Teaching language with technology: Basic tools and techniques, 2017

Short link to this post: v.gd/clear17

I am honored to be invited to facilitate a workshop titled Teaching with technology: Basic tools and techniques, July 31-August 2, 2017. This is one of CLEAR‘s summer workshops, held at Michigan State University in East Lansing, MI.

Presentation slides (PDF)

I will facilitate learning to use the resources listed below during the workshop:

In-class response systems

• Socrative
  • Cost: Free
  • Platform: Web (including mobile)
  • Description: Instructor creates multiple-choice, true-false, or short answer questions. Students respond using laptops or mobile devices. The instructor can display the results as they come in. You can let students respond anonymously or require students to enter their names. You can also use this system for in-class quizzes.
  • Student login page (use to respond to questions during this workshop)
• Plickers
  • Cost: Free
  • Platform: iPhone, iPad, or Android (only 1 needed per classroom). The website is useful for creating classes, questions, and quizzes, but a mobile device is needed to scan students’ responses.
  • Description: Students respond to multiple-choice and true-false questions using specially designed paper that they hold up. The teacher scans the room using a smart phone or tablet. The results can be instantly displayed.
  • Getting started guide
  • Plickers in 2 minutes (video)
  • Help with Plickers

Digital storytelling

• General resources learning more about digital storytelling
  • Digital Stories in a Language Classroom
  • Digital Storytelling in the Foreign Language Classroom
• VoiceThread
  • Cost: Free for up to 3 VoiceThreads; various pricing plans for more
  • Platform: Web, iPhone, iPad, Android
  • Example VoiceThread to try out commenting
  • Another example to view
  • Description: Upload a PowerPoint, PDF, video, images, etc., then record audio or video comments on each slide. The real power of VoiceThread is the ability to share and comment on other people’s work.
  • More: VoiceThread and Universal Design for Learning
• YouTube Video Editor
  • Cost: Free
  • Platform: Web, iPhone/iPad (limited functionality compared to web)
  • Description: Upload video, then use YouTube’s editor to combine, split, and shorten clips and add a soundtrack, titles, and transitions.You need to be logged into your Google account to use this. The mobile app has more limited editing capabilities, but allows you to record video directly in the app.
  • More: Basic instructions for using the YouTube video editor
  • This tool will no longer be available starting in September 2017.
• iMovie
  • Cost: Free
  • Platform: Mac
  • Description Video editor.
  • More: How to create a movie from start to finish with iMovie
• Windows Movie Maker
  • Cost: Free
  • Platform: Windows
  • Description: Video recorder and editor.
  • More: Simple guide to Windows Movie Maker 2012
• BookWright
  • Cost: Free to create books and “proof copy” PDFs
  • Platform: Windows and Mac
  • Description: Create a book using your own images and text, with a simple, user-friendly interface. You can publish a “proof copy” PDF for free, and you can upload your book to the Blurb website to get options to buy a printed copy or ebook. You retain copyright to your book. Does not support Asian languages.

Flipped classroom

• • General resources learning more about flipped classrooms
    • The flipped classroom (FLTMag)
    • FluentU: 5 basics you need to achieve a flipped language classroom
    • The flipped class: Myth vs. reality
    • The University of Texas at Austin: How to flip a class
  • Example videos
    • Pedagogical English grammar
    • Spanish – -ar verbs
    • French – school bag vocabulary introduction 
    • Chinese – “Although”
    • Japanese – self-introduction
    • Arabic – series of videos from UWN Language Resource Center
• Tools for making flipped lessons
  • Screencast-o-matic
    • Cost: Free (Pro version: $15/year)
    • Platform: Web, Windows, Mac
    • Description: With the free version, record up to 15-minute videos of your screen. You can record from your webcam (or just microphone) at the same time. With the pro version, you can record computer audio (on Windows) and edit your recordings.
    • Step-by-step instructions for students using Screencast-o-matic to make digital scene analyses from the Gettysburg College Language Resource Center.
  • Jing
    • Cost: Free
    • Platform: Windows, Mac
    • Description: Record up to 5-minute videos of your screen. You can record from your microphone (but not your webcam) at the same time. Extremely simple interface.
  • Microsoft Office Mix
    • Cost: Free
    • Platform: Windows 7+
    • Description: plug-in for PowerPoint for creating narrated presentations that can be saved as videos. You can also include quiz questions. You need Office 2013 or later and Windows 7 or later to use this plug-in.

