carlatech

great article for literature review and explanation of acronyms and historical background

This article talks about many aspects of communication especially the benefits of synchronous distance language learning

Want to find conversation partners?  Check this out.  Yes, it's free.  I haven't tried it, but it's worth a look.

Here's another website for language exchange.

Want to know more about technology?  Follow these famous educators!

Pinterest for teachers.

Came across the idea in Carlatech in July, but this article provides multiple ways of implementing. Something you can start doing in just about any class tomorrow!

Downloadable guide for school social media policy/guidelines. NOTE: you need to register on Edutopia (free).

The annual list of the top 100 tools for learning - a good place to check out some new tools, if you're looking.  The analysis page is interesting, too - see what's moving up or down, in or out - http://c4lpt.co.uk/top100tools/analysis-2013/

Use the Lingt editor to improve and assess spoken proficiency by making online spoken assignments as integral to your homework schedule as your usual reading and writing assignments.

IAnnotate (Mac and Android), and a number of other apps for tablet or laptop can help you digitize your grading routine. This article talks about how iAnnotate is used with DropBox for grading, but be sure to read the comments for other ideas and apps, too.

Provides guidelines for creating effective online collaborative tasks.

From the abstract: This paper evaluates the impact that t he introduction of blended learning in a distance language learning course has had on teachers.

"This is a step by step guide on how to use Teacher's Pet, a fantastic toolbar for Microsoft Word or Open Office which cleverly uses macros to create language learning exercises in a matter of clicks. A wonderful timesaver for busy teachers, Teacher's Pet is ideal for preparing paper worksheets instantly or for using on the interactive whiteboard as a starter or plenary. By simply highlighting some text and clicking one of the exercise types on the toolbar's dropdown menu, you can produce activities which practice vocabulary revision, grammar, reading comprehension, spelling and dictionary skills."

A small study - but shows that interactive e-books aren't necessarily the best way to read.

Add comments to video, share publicly or with a group

Are you familiar with all of these? Maybe you'll find something new that fits exactly what you were looking for!

The goal of OCEP is to provide the academic community with a criteria-based evaluation tool to assess and compare the quality of online courses. The focus of the evaluation is on the presentation of the content and the pedagogical aspects of online courses, yet OCEP also considers the instructional and communication methods so vital in a successful online learning experience. Existing online courses are identified and measured against a set of objective evaluation categories. These criteria were developed through extensive research and review of instructional design guidelines from nationally recognized course developers, best practices from leading online consultants, and from numerous academic course evaluations.

Chico's Rubric for Online Instruction offers a framework for addressing this question. Use of this rubric represents a developmental process for online course design and delivery, and provides a means for an instructor to self-assess course(s) based on University expectations. Furthermore, the rubric provides a means for supporting and recognizing a faculty member's effort in developing expertise in online instruction as part of our commitment to high quality learning environments.