A blog for the CALL lessons with my two 5th classes (2007-2008) at Esc EB 2,3 Sto. António - Parede, Portugal

CALL Lesson 8 (19 & 23 May 08)

      Google maps: Writing texts (2)

In today's lesson you will complete the texts about each teacher. You will get the necessary information from the World Atlas and use knowledge that you already have (= conhecimentos que já têm). Each student will write the text in their notebook. Your work in CALL lesson 7 was very appreciated, as you can see by the number of messages from our teacher friends.

The Objectives and Activities are the same as in CALL lesson 7, so there is no need to repeat everything here.

If there is time, you will include two other teachers in our maps: Natalia Malkina in St. Petersburg, Russia (5B), and José Antônio Silva in Brasilia, Brazil (5A). If there is no time, I will do it myself.

Please visit this blog, listen to the voice messages in the "Voiceboard" and leave a comment.

Enjoy the lesson!  

Resources

CALL lesson 5

Google maps : 5A + 5B

World Atlas

Report

5B didn't have CALL Lesson 8 on 19May, as planned, because the two school wireless networks had a very low signal in Room 10. No pages would upload. It was frustrating for all of us. However, I had Plan B - a traditional lesson - and hopefully we will try again next Monday (26May), since next Thursday is a national holiday.

5A had a "glitchless" lesson in Room 14. They all worked well and enthusiastically. They completed the texts about the remaining five teacher friends and had time to create a window for teacher José Antônio. I will upload his photo.

5B's lesson was postponed to May 26 in Sala TIC due to failure of the wireless connection in Room 10 the previous week. No doubt it's always good to have a Plan B!

They completed all the entries about the teachers and had time to add an entry for teacher Natalia in St Petersburg, Russia.

Both maps are complete and with all the photos showing.

Posted by: teresadeca at 11:49 | link | comments (6)

CALL Lesson 7 (8-9 May 08)

        Google maps: Writing texts

In today's lesson you will start writing a text about each teacher. You will get the necessary information from the World Atlas and use knowledge that you already have (= conhecimentos que já têm). Each student will write the text in their notebook. I'm sure you will like this task and will work well, as usual.

You won't have time (= não terão tempo) to write all the texts, so you will finish them in CALL lesson 8.

Objectives

Students will:

• locate countries in a world map
• look for (= procurar) specific information in the World Atlas about each teacher's country
• write a short text about each teacher based on that information
• practice basic language skills: reading and writing

Activities

1. Open CALL lesson 5
2. Open Google maps and select on your class map (on the left) + Click Edit
3. Open the World Atlas
4. Refer to the table in CALL lesson 5 and look for the name and country of the first teacher
5. Click on that teacher's placemark (on the left) in the Google map to open the window with the photo
6. Click on that teacher's continent and then country in the World Atlas
7. Look for the following information about that country: official language and color(s) of the flag
8. Write a text next to the photo including the first name of the teacher, the country, the continent, the nationality, the language spoken and the color(s) of the flag
9. Select that text and make a copy
10. Look for the name of the next teacher on the table (CALL lesson 5)
11. Open that teacher's window (Google map)
12. Paste the text in it, next to the photo
13. Repeat procedures 6 - 12, making the necessary changes to create a new text 
14. Repeat the same procedures for the remaining teachers

Enjoy!  

Classwork

5B: Texts on the first five teachers

5A: Texts on the first five teachers

Report

Both groups, 5B and 5A, worked very well and enjoyed the tasks. They liked working with the interactive World Atlas to find the necessary information, and also enjoyed writing the text about each teacher. They had to locate countries in their respective continent and both learn and revise nationality and language vocabulary. They also revised the colors when talking about the flags.

Since there were 10 teachers for each class, I suggested that they copy-paste the first complete text in the remaining four windows and replace the relevant information in order to save time. There were different volunteer students at the laptop for each new entry. They worked at a good pace and were able to complete half the teachers, They were very proud to see the end product before leaving the classroom.

Equipment: Same as usual with the wireless connection for 5A (Room 14) and 5B (Room 10).

Posted by: teresadeca at 18:49 | link | comments (24)

CALL Lesson 6 (21-22 Apr 08)

      Google maps: Geography1 (cont.)

In today's lesson you will finish the Google maps that you started last lesson. At the end of class you will see your map with "all" the placemarkers (= localizadores). I added (= acrescentei) one name to each table. You will also send a voice message to all the teachers through our voiceboard. If there is time, we will complete the table with more information about each teacher with the help of an interactive World Atlas.

