Hot potatoes activities

We talked about the program "Hot Potatoes" in older posts. As a class activity, we had to do some excercises for children using this program, in his five ways, using JCloze, JCross, JMatch, JMix and JQuiz.

The program produces the activities in links, so it need a browser for being used.

This is the result!

            ◾JCloze

            ◾JCross

            ◾JMatch

            ◾JMix

            ◾JQuiz

I let you here a presentation where I explain step by step how I did it. Click here!


We had another class activity, and we had to do a video tutorial, so I did mine and I explained how to create a Wiki page. Watch it here!

JCloze (Hot potatoes) (12/01)

• The JCloze program creates gap-fill exercises.
• Unlimited correct answers can be specified for each gap, and the student can ask for a hint and see a letter of the correct answer.
• A specific clue can also be included for each gap.
• Automatic scoring is also included. The program allows gapping of selected words, or the automatic gapping of everyday new word in a text.

• It is better to use a text processor (like Word) insead of using the programme directly. 

• Files should be saved in the same folder.
• Hot Potatoes does not include software for the edition of images, sound or video.
• Suggested software: Gimp, YouTube Editor, Audacity…
• The videos should not be too long, but it depends on the students' age. 
• Use long names without spaces.
• Browsers read spaces as: “%20”.
• There may be navigation errors. For example: Reading_in_English instead of Reading in English. 

Hot Potatoes (JQuiz) (9/1)

JQuiz

• JQuiz can create four different types of question:

             -  Multiple-choice

             -  Short-answer

             -  Hybrid (a short-answer question that turns into a multiple-choice question after several attempts)

             -  Multi-select (in which the learner has to choose several of a set of options, then check the choices)

Hot potatoes (part 2) (12/12)

Shared ascpects

• Files designed with HP should be saved in two different formats:
•  HP file (extensions: jmt, jms, jqz, jcl, jcw).
• HTML file (to be used with any web browser).

JMix

• A Jmix activity produces a jumbled word or sentence activity.
•   Letters of a single word may be jumbled, or the words of a sentence.
• JMix uses the standard and drag-and-drop types of output. 

Hot Potatoes (01/12)

Hot Potatoes Suite

Hot potatoes includes six applications.

These applications enable you to create interactive:

• Multiple-choice
• Short-answer
• Jumbled-answer
• Crossword
• Marching/ordering
• Gap-fill exercises

They can be uploaded to the World Wide Web. 

These are the different possibilities that Hot Potatoes offer:

• JQuiz: multiple-choice, true-false, text-entry or short-answer.
• JCloze: gap-fill.
• JCross: crosswords.
• JMatch: matching and ordering.
• JMix: jumbed-sentence.

The Masher

• The masher is a tool for automatically compiling Pot Potatoes exercises into units.
• Imagine that you have five Hot Potatoes exercises that form a single unit of materials. You want to build HTML files from all exercises, with the same colours and appearance settings; you also want to link the exercises together using the navigation buttons, and create an index file for the unit. 

Free screencast softwares (28/11)

CamStudio

• CamStudio: open source software.
• Only for windows.
• Output formats: AVI and SWF. 

Jing (free version)

• Image: capture an image of what you see on your computer screen.
• Select any window or region that you want to capture, mark up your screenshot with a text box, arrow, highlight or picture caption, and decide how you want to share it. 
• Jing videos are limited to five minutes for instant, focused communication.
• Videos can be shared through social media.

Wink

• Open source software.
• Several output formats.
• For windows.
• You can capture screenshots, add explanations boxes, buttons, titles, etc.
• www.debugmode.com/wink . 

BB Flashback Express

• The free version just allows just swf and avi files.
• For windows.
• http://bbsoftware.co.uk/BBFlashBack_FreePlayer.aspx

Web-based Screencasts

• You do not need any external software.
• Just go to the web page and record.
• The recordings can be shared in social networks.

Screenr

• Just clicking on the record button, capture the screen (and voice, if you want).
• Share it through social networks.
• It is not free anymore. 

Screencast-o-matic

• Direct recording.
• Different resolutions can be selected.
• Sound is also available. 
• Direct upload to the internet. 
• http://screencast-o-matic.com/home

Video "Imagine" (24/11)

Today, we were watching the videos that we were told to do.

They had to have "Imagine", by John Lennon for the soundtrack. Each one of us chose a topic. Mine was about the marchs from Selma to Montgomery, a fight for the black people's civil rights.

The objective to do this exercise was to learn how to create a video using only images.

