Useful Multimedia Tools for Language Learning in the Classroom

5^th Week 11.12.2020

Useful Multimedia Tools for Language Learning in the Classroom

Bună Learnivores! I hope you are alright and healthy. I'm so busy but also excited and hopeful about the new year :) I am sure that no one would say 2020 was the best but I think it taught a lot and gave everyone a chance to listen and reflect on themselves. SO, let's get down to business!

This week before the Zoom sessions, we reflected on some video interviews with David Crystal, individually. The main idea of the interviews was not new for us, they were sort of a follow-up for the topics we discussed earlier such as native-speakerism, dialects and accents, pedagogical implications of World Englishes, and challenges. Although I thought that the activities kind of repeating themselves, then I realized I haven't thought that deeply about what should change in the classroom. Also after watching the video 'The Myth of the Native Speaker' I learned that the native speaker doesn't even exist in England :). What should be done in the classroom is another topic. Whether the teacher should teach a specific accent or dialect OR s/he should take British English and RP as a standard OR neither? Does the standard English provides a safe zone and prevent chaos? Well, I am still not fully sure about the answers but we will write about them this week. So, I will share my research and thoughts about it next week. But still, I can definitely say the videos changed my mind and made me think more critically on the issue. 

What about the Zoom sessions? We formed our groups two weeks ago for discussing the website and not leaving it for the last minute :) but this week we presented some useful tools as groups. Before every group presented their tools, our instructor introduced six different tools to use in the classroom, and the best part, we discussed how can we make use of them specifically;

• Edpuzzle: We were kind of familiar with the website because our instructor assigned some videos on it during the project. It is a tool that allows you to create a quiz on videos. The questions pop up anytime you like on the video and you can set them as assignments, see the students' answers, and evaluate them. So the website makes it very practical to track your students. It also allows you to synchronize your students on Google Classroom. The very first ideas that come to my mind were, it would make great listening and -if you provide the subtitles- reading comprehension activity for the students.

• Animoto: The website allows you to create short videos easily. It doesn't allow many choices for personalization (this made me choose Renderforest over Animoto) but it is very practical to use. This is the reason why I thought it would be useful when you want your students to prepare videos or create some materials themselves. Instead of boring PowerPoint presentations, it would boost students' creativity and motivation. 

• Renderforest: This one is also for creating videos but more detailed than Animoto. Our instructor showed us a video made on Renderforest. It is effective for presentations. I will definitely use it in my classroom.

• Thinglink: This tool basically helps you create interactive content. It can be pictures, video, 360 media, etc. I highly recommend it for classroom use. The teacher can upload a reading text and pin it with a related picture or video. It would be useful for vocabulary presentation. It is also useful if you want your students to prepare their tasks on it. For example, for the structures of giving directions, they can put a map of their neighborhood, and pin some videos or photographs of some places around. Then they can give directions to their home, etc. It would be a good personalized and contextualized activity. 

• Tiki-Toki: This website is for creating timelines and the visual side is interesting. If you are teaching any topic related to history, you can also present it on this timeline. It allows you to add events, visuals, and after you click on them, you can see further information. I think it would be great when you teach tenses overall, or when you are talking about biographies. The students can create their own or someone whom they follow as famous people.

• Weebly: This tool is a free website builder. It has plenty of customizable content and seems practical to use for a beginner. It has templates and various tools for any purpose you would like to prepare for. We learned that we will also create our websites on this platform. I found it really cool at the first sight. The website could be portfolios of students or the classroom overall. 

After that our instructor presented these tools above, it was time for us to present each other. Our group started first and we learned five different tools to use in and outside the classroom;

• Voscreen: This has been my all-time favorite since my journey of learning English started. The website presents you with different sections of films, YouTube videos, and TV shows. Each section consists of a sentence or two, according to the level of the student, and asks you the definition of the speech in the desired language (including English). It is great for listening practice. I think it can also be used for synonyms, vocabulary teaching, and structure practice; because you can pick any structure you want to see in the video. You can also add your students to your observation lists, you can track their answers.

• Seesaw: It is an activity- builder. It is easy to assign activities for your students. You can upload links, pictures, documents, sounds, and drawings. You can also upload voice instruction. I think it is useful for young learners because it is both less complicated in the visual aspect and easy to clarify the instructions.

• Ispring Talkmaster: This is an amazing tool. I think it was the most interesting one of all. It allows you to simulate dialogues and add choices for that dialogue. You can of course add visuals and it just looks like a story-based game. I think it is a great tool for learning while having fun and very meaningful in the sense that, it is based on communication and social practice, very desirable for both teachers and the learners. Students of higher levels and age can also create their stories on the platform and share with their peers. 

• Venngage: This is really useful for creating pictures for use in activities or posters for the classroom. You can also use the templates themselves. They would make some interesting input. It works a bit like Canva but I found Venngage more useful. It is like a more organized version. 

• Quizlet: You can create flashcards and do the practice online. The pictures and pronunciations are provided by Quizlet, so it is practical and time-saving, it creates games out of sets of flashcards, and also you can do a live game competition. 

Overall, the session was very fruitful :) I learned a lot of tools I would further analyze and think about how to use them in different ways in a classroom. Love you, la reveredere!