Lesson 1-1 (14/02/2011)
● Topic: Finding Content on the Web and Devloping our PLN
(ICT and MM Professional Development)
This activity introduces us to five of the key bloggers/writers in the area of ELT
and ICT and we will also learn about some great sites and think about how to
use them.
● Sync In Room In Class
Collaborative learning in class. We share our answers in this Room.
(Click on the link and check our works.)
Lesson 1-2 (15/02/2011)
● Topic: Speed Webbing
Help us to learn about lots of websites that could be useful in our teaching
and learning and to think about how to use them. We pass our knowledge
onto our classmates by teaching them how to use the site. (We have to work
in pair to explore the website first.)
and learning and to think about how to use them. We pass our knowledge
onto our classmates by teaching them how to use the site. (We have to work
in pair to explore the website first.)
● Mixbook
Create your own photo books. You can add pictures and text.
● WallWisher
An amazing ideas board where you can add pictures, texts, videos. You can embed
it, too.
Example~ 29 Ways to Use Wallwisher in the Classroom - From Embedit.in
● Bounce App
This website allows you to grab a screen shot of a website and then add notes to it.
● Wetoku
An amazing website lets you interview each other.
● Board 800
Interactive whiteboard that can have multi-users.
● Blabberize
Make your pictures speak.
● Animasher
Animation tool that allows you to add pictures, text, and music. You can make your
own animation.
● Carry You Text
It allows you to convert your text to speech.
Lesson 1-3 (18/02/2011)
Make use of corpora and concordances, and you can learn the authentic
usage or daily-use English from the corpus, which is probably left out by
many of the dictionaries.
Explore the tools provided in the powerpoints.
Lesson 2-1 (21/02/2011)
From Week 7, each group has do a presentation every Monday. Here is the PPT
of our Wiki presentation. (Created through YUDU Publishing Tool)
Lesson 2-2 (22/02/2011)
In this task, our tutor Tilly had us use PBworks(link is provided about), and
gave us specific procedure to follow to finish the task. There are four steps
to follow (check out the link to see the detail).
→ Look at the wikis (ELT) (choose two of them. The links provided by our
teacher).
→ Edit this page and fill in the type for each wiki you are looking at.
→ Add content to new pages.
→ Edit or comment on other people's writing.
In this task, we learned how to design, evaluate, and comment on an
appropriate tasks, and how to provide sources/content (wiki types) for English
language learners to learn (scaffording) according to your teaching objects or
purposes.
Lesson 2-3 (25/02/2011)
● Topic: Dictionary CD-ROMS
→ In this lecture, our tutor Tilly gave us a specific task: To explore five different
dictionaries with CD-ROMs in pair. Before the task, all of us had to discuss
the criteria of choosing an appropriate dictionary for our students together, and
wrote them down on the whiteboard (Tilly later put them on the Mindmanager).
→ After exploring the dictionary and its CD-ROMS in pair, one student (of each
group) had to go around to other groups to learn their dictionaries in a short
period (time set by our teacher). The other student (of each group) stayed at
their computer and introduced their dictionary and CD-ROM to the "visiting"
students.
→ After learning different dictionaries and CD-ROMs, it was the "visiting"
students' turn to introduce theirs, and the introducing ones went around
to learn the characteristics of other dictionairies and CD-ROMs.
→ Finally, we sat together and ranked the dictionaries. We should fill in
evaluation form provided by Tilly in PB wiki page later.
ELT (MM&ICT) PBWorks - Dictionary CD-ROM Evaluation
Lesson 3-1 (28/02/2011)
● Topic:Second Life
Languagelab.com in Second Life: English School Online
● Classroom discussion: Why is Second Life not more popular?
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| Classroom Discussion 1 (By using Chatzy-Free Private Chatroom) |
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| Classroom Discussion 2 (By using Chatzy-Free Private Chatroom) |
Lesson 3-2 (01/03/2011)
● Topic: Screen Capture Software-A Story to Inspire
● Screen Castle
This tool is not as stable as the other screencastiing tools. To make sure of this, I tried
to record my screen (for about 77 seconds), and it did give me a link. But when clicking
on the link, it showed "This screencast will be available shortly".
● Screenr
You can record up to 5 minutes. However, you need a Twitter account to start recording
your screen. You could select the recording area. And just click on the "record" button,
you start recording your screen. And when you finish recording, Tweet it, and you will get
a link, an embed code. You can embed the videos in your website or your blog. You can
● Screencast-O-Matic
This tool is even more convenient. You can just start recording without logging in. It has
all the functions screenr does. What's better, you can record up to 15 minutes for free.
