Taming IT: Making it work for you!

Moodle for Second Language Learning

Moodle 1.9 for Second Language Learning by Jeff Stanford was published late 2009 and is available to buy from this link, where you'll also find a product description and information about the author.
This publication has been the object of reviews by many bloggers. You may want to read Richard Byrne's  Free Technology for Teachers  related post or Mary Cooches' MoodleBlog entry.

  TACCLE Handbook

TACCLE (Teachers' Aids on Creating Content for Learning Environments) is the e-learning handbook for classroom teachers: it is a hands on guide to use web 2.0 tools and social networks in the classroom. It is FREE to download upon instant registration.

It is the result of the collaborative efforts of a team of European Teachers, so it is written by teachers for teachers and it caters for those with only basic computer skills and limited technical support. This coherent, well written reference book is also a practical handbook you can dip into, as its chapters stand alone. The authors chose the comfortable, familiar book form, because that is how they want their readers to feel about e-learning! (The free Login gives you access to the wiki version and you can subscribe to updates and even contribute if you wish to).

The aim of the Taccle Project is to train teachers to create e-learning materials and raise the awareness of e-learning in general. It is for classroom teachers who want to know about e-learning and who want to experience with designing e-learning materials to use in their classroom.

There is something for every one: basic concepts for those initially finding out about the different tools (Section1), background ideas on e-learning and how to organise and structure the whole range of methods (section 2) , and back to more hands on stuff with Section 3 on Learning Environments (that is managing e-learning at an institutional or individual level) and with Section 4, looking at the nuts and bolts of how to actually produce and/or adapt material to create your own digital learning objects. Even a comprehensive glossary is included!

Bloom's Digital Taxonomy

"Bloom's Revised Taxonomy is a widely used and highly regarded tool for developing and structuring learning. However, Bloom's does not reflect teaching and learning in the 21st century, it is not inclusive of emerging and existing information and communication technologies.
Hence Andrew Churches (Kristin School) has revised Bloom's for 21st century teaching and learning (by integrating) digital teaching practices into Bloom's revised taxonomic framework." (centre4.core-ed.net).

Andrew Churches' work and articles have been widely published and refered to, and Andrew has participated to many national and international conferences.
"(Although) Bloom's Revised Taxonomy accounts for many of the traditional classroom practices, behaviours and actions (it) does not account for the new processes and actions associated with Web 2.0 technologies and increasing ubiquitous personal and cloud computing.
Bloom's Digital Taxonomy isn't about the tools or technologies rather it is about using these to facilitate learning. Outcomes on rubrics are measured by competence of use and most importantly the quality of the process or product." (A.Churches, edorigami.wikispaces.com)
►Find detailed explanations and concrete examples for putting theory into practice by navigating Andrew's Wiki Educational Origami.
►Subscribe to Andrew's Blog edorigami to follow this prolific writer's passion about "teaching, learning and 21st Century learner and educator" (centre4.core-ed.net). He writes extensively about assessment and inquires if common assessments do measure higher order thinking as well as suggests assessment ways.

Other than Bloom's Taxonomy, Andrew has also written numerous articles. Of particular interest are his recent post on Digital Citizenship and safe use of ICT (edorigami) and his article entitled Eight Habits of Highly Effective 21st Century Teacher (NZ Interface Magazine)

  Edutopia's 10 Top Tips for Teaching with the New Media

Gunhild Litwin (Massey University, Ganz) has shared this recent 10 Top Tips for Teaching with the New Media reference document (see below). "In order to make the most of the latest technologies and innovative ways to use them, Edutopia has put together this resource containing ten of the best tips and resources on how to bring new media into the classroom. Full of succinct and practical ways to prepare students for 21st-century success, this guide will educate and inspire you to embrace the new-media frontier and embark on a new learning adventure."
Upon reading through the document, you can access many of these media through the links already listed on the ToolBox page.

Blogs

►Colette Cassinelli, the blogger behind  Edtech Vision has some great tips on the topic of "Creating a Class Blog".  Colette is an American high school computer teacher with a passion for learning.  She is a Google Certified Teacher.  Before launching into creating a Class Blog, start by reading:  "Blogging in an Educational Setting"  for practical tips and the related posts.  Take the next step after reading:  "Blogging and Beyond" a post where Colette lists activities you can do with your class blog.

► For exemple of useful blogs created by and for Languages Teachers, read this ICT4LT Module

► The Franc Parler article "Blogs: quelles applications pédagogiques?" provides indications of the benefits of using a blog for the teacher and the learner, of its different applications and some of its limitations.

Wikis

What is a wiki and how to incorporate it in the Language Classroom?

►Watch the slidecast "A Guide to Using Wikis in MFL" by Alex Blagona (Ipswich UK).  Alex set up to demonstrate successfully how using a wiki fits the needs of 21st Century Language learning.

►What is a Wiki and what are its best uses in a Language Classroom? Watch this convincing presentation published by the American Association of French Teachers (AATF)

►A Wiki French Class example: madameshackelford is an American teacher of French who has recently created this wiki, not only for her classes but also to collaborate with her colleagues. It offers heaps of resources on a range of topics. (Should you know of a wiki for French set up by a teacher here is NZ, please let me know!)

