Second Life and Education

Second Life is a virtual world in where anything that can happen in the real world can happen there.

Here's an introductory video, if you haven't heard anything about it before (taken from the main page of the website)

Second life, as mentioned before, can host anything that the real world can offer. In fact, it can do one more thing that real life can't: allow you to fly...

There are 14 million registered users of Second Life. This thing is no joke. 1 million people use it every month! And the numbers are said to be growing...

What does Second Life mean? It means creating another identity, possibly one you've always wanted to be. It means trying new things you haven't tried in your real life. It means experimenting with things that you've been too scared to do in real life because of the harm it can cause.... have you ever wanted to travel Moscow, alone? Have you wanted to talk to anyone you found interesting while in Paris, but were too afraid of what they might think of you or what might happen to you? With second life, all that is next to you is your computer while you explore other worlds, other worlds which mimick ours on Earth and others which have been made up.

What does this mean for you as a teacher? Or as a learner? That you can use second life to explore other lands and to learn other languages. You can instruct your students to visit Spain, or Argentina, or Colombia so to practice their Spanish and to see what it looks like. Watch this video below:



You can even visit certain universities in second life. Sweden's School of Economics, Arkansas State University, and University de San Martin de Porres are examples of university campuses which you can explore online. I have even heard of the ability to take classes and to receive real life credit through second life!

Even governments are in on it too, take a look at what the British Council has made!


What are the downsides? Well, just like real life, second life is not a closed environment. Make sure your students are well-matured adults, as harm is not just physical but can be emotional as well, something that second life cannot protect against. Try making a class avatar and exploring places as a class. Try finding more appropriate "venues" in second life's map for practicing language. Finally, remember that it is just second life, and there is a whole world out there. If second life makes talking to others in Italian more interesting, thank second life for the catalyst in thought and find penpals or 'live mocha' buddies for your classroom!

Twitter in the Classroom

Before I begin, please just watch this video:



Are you still not convinced?

Read this article (taken from http://www.nea.org/home/32641.htm):

Can Tweeting Help Your Teaching?

Twitter won't change your life, but it might make your job more fun and a little easier

So, what are you doing? If you’re one of the 3 million people on Twitter, you are likely inclined to tell whoever cares right now, in 140 characters or fewer (or, about the length of this paragraph).

Twitter, on the small chance that you don’t know, is the free micro-blogging service that enables users to post short messages, or Tweets, that are delivered to friends, enemies, family, colleagues -- anyone who has subscribed. These are your followers. You may have one, several, or, if you’re Ashton Kutcher, 2 million.

With its enormous popularity, Twitter has invited dopey hyperbole (Time magazine went all in with a recent cover story) and snide cracks (“Who cares that I just ate a tasty corned beef sandwich?”)

But before you write off Twitter as just the latest social media “fad,” take a look at how some clever educators are using it to enrich their classrooms and even forge informal professional networks. (As with any new technology, especially social networks, educators should first find out if their school or district has a policy or guidelines on Twitter before proceeding.)

Christopher Bergeron, a district-level technical coordinator in New Hampshire, says,  “Some teachers are more open to collaboration and networking. Those who value personal networks are more excited about the technology even if they are not overly tech-savvy.”

It may be particularly attractive to newer teachers, who are often in search of mentoring and coaching and are likely more comfortable being part of online communities.

By following other educators’ tweets, teachers can keep up with the latest trends, news, and happenings in education, as well as communicate with fellow educators.

"Twitter,” Bergeron says, “is like the ticker at the bottom of CNN -- only a ticker populated with information about those people or things you care about, want to learn from, or want to know about.”

By using Twitter’s direct message (private message) feature or the @reply function to publicly reply to another's tweet, explains Bergeron, “I am able to learn what my counterparts are working on, what is working, what is not working.”

Inside the classroom, Twitter can be used to review lessons and remind students what is going to be covered in class that day or the next.  Teachers say tweeting a few quick review questions and some good Web sites add depth to their lessons. In turn, students can tweet their own questions and observations.

"Twitter is a great way to keep your students thinking after class,” says Chris O’Neal, an instructional technology coordinator in Charlottesville, VA. “You can tweet a quick provocative question about a social studies lesson, for example, that will keep their brains active.”

But what about the much-ballyhooed decline of the American attention span? Isn’t Twitter just encouraging students to absorb nothing more than superficial, quick bytes of information? Maybe, but educators are finding ways to use Twitter for just the opposite, helping students crystallize thoughts, focus attention, and  make connections that weren’t possible a few years ago.

