Rewarding journey in this semester

Reviewing all the sessions about CALL, I can't tell how blessed I am to walk with our professor Paul and all of my classmates in these four months.


It has been an amazing and fruitful journey to learn how different online tools that can help with the language learning.  Truly I would say English learning is a fun and exciting experience with interactive and attractive online learning tools. This is something I have never expected before attending Paul's lessons. With the knowledge of different tools, I am excited about designing my own activities and trying it out in my class. When you know you can make use of new tools that can motivate students to learn English, it would be hard for you to stop trying out more and more.


Although it is a bit tiring to attend evening class, I look forward to learning different new tools introduced every lesson. I am inspired by Paul's passion for teaching. I love the sharing by Paul and Zoe on their flipped lessons and how they put different e-learning tools together in a lesson. It is encouraging and inspiring to know the positive response from the students. After the lessons, I have learnt to look for different opportunities to make use of the new tools in vocabulary learning, writing and speaking. It is great to reflect on my teaching approach and improve it.  

 

Paul mentions, "There is no such thing as 'good teaching'. There are only good teachers." =)

 

 

 

 

Thank you very much Paul for being my teacher! You are amazing!

 

 

 

Session 13: Connecting with students inside and outside of class

1. Use Google Forms to create a simple questionnaire (Click on it if you want to create one)

Though I have tried to create and fill in the Google Forms before, I haven't thought that using Google Forms would be a great idea to facilitate teaching and learning.

This is one of the most amazing features of Google Form. After collecting responses from students during lesson, the results can be shown to them in a graphical way instantly! What an efficient and convenient function! Students would be thrilled to know their classmates responses right away!

I have created a Google Form about "my dream job" to collect my students' opinioins. They will be asked to do this survey at the beginning of the lesson to find out what they think about their career. Students can view their peers' responses generated in charts before having discussion about the criteria of choosing a job and the concerns they have in mind.

You may refer to this link below if you are interested in taking this survey.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeXSxA9virhXBNGrW5v6UYFfOQWeYOyOIzn1mQke9-acDti_g/viewform




There are two other popular survey tools suggested by Paul. Why don't you try to make a survey with them and see which one you like best?
- Survey Monkey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/
- PollDaddy (integrated with WordPress): https://polldaddy.com/

2. Use GoFormative to create a quiz

To conduct a quiz to find out students' prior knowledge or test how well they know about the concept, Paul suggested we can try these.

-Quizizz: https://quizizz.com/
-GoFormative: http://goformative.com/  (mobile app; or web page)

They are student-paced, easy to make and fun to use. Compared with Quizizz, GoFormative has a powerful function. It allows users to upload worksheets (DOC, PDF) we created and add questions (MC, short question, True/False, draw) and add content (image, text block, view-only canvas, Youtube). More than that, live results can be generated immediately.

 

 

 

This GoFormative quiz can be one of the while-lesson activities or homework to test students' understanding of a concept. Teachers may discuss the results and clarify the concept with students if thier opinions are greatly divided. This would be useful to let teachers know the overall performance of the class and which area they may need to focus on. Moreover, teachers can find out how well students answer for every single question by showing green (for correct answer) and red (for incorrect answer) boxes.


You can find out more by clicking on the GoFormatvie quiz I created for my students about understanding an email reply. Try it out now!

http://goformative.com/student/#/assignments/YVFN799

Session 12: Flipped Classroom and E-learning lesson with Nearpod

Nearpod (Click on it if you are interested)

I haven't come across this tool in my lessons until tonight, which is mind-blowing. Introduced by our Professor Paul Sze and Miss Zoe Chan, Nearpod is a useful presentation tool for teachers to conduct a teacher-paced lesson with a wide variety of multimedia and interactive elements. Many thanks to Professor Paul and Miss Zoe their valuable sharing on how to make use of Nearpod in teaching!! It is impressive to see that Miss Zoe's students really enjoy the lesson and they able to master the new tools quickly!


As shown in the pictures below, teachers can add contents such as slide, Nearpod 3D and field trip.  For adding activity, teachers can add open-ended questions, poll, quiz, fill in the blank, etc. In this way, it would be easy to engage students and keep them busy participating in different activities. It would be less likely for them to feel bored.

I have tried to incorporate different kinds of elements in my first Nearpod, which is powerful. However, some functions are limited to a free trial of 30 days only. Thus, you need to pay for these functions in case you want to enjoy more features and enrich your presentation.

Through distributing a code to your students, teachers can control the pace of the lesson. Teachers can play a leading role in the teaching parts while requesting response from students in activities like quiz and fill in the blanks from time to time.

Let's take a look at my first Nearpod about invitation or you may refer to this link.
https://share.nearpod.com/vsph/na9qOSCcRy

Session 11: Project and Presentation

1. Padlet (Click on it if you are interested)

In order to collect all the teaching resources I need for the upcoming lesson, I have created a Padlet wall with all the materials such as Youtube links, pictures, notes and recordings regarding invitation.

Padlet is a nice online platform for teachers to collect all the information on a webpage or for students to present their projects or research findings.

For teaching and learning, it is useful to give users an overall image of what the topic is about in a lively way. Teachers can give information to students on the wall, and the students can also respond by showing their opinions and sharing their suggestions with their classmates.

Besides, it is easy to upload documents or sound files in a few clicks. With the customization functions, users can choose the background image, rename the URL and alter the format of the padlet wall.

You may take a look at my padlet wall about invitation below.

It would be best to use it with iPad or tablet.

If you are interested, you can try to create one now in just a few minutes.



2. Prezi (Click on it if you are interested)

I have known Prezi years before since I was an undergradulate. My professor was deeply impressed by the presentation of some classmates of mine when they used Prezi instead of powerpoint to present their project in class. As Prezi was not very popular among the students at that time, my professor showed great interest in this presentation tool by asking them more about it immdiately after their presentation.

