2010年4月26日 星期一
Multimedia in SL classroom: Digital story telling
The use of different hands-on materials to create sences is a interesting task for teaching English in a SL classroom. I did it with my students this year on the topic "helping others". Students in groups of 4 think of a situation that they can help others. The video is done on Photostory3. Students make the storyboard by drawing and writing in simple pictures and sentences. Then, they help themsleves to get the props read y on the other day. It lasts for 3 30-mins lesson. I think it is challenging but worthy task for students and teachers.
Interactivity: Can IT enhance it?
This is my experience of teaching the same Reader: Camping Diary.
Last year, the NET teacher is in charge of teaching the reader. He seldom discussed the teaching plan with local teachers. He taught the reader by playing the "interactive CD-rom" in the class, by repeating the lines and Q&A about the contents. One of my students loves those cartoons. She laughed all through the storytime.( But actually there's nothing humorous!) Children enjoyed the time with him and the CD-rom. Yet, I do not find interactivity among the children and between NET and all parties (both children and ME!)
This year, we have a new NET teacher, he is creative and experienced. He used powerpoint ( by scanning all pictures and enlarged the words) instead. He makes uses of his own voices, gesture and facial expression to express the meanings and ask students to act the roles. Children all involved in the lesson by acting different roles, even the weaker ones can contribute in the lesson.
We cannot say technology is the only solution to interactivity. We are living with technology, but we should still be ok if living without technology. (in some cases only!)
Teachers are equipped with the knowledge and skills to create an interactive environment for learning English. If I can choose again, I prefer the last one more, at least I can see the happy faces in the class that are revealing the enjoyment on the language arts and communication more than the funny cartoons.
Last year, the NET teacher is in charge of teaching the reader. He seldom discussed the teaching plan with local teachers. He taught the reader by playing the "interactive CD-rom" in the class, by repeating the lines and Q&A about the contents. One of my students loves those cartoons. She laughed all through the storytime.( But actually there's nothing humorous!) Children enjoyed the time with him and the CD-rom. Yet, I do not find interactivity among the children and between NET and all parties (both children and ME!)
This year, we have a new NET teacher, he is creative and experienced. He used powerpoint ( by scanning all pictures and enlarged the words) instead. He makes uses of his own voices, gesture and facial expression to express the meanings and ask students to act the roles. Children all involved in the lesson by acting different roles, even the weaker ones can contribute in the lesson.
We cannot say technology is the only solution to interactivity. We are living with technology, but we should still be ok if living without technology. (in some cases only!)
Teachers are equipped with the knowledge and skills to create an interactive environment for learning English. If I can choose again, I prefer the last one more, at least I can see the happy faces in the class that are revealing the enjoyment on the language arts and communication more than the funny cartoons.
Authenticity in current course materials
I think the authenticity of the teaching and learning material affected both the inputs and outputs of a course.
Nowadays, children (even p3) can get access to internet easily without parents' and adults' censorship. They can learn by reading others blogs, searching for Pop stars and sports stars info, and even adding post to others' blogs or Facebook. Yet, in the current text books, they are still learning 'Shopping with family or friends in a supermarket', 'hobbies( only healthy ones: ball games, musical instruments)'. Though we are helping them to build up a healthy life style, yet, the life they are living is not as simple as we think.
I know many teachers face drug problems, bullying (including cyber-bullying) or other problems in their schools. I am lucky that my students are still using interent for playing facebook and MSN, which I can censor them by interacting with them on these communication tools. Yet, I need to investigate on their practices on playing games on facebooks as well as helping them to get used to type in English on MSN.
Parents (for some parents) may be idiots to IT and internet. Some of them may think computers can help them learn better, but never imagine the adverse effects that it brings to their children. As teachers, we have the responsibilty to help children get on the right track when incoporating technology in the current ESL curriculum.
I was the one benefits on the Web 2.0 world. Once I started teaching 10 years ago, I was the new generation in teaching field to make the vast uses of technology. Now, it is not the age for teachers to manipulate the technology, but the age for learners to make good use of the technology to learn among themselves as well as with teachers.
