This week we tried our hands at some quiz authoring with Hot Potatoes, a freely available quiz editor which can create html web pages. The main goal was to get some quick hands-on experience in making a simple gap-fill quiz, and it seems that the technology was no problem at all. We were able to view the quiz on our own computers, but we have yet to learn how to upload it to the server and publish it (we are going to use the Bb content collection for this). I have to admit that we didn't pay a lot of attention to the content of the quiz, which was rather secondary to technical mastery to begin with, so we are going to have to focus on that aspect of things more in future.
Hot Potatoes may not be exactly as exciting as Second Life (see my previous post), but it is still good at what it does, which is authoring quizzes. It has a range of possible quizzes and you can set up multimedia as well (i.e. images and audio/video). The interface is still easy to use, the main technical problem comes when you want to customize and publish, which is nowhere near as easy as what we have come to expect, with all those web 2.0 tools that make customizing and publishing such a cinch.
What are your thoughts about quiz authoring with Hot Potatoes? Do you know of any other quiz authoring platforms? How do they compare?
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Second Life in Language Education
Last night we spent about an hour exploring Second Life together and evaluating the possibilities for use in language education. The process was fairly unstructured, with most people starting off in Orientation Island and getting the hang of the controls, before moving on to select a destination of their own, or explore one of Renaissance Island, Mont St. Michel, or the International Space Flight Museum (as examples of the different kinds of environments that can be found in SL). Some of use chose and evaluated our own destination, based on searches and with the help of the b-places website.
We did encounter some problems, technology-wise, with some of the computers in the room unable to support the SL client, because of problems with the graphics card, and other computers simply being unbearably slow. The technology problems notwithstanding, it takes a while to get the hang of SL and work out the point of it, so a number of us arrived and got to wondering what to do next. This problem could be addressed with a more structured task (for example a scavenger hunt), but the lack of structure also added to the activity, in that we were able to play with a variety of environments and report back on some diverse experiences afterwards. It would also seem that if language educators are going to make use of SL in their delivery, then what is really required is some kind of ongoing project, which includes an initial period of orientation and play in the various environments that are available.
After diving into SL in this way, it was helpful to review the ways in which it could be used, and this video (via the ICT4LT site) is particularly useful for that:
What's your experience of Second Life?
We did encounter some problems, technology-wise, with some of the computers in the room unable to support the SL client, because of problems with the graphics card, and other computers simply being unbearably slow. The technology problems notwithstanding, it takes a while to get the hang of SL and work out the point of it, so a number of us arrived and got to wondering what to do next. This problem could be addressed with a more structured task (for example a scavenger hunt), but the lack of structure also added to the activity, in that we were able to play with a variety of environments and report back on some diverse experiences afterwards. It would also seem that if language educators are going to make use of SL in their delivery, then what is really required is some kind of ongoing project, which includes an initial period of orientation and play in the various environments that are available.
After diving into SL in this way, it was helpful to review the ways in which it could be used, and this video (via the ICT4LT site) is particularly useful for that:
What's your experience of Second Life?
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Blogging in language education
Blogs are now used in a large variety of different contexts, from presidential campaigns to personal diaries. If we are interested in using blogs in language education, then it helps to think about what makes a good blog, and what makes a good blogging assignment.
On what makes a good blog, Will Richardson (author of Blogs, Wikis and Podcasts) suggests that real blogging involves deep reflection and personal growth over a period of time. Such 'complex blogs' involve 'extended analysis and synthesis over a longer period of time that builds on previous posts, links and comments'. Take a look at his evaluation blogging in education contexts, it's worth a read.
Ideally, a 'blogging assignment' should include more than just posting to a blog. Blogs are about participating in communities, and so it is important to think about relevant sources (e.g. web sites and other blogs), link to these from your posts, and provide others with feedback (e.g. in the form of comments). In their study of student blogging, Ducate and Lomicka (needs library login) divide the process into two stages: one of blog reading, the other of posting to blogs. This seems like a sound idea, as their students were able to gain some insight into blogging conventions before they began posting themselves.
If you're interested in learning about blogging conventions, then it will definitely help to read some blogs (you can start with the ones in this blog's blogroll). What conventions can you identify?
On what makes a good blog, Will Richardson (author of Blogs, Wikis and Podcasts) suggests that real blogging involves deep reflection and personal growth over a period of time. Such 'complex blogs' involve 'extended analysis and synthesis over a longer period of time that builds on previous posts, links and comments'. Take a look at his evaluation blogging in education contexts, it's worth a read.
