Integrating ICT into the MFL classroom:: Digital Storytelling

16/12/2009

Around the World with Skype

The K12 Online Conference 2009 is now in full swing and Silvia Tolisano has published her wonderful presentation Around the World with Skype. Available in English and Spanish versions, her captivating talk is based on her ambitious and challenging project Around the World in 80 Schools

Her clip sets some great ground rules for using Skype and shows how easily the free tool can break down classroom walls and bring in some culture in real time!

Great work Silvia. You are an inspiration to us all and certainly worthy of the accolade Skyping teacher of the week!

Posted on 16/12/2009 in Blogging, Digital Storytelling, Freeware, ICT Advice, Interactive Whiteboards, Skype, Videoconferencing | Permalink | Comments (0)

15/09/2009

Songsmith is a clever little tool which is designed to generate a backing track automatically to match the sound of your voice. Created by Microsoft Research, the academic version is now available from the MS Innovative Teachers Network (registration required) as a free download and although it may be 102MB in size it is worth the wait. Have a look at this cheesy commercial to get an overview of its potential!

Having played around with Songsmith for the last couple of days, I can see the obvious potential for using it in the modern foreign languages classroom at both primary and secondary level to bring to life speaking practice such as dialogues, verb drills, spelling revision, poems and songs and to improve pronunciation. It could also be used to create podcast jingles for radio shows or advertising an imaginary product using the 'ending' bars feature in the Options menu. The sky's the limit really!

The range of musical styles which come with the package are pretty varied although it is possible to purchase additional Styles Paks too if you prefer. You can also change the volume level of the mike by moving the red slider from left to right and change the level of each instrument by clicking the Mixer icon. Using the free CuePrompter could also help pupils make a good recording.

Once you are happy with your creative masterpiece, you can export it by clicking on the arrow next to Save and select one of the file formats on offer. Surprisingly, this does not include mp3 although there is no need to panic as you can simply choose WAV instead and then use Audacity to convert the file to mp3 afterwards using the Lame encoder.

It is also possible to export your audio to Windows Movie Maker which opens up further possibilities of lip-syncing, subtitling and animating your completed track in a task-based film project, the results of which could be published on a school blog.

So if you like to have a bit of musical accompaniment, the odd rap or some karaoke in your lessons, why not give Songsmith a go. I'm sure the pupils would sing your praises if you did!

Have a look at Anthony Evans' homemade how to guide to give you some more ideas on how to get started.

Thanks to Ollie Bray for the original heads up and for the MS Innovative Teachers Network for the lovely gift!

Posted on 15/09/2009 in Blogging, Digital Storytelling, Freeware, ICT Advice, Podcasting, Primary Languages, Vodcasting | Permalink | Comments (4)

22/08/2009

Language awareness with VoiceThread

Shirley Bain from the School of Education at Waikato University in New Zealand has published a lovely example of a VoiceThread created by students of Lisa Parisi and Christine Southard from Denton Avenue School who use the collaborative slide show software to connect with students around the world. It features an impressive range of children and adult voices explaining common expressions in their own language and can be found on Shirley's e-languages wiki along with exemplars of other digital tools which can be used to enhance language learning.

It would be great to follow this lead and try to replicate the idea to celebrate next month's European Day of Languages as discussed in the recent MFL Flashmeeting. Have a look at Dominic McGladdery's dedicated wiki for some more EDL ideas.

Posted on 22/08/2009 in Digital Storytelling, Freeware, ICT Advice, Wikis | Permalink | Comments (2)

21/08/2009

Je m'appelle Robert et je suis un robot!

In preparation for a conference workshop on the use of technology to teach world languages, Dianne Krause has created this amusing presentation using the text to movie tool Xtranormal. Check it out now! Bob's your robot!

