70 Ways to Use Google Forms

I don't normally post entries form other blogs but Tom Barrett's such a great inspiration for utilising Google in the classroom that he deserves a mention. I strongly recommend subscribing to his blog, or at least visiting regularly, but in the meantime, here's over 70 ways to make life easier by using Google forms. View the original post here.

Mingoville English Language Learning

Despite its odd name, Mingoville is a trove of great activities for helping younger learners (and perhaps the young-at-heart) master the English language.
Working their way around Flamingo City, learners will spot engaging activities to help them learn without even realising they're working!
There is a subscription option but with so many free goodies, there really is enough here to keep you busy without handing over a penny.
They say a picture speaks a thousand words so watch the video below to get an overview of what is on offer.

Lyrics Training

This site is good. I mean really, really good. Years ago I remember stopping & starting the tape recorder to transcribe the lyrics in order to create engaging language lessons. LyricsTraining.com takes the hard work out of using modern, popular songs to teach language. If you're not convinced about using songs in the classroom, have a look at this article from iteslj.org. There are songs in various languages so good for the EAL/ESL classroom as well as other language classrooms.

Integration:

• Use the site to find songs fitting in with your current topic or language focus and use as an introductory activity; maximum engagement guaranteed!
• Introduce learners to the site and encourage them to visit on a regular basis; I have found that learners rarely need to be pushed to find out the lyrics of their favourite songs
• The different levels of activities offer differentiation; learners can work their way up from beginner if they are lacking confidence or skills
• Challenge your learners to create their own similar exercises based on the ideas they see on the site
• Use the 'Karaoke' version to get your learners singing along and memorising lots of useful language

Thanks to Martin Nayman for contributing this site to the blog.

Bombay TV

Well, here's something that's certainly different. On this site, you can choose a short clip from a Bollywood film and add your own subtitles. You can also use the text-to-speech function to hear the subtitles spoken and there are a few languages to choose from. You can even record your own voice to add to the soundtrack. Ideas for using in the classroom are under the video.

Integration:

• Use to create amusing, engaging instructional videos for tasks
• Get language students to create their own subtitle tracks and voiceovers using the target language
• Learners can practise their pronunciation through the 'microphone' function and send it to friends for peer assessment
• Media students can use these as a starting point and then continue the next 'episode' through their own filming / storyboarding

Any more ideas? Share them in the comments below. With thanks to Martyn Nayman for bringing this one to my attention.

Types of Film Shots

One of my classes is preparing for a festival of short film. In preparation, they are creating storyboards to plan the shots so they need to be familiar with the different types of camera angles. Using Easy Notecards, I created a set of cards using images from this website. I use them in the following way:

1. Learners have 10 minutes to individually view 'both sides at once' and take notes on the different camera angles.
2. They then view 'front side only' or 'back side only' (depending on their learning style) and see if they can name or sketch the shot.
3. Any that they get wrong they should make a note of and use the view 'both sides at once' to revisit the definition.
4. In pairs, learners can then test each other by sketching and asking their partner to name the shot, or by giving the name of a shot and asking their partner to draw it.
5. The notecards can be accessed at home for further revision, but I follow this up by watching a film extract or short commercial to see if they can name the shots in practise before creating their own storyboards.

Dvolver Moviemaker

Dvolver is an award-winning site that has been around for a few years (previously known as Dfilm).

Although the options are limited, the pay-off is that the interface is very simple. It's very user-friendly and even younger learners can create short animated movies in a few minutes (as long as they can type). The options are limited

Each animation is only about 30-60 seconds long, involving 2 characters, but with a bit of imagination, you can stitch together the short episodes to make an engaging mini-movie.

The results can be embedded into wikis, sites, VLEs, blogs etc.

WARNING: Some of the plots may be deemed unsuitable for particular groups so review the options yourself beforehand and direct learners to appropriate content.

Integration:

• Learners can create animations to express their understanding of a topic, theme, character etc.
• Use the animations on your website to introduce topics, give instructions or welcome learners
• Use as an optional genre for a class/year group/school film festival
• When practising media skills, direct learners to storyboard and plan their animations - the results will be of better quality than creating them 'on the fly'. Here is a handy planning document below (see footer for credits or download from original website by clicking here). Check the sheet to make sure it reflects the current choices on the site.

RCampus

RCampus is a fairly new learning environment. Watch the 2-minute introductory video to get an overview:

I stumbled across this site while looking for a quick way to create rubrics and although I came across many sites, I preferred this one because of its simple sign-up and the fact you can customise existing rubrics rather than starting completely from scratch. They can be embedded in sites, wikis, blogs etc. or printed making them fully portable.
RCampus offers all the features you'd expect from an online learning environment. What distinguishes them is that one of their 'selling' points (even though its free) is that the tools provided support collaboration for learners and teachers, so if you're looking for a platform that guides your pedagogy in this direction, it's worth checking out. Make use of the features that interest you - there is no need for full migration to the system for it to be of use.

Integration:

• Use the rubrics with learners when completing tasks - they can create their own once they are familiar with the idea; learner assignments can be assessed with the interactive rubrics and results are automatically stored to your gradebook
• Build webpages and websites together with the online editing suite
• Learners can create, build and share their own ePortfolios

Schools Online

http://schoolsonline.britishcouncil.org/home

Schools Online is a site from the British Council aiming to help classrooms connect with each other globally. The site provides ready-to-use project templates to get you and your partner school started. There is also a discussion forum where you can search for and request partners. This is a fairly new venture but being from the British Council is likely to be well-maintained and connected.

Magnetic Poetry

We've all seen magnetic poetry, haven't we? I have it on my whiteboard in the classroom but inevitably as time goes on, words go missing. Plus, not everyone can use it at once. The solution? Magnetic Poetry online! Learners can move the words around and change the background colour to create something unique.

Integration:

• Set up a variety of poetry activity stations and have this as one
• Encourage learners to submit their poems to the public gallery either anonymously or with their names
• Print off learners' work to create your own creative, colourful display 

Story Cove

I've just test-driven Story Cove with my 5-year-old son and he wanted more, more, more! The stories are narrated and the accompanying animations help younger kids to follow what's happening. At the end of the story, there are various activities for the reader to complete including phonics work and comprehension checks. Although there are paid features available, becoming a member is free as is access to a range of engaging stories.

Integration:

• As these stories are narrated, learners can listen to them alone after choosing the story that most interests them
• Encourage parents to use them at home to extend children's reading
• The stories include 'morals' and can be used as starting points for discussing behaviour, attitude and treatment of others etc.
• Use the printable activities where computers are not available for all learners
• The accompanying lesson plans give plenty of ideas for learning activities