Ideally, a 'blogging assignment' should include more than just posting to a blog. Blogs are about participating in communities, and so it is important to think about relevant sources (e.g. web sites and other blogs), link to these from your posts, and provide others with feedback (e.g. in the form of comments). In their study of student blogging, Ducate and Lomicka (needs library login) divide the process into two stages: one of blog reading, the other of posting to blogs. This seems like a sound idea, as their students were able to gain some insight into blogging conventions before they began posting themselves.
If you're interested in learning about blogging conventions, then it will definitely help to read some blogs (you can start with the ones in this blog's blogroll). What conventions can you identify?
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
New Technologies: Getting acquainted
Last night we shared our accounts of technology use in language teaching and learning, and listening to these, I was struck by how a variety of technologies are now becoming more and more pervasive in language education. I was also struck by the variety in terms of engagement and level of confidence with technology: even though most of us use computers regularly, we do not all feel that we can take a basic familiarity with computers for granted, it seems to me. And the question of how best to use technology in the classroom is one that we clearly all need to explore (it's one of those questions that occupies some people for a very long time, so there is no surprise there!). A good starting point for resolving some of these issues is to delve into the various writing available on the internet, which describes experiences with technology in the language learning context. Both academic literature and practical accounts in educators' blogs can be helpful here.
Here is a list of online resources that I suggest you visit if you want to get a sense of the kind of things that are being done with technology in educational contexts (these are also linked in the blogroll of this blog):
A good way to digest the ideas that you encounter is to post your thoughts to your blog. When you come across an interesting reading, summarize it for the community and add your own thoughts. Might the approach work with your own students? What problems do you foresee, and how would you overcome them? Feedback and comments from others will be helpful to refine your ideas.
Last night, I mentioned an application of Flickr for vocabulary learning (described by Nik Peachey, here), and ideas for using Google Earth in class (collated by Tom Barrett, here).
Here is a list of online resources that I suggest you visit if you want to get a sense of the kind of things that are being done with technology in educational contexts (these are also linked in the blogroll of this blog):
- Nik Peachey's blogs (here and here) - good for practical evaluations of technological tools
- Larry Ferlazzo - lots of links to useful web sites
- Will Richardson's blog - especially good if you are interested in promoting new literacies
- Graham Stanley's blog - has a special interest in Second Life (also see Gavin Dudeney)
- Tom Barret - Educational technology in an English school
- Language Learning and Technology - an online, peer-refereed academic journal: lots of evaluations of technological applications here
A good way to digest the ideas that you encounter is to post your thoughts to your blog. When you come across an interesting reading, summarize it for the community and add your own thoughts. Might the approach work with your own students? What problems do you foresee, and how would you overcome them? Feedback and comments from others will be helpful to refine your ideas.
Last night, I mentioned an application of Flickr for vocabulary learning (described by Nik Peachey, here), and ideas for using Google Earth in class (collated by Tom Barrett, here).
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
A fresh start
The new year is getting underway now, and we've already finished our first lesson in New Technologies in Language Teaching. We've set up our blogs (which you can find listed in the sidebar, just scroll down a bit), rolled up our sleeves and are ready for the work to begin!
Image by James Jordan http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamesjordan/ / CC BY-ND 2.0
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Workshop follow-up
I've just finished a workshop about using blogs and wikis in the language classroom with some very motivated English language teachers. There were some excellent ideas from the group, and some important issues got raised as well. This was a very interesting group with a pretty good understanding of how the web works, and I hope that they will be able to go on and use blogs/wikis in their teaching.
UPDATE: One of the teachers has already got his blog started - have a look at Mr. Maxwell's lessons...
Some interesting issues raised:
1. Students are already enthusiastically blogging: can we harness that for our own purposes?
I would hope that some of the enthusiasm that they feel for their own blogging would spill over into the blogging that they do for their class. I can't stress enough the importance of setting out some ground rules, as this teacher has done, so that students understand the purpose of their blogging, and understand related privacy and ethical issues.
2. If you create a wiki, does that mean that anyone in the class can edit anything?
It basically does. But my experience is that people tend to need encouraging to edit, not the other way around. Once again, setting out ground rules for how you expect students to go about editing, addressing ethical issues and so on, are essential. You can see an example of this here, and covering related issues here. Of course, you would need to think about your own context and negotiate a policy with your students.