To change the voice to a different language, click on the 'Change Actor' icon

Click on the drop down menu next to 'Give your actor a VOICE'

Posted on 21/08/2009 in Digital Storytelling, Freeware | Permalink | Comments (5)

08/07/2009

Creative use of ICT in Primary Spanish

Creative Use Of Ict In Spanish For Y5/6

View more documents from camoore.

Last week, Catherine Moore from Sheffield South City Learning Centre gave a talk about promoting creativity in Primary Spanish using ICT at the Forward with Languages MFL conference in Sheffield. Her presentation co-authored by Paula Lewis from Meadowhead School and Primary link teacher highlights a number of useful tools for language learning, namely:

Have a look too at the slidecasts Lisa Stevens recently created for her CILT course Next steps in using ICT in the primary languages classroom on effective use of ICT for whole class teaching, collaborative learning using ICT, digital voice recording and assessment.

Posted on 08/07/2009 in Blogging, Digital Storytelling, Freeware, ICT Advice, Podcasting, Primary Languages | Permalink | Comments (0)

04/07/2009

7JD can animate!

At Nodehill during SATs week in May, non Yr 6 classes always go form-based and so have the opportunity to take part in creative projects they wouldn't normally have the time to complete in a typical week. This year, I wanted my Year 7 form to produce a short film revising a topic we had studied in French. The idea was for them to express their creativity, work collaboratively in small groups and see what they could come up with.

Many chose to make one stop animations using a digital camera and Movie Maker. Others experimented with MS Paint and Macromedia Flash and a couple of groups shot short video clips with puppets.

I used Format Factory to convert the wmv files the pupils had rendered in Movie Maker to FLV so they would play in the PodBean embeddable player. Hope you like the finished films.

Have a listen too to the pupils talking about their filmmaking experiences and how much they enjoyed the project.

Download one_stop_interviews.mp3

Posted on 04/07/2009 in Digital Storytelling, Freeware, Joe Blog(g)s, Nodehill, Vodcasting | Permalink | Comments (1)

10/06/2009

Ripping to MP3 using Windows Media Player

Sirmorphalot has created a useful guide on using Windows Media Player to rip mp3 files from a CD so they can be incorporated into multimedia projects. Don't forget though if you are planning to do this you must have permission to do so ;)

Have a look too at his 6 part guide on using Microsoft Photo Story which includes:

and his tutorial on creating your own South Park character.

Cool dude!

Posted on 10/06/2009 in Digital Storytelling, Freeware, ICT Advice, Podcasting | Permalink | Comments (0)

23/05/2009

Befunky and making comics in Word

Educational consultant Jacqui Sharp from New Zealand has written a great post on using the free web tool BeFunky to transform digital photos into cartoonised versions and producing cool personalised comics in Word or PowerPoint. As the site does not require you to register and lets you save images straight to your desktop, it seems perfectly safe to use in the classroom. Likewise, comics could be embedded on a school blog using SlideShare presuming you have parental permission and encourage pupils to develop their writing skills knowing they are publishing to a real audience.

Jacqui suggests importing images into Word or PowerPoint and using Autoshapes to add narrative text and speech bubbles (known as Callouts). Alternatively, you could try out free sites such as ComicBrush, Comiqs and Tabblo to give you more options in bringing your comic creations to life.

Have a look at her Slideshare presentation for further examples on how BeFunky can promote writing in the classroom in a fun and motivating way. Check out Gemma Fordyce's video tutorial for the CILT project on the effective use of ICT too which also looks at creating comics using Word and earlier posts Comic books in the languages classroom, Using Photo Story 3 to bring photos to life in the classroom, MFL adventures in Comic Life and Never miss a photo opportunity.

Posted on 23/05/2009 in Digital Storytelling, Freeware, ICT Advice | Permalink | Comments (1)

10/05/2009

MFL Flashmeeting comes of age!

