¡Vámonos!

A while back - actually nearly two years ago - I became aware of a tool called Seesmic on which you could record video clips and others could respond by recording their own short clip. At the time, I used it to join in a few conversations and also to practice speaking Catalan / Mallorquin after a looong break. It was easy to do and fun as well.

Posted by lisibo at 14:22 0 comments    

Labels: Chris_Fuller, etwinning, Joe Dale, seesmic, Twitter, video

Only a few days left now until the Isle of Wight Conference this weekend.

I'll be heading down on Friday for two days (Saturday and Sunday) of PD and social networking at its best - there are so many sessions on offer that we're spoilt for choice - and I've got to fit in delivering one of them with the lovely Jo Rhys-Jones with whom I am also hosting a 'Round Table' - I hope this refers to a discussion not a piece of furniture ;o) I'm really looking forward to hearing some inspiring presenters like Mark Pentleton, Drew Buddie, Chris Fuller, Adam Sutcliffe - I could go on and on - and meet up with friends, old new and virtual!

To see what's on offer - and it is a very impressive lineup - check out Integrating ICT in the MFL classroom, the blog of the mastermind behind the conference, Mr Joe Dale.

I acknowledge that it is a long way, but it is well worth the trip, and is a bargain at £100. And it's not too late to book! Download the booking form from here - you know it makes sense :o)

Posted by lisibo at 21:04 0 comments    

Labels: Chris_Fuller, IoWConference, Jo Rhys-Jones, Joe Dale, Mark Pentleton

Having been told not to say anything for a bit, when I was given the all clear to blog about the IoW Conference, I've been a bit slow off the mark! But...más vale tarde que nunca as dear Nando would say!

October 25th and 26th 2008 will see many teachers from across the UK (and beyond?) gathering at Nodehill Middle School in Newport, Isle of Wight for Joe Dale's annual IOW Conference. As usual, the focus is on creative language teaching using ICT, and it promises to be a great weekend. This year, there's so much going on that it has been extended to two days with a Show and Tell event on the Saturday night so that everyone can share, not just those who are presenting.

And speaking of presenters - look at the line up!

• Sharon Tonner - ICT specialist, ex- High School of Dundee, now working for a Scottish Uni!
  
• Jo Rhys-Jones - AST in MFL, Kingswear Primary School
• Lisa Stevens - Spanish Teacher and eTwinning ambassador, Whitehouse Common Primary School,
• Carole Nicoll - Language Factory
• Drew Buddie - ICT coordinator, Royal Masonic School for Girls and eTwinning ambassador
• Nick Mair - HoD in MFL, Dulwich College
• John Warwick - Deputy Head, St Luke's School and eTwinning ambassador
• Kathleen Holton - HoD in MFL, Argoed High School
• Mark Pentleton - Radio Lingua Network
• Lesley Welsh – AST in MFL, English Martyrs School and Sixth Form College and SSAT languages lead practitioner coordinator
• Chris Fuller - Spanish teacher, Edgehill College and SSAT languages lead practitioner
• Sharon Balch - French teacher, Swanmore Middle School
• Doug Dickinson - Independent ICT consultant
• Kathy Wicksteed - Languages advisor for new KS3 curriculum
• Adam Sutcliffe - MFL teacher, The Gordon Schools and Glow Champion
• Lesley Haggar-Vaughan, Shireland CLC manager
• Julie Adoch, HoD in MFL, Heathfield Foundation Technology College and her students

They will be tackling topics including-

• Mobile Phones
• Wikis
• Primary Languages
• Ning networking
• Songs
• Virtual Learning Environments
• Digital Storytelling
• Games based learning
• Gender differences
• Videoconferencing
• eTwinning
• Digital Voice Recorders
• One Stop Animation
• PowerPoint
• Interactive Whiteboards and Voting Systems
• Blogging and Podcasting
• Assessment for Learning
• New KS3 curriculum
• Web 2.0 tools
• vodcasting
• eCreativity

Having had the privilege of speaking last year on Primary Languages and eTwinning, I've been asked again - must have done something right ;o) - and this year I'll be co-presenting with Jo Rhys-Jones. It promises to be a highly entertaining session as we always end up in fits of giggles when we meet up, and I'm sure plenty of that fun will be manifest in the session.

So, watch out for the delegates pack that Joe will soon be launching, and take the opportunity as term nears a close (in England - I know Scotland has already broken up) to put in your PD request whilst there's still money in the budget, and while everyone else is just hanging out for the holidays!!

Check out Joe's blog for more information and for reports on last year too here and here. See also here, here, here and here. And not forgetting here! And for my response, read Trains Ferries Buses and Ford Anglias. (note to self - go via Southampton not Lymington this year!)

Posted by lisibo at 19:22 1 comments    

Labels: Adam Sutcliffe, Chris_Fuller, ICT, IoWConference, Jo Rhys-Jones, Joe Dale, languages, Mark Pentleton, PD, Sharon Tonner

I've been posting powerpoints to Slideshare for a while, first pointed in that direction by Chris Fuller (I think) in the days when he was just a name to me, not the fun person I now know! I knew that it was possible to make a Slidecast, combining audio and presentation but hadn't made one ....
until yesterday!

I recorded the London ALL Show and Tell at Language World on my iRiver - and so did Joe Dale. I just fancied hearing what other people said - as well as checking out how I sound recorded (very odd is the answer, and not at all as I hear myself!) After the event, Joe mentioned in a Skype chat that he had edited his version of the audio and thought that I should make a Slidecast of it with the presentation I had prepared. As I had lost the lead for my iRiver, I said I'd do it when I found the offending item. (Still haven't found it but the lead from our camcorder works - in case anyone else has the same problem)

This week, I received a message from Joe saying that he'd send me the audio so I could do my Slidecast. As it's necessary to have the audio file saved online somewhere, and Blogger doesn't have that facility, Joe kindly hosted it on his blog and I set about my challenge!

Basically, you upload your presentation to Slideshare - already done!
You click on 'make Slidecast' and enter the URL of the audio.
The audio track then appears under the Slideshow and you can decide how you want to synch the slides with the audio - equally spaced or, as in my case, to coincide with when I turned the page to the next slide.
Then you save it and there you have it - a Slidecast.

I found out that I had stretched my 7 minutes to over 10, ( sorry Nick!) that I spent a long time on the first few slides and not very long at all on the later ones as I ran out of time, that i talk very fast, and that my ears don't hear what everyone else hears.

I also discovered that making a Slidecast is easy peasy lemon squeezy - and I'll be doing it again in the near future.

Here it is - it features the lovely aforementioned Mr Fuller singing!!

PS just noticed that it's already been viewed 51 times - that's pretty impressive. Let's hope all those who watched it have gained something and will put even one of the ideas into practice.

Posted by lisibo at 18:22 3 comments    

Labels: ALL, Chris_Fuller, ideas, Joe Dale, Language World 2008, primary languages, Slidecast

It's a week since Language World and I have sat down each day intending to blog about it, but everytime I've had to do something else first and the post hasn't materialised. It's not that I haven't got anything to say, it's more that there was so much to assimilate that it's not something I could do in five minutes! Anyway - here are my impressions.


Kathy Wickstead shared thoughts on the new KS3 curriculum - things that stood out for me were Sir Christopher Maynard's comment that 'it's inviting teachers to be bold' and also Kathy's parting comment - 'we're being offered an opportunity with this new curriculum - can we afford NOT to take it?' Check out www.all.nsc.org.uk for all you need to know about the new secondary curriculum for languages - worth it for primary language teachers too so as to understand 'what happens next'. On the same (ish) subject, Mick Waters spoke really clearly and sensibly about the new curriculum and the 'big picture'. He seems so passionate and completely committed to the vision of a modern world class curriculum that it's not hard to catch his vision.

Ewan McIntosh once more challenged and inspired me with his ideas on using technology in language teaching. This time, Thinking out of the XBox suggested ways in which gaming might be used to inspire and encourage creativity in the language classroom. My son was particularly looking forward to me attending this seminar as I bought a Nintendo DS last year following Ewan's seminar at Language world and he was hoping for a similar result this year, possibly a Wii? Alas for 9 year old, no such recommendation, but he is awaiting the arrival of Myst and Nintendogs from Amazon, and has had a good nose at Samorost (he's become my chief researcher ;o) Using clips from Youtube and Tim Rylands' website, Ewan made a great case for being innovative and creative, tapping into what pupils are familiar with and enjoy with the purpose of achieving a greater variety and richness of learning experience and outcome. Check out his blog for his notes - and much more to make you think!

