For years I have told people that I prefer not to sell to anyone who had not had the training necessary to use the Wall successfully. It is simply impossible for me to get around to everyone who is interested; I can only do 2-3 workshops each fall and spring due to my busy schedule. Some interested teachers live in remote areas and cannot get enough people together to have a "live" workshop. Others work with people who are still teaching in the Dark Ages of Conjugation and have no desire to be Enlightened. Others do not have districts that plan workshops for foreign language teachers, and so on. We all know the circumstances that make things difficult for the progressive and innovative teachers, the ones we call "movers and shakers."

So, it seems that the only way to reach all interested teachers is to offer a "Virtual Workshop" on the Web. In a "live" workshop, we put up our travel version of a real Spanish Verb Wall and explain it in person, the full 8' x 18' monster is there on the wall in the meeting room. (Keep in mind that each individual part of the wall that you see is actually a 8 ½ x 11 sheet of paper.)

In this VWVW (Verb Wall Virtual Workshop) we present photos and written explanations of the same information that is presented in our "live" workshops, including lesson ideas, seeds and anecdotes. Please remember that the colors are not a vivid on the Web as in real life and the fonts simply cannot be seen as well.

REMEMBER: We are going ahead and putting the VWVW on the web page ASAP without all the side notes that will eventually be included in the lessons ideas, seeds and anecdotes, so keep coming back to check for new items.

The primary shortcoming of the VWVW is that we do not get to meet you personally and experience the wonderful group dynamics that always develop in a "live" workshop. Also, you do not truly understand the impact of the Verb Wall since you are not seeing it in all its glory in real life. You will need to use your imagination, but hopefully having the picture of a teacher with the wall in the introduction will give you the impression of its size.

This VWVW is intended for TEACHERS, not for STUDENTS. The explanations are given assuming that the participant already knows the language. We are explaining to YOU the teacher how we are visualizing the grammar for the benefit of the student. If you want the student to refer to the Verb Wall for homework, that is OK, but ONLY if you have the real wall for him or her to experience in the classroom.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, understand that you would NEVER attempt to teach all of this to the students in the same manner that we are explaining it to you. Just as one must know how to read the legend of the map, the students gradually learn how to interpret the graphics, colors and locations of the Verb Wall.

The graphics, colors and locations are designed to teach, not to be taught.

This alternative to a "live" workshop is being offered for teachers who:

1. want information about the Verb Wall in order to decide if they are interested in attending or hosting a live workshop in their area.
2. feel confident enough to "go it alone" with this written explanation
3. have attended a workshop and feel the need for a refresher course.
4. are already using the Original Verb Wall and want to see the new version.

You just KNEW there was a catch to this!!! Truly, nothing is FREE!

Color Connection is dedicated to providing high quality staff development and materials for language teachers. If you prefer to take this "Virtual Workshop" in lieu of attending a "live" workshop, we hope you will support our efforts by sending us a voluntary workshop fee. The registration fee for the "live" workshop is usually $110, so we feel that $25-$50 is reasonable (but of course, we wouldn't turn down a larger amount!) Many teachers have told me that using the Verb Wall completely changed the attitudes of their students and made their job much easier. So what is something that does all that worth to you?

Search your soul and decide. No, we don't want your first-born child, nor do we want an arm and a leg! You don't have to be THAT grateful! Just help us stay in business!!

Suggestion: When you write a requisition for the school to pay for the Verb Wall, list "Virtual Workshop Fee" as part of the cost. (That is if you are fortunate enough to have a school that will pay for the materials.)

One district in California actually did just that. They added $25 to each of the 20 Verb Walls they ordered for all their Spanish teachers. They said it was cheaper than paying me to come do the workshop in person with honorarium, airfare, expenses, etc. The teachers met and went through the VWVW together, stopping and commenting with each other along the way. One teacher was already familiar with the Original Verb Wall, so she was able to add a great deal to the VWVW.

If you are preparing to be a Spanish teacher and you are doing this as an assignment for your class, do not feel any obligation to send a workshop fee UNTIL after your 5th pay check after you start teaching! At that point, your conscience will start to bother you, you will feel this strange anxiety, then you will remember, "I owe my VWVW fee!!"

Of course I have no way of knowing whether anyone pays or not, but you know who you are. It costs a lot of money to make this service available and to continue making it available. Until every Spanish classroom has a Verb Wall, I will try to keep this going!

NOTE: If you do the VWVW and decide you want to take the time to design and print out all the pages for yourself, you may certainly do so. Personally, I think you are crazy to spend the time and expense of ink jet cartridges necessary to do it, but I have given you enough information by showing you the close-ups of the different tenses so that if you know the program, you can do all the graphics, etc.

If you decide to do so, PLEASE, follow these rules:

1. use the same colors in case a child should ever be with another teacher who uses the Verb Wall,
2. make only YOUR copy,
3. do NOT make copies for friends,
4. certainly do not SELL copies to anyone else,
5. remember to pay your workshop fee to help with the continuing effort.