Task 1:
Watch the video posted below and write 5 different tips on how blogging could be used in your classroom.
Tip 1:
Blogs could be used as a means of developing students' writing skills as they post their comments on whatever they read or watch on the blog. They read each other's comments and extend their online conversation by posting other comments about their classmates' written remarks.
Tip 2:
Blogs develop critical skills of students (for example, when writing summaries). Students’ summarization practice might be provided by having them use blogs to post reviews of books, movies, concerts and other events. When reading works by contemporary authors, the writers could be invited to post their comments on the class blog as a feedback.
Tip 3:
Students can improve their public speaking and listening skills by using an MP3 player to record podcasts about any topic they study. The records can be posted on the class blog so that others can download and listen to it.
Tip 4:
New web-based tools make it easy for students to record presentations which they can then embed on a blog page. The embedded presentations can be shared with the class and parents.
Tip 5:
Blogs can be used for daily activities on written and oral language conventions. Teacher can post assignments weekly and give students several days to complete them. After the fixed deadline, the teacher evaluates them online (that is he/she doesn’t need to deal with huge piles of copybooks).Students can easily find the teacher’s feedback posted on the blog. Thus, the relation Teacher-Student never stops as well as the one of type Student-Student.
Task 2:
Choose two lesson plans listed below you liked most. How does the teacher use blogs to develop student writing and speaking skills? How different is teaching using a blog from teaching using a textbook?
- Best Moldovan Brands in 2011 - "Trademark of the Year" Competition
- Business Collocations
- Writing an Argumentative Essay
- HARD SKILLS VS. SOFT SKILLS – DIFFERENCE AND IMPORTANCE
- Emotional Branding
- Video Resumes
- BBC World Challenge Competition
- Identifying important features of a BAR graph
- Let's learn some new vocabulary!
- Let's share our Voicethread Projects
Video Resumes and Let's share our Voicethread Projects They are both very unusual (at least for me, a person who has never used such tools before)) and for sure entertaining for students. First of all, the task requires using web tools, the process of which brings much pleasure and at the same time develops critical thinking and design-creating skills. As a result of their project, they get something that will not serve them for just getting a mark, but will also be a means of sharing impressions, a so called interactive platform, which will enhance their speaking and writing skills (which is the initial goal of any teacher). I liked the idea of having them evaluate each other and share ideas about better solutions. "Video resumes" lesson plan is organized in a form of collaborating field, where students take an active part in choosing the winner and this is, in my opinion, an essential "tool" for involving them into the learning process.
The difference between using a textbook and a blog is obvious!! Textbooks provide only text and sometimes pictures while blogs mean using internet resources, which means having in possession videos, pictures, texts, presentations, and all the stuff which combines developing the four skills: speaking, writing, listening and reading by just sitting in front of the computer and clicking buttons.
Task 3:
Now it is time to involve your students!
Use a YouTube video or a Scribd PDF document related to one of the units from your textbook and put together 2-3 tasks for your students. Ask your students to post their homework on the blog, just like in the examples above. Post the link with student comments below, as a comment to this assignment.
My friends! Since we haven't been introduced to each other let's do it now. And here is the way we'll do it (I hope you'll enjoy it):
1) Click the "play" button in the box you see below and listen to what my VOKI character says:
Well, hope you liked my VOKI :)
You, probably, have already guessed the next task, which is:
2) Write a short paragraph introducing yourselves which includes info about:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOlCQrRraMA
3) Now it's time to create a voki character. For this purpose go to http://www.voki.com/
and follow my instructions:
You, probably, have already guessed the next task, which is:
2) Write a short paragraph introducing yourselves which includes info about:
- your school
- your family
- your friends
- your hobby
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOlCQrRraMA
3) Now it's time to create a voki character. For this purpose go to http://www.voki.com/
and follow my instructions:
- Click the "Register" button (upper right corner) -> complete the form and click the "sign up" button below:
- In case you've succeded, you'll see a message telling you need to check your email and click the link they have sent to enter your VOKI account. So go ahead and do it:
- register (complete the form and click "sign up")
- check email
- click the link
- this is what you see at this level:
2. Log in (type the email address you mentioned while registration and your password / click "log in")
3. You have entered your voki account. Click "Create"
4. Choose a player
5. Choose a background and customize your character
6. Give it a voice. In order to do it use your self-introduction paragraph:
3. You have entered your voki account. Click "Create"
4. Choose a player
5. Choose a background and customize your character
6. Give it a voice. In order to do it use your self-introduction paragraph:
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7. Click "publish" and give you character a name / save it.
8. Next you'll see a box containig the HTML code of your character:
8. Next you'll see a box containig the HTML code of your character:
Your task is to copy/paste it as a comment on this assignment
9. If you manage to do all steps above I will post your VOKI-s on this blog page FOR STUDENTS/THE BEST OF YOURS. See my feedback posted on the blog in the corresponding page.
Good luck with your first online task!! C U in class ))
9. If you manage to do all steps above I will post your VOKI-s on this blog page FOR STUDENTS/THE BEST OF YOURS. See my feedback posted on the blog in the corresponding page.
Good luck with your first online task!! C U in class ))