Group items tagged

"This teacher talk webinar focuses on the latest web tools that can engage students, facilitate collaboration, and enhance understanding for students at all levels. Whether in a technology enhanced, blended or online learning classroom, these Web 2.0 tools can be easily integrated to increase student engagement and interest in learning. Explore this webinar to learn about these tools as well as the shift in learning and teaching that can occur when technology is implemented at its deepest levels."

This article is about England but has some good tips for beginning to engage students using social media. It also shows that other countries struggle with promoting the importance of FL learning too.

This blog provides facts about the influence of new technology in society and it engages instructors to be updated and open to new ways of teaching. It also provides some examples on how we can engage our students to learn languages through the use of social media. Carlatech17

Some good advice for online and hybrid course engagement. One of the comments below says - even for F2F classes! One of the comments also questions the point about responding to all student posts - saying that it's better to let them discuss without you, only adding in occasionally or with a summary or notes in a weekly wrap-up. This "hands-off" discussion method is the route Alyssa and I have taken, what has worked for you?

This looks like a good resource for new classroom activities for any language.

I really like the idea of doing an email activity with my students! Thank you for posting this article! Great ideas!

Now I have another question: what role does a textbook play in our instruction? Do we need to get rid of materials written for language learners?

Things to keep in mind to help keep your virtual audience awake and engaged.

Rich Internet Applications project helps create tools that engage language learners in active learning.

Mashup is a great tool and the students like it too.

Thanks for posting this; Audio Dropbox would be a useful tool for practicing leaving voicemails, etc.

A large-scale study of engagement with different types of video in MOOCs. Look at the recommendations.

I am fascinated by this notion of "lurking" to describe students/ people on-line who do not respond immediately but take time to read and reflect. Interesting research questions whether this impacts their learning positively and how to assess their learning. Maybe someone can find a better name, too?

Screencastify, WeVideo (editing), Google+ Communities

So many great ideas in this article. I hope I will get to use more this coming semester - Padlet, for instance.

So many ways to engage students in virtual classes. Great ideas!

I attended a webinar and the presenter emphasized taking breaks. I must remember that one as well as putting these ideas in my toolbox.

A class response system. A way to keep people engaged in meetings or Zoom sessions. Freemium model - pay for more capabilities, but basic level is free.

I found Basic is free for one month.

Josh Murdock offers three tips to engage students: #1: Create a Community From the Start, #2: Assign an "All About Me" Project, and #3: Use Video Announcements

From the website:  (and there is a companion website, see below) In spite of the proliferation of online learning in higher education, creating online courses can still evoke a good deal of frustration, negativity, and wariness in those who need to create them. Essentials of Online Course Design takes a fresh, thoughtfully designed, step-by-step approach to online course development. At its core is a set of standards that are based on best practices in the field of online learning and teaching. Pedagogical, organizational and visual design principles are presented and modeled throughout the book and users will quickly learn from the guide's hands-on approach. The course design process begins with the elements of a classroom syllabus which, after a series of guided steps, easily evolve into an online course outline. The guide's key features include: a practical approach informed by theory clean interior design that offers straightforward guidance from page one clear and jargon-free language examples, screen shots, and illustrations to clarify and support the text a Companion Website with examples, adaptable templates, interactive learning features, and online resources a checklist of online course design standards that readers can use to self-evaluate. Essentials of Online Course Design serves as a best-practice model for designing online courses. After reading this book, readers will find that preparing for online teaching is, contrary to popular belief, a satisfying and engaging experience. The core issue is simply good design: pedagogical, organizational, and visual. Companion website:  http://www.marjorievai.com/WEBSITE-CONTENTS.html

Engage your students with text messages for realtime polling, and send reminders that they'll read instantly. Learn more here.

Thanks for sharing this (and for the highlights). It's something I need to explore further.

I love this idea.

Abstract: This case study is based on an investigation into the use that a group of language learners made of Livemocha.com, a Social Networking Site through which language exchange is enabled via social media applications. The learners created profiles in the website and proceeded to interact with speakers of their target languages, reporting back on their experiences over a 10-week period. As communication between language partners can take place through several different channels, and can be asynchronous or synchronous, written or spoken, it was considered that the preferences of learners with different personality types (as indicated by responses to a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator questionnaire) might be accommodated. Several studies have suggested that the anxiety that some language learners feel when communicating in L2, especially when speaking, is reduced in online environments. Under the premise that a reduction in anxiety may lead to an increased "willingness to communicate" (MacIntyre et al., 1998), the principal objective of this project was to examine the type and frequency of online interactions that the participants engaged in with other speakers of their target languages in the Livemocha language learning community.

Sign-up for the 30-day, but a year - free! Here's info I got in an email notification: We are glad to announce a free WizIQ individual membership for K-12 and College teachers. To be eligible for this offer, teachers need email addresses associated with their educational institutes (e.g., aprofessor@college.edu or ateacher@adistrict.k12.ma.us.) If you are a teacher from K12 or a College, apply and claim your free membership by following the steps below: Steps to get free WizIQ membership: 1.Sign up for a 30-day trial by clicking on the 'Apply now' button below 2. Verify your email address from your email inbox 3. You'll receive a confirmation email from us once your free membership is approved Apply now  WizIQ's free teacher accounts give educators at accredited institutions access to a range of teaching tools. To many educators, the virtual classroom for which WizIQ is best known only means live classes, which they might not need considering they see their students in person every day. But with the WizIQ Virtual Classroom teachers can also: Offer online courses for their school Run virtual office hours and homework help Run summer school online to address transportation and facilities issues Give AP students a jumpstart with virtual summer class sessions Let athletes or homebound students work with their classes, live, even if they can't be there Easily set up classes - without IT help Bring subject matter experts into their classrooms virtually Support group and project-based learning Engage hard-to-reach parents with: Virtual parents' nights Virtual conferences Adult education and community outreach Virtual math and literacy nights Broadcast live school committee meetings on the web Record lectures or flip their classrooms Conduct virtual field trips Run professional development when and where staff are available Share teaching resources among schools Teachers can take full advantage of every WizIQ feature, including screen-sharing, polling, video-confe

make the most of the possibilities afforded to us by the effective use of the internet in order to raise achievement and participation, as well as to increase motivation and engagement.

Fabulous Class Comic in French. Another brilliant activity that can be conducted over a number of months and allows a fair bit of freedom to students to be creative as well as engage different intelligences in the classroom (visual, verbal, logical, etc.). Plus, it is highly collaborative for all and takes the teacher away from being the knowledge expert to the a more authentic creative position.