Hi everyone, we are Anna Molina and Edurne Lafuente. We want to share with you our project about Skype.
Enjoy!! :)
USING SKYPE IN CLASS
CONTEXT:
A new
student has arrived at school, in order to embrace him in the new environment,
the teacher will contact with the old school (India) of this student. To make
children aware of similarities and differences of people lives living in
different countries.
AGE GROUP: 5th
grade of primary
LEARNING
OBJECTIVES:
- - To
use in context the comparatives and superlatives.
- - To
learn new vocabulary from the target language.
- - To
respect other cultures.
PRETASK:
In order
students learn some things about the old school (India) of the new boy, they will prepare a little interview about
it. They would ask the students from the
Indian school, through the Skype, topics like:
-Weather
-Cultural
monuments
-Educational
system (Routines, Languages that they learn at the school)
-Traditional
food
-Festivities
The teacher will help the students to formulate all these questions with the proper
structure.
TASK:
This will be completely a speaking activity.
First of all, the group class will be divided into groups of 4, each group will
have a role (Reporters, Cameras, Writers (Relevant Points), Explainers (They will
explain to the Indian school the traditions and educative system they have at
Barcelona, using as a support pictures & Videos (Ipad))
Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw
(2011) Same, same but different
POST- TASK:
In this activity, students will have to review the
interview with the Indian school, recorded by the students, as well as their notes,
and they will have to create a display (see Picture 1) comparing the two cities
(India and Barcelona). To close the activity the teacher will read a storybook:
Same, same but different[1].
Finally, after reading the book, they will have a little debate to be conscious
of the differences and similarities of all different cultures around the world.
[1]Elliot lives in America, and Kailash lives in India. They are pen pals.
By exchanging letters and pictures, they learn that they both love to climb
trees, have pets, and go to school. Their worlds might look different, but they
are actually similar. Same, same. But different!
We are Edurne Lafuente, Joan Domènech and Marta Jaumot. We are going to present our activities related to Romanization, using IWB. First of all, we would like to want to share with you our thoughts on using the Smart Notebook application, which we consider to be an easy and useful way to empower teachers as well as to encourage student engagement. We really hope that you are able to learn while having fun using the following activities!
During this term in the ICT classes
we have learnt a lot of resources and different programs and apps that can be
really interesting for the English classroom. One of the programmes that I
enjoyed the most in the masters’ is Pixton.
What is Pixton?
It is a website that allows you to
create beautiful comics in just a few minutes. You can something simple or
really elaborated. People can use it to:
- Write a book
report or other school project in the style of a graphic novel
- Explain a concept
or idea in a concise format
- Tell a story
with words and pictures
- Depict nuanced
emotions with customizable characters
- Make a joke as
a comic strip or cartoon
- Storyboard a
movie script
Key features:
- Fully possible,
expressive characters
- Searchable prop
library with 2,000+ objects
- Preset
backgrounds grouped by theme
- Stylable text,
captions, and speech bubbles
- Flexible
layouts with variable panel width and height
Here you have a video that explains
how to use it.
Activity:
I found this website so interesting that I have used it in 5th grade with a science project. The project consists in create a comic explaining the Prehistory and the Roman Times. In the first two sessions the students in groups have to search information about Prehistory or Roman times, depending on the group. Once they have the information they have to summarize it in order to use it for the creation of a comic. In the third and forth session they learn to use the Pixton with laptops and they start doing a brainstorming for the comic: What to write (content), the number of characters, the background they want to use, among others. During the fifth and sixth session they create the comic and finally in the seventh session they present it to the class.
As I was using it I discovered some advantages and disadvantages. For example, that it is only free during a short period of time. Besides, with this trial period, you cannot print or download the comic. If you need to use it more you can create an account for the school or pay for it. I decided to create a school account and I have discovered the following advantages:
Control the comics the students are creating. They can’t
publish them without permission.
Add comments to my students’ comics so they can make
improvements.
Print and download the comics.
Unlimited time using Pixton
The school can create 50 different accounts for the
students.
The student and the teacher can grade the comic.
In the following
PDF that I have created you can see step by step how to use it and the
classroom options when you have a school account. Finally in the
following picture you can see an example of a Pixton comic created by some
students.