Teachers like George Mayo in Maryland are enthusiastically employing Twitter to facilitate discussion and collaboration between students in their classrooms and their counterparts in different countries.

Mayo, an eighth-grade English teacher at Silver Spring International Middle School, used Twitter as a platform for a collaborative story written by his students. Using one Twitter account called Many Voices, Mayo invited his students, and students around the world, to add a sentence or two to an ongoing story through Tweets. Soon after, more than 100 students in six different countries had contributed.

“It was fantastic,” says Mayo, “and my students were excited to see kids in as far away as China contribute to the book.”

For the uninitiated, learning how to use Twitter -- at least effectively -- requires a little start-up time. But once you get the hang of it, says O’Neal, Twitter is an easy, time-friendly way of connecting with other educators and engaging your students. Even the most time-strapped educator -- juggling lesson planning, paper grading, and all those other administrative tasks – can commit to reading and writing 140 characters at a time.

“Blogging didn’t really become that widespread among teachers,” says O’Neal, “because, as anyone who has blogged will tell you -- it takes a lot of time and effort, no matter how long you’ve been doing it. Twitter can provide many of the same benefits as other social media but much, much faster.”

“Take an X-ray of your classroom and your teaching,” he advises. “Twitter may be able to help. It’s worth finding out.”

So maybe you are convinced now. Maybe your question now is, after "why", "how" can you use twitter in your classroom? Well, I have not tried yet. But I definitely will. I especially like that twitter restricts posts to 140 characters. I think this is essential to keep the class moving rather than getting bogged down on long posts. Also, when people write a small amount of information, it leaves the rest of the information for other students to post. I think this increases classroom participation. Finally, keeping characters at 140 posts encourages step-by-step writing processes and critical thinking processes. Think about it: Theses, transition sentences, conclusions, and introductions are all possible on twitter. Grammar work, especially, is great on twitter. I like that it is not anonymous, that students will have their own login information and can follow the class's tweets. Sometimes, as I have read in sociolinguistics, students of ethnic backgrounds, and students who parents or themselves speak a different language at home have trouble finding their voice in the North American classroom. As Eric Legaspi said in his interview, twitter is the vehicle of voice. Keep this in mind for your next classroom...

Look at the myriad of ways Samantha Miller has suggested:

50 Ways to Use Twitter in the Classroom 

By: Samantha Miller

Many critics of Twitter believe that the 140-character microblog offered by the ubiquitous social network can do little for the education industry. They are wrong.

 K-12 teachers have taken advantage of Twitter’s format to keep their classes engaged and up-to-date on the latest technologies. The following projects provide you and your students with 50 ways to incorporate Twitter into important and lasting lessons.

1. Tweet about upcoming due dates or assignments.

One of the simplest ways that teachers can use Twitter in their classroom involves setting up a feed dedicated exclusively to due dates, tests or quizzes.

2. Provide the class with a running news feed.

Subscribe to different mainstream and independent news feeds with different biases as a way to compare and contrast how different perspectives interpret current events and issues.

3. Create a career list.

Set up an interesting assignment requesting that students set up Twitter lists following feeds relevant to their career goals and keep a daily journal on any trends that crop up along the way.

4. Track memes.

As inane as Justin Bieber’s popularity is, at least an educational opportunity lurks around the corner. Instructors concerned with communication and sociology issues can easily find a number of different lessons on how ideas and fads spread throughout different media sources.

5. Coordinate assignments.

Rather than keeping up with an e-mail train, students can use Twitter to collaborate on different projects and keep a quick reference on any changes.

6. Track a hash tag.

More ambitious educators may want to incorporate Twitter in lessons that track hash tags for another interesting lesson in how trends spread and the various ways in which people use social media to communicate ideas.

7. Connect with the community.

Partner up with local government or charitable organizations and use Twitter to reach a broad audience discussing the latest cultural or educational events in the area and encourage others in the community to attend.

8. Follow the issues.

Bring a little technology into debates by asking the class which issues they would like to follow. Subscribe to relevant hash tags and accounts from all perspectives and compile an updated resource cobbling together as much research as possible.

9. Write a story or poem.

Many writers and poets have experimented with Twitter’s 140-character format to bring new, serialized works in small chunks to attention-divided audiences. Some educators may like the idea of asking their students to apply their creative writing skills to a restrictive social media outlet.

