Integrating ICT into the MFL classroom:

TES ICT Blog: ICT & Modern Foreign Languages: Leading the way

24 July 2006 at 09.45

ICT & Modern Foreign Languages: Leading the way

MFL teacher Joe Dale devotes his ninth ICT blog to the ins and outs of becoming a Lead  Practitioner June was a busy month. I ran my Dragonfly Training course Integrating ICT into the MFL classroom in Manchester, Birmingham and London. Representatives from Heinemann visited Nodehill to check out pupil reaction to three interactive games I helped to design for their new French course Expo. I was booked to speak at both The Language Show and BETT in Olympia in November and January. Finally, and most prestigious of all, I was appointed as a Lead Practitioner for The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust. The Lead Practitioner Induction Day was held at the home of Chelsea Football Club, Stamford Bridge (see photo above). The event was designed to allow all new and existing LPs to meet up and discuss their individual action plans for the forthcoming year. Fourteen of the Lead Practitioners are MFL teachers, of which five are taking on the role for the first time this year. The DfES funded scheme runs from now until March 2007 during which time each LP must: organise an event for teachers in their local network plan a learning visit for teachers from their area create some supporting training materials For my event, I’m putting on a one-day conference also called Integrating ICT into the MFL classroom in my school on the Isle of Wight on Friday 20th October. I'm going to be covering blogging and podcasting, digital video, eTwinning/virtual learning environments, presentation software, interactive whiteboards and classroom performance systems. The learning visit is intended to build on what is achieved at the local event. I have suggested to the Isle of Wight MFL Steering Group that we go to one of the free presentation days Effective use of ICT in Modern Language Teaching at The Ashcombe School in Dorking, Surrey. Helen Myers, deputy head and also a Trust LP has pencilled us in for February. Having the chance to see and discuss how technology can enhance the teaching of languages will be a very useful learning opportunity for us all, I’m sure. As for the training materials, I’ve been writing ‘toolkit’ sessions for The SSAT for two years now. Toolkits are made up of four practical sessions written by teachers who use ICT effectively in their subject area. Toolkit authors are asked to produce: tutor notes on their chosen topic a presentation with session aims and objectives detailed delegate notes describing how the new skills could be applied practically in the classroom a face-to-face delivery of their materials at a regional training event The toolkits are then used in centres around the country. To find out where your local centre is click here. My three sessions to date are: Macro toolbar ‘Teacher’s Pet’ in MS Word for IWB/making worksheets The Hangman’s Game – Free downloadable Hangman game for major European languages Useful Word Features for MFL teachers Useful Links To find out more about the toolkits and how to become a trainer or toolkit writer visit the SSATrust To see photos from the Lead Practitioner Induction Day, the Heinemann visit and The Dragonfly Training days, click on the Flickr badge on my blog If you would like to come to the one day conference ‘Integrating ICT into the MFL classroom’, simply complete the booking form on The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust’s website when it becomes available from mid to late August and keep checking my blog for more details. See Scottish CILT link about the conference here

Keen to harness new technology

Pupils given iPods as language learning aid is an article written by Helen Mooney from last week's EducationGuardian. It describes an innovative project at Astley Community High School in Seaton Delaval, Northumberland where pupils studying GCSE French and Spanish are to be given an iPod Nano in September to help them with their studies. Following a successful pilot with a group of Yr 11’s last year, Northumberland County Council decided to fund this year’s programme to encourage more pupils to use iPods creatively both in and out of the classroom.

The pilot group of volunteer pupils chose to embrace the technology by creating foreign language podcasts. They divided the process into three simple stages:

• recording with an Olympus Digital voice recorder with a noise cancelling microphone extension
• editing with free software Audacity
• uploading the podcast to the school website

One particularly successful idea was called ‘le feuilleton à 60 secondes/the 60 Second Soap’. The project report which can be downloaded from the school’s website describes the planning below:

‘The students organised themselves into pairs of teams with about 3 students in each team. The pairs met to agree a broad storyline and the characters of a French soap opera they would create. The first team of the pair then wrote and recorded (in French) the first episode of the soap. They podcasted this for the second team to hear. The second team picked up the podcast on their Nanos and after listening to it a few times they replied with the sequel episode. And so the project continues with each team leapfrogging the other’.

The PowerPoint presentation Podcasting @ Astley also available from the school website states the other ways in which pupils chose to use the iPods:

• GCSE Presentations – tailormade recordings of pre-scripted presentations read out by the teacher.
• General Conversations - recordings of general conversation that have been used to revise for the exams.