3. How can we create and use multimedia in blogs?
Once students get past a certain level, they will be able to teach you this (which might seem a bit scary if you like being in charge). Blogger has an add video function, and it is also very easy to add video that you have uploaded to Googlevideo, Youtube or Teachertube. There are lots of different ways to create multimedia, ranging from simple slideshows with audio to edited movies. Here are some useful links:
Online video for learning: A comprehensive list of online tools that you can use to edit and share video online
Jumpcut: Online video editor
Voicethread: Audio narrated slideshows with audio comments from listeners
Windows Movie Maker and Apple's iMovie can also be used to create movies. Because so many people and institutions use Windows, I guess you will want to use that (sorry Mac users, but you probably already know how to use iMovie don't you?). Feel free to browse the animations below to get some idea of how Moviemaker works:
How to import media into a Windows Movie Maker project
How to add a title frame to a Windows Movie Maker project
How to clip a movie in Windows Movie Maker
How to add a transition in Windows Movie Maker
How to export a project from Windows Movie Maker
A nice idea for a project:
One teacher suggested that students could work in groups to create travel brochures for different countries around the world, each group adding the work to a different section of a wiki. A project like that would allow students opportunities for peer and self correction (as well as teacher feedback) using the discussion function of the wiki.
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please feel free to respond below.
UPDATE: One of the teachers has already got his blog started - have a look at Mr. Maxwell's lessons...
Some interesting issues raised:
1. Students are already enthusiastically blogging: can we harness that for our own purposes?
I would hope that some of the enthusiasm that they feel for their own blogging would spill over into the blogging that they do for their class. I can't stress enough the importance of setting out some ground rules, as this teacher has done, so that students understand the purpose of their blogging, and understand related privacy and ethical issues.
2. If you create a wiki, does that mean that anyone in the class can edit anything?
It basically does. But my experience is that people tend to need encouraging to edit, not the other way around. Once again, setting out ground rules for how you expect students to go about editing, addressing ethical issues and so on, are essential. You can see an example of this here, and covering related issues here. Of course, you would need to think about your own context and negotiate a policy with your students.
3. How can we create and use multimedia in blogs?
Once students get past a certain level, they will be able to teach you this (which might seem a bit scary if you like being in charge). Blogger has an add video function, and it is also very easy to add video that you have uploaded to Googlevideo, Youtube or Teachertube. There are lots of different ways to create multimedia, ranging from simple slideshows with audio to edited movies. Here are some useful links:
Online video for learning: A comprehensive list of online tools that you can use to edit and share video online
Jumpcut: Online video editor
Voicethread: Audio narrated slideshows with audio comments from listeners
Windows Movie Maker and Apple's iMovie can also be used to create movies. Because so many people and institutions use Windows, I guess you will want to use that (sorry Mac users, but you probably already know how to use iMovie don't you?). Feel free to browse the animations below to get some idea of how Moviemaker works:
How to import media into a Windows Movie Maker project
How to add a title frame to a Windows Movie Maker project
How to clip a movie in Windows Movie Maker
How to add a transition in Windows Movie Maker
How to export a project from Windows Movie Maker
A nice idea for a project:
One teacher suggested that students could work in groups to create travel brochures for different countries around the world, each group adding the work to a different section of a wiki. A project like that would allow students opportunities for peer and self correction (as well as teacher feedback) using the discussion function of the wiki.
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please feel free to respond below.
Blogs and wikis workshop
I'm with a group of teachers, figuring out how to use blogs to support English language teaching in schools. If there is anyone out there that wants to contribute, please feel free to add to the comments section below.
I've collected some links to some class blogs and I would like to discuss those with you. Before you have a look at the links, it might be a good idea to think about what blogging actually is.
When you look at the links you will probably notice that there are different things you can do with a class blog:
Blogging is also extremely flexible. Looking at these blogs, what range of learning opportunities do you see for students?
Here are the links:
I've collected some links to some class blogs and I would like to discuss those with you. Before you have a look at the links, it might be a good idea to think about what blogging actually is.
When you look at the links you will probably notice that there are different things you can do with a class blog:
- Post administrative information
- Post learning tips for your students
- Have students share work with a real audience
- Facilitate collaborative project learning
- And much much more...
Blogging is also extremely flexible. Looking at these blogs, what range of learning opportunities do you see for students?
Here are the links:
Sister project showcaseWhich of these blogs do you like the best? What do you think might work for you? Let me know what you think.
Room 9 Nelson central’s blog
Mr. C’s class blog
English 131 blog
CALL Lessons 2005-2007
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
