Of all the sessions I went to, this was the one that I thought "Boom! I can use this on Monday morning with my pupils" Jen crammed this session with loads of tips for approaching the controlled assessment tasks using the technology that is available to help improve pupil performance. It's all about developing memory and speaking skills.
Digital voice recorders/mobile phones. Phones are better because they pretty much all have them, and headphones. Most pupils will have smartphones with Apps, but even without, they will have voice recorders. Jen's advice is that they record every marked paragraph that they do.
Songify (iPhone) makes spoken word into song! I used this several times over the course of the following week, to show my Form class as well as my three GCSE classes and my A level pupils.
Songsmith for Windows is a bit like Audacity, pupils speak or sing into it, then they can add sound effects, beats etc. It is free for the first 6 hours of recording.
fotobabble.com is great for Edexcel's picture prompt. It is free, you upload a picture, record a soundfile for the photo, share it etc
Voicethread – all pupils record on the same picture
Text to speech to upload their drafts to controlled assessment with oddcast.com It is less creative than Voki but gets them to concentrate on the language. Dragon Dictation is speech to text
voki.com Record yourself talking. Make sure you select the right language.
cueprompter.com Put text in, hit go, watch it scroll, test themselves how well they know their answers if learning off by heart and see if they can go faster
Linelearner (iPhone app) Pretend it’s a play. Use the techniques that actors use. There is not much space on the lite version, so it is probably better to buy the app
Jen has a video file of memory tips from actors – Zena is going to put it on the blog
memorizenow.com Advanced flashcards. Copy and paste as much as you want. Choose the number of blanks you want, have the first letter of the words etc. Might help them develop their 40 words sheet in terms of the words they continually stumble on. It won’t save it for next time unless you save it as a website
Unfortunately I had to leave Jen's session slightly early to get ready for mine, but she has blogged about her session including the resources here
I have added her tips to our Spanish wiki here
Showing posts with label #ililc2. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #ililc2. Show all posts
Friday, 6 April 2012
#ILILC2 BERTRAM RICHTER “Can we put that on the blog please?” Getting students blogging
This was a really interesting session by Bertram who gave us the reasons why he decided to start blogging with his pupils first of all:
Learning community feel
Authentic audience
Differentiation
Reading and listening
Reflection and debate
ICT skills
Creativity showcase
Authentic material
Multiple feedback loops
Outside expertise
Vokis have really helped with punctuation
There were a lot of interesting tips given by Bertram re blogging. He pointed out that the threaded comments tool parallels mark schemes at A level – the pupils respond to comments. Blogspot has just introduced threaded comments. In terms of choosing where to put your blog, he commented that email blogposts are easiest to manage as they are low effort and high impact.
Bertram started by publishing their work for them where ‘work’= anything embeddable eg Worldes, tagxedo, storybirds, vokis, tripline, linos. He recommends that you teach the pupils to find the embed code, thereby training them to do it themselves in the future. Other tips included setting challenges such as "First three to email it get on the blog" and having a class vote for the best three to go on the blog. Give them the criteria and use Poll anywhere for the vote. 2 stars and a wish is a routine feedback system in their school so the pupils were very comfortable with this feedback.
Bertram has a GCSE Controlled assessment blog where a checklist for AfL is a sidebar on the blog. Pupils put their year group and first name as the blogpost title. Feedback was done in class so Bertram moderated as they went.
The A level wordpress posts were posted by email. The pupils write a comment, the teacher comments, they correct and comment back. Bertram notes that there is a pride in belonging to that blogging group.
Posterous is perfect for speaking posts. The pupils use a phone, etc to record then the language assistant marks the speaking work.Bertram gets previous assistants to leave feedback too.
Bertram's summary comments were as follows:
• Start small and with your best class
• Make the most of email publishing and threaded comments
• Blog their work for them, they do the assessment
• Get parental permission – check school policy. First names only etc. School email
This was a really useful and enjoyable session. Whilst we do have a departmental blog and wiki, we are still a long way from the independence that Bertram's pupils are showing and this session inspired me to look at where we go from here.
Learning community feel
Authentic audience
Differentiation
Reading and listening
Reflection and debate
ICT skills
Creativity showcase
Authentic material
Multiple feedback loops
Outside expertise
Vokis have really helped with punctuation
There were a lot of interesting tips given by Bertram re blogging. He pointed out that the threaded comments tool parallels mark schemes at A level – the pupils respond to comments. Blogspot has just introduced threaded comments. In terms of choosing where to put your blog, he commented that email blogposts are easiest to manage as they are low effort and high impact.
Bertram started by publishing their work for them where ‘work’= anything embeddable eg Worldes, tagxedo, storybirds, vokis, tripline, linos. He recommends that you teach the pupils to find the embed code, thereby training them to do it themselves in the future. Other tips included setting challenges such as "First three to email it get on the blog" and having a class vote for the best three to go on the blog. Give them the criteria and use Poll anywhere for the vote. 2 stars and a wish is a routine feedback system in their school so the pupils were very comfortable with this feedback.
