TECH
The latest in language learning technology
watch
TIPS FROMEducators
This issue’s tip comes from Deana
Zorko, Spanish Teacher at Madison
West High School in Wisconsin.
What new technology tool do
you recommend—and how do
you use it in your classroom?
W
hen we think of 21st Century Skills,
we should keep in mind that the
technologies we choose should be accompanied by solid pedagogy and thematic
units to guide us. There are some great
tech tools to use in the world of art.
How about giving Thinglink (www.
thinglink.com) a try? This application has
an app for mobile devices and also works
well from the web. It allows for annotation of an image. Take, for example, this
Thinglink of “Guernica: el cuadro” (tinyurl.
com/guernica-thinglink), where the instructor has added trigger points with questions that help focus students on particular
aspects of this famous painting. Completing
this task enables students to participate in
a more in-depth interpretive “close reading”
of the painting. The task can also be interpretive listening depending on the possible
videos embedded or linked.
After having students answer the
questions in a Google Doc, a whole class
group discussion can take place to share
differing opinions about what was seen
or “closely read” by the students. Using
a gradual release-of-responsibility apThe Language Educator
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Oct/Nov 2016
proach, the teacher can provide them
with a variety of other paintings where
each group of students creates their
own Thinglink with questions and/or
activities that help to analyze that additional work of art (presentational and/or
interpersonal modes).
After students trade Thinglinks and
complete one another’s questions/
activities, each student can take on
another painting of his or her own, but
this time they can add descriptions,
videos, and URLs to demonstrate what
they understand about this final work
of art. Consider using this final activity
as a presentational performance assessment where students use skills, functions,
vocabulary, and more to demonstrate what
they can do in the world of analyzing and
appreciating art. Think of all of the exposure to various artists and their works of
art students will get during this process!
Thinglinks can be shared with other
classes, parents, administrators, and so
on, to broaden the viewing audience. In
the process, students will be collaborating, communicating, and developing their
critical-thinking and problem-solving
skills. Thinglink has a great teacher
feature that puts all of your students
together in your account for easy sharing.
You are also able to modify other public
Thinglinks to make them useful to you
and your students.
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WEBSITES
to Watch
Languagenut
www.languagenut.com/us
Languagenut is a subscription-based language support tool which
helps create interactive and engaging lessons. The tool is designed
to use with students aged 5–14 years. A downloadable app is
available for Windows, Android, and Apple devices, and it can also
be accessed from desktop or laptop computers.
Language learning support is available for 22 world languages
including French, German, Spanish, Mandarin, and Japanese, and
it offers progressive learning that covers a basic beginning list
of 1,400 words, phrases, and verbs for each new language. The
website also offers free printable worksheets that cover topics such
as family, numbers, and animals.
Some other features of Languagenut include:
• Automatic reports to track class and student progress
• Interactive and customizable exercises and tests
• Songs and eBooks to consolidate the vocabulary
• 156 different topics
• Available to use on interactive whiteboards, tablets, and
computers
• Free training and tech support
FluentU Blog
www.fluentu.com/educator/blog
FluentU is an online language learning immersion system that
offers a database of translated and subtitled YouTube videos in a
number of languages. The site couples these videos with an intelligent learning system that allows students to more effectively learn
the video content.
The website also offers a range of blogs aimed at both students
and educators. The Language Educators blog offers activities and
other ideas for language teachers to use in their classrooms, including entries such as “4 Handy Types of Assessment in Language
Teaching That Stray from Tradition”; and “10 Flexible Language
Teaching Approaches That Are Totally Approachable.”
ePals
www.epals.com/#/connections
ePals pairs educators and students around the world in projectbased learning for language learning practice and cultural
exchange. A project of education publisher Cricket Media, the
website allows you to filter available educator connections based
on country, student age, language(s) spoken, average class size,
subjects, and more.
