ICT - Class 14 - 07 November 2014

We started the workshop by revising some of Dropbox useful features.
Then, we took a quiz.... something I found really valuable: Kaizena - to add sound and video to Google Docs - Great to give feedback on students' work.

2 things I should have a look at:

• SAMR Model
• TPACK framework

ICT - Class 12 - 10 October 2014

We started the class by revising IMAGES (padlet, thinglink, etc).

Then, we saw some COLLABORATIVE NOTICE BOARDS:

• Mural.ly (not free)
• Popplet - holds text, photos, and other interesting things such as Google Map or YouTube video.
• Primary Wall - conceived by a teacher and built for schools so they deliberately kept things simple, fast and user friendly.
• Padlet.
• Szoter - annotate pictures, screen captures, etc
• Freemake - slideshows with music.
• Shape Collage - photo collage maker (downloadable) 
• Photovisi - photo collage maker
• Picisto - photo collage and vision boards
• Muzy - combines photos with text to make great-looking images
• Mosaic Maker - mosaic or collage from a photoset, favourites, tags, or individual digital photographs or images
• PicCollage - use photos, stickers, frames, and text to create collages
• Flickriver 
• Fotobabble - Talking Photos 
• Speechable 
• Jing - (free download) - awesome tool to take not only screen shots but also record a video of your screen movements!!!

How to use noticeboards with students: 

• create video tasks and get students to post responses to the wall by leaving it open for everyone to contribute.
• collect different links to various resources around the web for students to explore, a little like a web quest or treasure hunt.
• give students a theme and get them to create their own walls based around that theme.
• create fan walls based around a favourite band or celebrity.
• collect and share resources like this one on IELTS
• set up video or image based activities. 
• use an image to get students to practise using present continuous.
• create debates. You can do this either by posting your own contentious opinions or using videos from sites like BigThink.comand get students to respond. This could be a way of dealing with sensitive issues and enabling students to be able to express opinions that they might not feel comfortable doing in the classroom.
• create grammar walls and get students to post what they know together with examples of different verb tenses or grammar points.
• get students to post their wishes on it using third conditional.
• notify students or parents of homework assignments and keep them up to date with what's happening in class.

And something new about Skype - Skype in the classroom.

Finally, we discussed the concept of FLIPPED LEARNING, which involves:

1. flexible environment
2. learning culture
3. intentional content
4. professional educator

Great tools for flipping the classroom:

• EdPuzzle - create / crop videos, add audio, and even embed quizzes in your videos!!
• Blendspace - platform for creating multimedia lessons that kids can access online. You can organize videos, text, links, images, and quizzes into cubes, then create lessons, or "canvases" for your students to complete independently. Content can be pulled from YouTube, Google, Flickr, and other online sources, as well as your own computer, Dropbox, or Google Drive. There's also a bookmarking tool that lets you add websites to your Blendspace collection.
• Zaption - Interact with video by creating polls/quizzes
• Movenote - add videos to documents.

MOVING FROM GOOGLE SITES TO BLOGGER

After having some fun working on a Google Site (which was supposed to store all the projects made by my KIDS 1 and KIDS 2 groups), I sadly realised families weren't going to be able to make comments on the site (only readers are allowed to comment - and it would be almost impossible to add every parent, neighbour, friend, school teacher, etc as a reader...). Sharing my students' work with the school community and their families was, of course, my main aim, but I also wanted them to get some positive affective feedback from others than me. So I decided to move the information to blogs (I had to split the info in 2 groups: Kids 1 and Kids 2). This experience has given me the chance to compare Sites and Blogs and find out which one suits which needs best. I still believe Sites offer greater opportunities for organisation, although they're a bit more complex. Anyway, this time I need something simpler that doesn't requiere much effort on the part of the learners (and parents) to understand.

I invite you all to drop by (it's still under construction, though) and leave a comment. My students and I would love to see you there!

ONLINE KIDS 1 PORTFOLIO

Thanks!

ICT - Google Hangout - 03 October 2014

Some of the girls in the ICT class joined a Hangout on Air (invited by Rita) for a couple of minutes. It was a wonderful experience! We could see each other and share ideas while wearing our slippers and drinking tea (Yeah, Tati, I SAW YOU - don't worry, I was having a hot cup of tea too).
Let's do it again!!

Rita took some pictures during the conversation (had I known, I'd have worn some make up!)
Our first "Hangout"

ICT - Class 11 - 26 September 2014

Rita tested our memory with a short quiz! 

1. Do you use Delicious? - Yesssssss
2. What Google extensions do you use? - Delicious, LastPass, Dropbox, Google Dictionary, Awesome Screenshot, Padlet, and the recently added to my account Ginger (another Google extension) which looks after my grammar!!
3. How do you save a mail from Gmail into your hard drive? - Print - Cancel - Right click - Save as...
4. Do you remember the SAMR paradigm shift by Rubén Puentedura? - Nope (shame on me) - Homework: Look it up! (Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, Redefinition).
5. Google Hangouts? - We hanged out with Rita's friend from Portugal, Teresa.