● Jing
Like screenr, you can only record up to 5 minutes for free. Besides, you have to
download Jing. The free version means you can't upload your videos to YouTube.
However, you can change the function to either get a link or an embed code. You can
catch the image and make notes and then send the link to your friends. And when you
click on "History" button you will see all the videos you record.
● GoView
Like Jing, you have to download GoView first. You will need to sign up and log in to
record your screen. The good thing is that you can keep your videos in "My Recordings".
Like the other screencasting tools, you will get a link, or you can choose to embed it in
your website or your blog. You can convert the recording to MPEG-4 file format and
more concise.
Lesson 3-3 (04/03/2011)
● Topic: Video
Lesson 4-1 (07/03/2011)
● Topic: Mobile Learning/iPad Learning
Smartphone and iPad in language learning presentation today.
Here is the news about iPad2.
● How the iPad2 Will Revolutionize Classroom Education Classroom
The OHP could not work today. So our tutor, Russell, tried this website
"Join Me", and and after we keyed in the code, we could see our tutor's screen
and started the lecture.
● Join Me
Free screen sharing and online meeting. You can share your screen with up to 250
people. You can chat, send a file to the participant, and let a participant (one at a time )
control your screen. However, it sounds a little dangerous to let others control your
computer.
● Topic: Make Your Own Animation
Make your own movies, decide the characters, create the scripts, and make
them animate were so interesting that we almost lost the track of time. The
animation my classmates made were so creative and hilarious. You never know
how artistic and creative your students can be. Try it and you will see how your
students enjoy it.
● Xtranormal-Making Your Own Movies
● Zimmer Twins-Make a Movie
computer.
Lesson 4-2 (08/03/2011)
● Topic: Make Your Own Animation
Make your own movies, decide the characters, create the scripts, and make
them animate were so interesting that we almost lost the track of time. The
animation my classmates made were so creative and hilarious. You never know
how artistic and creative your students can be. Try it and you will see how your
students enjoy it.
● Xtranormal-Making Your Own Movies
● Zimmer Twins-Make a Movie
Tutorial- Zimmer Twins
Here is our discussion about the potential of making animation/movies
(by using tools such as Extranormal and Zimmer Twins) for language
teaching and learning. We used the tool TodaysMeet to share our opinions.
To embed our discussion in the blog, Notable (Screen capture tool) and Issuu
(Publishing tool) are used. As you can see below.
Lesson 4-3 (11/03/2011)
● Topic: Explore the Interactive Whiteboards (SMART board)
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| Warwick Teaching Grid |
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| Exploring and discussion after the lecture |
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| Design the Spelling and Matching Activities |
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| Move the Words with Your Finger |
 | ||
| Discuss Our Project and Dissertation Proposal |
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| Teaching Grid (This Area has Two SMART Boards) |
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| A Mac and a Notebook Next to the SMART Board |
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| Explore the SMART Board |
Lesson 5-1 (14/03/2011)
● Topic: Explore the SMART Whiteboards, the SMART slate, the Synpodium,
the visualiser, iPads, and the portable camera (with USB).
you think that is?
I am not surprised when hearing our tutor said that research showed that it took
Why? Before a teacher gets into the classroom, he or she has to prepare for
the lesson and make sure that the students can achieve the learning goal.
The process of preparing lessons needs time, and if you are a pre-experience
teacher, it will take much more time. After the lesson, you probably need to
adjust your teaching approach according to students' response. It takes a
pre-experience teacher at least 3 years of teaching to be familiar with the
curriculum, the teaching context, and the students and therefore have
confident in teaching.
Not to mention that they have to spend extra time learning something they
are not familiar with, and integrating them in teaching. Teachers are not trained
to prepare for their lessons integrating technology tools, which they are not
familiar with, and some of them are probably hard to use.
How can you make teachers integrate technology in their teaching? The
answer is simple. The tools should be easy for teachers to use to facilitate
teaching, and the tools should help reduce the teachers' heavy load. Just
imagine how frustrated the teachers will be when the computers keep breaking
imagine how frustrated the teachers will be when the computers keep breaking
down, or the tools can't work....
When the tools problems are solved, the training sessions should be practical
When the tools problems are solved, the training sessions should be practical
and applicable so that the teachers could be motivated. Thanks to the innovation
of the new technology, there will be more and more easy-to-use tools. How to
integrate them into teaching will probably be the main issue for more and more
willing teachers.
of the new technology, there will be more and more easy-to-use tools. How to
integrate them into teaching will probably be the main issue for more and more
willing teachers.