-
Target
audience: Second Key stage
-Placement
in curriculum: ICT, Science and English
-Aims:
·Session
1 and 2:
Understand
the importance of the historical facts during Prehistory and Roman times.
Analyse
and summarize information while connecting ideas.
·Session
3 and 4:
Understand
how Pixton works
Use
the program exploiting its possibilities
·Session
5 and 6:
Create
a comic using the summarize content with Pixton
·Session 7: Present the comic in front
of the class acting out. Evaluate their own comic and the others.
General aims: Work collaboratively and speak in English.
-Strategies
and competences involved
Language and audiovisual communicative competence
Information processing and digital competence
Autonomy and personal initiative competence
Knowledge of and interaction with the physical world
-Content:
Using ICT to research information on tour performing specific tasks.
Oral individual or group exposition of subjects studied and using all media available visual tics and informatics.
Understanding work instructions and performance in the classroom.
Understand global and specific types of texts and diverse content in different media and formats and extraction of information for performing a specific task or as reinforcement / expansion of knowledge
English skills:
Reading:
During the first sessions
the students have to read a lot of information in order to summarize it.
Speaking:
During all the sessions
the students have to speak in English among them and with the teacher. Furthermore,
the last session they have to present the comic in front of the class.
Writing:
While summarizing the
information and creating the comic they have to write.
Listening:
During all the sessions
the students have to listen to the teacher instructions, to each other for
the creation of the information and the comic and finally pay attention to
the presentations.
Bloom’s Digital
Taxonomy: This activity offers an opportunity to enhance both lower- and
higher-order thinking skills.
Lower order thinking
skills.
·Level II. Understand (explain ideas or concepts): Understand the
importance of the historical facts during Prehistory and Roman times.
Understand how to use Pixton.
•Level III. Applying (using
the knowledge in a variety of ways): Implement the ICT knowledge using Pixton.
Higher order
thinking skills.
·Level IV: Analyse (draw
connections among ideas): Analyse and summarize the Prehistory
and Roman information while connecting ideas.
·Level V: Evaluate (justify a stand or
decision): Evaluate their own comics and the other groups.
·Level VI: Creating (create new products or points of view). The activity
gives the students the opportunity to create a comic with Pixton.
Added value
through ICT – In my opinion
this resource is appropriate to use it in the classroom and for example, in
this project, because it is very complete and at the same time intuitive. It
provides agility because students don’t have to spend time creating the comic
if you don’t want because the website provides backgrounds, characters and
accessories divided in topics. I believe
that ICT contributes to the activity because it is more motivational and
challenging. It facilitates scaffolding because the students have the parts of
the comic created.
Trouble-shooting
– As I explained
before if you don’t pay for the account you have a short period of time to work
with it, so I recommend creating a school account. Another problem is that
sometimes in the schools Internet doesn’t work properly and you waste a lot of
time waiting for the page to charge completely. Maybe some students need extra
help with the site, so we could teach one person of the group and create
“Expertics”.
Assessment – As I explained before Pixton includes an
Assessment grid and has the possibility to write comments. The teacher have to
take into account the process and the final result, taking into consideration
if the students speak in English all the time, is the apply the suggestions of
the teacher in the comments, if they work collaboratively, if they make grammar
mistakes and the technology skills and problem solving. Finally, during the presentation the teacher will be using the following rubric:
I’m Marta. In this post I would like to share with you a useful educational tool, called ShowMe, that allow users to record their voice as well as write text, draw or add some pictures or videos in order to explain some content. This app is available in Ipad and can be used by anybody who want to, no matter the age. ShowMe Interactive Whiteboard is an easy and effective tool for step-by-step audiovisual presenting and sharing. The visual/auditory combination of a ShowMe is engaging to watch as well as create. This app is also useful to help children organize the information in a sensible order as well as develop good presentation skills in a collaborative context. In addition, children can share their projects with the educational community and take advantage of other user’s explanations.
How to use ShowMe? Here you have a presentation that explains it in detail.
Import pictures from your photo library, built-in camera, or web image search
Import documents as pictures from dropbox, or google drive
Create video from any document
Unlimited lesson length
Free to upload and share your recordings with friends
Easy embedding for sharing anywhere
Manage students with groups
ACTIVITY
Target audience: 5th grade
Placement in curriculum: Science (CLIL)
School course: Second semester
Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy:This activity offers an opportunity to enhance both lower- and higher-order thinking skills.
