Tapped In Member Perspectives: Meet Veronica Criado
Let me introduce myself. My name is Veronica Criado and I teach English to 4th grade EFL (English as a Foreign Language) students at a Catholic school in Uruguay, South America. My students (ages 9-10) have lab sessions once a week and have to share one computer for every 3 kids. They were introduced to Tapped In last April, 2010 and have been active members since then. Collaboration and patience are key elements in their lab-time learning!
Veronica's Perspective
I do not exactly recall how or where I discovered Tapped In but, being a novice at technology - who has learned most things by trial and error and by checking out sites and clicking on links - and a forward thinking educator who seeks to incorporate tech into the language classroom, I can say that I have found just the right place to share experiences and achievements, to explore and analyze, to have fun and learn with others with my same interests.
Tapped In gives me the chance to:
Have my own place - office - where:
* I can upload and share notes/files/links,
* I have a discussion board to exchange thoughts/reflections about different topics,
* the whiteboard allows visitors to leave me comments/messages.
Have my own virtual classroom
* where my students can collaborate with other classes in a safe place,
* post to discussion,
* use synchronous chat,
* share and use notes, files and links.
Not only this but also the fact that you can count on cool help-desk volunteers that provide real-time help like Jeff and BJB. In this way I was able to set my virtual classroom and learned how the interface works. I could participate in a K-12 classroom showcase where I met other educators having the chance to communicate with them in a synchronous way. Just a couple of weeks later I showcased my own class being able to share my experience using Tapped In not only with educators from abroad but also with my own colleagues, hoping to engage them enough to become members of this marvellous place the same way I did.
So, not only is Tapped in a great place for professional development where I can gather with like minded people, share resources, participate in discussions and learn from others, but it also gives me the chance to bring my students to a safe online environment where they can chat, collaborate and connect globally which is trully enriching for them enhancing their learning and providing them with meaningful learning opportunities.