Delivery of content

• Embedding content in your learning management system
  • Moodle
  • Blackboard
  • Desire2Learn (D2L)
  • Angel
  • Sakai
  • Canvas
• WordPress
  • Cost: Free
  • Platform: Web
  • Description: Create a website and/or blog. Use various free themes to change the look of your site, and add in your own content with an editor that is similar to a word processor. No HTML or web programming skills needed.
  • Tip: Add /wp-admin/index.php to the end of your URL to access a more useful interface for editing your site! For example, if your site is mysite.wordpress.com, use the URL mysite.wordpress.com/wp-admin/index.php to access the editing interface.
  • Examples:
    • Classes
      • 3rd year Japanese (Swarthmore College)
      • Italian (Tina Petraglia)
      • Spanish (Jenny Dumont)
      • Japanese for Kids (Betsy Lavolette)
    • Professional
      • Dr. Senta Goertler
      • Dr. Jim Ranalli
      • Dr. Betsy Lavolette (this site!)
    • Online courses
      • Language learner training
      • Pedagogical English Grammar (ask Betsy for the login!)
    • Other
      • Gettysburg College Language Resource Center
      • Young Public Intellectuals (Gettysburg College)
      • Surge (Gettysburg College)
  • More: WordPress.com how-to

Ready-made games

• 20Q
  • Cost: Free
  • Platform: Web (including mobile)
  • Description: Play 20 Questions in any of many languages. Proper names cannot be used.
• Akinator
  • Cost: Free (web, including mobile); $1.99 (mobile app)
  • Platform: Web (including mobile), iPhone, iPad, Android
  • Description: Play 20 Questions in any of many languages. Use the names of real or fictional people.
• Pokemon Go
  • Cost: Free
  • Platform: iPhone, iPad, Android
  • Description: Wander the real world and catch augmented reality creatures called Pokemon. Battle them against other players’ creatures to take control of Pokemon gyms.
  • More: Design and print your own Pokemon card
• Decoration Games
  • Cost: Free
  • Platform: Web
  • Description: Decorate a room or design a house by clicking and dragging components.
  • More: Dr. Felix Kronenberg describes how to use decoration games in a German class.
• Arabic
  • Hello-World – Collection of games for children
•  Chinese
  • Clock game
  • Codenames – Not a fully digital game, but digital spreadsheet included for creating the cards you need to play this game in Chinese.
• English
  • Sushi Chef 2
  • Scribblenauts – iPhone/iPad or Android
  • Hidden Object
• French
  • Bonjour les amis!
• Japanese
  • ヨーダ・寿司ショップ
  • Inanimate Alice Journals
  • Shiritori
  • NHK for School
  • もじぴかー動物 – hiragana matching game
  • もじぴかー食べ物 – hiragana matching game
  • もじぴかー海のもの – hiragana matching game
  • ひらがな計算 – perform addition/subtraction using hiragana
  • 会計貴族 – provide correct change to customers. Not much language involved, but may help familiarize students with Japanese currency.
  • オームズのドキハラ虫くいワード – choose the correct hiragana or katakana character to fill in words
• Spanish
  • PBS Kids
  • Discovery Kids
  • Online Free Spanish

Find more games for your language and share them in the comments below!