Lower order thinking skills.
Level III: Applying (using the knowledge in a variety of ways): This activity provides an opportunity to apply, use and practice the content vocabulary in meaningful context: a short speech (presentation)
Higher order thinking skills.
Level VI: Creating (create new products or points of view). The activity gives the students the opportunity to create a piece of oral presentation about how the respiratory system works.
Aims:
To be able to use ShowMe app.
To be able to identify and summarize the main contents related to the respiratory system.
To be able to work in cooperative groups.
Competences involved:
Linguistic and audio-visual: because pupils have to create a presentation while drawing and explaining different concepts. In this case, drawings are useful to improve the comprehension.
Information handling and digital competence: in order to do the task, they have to interact and know the app to use it.
Autonomy, initiative and decision taking: because they are creating a tool that enables their classmates to watch a video-presentation done by themselves. If they are able to do it properly, it means children have understood the concept and are able to explain something in their own words.
Social and civic: because children have to work in pairs and listen to their partner’s suggestion. This is not about one child doing everything but it involves reaching an agreement about what they want to show.
Knowledge and interaction with the world: this activity will be about the respiratory system and how it works so the majority of the concepts go around scientific
Grouping: This activity will be carried out in pairs (explained in the procedure).
Procedure of the activity:
First of all, I will explain to students how ShowMe app works and the elements they can find in the toolbar.
In pairs, students will summarize and present, by using ShowMe, the main contents related to the respiratory system through a recording of about one minute. Each pair will be in charge of a different topic (parts of the circulatory system, how it works, common diseases, healthy habits to take care of it, curiosities, etc.).
First, both students of the pair will identify and write in a draft the information that they want to share through the presentation. When they finish, the teacher will check their rough draft and will give them a feedback (weaknesses and improvements).
Then, they will record the presentation, including the advices from the teacher. Each member of the pair will be responsible for recording one part of the presentation.
Finally, each pair will present their presentation to their other groups of the class, so they will review the circulatory system contents.
An example of recording could be the following:
Materials required
Ipads (one per pair).
Paper and pen if they want to do a draft before recording the presentation.
Class management
Following the tips that I have learnt in the ICT lessons, I would ask students to set Ipad aside when they didn’t need them to avoid classroom management problems. When I am giving them the instructions of the activity, I would say “Ipads facing at me”, so I could make sure that they pay attention to what I am saying and don’t get distracted. Moreover, I would assign some students to be Experts TIC, responsibles for giving support to me or to their classmates if in case we need some help.
When they are doing the recording in pairs, the teacher will walk around the classroom, checking that students are doing the task proposed and observing their needs in order to help them whenever it is necessary. We believe that it is always important for the teacher to have used the app before and have tried to create a game to foresee the problems that can arise.
In case that students would need a quiet atmosphere to record their presentation, they will have the opportunity to go to another classroom just to record it and then come back to the main classroom.
Added value through ICT
Visual support, engaging tool.
It involves a challenge (summarizing contents, identifying the key ideas, cooperating,…)
ShowMe it’s ideal for reviewing content, assessing children and make them connect all the topics learnt through the unit in a more motivational way (not only making them memorise it and write it down.)
Develop digital competence as well as linguistic and audiovisual.
The recordings can be shared with each other and they can open it in any device.
The recordings remain always kept and available to review, use or edit them.
Trouble-shooting
One possible problem could be that, perhaps, student’s speech in the video is not clear or understandable enough. For that, I will let it clear beforehand that they have to speak loud and pronunciation.
Another problem foreseen could be that students spend too much time recording their presentation, doing and redoing it again and again. To avoid that, I will limit the time that they can spend making the presentation (30 minutes maxim).
4 skills involved
Reading: Children will be able to read some keywords that will appear in the presentation.
Listening: Children need to listen actively the presentations made by their classmates.
Writing: Children will write and draw the main contents to support their speech.
Speaking: Children need to explain the key concepts fluently and taking into account the pronunciation.
Assessment:
The teacher will assess if the aims of the activity are fulfilled taking into account the following assessment criteria:
