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Tech nite requests from students:
- attach a laptop to the projector, troubleshooting
- strengthen skills with power point.
- blogging
- podcast
- rss
- Powerpoint
- clipart
- Audacity for recording audio
- Smartboard
- video recording
- authentic materials
Connecting a laptop to a projector:
- find the port on the side or back of your computer that looks
like this:
- connect the cord from the LCD projector to that port. If you're
using a Mac, use the adaptor which came with the computer.
- On a Windows machine, press Ctrl + the F7 key. This will send the
image from your computer to the projector. On a Mac, press the F7 key.
- You should now see the image on both the computer and the screen.
This assumes that the projector is turned on and you've taken off the
lens cap. You may need to adjust the focus on the projector, depending
on the distance from the screen. There is a menu button on the top of
the projector, usually, which allows you to change the way the
projection looks on the screen; making it bigger or smaller, angled,
etc.
Blogging, Podcasting, and RSS
Blogging
Blogging refers to the use of web logs, which are easily
updated web pages that can contain multimedia content and can be automatically
sent to readers/viewers. NCLRC has a Blogport with
some tutorials. A good simple explanation on how to get started is here.
Podcasting
World language teachers have 3 options in using podcasting:
- Using podcasts that others have
created to provide authentic, motivating
materials for your students.
- Creating podcasts that are closely tied to the content of your course
and sending them out into the ether for use by your students in class or
in a mobile
immersion environment.
- Having your students create podcasts as a way to increase their listening
and speaking opportunities, give them an authentic audience and motivate
them toward greater engagement with the language.
Apple has made podcasting accessible to many schools, with partnerships to
provide server space and software, and has some great online
tutorials. You can watch videos on how to get started in podcasting (using
Macs and Apple software, of course) here.
To record audio, you can use Audacity (Mac or Windows)
You can use a built-in microphone on some computers, but using one with a headset
usually works better. Save your file in .wav format or in .mp3 format. Another
way to record on Mac is using Garage
Band, which will save the file in a format native to iTunes.
Online Podcasting Community: Promoting Oral Proficiency with
Odeo.com
Three language instructors, J. Ruth and L. Teixeira from
East Stroudsburg University and S. Villa from The New School, showed how they
use Odeo in their Spanish and Portuguese classes. http://odeo.com/ is a community-based
podcasting service which allows everything created there to be shared via email.
The presenters explained this process for using it:
- The teacher posts a picture
and some audio to accompany it. For example, a picture of four people would
have the audio, "Describe estas personas." Another teacher might send students
to a BBC news clip in Portuguese and ask particular questions.
- Each student
responds orally, recording and saving the audio that is sent to the teacher
automatically. The instructors say this greatly increases the amount of time
students are listening and speaking in the target language.
Podcasts as Instructional Tools: Taking Language Tasks Beyond the Classroom.
Two teachers, J. Torres and R. Araujo, from St. Lawrence University, in Canton,
NY, told about a project in their advanced Spanish Conversation class.
- First,
they listened to examples of native-language podcasts; http://radio.planetachat.com/ and personal podcasts.
- Next, they trained students in how to create podcasts,
using Audacity http://audacity.sourceforge.net ( a free, cross-platform sound
editor) or Garage Band (on Mac) or Loudblog: http://loudblog.de/, which sets
up an iTunes-ready RSS feed.
- The main aspect of the project required students
to produce four 10 – 20 minute podcasts about topics that would be
of interest to other students. The course website can be seen at: http://jennatorres.net/span346 where you can hear examples of the student podcasts.
RSS: Really Simple Syndication
RSS is like getting a newspaper subscription in cyberspace. It's a way to
keep up to date on what's happening on a number of sites without navigating
to them. You can look at RSS from two perspectives, as the content receiver
(reader) or as the content provider (blogger or podaster). I'll give you a
quick explanation for each perspective.
RSS For Content Receivers
You have to set up an RSS "aggregator" to handle the flow of content coming to your computer. Mac users an use NetNewWire (I have this on my laptop) while Windows users can go to Downloads.com FeedDemon for Windows
RSS For Content Creators
You can create an RSS feed manually but most prefer using software
that creates an xml webpage for you. One site I used is FeedBurner, which
allows you to create and easily update your RSS feed.
Uses of broadcast instruction, audio/video conferencing, and other
distant learning applications.
Using a video camera: there are
lots of neat things you can do in class once you have and know how to
operate a video camera. Students are highly motivated to see and hear
themselves on video, so will perform in their foreign language if given
a chance to.
More technology tutorials, lesson plans, guides, etc:
Microsoft's Education section: http://www.microsoft.com/education/default.mspx
Tutorials are available for various applications: http://www.microsoft.com/education/tutorials.mspx
Purdue University's annotated list of online resources for ESL
students: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/esl/eslstudent.html
Strengthen my skills with PowerPoint: Demonstration in PowerPoint
Here's a web video on the colors in Spanish: http://cfbpodcast.cfbisd.edu:16080/blojsom_resources/meta/stacyc/Los%20colores.mp4
Apple has a nice set of lesson plans on Language Arts using
technology: http://ali.apple.com/ali_sites/ali/ilifesearch.php?Subject=Language%20Arts
Set up a class on Blackboard
Blackboard is a service that a school subscribes to
in order to allow teachers to have a web site for interactions with
classes. GWU's website has instructions on creating acourse on
Blackboard: https://blackboard.gwu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp
Other schools, such as U of Texas, offer more detailed tutorials on
Blackboard http://www.utexas.edu/academic/blackboard/tutorials/
Princeton even has animated tuotorials: http://www.princeton.edu/as/bb_animated_tutor.shtml
If you are working in a school where Blackboard is available, there
should also be training available. Ask the HR dept. for it.
Individual teachers
who are not associated with a school that has a Blackboard account are better
off setting up their own website or moodle and placing the documents and applications
they want to use there. One of the drawbacks of Blackboard is that once the class
is over, the class site is no longer available except to the professor. Another
problem is that others cannot access
your site if they are not registered with the school. So if you want to
show someone the neat things you've created and uploaded you'd have to
upload it to another site if that person is not a student who can use
the Blackboard account.
Webquests
One integrative application of technology in the classroom is the
use
of Webquests to encourage inquiry-oriented critical thinking,
collaborative learning, and student motivation. See "Why
webquests?" and a complete guide to using this technique: http://www.internet4classrooms.com/on-line_quest.htm
How to Evaluate Textbooks
Textbook Evaluation Form
Materials Exhibit
Activity: Become familiar with the textbooks on display by
completing the Treasure Hunt sheet (handout)
Sign out textbooks
Resources for adaptive assistive devices for students with special needs.
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