I used a presentation in PowerPoint and then, I recorded it.


Click on the image to see the final resault on Google Drive:

To capture screen in SMART Notebook (21/11)

Many programs can capture the screen, taking a picture or recording a video.

Notebook:

The program to create activities in SMART Notebook is free for a limited number of days.

Inserting SWF files

Predesigned activities

Screenshot:

•  It is an image taken by the computer to record the visible item displayed on the monitor, television or another visual output device.
• You can record the whole screen or part of it.
• That image is converted and saved to an image file such as JP(E)G or PNG format. They are the most used; the size of the file is smaller.

Screencast

• It is a digital recording of computer screen output, also known as a video screen capture, often containing audio narration.
• The term screencast compares with the related term screenshot.
• Whereas screenshot is a picture of a computer screen, a screencast is essentially a movie of the changes over time that a user sees on a computer screen, enhanced with audio narration. 

(17/11)

Forms and shapes

Animating objects

• To appear gradually.
• To disappear gradually.
• To rotated about axis.
• To approach.
• To zoom off.
• To shrink and to expand.
• To rotate.

Side bar: creation of activities

There are creators of activities that help us to produce our own materials. The easiest ones are the activities where you only have to drag and drop. 

Inserting video

Not all the formats are admitted. 

Jobs? (14/11)

Jobs?

• According to former Secretary of Education Richard Riley… The top 10 in-demand jobs in 2010 did not exist in 2004.
• We are currently preparing students for jobs that do not yet exist.
• Using technologies that have not been invented.
• In order to solve problems we do not even know are problems yet.

Here you can check the Top 10 in demand jobs of 2016 in contrast to 2015. 

Digital whiteboard (10/11)

Interactive whiteboard (7/11)

IWB

An interactive whiteboard (IWB) is a large interactive display in the form factor of a whiteboard. It can either be a standalone touchscreen computer used independently to perform tasks and operations, or a connectable apparatus used as a touchpad to control computers from a projector. (Extracted from Wikipedia).

Connections in an IWB:

• Video connection: HDMI, RCA, VGA.
• USB connection
• WiFi

PDI Smart

Installations and Setup

• Install the software and, if needed, the drivers to connect the IBW and your computer.

Side bar

• Insert files or links to web pages.

Presentations based on on-line and off-line presentation programmes (27/10)

 SWF files

• Swf: “Shockwave Flash”: later: “Small Web Format”SWF files can be created with software such as Adobe Flash and other free applications, for example, MTASC o SWFTools.
• They are run thought a “plugin” called Adobe Flash Player.
• Basically, it is a format with a lot of animation possibilities and interactions.
• They are normally small files and, consequently, they can be easily adapted for the WWW (animations, interactive activities…)
• They provide multiple functions and grades of interactivity.

PowerPoint

• Microsoft PowerPoint is a presentation software.
• Slides presentations, text and image animations, either imported or predesigned. 
• Diference types of designs, fonts, templates, animation, etc. can be applied.

(24/10)

How to insert sound in a blog:

We can have our audio in a cloud, like Google Drive and then copy the link. Once you have that link copied, paste it in HTML in Blogger.

How to insert a link in an image:

Video Player and More:

VLC Media Player

• Has become a standard for the reproduction of multimedia files.
• It is free.
• It reproduces MPEG-2, H.264, etc. 

Removing a blog:

(20/10)

Recording, editing and exporting audio:

• Free software.
• Audacity. It is necessary to include another program to be able to export the file. into MP3 that is Lame.

Click here to download Audacity

Reproducing sound files:

• iTunes: reproducing sound and video.
• iTunes in the cloud (icloud) allows reproducing sound files.

Click here to download iTunes

Converting videos into MP3:

• From QuickTime

CDs and MP3:

• We can convert from CD to MP3 and from MP3 to CD.

Inserting sound in blog:

• It is inserted using Dropbox or Google Drive, any kind of services for sharing.
• Copy the link in the blog. 

(10/10)

Images, sounds…: copyright?

We have to follow the copyright rules. Using images, sounds and videos in the classroom.

• FlickrCC:

- Images under Creative Commons license. 

- Flickercc.com

- You can edit the images and download them.

• Google images:

 

- Includes different types of images copyright.

- We have to use google advance image search.

• More free photos:

- Fotogratis.com

- Morguefile

- Compfight: search Flickr images under CC license.

- Wikimedia Commons

• Sounds and free music:

- Freesound.org

- Vimeo

- SoundCloud

- Jamendo: it was free, but it is not anymore. 

• Videos:

- Animoto

- Masher

- Downloading videos from YouTube. Direct download from the YouTube web. Use Firefox ad-ons.

   

(6/10)

Computer assisted language learning.

C.A.L.L: computer assisted language learning by Sarah Ferguson. It was defined by Levy as “the search for and study of applications of the computer in language teaching learning.

• CALL embraces a wide range of applications and approaches to teaching and learning foreign languages.
• From the audio-lingual method (drill-based exercises) to most recent distance learning.

- Originally located within behaviourism and “tutorial CALL” (Levy. 1997. Taylor. 1980)

- Key defining characteristics of traditional CALL include:

- Use of a computer desktop.

- Use of software programme

- An explicit teaching and conscious learning capacity.

- Realised in self-access centres or controlled classroom context.  

Most recent approaches

• It also extend to the use of interactive whiteboards, computer-mediated communication (CMC), language learning in virtual worlds, and mobile-assisted language learning (MALL).
• "On the internet, nobody knows you're a dog.". It is very important knowing about security in internet. We must know what is a fake and what is true. We need to check the news and the contents that we share. 

IWB:

The flipped classes:

The future?

Display centric world

(3/10)

Audio player- the sound

What would you do if you had to give a lesson or a particular topic? Do not answer the question immediately

The first thing is focusing on the question, not in the answer. Firstly, we should choose the topic (for example a song).

If we are asked to prepare a topic, firstly we need to start by the end, in this case, by the song.

• First: Planning. What is the song about? Look for key words included in that song. Prepare what I will say about the song. I design the way I present it, for example with a guideline with the main ideas and sections.  The most important aspect of the presentation is my speech. After, we correct it. Finally, the final product will be presented and we will have to make it public.

We will see different ways to present audio materials. It is more useful and efficient when everything is planned. It is not a good idea rely on imagination, we have to plan everything in advance, then we put in practise what we plan and after, we will correct it.

• Most textbooks were supplemented with audiotapes to carry out listening activities.
• Nowadays CDs and DVDs are replacing them.
• Pupils can practice the listening activities at home.
• There is a lot of material especially published for children.

A pupil needs a lot of exposure and practice for produce a right sound in a foreign language. Therefore, we need to increase the number of hours that our students are exposed.

VCR and camera:

• VTR and cameras have not been used in our classrooms frequently.
• We all know the power of attraction of TV series.
• In general, we could say that: movement and sound are motivating.
• If students and teachers create their own materials, adapted to their needs and interests, these devices can be highly motivating.
• They can play roles, investigate, discuss about the final product.

TV sets and computers:

• The connection between a TV set and a computer, is nowadays, simpler than ever before.
• Most TV sets have an S-VHS, VGA or HDMI connection.

ICT at school (29/09)

ICT devices

Alphabet taught to kids nowadays with technological new brands and applications. There’s a lot of new words that are appearing nowadays.

Learning based on projects.

It’s important to create groups in order to create responsibility and create an identity, like a name group, a pet.

Projects cannot be worked only in English class, they should be worked in other classes.

Talking about making groups in class, they should be mixed.

ICT definition:

• Producing just a focus of attention.
• Everything monitored by a keyboard or similar device.

Audio-visuals:

They show how minister of education is old-fashioned. The problem is that all this technologies hasn’t been productive. They are expensive and may not been used.

• Overhead projector.
• Audio player.
• Tv set
• Video player and cameras
• Cd/cassette recorder
• Easily portable
• Adaptability.
• Low sound quality.
• Blackboard: it should have a design and organized. We are changing into whiteboards. For example, we can add parts like "just to remind you", "out of class activities", photos, "writing zone", "your interests". 

OHP and blackboard:

• Analyse the traditional blackboard and the OHP.
• Advantages of the OHP.

Audio player- the sound:

• Most textbooks were supplemented with audiotapes to carry out listening activities.
• Nowadays CDs and DVDs ate replacing them.
• Pupils can practice the listening activities at home.
• There is a lot of material especially published for children.

Technology, information and communication for Primary Education (26/09)

In this subject, we will have two different parts: a theoretical and a practice part. We will learn how to organise an English class and how to use ICT in our daily lessons.

Here you can check the syllabus of this course: http://grados.ugr.es/primaria_ceuta/pages/infoacademica/guias-docentes/TICLE

Some years ago, people refer to information technologies: hardware and software that allowed accessing, saving, organizing, manipulating… information with electronic media.

Nowadays, we are always  transmitting information using different devices: telephone lines, mobiles, satellite…