The article Rick Astley at Astley High..? Not on an iPod produced by the Northumberland County Council suggests that making and listening to podcasts in and out of the classroom, has helped pupils to absorb their foreign language vocabulary and grammar. A year 11 pupil is quoted as saying: “I listen to my pod-casts on the school bus. You can look cool and revise at the same time. I’d never get a book out on a bus”.

According to a representative from the local council, if the second phase of the iPod project proves equally successful, the scheme will be rolled out across the whole county.

"Northumberland schools have a reputation for innovation...it's great to see devices such as iPods, which as parents we worry about interfering with our children's education, being used to support learning," concluded Jim Wright, a councillor at Northumberland county council who helped with the pilot.

Useful links:

Pupils given iPods as language learning aid
Podcasting report
Podcasting @ Astley
Rick Astley at Astley High..? Not on an iPod

For more information about the iPod project, contact Dr Nigel Carrick, Assistant Headteacher at Astley Community High School: ncarrick@astley.northumberland.sch.uk

Phones 4 U?

Mobile phones in the classroom is a new guide from the Modern Foreign languages Environment suggesting mobiles should not be banned from language lessons, but used as an effective learning tool instead.

The guide is divided into three sections:

• Basic mobile phone use
• Using Bluetooth
• Using a mobile safely

Tips include:

• setting a diary reminder so pupils remember when homework is due
• making notes
• using the countdown or stopwatch function for timed exercises
• practising numbers with the calculator function
• text messaging
• voice recording
• creating and downloading video files
• taking still images with camera

Check out the guide here

The kids are doing it for themselves

MySpace: the final frontier is an article written by Yojana Sharma, journalist and international affairs specialist, which appears in the current issue of the TES. It looks at how pupils are choosing to use the internet in their free time to make new ‘virtual friends’ from around the world with services such as MySpace and Bebo. These popular social networking sites allow users to share their interests with each other through the creation of customised multimedia home pages which can be accessed by anyone who wishes to subscribe.

Yojana argues that pupils are attracted to this form of communication because it is immediate and allows them to exchange ideas on their own terms. She describes her own teenage daughter’s excitement at communicating with her like-minded foreign peers as a driving addiction.

'She downloads music and links up with young people in various countries who share her tastes. She has put up her own web page profiling her interests, shares music tracks, uploads photographs, blogs regularly and holds live chats.'

By embracing new technologies in this way, the author suggests pupils are transforming the way they think and learn, and in turn are creating a digital divide between them and their parents and teachers. This may be so, but this shouldn’t devalue the benefits of eTwinning projects where staff can spend a great deal of time and effort organising and maintaining school links abroad. Arguably pupils could be more enthusiastic about making links if they are already used to making them independently of school.

An essential issue is, of course, web security. Schools must ensure that external access over the internet to individual pupil information (e.g. via a school website or blog) is regulated and properly supervised. Pupils must also be well aware of the potential risks and follow golden rules such as never giving out any personal details such as their surnames, where they live or their email address to the school operated website or blog. Schools that have an established link with a foreign establishment can control access by:

• setting up a blog where articles can be read, but comments cannot be left unless they are approved first
• sending text, audio and video via email to a known person.
• creating a private video-conferencing link with their partner school

To check the views of my own pupils, I asked various Yr 7 and 8 classes if they had MySpace or Bebo accounts and was a little surprised, to be honest, to find out that about half did. I also asked my form to compare the advantages of using such sites compared to say a blog monitored by a member of staff. Here are some of their comments:

Remi
I think that it is a good and bad idea because you can find out about other countries, but then it can be dangerous if you give people your details out.

Rachel
I don’t think it is good because you don’t know who you are talking to. I think we should have school links instead so you can be supervised. It will be much safer, but at the same time it’ll be lots of fun.

Katie
I think it is a really good idea because you don’t need any teachers to tell you who to talk to or can’t talk to.

Tom
I think it is better to communicate with different pupils in your own way.

Zoe
I think that it is better to talk in your own way at home so you can talk to people from around the world, but it could be good at school as well.

Paris
It’s better at home because you can talk to other people without teachers or other people reading your conversations. You can also write things of your own at home without being told what you can or can’t do by teachers. You get more chances to use it at home.