Nowadays, children (even p3) can get access to internet easily without parents' and adults' censorship. They can learn by reading others blogs, searching for Pop stars and sports stars info, and even adding post to others' blogs or Facebook. Yet, in the current text books, they are still learning 'Shopping with family or friends in a supermarket', 'hobbies( only healthy ones: ball games, musical instruments)'. Though we are helping them to build up a healthy life style, yet, the life they are living is not as simple as we think.
I know many teachers face drug problems, bullying (including cyber-bullying) or other problems in their schools. I am lucky that my students are still using interent for playing facebook and MSN, which I can censor them by interacting with them on these communication tools. Yet, I need to investigate on their practices on playing games on facebooks as well as helping them to get used to type in English on MSN.
Parents (for some parents) may be idiots to IT and internet. Some of them may think computers can help them learn better, but never imagine the adverse effects that it brings to their children. As teachers, we have the responsibilty to help children get on the right track when incoporating technology in the current ESL curriculum.
I was the one benefits on the Web 2.0 world. Once I started teaching 10 years ago, I was the new generation in teaching field to make the vast uses of technology. Now, it is not the age for teachers to manipulate the technology, but the age for learners to make good use of the technology to learn among themselves as well as with teachers.
First experience on Second Life
Second Life is an interactive game which players can communicate in text or voice in a virtual environment.
For a new player, I don't think it is easy to manage. It is attractive as it offers experiences that human cannot do in a real world, e.g dive in the deep sea, fly into the sky and look over the city. Yet, I cannot make it related to effective learning on proper English. Yet, I had first encountered the guy in the game saying something impolite, such as commenting on ones' appearance or teasing for inappropiate behaviours. For the younger learners, I think it is not a securce place for them to learn and use English. Yet, for adult English learners, they may need such a place to talk in English freely without burdens on rejection by others on face-to-face basis.
Hoping that more educators can help making this game a really edutainment to SL learners, I find the Ancient Islands fun for learning hisotry. Showing achitectures, people and other objects of the past in a virtual world let players feel more familiar. Especially for learning the culture, art, music and literature, learners need to know about the context of the arts. This games make the arts pop up in front of the players where they can walk around in the old city with the paintings, music, sculptures and landmarks all around.
For a new player, I don't think it is easy to manage. It is attractive as it offers experiences that human cannot do in a real world, e.g dive in the deep sea, fly into the sky and look over the city. Yet, I cannot make it related to effective learning on proper English. Yet, I had first encountered the guy in the game saying something impolite, such as commenting on ones' appearance or teasing for inappropiate behaviours. For the younger learners, I think it is not a securce place for them to learn and use English. Yet, for adult English learners, they may need such a place to talk in English freely without burdens on rejection by others on face-to-face basis.
Hoping that more educators can help making this game a really edutainment to SL learners, I find the Ancient Islands fun for learning hisotry. Showing achitectures, people and other objects of the past in a virtual world let players feel more familiar. Especially for learning the culture, art, music and literature, learners need to know about the context of the arts. This games make the arts pop up in front of the players where they can walk around in the old city with the paintings, music, sculptures and landmarks all around.
Hot potatoes offers a platform for teaching and learning
Hot potatoes is not a new shareware online for developing easily-designed assessment or exercise for language teachers. For making assessment task for learners who had limited experiences on using online tools for learning, teachers need to give them enough time for solving the technical problems. Yet, it is more challenging for teachers to spare enough time to discover the useful functions in the software. I love making the lesson more enjoyable and rewarding. Yet, I found it difficult for me to make it a more attractive layout.
Moreover, to raise students motivation on self-learning thorugh online activities, it is more practical for a teachers to manage to help themselves to correct the errors and tackle the problems they have on language.
Hot potatoes provides "hints" function, so learners can follow their own learning pace and ability. It helps teachers to cater for the diversity in learning needs in a class that we cannot easily manipulate through pencil-and-paper assessment or standard homework.