Objectives

Students will:

• locate teachers on a Google world map
• write the name and city of each teacher in a different placemarker
• insert a photo of each teacher
• have an overview of where in the world our friends are
• see the global reach of our blogs
• send a voice message
• practice basic language skills

Activities

1. Go to CALL lesson 5
2. Open Google maps
3. Click My Maps and then "your" class map
4. Click the Edit button
5. Complete locating the teachers around the world
6. Click Save after every new entry
7. Read the messages from the teachers in the CALL lesson 5 "Comments"
8. Record a short voice message for all the teachers

Classwork

5B: click the map for a complete view

5A: click the map for a complete view

Voice messages to teachers

  5B        5A

Posted by: teresadeca at 17:43 | link | comments (15)

CALL Lesson 5 (10-11 Apr 08)

      Google maps: Geography1

In today's lesson you will create (= vão criar) a Google map to insert the name, location and photo of all the teacher friends who send us messages. Each class - 5A and 5B - will have its group of teachers in a table (= numa tabela). At the end of class you will see your map with the placemarkers (= localizadores). In CALL lesson 6 we will write more information about each teacher with the help of an interactive World Atlas.

Objectives

Students will:

• locate teachers on a Google world map
• write the name and city of each teacher in a different placemarker
• insert a photo of each teacher
• have an overview of where in the world our friends are
• see the global reach of our blogs

Activities

1. Open Google maps
2. Click My Maps and Create new map
3. Give it a title: 5B-08 and 5A-08
4. Write a simple description (e.g. A map with our online teacher friends)
5. In Privacy settings click Unlisted (= private)
6. Click the Done button
7. Click the minus ( - ) sign (top left of the map)
8. Look at the table with the names of the teachers: copy-paste the city, country of each one in the Search the map area. Click Enter
9. Click the blue placemarker (top left), take the mouse to the green marker and left click
10. Write the name of the teacher in the top of the window, next to Title
11. Click the last icon on the right (for images) and copy-paste the Web address for the photo
12. Click Ok
13. Click Save after every new entry

Table for 5B

Name	City, Country	Photo
Dafne Gonzalez	Caracas, Venezuela	http://64.71.48.37/teresadeca/school/photos/tn_daf.jpg
Susana Canelo	Del Valle, BA, Argentina	http://64.71.48.37/teresadeca/school/photos/tn_susanacanelo.jpg
Cristina Costa	Manchester, England	http://64.71.48.37/teresadeca/school/photos/tn_cristinacosta.jpg
Moira Hunter	Paris, France	http://64.71.48.37/teresadeca/school/photos/tn_moirahunter.jpg
Mary Di Mónaco	Rosario, Argentina	http://64.71.48.37/teresadeca/school/photos/tn_marydimonaco.jpg
Sasha Sirk	Nova Gorica, Slovenia	http://64.71.48.37/teresadeca/school/photos/tn_sashasirk.jpg
Angeles Berman	Campeche, Mexico	http://64.71.48.37/teresadeca/school/photos/tn_angelesberman.jpg
Silvia Colombo	Rosario, Argentina	http://64.71.48.37/teresadeca/school/photos/tn_silviacolombo.jpg
Carlos Ferreira	Benavente, Portugal	http://64.71.48.37/teresadeca/school/photos/tn_carlosferreira.jpg
Mônica Veado	Belo Horizonte, Brazil	http://64.71.48.37/teresadeca/school/photos/tn_monicaveado.jpg

Enjoy!  

Table for 5A

Name	City, Country	Photo
Dennis Oliver	Phoenix, AZ, USA	http://64.71.48.37/teresadeca/school/photos/tn_dennis.jpg
Ramona Dietrich	Monte Estoril, Portugal	http://64.71.48.37/teresadeca/school/photos/tn_ramona.jpg
Berta Leiva	Caracas, Venezuela	http://64.71.48.37/teresadeca/school/photos/tn_bertaleiva.jpg
Rita Zeinstejer	Rosario, Argentina	http://64.71.48.37/teresadeca/school/photos/tn_rita.jpg
Hala Fawzi	Khartoum, Sudan	http://64.71.48.37/teresadeca/school/photos/tn_hala.jpg
Lorena Recio	Buenos Aires, Argentina	http://64.71.48.37/teresadeca/school/photos/tn_lorenarecio.jpg
Maru del Campo	Toluca, Mexico	http://64.71.48.37/teresadeca/school/photos/tn_marudelcampo.jpg
Marina Alfonso	Buenos Aires, Argentina	http://64.71.48.37/teresadeca/school/photos/tn_marinaalfonso.jpg
Mirian Alvarez	Buenos Aires, Argentina	http://64.71.48.37/teresadeca/school/photos/tn_mirianalvarez.jpg
Susanne Nyrop	Farum, Denmark	http://64.71.48.37/teresadeca/school/photos/tn_susnyrop.jpg

Enjoy!  

Classwork

5B: Click on their Google map image

 5A: Click on their Google map image

Follow-up

11Apr08: Joana (5A) created a Google map for her family and friends. See comments #2-3 below.

Posted by: teresadeca at 18:20 | link | comments (27)

CALL Lesson 4 (6-7 Mar 08)

    Learner autonomy

Today you will go to the "Activities" page to learn how to choose the most appropriate exercises (= os exercícios mais adequados) to practice and reinforce (= reforçar) grammar and vocabulary that you studied (= estudaram) in class. You will get more practice with interactive exercises and develop your learner autonomy. Finally, you will write and record a voice message about this lesson. All this will help you develop the four language skills - listening, speaking, reading and writing - and guide you in working on your own (= a trabalhar sozinho).

Objectives

Students will:

• look at the "Activities" page and see how it is organized
• choose different interactive exercises and do them
• develop the four language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing
• develop learner autonomy.

Activities

1. Open the Activities page

2. Look through the different exercises by grade, skill and topic area

3. Look for exercises to practice Vocabulary, Grammar and Listening

4. Complete the exercises

5. Write a message about this lesson

6. Record it in the voiceboard. 

Classwork

5B message

CALL Lesson 4 was very fun. We liked the exercises about the family, the colors, time and school objects. They are good to practice English. Bye-bye, 5B

5A message

CALL Lesson 4 was fun. We liked the new exercises: time, colors, classroom, this/that..., a/an/nothing. We prefer the exercises with colors about the classroom. Bye-bye, 5A
 

* * * * * * * * * *

Report

CALL Lesson 4 went on with the usual equipment.

We started by looking at the "Activities page and I guided the students through it explaining it's layout and how they should look for exercises to work and practice autonomously. It was a success, because they saw how much stuff they have to work with.

The interactive exercises with images and sound are always a hit with the kids. They chose the exercises about the family, telling the time, colors, classroom, school objects, demonstrative adjectives and indefinite articles. The excitement and involvement of the students were enormous and contagious, with most students giving tips about the answers. If this translates into autonomous practice outside the classroom, I don't know. They don't send messages about that, even though I ask them to.

Gonçalo (5B) and Clara (5A) recorded the messages that they all participated in and copied in their notebooks. It's a thrill for them to listen to these messages at the click of the mouse before leaving class. However, though they enjoy doing this, it hasn't materialized in voice messages outside of class.

Posted by: teresadeca at 18:15 | link | comments (11)

CALL Lesson 3 (21-22 Feb 08)

    MyChingo voiceboard

Today we will work with a new audio tool to send voice messages. It's very simple to use, I promise. And we'll be doing some interactive exercises.

Objectives

Students will:

• explore and use a new voice tool
• practice vocabulary recently studied
• write and record a message
• develop the four language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing

Activities

1. Read the picture tutorial and text tutorial about the MyChingo voiceboard

2. Listen to two messages

3. Read a few text messages

4. Do interactive exercises: 1 (listening) & 2 (image & text)

5. Write a group message about the lesson

6. Record and listen to the message.

Let's look at the voiceboard tutorial.

3. These are the "Play" (= tocar) and "Stop" (= parar)buttons

4. To listen to a message, click on it and then click the "Play" button (once or twice) or double-click (two clicks) on the message

5. To leave a voice message, click on the "Leave me a message" button

6. A new window opens 7. Click "Record" 8. Click "Stop" when you finish 9. Click "Play" to listen to your message 10. Click "Send Message" if you like it, or click "Record" to try again (= para tentar de novo). VIP: You can also write the text of your message in the white area.

Enjoy playing with this new tool or "toy"! And send me lots of messages!!! 

Classwork

5B: A group message written on the board with ideas from the students and copied into their exercise books. Mariana recorded it after a group rehearsal.

Hello, teacher Maru!

We are 5B. Thank you for your voice message. We like tody's lesson and the memory exercises in the Fun with English blog.

Bye-bye! Kisses from 5B

* * * * * * * * * *

Report

5B (21Feb)

Equipment: same as usual plus cable connection.

I started by showing the students how simple the MyChingo voiceboard is. They listened to the messages from me and Maru, in Mexico, and I told them that they would record their own message at the end of the lesson. They looked interested.

Then we went on to the interactive exercises. It's always a win-win situation. One student was at the laptop to do each exercise (four altogether) with help and hints from the class. They were very excited and participative both in English and Portuguese, the latter more than I would like. The first two exercises were listening exercises and most students easily understood the sentences I had recorded. Two matching exercises followed. They were based on images and text about school and classroom vocabulary just learned and enjoyed both activities. They didn't have any trouble.

It was time to write a than you message to teacher Maru and give feedback about the lesson. They wrote a group message that was recorded by Mariana (see above). They were amazed when they saw the voice message uploaded at the click of the mouse. And they had the chance to listen to it online before the bell rang.

5A (22Feb)

We started the lesson by singing "Happy Birthday" to FranciscoB. Here's a group of lively singers!

The 5A lesson was very similar way to the 5B lesson, however, they had new voice messages to listen to, because I sent out a message to the BaW08 list asking for volunteers to visit our blog and leave voice messages. Lorena (Argentina), Ronaldo (Brazil), Silvia (Argentina) and Maru (Mexico) collaborated, so 5A had a chance to listen to them and write and record their own message (see above).

Two curiosities: Both classes loved the color pictures, but not the black and white pictures in the exercises, and asked if I could change them. My reply: "As soon as possible!" This is the kind of feedback that I think is very positive, because a teacher's aim should be to create things that are attractive while generating learning (in a fun way, whenever possible). BTW, I knew the b&w pictures wouldn't be appealing, but I didn't have time to search for colored ones.

Both students that volunteered to record are average students who have progressed quite a bit, especially, Francisco, who has an extra hour with me each week. This shows how motivated they are about learning English and how their confidence has increased since the beginning of the year. It's really gratifying! 

Posted by: teresadeca at 14:16 | link | comments (24)

Tools we will work with

Hi, Kids!

I found out about a new "toy" / tool - GIFup - to create animations and had to "play" with it.

Here are some of the tools we will work with in our CALL Lessons. Enjoy!  

GIF animations generator gifup.com

Posted by: teresadeca at 20:33 | link | comments (7)

CALL lesson 2 (7-8 Feb08)

  Voicethread

During your second CALL lesson you will explore Voicethread (in "Have Fun with English! 3"), a tool for sending voice messages. You will listen to a few messages and learn "how to" send one.

Then you will explore both blogs: read messages from "you" and teacher-friends. And, though Christmas is over (= já acabou), you read a beautiful Christmas story sent by teacher Susanne and listen to Romanian carols (colinde) sent by teacher Dennis.

Finally, you will write a collaborative message with your "impressions" of this lesson, record it with Voicethread and listen to it before leaving the classroom.

In this lesson you will have the chance to use the four language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing.

Objectives

Students will practice the four language skills by:

• listening to messages in "Voicethread"
• reading a simple tutorial about "how to" record a message
• reading messages in both blogs 
• reading a Christmas story
• listening to Romanian carols
• writing and recording a voice message about this lesson.

Activities

1. Listen to messages in "Voicethread" (FwE3)

2. Read a tutorial on "how to" record a voice message

3. Read messages/comments in both blogs

4. Read a Christmas story

5. Listen to Romanian carols (5, 12, 24, 25, 29)

6. Write a collaborative message

7. Record the message in "Voicethread" and listen to it.

 Enjoy the lesson!  

 
* * * * * * * * * * * *

Report

The main objective of this lesson was to introduce Voicethread, an audio tool for recording voice messages. I had started one over the weekend and was convinced that I understood the features of the tool after having inserted two photos (both of me, one with the title "Let's talk!") and recording an introductory message that I thought was linked to the title page. Two friends, Dafne and Dennis Oliver, also left messages prior to the lesson.

Anyway, I was wrong, as I found out in class. I didn't grasp the tool completely. And Internet connection problems during the 5B lesson didn't help at all. I got indications that the message wasn't being recorded, but it was. Then when I thought the recording had ended, because I had clicked the Stop button, it was still on and recorded an explanation that I gave the students about having to repeat the recording. Most of this, I believe, had to do with the erratic connection, because I spent the whole 5B lesson changing from wireless to cable connection.

With 5A I didn't have trouble with the recording, but I did have problems with inserting the recording where I wanted it to be. Better yet, I was under the impression that the recording wuld be inserted in chronological order and linked to the title page. It wasn't. Due to all these problems, but, above all, due to the fact that I didn't feel it was easy and intuitive enough for beginner EFL students, I put it aside. However, I didn't delete it. Everything is there to show how things didn't work the way I planned.

The students listened to a couple of Romanian carols and found them nice, though a bit strange, especially because they are sung by an adult choir. Though they didn't understand the text of the Christmas story, we talked about the animated pictures and they saw a simulation of an online book on the Web. They loved it.

Another activity they enjoy is reading or listening to new messages. They love seeing their own messages and reading those of colleagues. And they love writing group messages and then recording them. Emilia volunteered to record the 5B message and Juliana recorded the 5A message. It's cute to observe their expressions when listening to their recordings. It's a mix of shy and proud to have their voice on the Internet.

Naturally, the 5B lesson didn't run on wheels and wasn't what I had expected in terms of voice tools. On Friday the 5A lesson went great in terms of cable connection (very stable) and the kids enjoyed it. However, I still didn't empathize with Voicethread. But we always learn, or should learn, from our mistakes. And that's what I did. I immediately decided to look for another voice tool that would be as simple as possible for my students to use in class or at home.

The My Chingo voiceboard was my favorite among the tools I explored: Audio Dropbox, Chinswing, Daft Doggy, Evoca, Gabmail, Springdoo, Talkr, Twitter, Vaestro, Viewpoint, Voki and Yackpack. None had the simplicity of the Voiceboard: 1) click the "Leave a message" button, 2) leave your name and email (not shown), 3) record your message with the possibility of leaving the text version, 4) play it back and re-record if you're not happy, and 5) click "Send" to have your message uploaded to the voiceboard (with your name) in a matter of seconds ready to be heard before the kids leave class. And since the messages are all stored and visible in the voiceboard, anyone can play any message, anytime, anywhere by double-clicking on the name. I gladly got a one-year paid subscription. My students deserve it. 

Posted by: teresadeca at 20:25 | link | comments (9)

CALL Lesson 1 (24-25Jan08)

  Overview of two blogs

What is CALL? It's Computer-Assisted Language Learning.

And what are CALL Lessons? They are blended (a mixture of face-to-face/f2f and online) lessons for learning English in a fun way with a computer (my laptop), a video projector, an Internet connection (= ligação) and... the Internet/Web.

In these lessons we will use different communication tools (= ferramentas) - text, audio, image and video - to work in class and to communicate with teachers all over the world.

What is this first lesson about? Let's see!

Objectives

Students will:

• get an idea of the two blogs: the curricular blog (this one, used in class) and the extracurricular blog, "Have Fun with English! 3" (used outside of class), and
• get an idea of the tools available for group work (in class) and individual work (at home) 
• read about the objectives of these blogs
• explore useful links
• listen to podcasts
• write a group message about "first impressions".

Activities

1. Look at this blog and Have Fun with English! 3
2. Read the objectives of these blogs
3. Watch a short animated film about CALL Lessons
4. Visit useful and fun links
5. Listen to student and teacher podcasts
6. Write a short text about "first impressions".

Enjoy the lesson!  

Report

Posted by: teresadeca at 16:59 | link | comments (15)

CALL Lesson 0

Welcome to CALL Lessons, 5A and 5B. These are "computer-assisted language learning" lessons with a computer, the Internet, Web 2.0 text and voice communication tools, a video projector, a screen (= ecrã) and... lots of "learning in a fun way"! 

Objectives

The objectives of these blended lessons (a mixture of classroom and online) is for students to:

• learn the target language (L2) in different ways,
• practice English through communication tools (Web 2.0),
• communicate with a worldwide audience,
• improve their basic skills in English,
• work collaboratively to do the tasks,
• become more autonomous/independent,
• develop computer skills and e-literacy.

Classwork

In December 2007, 5A recorded a podcast (audio files) for some teachers. Here are the questions and the answers from our six teacher friends: Cristina Costa (England), Dafne Gonzalez (Venezuela), Dennis Oliver (USA), Hala Fawzi (Sudan), Michael Coghlan (Australia) and Rita Zeinstejer (Argentina). And then the students recorded a "thank you" message from 5A.

Notice the difference in the "atmosphere" from the first student podcast to the second. They sound tense and sort of intimidated by the microphone in the first message, but totally at ease and very excited in the second.

Message from 5A	Cristina	Dafne	Dennis
Hala	Michael	Rita	Reply from 5A

Posted by: teresadeca at 16:30 | link | comments (36)