Session 13: Easy tools for connecting classmates and online quizzes

In the last session, it is emotional for us as this amazing course about elearning is ending. I learned the effect and essence of implementing elearning in a classroom. It is not as easy as just giving an iPad to the student, but teachers have to prepare well and have good command of the tools that they are going to use in the lesson.

I think most of you are familiar with this Google Forms. It is mentioned before in this blog before and many of the users have very creative of it. Here is an example of a survey made with Google Forms. The aim of the survey is to know more about my classmates’ leisure activities. With this tool, teachers can make similar survey for our students too. For example, It could be useful in peer-assessment when we are doing our post-writing tasks or even an online quiz for students to do at home. I have already tried to make online quizzes for my class and I also made instructions and workshops for my fellow colleagues to do the same. Please feel free to scroll down and take a look at the instructions if you are interested. 

Google Forms as a survey

Instructions for making an online quiz:

The other tool that we looked at today is the ‘formative’ online tool. This is an online interactive tool for teachers to create online interactive worksheets in a short time. Teachers can simply upload a file of .doc or .pdf and then add questions to wherever they like. Here is an example of a primary 2 worksheet. I believe this provides an easy way for new comers of using elearning in the classroom. By using this tool, elearning doesn’t seem as difficult as it sounds. Please feel free to explore my example. 

Session 12: A effective tool for lesson presentation

In this session, we reviewed another useful tool. I feel this particular tool is very feasible to use in my lessons. This tool is called 'Nearpod'. It is a presentation tool for a different devices at the same time.

With this online tool on your hand, you can forget the PowerPoint or the Keynote that you are still using at school. This 'Nearpod' provides you an easy way to show teaching materials to facilitate your teaching. Lessons can be conducted in your pace with students with their own devices. 

As some of the readers of this blog know, I am lucky to have a number of iPads to use in my school and teachers are free to use them during lessons. With this tool 'Nearpod', I believe my lessons could be more lively with more activities.

Please feel free to check the one I created for the coming P.2 lessons.

Session 11: The use of Padlet wall to present learning materials for students

In this session, we reviewed another two online tools that can help us present our ideas. The tools are Padlet and Prezi.

For those who have followed this blog for some time should be familiar with Padlet. It is an easy online platform that allows users to put different ideas on the 'wall'. This wall can be edited by the public if the owner sees fit. With the use of the Padlet wall, it is easy for teachers to present learning materials. Students can browse the 'wall' and download the necessary materials to aid their learning. Moreover, when the teacher wants to give out extra multimedia materials, they have a platform to do so effectively and efficiently.

The next tool, Prezi, is a reliable and has been online for quite some time already. The first time I used Prezi is in 2011. It hasn't changed much,, still user-friendly and it is still an interesting way to present ideas for students. Prezi works like PowerPoint, only better. It provides an innovative way for teachers to create an interesting slideshow with different motion. With this online free tool, teachers can use this alternatively with PowerPoint to keep students interested in the lesson.

Here is an example of a Prezi that can be used to teach P.2 how to tell time. Please feel free to click on the photo and look at it.

Session 10: The use of Online tools to promote story telling

In this session, we reviewed two more tools in helping us to tell stories in an interesting way.

With the use of Adobe Spark Video, teachers and students can easily make a short video quickly. The integrated functions of this online tool enable us to make attractive videos to tell stories in a short time. I believe this can be implemented in my school. As we have more than 300 iPads now, with 100 of them belong to the English department, we can easily let students to write their stories with the use of this app. It allows students to write stories in an interesting way. This can also promote their speaking skills as they read out their own writings with different intonation and highlight.

Here is an example of what the software can make, the content of the video is selected from the 5-frame story group from Flickr.

Link to Flickr Album:
https://www.flickr.com/groups/tellyourstorykids/discuss/72157614402219106/

The other tool that we reviewed this session is the online story book maker - My Storybook. It is a free online tool that allows us to make our own storybooks with cartoons and words. With the use of this tool, again, we can promote students' writing skills as they tried to make an interesting storybook with appropriate cartoons on it. With the use of this online tool, students are encouraged to make a book-like story like the ones that they read. They can exchange with their classmates after making their own books. This can encourage students to write more and practice their writing skills.

Here is an example of what the tool can make, please feel free and click on the photo to have a look.

Session 9: The use of elearning tools to create comprehension exercise

In this session, we explored different tools to create comprehension exercise for students. These tools are especially helpful in creating easy and user-friendly exercise that allows students to do them in their own pace at home and out of the classroom. 

The first tool that we reviewed is our trustworthy friend, HotPotatoes. This time we looked into the JCross and JCloze. 

Here are the screen capture of the two exercises, please feel free to click on the screen captures to take download them and try them out. 

JCross: 

 JCloze:

The other tool that we reviewed is an online tool. It is called Actively Learn. It is an online platform that works with Google classroom with well Google integration. Teachers can easily create comprehension exercises with the massive catalog or with their own texts. I prefer to use my own text from the textbook so I have created one on my own. We can easily add notes to specific places, questions to certain paragraphs and pictures to describe different vocabulary. 

By using this tool, it is likely that students will find comprehension exercises more fun and interesting. Here is an example, please feel free to click on the screen capture and try it out. 

(Class code:  e12f9)

Session 8: Creating video by using Adobe Spark Video and Screencast-O-Matic

Nowadays, multimedia learning is not a fresh element in our English teaching curriculum. Students and parents expect more than a plain PowerPoint slideshow. By using some new tools like Adobe Spark Video and Screen-O-Matic, we can create sophisticated educational videos at ease.

The following video is created with Adobe Spark Video. It is a tool that helps you create video with recording. With its preset layout and theme, you can make a stunning and interesting video to talk about anything in the curriculum that catches your students' attention very well. Here is an example of a short poem video.

The other video is created with Screencast-O-Matic. It is a screen capturing tool that provides you the ability to record your computer screen. You can even make remarks and handwriting notes on screen real-time. Here is an example of a video created with this tool. It is a story taken out from a text-book.

By using these video-making tools, it is likely that students can enjoy and learn from these educational videos at home. They can watch these videos with their parents on their own pace. This enhances their learning experience and help them to learn better. 

Session 6: Enhancing students’ speaking skills through audio activities

Today I have learned a very effective way in helping students to speak better English with audio activities. In the English syllabus in my school, we actually have audio recording activity for every student. They have to read a specific paragraph from a book that we choose and send to the teachers through email. Students are surely having more practices through activities like this, but technically there are many problems like when the teacher has to sort out different students’ homework through email in the mailbox. However, this problem is solved today with a new website, Fluencytutor.

Messy files altogther

Fluencytutor is a free platform by Google that promote reading and speaking. There are different functions built in the system like reading-a-loud and recording directly. In this way, students’ recordings could be reviewed easily by the teachers. Teachers can view and grade students’ recording by using the teacher’s account. The in-built functions also help students to learn the script first before reading. This greatly helps students to learn the pronunciation of different words before recording. 

Fluencytutor reading page

The other thing I learned is the use of Audacity to make recording with background. This is especially useful when we are trying to make an example for students to follow first. By using this free tool, we can make a professional-level recording in no time. Please feel free to click on the photo for the link to hear my example.