►Looking for ideas? Check Lenva Shearing (Bucklands Beach Intermediate) fantastic resources: in Web2.0 Cool Tools for Schools, Lenva has compiled a large amount of web 2.0 tools, under categories educators will find most useful to apply in the classroom.  Getting Tricky with Wikis has a whole array of "how to" support notes on how to get the most out of your wiki. If you are confident with inserting HTML and embedding media, then you will love the material in this wiki. (Ref: centre4.core-ed.net)

Social Networking: NING

There is a plethora of well known social networking platforms (Facebook, Bebo, MySpace are amongst the most popular). They succeed in gathering people together and having them communicating. But NING is a platform which allows you to create your own social network.
You just need to decide its purpose (why? what for?) before starting creating one for your students. With a clear purpose students can see the possibilities of connecting with others beyond solely chatting.
Amongst the features of a NING:
- members register via email
- you choose to include all tabs or not (eg: exclude "blogs" if you wish)
- each member have a personal "My Page", a customisable profile page which could be a great intro to blogging)
- any type of media (podcasts, videos, pictures...) can easily be uploaded
- apps can be added (Vokis, Voicethreads etc)
- the Forum section can be used to post homework assignments and/or discussions can lead to reflection.
- updates can be followed via RSS feed (not if you make your NING a private space though)
- there is a range of moderating features which are helpful to get round safety/privacy concerns).
►A fantastic example of the use of a NING is Projet Invercargill: created by a teacher in France to facilitate communication from her school and the students in schools in the Invercargill region, Projet Invercargill allows great exchanges between students and teachers to take place prior to the upcoming physical exchange.
►Classroom 2.0 is an extremely popular NING with thousands of members, all teachers who exchange ideas and experience in the way they deal and use web 2.0 tools in their classroom. Be sure to pay it a visit: you can search discussions either "by tool" or "by subject". Eg: click on Social Networking to access all discussions tagged "Social Networking", then select "Ning for students" or "Ning as a teaching platform".
NB: Due to its popularity, ensure you subscribe to RSS feeds as a lot is happening all the time: regular feeds will help you sieve through for the info you need more easily.

PowerPoint and Presentation Matters

Improving your Presentations is the topic of this Teachers TV video: it features a teacher new to using these tools and demonstrate the How to.  Downloadable supporting documents are also accessible at this link 

Joe Dale offers practical tips on the use of a wide range of tools in his up to date tech savvie blog Integrating ICT into the Languages Classroom. : Improve Drag and Drop in PPT and Giving your Powerpoints the WoW factor

►Embedding YouTube and Google videos:
This particular tutorial explains very clearly how to convert files to make them available on your Powerpoint presentations.

►Adding Sound: Joe Dale explains in this blogpost how sound can be added to PowerPoint presentations to engage pupils, reinforce pronunciation and help personalise learning.

And for what NOT to do with PPT, either ponder Death By Powerpoint, by A.Kapterev or laugh with Don McMillan's Life after Death by Powerpoint!

Create simple Powerpoint presentations from useful Templates.
In the PPT below, Frédéric Dichtel (Aquinas College) presents two activities: a Treasure Hunt and a Top and Tail of a Sentence activity.  
You can use them as they are but both are set up as a template that you can adapt to any topic and level and re-use with your French class.

e-languagesexemplars

Shirley Bain (Regional Adviser, Waikato) is drawing our attention to a section of the LearningLanguagesWaikato wiki called:

e-languageexemplars

It has real student exemplars of what they have done in e-learning using various tools (including Voki,  Gloggster etc). They are in various languages but mostly French.

NZ Interface Magazine

INTERFACE is a New Zealand Magazine dedicated to "support the use of ICT in learning".  It is published monthly and packed with tools, tips and interviews of teachers and educators committed to develop further the use of ICT in classrooms. INTERFACE Magazine Online lists a range of lesson plans (see sample below), offers reviewed free tools and access to a range of blogs kept by NZ teachers and educators.

Great Geeky Gadgets!

Flip Camera- Mino & MinoHD

Videoing classroom activities, recording assessment, publishing to blogs and webpages have never been easier.  The Flip Camera is a quality hand held video camera the size of a cellphone, which saves and numerically lists all your videos, and even protects them from being recorded over.  With 60 minutes shooting time (Mino HD), with internal, non changeable batteries (enough for 2hrs of use for HD models but 4hrs for non HD), ability to zoom, and good sound quality , the Flip is easy to use: one record button and stop.  Its definite plus: the nifty USB interface allows you to plug it in your computer, download, save and share your videos in no time.  Once done, erase and you are ready to shoot again! Flip video files are .mp4, they need converting to .avi or .wmv to be edited in Windows Movie Maker.

Read the Specs (only Mino and Mino HD available in NZ) and  this blog for more information.

Available in New Zealand from this supplier or go to amazon.com

Easy Speak Mics

Looking for a easy to use microphone for good quality sound recordings in your classroom? The Easy Speak Microphone is a good option.  Read Florence Lyons' review from her

blog entry if you need more information before you buy.

List of Computing Terms and their Translation

Siobhán McSweeney (Whangarei Boys’ High School) shares a very helpful document on language for computing created by a French student, Félix Saparelli. A very good up to date document for you and your students to refer to!

Inserting Characters

How to insert an é,  î,  ç etc. in any application you use? Read the document below, and forget remembering ALT+ codes!

Making Quizzes online

Florence Lyons (Matamata College) made a quiz on the net for her Year 11 on the topic New Zealand, in French. Go to Proprofs to access it.

Better still: click on www.proprofs.com  to either find a quiz that suits your purpose (there are quite a few for French, on grammar points in particular) or CREATE your own for your class or give your students a topic and THEY can make their own! Happy quizzing! 

Online Bingo Board maker

Tools for Educators offers free bingo generators, printables makers, worksheets and programs for elementary school teachers and language teachers to make resources for lessons, lesson plans and K-6 printable materials for classes. Thank you Frédéric (Aquinas College) to share this versatile link!