Wendy Adeniji as always shared some brilliant ideas and resources for making the language classroom interactive and fun, specifically based on Rhymes songs and sounds to teach phonics.
Wendy showed how simple rhymes can be learned off by heart and recited, and links made with other vocabulary that contains specific phonemes. I always look forward to wnedy's seminars as her ideas are easy to implement and very practical.
She recommended a number of artists' music; for French, Ilona Mitrecy and Henri Des as well as the adorable Pigloo! For Spanish she suggested José Luis Orozco and for German, Detlef Jöcker and Rolf Zuckowski.


Bev Whiteside, Development coordinator for Languages and Sport from the Youth Sports Trust presented on making links between sports and language. A language teacher before joining the YST, Bev talked about the obvious attractions and benefits of sport and the potential links that could be made in terms of skills, values, pedagogy and context. She presented some brief case studies to demonstrate each point, ranging from teaching handball through Spanish, the Young Language Leaders award, creating a fitness DVD in French prior to a skiing trip and a subtitled video giving information about healthy eating and sporting facilities. You can read about some of Bev's work in a book published by YST.

Day 2 brought Steven Fawkes' Language Learners being creative with language, including sign language, Russian numbers with actions ( I tried it out on a Russian pupil I teach and she was impressed!) and things to do with a pear! Learned lots and had a good giggle too -the mysterious disappearance of Steven's trousers last year featured large too - perhaps they're the same place as my hairbrush that disappeared in Oxford?? There's a chorister somewhere with very well groomed hair ;o)

I was also pleased to hear an update on the videoconferencing project at Tile Hill Wood in Coventry where Ana Neofitou delivers language lessons to local primaries via a videolink. I attended a session last year introducing the project which seems a very effective way of building capacity in primary languages as the class teacher facilitates within the classroom and works closely with Ana and her colleagues on what is delivered, and how it can be followed up during the time between lessons.

And then the ALL London Show and Tell session - I shared the 'stage' with Stephane Derone (authentic resources), Nick Mair (learning styles and gender differences), Monna Brown (motivation) and Helen Myers (using song) - all members of ALL London so I was a bit of an interloper! I delivered my Top ten tips for Primary Languages in a little over my alloted 7 minutes I think (sorry -I talked as fast as I could!) You can download the presentation below (if the songs links don't work, let me know!) And when I find the lead for my iRiver, I'll make a Slidecast!



But of course, there is more to Language World than the seminars! I love conferences for the 'formal' learning but, as anyone who has met me will testify, I love to talk. And talk I did - incessantly! I met old friends like Joe Dale, Lesley Welsh, Ewan McIntosh, Chris Fuller and Rachel Hawkes, made new ones like Nick Brown and José Picardo and generally talked to anyone who'd listen! Much fun was had at the wine tasting - I think I hold the record for the most Heinneman coffee mugs acquired in half an hour (not all for me!) followed by a quick visit to the pub before the wine reception and dinner. This was followed by bellydancing - no photos have yet appeared (thank goodness!) but I hear we were a sight to behold! Bed was finally reached in the early hours - I just didn't want to miss a moment of the fun!

Last year I went to Language World wanting to find new ideas - and I was inspired as I told Joe Dale when he VoxPop-ed me! This year I went with the same purpose, but I reflected as I arrived just how far I'd come in a year. Last year I had just learned how to write articles on our school website. I've now got a blog, spoken at a number of conferences, attended eTwinning conferences as an ambassador, am becoming ever more techno-savvy and am employing all kinds of new ideas in my teaching! The pupils at school associate language learning with using technology, with doing new and exciting things, and with having fun. And several people came up to me and said how much they'd enjoyed reading my blog or hearing me speak, and how helpful the ideas I'd shared had been - that made me want to sing and dance!

Here are my pictures - started off well but got distracted by talking (surprise surprise!) so you can find more here, listen to VoxPops and read what Joe and José and others had to say about LW2008.

Roll on 2009!