10. Live tweet field trips.

Sick kids or paranoid parents may like the idea of following along with class field trips on Twitter, and smart phone-enabled teachers can keep them engaged with pictures and descriptions of the lessons learned.

11. Ask questions.

Monica Rankin at University of Texas-Dallas uses Twitter as a way for her students to keep a running stream of questions going during lectures – an application that works in any computer-enabled K-12 classroom.

12. Set up a foreign language news stream.

Keep foreign language students informed of current events from relevant nations while simultaneously challenging them to use their translation skills by keeping a specific news feed.

13. Role play.

Computer-savvy teachers can keep history lessons engaging for children by asking them to tweet ideas and quotes from their favorite figures. Alternately, they can also pretend to be famous fictional characters as well.

14. Take and share notes.

Classrooms with enough resources can allow students to tweet their own notes during lessons and share with their peers – perhaps even printing them out for home use if they do not have internet access.

15. Sync with a blog.

Wordpress and other free blogging websites sync with Twitter, posting notices of new entries. Educators who require students to keep their own blogs may want to follow updates using Twitter rather than having to click through bookmarks for each one.

16. Chat with industry professionals.

Older high school students who need to explore their career options before spiriting away to college benefit from real-world discussions with professionals in paths they’re considering. Twitter helps them connect with primary sources and facilitates educational communication.

17. Connect classrooms.

Teachers and students from around the world can collaborate on projects using Twitter as a communication tool that simultaneously educates students in different classroom and cultural protocols.

18. Facilitate research.

Typing keywords into Twitter’s search engine wields every microblog entry on the subject, providing an excellent way for students to research ideas, opinions and movements as they happen.

19. Engage parents.

Parents of K-12 students interested in daily classroom activities can follow teacher tweets discussing some of the lessons learned and any progress on projects with one quick and handy trip to a dedicated Twitter feed.

20. Become politically active.

Any teachers responsible for educating kids in politics or government may like the idea of encouraging their students to use Twitter as a forum to make society aware of issues that affect them by retweeting relevant events, news stories, blog posts and other media revolving around a chosen theme.

21. Track the government.

Numerous local and national government organizations maintain their own Twitter feeds, and educators working within any of their related subjects may like the idea of compiling them all into 1 convenient space for a quick reference.

22. Write reviews.

Any media studies classes – including literature – can use the Twitter format to write microreviews of the different movies, books and music devoured.

23. Post sample questions.

Save paper by using Twitter to post up sample questions for upcoming exams for students to research and consider without ever having to put down their computers.

24. Post supplementary materials.

Retweet articles, news stories, opinions and other interesting tidbits relevant to a specific class as an excellent, convenient supplement to classroom lectures.

25. Facilitate discussions.

Take supplementary material postings one step further by requiring students to post their own succinct responses to the main theses and open up intelligent discussions with one another.

26. Play the stock market game.

High school economics teachers frequently use stock market games as a real-world project involving the fundamentals of investing. Students can use Twitter to follow the businesses, markets and analysts that help them make wise choices with their (fake) money.

27. Live tweet a book or a movie.

Ask students to use the microblog format to record their initial reactions and responses to movies and books as they indulge in them for class. It certainly makes for an excellent lesson in how perceptions change over time as more information and perspectives become available.

28. Make recommendations.

Benefitting both students and their parents, teachers may like the idea of using Twitter to discuss films and documentaries or books to check out at home – preferably as a family. Doing so especially benefits younger students, as they typically perform better in high school and college if their parents are involved in their lives and educations.

29. Plan field trips.

Encourage parental engagement by asking them to voice their opinions on where to go and where to avoid when it comes to planning field trips. While it is impossible to please everyone, moms and dads will appreciate the transparency and ability to

connect more with what their children are doing and learning in school.

30. Design a background.

Art teachers curious about how Twitter can benefit their classes may like the idea of asking students to design their own creative backgrounds for friends and family – either digitally or using traditional media scanned into a computer.

31. Compare religions.

Because so many religious figures and institutions use Twitter to discuss their beliefs and teachings, it stands as an awesome resource for liberal arts educators to compare and contrast the various faiths that have shaped humanity since its inception.

32. Post syllabus changes.

E-mail inboxes often filter out important messages as junk and students lose papers or miss class for various reasons, meaning that some of them may miss out on important announcements regarding any changes to the syllabus. Twitter keeps a permanent record of any new bits of information so nobody has any excuse for missing out.

