Digital Learning Stations in the Spanish Classroom

Let’s talk stations!

Stations or centers in the World Language classrooms are amazing because they can be designed to help evaluate specific tasks. Learning stations include vocabulary exercises, reading and listening comprehension, and writing practice. In addition, stations can include combinations of a variety activities to introduce and review cultural topics. These activity types are great for stations in Spanish class; digital or in person.

Generally, each station is a different task and students work through each station for a certain amount of time. Timing of the stations will depend on the task and students. Students rotate through the stations and complete tasks relating to a current unit or theme.

Now, that’s an overview of stations in the brick and mortar classroom, let’s dive deeper into digital stations.

What are digital learning stations?

Learning stations activities are designed for specific learning tasks that relate to skills, themes, topics, or units. Digital stations are designed to use technology to achieve and facilitate those same learning tasks. Each station leads to a reading, writing, listening, speaking or grammar activity that students complete digitally.

What do digital learning stations look like in the World Language Classroom?

I love using stations in Spanish class with my students in class. Stations give students the opportunity to work collaboratively. In addition, I can observe as the learning shifts to a more student-centered learning environment.

For that reason, I wanted to create stations resources that would allow me to recreate what I love to use in my physical classroom. With that said, I also wanted a resource that fits a distance learning model.

Google Slide Digital Learning Station Menu

I create digital stations in Google Slides. Each presentation has a menu or hub where students access all the station activities and Google Forms. Each station activity has its own presentation.

Students will answer the questions on the presentations. To make things easier for you, you can have students submit their final answers for grading to the Google Forms. Additionally, you can have students turn in their slides to show their work.

Assigning Digital Stations

For Google Classroom, assign the presentation with the learning station menu to students. Select the “make a copy” option for each student to make sure the original isn’t altered.

For other LMS platforms, be sure to get a shareable link. Then, create a force copy.

Next, erase edit and everything after and replace with copy. This will keep your original file unaltered.

This is the link that you will post into your LMS for students. Each student will receive a personal copy of the presentation. With this link, students have access to all the activities in the digital stations resource.

For synchronous learning, you could have students do breaks outs in Google Meets to maintain that collaborative feel for stations.

For asynchronous learning, you can assign stations to complete by a certain day of the week. Assigning a station per day is another option.

Choose to assign these stations so that it works best for you and your students.

If you liked this post…

If you liked this blog post, you may be interested in these:

• ¡Yo tengo! ¿Quién tiene? as a Digital Extension Activity
• How to Assign Boom Cards
• Introduce Vocabulary with Entrevistas for Persona Especial

Don’t forget to pin this post to check out these ideas for later. 😉

Jade 😁