Monday night's MFL Flashmeeting was a special occasion in so many ways. It was the first time as far as I am aware that 20 plus language teachers from the UK, the USA and New Zealand had met up in a videoconferencing session to talk about their passion for using ICT in the classroom. Secondly, it facilitated a huge amount of sharing and honest discussion about many practical issues we face on a daily basis in our teaching. Thirdly, it generated a great deal of excitement and reinforced the power of Twitter to help people connect with each and be part of a community.

Hearing about everyone's experiences was a joy and a validation of how much language teaching can be enhanced by the use of technology. The discussion was supportive and encouraging throughout and as I said at the time the learning was palpable. One of the tools which seemed to receive the most praise was Edmodo which according to Alex Bellars, Kath Holton and José Picardo, their pupils LOVE to use. Love was also a word used by Val McIntyre about her Flip Video camera and by Amanda Salt when describing her pupils publishing their Vokis and GoAnimate presentations on her Spanish wiki.

It was also wonderful to hear how colleagues have been offering their pupils distance learning opportunities by recording model questions as mp3 files and publishing them on blogs, wikis or Edmodo for them to download. Likewise, it was great to learn how excited Lisa Steven's primary pupils had got listening to themselves on their iPods and on their parents' iPods and on their next door neighbour's iPods to boot!

The most flattering comment for me was when Alex Bellars described the combination of my blog and Twitter as being the best CPD in the world! Wow! (I'll pay you later Alex ;))

So thanks to everyone for giving up your Monday evening to take part in developing your own CPD and I hope to see you all again soon on Flashmeeting, Twitter, in the blogosphere or even face to face (perish the thought!).

