Uploading multimedia or loading a headache...

I think the experiences I have lived in instructional technology have been very constructive because I have learned to work with new tools such as voxopop and voixethread; however, sometimes it was hard to work with them. I remember many situations in which while trying to upload something I faced so many bugs that I started to feel stressed and with a headache. Now, this has been useful since by making mistakes I have found the right way of the processes, so I will be able to do it quickly if I need to do it in the future, but  it doesn't mean that loading a headache in ny hard disk ( my brain )  is the only useful way to get the best out of the tools; therefore, in this entry I want to share the good, bad, memorable, and relevant things of my experience working in both websites.

I think that voxopop is nice in the way that you can access just with your username and password; besides it provides you the features to generate interesting discussions on the web, yet only voice recorded discussions. Something that really annoyed me is that it was really difficult to find the group I had created and it was even more difficult to find the friends I had added to comment on their redordings. I had to go to facebook all the time and look for the links because at the beginning I couldn't even find my own stuff. Let's take into account that I am used to facebook where you have easy acces to everything, the pictures and the words used make it very easy, contrary to voxopop.

Regarding Voicethread, I got really upset when I discovered I couldn't run it in my android due to the flash player needed; nevertheless, I got to the conclusion that its variety of features make it unique and appealing to turn on the computer and work on it. I personally enjoyed uploading the picture and checking the voice recording, the use of the pencil, and the typed comments. What made me feel mad was the video upload because I had to record it like three times for it stopped in the middle even though I didn't have internet connection problems. I consider that my Ss will not enjoy to work in that way. For many people it's a huge shame to be recorded and to have problems loading the video, it's definetely a headache.

That's why, I can conclude that using these tools was a not a waste of time because at least now I know what not to use, XD. When I get the chance to use this.technology with my Ss I guess I will use voicethread, but not the videos features.

Marvin vrs Writing

We all face difficulties when trying to learn something new, especially a new language. My friend Marvin has had several troubles with the writing skill, he has fought against this problem almost the whole major, and he is tired of making simple mistakes all the times. This is common problem when you are a Spanish native speaker since you tend to write words the way your Spanish ear decodes them. For instance box as bax, or schedule as esqueyul. There are several techniques to overcome this situation, Marvin has tried some of them like reading more than usual, or copying long texts, but he still has trouble.

It is really good to know he is not giving up. He is still working to improve and to overcome this situation.  He is conscious that one can never manage a language to the hundred percent; however, he still fights to be better every day. He answered me that he is eager to try new techniques and I suggest this two:

I. Podcasts and Newsstands: Listening to a podcast and watching the text can improve you’re writing because you hear a standardized English and you see the right written form; then, your brain saves subconsciously the right pattern and you can remember it easily when you have to write it.   

II. The magic 21 times: Whenever you miswrite a word, it’s a good idea to write twenty one times  the right form because that will help you remember it your whole life. Psychologists say that twenty one times are necessary to create a habit, so it can magically make you write correctly the most problematic words.