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Software to help grade essays more efficiently.

There was a hyperlink to an article about whether we should still teach cursive. Apparently high schools are not doing it any more. My son stopped cursive in about the 5th grade and didn't have to use it and now he is struggling at the university because he can't read when the professor uses cursive in anything, like comments on his papers. I have to print when I leave him a note. Wow, technology is wiping out one of the long-standing activities that took humans decades to develop.

I like the balanced way this piece presents some of the pros and cons of technology in education. Just this week I had a conversation with another educator who has encountered recent studies suggesting a link between handwriting (of any kind) and certain cognitive development. Some schools are now emphasizing handwriting instruction because it helps boost students' academic achievement.

My daughter is 8 years old and she started learning cursive this year. So it must be back! I'm not sure if will help boost her achievement or not, but I'm glad she is learning it. I think the article made a good point about how students today have a short attention span and easily get off track. If they are typing a paper on the computer, for example, they can open a browser and start surfing the web. They don't necessarily stay focused on the task at hand. It is even hard for me sometimes. If I don't ignore email (just put it off until later, I mean), I would never get anything done!

"CourseSites is an online platform that enables faculty members in K-12 and higher education to set up Web-based class sites where they can post course materials, communicate with students, encourage collaboration, monitor performance, and manage grades."

This page has been set up to help you make connections with classes who are interesting in having Skype conversations with other classes. It's be sorted by time zone, Grade level and subjects.

From the website: Use BlueHarvest to help students with pronunciation and oral examinations by recording audio straight from your desktop. Upload your standards, so that students know what vocab, grammar and cultural standards you want them to focus on. Provide feedback by standard.

I am always looking for ways to provide useful feedbacks to students, and this seems like a great tool to do exactly that. Thank you for sharing.

I can't wait to try this out!

A grading help that creates Google forms for you.

Very interesting article. As a language teacher myself, I really can relate!

@effeinstein Yes, all of my vocabulary quizzes are on Google Forms and I use GF extensively for gathering reflections pre-post units, post field trips, in general, anytime I need to gather data from students about what we are working on-- Sometimes I collect their emails, other times anonymous, if I feel that I might gather more frank feedback that way-- The spreadsheet of data is nice to look over when considering how well something went, or to make tweaks for the next iteration of work. I can also pull quotes for presentations to faculty and families, or in writing narrative reports-- Also makes grading quick and easy-- Sometimes I print out the quizzes for quick one on one feedback for students--

It is also a great tool for getting feedback from the students.

I offer a course in my school called Computer Mediated Language Learning. But this article gives a new perspective of what computer assisted can be.

Nice data to back up our use of all of these great online resources-- Thanks for sharing!

Active participation in discussions is a key to success. If you use a flipped classroom, providing useful vocabulary and sentence structures they might want to use to talk about a particular topic also helps the students participate more in discussions.

Overview of Flipgrid and all the ways it can be used in the classroom for interpretive, interpersonal and presentational modes.

Great suggestions in this article for using Flipgrid. I really like the idea of keeping track of completed assignments (in my school that would be considered a Habit of Work as we do not grade homework anyhow) and perhaps using Flipgrid as part of a summative assessment at the end of the semester...lots of no stress practice and, by the time the assessment comes, they are all familiar with the technology.

Thanks for sharing this article! I liked the idea of different context and different identity :-) Sometimes students express themselves more comfortable at the beginning through the use of alternate identities. Specially if they have to video record themselves when they are learning the language.

My only concern is that how much the material they use in video can be authentic.

This Web page introduces a blended learning approach to learning about Internet safety for English Language Learners in Grades 4 & 5. Initially, this project began with a simple teacher guided collaborative lesson that explored building a class iGoogle site that students accessed online.

This is a good project to maintain the safety and security of our online learners.

The article highlights the effectiveness of collaborative and cooperative language learning activities such as school exchanges and pairing students with counterparts abroad. It also bring up the issue of difficult assessment gets in the way and brings to the front solo performances and summative examinations.

I certainly agree with this as being an effective way to language learning. We in the military community use the group/pair work approach for many reasons. Pair work keeps them interested and motivated to learn. It also makes better use of class time. I also think that when the students are ready for the OPI, they generally do better than if they were in a traditional classroom. As for assessment, yes it is more difficult, but it is up to us as instructors to find ways to measure the students' performance based on the interaction. Once the student is in country, it will be up to him/her to communicate with others. That will be the true test.