Posted by lisibo at 17:04 4 comments    

Labels: ALL, Chris_Fuller, creative curriculum, Joe Dale, Jose Picardo, Language World 2008, languages, Nick Brown, primary languages, Rachel Hawkes, secondary languages, Steven Fawkes

This session was resented by the very entertaining Nigel Pearson, one of the Primary Language Advisor at CILT and Katja Neubauer, Junior Director of the European Initiative at the Kings School in Rochester.

Beginning by acknowledging that unfortunately England aren’t in Euro08, Nigel and Katya suggested ways in which the event could be exploited and celebrated. Here are some of their suggestions –

Use it as an exercise in ICU:

• Look at the logo – colour, shapes used, design
• There are 16 countries taking part from across Europe – what language(s) is /are spoken by each on? Where are they in Europe? (compass points)
• Flags – kids could make them, wave them and chant the names of the countries whilst you bang rhythm on a tambourine.
• Mark countries on am map
• Have a table of progress to be filled in throughut the tournament.
• Trix und Flix are the mascots (descriptions / design your own) – it takes place in Austria and Switzerland from 7^th June -29^th June (dates – how long is it? What day of the week does it start on? Etc) Cities are Innsbruck, Salzburg, Wien, Kalgenfurt, Geneve, Zurich, Bern Basel (country and location)
• Web searches for information about host towns

Nigel and Katya then introduced us to some vocabulary to do with fitness and football such as run, jog, head (the ball), jump etc with actions and a range of games to practice and reinforce -

What’s missing? ¿Qué falta?

Hot or cold ¿Frío o caliente?

Corners - like NSEW

Flashreading – flash the card very fast - ¿qué es?

Echo the word – using different voices

Throwing words – using a ball, throw it at a word – class read word it hits or teacher says the word and pupils throw it at the correct word. (headers whilst counting in TL)

What’s on the card? ¿Qué hay en la tarjeta? Using sí and no, can also be done with drawing part of a gallows to add to the competition, and could also be developed fromsingle word responses into sentences e.g. Un estadio; Es un estadio; pienso que es un estadio.

Memory game – numbers on front of card, guess the word behind it – practices number and vocabulary too. Kids (and us adults playing today!) are fiercely competitive!!

Number football – headers that you count – can always mime! Or a penalty shootout. And why not some Klinsmann dives!

Further football linked activities included –

Describe a player - uses personal identification questions and answers

Footballers are heroes for many of our pupils so why not let the kids research and use ICT for presentation of their favourite (foreign) player?.

Design shorts / strip for football – can add other equipment for football. Add extra information to reuse vocabulary in different contexts eg colours used for school uniform, favourite colours, eyes etc

Blow football – shout appropriate cheers like animo, venga, gol etc

Songs - Katya and Nigel presented a song in German about football to the tune of Frere Jacques– I’ve quickly translated into Spanish:

Juego al fútbol, juego al fútbol

Es genial, es genial

Muchos muchos goles

Muchos muchos goles

Uno a cero.

Uno a cero.

You can modify the lastline to add more scores, add countries etc

España cuatro, Francia tres or

España gana, Alemania pierde - I think you might be able to guess who I'm supporting :o)

Nigel also shared a French song from the World Cup. I quickly opened Audacity on my laptop and recorded it -it's in My Box of Goodies on the right! :o) (Thanks to Nigel who kindly said that was OK!)

Football sans frontières

Ça c’est super.

Brésil et Bulgarie

Pays Bas et Italie

Belgique et Tunisie

(Nigel kindly told us when to go up and down using his hand 'stepping' - that's the 'hand thing' referred to for those who wondered!)


The session concluded with a couple of websites that might be helpful - there will no doubt be more nearer the time, and I'll post any that I find.

www.uefa.com

www.flags.net

As I've blogged before, Euro 08 is already in focus at my school through Chris Fuller's Euro08 project which joins schools across the country as we find out about our allocated participating country prior to meeting up in June for a tournament of our own. Already in training - Jo Rhys-Jones looks rather nippy and Chris Fuller climbs - and that's just the teachers :-o
There's room for more schools to be involved - let Chris know if you're interested!

Posted by lisibo at 17:16 0 comments    

Labels: Chris_Fuller, Euro08, football, Jo Rhys-Jones, Nigel_Pearson, primary languages, Primary_language_show