Hands-on Technology Explorations

Maite Correa

TECHNOLOGY AND FL INSTRUCTION

• In order to integrate technology in the classroom we have to consider the following:– Is it necessary? Am I assuming that a particular teaching

method is better simply because it employs more technology?

– Is it beneficial? How can technology be used to promote the class objectives?

– Will it take substantially more time than the “traditional approach”?

– Do I have time (will I make an effort) for learning it first?

– Do I have a back up plan (in case technology does not work)?

• Technology is good as long as we use it wisely. That means knowing when NOT to use it, as well.

PROS & CONS

• CONS– Hardware and software ($$)– Time and effort– Computer illiteracy (usually on the part of the teacher :( )– Difficult to stay on task? Are my students on

Facebook/MSN? Do they take too much time doing something that should not take that much?

• PROS– Fun (motivation)– Different learning channels (audio, video, text…)– Authentic materials: connection with the target culture– Interactive– New array of possibilities (unthinkable before)

WHAT DO WE ALREADY USE?

• Let’s brainstorm:

http://bubbl.us/

http://www.text2mindmap.com/

COURSE MANAGEMENT TOOLS

– Announcements• Posted homework. No excuses.

– Grades• Students see their progress as the class goes on. They can see whether

there is an error. No excuses.

– Quizzes • In-class or take home. Auto graded in some cases.

– Chat– Discussion forums

• In their own time. Interaction with other students as part of their homework

– Materials• Available always. They print it or save it. No excuses.

– WE CAN TRANSFER EVERYTHING FROM SEMESTER TO SEMESTER

VIDEOS

• Youtube: We all know how to use it…

• Teachertube: Ideas for teachers

• Schooltube: Students can post their projects

COMIC STRIPS

– STUDENTS CAN USE IT AS AN ACTIVITY– TEACHERS CAN USE IT AS A TEACHING

TOOL• Makebeliefscomix.com (very simple)

• Comic Life (it used to come for free with MACs; very customizable ballons)

• Toondoo.com (the most complete one)

COLLABORATIVE TOOLS AND WIKIS

• A wiki is “a collection of web pages designed to enable anyone who accesses it to contribute or modify content, using a simplified markup language.[1][2] Wikis are often used to create collaborative websites and to power community websites. The collaborative encyclopedia, Wikipedia, is one of the best-known wikis” (wikipedia.org)

• We can use them for multiple purposes. The one I like the most: the interactive story:– Wikidot– Wikispaces– Wetpaint– Interactive Story (not really a wiki)– Google docs for collaborating on documents without the hassle of

multiple copies of the same document: docs.google.com

AUDIO RECORDINGS

• Useful for oral homework or oral tasks while working in the lab– Audacity.com (they can export their audios into

mp3s). Video tutorial here– Audio dropboxes (you paste the code in your

webpage and it works as an answering machine where students can leave their messages -- last time I checked it did not work properly, but I am hopeful)

BLOGGING

• A blog is a website, usually maintained by an individual, with regular entries of commentary. Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual, although some of them focus on art (artlog), photographs (photo blog), videos (vlog), audio (podcasting)… (taken from wikipedia.org)

TYPES OF BLOGS

• Textual (most of them are customizable with videos and other media):– wordpress.com– classblogmeister.com (specifically for classroom use; very simple)– Blogspot.com

• Photoblogs:– Photoblog.com– Fotolog.com

• Podcasting:– Gcast.com (you can post with a simple call to an 1-888 number)– Other podcasts

RSS FEEDS

• RSS (Rich Site Summary) is a format for delivering regularly changing web content. RSS solves a problem for people who regularly use the web. It allows you to easily stay informed by retrieving the latest content from the sites you are interested in. You save time by not needing to visit each site individually. You ensure your privacy, by not needing to join each site's email newsletter (http://www.whatisrss.com/)

• Free RSS readers:– Netvibes.com– Google Reader– My Yahoo– Newsgator– Amphetadesk

SHARING YOUR WORK

• Slideshare.net: host your presentations and share them with others. They can be linked to at the site itself or else embedded in a web page.

• Calameo.com: from a file, you can create magazines, brochures, sales catalogs, annual reports, or presentation brochures. Embeddable. Music (URL of mp3) can be added.

• Voicethread.com: an online media album that can hold essentially any type of media (images, documents and videos) and allows people to make comments. Embeddable.

CREATE INTERACTIVE ACTIVITIES

• Hotpotatoes: create exercises for the WWW. The applications are JCloze, JCross, JMatch, JMix and JQuiz.

• LIM: puzzles, word search puzzles, questions…

• ARDORA: crosswords, word searches, fill in the gaps, graphical panels, clocks, etc.

• Examples here

WEB CREATION

• Microsoft Word (almost everybody has it). Tutorial.

• Macromedia Dreamweaver (not everyone has it)

• Googlepages.com (free and easy). Video Tutorial.

CREATING TUTORIALS

• Wink: Using Wink you can capture screenshots, add explanations boxes, buttons, titles etc and generate a highly effective tutorial for your users.

• Jing: Simply select an area of your screen, capture it as an image or record it as a video, and then click Share. Jing conveniently places a URL to your content on your clipboard ready for you to paste the URL into any of your conversations

• MY TUTORIAL: “PASTING CODE IN DREAMWEAVER”

CURIOSITY IS THE KEY

• If you want to learn, you can learn. Just google it and be curious

• HINT: I learned more than 50% of this workshop while doing it :)

• Maybe there is a (free) tool that does exactly what you want: look for it!

• If you do not know how to work with an application or do not know what the application does, look for hints, examples and tutorials.

QUESTIONS? COMMENTS?

• I am always happy to help you and to learn from you

• Email me or come to my office!!