Web 2.0 Tools to apply to the English Teaching!

Web 2.0 Tools to apply to the English Teaching!

This blog aims at shearing information about different tools that we, teachers of English, can use through the Web 2.0 so as to improve lessons and foster imagination and creativity of our students.

But... What is Web 2.0 about?

Web 2.0 is about different technologies interacting with and integrating each other. The use of web 2.0 technologies is paramount in determining their positive effects on foreign language education (FLE)

Social platforms such as wiki-spaces and podcasting, provide an appropriate framework for more authentic and real-life-like learning experiences than in the past. Digital Media have had a significant impact on the way foreign languages are being taught and learned.

Language has become such a fundamental part of education in the age of globalization that successful learning requires learners to be able to draw on a fully developed set of appropriate strategies and learning skills according to the type of linguistic challenge involved.

In this assignment we have learned to create:

· A wiki space: “a website on which the pages can be edited by the users, as well as the creator of the website. The users can change the content by adding or removing information or editing the existing content. One of the most powerful benefits of using wikis in language learning is as a collaborative tool.”

· A blog : “a webpage with regular diary or journal entries. [...] It can be set up and used by teachers and/or learners; it can be used to connect learners to other communities of learners; the ideas and content of the blog can be generated and created by learners, either individually or collaboratively."

The main reason why I've chosen a blog is because students, as well as the teacher can edit and share their work. As Dudeney, G., & Hockly, N. put it, by using a blog, language learning is as a collaborative tool.

References:

 -Thomas,M.(2009) Handbook of Research on Web 2.0 and Second Language Learning. Nagoya University of Commerce and Business, Japan. Herley. New York.

Dudeney, G., & Hockly, N. (2007) .How to teach english with technology. Pearson Longman.

Activity 4: “My Pop Studio”

You will have to produce a concert and a popstar as if the singer were you yourself, or as if it were your favorite pop star.

You will have to go to http://goingtothefarm.blogspot.com.ar/2012/10/my-pop-studio.html and read the instructions on how to create an account and how to use that web tool.

Then you will go to www.mypopstudio.com and produce your own concert. Once you finish it, you will have to send the link to the rest of your mates by e-mail and we will discuss them in class with the teacher.

In class we will watch them all and we will vote which is the favorite one. You will have to explain why you have selected the look, the song and some of the details.

Example:

http://www.mypopstudio.com/music/popstar/index.php?email_id=78365

Evaluation criteria:
- Oral presentation: 40%
- Creativity with the song and look: 30%
- Reasons for your choices: 30%

Activity 3: “PhotoPeach”

First, you have to go to http://goingtothefarm.blogspot.com.ar/2012/10/photopeach.html and read the steps to create your own account on PhotoPeach and the tools you can apply with it.

Then, you will have to select some photos of your art work from your art class, and exchange them with a mate that the teacher will assign you in class. (no more than 5 or 6 photos)

You will have to create an album with them and prepare a slideshow to show them in class. You don’t have to say who is the artist, but you can describe how the person is and if possible, relate some of the comments on the artwork with his/her personality.

The rest of the class will have to guess who the artist is basing their opinions on what do they see on the slideshow. (your mate cannot participate on the slideshow that was made with his artwork)

If one of the students guesses, then you and him/her will win one point.

Watch the example with Kids working in groups on PhotoPeach:

http://photopeach.com/album/xburel

Evaluation criteria:
- Oral presentation: 40%
- Use of the slideshow program: 30%
- Creativity: 30%

Activity 2: “Just Paste It”

In this case, you will have to select some photographs of you and your family (no more than 4).

You will have to go to http://goingtothefarm.blogspot.com.ar/2012/10/just-paste-it.html, and read all the steps to create an account on www.justpaste.it and upload your photographs there. You will have to write a brief comment on the photographs answering the following questions:

- Who are on the photo?

- What were you doing there?

- When was it taken?

- What are your best memories of that moment?

- What did you do the moment before and after that photo?

Watch an example at: http://justpaste.it/1eka

Evaluation criteria:
- Oral presentation: 40%
- Written comments: 30%
- Creativity: 30%

Activity 1: “Zimmer Twins”

You will have to watch a short film of adventures at home from a link that the teacher will send you by e-mail.

Then, you will have to use the Zimmer Twins tool to show one of your ideal adventures in your live. Remember to check all the steps to create a Zimmer Twins account, and how to use the tool on: http://goingtothefarm.blogspot.com.ar/2012/10/zimmer-twins.html

You can watch an example at the end of this activity. Remember that you can use the ready-made introductions to start your short-films, or you can make your own introductions from the very beginning as you wish.