33. Take a poll.

Teachers who enjoy polling their students on what activities to do or their opinions on current events may want to keep a running tab of results they find when working in conjunction with SurveyMonkey or another similar site.

34. Hook up with Google Earth.

Numerous educators have found creative ways to blend Twitter and Google Earth together for human and physical geography lessons where they use the former’s “location” feature to learn all about new places on the globe.

35. Teach probability.

One immensely creative teacher discovered a way to introduce his students to the basics of probability by asking a broad question and charting the answers he received through @ replies.

36. Go on a scavenger hunt.

Narrow the old, reliable internet scavenger hunt to cover only Twitter, varying the degree of difficulty depending on the age range of the students. Much older kids may appreciate the added challenge of deciphering riddles that pull from their lessons.

37. Get a little bit postmodern.

Another way English teachers can stimulate their students with Twitter involves having them compile and editcoherent stories based on pre-existing tweets by other people.

38. Channel that inner Lois Lane.

Send journalism students out into the world of microblogging and assign them to poll fellow students or ask questions of experts for use in assignments on trends, opinions and current events and research.

39. Track weather patterns.

Set up a class Twitter feed that discusses the weather in different areas, charting the findings on Google Maps or Google Earth and making note of the patterns that crop up along the way.

40. Create a character.

Creative writing or English students of all ages can participate in making up a story character of their very own, with each individual contributing a sentence or 2 towards a personality or back story. Teachers can then ask them to write their own stories based on this collectively created literary figure.

41. Create a progressive poem.

Similar to the collaborative character mentioned above, students can also compile their own poetry where everyone contributes one line that flows with the one written before.

42. Play word games.

Post a daily challenge asking kids to unscramble anagrams, contribute synonyms or antonyms or give a definition for any vocabulary or spelling words as another way of getting them more involved in their language lessons.

43. Post math puzzles.

Math, chemistry or physics teachers need not feel left out from playing games and posting teasers on Twitter. Like their literate contemporaries, they can microblog a daily problem for students to solve and tweet back the answer.

44. Post videos.

Educators with access to digital video cameras may like the idea of using Twiddeo to post in-class skits, walkthroughs of field trips, clips of their travel exploits and anything else relevant to their students’ lessons.

45. Create an online art gallery.

Kids studying art and the humanities can curate their own shows based around creators, movements, regions, time periods or thematic elements that they enjoy, using Twitter as a way to show the world what they think belongs in a specific exhibit.

46. Play with TweetStats.

TweetStats allows users to input a specific account name and look at a bar graph of the microblog’s activity. Students can search for tweeps in their school or town and gather data on how and when their neighbors use Twitter.

47. Network with other educators.

Beyond using it for lessons, teachers who Twitter have at their disposal a vast network of like-minded professionals with whom they can trade ideas and insights regarding social networking in the classroom and other topics.

48. Direct message students and parents.

Because e-mail filtering frequently ships important messages off to the trash can, some educators may prefer talking privately with kids and their parents via the direct message feature on Twitter instead.

49. Join #educhat 

One of the best ways to connect with other teachers and keep up with the latest trends and philosophies regarding education by subscribing to the #educhat hash tag and participating in the community.

50. Summarize.

At the conclusion of each lecture, ask students to type a 140-character or less summary of what they have learned and perhaps pose any questions to be considered in the next class.

Twitter’s classroom capabilities are limited only by an educator’s imagination. Though many believe its limitations prevent valuable applications to an academic setting, teachers in the know realize the microblog’s potential to establish a nurturing classroom for students of all ages.

How do you use twitter in the classroom? Share in the comments section!

Using Twitter in the Classroom

Classroom Clicking

You may get stuck with this 
Or you may get stuck with that

One has 5 buttons while the other has 18. But the intentional is all the same. These are classroom clickers and they are made and used to keep your students interactive with the materials. Let me tell you about them and why you'll want them.

Research has found that when clickers are used effectively and correct, students become more engaged in the topic as well as in the discussion with their peers about the questions that are posted (Yourstone, Kraye, & Albaum, 2008)

Ideas for using classroom clicking in an ESL/EFL classroom: Grammar and listening lessons seem to be the easiest content in which to use clickers. Of course,with some creativity, reading and speaking lessons can be "clickerized".