Jack
I think that it is better to be private at home and chat more privately to your pen pals

Anne
I think it is good to go on websites on your own because if teachers are there, they could see what you are writing and if you are on your own, you can meet new people and see if they like the same stuff that you like e.g music, pictures and ringtones.

Ellie
I think that it is a good idea to use Bebo and websites like that because you can talk to people in different countries and you feel that you are part of something big. You are talking with people from the other side of the world. I have my own website and I can control what goes on it. I can also share my tastes like music with other people from around the world.

In conclusion

Harnessing technology should not be seen as a threat. We need to find ways to stimulate the interest of our pupils and keep them safe while doing so.  Any comments welcome.

More MFL teachers join the blogosphere

More and more MFL teachers are starting to blog. Moreover, they seem to be choosing Typepad as their preferred blog host. It's an exciting experiment which could encourage others to follow suit.

Have a look at the following blogs and see what you think:

• www.cms.typepad.com - Ruth Parker, French co-coordinator and AST at Cranborne Middle School, Dorset
• www.misssimmonds.typepad.com - Leanne Simmonds, a lover of languages and life
• www.eggdeutsch.typepad.com - Samantha Dernley, MFL teacher at Egglescliffe School, Eaglescliffe, Stockton-on-Tees
• kings-spanish.spaces.msn.com/ - 'El Blog de Español' by Fiona Slater Yr 12 student and her Spanish teacher Margarita Payeras-Cifre at Kings School, Ely, Cambridgeshire

Sam Dernley has also started podcasting with her pupils. Here is our recent discussion with Janet McCann, from Bury CE High School, Bury, Lancashire on the MFLresources forum which can also be accessed through Yahoo Groups. You'll have to sign up though to have a look there.

Dear all

For those interested in having a listen to the podcast I made with my pupils as described in my TES ICT blog post Using podcasts in the classroom, I've made it available on my blog using a little embedded Flash player

The player is on the left hand side of the blog under the title PODCAST DE 7JD. To listen just click the play button a couple of times. You can download it too by right clicking the link below and selecting Save Target As...

I've found the player has had some teething problems with playing the recording too quickly. I think I've sorted this out now by changing the bitrate of the mp3 file, but if it plays too quickly (sounds like Mickey Mouse!), please let me know

Best wishes

Joe

My first attempts at podcasting can be heard/downloaded at www.eggdeutsch.typepad.com. Feel free to add comments for the students or e-mail me with feedback. Also watch this space for more podcasting fun in September. Schöne Ferien!

Sam

Dear Sam

Your blog looks really good. I particularly like your use of Flickr to present your pupils' work. The podcasts sound very clear. Did you make the recordings with a microphone and laptop or mp3 player with voice recorder?

Have you thought of adding music to your podcasts? I came across site Magnatune yesterday in del.icio.us and put it in my favourites list. The site has a collection of 'podsafe' music which Magnatune encourage you to use.

Here is the link for the Flash player I embedded on my blog www.joedale.typepad.com to automatically play 'Le podcast de 7JD'.

Dear Joe,

We used microphones and a laptop for these recordings. However we have a new mfl computer room as of September and I'm hoping to do some whole class recording sessions (in order to get larger classes involved) using individual headsets or microphones? ... not quite sure how that will work out?!?

Thanks for the tips! I was also recommended podsafe music network and will definitely be incorporating some music next year.Will also have a play around with the flash player.

Cheers

Sam

Dear Sam,

The website jamendo is also good for more podsafe music. As for advice on MFL podcasting, you could have a look at a recent post Feel like you are on top of the pods from my blog. There is also the Teachers TV programme ICT SOS - Internet Research and Podcasting which includes a showcase on MFL podcasting where language teacher Anne Peters from South Bromsgrove High School in the West Midlands helps her GCSE German students to prepare for their oral examinations by getting them to podcast model answers. See post: Languages on the move

Best wishes

Joe

Dear Joe and Sam,

Your podcasts look and sound great, but please just explain to me (being a bit behind the times) how you use these in lessons? Are the end products meant as a speaking exercise, or listening or both? Do the kids who haven't contributed use them? I really fancy having a go at these soon but just need to know what I'm aiming for!

Thanks!

Janet

Dear Janet,

When I asked my pupils to make 'Le podcast de 7JD', the plan was to practise their writing and speaking skills. They planned out their scripts first. We did a few demos and then we recorded them. The keen ones came to my lunch time French ICT club to choose the background music too. Finally, I did all the editing myself at home before playing them the finished product.

