1 Two 1 – Page 2 – te(a)ch french

#google #chromebooks debut tomorrow!

March 1, 2012 Lissa Layman

Time flies so fast! I can’t believe it’s already been so long since I last did a real post. We were lucky enough to have a mid-winter break last week. Probably the most amazing invention ever. Christmas break to Spring break always seems sooo long and drags on forever. Having a week off in February was beneficial for everyone involved (in my humble opinion). My husband and I travelled to San Francisco for a little work & play.

This week, I’ve been getting back in the hang of things AND getting ready for my classes to go 1TWO1 with Google Chromebooks. I’ve had a cart with 27 beauties sitting in my classroom for a couple weeks, but I didn’t have the combination to the lock 😦 Today I spent the entire day in professional development with the rest of the teachers in phase 1 getting ready to roll out the Chromebooks. I’m excited to have access to another digital tool! But I do want to make it clear that just because I have them, doesn’t mean we’ll be using them everyday all the time. They will just be another tool in our box in my classroom.

I got a lot of thinking and planning and learning time today, but I still have lots to contemplate. The desks in my room probably aren’t ideal for 1:1. I don’t really have any idea what I’m going to do. I want an arrangement that is flexible (not ONLY for tech) but also allows me to keep an eye on what my students are doing. Tomorrow I think I’m going to introduce the Chromebooks & Google OS, talk about proper behavior and have the students do a scavenger hunt in Google Docs.

This is exciting, but overwhelming at the same time! I’ve been teaching for 2.5 years and I’ve incorporated a lot of technology in my classroom. But being 1:1 involves a complete mind shift. I want to put the technology to it’s BEST use and not use it as another (online) worksheet for my students to do. I want to be at redefinition in all my lessons! But I know it’s a slow process and I need to remember that 🙂 It’s time for me to get out of my comfort zone and spend time figuring out what my classroom & lessons will look like. My goal is to have my students producing great work that they are proud of (and I’m proud to show off) while actually learning and understanding French language (and culture). That’s not too much…right?

1 Two 1, Collaboration, iOS, Professional Development, Social Media

#SCFLTA2012

February 11, 2012November 30, 2016 Lissa Layman

Today was the 2012 South Carolina Foreign Language Teacher’s Association Conference in Columbia. The theme was “Got Connections? Communicate, Collaborate, and Innovate!” I was lucky enough to be chosen to present a session! This is the first time I’ve presented by myself at a large event. I was super nervous, but I think it went pretty well!

Here is the handout I gave (I also made it available in editable Word & Pages form). Below is my presentation (full of links!). I used Google presentations and my ChromeBook to present. Love this thing! Happy Saturday!

1 Two 1, Collaboration, Google, iOS

Second Semester!

January 25, 2012November 30, 2016 Lissa Layman

Whew! Second semester is in full swing! It’s been a bit crazy here but things are starting to settle down nicely. Last semester I taught French 1, French 2 and French 3. This semester I’m only teaching French 2 (block & year long classes)! I have high hopes for a much less stressful couple of months. Some things to stay tuned for…

*My class will be getting a class set of ChromeBooks soon as part of our district’s 1TWO1 initiative.

*My French 3 class finished up their final projects, so I’ll be sharing more on that soon.

*I also found out that my proposal for the 2012 SCFLTA conference was accepted. In February I’ll be presenting on using mobile devices (phones, ipods, etc) in the classroom.

*My semester French 2 classes are just finishing up their review projects. I’ll have more to share about how it went this time around.

*On a whim (and since my desks were in groups) I experimented with a speaking activity with my year-long French 2 classes today. I think it went decently well but I want to get it down on “paper” for the future.

à bientôt!

1 Two 1, Google

1:1 in January w/ #Chromebook

November 9, 2011January 27, 2012 Lissa Layman

Richland 2 will be rolling out our 1:1 initiative in January (also known as 1 TWO 1). By August 2013 all 25,000 students in our district will have a device (well except grades K-2). Muller Road Middle School opened up this year and gave each student an iPad (you can read about the implementation here). Blythewood Middle gave each student an android tablet last week. In January, 1/3 of teachers at each of the 4 high schools will receive Google Chromebook carts for their rooms. We were selected through an application process. Yes we 🙂 Sometime in January I will have the awesome opportunity to take my classes 1:1. This is definitely going to be a steep learning curve for a lot of people, including me. I hope that my experience with the iPods and iPads will make the transition easier for me. But there is SO much to think about! I’m an over-achiever and perfectionist…I want lessons that will engage my students meaningfully. I want them to learn A LOT. I want them to be able to communicate with people around the world and see the value in learning another language. And I want to do all of this right away at the Redefinition level. Is all that possible without going crazy? We shall see!