Bertram has a GCSE Controlled assessment blog where a checklist for AfL is a sidebar on the blog. Pupils put their year group and first name as the blogpost title. Feedback was done in class so Bertram moderated as they went.
The A level wordpress posts were posted by email. The pupils write a comment, the teacher comments, they correct and comment back. Bertram notes that there is a pride in belonging to that blogging group.
Posterous is perfect for speaking posts. The pupils use a phone, etc to record then the language assistant marks the speaking work.Bertram gets previous assistants to leave feedback too.
Bertram's summary comments were as follows:
• Start small and with your best class
• Make the most of email publishing and threaded comments
• Blog their work for them, they do the assessment
• Get parental permission – check school policy. First names only etc. School email
This was a really useful and enjoyable session. Whilst we do have a departmental blog and wiki, we are still a long way from the independence that Bertram's pupils are showing and this session inspired me to look at where we go from here.
Monday, 2 April 2012
#ILILC2 SUNDAY KEYNOTE JOSE PICARDO KEYNOTE ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Sunday morning was the night after the Show and Tell on the Saturday night (a whole post on that to follow at a later date) but the lure of Jose Picardo talking about social media in education was strong enough to see a full house at an early hour on the second day of the conference.
José started off by pointing out that the new tecnologies being used in some classrooms is comparable to reaction of society with the advent of post boxes, pencils, etc The same can be said re the use of internet and it isn’t going anywhere. Yet in this day and age, many teachers are pedagogically unconvinced of the benefits of the internet.
The first point to bear in mind is that our pupils still need to be taught how to use the technologies. Bear in mind that it is perfectly alright to learn along with your students, points out José. Do not be friends with your pupils on Facebook as you are exposing yourself and them to unacceptable risk. However it is good to have school and/or departmental pages.
José moved on to talk about "the people formerly known as the audience" As teachers, we need to bear in mind that they have editing suites in their pockets and that we do them a disservice if we ban mobile phones, given that we are then abandoning them to their own fate. The benefits of using the pupils' mobiles, etc, are that these are free tools for the school so there is no financial investment. As José asks, were we that different when we were young? Same behaviour, different tools...
In Jose's school, phones are allowed, with 6th years hooking into the school wifi on their own devices. The school recognises that there is a need to avoid inappropriate behaviour of course but that pupils are more likely to be bullied in the school corridor or on the bus. By banning mobile phones, schools are ensuring that pupils use them on their own without guidance and without rules of practice.
As a profession, teachers themselves not always good at using social networking appropriately but we are learning as we go. José comments that we are not too far from considering social media as normal in education, and teaching is evolving to catch up with learning
A key question is if we should we teach ICT in schools or if it should be embedded in the curriculum through other subjects? There is a new skill set coming up and currently pupils are having to learn by themselves. José is not advocating giving up on all that is going on in your classroom, by any means. Social media can be used to knock down the school walls and bridge the gap between home and school. Yes, there is a lot of inappropriate material on the net but they are fully exposed to that at home so by ignoring that, we are sticking our fingers in our ears.
Possibilities include:
• Learning on demand eg VLEs
• Voki was never designed for education but has been used for that purpose
• Blog
• Comments on peer assessment
• Blog on trip
• Flickr page
• Learning environment
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Edmodo
This was a great keynote, lots of food for thought for those of us who still have a long way to go before we reach the point in the road that José's school has got to, but with the promise that we should all get there, hopefully sooner rather than later..
And to end on a silly note... Alas, as we all went into near-hysteria at the thought of the impending pronunciation of 'Edmodo', José taunted us and refused to say it. However, the canny Zena Hilton saw us right, and a roomful of females swooned as the bashful Sr Picardo said 'the word' It was worth coming to Southampton just for that!
José started off by pointing out that the new tecnologies being used in some classrooms is comparable to reaction of society with the advent of post boxes, pencils, etc The same can be said re the use of internet and it isn’t going anywhere. Yet in this day and age, many teachers are pedagogically unconvinced of the benefits of the internet.
The first point to bear in mind is that our pupils still need to be taught how to use the technologies. Bear in mind that it is perfectly alright to learn along with your students, points out José. Do not be friends with your pupils on Facebook as you are exposing yourself and them to unacceptable risk. However it is good to have school and/or departmental pages.
José moved on to talk about "the people formerly known as the audience" As teachers, we need to bear in mind that they have editing suites in their pockets and that we do them a disservice if we ban mobile phones, given that we are then abandoning them to their own fate. The benefits of using the pupils' mobiles, etc, are that these are free tools for the school so there is no financial investment. As José asks, were we that different when we were young? Same behaviour, different tools...
In Jose's school, phones are allowed, with 6th years hooking into the school wifi on their own devices. The school recognises that there is a need to avoid inappropriate behaviour of course but that pupils are more likely to be bullied in the school corridor or on the bus. By banning mobile phones, schools are ensuring that pupils use them on their own without guidance and without rules of practice.