Moreover, to raise students motivation on self-learning thorugh online activities, it is more practical for a teachers to manage to help themselves to correct the errors and tackle the problems they have on language.
Hot potatoes provides "hints" function, so learners can follow their own learning pace and ability. It helps teachers to cater for the diversity in learning needs in a class that we cannot easily manipulate through pencil-and-paper assessment or standard homework.
2010年4月24日 星期六
Using Blogs in teaching and learning with lower primary students
How blogs can be a learning tool to students in P.3? I have never imagined before. Yet, I see how interent and blogging is powerful after working out the curriculum design assignment with my P3 class.
http://3chappyangels.blogspot.com/
This is a blog I designed for help students to get reach to some links and write their own piece of writing on computer and on line as well. Students are motivated to come to the blog by reading other's work. It provided students the chance to express their own thought as well as the comments on others.
I, as a administrator of the blog and an instructor of the course, take the advantage of peer evaluation,
When Students read my comments on others' writng, They get rid of the same mistakes as others.
26 students in this class finished the writing and post on the blog. Some of them writing even worked in front of the class in very short time. Children were eager to have the challenge although the task is not easy at all.
http://3chappyangels.blogspot.com/
This is a blog I designed for help students to get reach to some links and write their own piece of writing on computer and on line as well. Students are motivated to come to the blog by reading other's work. It provided students the chance to express their own thought as well as the comments on others.
I, as a administrator of the blog and an instructor of the course, take the advantage of peer evaluation,
When Students read my comments on others' writng, They get rid of the same mistakes as others.
26 students in this class finished the writing and post on the blog. Some of them writing even worked in front of the class in very short time. Children were eager to have the challenge although the task is not easy at all.
2010年1月18日 星期一
Learning English with IT in Primary School
In my past experience teaching English to learners in primary school, I found that the use of IT in my lesson linked my teaching and learning to real life as well as the virtual world.
As English is a second language being used outside school for most students in Hong Kong, the aim of using IT in my lessons is to help my students get access to English World online as well as using the tools for developing students self-learning skills.
The students nowadays are well equipped with the IT competence as early as kindergarteners. Thus, my primary 3 students can now using Facebook to set up groups to invite friends to see their photos of travelling, artworks and videos of performances.
Last Christmas, I got my students crazy in taking part in a Christmas carol performance. A week before the performance, I showed them the video clip of "When Christmas comes to town" (a theme song from the Movie:Polar Express) from Youtube,the students loved the song and video so much and asked me to sing the song with them every English lesson for a whole week.
As I know, my students visited Facebooks website very often. To help them making good use of the web for learning I put the links of the songs, speech, and their performances in English lesson. Later, I will try to ask students to give comments in English, so that they can use English in their daily life.
A speech of Little Eco heroin: Severn Suzuki
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPx5r35Aymc
Polar Express - When Christmas Comes to Town
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqLvNrnTA5s
Facebook.com
As English is a second language being used outside school for most students in Hong Kong, the aim of using IT in my lessons is to help my students get access to English World online as well as using the tools for developing students self-learning skills.
The students nowadays are well equipped with the IT competence as early as kindergarteners. Thus, my primary 3 students can now using Facebook to set up groups to invite friends to see their photos of travelling, artworks and videos of performances.
Last Christmas, I got my students crazy in taking part in a Christmas carol performance. A week before the performance, I showed them the video clip of "When Christmas comes to town" (a theme song from the Movie:Polar Express) from Youtube,the students loved the song and video so much and asked me to sing the song with them every English lesson for a whole week.
As I know, my students visited Facebooks website very often. To help them making good use of the web for learning I put the links of the songs, speech, and their performances in English lesson. Later, I will try to ask students to give comments in English, so that they can use English in their daily life.
A speech of Little Eco heroin: Severn Suzuki
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPx5r35Aymc
Polar Express - When Christmas Comes to Town
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqLvNrnTA5s
Facebook.com
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