Still buzzing from Thursday's Flashmeeting on blogging and podcasting, on Saturday, I went off to Maidstone Grammar School to talk to 26 MFL teachers about the same subject. The event was organised by Glynis Rumley, chair of the Kent branch of The Association for Language Learning who originally made me the invitation at the Isle of Wight conference last year.
I was delighted to return the favour and visit The Garden of England for the weekend to spread the word and encourage others to join the blogosphere. This certainly seemed to work as two delegates signed up for Typepad blogs straight after the session. Check out Miss Gibsons Page! and ICT 4 MFL. Go you!
As in Maynooth, I asked colleagues to pass round my iRiver and record their thoughts on how they could use podcasting in their lessons as well as their general impressions of the day.
Click on the links below, to hear what they had to say.
Download ALL_Kent_feedback.mp3
Download ALL_Kent_ideas_for_podcasting.mp3
Download posting_to_a_Typepad_blog.wmv
Summary
- Introductions
- Definitions of blogging and podcasting
- Subscribing to a podcast and using a podcatcher such as iTunes
- Blogging and podcasting becoming higher profile
- Using podcasts for personalised learning, improving pronunciation and increasing motivation
- Extending learning by encouraging pupils to download and listen to home grown recordings on a mp3 player, mobile phone and computer away from the classroom
- Digitizing cassettes and cutting up sound files in Audacity
- Scottish innovations (MFLE, PiE, one stop animation, The VerbCast)
- The Language Show 2005 and getting inspired by Ewan McIntosh
- Researching blogs and podcasts on the web and getting started
- Blogging is a 'voyage of discovery'
- The interactivity of leaving comments and their motivational impact
- The potential of networking through blogging
- Language World 2006 and seeing Ewan creating a podcast live during his session
- Getting into the blogosphere and the benefits of writing for a real audience
- Uploading podcasts to iTunes
- Scottish Primary MFL examples (pupil scribe, embedding photo slideshows, supporting audio and text files, SETT, Talking Teddies)
- Promoting creativity and giving your pupils a reason for listening and speaking
- The importance of scripting to extend writing and getting pupils to value their work
- The podcasting workshop at The Isle of Wight conference
- The practicalities of recording a podcast
- Using podsafe music and not breaking copyright
- Social bookmarking with del.icio.us and having a tag roll
- The Assignment: Podcast website by British Telecom
- Being commissioned to produce video tutorials on blogging and podcasting for SSAT
- The three phases of podcasting: scripting, recording and editing
- Using a class set of mp3 players as a portable digital language lab
- Podcasting across the curriculum (times tables, storytelling, re-inactment)
- Dealing with background noise
- Being creative and assessing podcasts
- My first podcast
- The SSAT Annual languages Conference and being Ewan's 'critical friend'
- Getting into blogging
- Pioneering MFL blogging and podcasting in England
- Having a clear purpose for your blog - Adam Sutcliffe's examples
- Blogging as assessment for learning
- Creating a community and setting blog rules
- Encouraging other colleagues to blog and working together
- Moderating comments and ensuring your pupils' safety
- Approving and editing comments
- Reasons to blog and advice on setting up categories
- Displaying photos on your blog
- Showing how blogs can motivate learners
- Using mobile phones with Bluetooth capability and the video function of a still digital camera for peer assessment
- Adding different widgets to your blog and the benefit of having a sitemeter
- Writing a blog post is as easy as sending an email
- Encouraging more MFL teachers to join the blogosphere
- A few final thoughts
Show Notes
Podcasting and Syndication - Steph Hopkins quote
Using film-making and animation in lessons
Sous la mer and L'histoire de Mrs Vandertramp
Ewan McIntosh at Language World 2006
Languages Colleges Discussion Forum
TES Modern Foreign Languages Staffroom Forum
Blogging and Podcasting articles on Languages-ICT website
Blogosphere programme on Teachers TV
Chris Fuller and his podcasts on JellyCast
Technorati and Google Blog Search
SETT session 'To blog or not to blog?' (Susie Buchanan)
Interactive Chatting Teddies (Marlyn Moffat)
Flashkit loops, Magnatune and Jamendo
Using podcasts in the classroom
iRiver and headphone splitters
The wonderful thing about triggers is triggers are wonderful things!
Communicate 0.6 and Communicate 0.7
Believe it or not (Gill Bushell)
Take the weather with you (Richard Peace)
Carisbloggers (Kyra Ward)
European Award for Languages 2006
Lynne Horn on Bluetooth with mobile phones
Wow - you have been really busy. This is a mine of information. I'm going to have to take a while to go through all of this. I'll try to catch up with you in Oxford!
Posted by: Alex Blagona | 15/03/2007 at 09:49
Hi there!
How on earth did you discover Miss Gibson's and my ICT 4 MFL attempts to start blogging?? I'm very impressed and it actually makes me want to take part in this even more! I still need to get used to the functions - it's a bit tricky at first... but there's a lot to keep me busy here!
merci
Posted by: Mirjam Schrenk | 15/03/2007 at 12:06
Hi Mirjam,
Both your blogs came up in a Google Blog Search. I'm delighted you went for it so quickly. Get in touch if you get stuck. The resources I've included in this post should help a great deal. Fingers crossed.
Posted by: Joe Dale | 15/03/2007 at 14:08
Hi Joe, I work with the TypePad team, and I just wanted to say thank you -- we appreciate so much that you take the time to help people find out what blogging can do. It's really inspirational to all of us to see such great work done with the tools we build!
Posted by: Anil Dash | 17/03/2007 at 06:41
Hi Anil,
Thank you so much for your comment. I think Typepad is a great blogging platform particularly for the less techy of us because it handles multimedia so well and makes uploading audio, video and images as easy as sending an email attachment.
I'd certainly recommend it for any language teacher interested in getting into the world of blogging.
Posted by: Joe Dale | 17/03/2007 at 07:42
So you gave a presentation at Maidstone Grammar School. I am an Old Maidstonian (a VERY old Maidstonian as some of you might think). I did my O-levels there in 1958 and A-levels (French, German, Latin) in 1960.
Posted by: Graham Davies | 23/03/2007 at 18:49