Mostrando entradas con la etiqueta tool. Mostrar todas las entradas
Mostrando entradas con la etiqueta tool. Mostrar todas las entradas

miércoles, 23 de diciembre de 2015

Diigo

Hello!

Today I want to tell you that I have found an interesting post about a tool that you will love: Diigo.

Here you have the link: 
http://www.thelanguagesteachercorner.blogspot.com.es/2015/12/diigo-data-saver-dont-forget-anything.html

I hope that you enjoy it and I am sure Diigo will be useful for you!

Google Questionnaire

I am going to talk about Google Questionnaire and its uses in a classroom.

I absolutely love this tool! You just have to have a Google account, open Google Drive and create a Google Form. And that's it! You can start creating your Google Form. You can select the type of question: multiple choice, short answer, long answer, etc. It is also possible to set that only one answer per person will be valid, so you avoid cheating or editing the answers once the questionnaire has been completed and sent.

This tool can be used to create an English level test. At the beginning of the course, a Google questionnaire can be sent to students, or they can complete it in class if you have a computer room available, in order to know the level of the class and the results will help the teachers as they could know the starting point of the class, what points should be reviewed, what points are already known...

Google Questionnaire is also useful to elaborate exams. Multiple choice exams or exams in which short/long answers are required can be done with this tool, and then you can download and print the document.

When the questionnaire is completed online, and once the student has clicked on the button "Send", the teacher will receive an excel document with the answers given. 

The only problem that I found is that these questionnaires are usually anonymous, so they are useful to know the level of a class in general. However, in case you want to know which person is answering the exam, you have to print it.  

You can find the Google Questionnaire that I have created on the page "Google questionnaire" in this blog.
http://valgreenteacher.blogspot.com.es/p/google-questionnaire.html

Webquest

Hello everyone!

In this post I want to tell you about Webquest and Wikis in Wikispaces.

Creating a Wiki is a good idea if you want to set homework in a "different" way. In a Wiki you can create pages, projects, events and you can check and assess the work that each member has done. A Wiki is a web page that can be edited by a group of people. The most famous Wiki is Wikipedia which I am sure you know! 

In a Wiki you can also post a Webquest that is an “Inquiry-oriented lesson format in which most or all of the information that learners work with comes from the web”. In the Webquest, a task can be proposed and the students have to follow the steps given in order to complete the task. The task is guided by teachers at all times and these are the steps:
- Introduction: Here you can introduce a brief description of the topic of the task and include background information about it.
- Task: Here you have to explain the task that students have to complete.
- Process: Explain the details of the task. Set the number of members in each group and explain clearly the aims of the task and what students have to do to achieve these aims.
- Resources: In this part you have to provide the web links that students have to consult in order to carry out the task.
- Evaluation: In this part you have to include the assessment criteria to inform your students about how they will be marked.
- Conclusion: Add a conclusion summarizing all the points of the task so students can check if they have completed all the steps.

A Webquest is highly recommended for group works as all the members of the group can work and collaborate in the task. Internet connection is needed and they can work together even if they are not in the same place. You can set a deadline for the projects and you can keep track of the process.

Here you have the link to the Wiki that I have created with a partner:
http://becauseenglishisfun.wikispaces.com/Introduction
You will have to request for permission and join the wiki to have access to the task. The link to the Wiki and the Webquest is also placed on the page of this blog "Webquest".

I hope you enjoy it!

lunes, 21 de diciembre de 2015

Voki

In this post I will talk about the uses of Voki when teaching English.

Creating a Voki is an amazing process that engage students because they love using technology and they learn without realizing it . If you click on the link, you will be directed to the web page www.voki.com

The first thing that you have to do is to choose the character that you want to use. You can change the appearance of your voki ( hair, eyes, mouth...). There are animals, famous people, politicians, etc, but you can only choose the free characters if you are not a premium member. Then, you can write what your voki will say or you can record yourself talking.

Voki is quite useful for English teaching as students have the opportunity of listening to different English accents. When they decide to write the sentences that their vokis will repeat, they can select the language and the accent. For example, in English you can choose the voice of a woman or a man and the british or the american accent among others.

It is also a good tool for teachers to create funnier and more interactive presentations. These presentations can be shown in class or they can be uploaded to the moodle so all the students can have access to them. Moreover, if a student miss a class, he or she can follow the class in the moodle.

I have created my own voki! Have a look at the upper right-hand corner of my blog to see it.