What are your favourite tools to teach or learn languages ?

Sat, 07 Jun 2008 20:42:07 -0000

languages |teaching |tools | post by isabellejones on 2008-06-07

Now that our group has more than 100 members, I thought it would be interesting to share our favourite tools to teach or learn languages.

Mine are (for whole class teaching):
* Powerpoint (with animations and sounds)
* Smartboard notebook 10 (especially the resources in the lesson toolkit)
* MyStudiyo
* Quia
* YouTube

Isabelle
post by isabellejones on 2008-06-07
I use a tablet PC connected to a projector and I love it.
Quia
Sanaki 300 Lab
Blogs
My camcorder and anything related to video

Alvaro
post by acanog on 2008-06-08
Favorite that I currently use are...
PowerPoint
a SchoolPad that allows me to control my computer from anywhere in the room
Synchroneyes, a program that allows me to monitor student activity in the lab
BBC Language Spanish webpage
spanish . language&culture (http://www.colby.edu/~bknelson/SLC/index.php)
Ulead Video Studio
Audacity

I am currently learning to use (and falling in love with!)...
diigo
blogger
igoogle
google reader
teachertube.com
post by sraknipp on 2008-06-12
Thank you very much for your contribution!

Señora Knipp wrote:
> Favorite that I currently use are...
> PowerPoint
> a SchoolPad that allows me to control my computer from anywhere in the room
> Synchroneyes, a program that allows me to monitor student activity in the lab
> BBC Language Spanish webpage
> spanish . language&culture (http://www.colby.edu/~bknelson/SLC/index.php)
> Ulead Video Studio
> Audacity
>
> I am currently learning to use (and falling in love with!)...
> diigo
> blogger
> igoogle
> google reader
> teachertube.com
post by isabellejones on 2008-06-12
Non-ICT that I love using are
- magnetic letters on mini-whiteboards (I say in MT, pupils spell in TL)
- Play Doh

ICT
-School just set up a room of wireless laptops and an IWB board, so I can introduce with IWB then set pupils task online or on network
- Also just bought Quizdom voting system (a la 'Who wants to be a millionaire' handsets, but fancier) that I am looking forward to playing with!

Isabelle Jones wrote:
> Thank you very much for your contribution!
>
> Señora Knipp wrote:
> > Favorite that I currently use are...
> > PowerPoint
> > a SchoolPad that allows me to control my computer from anywhere in the room
> > Synchroneyes, a program that allows me to monitor student activity in the lab
> > BBC Language Spanish webpage
> > spanish . language&culture (http://www.colby.edu/~bknelson/SLC/index.php)
> > Ulead Video Studio
> > Audacity
> >
> > I am currently learning to use (and falling in love with!)...
> > diigo
> > blogger
> > igoogle
> > google reader
> > teachertube.com
post by asalt518 on 2008-06-29
Several of you mentioned Powerpoint. I rather disliked it at first, whether the MS stuff or OpenOffice equivalent (I have a Mac and don't use MS programs on it). Too one-way for my way of teaching. So instead of making slides, I'd make html pages and would upload them in separate tabs of Firefox which I could play back and forth on as if they were piano keys.

The headmaster of a school were I was doing a workshop for the PTA exclaimed: "What! you are NOT using POWERPOINT???" when he saw me setting this up before the participants arrived. Oh well, afterwards he recognized it worked too ;-)

Yet now that platforms like slideshare.net and myPlick.com let you synchronize an audio file with a slide presentation, I'm having second thoughts about the latter: not for teaching in presence, but to prepare learning materials students can use when they want. It used to require expensive software like Adobe Breeze. Now you can do that for free.

And it would be great for exercising listening comprehension, for instance. You could have the more advanced students doing the "captioning" of an original audio document on slides they could work on together at Google Docs, and then sync them with the audio. Then less advanced students could use the captioned version at first, then listen just to the audio.

I.e. if the school filter doesn't block these Web apps - which unfortunately is all too often the case...

Otherwise, like Señora Knipp, I love Audacity - also because the "labels" of Audacity are great to transcribe a too fast or muddled audio recording, because you can tweak the audio to make it clearer AND write what it says in the same window.
post by calmansi on 2008-07-17

How did you create the pre-set tags for bookmarks to be shared with this group, Isabelle, please?

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 20:46:32 -0000

bookmark |tag | post by calmansi on 2008-07-17

Hi Isabelle and All

Isabelle, the pre-set bookmarks that appear when one is sharing a bookmark with this group are great help, thanks. But how did you create them, please? Is it a feature in the admin interface of the group owner? It would be great to have something similar at other Diigo groups

Thanks in advance for your answer.

Best

Claude
post by calmansi on 2008-07-17

French class needs students

Thu, 15 May 2008 13:10:12 -0000

no_tag | post by dtaylor5671 on 2008-05-15

Just an FYI for anyone in Maine or New Hampshire looking to get a few credits and practice some French this summer. There is a a course called Shortcuts in French Culture being taught 6/23-7/3 in Gorham, ME at the University of Maine campus. You can find more information at http://www.umaine.edu/mlandc/summerfrench.html

I know nothing about the course or professor but hear good things about it.
post by dtaylor5671 on 2008-05-15
Thanks, Deb: great program though being in Switzerland, I couldn't possibly attend - so I've added it to this group's bookmarks ;-)
post by calmansi on 2008-05-17

Resources for Languages | Diigo Group Forum

What are your favourite tools to teach or learn languages ?

How did you create the pre-set tags for bookmarks to be shared with this group, Isabelle, please?

French class needs students