UMUC-EDTC-WL

Explain Everything is a screencasting app for the iPad. It costs $2.99 in the App Store and no account is needed to use it. This iPad app is designed for educational professionals and students alike, to create projects and record them as screencasts. It is a powerful tool and flexible app that is easy to use. Students use Explain Everything to make collaborative projects using multiple mediums. The recording feature allows foreign language students to create speaking samples with their projects, which can be used to measure progress with language proficiency in a digital portfolio. Teachers can use the recording feature to create a lecture capture. Projects can be designed directly in Explain Everything or files such as presentations, photos, notes, and videos can be imported into the app to create a project that can be annotated with pencil or text, narrated, recorded, and shared in a variety of ways, uploading to Photo Roll, You Tube, Email, Drop Box, and Evernote. Explain Everything can be used by both teachers and students as an interactive whiteboard tool for presentational purposes, when connected to an Apple TV or projector.

LanguageGuide.org is an online language learning resource available in numerous languages ranging from English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, German, Dutch, Turkish, Arabic, Russian, Mandarin, Japanese, to Korean. This illustrated vocabulary guide contains sound-integrated exercises at three levels -- beginner, intermediate, and advanced, and allows for independent practice at the learner's own pace. These practice exercises are appropriate for elementary and middle school students and this resource would be well suited on a teacher webpage. Thematic topics vary by language but generally include numbers, parts of the body, clothing, food, animals, weather, home, and school. There is an option menu on each screen for listening, speaking, and reading practice, as well as a quiz for students to check their comprehension. Some languages also feature a Grammar and Readings section for more advanced learners.

embed-ible resources for all sorts of visual learning.  One could use some of the data visualizations to show the importance of learning a second or third language.

I like how visual the site is. Other than infographics it incorporates videos and other interactives. I even saw Venn Diagrams. It has a lot to offer to use in the classroom for students and outside the classroom with other teachers or administrators.

A foreign language assessment directory funded by the U.S.Department of Education which provides a searchable directory of over 200 assessments.  Information provided includes grade and proficiency levels, languages available, skills targeted, and publisher and developer contact information.

The Office of State Assessment for New York provides comprehensive exams for French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Latin, and Spanish. Available are past exams, teacher dictation sheets, and scoring keys including rubrics to assess student performance. Several past exams are provided for free.

A free online infographic program which is easy to use to display data.  You can include illustrations, upload excel charts or use the ones provided, download the infographic you create, share and embed the finished product. Easy to use for those not skilled with excel programs with some fun extras.

Easy way to make infographics for showing your data. Create the infographic and add photos, text, shapes, data and once you save it download your finished product or share it in social media.

You must create an account in order to use their free (but limited) themes.  Create your own infographics 

This is a great resource for EFL teachers.  The site has the recent news articles delivered in three different levels based on learner ability. The site can be used for additional practice for EFL students or as homework.

This is a great site for ESL, EFL, or phonics level teachers.  The site has lesson plans, printables, and game creators for students of any level.  I highly recommend the song archive for young learners.

Thanks, Ryan. I took a look at some of the games and found I can easily adapt them to French or Spanish! What a great resource.

The site offers step-by step video courses and training exercises on different technology skills that will help you build a web site, start a blog, and more.  I would use this for the 605 and 610 course.  

Latest update 4th June 2013 - These are some of the best free internet resources for education. This page is constantly updated; every time the author comes across a new piece of software or an exciting website, the author lists it here in alphabetical order. If you are looking for a list of resources or a specific resource to help you with your language class, this is the list to check.

This webinar explores the purposes and uses for performance assessment in world language classrooms. Many language instructors and learners want to know the extent to which an assessment can capture how well a student will be able to complete real-life tasks when using the target language (Bachman & Palmer, 1996; Stoynoff & Chapelle, 2005). The webinar will begin with a description of performance assessment, how it aligns with learning and teaching purposes, and its uses for the classroom. Next, we will explore how to integrate performance assessment into language classrooms, including developing tasks and rubrics that will support such activities (Norris et al, 2008). During this part, we will examine one or more typical performance assessment tasks, and we will discuss how to adapt them to your needs. Finally, we will discuss the logistics of performance assessment and brainstorm ways to integrate meaningful performance assessment within the constraints of available resources

While the use technology in language teaching classrooms has become increasingly more common, fewer teachers are comfortable using technology as they assess leaner progress. In this webinar on assessing language using computer technology, I will outline ways in which technology can be used to help inform the assessment of language learners.

Thought this may be useful for the 615 course 

ThingLink is a web tool that allows groups to comment on with text, audio, video, and to share and/or embed them. This resource has multiple applications in the FL classroom, including visual literacy, information literacy, enhancing communication and collaborative skills. One example activity: upload a map and have students describe various locations on map orally, in video, or text, and then have them comment on/expand upon each others' posts.

HistoryPin is a free Web 2.0 tool that allows users to "pin" photos, audio, or video to a particular world map location, much like the Google Earth program. The main idea is that, with enough participation, users will be able to get a sense of the history a location - both the visual and narrative aspects of it - as photos or videos from various time periods are pinned to that location. I can envision my students using it in partnership with another class of L1 students to share the concept of how people and places can change. For instance, both groups might focus on how a major city in their own country has changed, in order to demonstrate that to the other class via HistoryPin. Students would collect and upload photos or videos that show how the respective cities grew, how building or even fashion styles changed. They would use the HistoryPin audio option to describe the changes, my L2 students in Spanish, the L1 students in English. Once the L2 learners had "pinned" their photos on the map, L1 students could review and e-mail corrections so that L2 students could return to HistoryPin and edit their contribution. My students would do the same in return in English for the L1 students (assuming they are learning English, possibly). In this way, through collaboration, all students can gain a new perspective on how people and places look and change in another culture, while honing "technical" language skills.

some good tools for organizing your action research.  Non of them, unfortunately, analysis the data for you.