"Significant learning gains can occur when teachers' questions are used to deepen students' higher-order thinking and when feedback is provided to students on how they can improve (Dillon & Wittrock, 1984; Gall, 1984; Redfield and Rousseau, 1981; Samson, Strykowski, Weinstein, & Walberg, 1987). Additionally, higher achievement levels are reported when students are involved in checking their own understanding of concepts and assessment data are used to inform and adjust classroom instruction (Black & William, 1998; Fuchs & Fuchs, 1986)."
- Taken from "What Research Says About the CPSPulse Student Response System"

So, how do we best use this technology within our classrooms? I have researched tips from other teaching professionals, further experienced than I!

The following has been taken from Dr. Douglas Duncan, University of Colorado, 2008. It includes recommendations from members of the Carl Wieman Science Education Initiative at http://theactiveclass.com/files/2012/02/Tips_for_success.pdf

Data gathered during the past few years makes it clear which uses of clickers lead to success, and which lead to failure. Success means that both the faculty member and students report being satisfied with the
results of using clickers.

Clickers have many possible uses: Find out if students have done assigned reading before class;
measure what students know before you start to teach them and after you think you’ve taught
them; measure attitudes and opinions, with more honest answers if the topic is personal or
embarrassing; get students to confront common misconceptions; facilitate discussion and peer
teaching; increase student’s retention of what you teach; transform the way you do
demonstrations; increase class attendance; improve student attitudes. None of these are
magically achieved by the clicker itself. They are achieved – or not achieved – entirely by
what you do in implementation.

TECHNICAL POINTS:
• Try and get your school to adopt one clicker brand. Students hate being forced to buy
more than one clicker!
• RF (radio) clickers are easier and cheaper than infrared ones.
• Simpler clickers (e.g. iClicker) have fewer implementation problems.
• Test your registration system before students do. Deliberately make some mistakes and
see what happens. Check early in the semester that all responses are getting credited.

Practices that lead to Successful Clicker Use
1. Have clear, specific goals for your class, and plan how clicker use could contribute to your
goals. Do not attempt all the possible uses described above at one time!
2. You MUST MUST MUST explain to students why you are using clickers. If you don’t, they
often assume your goal is to track them like Big Brother, and force them to come to class.
Students highly resent this.
3. Practice before using with students. Remember how irritated you get when A/V equipment
fails to work. Don’t subject students to this.
4. Make clicker use a regular, serious part of your course. If you treat clicker use as unimportant
or auxiliary then your students will too.
5. Use a combination of simple and more complex questions. Many users make their questions
too simple. The best questions focus on concepts you feel are particularly important and
involve challenging ideas with multiple plausible answers that reveal student confusion and
generate spirited discussion. Show some prospective questions to a colleague and ask if
they meet this criteria.
6. If one of your goals is more student participation, give partial credit, such as 1 point for any
answer and 2 for the correct one, for some clicker questions. With some questions it is
appropriate to give full credit to all students, such as when multiple answers are valid or when
you are gathering student opinions.
7. If your goal is to increase student learning, have students discuss and debate challenging
conceptual questions with each other. This technique, peer instruction, is a proven method of
increasing learning. Have students answer individually first; then discuss with those sitting
next to them; then answer again.
8. Stress that genuine learning is not easy and that conceptual questions and conversations with
peers can help students find out what they don’t really understand and need to think about
further, as well as help you pace the class. Students tend to focus on correct answers, not
learning. Explain that it is the discussion itself that produces learning and if they “click in”
without participating they will probably get a lower grade on exams than the students who are
more active in discussion. My students came up with the phrase, “No brain, no gain.”
9. Use the time that students are discussing clicker questions to circulate and listen to their
reasoning. This is very valuable and often surprising. After students vote be sure to discuss
wrong answers and why they are wrong, not just why a right answer is correct.
10. Compile a sufficient number of good clicker questions and exchange them with other faculty.
The best questions for peer discussion are ones that around 30-70% of students can answer
correctly before discussion with peers. This maximizes good discussion and learning. There
is value in discussion even if a question is difficult and few know the answer initially.
11. If you are a first-time clicker user, start with just one or two questions per class. Increase your
use as you become more comfortable.
12. Explain what you will do when a student’s clicker doesn’t work, or if a student forgets to bring
it to class. You can deal with that problem as well as personal problems that cause students
to miss class by dropping 5-10 of the lowest clicker scores for each student.
13. Talk directly about cheating. Emphasize that using a clicker for someone else is like taking an
exam for someone else and is cause for discipline. Explain what the discipline would be.
14. Watching one class or even part of a class taught by an experienced clicker user is a good
way to rapidly improve your clicker use.

