Rationale

 Technology to be used:

• Computers with webcam, audio, and microphone.
• Internet Connection
• Microsoft Office Live Meeting
• Microsoft Windows PhotoStory3

Rationale for Technology to be used:

Microsoft Office Live Meeting systems can be used in a lot of educational environments and instruction. For example, distance learners may communicate with a click of their mouse with their classmates or teachers. Experts, teachers, and anybody from around the world can interact with the students and teachers. My goal is to provide students with real life opportunities where they can communicate with students from countries where they speak the language they are studying which may expand the opportunity for practice and language acquisition, and real and meaningful practice. As stated by Roblyer and Doering (2010), virtual collaboration gives students motivation to use new language skills. (p. 302). That is exactly what I am trying to promote in my instruction, “authentic materials” and “authentic perspectives” (Roblyer and Doering, 2010, P. 300).

Benefits:

• It provides a plataform for safe teleconferencing and e-mail service.
• Teleconference participants can import files (PDF, Word, Power Point, Excel, micromedia flash and other media players, websites, etc), that can be viewed on the computer screen.
• Conferences are recorded for future references.

Microsoft Windows PhotoStory3

PhotoStory3 will provide my students the technology tools and the opportunity to practice and transfer  the writing and speaking abilities in the traget langayge they are developing in a meaningful way. Students can dowload pictures to illustrate their project. They can also write sentences to connect to the pictures, as well as record their voices to practice their pronunciation.

Pedagogical Approaches:

Communicative Approach:

To develop this unit I will be using the Communicative approach of the language teaching and learning. In the past, the language learning instruction required students to acquire linguistics knowledge such as grammar and vocabulary, but they were not provided with the opportunity to use it. It was not part of the language learning standards. the needs of language learning students are different now that the ones of students twenty years ago when the Communicative approach of the language pedagogy was created. Then, the closer to authentic practice was listening to tapes. In the 21st century, in a succesful foreign language class, the teacher has in mind the development of the five language competences: listening, speaking, reading, and writing, and culture. Besides, we are living in a global digital world and language learning has been evolving in the same direction. According to the American Council of Foreign Language teaching (as cited in Ying-Ping, 2008), the standards for foreign language learning in the 21st century in America are:

Rationale for Pedagogical Approaches of This Unit:

Pedagogical decisions are important because technology does not work by itself in the online learning enviroment. Decisions about the pedagogical use of it in the Foreign Language instruction and planning of instruction and protocols to follow should be made on the basis of providing the most effective means of achieving the standards and objectives proposed.

The history of language teaching started with the use of memorization and translation. The focus was on grammar rules and the vocabulary, and translation of texts. (Brown, 2001, p.24). This method did or nothing to develop the language students' communicative abilities in the target language.

By the 1970's, a communicative approach of the language teaching started to emerge due to the need to make the learning more effective for students when they go out to the real world to apply what was being taught in the classroom. The communicative method shifted the gear to a more student centered approach. (Brown, 2001, p.25). The Communicative approach alse expanded the skills that students should learn in order to be proficient in a language. Currently, learning a language focuses very little on grammar and instead makes more emphasis on developing communication and language competences and culture skills. One of the main challenges of this approach is that it requires authentic practice and authentic materials. It also calls for interaction that gives students the opportunity to use real language of daily life situations put to practice what students are learning in class. (Brown, 2001, p. 35). The online enviroment provides tools and the authenticy and the communicative approach provides the pedagogy to make the most effective use of the technology.

In regards to constructivism, I believe it provides teachers the knowledge to develop an online course that helps, in turn, develop a successful online process of learning. According to Bruner (as cited in Roblyer and Doering, 2010), students have more posibilities to understand knowledge they have discovered and construct.  The combination of different learning theories upon which this approach is based and their implications to online learning are as follows:

• Social Activism: Students learn by doing and by working in a group on task related to their interests, which makes the process meaningful. (Roblyer and Doering, 2010, p. 38). This theory favors collaborative activities and real world connections which are very well needed to make the learning meaningful and long lasting.
• Scaffolding: This refers to the level of cognitive level of the students and to how teachers should take into account where their students are in their development, and their experiences and interests to build up their knowledge and understanding from there. (Roblyer and Doering, 2010, p. 40). This theory favors tailoring unique learning plans for each student.
• Multiple Intelligences: Students have different abilities and stregths. This theory supports providing students with activities and group roles according to their type of intellegences so they can develop their abilities. (Roblyer and Doering, 2010, p. 41). According to Roblyer and Doering (2010), instruction should allow different methods of learning "and showing competence in the same topic" (p.42)

In conclusion, the incorporation of Internet and new technology and media systems in the instruction along with the pedagogy approaches outlined above allow teachers to provide the authentic and meaningful practice that students need to have a successful learning experience. In addition, students can have the opportunity to obtain information about cultural aspects of Spanish speaking countries from first hand resources which gives them a better perspective and understanding of the target language and culture.