IMAGES

The safest way to source images for your blog is to either:

• use Creative Commons images.
• use free public domain images.
• use your own photos or use images you’ve created.

Remember: You can use ANY picture database (Google Images, Flickr, etc.) and look for images that have free license.

Ideas for my site / blog to work on images:

• Instagram
• Padlet 
• Thinglink
• WeVideo 
• Wordle
• Bubbler (add speech bubbles to images)
• Voicethread
• Bookr (create book images)
• Fodey (animated text image)
• Szoter (load your picture, take a screenshot or capture an image, then annotate, add text,and save to disk)
• Freemake (slideshow with photos and music) - good option instead of WeVideo.
• Shapecollage (make a collage, give it a shape!)
• Picisto (photo collages and vision boards)
• Muzy (combine photos w/ text to make great-looking images)
• Mosaic maker (make mosaid or collage)
• PicCollage (Use photos, stickers, frames, and text to create collages)
• Flickriver (simple Flickr search tool that creates an endless webpage of Flickr images based around either a search term or whatever it finds interesting on the particular day you visit the site)
• Fotobabble (talking photos)
• Speechable (add speech bubbles to photos)
• Webresizer (photo editor)
• Fotor (online photo editor)
• Morfo (turn a photo of your friend's face into a talking, dancing, crazy 3D character)
• Jing

ICT - Class 10 - 12 September 2014

Some things to bear in mind (Source: The Power of Storytelling in the Classroom)

• stories are a way of passing down cultural beliefs, traditions, and history.
• stories help us to organize and store information.
• they go straight to the heart.
• they produce a sense of joy in language and words.
• they're the best presents teachers can give to their students - they belong to the students forever.
• storytelling isn't story reading

Some Moviemaking and Storytelling tools:

• WeVideo: wonderful Google App! Create really professional videos!
• Voicethread: combines pictures, documents, or videos with recorded audio.
• Animoto: (NOT FREE) 
• Speechable: add speech bubbles to photos.
• Fotobabble: create talking photos - similar to Voicethread?
• Toondoo: create comic strips / toons or characters / books.
• ReadWriteThink: Comic creator (but very few options / pictures).
• MakeBeliefsComix: create comics (lots of options - but can be printed or emailed).
• Bubblr: create comics using real photos from Flickr (photonovels) - then add speech bubbles.
• Toonlet: create characters for avatars / comics with loooooots of options.
• Comic Master: create graphic novels - much more complete (dialogues, captions, backgrounds, special effects, etc)
• Sock Puppets: create lip-synch puppets (with your own voice) and controlled their movements with your fingers (only IPAD or IPHONE)
• Zooburst: create augmented reality 3D pop-up books.
• Storyjumper: create a story, and add a book cover (for a price) - it also has a classroom editions that helps teachers manage their students' stories (Free).
• Blabberize: use a real picture and "blabberize" it - make it talk!
• My Storymaker: choose characters and create stories on the way - add sentences (it creates them for you or you can make them). When you finish, you can print it.
• Glogster: EDUGlogster (NOT FREE anymore)
• Voki: create speaking avatars 
• Picture Book Maker: create a story book (crayon-drawn like) 
• Storybird: use pre-created images to create a story
• Voxopop: create oral discussion boards.
• GoAnimate: beautiful tool (thanks Gabi for showing it to me) that helps you creat animated stories.

More Apps for telling Stories on your Mobile Devices

• Write About This! Prompts (journaling and writing prompts - needs ITUNES)
• FriendStrip ComicCreator (design a comic book - ANDROID)
• Toontastic for StoryTelling (create high quality cartoons)
• Publish Stories on iPads (write your own storybook)
• Slideshows with ShadowPuppet (record narrated slideshows)
• Colorful iPad DrawingTool (illustrate a story)
• Toontastic Jr. ShrekMovie Maker (retells a story)
• Scribble My Story (write your own storybook)
• Tell a Tale on iPads (writing prompts)
• Inspiration Lite forMind Mapping(brainstorm ideas)
• Pirate Scribblebeard's Treasure (draw pictures for a storybook)
• Graphic Organizers:Idea Sketch (plan a story)
• Sock Puppets
• Comics Head. (IPAD)

ICT - Class 9 - 4 September 2014

Today, we dealt with Google+ and Google Hangouts. The possibilities are endless!

While having an online lesson with (up to 9) students using Hangouts, you can share documents such as a test, pictures to trigger a discussion, make notes or drawings on the screen to back up your class, share a video, and even remote control somebody else's computer!
We had fun playing (like kids) with Hangouts! I shared my coconut pie recipe with the group, they added some comments, Ale shared a lovely video of one of her dogs, and we took some photos.

Google + looks much safer than Facebook, as you can choose WHO sees WHAT. It also seems to be much more professional and academic.

Tour Builder helps you build a field tour, guide you around the world, and even explore inside a museum! It's a Google Earth experiment.