Practices that lead to Failure
1. Fail to explain why you are using clickers.
2. Use them primarily for attendance.
3. Don’t have students talk with each other.
4. Use only factual recall questions.
5. Don’t make use of the student response information.
6. Fail to discuss what learning means or the depth of participation and learning you expect in
your class.
7. Think of clickers as a testing device, rather than a device to inform learning.
If you believe that the teacher, not the students, should be the focus of the classroom experience,
it is unlikely that clickers will work well for you.

Be prepared . . . Effective clicker use with peer discussions results in a livelier and more
interesting class, for you as well as the students! Expect good results immediately but better
results as you become more experienced with clickers. This is the usual experience nationwide.


Black, P. and William, D. (1998). Inside the black box: raising standards through classroom assessment. Phi Delta Kappa & William, 1998.

Dillon, J. and Wittrock, M. (1984). Research on questioning and discussion. Educational Leadership, 42(3), 50-56.

Gall, M. (1984). Synthesis of research on teachers' questioning. Educational Leadership, 40-47.

Redfield, D. and Rousseau, E., (1981). A meta-analysis of experimental research on teacher questioning behavior. Review of Educational Research, 51(2), 237-245.

Samson, G., Strykowski, B., Weinstein, T., and Walberg, H. (1987). The effects of teacher questioning levels on student achievement: a quantitative synthesis. Journal of Educational Research, 80(5), 290-295.

Yourstone, S., Kraye, H., Albaum, G. (2008). Classroom questioning with immediate electronic response: Do clickers Improve Learning? Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education, 6(1) 75-88.

Images taken from http://theactiveclass.com/2012/02/05/upcoming-webinar-use-of-clickers-in-k12-classrooms/ and http://huskynet.stcloudstate.edu/instructional/clickers/

Tips on Using Google Voice in a World Language Class

                              
Suggestions were given by Paulino Brener from http://paulinobrener.com/using-google-voice-in-the-world-language-class/

1) Keep the assignments short
2) Make sure your instructions are clear and that there is a due date, including the time!
3) If necessary, inform parents of the assignment while explaining to them that this is not your personal phone number. Explain that to students as well, saying that this is a number for oral assessments and exercises only!
4) Instruct students to say their full name at the beginning of the recording.
5) Make sure to provide an assessment to the students. If you don't, they might think that it is not important and they will not know how they did or even if you ever listened to it.
6) If you want to test listening skills, leave a long greeting message and then give the students a task about it.

Google Voice allows students to call in and leave messages. Each message comes to you in/as an email. When you set up your Google Voice account, it gives you the option of whether you would like to use your mobile number or if you would like to create a new number. It is highly advised that you create a new number. The great thing about this program is that no one needs any recording equipment of recording software. You, as the teacher, need a computer and the students need to have access to phones.

Paulino Brener comments that his students have an easier time recording a quick message through Google Voice rather than producing language in the classroom setting. He says he is good for students who are shy or very nervous about talking in front of the whole class.Personally, I really like this idea. I like it for several reasons: It is very affordable and seems doable in many situations world-wide and especially here in the US. Being that students only need access to phones makes this oral assessment tool a lot easier than expecting students to use a computer with an audio recording software, such as Audacity. I like how this program can be used professionally in that you can create a new number to give to your students.

I wondered what else could be done with Google Voice besides recording messages for speaking and listening purposes... turns out that there is a lot more! Take a look at what Mike Shumake has to say about Google Gmail, Google Docs, and Google Voice...

The following information has been taken from Mike Shumake at www.gettingsmart.com. I have copied and pasted what he has written in his blog because I think this information is very helpful for people who want to be technologically savvy and quick! "Shu" explains here what kind of contact information you want to get, how to put this information into an excel sheet, and how to quickly send texts and receive texts about classwork and assignments to students and their parents with just the click of a few buttons!

When you’re signed in to your Google account, go here: https://docs.Google.com/#home.  Google docs is your new, free online storage that you can access from anywhere you have Internet access.  You can store any file type here, and you can share it with anyone via a URL.  Marinate on that for a second – it’s like suddenly you have a password protected hard drive on the Internet.  Gee, thanks Google!

