Interview with Volker Green on podcasting, digital video and personalised learning

 

After a necessary self-imposed rest from the blogosphere, I can honestly say I'm delighted to be back and ready to fill you in with everything I got up to before breaking up for Easter. First up was the great discussion I had with Volker Green Programme Leader for Modern Languages at The City Academy in Bristol the day before my two part session on blogging and podcasting at UWE. Our paths have crossed twice in recent months, at the Isle of Wight conference and then more recently the Flashmeeting on blogging and podcasting although I've known about Volker's work since downloading his inspiring Using PowerPoint in MFL presentation from The Teacher Resource Exchange back in 2001.

So, over a couple of hours and a few glasses of red wine, Volker generously shared his ideas on using new technologies in the languages classroom including some fascinating and detailed thoughts on podcasting drawn from research he is currently undertaking for a Masters Degree.

To help you navigate through the ninety minute discussion, I've included a summary as per normal although I do encourage you to listen to the whole recording and leave a comment with your thoughts on the content. This is exciting stuff and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

So here we go ...

Download Interview_with_volker_green.mp3

Getting started

• deciding to rebrand and relaunch the languages department as International Cultural Studies and letting pupils choose to learn a range of languages and their cultures rather than concentrating on just one or two
• using Asset Languages to encourage more pupils to carry on at KS4
• undertaking Action Research for a Masters degree at UWE on podcasting
• coping with technical difficulties and being allowed to create and export mp3 files on a school network
• choosing how to use mp3 players in class by asking pupils for their ideas on their preferred learning style
• recording typical questions for the general conversation and role-plays at GCSE with Audacity and leaving appropriate pauses so students can record their own answers
• seeing students positively and naturally embracing new technology and encouraging colleagues to follow suit
• dealing with misuse of equipment and expecting students to feel self-conscious when they first record themselves
• the importance of educating pupils to use new technologies responsibly
• letting students role-play and adopt a persona so they can forget about their fears and inhibitions of hearing their own voices

Podcast variables

thinking about what are the variables which determine the success of a podcast as an effective language learning tool outside of the classroom e.g.

• the number of items
• the tempo
• the direction of translation/the use of English
• definitions
• sound effects
• level of repetition
• complexity of language (spelling out words, breaking them up into syllables and moving from word to sentence to text level in presentations)
• sequencing (embedding a word in a series of others as a memory trigger)
• order of difficulty (building up from easy to hard as a set of associated activities)
• giving pupils enough thinking time and letting them take charge of their own learning by pausing recordings, slowing down playback or listening as many times as they wish without being distracted by others
• level of support (sound effects, written prompt)
• user defined progression (giving your pupils an idea of what they need to do to achieve the next step in their learning)

Practical considerations

• choosing how to give your students access to podcasts and accompanying material by setting up a blog or website
• uploading content simply and quickly so pupils can revise vocabulary or improve their pronunciation by accessing recordings at home on a computer, mp3 player or mobile phone along with a worksheet or other written support
• asking a Foreign Language Assistant (FLA) to make recordings
• setting up etwinning projects and exchanging podcasts with a partner school using free web services such as Podomatic or Odeo
• moderating spoken and written comments and the benefits of acquiring native speakers as listeners to your recording
• setting up an account and not being too ambitious at the beginning

Podcasts for refreshing or drilling your pupils

• comparing podcasts such as Wörter der Woche from The Gordon Schools MFL HW blog for reminding students of the meaning and spelling of key vocabulary as opposed to introducing new language through drilling
• giving an example of a 'triple drill' where phrases are repeated in groups of three as a memory trigger then continuing to a 'shuffle drill'  where a second set of phrases is introduced and jumbled to give the element of surprise and to challenge the listening skills of your pupils further
• including thinking time with relevant pauses to allow students to listen effectively
• giving more ideas on how to build up phrases further based on techniques by Michel Thomas and The Talk Project so pupils can see how they can recycle language for different topics.
• providing picture dictionaries at the beginning of a topic to put vocabulary in context
• exploring videocasts and recording sounds in PowerPoint for recalling vocabulary and practising conversations
• raising standards as pupils know they are publishing to a real audience
• using Hot Potatoes as a diagnostic tool
• creating a writing frame with drop-down boxes and picture prompts

Digital Video

• MFL iPod Project launched by David Seume, webmaster at The Ashcombe School in Dorking, Surrey
• using YouTube to store or access foreign language video files
• the power of audiovisual resources such as Channel 4's Extra available on CDrom or from Teacher's TV
• plans to record GCSE role-plays and presentations with students on video after Easter so they can practise and listen to others of a similar level
• the potential of using TeacherTube as a safe and moderated place to access video materials
• using Keepvid to dowload YouTube and Google videos for use offline with a FLV player
• recommending different types of video camera (Mini DV, DVD or HD)
• plugging VeeGeeLanguages site
• more video tips (tripod, external directional microphone, lighting, length of clips)
• breaking up recordings into chunks to keep listeners' attention and give them control
• the importance of including a written summary with timings
• joining the digital revolution and managing the time needed to create resources
• pooling ideas and expertise

Personalised learning with moblie phones

• creating language learning games by inputting vocab lists or phrases into a template
• exploiting the potential of mobile phones for handling multimedia files such as video, sound, text, graphics
• tapping into the market and producing software which can generate multiple exercises through one set of parameters like TaskMagic
• the attraction of completing homework which you download on to a mobile phone
• the prospect of everyone using internet enabled phones in the future
• automatically recording students' test scores and assigning them levels
• catering for all four skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing)

Nintendo Wii and the potential of virtual reality

• adventure scenarios
• interacting with virtual characters in an immersion environment
• catering for VAK (visual, auditory and kinaesthetic) learning styles
• Second Life and research by Ewan McIntosh and Derek Robertson on gaming technology

Speading the word

• Mark Pentleton presenting Comic Life at the Isle of Wight Conference
• creating and narrating slideshows with PhotoStory 3
• Flashmeeting on blogging and podcasting and the power of sharing ideas on the web
• the importance of having a host
• being able to multi-task with video and text chat
• recording the session in various digital formats
• ideas for arranging future meetings and future topics
• collaborating on a moderated wiki as a way of creating a reference base for interested parties
• organising another conference
• a few final thoughts

Comments

[Volker]

Wow, Joe, I had no idea there was a flying saucer circling above my head when we were talking. That didn't stop us from getting through so much stuff that evening though. I certainly enjoyed talking to you and exchanging ideas and getting some inspiration as well. It would indeed be good to create a specific blog, webpage or forum for using new technologies innovatively in MFL teaching - maybe a parallel thread on this blog/webpage? How many people would be interested to attend a PRACTICAL seminar in the south-west (maybe Bristol?) on exchanging or developing new ideas etc I wonder? What about next Oct/Nov?
Ciao for now...
Volker

[Joe Dale]

I think setting up practical sessions is a great idea. We also need to carry on spreading the word through fora like Linguanet, MFL resources, TES Staffroom etc and the odd Flashmeeting.

The wiki I recently created could help too as could this blog of course.

This is starting to happen. I know Alex Blagona is looking at organising a day in Ipswich and Chris Fuller from Devon is encouraging teachers to start blogging. Sam Dernley has been running training in the northeast too.

Maybe, by the time the next Isle of Wight Conference happens (funding permitting), they'll be many more. We'll see.