See my blog post Using podcasts in the classroom for more details:

The end product is an example of a creative and structured speaking performance. It helps listening too as the pupils actively want to hear each other's work. In my case, all the pupils in my form took part which was quite demanding in the time we had, but I think it worked nonetheless. Next year, I think I will probably record pupils 'on the fly' from time to time rather than intensely over a short period of time. I'll then upload the mp3 files to a school blog so they can hear each others' performance at home. I'd like to start a podcasting club as part of the French ICT club, but I need to give the pupils some time to get used to the idea of being recorded and having their work put up on the net.

I think it'll be a bit of an adventure for all of us.

Best wishes

Joe

Dear Janet,

The podcasts you hear on my blog were the result of three lessons- one spent writing, one recording and one editing. All done by the students with some help from me.They were the first student podcasts I did and I went into the task blindly, without really thinking of any 'learning' outcomes as such (just to have two podcasts recorded), but treating it as an experiment to see what the students and I would learn from it.

I initially said they had to write a script for a podcast involving personal description, as that was the topic they were studying recently. The task really broke free from the constraints of the text book as they were writing what they wanted to express. It really got them thinking about sentence construction in German and using the dictionaries well.

The recording got them to focus on pronunciation and intonation and gave them confidence in their speaking skills. As they did several different takes, they were repeating the language several times, which helped to improve pronunciation and embed certain structures- I doubt any of them will forget 'sie werden prima schmecken!'. I know I'll use that as an example of the future tense when I start to teach it.

The editing had the same effect- although it was rather time consuming and as they were working in two groups of five- quite difficult to keep all of them focused.

What did I learn? Next time I will have a clear and focused task for writing and use groups of 2-3 or with larger groups nominate chief editors to come to a lunchtime session for editing.

Personally I think the learning experience is in having them produce the podcasts - I am also hoping to encourage peer assessment through the blog- as I am sure that other students will be interested in listening to them- if not in class then from home. My year 10's have already asked to hear them in class.

I hope that answers your questions,

Sam

Shared languages projects bear fruit

TeachNet UK is a Specialist Schools and Academies Trust scheme designed to offer teachers the opportunity to set up an action research project with their pupils on the benefits of using ICT in their subject to enhance teaching and learning. To be accepted for publication and to receive a £450 fee, each project needs to include 4-5 hours of teaching materials which have been tried and tested in the classroom.

The chosen downloadable projects for languages on the site are as follows:

• French - the imperfect tense - Caroline Arnold, John Port School, Derbyshire and Catherine Mills, George Spencer School, Nottingham
• Interactive PowerPoint - Christine Bodin, Notre Dame High School, Sheffield
• French - a website for NVQ Level 4 - Carine Jaquel, Hillview School, Kent
• Spanish - a website for NVQ level 3 - Carine Jaquel, Hillview School, Kent
• Cultural Eating Habits - Daniele Mead, St Gregory's Catholic Comprehensive School, Kent
• Bienvenue a Paris ... a virtual tour ... - Catherine Murray, St Gregory's Catholic Comprehensive School, Kent
• Producing video in the classroom! - Lyn Chalk and Catherine Murray, St Gregory's Catholic Comprehensive School, Kent

It's good to share.

Why on earth should we study languages?

Why study languages? is a new CDrom designed to encourage pupils to continue with languages in KS4 and beyond. Commissioned by The Languages, Linguistics & Area Studies Subject Centre, University of Southampton, the CD is divided into two parts:

• Language Lab - quizzes, learning style tests and audio clips for KS3 and 4 pupils
• Why study languages? - ideas on how to continue studying languages at university level for KS4 and post-16 students

One free copy will be sent to the person responsible for school liaison in your local Higher Education Institute (HEI). Additional copies can be purchased by schools, colleges, universities and members of the public for £15 each.

Download an order form from the LLAS site and along with £15, send it to the following address:

Carol Churchouse (WSL)
Subject Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies
School of Humanities (Modern Languages)
University of Southampton
Highfield
Southampton, SO17 1BJ

Order your copy now and receive a poster absolutely free!

And the winner is ...

The winners of the European Award for Languages 2006 have now been announced by CILT, the UK co-ordinators of the Europe-wide initiative. A common theme amongst the twelve winning projects was the motivational benefits of creating opportunities for learners to use language for real purposes.