Then, you will have to explain and show your adventures in class. You will have to explain briefly:
WHERE you were?, WHO WHIT?, WHAT were you doing?, HOW did you manage to escape? 

(Remember to use speech bubbles to make any comment to clarify any detail of the short movie that the class could miss).

Here you have an example: 

http://www.zimmertwins.com/node/1314173

Evaluation criteria:
- Oral presentation: 50%
- Creativity: 30%
- Use of the different tools (e.g. speech bubbles): 20%

My pop Studio!

This tool is great. With My Pop Studio you can create an entire concert on your own!

The first you have to do, is to go to www.mypopstudio.com and register your account. In this case you will have to create a User Name, Password, state your age, with which you can earn Studio Points and share thoughts in their discussion forum.

Then, you will see the many different tools you can use on the left column: Music, TV, Magazines, Digital and Shut Out. You will choose the Music option.
There you will also have many activities to do: Popstar Producer, Truth or Rumor?, Selling with a song and Vote.
You will have to click on Popstart Producer, and then, on Create your own Popstar.

Once you are there, the first thing you will  need to do is to state the Message that your Popstar will give. You have many options and you will have to base the look and the song of your Popstar on this.
Some of them are: "I'm smart and I need freedom", "I'm playful and I want to have fun", "I'm popular and I want you to like me", among others...

Once you choose the message, you click on Next and you will have to design the look for your star matching the message.You can start by any of the options in the wheel. (hairstyle, tops, bottoms, hair color, shoes, etc.)

The next step is to produce the song. You have to select the name and the style, remember that they have to match with the message you've already chosen.

You will have to choose the lyrics:

The kind of vocal style for each of the parts of your song:

You have to choose also the effects you want to include on the different parts of your song:
Once you finish doing this, click on Play Song and you will see your final product!

Finally, you can watch your concert and share it with your friends clicking on Share Your Concert

You have three options to share it:

PhotoPeach

PhotoPeach is also a web tool to upload photos, but in this case, we have more complex tools that help us to show the images in a very interesting way. It's very easy and the final product is a slideshow of each of the photos with background music that you can choose.

First, go to http://photopeach.com. There you have to create an account. But be careful! you can only use words, numbers and hyphens.

Once you've signed in, you will find a page as the one below, where you can upload the photos clicking on the Upload Photos button:

It's very easy and quickly! you can upload many photos at the same time by using the Ctrl button. You can swap and delete the photos as you wish. You can upload more than twenty photographs!
Once you finish, you will click a big Next button at the end of the page.


On Step 2, you will have to choose the title of your album, any description that you would like to add, the speed of the slideshow, and the background music. Here you have many different options to make your own personal decisions.

Once you finish choosing all these tools, you have to press the Finish button at the end of the page and you will have your final product. You have the options to share it on Facebook, Twitter, or to embed it on your own blog.

Now, It's your turn! Try this tool and have fun creating your own photo albums!

Just paste it

Justpaste.it

This is a website where you can upload images in a completely simple and easy way.

Firts you have to go to www.justpaste.it and signup. Once you have your account, login and you will find a screen where you can upload your images. 

There are a lot of tools with which you can edit and explain your photograph (where it was taken, who are on it, etc.)

You have to upload the photograph and include the explanation in the order you would like to see when you publish it. (It's a bit difficult to change the order, but you can do it anyway)
Each entry has an ilimited amount of photographs you can upload. Once you finish to upload them and writing a brief explanation, you have to click on the Publish button at the end of the page.









Then, you will see a box as the following with the links you need to see your material, to edit it, the HTML codes, etc.

Zimmer twins

This is a very funny way of making a short film.
First, go to www.zimmertwins.com, where you will find three main buttons:

Once you click on the "Make a movie" button you will find many ready-made movie introductions from which you can start your movie. There are many possibilities for you to choose the one you think fits better with your own story: "The mystery box, Foiled! and Kitty dreams"

You can also create your movie with your own introduction from the very beginning, clicking on the button "Make From Scratch".

In any of the cases, you will have to click on "Make from scratch" to start creating your movie. There you will find many options to organize your movie.

For example, the first thing you will see is a flap with a speech buble, where you will find different options to include scenes related to talking, or expressing something.

The following step is to choose the scenes. As you can see, you have many options to imagine your own story:

 You can modify some of the things in the scene you've just chosen. For example, characters, places, objects, etc.

As you've seen, you have many options to create your movie. The other flaps consist on: Announces, Movments, ...

 Other general scenes, time fillers...

Now it's your turn to create your own movie! All you have to do, is to let your imagination fly.

Hope you find it useful!