Getting to participate in the Georgia Educational Technology Conference (GaETC) earlier this month was not only an honor and a privilege, but was also a really beneficial opportunity for me.
I was given the opportunity by my Spanish 4 teacher last year, Mrs. Cleveland, after taking her class and participating in a unit where we learned about prehistoric people and their culture. Mrs. Cleveland asked me if I would be interested in sharing my thoughts with conference attendees about the activities from Spanish 4 that we did with the younger students, in order to create a one school learning environment. I was honored to, and I'm so grateful I was able to come!
At the conference, I was set up at the Darlington School table with all of the prehistoric projects and activity simulations. As the day progressed, PamPam and I were able to present to other technology teachers and educators what we learned from our Spanish project and how it related to technology, to the middle grades students' accompanying documentary, etc.
It was such a great experience because not only did it help me with presentational skills and public speaking, but it also opened my eyes to how much I really learned in Spanish 4, and how much my communication skills have developed—as I'm now in AP Spanish language. During one of the presentations, the lady I was speaking to told me, "Present it in Spanish, I'll understand it," because she was fluent.
It took me by surprise but after I just went for it she told me that my Spanish was really advanced and she understood everything I said. This really made me realize how great of an education I've been given at Darlington, to be able to use what I've been taught in everyday life.
To me, I think that is one of the most important aspects of really learning; being able to apply it to your everyday life. I feel like that is what encourages me to take on the everyday challenges in my classes and in learning another language, because the result of being able to be understood is so worth the practice it takes to get there. This was one of many great things that I learned from attending the Georgia Educational Technology Conference.
Click here to read another blog by Spanish teacher Crystal Cleveland about the Spanish 4 and pre-kindergarten experiential learning unit.
