Saturday, October 15, 2011

Windows Movie Maker Guide

Windows Movie Maker Guide

http://www.bcps.org/offices/lis/tvprog/resources/Windows_Movie_Maker_GuideAUG2005.pdf

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

PodOmatic

http://www.podomatic.com/login


A podcast is the name of a digital recording of a radio broadcast or similar program. Podcasts are published on the internet as MP3 files. Interested listeners are able to download these MP3 files onto their personal computer or personal MP3 player of any type The files can be listened to at the convenience of the listener. Learners can listen over and over to any material that is of interest to them. To be useful in a school setting a teacher would need internet access, a computer that can play audio files or an MP3 player.

Podcasts can be as short as two to three minutes and as long as an hour. Teachers can subscribe to a podcast through an RSS subscription (Really Simple Syndication). The advantage of this practice is that as new episodes become available they are downloaded to the computer automatically. Also, they come at no cost to the subscriber. Because podcast content is free, teachers now have a way to build up a big listening library for their students on contemporary and relevant topics. Teachers can also encourage students to download podcasts on their own so that they have more listening input.

Monday, October 10, 2011

Voxopop

Used by educators all over the world, Voxopop talk-groups are a fun, engaging and easy-to-use way to help students develop their speaking skills. They're a bit like message boards, but use voice rather than text and a have a specialized user interface. No longer confined to a physical classroom, teachers and students of oral skills can interact from home, or even from opposite sides of the planet!
Anywhere. Anytime. .

Language learning
Conversation practice
Collaboration projects
Oral presentations

Friday, September 30, 2011

Effective Ways to Use Authentic Materials with ESL/EFL Students


When used effectively, authentic materials help bring the real world into the classroom and significantly enliven the ESL class. Exposing the students to cultural features generates a deeper understanding of and interest in the topic. On one hand, the students develop their ability to zero in on relevant information, and on the other, they learn how to disregard what is not relevant. As students pool their individual strengths they gain confidence in being able to function in an English-speaking society.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Do you agree with the use of technology in the EFL/ESL classroom?

Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants


Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants
By Marc Prensky
From On the Horizon (MCB University Press, Vol. 9 No. 5, October 2001)
© 2001 Marc Prensky

It is amazing to me how in all the hoopla and debate these days about the decline of education in the US we ignore the most fundamental of its causes. Our students have changed radically. Today’s students are no longer the people our educational system was designed to teach.