I was genuinely flattered to be asked by Ken Royal to be a guest author for his blog http://www.educatorsroyaltreatment.com, although I asked him what he felt I had to offer as I really feel like a complete novice at this whole malarkey! It is true that I have a great enthusiasm for all that I use in my classroom, but I would never profess to be any kind of expert. I work on the theory that if I want to do something, it is surely possible, so it is just a matter of working out how So I settled down to it, and here is my post for Ken's site.
LANGUAGES AND LEARNING - THE PATH I HAVE FOLLOWED
Today I led a whole-day event on ICT & MFL teaching and learning, which included my own department as well as 12 members of staff from several other schools. I have never led such an event before and therefore wanted to keep the numbers manageable.
Why did I even want to run such an event? Believe me, I was asking myself the same question last night, as I prepared the last of the handouts. But yet I am so glad that I did, for it has benefited me as well hopefully as those who attended. As teachers, we are told that we should be reflective practitioners, and yet it is rare that we have time to take stock and really evaluate what we have learnt over a given period of time. The aim of running this day was to show people some of the new stuff I have learnt over the past year, and let them have a go too. It was only when I started to map out the agenda that I realised just how much I have learnt since last July, when I had the extreme good fortune to be sent to BLC 08, in Boston. The November Learning conference was mind-blowing and I came home enthused, armed with a list of of sites to visit and web 2.0 tools to check out.
I followed the instructions of David Truss (http://pairadimes.davidtruss.com) and Ewan McIntosh (http://edu.blogs.com/) who both said that if we did nothing else, we should start a blog when we went home. This I did, with my "Languages and Learning" blog at http://amandasalt.blogspot.com I also joined Twitter, although I found it a lonely and pointless activity initially. I now find it to be one of my main sources of CPD (Continuing Professional Development) and also a place where people are generous with their praise and genuine in their concern.
A visit to the Isle of Wight for a languages and ICT conference, organised by the amazing Joe Dale (www.joedale.typepad.com), added to my enthusiasm, and as I approach the end of this academic year, I have created a wiki for my pupils (http://spanishingrosvenor.wikispaces.com) and also dabbled with Audacity, Goanimate, Voki, ToonDoo, Animoto and Voice Thread, amongst others.Today I ran workshops on all of these as well as an overview of blogging, Twitter and Diigo.
The format seemed to work well, with a very hands-on approach by the participants, and a vast quantity of helpsheets to take home. They were amazed that I did none of this before last summer, ut in a way, I think that reassured them. I do not profess to be an expert at any of these, yet I find my approach to teaching re-energised and my pupils highly motivated. I too have much to learn, and it is a true pleasure to show others all that this brave 2.0 world has to offer us.
Showing posts with label Toondoo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Toondoo. Show all posts
Wednesday, 24 June 2009
Friday, 20 March 2009
Creating a buzz
Pupils in various year groups have been using ICT in a variety of ways over the course of this year, and there is definitely a bit of a buzz about the place. They have been given the option for several homeworks of choosing to create a Voki, Toondoo, Goanimate or voice recording. Some of the results can be seen at http://spanishingrosvenor.wikispaces.com, on the various class pages, as well as the Voki page.
What are the benefits to the pupil and to me? Well, there is the enjoyment factor, which can never be overrated, in my opinion. Pupils are enthused and are charging off home to do homeworks which they then email to me or embed directly into the wiki. Many of these homeworks come in early, and there is a definite improvement in terms of getting the homework done, and on time.. One of the great success stories of my year has to be the boy who showed an open dislike for Spanish last year yet has sent me the last two homeworks (created on Goanimate) early, and is visibly more relaxed in class.
The latest ICT project has been through the Virtual Voices programme we are engaging in, with podcasting being the focus of the Spanish department. In Second and Third Year (ages 12-14) pupils have been working in pairs or threes to create podcasts at the cafe, with an accompanying worksheet. Form 4 have recorded dialogues 'At the tourist information office' and again, have made worksheets to go with them. In all three year groups, we have then gone to the computer room for a period and worked individually listening to the various podcasts and doing the associated worksheet. Pupils have been engaged both at the creation stage and in the final process, which is a form of peer evaluation.
I am delighted with the efforts that have been made, both recording and creating the worksheet. The benfits are that every pupil has their turn in the spotlight without the pressure of performing tlive to their peers, and they are much more focused on pronunciation and grammar than they would be ordinarily.
What are the benefits to the pupil and to me? Well, there is the enjoyment factor, which can never be overrated, in my opinion. Pupils are enthused and are charging off home to do homeworks which they then email to me or embed directly into the wiki. Many of these homeworks come in early, and there is a definite improvement in terms of getting the homework done, and on time.. One of the great success stories of my year has to be the boy who showed an open dislike for Spanish last year yet has sent me the last two homeworks (created on Goanimate) early, and is visibly more relaxed in class.
The latest ICT project has been through the Virtual Voices programme we are engaging in, with podcasting being the focus of the Spanish department. In Second and Third Year (ages 12-14) pupils have been working in pairs or threes to create podcasts at the cafe, with an accompanying worksheet. Form 4 have recorded dialogues 'At the tourist information office' and again, have made worksheets to go with them. In all three year groups, we have then gone to the computer room for a period and worked individually listening to the various podcasts and doing the associated worksheet. Pupils have been engaged both at the creation stage and in the final process, which is a form of peer evaluation.
I am delighted with the efforts that have been made, both recording and creating the worksheet. The benfits are that every pupil has their turn in the spotlight without the pressure of performing tlive to their peers, and they are much more focused on pronunciation and grammar than they would be ordinarily.
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