Also, I've started a Google Site where I'm planning to store the ICT projects I do with my "Kids" courses at La Salle. Online Kids' Portfolio. It's my first real site so I'm still trying out some things. So far, I've managed to create subpages for every student - I'll need to manage the permissions later. Baby steps...

ICT - Class 8 - 22 August 2014

AUDIOBOO will be very useful for our project at schools.

Let's continue working with GOOGLE SITES. This is Tati's wonderful site ssaannddbbooxx.
And this is my humble contribution... Our Class Goes Online

REMINDER:
Upcoming webinars (TICs en el aula). Check the links in our blog (Cultura 2014's blog):

• Aug 24 - 10.00 am - Google + and Hangouts - no enrollment needed.
• Aug 30 - 10.00 am- Google Search (SBS) - register in advance, free.
• Sept 4 - Google + and Hangouts (SBS). 
• Sept 11 - Dispositivos móviles en la educación (Spanish).

ICT - Class 7 - 08 August 2014

We continued working on Google Drawings and learnt how to make "Image maps" or "Hotspots".
Some ideas that came up in class:

• Create images to "drag and drop" for the KIDS 1 and 2 oral exams.(Thanks Gabi!)
• Students create an interactive image of their families / bedrooms/ etc, and add descriptors to it.

Here's my first attempt at creating an interactive image similiar to the ones in the oral exams (with audio!- see below "Twisted Wave").

After trying it out, I realised it takes tooooo much time for the kids to click on the images, then on the link, listen to the audio, and finally go back to the drawing to complete the task of dragging and dropping. :(

Rita suggesting using Thinglink, which also make interactive images.However, I don't find it easy to add more images to the main one, making it impossible to "drag and drop". 

Twisted Wave and Music Player for Drive (also Google Apps) combine with one another to give you the opportunity to record your voice and save it to your Google Drive - I can think of some activities to practise pronunciation...

And finally!! We took a quick look at Google Sites! I was really looking forward to it, since I believe it will fulfill many of my "educational needs".

ICT - Class 6 - 25 July 2014

Unfortunately, I missed this class because I was ill, but I'll try to make up for it.

GOOGLE FORMS, SPREADSHEETS and FLUBAROO:
I've been having a look at Google Forms, a valuable tool which combines the results of a survey in a Google spreadsheet and offers the possibility of adding charts and graphs! I was amazed at its simplicity and effectivity - I completed a form on our ICT course and got the results immediately!
Google forms seems ideal for quizzes... And Flubaroo is the easiest way to grade them, an add-on that can be installed from the spreadsheets.

GOOGLE DRAWINGS:
I've been learning how to make drawings more "dynamic" with Google Drawings. I had always wondered how to insert a link on an image... Now I know!

DRIVE TUNES:
Similar to Grooveshark? Great to play your favourite music wherever you are!

I'm really looking forward to the next lesson!

ICT - Class 5 - 4 July 2014

GMAIL QUIZ: Are these statements TRUE or FALSE? Write your answers in your blog.

1. You can view recipients' contact information from the message you are writing. T
2. You can choose to give priority to some messages T
3. You cannot embed emoticons but you can embed pictures F
4. You need to save your "drafts" by clicking on "send later" F
5. Docs from your Drive can be attached directly T
6. Web addresses and email addresses can be inserted by clicking on the same icon T
7. You can add "labels" to your messages to organize them T
8. You can customize your Gmail from any browser T
9. Theres's a "priority box" to help you find most important messages T
10. Previous emails can be sent as attachments T
11. You can send photos taken by any device via Gmail T

UNSEND AN EMAIL:

I also learnt how to UNSEND an email. Great app by Google! Go to settings - Labs - Unsend. 

MOVENOTE:
Awesome Google Extension to creat presentations with videos!

HOMEWORK:
Create a Movenote during the Hols.

ICT - Classes 1 and 2

I'll try to make up for classes 1 and 2 (when I was giving my first steps in blogging) in this post.

During these classes I found out about many useful Google Apps. The following is a list of the ones I didn't know about and found very valuable!

• Google Sites
• Google Groups
• Google+ and Hangouts
• Google Story Builder

And Google Extensions and their Buttons are just the answers to many problems I didn't even know I had!

• Delicious
• Dropbox
• Awesome screenshot
• Google Dictionary
• LastPass

 What an enriching experience!

ICT - Class 4 - 27 June 2014

Today, we continued working on Blogger - there's so much to learn!

And Google Search offers more than meets the eye! Here are 13 Google Search tricks that make life a lot easier! 
These are my favourites:

• Set timer - no more burnt cakes or getting up late!
• Wild card - a wonderful trick for an absent-minded like me!

And I just loved this Jeopardy maker! I'm sure my students will love it, too!
JeopardyLab

ICT - Class 3 - 13 June 2014

Today, we created stories in Google Story Builder!!
This is my (very simple) story...

Teacher and student joke