Group items tagged

"Transform your class presentation with video and images: A 5-minute makeover (video)" Well, it takes a little longer to find the images and video that liven it up, but the helpful templates inside of PowerPoint can be used to much better effect than you might believe.

An interesting use of social media. You create a profile with a little text and video from your Webcam. Others come to the site to ask you questions, while you question others. Great for class interactions, and can also be used in a distance class. Some channels have artists and book authors, too. Don't know how you might control predation, however. Training video by R. Stannard walks you through creating a "wait" video and a "response" video (an OGM), and how students would create and write questions and interact with the program, e.g., reading ealier question and listening to their responses.

Conversation starters and short reading passages for efl/esl classes

"The Frayer Model is a vocabulary development tool. In contrast with a straight definition, the model helps to develop a better understanding of complex concepts by having students identify not just what something is, but what something is not." This is an example of a worksheet, which I wasn't able to download in the other citation. The sheet is quite straightforward, and looks useful, insofar as vocabulary can be taught through direct method. Good for important concepts, class discussion, and work with definitions.

"The invention of the LMS (Learning Management System) was a mistake. And here I'm not going to make the same frustrated argument made numerous times before now that LMSs are limiting structures, that their interface and functionalities control how teachers teach online (although those things are true). The LMS was a mistake because it was premature. In a world that was just waking up to the Internet and the possibility of widely-networked culture, the LMS played to the lowest common denominator, creating a "classroom" that allowed learning -- or something like learning -- to happen behind tabs, in threaded discussions, and through automated quizzes. The LMS was not a creative decision, it was not pushing the capabilities of the Internet, it was settling for the least innovative classroom practice and repositioning that digitally. As a result classes taught within its structure generally land with a dull thud. No matter how creative and inspired the teacher or pedagogue behind the wheel, the LMS is no match for the wideness of the Internet. It was born a relic -- at its launch utterly irrelevant to its environment and its user." Very thought-provoking article on how digital pedagogy really differs from just "teaching online."

A good review of both LMS tools. Winning for me is Schoology's iPad connections and, especially, it's good was to create and thread discussions (with embedded media). Teachers can also see which students participate by using a filter, and share discussions across classes/courses.

This is a great cheat-sheet for teachers. There are also links to other subject areas. I can easily imagine adapting questions to flipped classes, to younger age groups, to discussion sessions.

This has great videos on how to teach a wide variety of subjects, as well as how to manage students' behavior in class, set up collaborations, assessment, and esp. for US teachers, the common core standards. Very useful for teacher training, though not specifically oriented toward ESL/EFL.

Here is just one example of some suggestions for using Twitter in your class/presentation: ""Tweet Your Questions! If you are training to a new process or procedure, allow participants the opportunity to tweet any questions they may have, either on the job or during training. What makes this strategy more unique is that instead compiling answers and sending them back via one large email, ensure that there is someone monitoring the twitter account so as to provide near real-time response (even if the response is, "I will look into it")."

This is BBC's short science videos page. You can find all kinds of topics on physicas, the brain, biology, genetics, etc. Very helpful stuff for use in classes or flipped classrooms. Thanks to R.Byrne's blog.

Dr. Nellie Deutsch in conversation with Gina Bianchini in WizIQ

This article has a nice video that shows a teacher in class explaining copyright and fair use to students using a document linked from the article. I tend to disagree that teachers making multiple copies for classroom use is a "fair use," however. Always check what the author says, and use Creative Commons if you don't want your ideas ripped off without permission.

This chat room tool might be useful for your classes, or as a backchannel if several teachers are working on a presentation together. The interface can be mounted on your own website, ensuring that students don't wander off. You can easily save a transcript of the chat, and it lets students join from home or other classrooms. T/H to H. Dilatush who let us in EVO know about it.

This is an incredibly useful resource for language classes. In combination with news syndicates like ABC, Fox, AP, and AFP, Mapeas collects video news and locates it on a Google map. Students learn geography, read news in English or an FL, and can specify business, entertainment, science news, etc.

Great links for using Google Earth for science classes, as well as for English/Language Arts (see "Lit Trips"), math, culture and history, etc. Pre-made lessons. Also links to "How to create Placemarks and Tours," "To Geography and Beyond," etc.

The crowd-sourced collection of images on Flickr that is used by teachers for inspiring classes. Includes grammar topics, relationships, even maths.

A short lesson plan -- how to do a role-play in class. This is a nice model that can be revised and used for other situational learning role-plays.

"The Newseum displays these daily newspaper front pages in their original, unedited form. Some front pages may contain material that is objectionable to some visitors. Viewer discretion is advised." This would be very handy, and easy to use, for adult ESL/EFL, social studies classes, or cross-cultural study: What is considered important in each location? How is the same news story treated differently in different cities or different parts of the world? Excellent for visual learners.

This would be very useful for h.s. social studies or an adult ESL/EFL class where students can compare how the news is presented in different newspapers, or compare what is considered important in different cultures.

The Newseum displays these daily newspaper front pages in their original, unedited form. Some front pages may contain material that is objectionable to some visitors. Viewer discretion is advised.

LiveMind connects experts with a passion to share their knowledge with those who want to learn virtually anything

"Global collaboration projects, which allow students to work with peers across state and national boundaries, aren't just fun. They can also address several of the ISTE Standards for Students, including Digital Citizen, Global Collaborator and Empowered Learner. " Good ideas for getting started and maintaining the spark, including ensuring your class is already working as a community before going global.