Abstract: In recent years, a sharp increase in the number of academic studies around the use of video games and new media for educational purposes has greatly expanded our understanding of their potential for enhancing learning.
Constantinos, this a great resource of information. Thank you for sharing! I haven't sit down to read it all, but skimming through it I found plenty of interesting information. I was always interested in using video games or educational games for language learning, but never took initiative in reading anything on the topic.
In the beginning of "From "Authentic Materials" to "Live Materials" section, the author mentions that the culture should not be described to students, but rather facilitate a platform for them to actually participate in that culture. I see how we can do that through games, but is there any of you using other means to do it? Is it possible to do it through social networks or second language learning networks? If yes, how exactly? Any thoughts on this?
Today there are lots of creative blogging tools for students to use at school, but the five below are specifically catered towards a K-12 audience and come with lots of useful features for teachers and students. So, if you are itching to get your students online, consider the following options.
Abstract: Collaborative social interaction when using Web 2.0 in terms of VoiceThread is investigated in a case study of a Swedish university course in social psychology.
The results show that use of Web 2.0: a) supports students' reflections concerning their own and others' thoughts and emotions, b) supports individual students and integrates them into a work group, and c) develops students' identification and awareness in relation to self, a task and others.
Reflection is a core component of many outdoor education programs with many educators relying on journal writing as a means of facilitating reflection.
We speculated that it might be worth trying to engage these students with "their technology," and in this paper we explore if and how Web 2.0 technologies can support student journal writing behaviours in outdoor education.
With the advent of Web 2.0 tools, additional language educators can extend their classrooms beyond the traditional brick-and-mortar walls to communicate with the world. One of the best ways to do so is to introduce VoiceThread into language lessons. In doing so, students can create conversations that extend across the classroom or across the globe.
This review takes a look at current digital storytelling protocols and strategies currently displayed through VoiceThread creations, as well as detailed strategies conducive for a powerful digital storytelling tool such as VoiceThread.
This article documents the curricular decisions made by a teacher educator research team whose guiding theoretical focus for intern practice is dialogic instruction. Over a 2-year sequence, teaching interns used video and Web 2.0 technologies to respond critically to and revise their teaching practices in collaboration with peers and instructors.
I found this by chance just exploring around. If you check the SUPPORT section on the VoiceThread site, you will find a list of publications. They posted a collection of abstracts with links of scholarly articles written about using VoiceThread for language learning, K-12, higher education and professional development. I just skimmed through the lists, and some of the articles are accessible, while some are behind a password.
You may communicate or read materials posted by speakers of the language that you are learning, but you will also be encouraged to help others who are looking to speak your native language.
Indeed, Twitter is where many educators have come together to formulate their professional learning networks (PLNs). But Twitter is still daunting to many people, and while Google Plus remains closed to the general public at th
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FYI the "7 things you should know about ..." is a fantastic resource. Be sure to check out the Twitter article
I liked how the teacher videotaped the skype conversation with a flipcam in order to replay it for her students. Then, they could focus on parts of the conversation in more detail.
I like the idea of the flipcam as well. I also like how she manages to have those kids skype, which is a difficult tasks to do. This is a very good example on how a whole group can skype with another located in another part of the world.
At our school there is a phenomenal social studies teacher who uses Skype to talk to students in the Middle East. I would love to chat with students from Mexico or another Spanish speaking country, but am unsure about how to get started. Does anyone have any tips about how to find a partner school and set up interaction? I think this is essentially part of 'ePals'. Does anyone use this? Share your experiences, please, if you have!
Hangouts on Air (also known as HOAs) allows the entire world to watch your Hangout via a live broadcast to your Google+ stream using the power of YouTube. Hangouts on Air are recorded and saved to your YouTube channel automatically.