Customizable games

• Kahoot
  • Cost: Free
  • Platform: Web (including mobile)
  • Description: Create multiple choice games (“Quizzes”) and ordering games (“Jumbles”) for competition in class. Students respond individually or in teams on their own devices. This colorful game is very popular in K-12 contexts.
  • Student login page (use to respond to questions during this workshop)
• PurposeGames
  • Cost: Free
  • Platform: Web
  • Description: Create games. There are various types, but the unique types on PurposeGames allow you to upload an image and add dots or shapes that indicate the answers.
  • Examples
    • Prefectures and regions of Japan (dot game)
    • Japanese political regions (shape game)
• Quizlet
  • Cost: Free
  • Platform: Web, iPhone, iPad, Android
  • Description: Create flashcards that include images and automatically generated audio. Play games and take tests with the words. With a paid account, teachers can also facilitate team games using the flashcard sets.

Organization and saving time

• Google Forms
  • Cost: Free
  • Platform: Web (including mobile)
  • Description: Create online surveys and quizzes and display the data visually. You must be logged into your Google account to use this.
  • Example: Japanese language and history
  • More:
    • Create and grade quizzes with Google Forms
    • Get started with forms
• Diigo
  • Cost: Free
  • Platform: Web (including mobile)
  • Description: Save bookmarks to webpages, including annotations and tags. You can also create groups and share the annotations among students and/or colleagues.
  • Example: Web Tools for Language Learning and Teaching
  • More: Diigolet bookmark
• LastPass
  • Cost: Free
  • Platform: Web, with a browser plugin (mobile apps have a subscription fee)
  • Description: Save all of your usernames and passwords in one place. This app also generates secure passwords for you and saves you the trouble of remembering them. This helps keep your data secure by avoiding the reuse of passwords across websites.
• Doodle
  • Cost: Free
  • Platform: Web
  • Description: Give a list of meeting options and find out the availability of each attendee. Choose the best meeting time based on the results.
• v.gd
  • Cost: Free
  • Platform: Web
  • Description: Create a short link to any webpage. You can customize the web address so that it’s easy to remember and to share with others.

Language exchange

• Skype
  • Cost: Free
  • Platform: Windows, Mac, mobile devices, web
  • Description: Video calling tool that includes text chat, and screen sharing.
  • More: Callnote (free) for recording Skype calls (Windows and Mac)
• Students or teachers can use the following free sites to set up individual or classroom exchanges. Keep in mind that this is an exchange, so they would need to speak English for half of the exchange time and the TL for the other half.
• The Mixxer
  • Cost: Free
  • Platform: Web
  • Description: Students can use this site to find a language exchange partner, or teachers can use the site to find a collaborating class. The Mixxer has tools for students to request confirmation to be sent to teachers to show that they participated in an exchange.
  • More: Book chapter about The Mixxer
• HelloTalk
  • Cost: Free
  • Platform: iPhone, iPad, Android
  • Description: Language exchange via text or voice. Includes tools for correction, sending images and drawings, and timing your exchange.
  • More: HelloTalk from a teacher’s perspective
• Other language exchange options:
  • Open Language Exchange
  • My Language Exchange
  • Speaky
  • WeSpeke
  • Teletandem Brasil – Set up language exchanges between your Portuguese class and Brazilian classes learning English
  • TalkAbroad – A paid service that includes tools for teachers to give instructions to conversations partners in advance. Students pay a fee per 30 minute conversation. Both teachers and students can access recordings of conversations. Available for Spanish, French, English, Mandarin, Arabic, German, Italian, and Portuguese.

Glossing

• Rikaichan/Rikaikun/Rikaigu – plugin for Firefox/Chrome browsers that produces a popup box showing the meaning & reading of Japanese words
• Google Dictionary – plugin for Chrome browser that produces a popup box showing the meaning of words in Brazilian Portuguese, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Czech, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Korean, Russian, Slovak, and Spanish.
• Zhongwen – plugin for Chrome browser that produces a popup box showing the meaning & reading of Chinese words
• Adobe Acrobat – PDF creator and editor (paid)