To be frank, I was quite astonished by the transition effect and the organization function of ideas it offers. It gives audience a clear picture of how the ideas are relating to each other in a mind map, which is especially useful to be used in introduction and conclusion. Through the linkage among slides, it indicates the coherence like addition, cause and effect.

This is a picture I found on the web, which shows some of the benefits of using Prezi.

Here is the first Prezi I have ever created, which is about invitation. This was made use of the materials on the Padlet wall I mentioned above. 

http://prezi.com/esqxyo5i2x0c/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

Are you amazed, first-time audience?
Indeed, perhaps you may be confused by the transition effect and feel dizzy at the end.

Maybe it is be a good idea to use it once in a while to impress your audience, but definitely not every time.

Session 10: Writing a story book

My Story Book (click on it if you want to try)

Hi everyone! I have just produced my first story ebook!!! It looks gorgeous and professional but it is not difficult to create!

If you are interested in producing your own story ebook, you just need to prepare your photos or click on the built-in pictures and enter your words. You can also add characters, drawing and writing. More than that, you can share your story online for free. With a clear dashboard design, it is much easier to create a story ebook than it  may seem.

It would be a great idea to practise writing a story of a personal experience with your students. They just need to prepare some photos related to their experience. They must enjoy a lot! Why don't you have a try first?


By clicking on the "items", "draw", "text" or "scene" button, you can easily add the things you like.



If you want to add your own picture, click "items" and choose "my images". Then, you can select the photos from your own device.

Undoubtedly, it is easy to use. However, it takes long to upload a photo and we can only upload one at a time. It would be quite time-consuming if you want to insert many photos into your ebook.

Welcome to visit my first ebook "My first trip to Singapore" by clicking this link!
https://www.mystorybook.com/books/278983/

Session 9: Reading comprehension

1. J Cloze

If you are interested in creating a cloze activity for your students, you will find this one useful for you. With J Cloze from Hot Potatoes, making a cloze test with your own materials can be done in just a few minutes!

First, just copy your text from a word document to J Cloze. Second, choose the word to be filled in and click "Gap".

Then, a cloze exercise is created after clicking "Export". 

Yes! It is very easy! Welcome to take a look at the exercise here!
https://www.dropbox.com/s/60jsxjc2syoqm0c/JCloze_Survey.htm?dl=0


2. J Cross

This is another tool from Hot Potatoes, which is useful for making crossword puzzles! You can create one by inputting the words and the hints. Everything is done for you!

First, input the words and the hints when you see the pop up window.

Then, a crossword puzzle is created instantly after clicking "Export". 

To fill in the words, click on the first box. If you are not sure what it refers to, get tips by simply clicking "Hint" and one letter will be shown.

Your score is shown after you finish.

Here is the link! Why not have a try?
https://www.dropbox.com/s/gxnejmdahvn140j/JCross_survey.jcw?dl=0

Online Crossword puzzle maker
If you want to find handy tools online, there are some useful sites which help you build your own crossword puzzle for free. https://crosswordlabs.com/#


This is a sample about animals. Just need to input a title, word and hints.

Done!

3. Actively Learn

If you want to create your own reading comprehension for your students, you would be excited to get to know this useful tool. With Actively Learn, not only can you find a wide variety of reading materials there, but you can also create questions, notes and add links to your reading passage. It is not difficult to use, but it would be best if you use a google doc to create the materials and create a google classroom for your class.

Can't wait to try it? You can click the link to try a reading comprehension with my class code.
https://read.activelylearn.com/#student/reader/280451/notes
This is my class code: 4AF81

First, import a google doc of your text.

Then, highlight the words or phrases and choose from the list if you want to add note, link, question or overwrite the word.

For the questions, you can create MC questions, short questions or polls.

One more thing, you cannot import a pdf file if you want to add notes or questions. Better to use Google doc.

Thanks Prof. Paul Sze for introducing this tool to us! Really a great tool to create our own reading comprehension!

More exciting tools to be introduced next week! Stay tuned!

Session 8: Adobe Spark Video and Screencast-o-matic for oral instruction

1. Adobe Spark Video (Click on it if you want to try)

I have never thought that making video is so easy and so much fun! I actually enjoyed the process a lot while making my first Spark video during lesson. Though I watched similar video story produced by others, I have never tried it myself as it seemed to be quite difficult to make (as it looks very professional). However, I HAVE CHANGED MY MIND after the lesson!

With Spark Video, you can make a video with photos, background music, and your own voice in just a few minutes! Isn't that amazing? It would be a great tool for teaching. Students will have no excuse for not knowing how to make a story video for show and tell, self-introduction, sharing their ideas...etc.

This is the first Spark video I made with the poem I used last time, which is about a time for everything. Hope you enjoy my video and give you some inspiration about life! I love to be a teacher as we can plant seeds in our students' mind.

Ecclesiastes 3 New International Version (NIV)

 

A Time for Everything

 

3 There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

²     a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
³     a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
⁴     a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
⁵     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
⁶     a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
⁷     a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
⁸     a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.

2. Screencasting with Screencast-o-matic (Click on it if you want to try)
 

This is the skill I always want to learn as it is so useful to explain something to students with the video. If students are absent or they want to revise what they learnt, they can simply watch the video again. Also, it saves teachers' time to explain everything again to students. Everything becomes self-explanatory.


 Since I am going to ask my students to produce a Spark video showing what they have learnt in an English activity, I need to explain to my student how to use Spark Video first. Therefore, this is an instructional video showing you how to use Adobe Spark Video that I have just learnt!

If you are interested, click the link below and take a look!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/h2z7sl4ha923qhg/Recording%20%231.mp4?dl=0