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Diigo
www.diigo.com
Diigo (an acronym for “Digest of Internet Information, Groups and
Other stuff”) is an online bookmarking, annotation and information aggregation site that allows users to collect, store, and
organize information they want to save and use from around the
Internet. An affordable subscription-based service with several
tiers of service—including a free option for teachers—some of the
features available through Diigo include:
• The ability to save and tag your online resources for easy
access anytime, anywhere
• Annotation features that let you highlight and annotate web
pages and PDFs directly online
• Tagging features so you can organize the items that you save
to your Diigo personal library
• Sharing features so you can share items in your library with
students and colleagues.
Educaplay
en.educaplay.com/
Educaplay is a free online resource developed by Spanish company
ADR Formacion to create interactive multimedia educational activities. Using HTML 5 language, you can use the site to create and
share activities to any device. You can access existing activities or
create your own. You can also create groups to manage your created
activities, and export activities into other learning management
systems that are compatible with SCORM e-learning standards.
Access the activities in the target language and avoid matching
just by translating to English; for example, find activities to match
synonyms or antonyms going target language to target language.
The Educaplay site is available in English, French, and Spanish,
and current Educaplay activities are available in 15 languages.
Teaching Ideas
www.teachingideas.co.uk/subjects/languages
Teaching Ideas is a UK-based website that serves as a repository
for ideas on classroom activities, lessons, educational games, and
more. The site is organized by subject and has a large section that
includes ideas related to teaching a foreign language or learning
about the culture of other countries.
Examples of materials available include a PowerPoint presentation to help teach students how to describe their hobbies in
German; Spanish–English flashcards; a vocabulary-based game
idea for the classroom; and reading comprehension activities for
students learning Spanish. Each idea entry indicates the intended
student age range, as well as whether it is a presentation, downloadable worksheet, idea, and so on.
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WHAT’S THAT APP?
LISTEN UP!
Language-Related Podcasts
The Creative Language Learning Podcast
fluentlanguage.co.uk/podcast
This podcast, hosted by Kerstin Hammes, a German language
tutor and founder of Fluent Language, offers regular language
news, tips of the week, and inspiring discussions with guests.
You can listen to the show from its website, or access it via
RSS feed, iTunes, or Stitcher.
YesJapan!
tinyurl.com/yesjapan/itunes
The YesJapan! podcast series is the brainchild of George
Trombley, author of the Japanese From Zero! series. The
video-based series, aimed at upper beginner to intermediate learners, provides bite-sized bits of grammar, vocabulary,
and culture.
These and other web resources can
be accessed through the Publications
area on the ACTFL website at
www.actfl.org/publications/all/
the-language-educator/tech-watch
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Aurasma AR App
aurasma.zendesk.com/hc/en-us
Interested in exploring ways to
bring augmented reality (AR)
into your classroom or student activities? AR
heavy hitter Aurasma, a project of the Hewlett
Packard Development Company, offers an app
to allow you to do just that. A recommended
app in Apple’s Education Program, Aurasma is
designed to make it easy for anyone to create
an AR experience using their user-friendly,
drag-and-drop web studio. The app can be
downloaded from iTunes or Google Play, and
Aurasma’s website has a helpful Getting Started
guide to help new users master the app’s
features.
imiwa?
www.imiwaapp.com
imiwa? is a multilingual Japanese dictionary for iPhone and
iPod touch devices. You can search using kanji,
kana, or romaji. Words are accompanied by
example sentences so users can see how new
vocabulary is used in conversation. You can
also tap a word and hear how it’s pronounced.
Other features include verb conjugation charts,
notebooks to keep track of your favorite words,
JLTP vocabulary lists, and more.
One of imiwa?’s most useful features is its
kanji feature. You can search for a kanji character simply by drawing the character directly on
the screen. imiwa? also provides helpful guides
that allow you to look up kanji by its radicals
or strokes. Once you have located the character
you are looking for, imiwa? will show you how
many strokes the character consists of, and let
you practice writing the character as well.
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