Hit the Create New button on the top left, and then select Form. It looks like this:

When you do that, you’re going to see a page with all kinds of room for improvement.

It will look like this:

We are working toward this:

Go ahead and play around with it a bit.  You’re looking at the ‘back end’ of the form.  The image on the right is the ‘front end’ or it’s what your students will see.  Title the form, and add the first question by asking for the student’s name (last name or last name, first name).  From there, two things are going to determine what questions you ask: what contact info you want and Google contacts.  I’ll explain why in the next post, but gather the following in separate form fields:

1. Student last, first name
2. Student email
3. Student cell phone
4. Cell phone for one parent
5. Parent email
6. Other parent’s email, and
7. Home phone number.

There are different types of questions in this Google tool, and you can use your imagination for how you can take advantage of Forms for activities other than gathering contact information. For example, ‘form’ative assessments (heh) come to mind.  There are tons of possibilities.

Click here to view an example of a final version, as of today August 28, 2011.  You can hit ‘tools’ and then go to the form.  I say as of today, because I have to make it editable for people to be able to hit tools, which means anyone reading this can edit or change page. That also means that anyone can copy this document and use it as is, so thank me for saving you some time in the comments!

Last trick:  From the spreadsheet view, which is where you land when you hit the sample link above, you can grab code that will embed the form in the announcements area of a blackboard or Moodle course.  Hit Form at the top of the spreadsheet, and then select “Embed Form in a webpage…”

Copy the HTML code, and open your course.  In the edit mode where you can bold, color, italicize text, etc, you will see a button that looks like this:  <>.  Hit it, paste in the HTML, and then hit submit to see your announcement with the form embedded on it!

With the contact information you have set up in the right formats, you will be able to contact your students, their parents, and anyone else on the support list multiple ways on a weekly basis in less than 30 minutes per week.

Here’s how:

First, you’ll open an excel workbook and put all of the names on one worksheet with kids’ cell phone numbers beside it.  Then you’ll need to put together a new worksheet for kid’s names and email addresses.  The last page is for all of the rest of the contact info.  Or, of course, you can download the one I made for you here: http://goo.gl/GeAwt 

Your next step is to sign up for a free Google Voice account.  When you’re signed into your Google account, go to www.Google.com/voice.  Google will ask you some questions and connect your service to an existing number.  It’s all pretty standard.  But the golden carrot at the end is this:  when you have your account on Google Voice, you will be able to send and receive text messages for free!

If you have a smart phone, download the Google Voice app and install it.  This is a crucial step, because from now on, your professional texts and your personal texts will be separated.  Tell your students, when they have questions, not to hesitate to text you on your new texting number.  You will send and receive texts on your phone, but your entire conversations will be kept as records on Google Voice.  That’s another nice feature with this setup; your records will keep themselves.  You will be able to search your text message conversations with the same speed and accuracy you search your Gmail!

Next, set up your handy dandy Excel spreadsheet on half your monitor and your Google Voice account on the other half of your monitor.  In Windows 7, just grab a window and drag it up against the ‘wall’ to make it go perfectly half screen – a neat trick.  Next, follow these steps:

1. On the worksheet with the kids’ cell phone numbers in Excel, add a column after the phone number with the kid’s first name.  Then add a column with a comma after the kid’s name.
2. On the next column after the comma, write a generic but personal note.  For the first note, I like:  “This is Shu, your Eng teacher.  I’m just checking in with you to see how you’re liking this unit.  My team is thinking of making some changes to it.  Do you like it so far? Any ideas for improvement?”It’s a good note, because it demands a bit of thought and a response.  It also shows that you are looking for input from the kid to make improvements, which makes students feel good.  And who knows?  Chances are, when you send that note out to fifty kids, you might find they have some really great ideas!  Last, drag the note down the column so you have a sheet full of number, name, comma, note all the way down.
3. Now you’re set up to get it moving.  Copy the first phone number from Excel.  Hit Text on Google Voice, then hit ctrl+V.  Then go back to Excel and copy the student’s name, the comma, and the note all in one swoop of the mouse.  Adding the name with comma makes your note more personal.  Paste them into the message field, and hit tab then enter.

Rinse and repeat all the way through your excel sheet.  Get through the sheet before you start answering the reply texts.  Now put on your helmet and tighten your seatbelt, because your students are going to inundate you with replies.  Because you’re using your keyboard instead of two weary thumbs though, you’ll be able to keep up.  Actually, you will probably really enjoy the conversations.  I know I do.