The EAL winners 2006 are:

A World of Books
Oughtrington Community Primary School Cheshire

Around the world in 80 minutes
Théâtre sans frontières, Northumberland

Where we live
International Learning and Research Centre, South Gloucestershire

Enhancing Community Languages
Aveling Park School, London

Litterhitters!
Shawlands Academy, Glasgow

Inter@action
Ringwood School, Hampshire

Invade Orford!
Debenham High School, Stowmarket, Suffolk

Vocational International Project Sheffield (VIPS)
Sheffield Local Authority

Immersion Teaching
Tile Hill Wood School & Language College, Coventry

Junior CULP
Language Centre, University of Cambridge

Able linguist day
School of education and continuing studies, University of Portsmouth

Multilingual Debate
Department of languages and intercultural studies, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh

The award ceremony will take place on 26th September 2006, European Day for Languages in the Chamber of the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh. Sir Trevor McDonald and Rt Hon George Reid SMP will be presenting the prestigious awards.

Download this pdf press release from CILT entitled Real communication a winner in language awards to find out more about each individual project.

Keep it REAL with EAL.

Feel like you are on top of the pods

iPod therefore I learn and Puzzled by podcasts are two MFL related articles in the latest issue of Connected, a magazine from LTScotland which reports on exciting uses of ICT to enhance learning across all subjects.

iPod therefore I learn concerns a groundbreaking project iPodagogy - Gracemount iPod Project set up as a collaboration between staff from Gracemount High School and the City of Edinburgh Council in November 2005.

The project aims were:

• to explore the potential of iPods to enhance teaching and learning
• to document the use of iPods in a school over a period of time

The anticipated outcomes were:

For pupils

• to enhance existing learning outcomes within the curriculum
• to learn how to apply ICT both to favoured and to less favoured learning styles (visual, audio, kinaesthetic – VAK)
• to reflect on learning and on the learning process
• to improve practical ICT skills

For teachers

• to enhance existing teaching practice within the curriculum
• to learn how to exploit ICT to enable different styles of learning (VAK)
• to reflect on teaching practice and methodology
• to improve practical ICT skills

The project was designed to see how about twenty S2 (Yr 8) pupils could use an iPod to enable their independent learning across the curriculum. In French, they were integrated straightaway into lessons.

Jenny Dowling a French and Italian teacher at Gracemount was excited by the idea of using iPods in her language lessons.  She knew that her pupils already liked using the mp3 players so she felt to use them in the classroom would be very motivating.

In the article An Apple for the hi-tech teacher by Kevin Schofield from scotsman.com, she is quoted as saying:

"It will make the lessons much more fun and if kids are having fun then they will learn so much more”.

The Changing Classroom by Shola Adenekan from EducationGuardian describes how, the MFL teacher combined with Griffin microphones put the mobile technologies to work:

• to record speaking assessments to be listened to in school and at home
• to interview their classmates about things like hobbies and holiday trips
• to record lessons for absent pupils so that they could listen to discussions later in their own time.
• to record French vocabulary lists from S1 (Yr 7) to S4 (Yr10) and put them on the school’s interactive learning website Studywiz.
• to download videos of native speakers from France having a conversation in a café for instance so that her pupils could watch them and therefore improve their vocabulary and language skills.

"We're just about to start using them, but the possibilities are limitless, so we'll no doubt find lots more uses for them along the way." she said.

Related links from the TES archives:

• The pod people
• Pod pourri in Edinburgh
• Welcome to the age of the iPod learners
• iPod

Puzzled by podcasts attempts to demystify what a podcast actually is and the fact you don't need the ubiquitous iPod to make one.

It makes reference to two LTScotland start up guides about podcasting on the ICT in Education site and the Modern Foreign languages Environment site to get you going.

In addition, the article mentions the inspiring work of Maureen Gilchrist, Principal Teacher of Modern Languages at Holyrood Secondary School in Glasgow who uses mp3 technology to record her pupils' speaking assessments. The reference is from a feature which originally appeared in National Qualifications Online entitled Mp3 players bring new life to speaking assessments

You can download the latest Connected magazine from the LTScotland site and sign up for an email update so you will always know when the next issue is coming out.

And now for the weather

 

Alison Gaunt and James Barrett from the Kent Hands on Support team have created interactive calendars in French and Spanish. The Date Charts are designed to be used on an interactive whiteboard and allow pupils to always display the current date and weather by simply clicking on a few red buttons. The resources are free and can be accessed from the ict games website. You will need to have the flash player installed on your computer to run the charts.