I
have to admit that technology and I have not been the best of friends. But… This
is quickly changing... As Tom has warned me, ten years from now, I don't want
to be the only person standing and saying: "I hate technology." This
being said, as language teachers, there could be times when it would in our
best interest to have a backup plan (e.g.: if we are working in less fortunate
countries such as Nepal, Sri Lanka, Laos, Indonesia, etc.).
I
found three neat tech tools, 100% free, which we could use while keeping the
age of our students as well our goals (what do we wish to achieve with a tech
tool?) in mind. Unfortunately, some tech
tools I stumbled across seemed free at first glance until I took a closer
look...
First
tool I would like to bring to everyone’s attention is PrimaryWall. This is a web-based sticky note tool to be used in schools
with the ultimate goal of allowing teachers and students to work together in
real-time.
Why would we need to use such a tool? Well… It is a great way of sharing ideas, collaborating with other students, posting information while working in pairs/groups. How many of you carry sticky notes in your backpacks, have them on your office desk or at home? Moreover, PrimaryWall is fun, fast and easy to use. It is operated by a UK-based company called Primary Technology©. Hence, one is bound to come across the word “pupils” instead of “students” while navigating the website. Further information is available at: http://primarywall.com/whats-primarywall/
I would like to give an example to how this tool could be used. In this example, I have used it as a means of checking comprehension of my students with regards to the lesson topic presented.
We covered movie vocabulary and adjectives to describe movies yesterday. They were provided with a worksheet where they had to match some related vocabulary with the definitions provided. I had also given them another handout containing a list of select adjectives, which could be used to describe movies in a positive as well as in a negative way. As you would see in the screenshot below, I asked students to create a sentence each with six of the words we studied. They would then create a sticky note signed by their name. In my example, you could see that Ben responded to my request posting his sticky note. However, one of the words was left out. I created another sticky note to let him know and he responded back that he would post later that day after school. I chose a different color when I replied back to him so that it would be easier for him to notice.
I could also use this tool to ask students to post questions they may have from a lesson (whereby I could answer on the wall or in the classroom) or I could post some questions for the students (whereby they could take note of as main points to extract or as questions to think about before the next class).
I am always racing against time. I always wish I had more time to do more with them. I want to have more time to review what we had studied the week before (recycling TLC), check their comprehension, be able to ask them to create with what I have presented, etc. I believe that tools such as PrimaryWall could allow me to do just this. In a way, it serves as an alternative to chat rooms. However, it provides a more fun, informal environment for me to interact with my students. Through this interaction, I would also have an opportunity to "force" them to create in L2 outside the classroom.
Second tool I found worth mentioning is NoteStar, which has been designed to assist with research paper preparation. Teachers and students sign up separately at this website: http://notestar.4teachers.org/ Voila!! Lots of useful features at teachers’ and students’ fingertips!!
Why would we need to use such a tool? Well… It is a great way of sharing ideas, collaborating with other students, posting information while working in pairs/groups. How many of you carry sticky notes in your backpacks, have them on your office desk or at home? Moreover, PrimaryWall is fun, fast and easy to use. It is operated by a UK-based company called Primary Technology©. Hence, one is bound to come across the word “pupils” instead of “students” while navigating the website. Further information is available at: http://primarywall.com/whats-primarywall/
I would like to give an example to how this tool could be used. In this example, I have used it as a means of checking comprehension of my students with regards to the lesson topic presented.
We covered movie vocabulary and adjectives to describe movies yesterday. They were provided with a worksheet where they had to match some related vocabulary with the definitions provided. I had also given them another handout containing a list of select adjectives, which could be used to describe movies in a positive as well as in a negative way. As you would see in the screenshot below, I asked students to create a sentence each with six of the words we studied. They would then create a sticky note signed by their name. In my example, you could see that Ben responded to my request posting his sticky note. However, one of the words was left out. I created another sticky note to let him know and he responded back that he would post later that day after school. I chose a different color when I replied back to him so that it would be easier for him to notice.
I could also use this tool to ask students to post questions they may have from a lesson (whereby I could answer on the wall or in the classroom) or I could post some questions for the students (whereby they could take note of as main points to extract or as questions to think about before the next class).
I am always racing against time. I always wish I had more time to do more with them. I want to have more time to review what we had studied the week before (recycling TLC), check their comprehension, be able to ask them to create with what I have presented, etc. I believe that tools such as PrimaryWall could allow me to do just this. In a way, it serves as an alternative to chat rooms. However, it provides a more fun, informal environment for me to interact with my students. Through this interaction, I would also have an opportunity to "force" them to create in L2 outside the classroom.
Second tool I found worth mentioning is NoteStar, which has been designed to assist with research paper preparation. Teachers and students sign up separately at this website: http://notestar.4teachers.org/ Voila!! Lots of useful features at teachers’ and students’ fingertips!!
NoteStar can help students create topics and sub-topics
(there is a Think Tank tool to help with this), assign topics/sub-topics to other
members of the group, take and organize notes, and keep track of source information
(once you have found material you would like to use for your paper and
subsequently cite, all you have to do is click on the NoteCard button to allow
this source to be automatically captured). Teachers, on the other hand, can use
this tool to create/edit/view class rosters, create projects/groups as well as
track their progress, send and receive messages from students, and check out the
sources cited by the students (credibility, etc.).
Casa Notes is the third tech tool I
would like to highlight in this post. This tool allows teachers to create and
customize notes easily and quickly, which then can be sent home to students’
parents or handed to students in class. Let’s face it!! We are not all born
with the “art genes” J. The best part of this
tool is that notes can be created in English or Spanish (sí mi amigo!!!). This
would probably be very useful for those planning to go back to the US one day.
There
are different templates available based on the note type desired. One is able
to pick a color scheme, customize parts of the content or add a graphic. The
following note types are available to choose from: field trip permission, student
progress report, homework, “Well done!”, student contract, outstanding performance,
student citizen award, “Thank you!”, “On target!”, parent-teacher conferences,
medication and self-medication. Below please find a sample “Well done!” note in
English and Spanish. More information can be obtained at: http://casanotes.4teachers.org/#
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