Download MFL_Flashmeeting_May_2009.mp3

Summary

Welcome and introductions
describing your favourite technology for enhancing language learning
creating mp3 or wav files quickly and easily with USB microphone or digital voice recorder
uploading speaking practice to class blog
using Twitter in class to ask questions from your personal learning network
recording mp3 files on the fly and playing them back in class
using Flip video cameras and dealing with playback issues
using YouTube to raise awareness of culture and bringing language learning to life
improving pupils' listening and speaking skills with Audacity and improving their independance
motivating pupils by playing games and making lessons more interactive with Smart Notebook
recording GCSE speaking tests with Audacity
making revision podcasts for younger pupils (vocabulary lists and role-plays with accompanying worksheets)
using a wiki to publish Vokis and GoAnimate presentations
pupils getting excited about listening to themselves on their iPods
listening to a bank of model GCSE questions as individual mp3 files on 'shuffle' to create an authentically difficult testing process
pupils recording their GCSE speaking presentations on their mobile phones
uploading teacher-produced model questions to Edmodo
allowing pupils to export their speaking presentation as mp3 files so they can take them home on their mobile players
describing Edmodo as a microblogging tool for education which also allows you to upload files and embed media
using Edmodo to send and mark homework
trialling Edmodo and then rolling it out to all year groups because of its simplicity and security
learning how to use Fronter and comparing it to Moodle
why language teachers tend to be more ICT-literate than colleagues from other subjects and feeling under pressure about exam results
the importance of developing skills outside of language learning and dealing with the stress of the speaking exam
involving languages in cross-curricular projects and creating programmes for the school's tv channel
using VoiceThread, GoAnimate and Voki in the languages classroom
recording mp3 files in Audacity or with USB microphone and uploading to Voki
using the text-to-speech feature of Voki to check the sounds of Spanish
dealing with the terms of service by creating Vokis directly on the site without registering
recording the voice first before customising your Voki avatar
creating a teacher VoiceThread and avatars for each year group instead of paying to register individual pupils
using VoiceThread as part of an eTwinning project or as an assessment tool
explaining different ways of commenting with VoiceThread and annotating with the doodler tool
making VoiceThreads private, public or moderated
creating a Voki and asking pupils to leave comments for homework as audio files from their mobile phones or text-to-speech answers (Kath's pupils prefer hearing real voices than TTS ones)
using Voki comments for assessment for learning purposes (a practice recently praised by Estyn during inspection at Kath's school in Wales)
finding that shy pupils are the first to want to use Voki
using Qipit to take photos with a mobile phone of text on your interactive whiteboard, converting them to pdf documents and publishing them directly to the web
creating cartoons with ToonDoo and being able to include accents
focusing on producing good language instead of spending too much time on creating cartoons
encouraging pupils to make their own creations in their own time
drafting dialogues first in exercise books before going to the ICT suite, using word-processing software to write up work and then copying and pasting text into ToonDoo to stop wasting time in the creation of cartoons
seeing reluctant learners getting excited about Glogster, being proud of their results and embedding them on their Bebo sites
uploading audio files to Glogster
sharing annotated links with students using social bookmarking tool Diigo
using Wordle with Yr 7 pupils and trying to the making the word je the largest item by asking them to write about themselves
putting song lyrics into Wordle for 6th form students as a pre-reading exercise
making Wordle posters 'for fun' for corridor display
using Wordle to discuss keywords as a way into a new topic, to link words and build sentences creatively
pasting a short piece of French text and English translation into Wordle as a pre-reading comprehension exercise
having a 'butterfly' mind and not following through with ideas you've find out about in the blogosphere or via Twitter
rewriting schemes of work to encourage the use of Web 2.0 tools across a department
grasping opportunities and fighting against the frustration of websites being blocked
dividing the class in two, giving each half the Wordle of an article and asking them to draw out vocabulary before giving them the original text in full
discussing the proposal in the recent Rose Review that ICT should become a core subject and play a central role in the new primary curriculum
surveying pupils to gauge the type of technology they are using in their free time and teaching them about other exciting ways of communicating
'selling' the value of ICT to secondary colleagues and using the leverage that pupils will be coming into KS3 with expectations that they will be using new technologies in lessons
the danger of overestimating how ICT-literate pupils are and appreciating that technology is not motivating to all
using Edmodo across the MFL department
having themed weeks and interweaving subjects together
parents enjoying seeing their children's work published on the school website or wiki
exciting pupils and colleagues about the use of ICT
finding the funding for suitable training to get primary staff on board
the danger of seeing ICT as a panacea and losing track of tried and tested methodology
changing the attitude of some staff who may think that booking a lesson in the ICT suite is an excuse for not working
improving ICT skills in the 21st century by drawing on different forms of CPD models (face to face or virtual)
seeing Twitter as a cornerstone of personal and professional development for teachers
finding the drip feed 'patchwork' effect of constantly sharing information more valuable and accessible than traditional face to face training which forms part of a wider personal learning network (Blogs, RSS feeds, The TES)
Alex describing this blog and Twitter as the best CPD in the world!
the importance of face to face contact for local networks and using Twitter to forge national and international links
avoiding one way conversations by following those who follow you on Twitter
attending TeachMeets as a valuable form of CPD
using Twitter as a great way to connect and communicate with an immediate pool of like-minded people
rationalising your time and restricting the desire to always be checking out the latest tools
meeting up for cake, cocktails and CPD like a mini TeachMeet
discussing the possibilities of future face to face meet ups as a replacement for the Isle of Wight Conference
tailouring CPD to individual needs using face to face contacts, Twitter and Flashmeeting
requesting open-ended questions for a film project in the streets of Marseille where the answers of passers by can be used for speaking and writing practice for GCSE or A' level students
a few final thoughts

(José Picardo contemplating the prospect of inspiring his department next year by rewriting the schemes of work and including lots of references to the use of Web 2.0 tools)

Show Notes

Smart Notebook

Easi-Speak microphones

Ballard LangBlog and speaking revision in French and German

Edmodo

Edmodo: microblogging for the classroom

Edmodo: What students think

Edmodo and First impressions of Edmodo

Flip Video - solving video codec blank video problems

Solving the Flip Video Codec problem

YouTube

Audacity