Fun+with+the+Internet

Fun with the Internet

Making practicing spelling less obvious
Today there are so many programs online that allow students to practice spelling their vocabulary or putting it to use. The interesting thing is that because of the use of these applications, students do not often perceive that while they create //Wordles//, crossword puzzles, word searches and the like they are actually practicing their spelling.

media type="custom" key="12107593" media type="custom" key="12134332" align="right"

Creating avatars that say things in Spanish
(These apparently disappear after a certain length of time....I'll have to work with them more actively or delete this section. ; Creating avatars is in style and fortunately,Voki (http://www.voki.com) is a very user-friendly program which is free to students and educators. With this program, kids can create and personalize their own characters and then make them say things in Spanish. media type="custom" key="12129826" align="left"

Students can choose from a variety of accents and male and female voices, not to mention languages. They simply type in the sentences they want their characters to say in the target language (correct spelling is important!) and then choose the voice they like the best. media type="custom" key="12135260" align="right" Not only can students change the way their characters look and talk, they can also import pictures from the internet that serve as a background for their characters and represent their country of origin or the event they are portraying. media type="custom" key="12136902" align="left"

But what makes Voki most attractive is the fact that students can record the dialogues they create. This provides them with another opportunity to practice Spanish in a context that they don't perceive of as work, and so they learn more...and that is always good!!!