Thing 12

Thing 12 only means one thing: halfway done with this blog!  I cannot wait to finish all 24 things. 

I chose to explore the Google Translate function of Google.  I picked this because I majored in Spanish and I wanted to see how accurate this translation service would be.  When I first started learning Spanish over 10 years ago in 7th grade, the teachers told us to never use these types of translation services because they would be able to tell.  And, if we did, we might fail the class.  I have always been hesitant to use these.  I have used different websites to translate a word here and there, but never more than that at once.  There were some obvious errors in the translation as some things translate too literally.  However, I think Google Translate is a good resource to use for translating a word or two.  There is also a voice function that will read the translated information.  This could be very helpful as pronunciations in a foreign language can be difficult.  This is a great tool for getting a point across.  Everything may not be correct, but this is a way to quickly provide something to someone who may not speak any English.  I could see this being useful when I start teaching because today's classrooms are getting more and more diverse.  The school where I work now as a teacher assistant has a full-time Spanish translator.  She is spread so thin that I am occasionally called upon to help out.  I work mostly with third grade and those teachers often ask me to translate letters they send home to parents because I do not require the notice that the translator requires to translate things.  Granted, my translations, I'm sure, are not as accurate as hers, but they are better than nothing for parents who may speak no English.  Google Translate doesn't take the place of speaking a foreign language, but, in a pinch, it can be a useful tool for getting the general idea/point across to someone with limited or no English. 

I also chose to use Google Calendar .  I am forever using the calendar function in my phone to make sure I don't forget anything and to remind myself of things I need to get done.  I like making lists and calendars put my lists into a format so that I know what I need to do each day.  I liked that you can share the calendar you create.  This could be useful when I am a teacher.  I could create a monthly classroom calendar and share it with parents to keep them informed of upcoming tests, projects, field trips, etc.  This would help ensure that their children would come to school as prepared as possible for whatever they would encounter that day.  There is also an option to send out invitations.  This could be used in the classroom to invite parents to serve as chaperones on field trips or to invite them to school assemblies or other school events they may want to attend.  You can also print the calendar which would be useful.  I like to mark things off as I complete them, so this would be great for me.  I tried to share my calendar and make it public, but I'm not sure if it actually worked.  My calendar is pretty boring and I only did it for the next 3 weeks.  I also like the option to sync the calendar with my phone.  This would be useful and make me only have to create one calendar.  Also, if it was on my phone, I could always have it with me, and I could change it at any time if necessary.