hand, not just through Travel Channel documentaries. So I filled out copious amounts of paper-work, paid my fees and patiently waited for the time to come.

My partner and I became fast friends. When it was my turn to stay with her I could hardly contain my excitement. While there, I went on about 10,000 tours, ate about 20,000 pretzels and made twice that number of great friends. With all that, what stuck with me the most was the difference I saw between their education and ours. There, education is celebrated rather than begrudged. There, learning is more important than test taking. There, education is treated as it should be; the key to the future.

This inspired me to revive my old dream of teaching in the hopes of making a difference in the United States' perception of education. I now study secondary education for German at Boise State University with the goals of not only making a difference in the education system but in the lives of students.

Besides pursuing my career goals, I like to spend my time with my best friend. Her name is Netflix.