Group items tagged

Teacher training video by R. Stannard: "This set of videos will give you a full introduction into using JING which is a free screen capture tool from a company called Techsmith. If you are interested in learning about screen capture and you are looking for a FREE tool then JING is a great place to start. You can download JING screen capture technology from this link: https://www.techsmith.com/jing.html Don't forget your students can also use the same technology. It can be used in a huge range of different ways." Stannard provides tips on how you and your students can use screen capture in various ways. JING is free and easy to use.

Taking visual reading notes is not just for so-called "visual" learners. Everyone can benefit by visualizing what they are reading and making notes as they read. Review of notes later is also key to success in remembering what is read.

Continuing improvements in speech recognition technology may lead to some useful CALL applications to ESL/EFL: "By the use of automatic speech recognition (ASR), oral tasks can be practiced more easily because it is the computer itself which understands and gives feedback to the learner so that the learner feels much more involved, and in contrast to traditional methods, a learner can enjoy engaging in activities more."

These are ESL/EFL links collected by Ammar Elhassan Elmerhbi, a CALL IS member. There are no comments on the links, however.

The home page of the CALL Interest Section of TESOL has links to resources, including the Software List and the Electronic Village Online.

"I attended a webinar two week's ago featuring Stacey Harris of Brandon Hall Group and Mark Hellinger of Xyleme. The topic of conversation was this idea of going mobile with your learning; a hot topic in the learning space no doubt. They touched on the concept that learning expectations have shifted with all of the new technology, which has caused change among those who are initially developing the content. Furthermore, while social media monitoring and exploring, I am seeing an increase in not only speculation of that point, but a firm belief from others in the industry that there IS a shift happening in todays learning market. People haven't exactly been able to call it by name, but its being felt. People are feeling a shift from the current learning demands of just getting the information out there, to infinite accessibility and readability. " = Dawn Poulos An interesting article on how e-learning is responding to the push-pull of mobile accessibility.

This article makes the point that Moodle just isn't that good, and recommends a handful of really great LMSs that might work for you. Especially noteworthy is Frog Trade, which is an adaptable interface much friendlier for K-6 or K-12 than Moodle.

R. Stannard has created a tutorial for wallwisher.com, now called "Padlet" This tool is nice for creating a visually oriented board of notes where students can tell others what they are doing, for example, on a project; or to keep interesting photos and weblinks.

A lament on the Common Core Standard's reinforcement of the 5-paragraph academic essay, and a call for the teaching of more authentic types of writing. S. L. Davis's list is long, and sparks a lively comment on the purposes of writing.

Makes some important points about how the literature about teaching reading confuses strategies with skills with tactics. A thoughtful article that might help untangle reading myths. Blog by Grant Wiggins.

"Project-Based Learning (PBL) has a long history, beginning with educational philosopher John Dewey, who called the practice "learning by doing."" PBL focuses on real-world problems and encourages students to explore authentic issues outside the classroom. This article helps explain why PBL is such a powerful tool for learning.

Turn your words into a 3D animated movie, creating online, with any browswer, or on your desktop (Windows only). This looks like an interesting way to have students present what they have learned. [Thanks to Christel Broady from the CALL-IS community list.]

You can now use a third-party app to mirror your iPad/iPhone on a computer (Mac or Windows). This app is now called Reflector, however. Check it out at http://www.airsquirrels.com/reflector/. Play your presentations without a projector.

Still in what I would call Beta, Mbedr is a handy tool to ensure that Flickr embedded notes will show up when you embed the photo on your own site/blog. Some reported glitches, so follow the blog links. For advanced/confident users only. Embedded notes can be used for instructional purposes, especially when students create their own labels.

"AXMA Story Maker is a tool for creating interactive stories where parts of the story (called passages) are represented as blocks and links between passages are shown as lines connecting the blocks. Passages that contain broken links are highlighted and can be easily indentified. " Download. Uses an "intuitive graphic" interface to create an interactive story. Might be useful for students. You can also publish completed stories to the online user library.

Webinar on gaming. These recordings of the proceedings are of interest to anyone who wants to use games and/or insert gamification elements into their classroom routines. This webcomference was a joint effort of IATEFL's LTSIG and the TESOL CALL-IS.

"If This Then That helps you automate tasks like saving your Pinterest pins to your Evernote account, setting text alerts for calendar events, and sending email attachments directly to your Dropbox account. There are thousands of formulas, "recipes" is what IFTTT calls them, available in the gallery of recipes." Byrne suggests uses for teachers, but this might be an good place for students to try out simple programming skills. t/h R. Byrne

An "automated proofreader and your personal grammar coach." I haven't tried it yet, but it's recommended by a CALL IS member. Looks easy to use and recommended by a number of universities. Probably will not be ESL/EFL specific.

A session on TESOL Technology Standards: Why, How, and for Whom. This explanation of the new TESOL Tech Standards explains how they were developed and where to find them online. There are many good lesson plans in the Standards, demonstrating how good technology can be embedded in good practices at many levels and with many levels of technology access.

The Social Media Classroom (we'll call it SMC) includes a free and open-source (Drupal-based) web service that provides teachers and learners with an integrated set of social media that each course can use for its own purposes-integrated forum, blog, comment, wiki, chat, social bookmarking, RSS, microblogging, widgets , and video commenting are the first set of tools." This may be an appropriate replacement for Ning. Looks interesting and is designed especially with educators in mind.