As a profession, teachers themselves not always good at using social networking appropriately but we are learning as we go. José comments that we are not too far from considering social media as normal in education, and teaching is evolving to catch up with learning
A key question is if we should we teach ICT in schools or if it should be embedded in the curriculum through other subjects? There is a new skill set coming up and currently pupils are having to learn by themselves. José is not advocating giving up on all that is going on in your classroom, by any means. Social media can be used to knock down the school walls and bridge the gap between home and school. Yes, there is a lot of inappropriate material on the net but they are fully exposed to that at home so by ignoring that, we are sticking our fingers in our ears.
Possibilities include:
• Learning on demand eg VLEs
• Voki was never designed for education but has been used for that purpose
• Blog
• Comments on peer assessment
• Blog on trip
• Flickr page
• Learning environment
• Edmodo
This was a great keynote, lots of food for thought for those of us who still have a long way to go before we reach the point in the road that José's school has got to, but with the promise that we should all get there, hopefully sooner rather than later..
And to end on a silly note... Alas, as we all went into near-hysteria at the thought of the impending pronunciation of 'Edmodo', José taunted us and refused to say it. However, the canny Zena Hilton saw us right, and a roomful of females swooned as the bashful Sr Picardo said 'the word' It was worth coming to Southampton just for that!
Wednesday, 29 February 2012
#ILILC2
So my second visit to Southampton for the ICT Links in Languages was much anticipated and did not fail to impress. There was much excitement amongst the attending members of the #MFLTwitterati on Twitter in the weeks leading up to the conference, both from those of us lucky enough to have attended last year, and those who were coming for the first time.
There was a gathering of the clans on the Friday night, with the unveiling of the wonder that is Suzi Bewell's #mfltwitterati t-shirts.
This set the tone for the whole weekend. The workshops and talks were excellent, led by Joe Dale and José Picardo's fab keynotes, and the chance to network, meet new enthusaistic language teachers and chat was superb. I am going to blog about the brilliant workshops and talks I attended over the next week or so, but suffice to say there was plenty of expertise, stimulation and humour on show.
The highlight for many was the Show and Tell on the Saturday night, with just the right level in terms of weightiness of topics combined with singing, dancing and general euphoria. It is enough to mention human dominoes, Tchik et Tchak, turnips and barmen to provoke sniggers and laughs from all who were there.
In these days of pressure and stress, #ILILC2 was a much needed tonic and a wonderful opportunity to catch up with many of my PLN whom I now consider true friends.
Saturday, 5 November 2011
The inaugural ICT and Languages Conference held in Southampton last February was easily one of the highlights of my year. There were so many facets to this, it is hard to explain.
It was difficult to choose which sessions to go to, there were so many choices, although many people blogged about the event which made it easier to find out about sessions you missed.Here is my blogpost. There was also a live Twitterstream with the #ililc hashtag which made it easy to see what was happening.
Aside from the vast amount of new information I learnt, the social side was a joyous bonus. Many delegates stayed in the same hotel, so the networking happened from the pre-event dinner on the Friday night, through the breakfasts and also with the all-important Show and Tell on the Saturday night.
I left ililc last year enthused, brimming over with ideas and notes on new resources, and buzzing with the feelgood factor of making new friends as well as meeting old ones, and with a desire to do it all over again. In fact, those feelings are flooding back just blogging about it now.
And so, it is happening. This year the plenary speakers will be Joe Dale and José Picardo and the workshop speakers are: Annalise Adam, Wendy Adeniji, Alex Blagona, Vanessa Burns, Joe Dale, Catherine Elliott, Stuart Gorse, Esther Hardman, Isabelle Jones, Helen Myers, Carole Nicoll, Juliet Park, Bertram Richter, Jo Rhys-Jones, Clare Seccombe, Lisa Stevens, Jenny Turner, Sara Vaughan and myself.
The great news is that the deadline for the Early Bird rate has been extended until 11th November. Register now for a place at
http://www.languagessoutheast.ac.uk/events/ict-and-languages-conference-ililc-2012
It was difficult to choose which sessions to go to, there were so many choices, although many people blogged about the event which made it easier to find out about sessions you missed.Here is my blogpost. There was also a live Twitterstream with the #ililc hashtag which made it easy to see what was happening.
Aside from the vast amount of new information I learnt, the social side was a joyous bonus. Many delegates stayed in the same hotel, so the networking happened from the pre-event dinner on the Friday night, through the breakfasts and also with the all-important Show and Tell on the Saturday night.
I left ililc last year enthused, brimming over with ideas and notes on new resources, and buzzing with the feelgood factor of making new friends as well as meeting old ones, and with a desire to do it all over again. In fact, those feelings are flooding back just blogging about it now.
And so, it is happening. This year the plenary speakers will be Joe Dale and José Picardo and the workshop speakers are: Annalise Adam, Wendy Adeniji, Alex Blagona, Vanessa Burns, Joe Dale, Catherine Elliott, Stuart Gorse, Esther Hardman, Isabelle Jones, Helen Myers, Carole Nicoll, Juliet Park, Bertram Richter, Jo Rhys-Jones, Clare Seccombe, Lisa Stevens, Jenny Turner, Sara Vaughan and myself.
The great news is that the deadline for the Early Bird rate has been extended until 11th November. Register now for a place at
http://www.languagessoutheast.ac.uk/events/ict-and-languages-conference-ililc-2012
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