The Integration of CALL to vocabulary teaching and learning

First, let's define CALL - Computer Assisted Language Learning

CALL development experienced 3 phases - Behavioristic CALL, Communicative CALL, and Integrative CALL.

With the wide availability of computers and the internet, numerous CALL programs have flooded the field of language teaching. The internet can provide learners with a lot of authentic material and also can serve as a medium through which students, in EFL situations, can practice with other students within the classroom or to students across borders and oceans.

Regarding vocabulary, results show that the combination of text and picture glosses was more effective than text-only or text-plus-video glosses (CHUN and Plass, 1996). Tozcu and Coady (2004) found that learners who used tutorial CALL to learn highly frequent vocabulary words did learn a significantly larger number of words compared to the control group.

How can we implement CALL to vocabulary teaching, then?

• Combine incidental vocabulary learning with intentional vocabulary learning - Computerized dictionary use and multimedia glossing have proved positive effects on lexical learning (Jing-hua, 2009).
• Modify vocabulary testing method under CALL environment - Move away from traditional vocabulary teaching which has lengthy explanations from dictionaries or from the teacher her-/himself. Teachers should shift the responsibility of word learning to learners and take the role of facilitator. Use teaching aids such as graphics, sounds, animations, visuals, and even machine intelligence. Jing-hua (2009) believes that the combination of different input channels provide more stimuli to the learners thus it is more likely to leave a deeper impression on their memory.
• Make vocabulary learning a dynamic process - Students are active participants. Encourage learners to use new vocabulary in context which will help enhance their motivation to acquire more words and, moreover, the constant use of certain words will also help them to store the words in their long-term memory (Jing-hua, 2009). Providing context can include using textbooks, audio materials, or movie clips.

Some CALL Vocabulary programs are...

The Compleat Lexical Tutor
Level: Beginning to Advanced
Use: Online testing to assess and monitor growth

WordSmart
Level: High Intermediate to Advanced
Use: Online placement test

8 in 1 English Dictionary from English Computerized Learning, Inc.
Level: Adult Literacy/Beginner
Use: Students can create online flashcards based on level of difficulty and type of vocabulary selected.

Gerry's Vocabulary Teacher from CPR4ESL
Level: Intermediate to Advanced
Use: Students can work in pairs to create sentences using new words and filling in sentences with the correct vocabulary

EASY - English Academic Success for You from EASY, the ESL Series.
Level: Adult Literacy/Beginner
Use: Students can use audio, video, and text to learn vocabulary for specific settings - such as at the hospital.

Vocabster from Edulang
Level: Beginning to Intermediate
Use: Students can complete vocabulary exercises with the option to have their grades sent to their teacher.

ELLIS Academic-Basic from Pearson Digital Learning
Level: Beginning
Use: This is an interactive program. Once completed, students can review their results - automatically calculated in percentages.

Vocabulary Profiler, from The Compleat Lexical Tutor
Level: Beginning to Advanced
Use: Students can paste text into the window of the program in order to determine word frequency. (Note: There is a free version of this program is available as well).

Crossword Puzzles for ESL Students from The Internet TESL Journal
Level: Beginning to High Intermediate
Use: Students participate in teams and can compete in teams to complete crossword puzzles with new vocabulary.

Vocaboly
Level: Intermediate to Advanced
Use: Students can create online flashcards based on level of difficulty and type of vocabulary selected.

Lingonet
Level: High Intermediate to Advanced
Use: Students can collaborate to solve world puzzles about actions, people, places, and things in a hotel-room setting.

Rosetta Stone
Level: Beginner to High Intermediate
Use: This program uses pictures to convey meanings instead of L1 to L2 text

Longman English Interactive 3 from Pearson Education, Inc.
Level: High Intermediate
Use: This program includes video with vocabulary. Students choose synonyms for each word listed.

CHUN, M. C. & Plass, J. L. (1996). Effects of multimedia annotations on vocabulary acquisition. The 

     Modern Language Journal, 80(2), 183-198.

Jing,hua, L. (2009). The integration of CALL to vocabulary teaching and learning. US-China Foreign 

     Language, 70(7), 60-64.

Tozcu, A. & Coady, J. (2004). Successful learning of frequent vocabulary through CALL also benefits  

     reading comprehension and speed. Computer assisted language learning, 17(5), 473-495.