During this course I have learnt a lot about different ICT-resources which can be used in teaching and learning English as a foreign language or other subjects as well. I have chosen to write about Photo Story, which is a free software programme that you can download to your computer. Basically, it is a programme that you can use to create your own presentations. It is fun and easy to use and it can be used by both teachers and pupils.
Photo Story
Photo Story is a free software programme created by Microsoft. You create your own presentations using pictures, text, music and your own voice. You can download Photo Story from:
www.microsoft.com/photostory
To be able to use the programme your computer needs the following requirements:
• Windows XP
• Microsoft Windows Media Player 10
The first step is to write an outline where you write down the purpose with the presentation and your ideas. Then you chose pictures suitable for your presentation, you can use our own pictures or download them from the Internet. After choosing and putting your pictures in the right order you can write a text. You can also decide if you want to use some effects on the pictures to make them the way you want them to show. After that you can made a recording using your voice. The final step is to create the music for the presentation. When you download pictures and music from the Internet you have to make sure that the ones you use have no copyright. Examples of websites where you can find pictures and music are:
www.flickr.com
www.multimedia.skolverket.se
www.fotofinnaren.se
How the resource can be used by teachers and pupils
Photo Story can be used by both teachers and pupils. As a teacher you can use it to start up an assignment or a theme. You can do your lesson notes in Photo Story instead of writing on the white board or using power point presentations. I believe it is easier to get my pupils to concentrate when I use digital presentations. I can also face them all through my lesson because I don not need to write on the white board.
Last year, my school had Nelson Mandela as a theme. I did a Photo Story presentation from our “theme week” and exhibition. I did it to show how the different groups had been working with their tasks and also to show the great results of their work.
As a pupil you can do your assignments in Photostory, such as telling the class about a country, a trip you made, a visit to a museum, your idol or your favorite animal. You can also make stories and poems.
Photo Story is easy to use with both younger and older pupils because you can do it on different levels. In the beginning some pupils find it difficult to hear their own voices, but after doing it for a while they get accustomed to it. I had Photo Story as “Elevens val” last year and the pupils loved it. They found it easy to use and they also got amazed when they saw each others projects.
Other considerations when using this resource
When using Photo Story you have to have access to a computer or several computers if you want your pupils to work with the programme. You also need a digital camera if you want to do some photographing. Otherwise you can download pictures of the Internet, do not forget about the copyright. When downloading pictures from the Internet click on the picture to make it bigger and then download it, if not it can get blurry. When showing your project you need to have a projector and speakers to be able to watch it on a screen.
You can create so many different and enjoyable projects using Photo Story, it does not take much but the end result is fantastic.
Wednesday 19 January 2011
Monday 10 January 2011
A website as an ICT tool!
I have chosen to write about the website http://www.towerofenglish.com/. The exercises on this site are based with the help of many other websites, so when you click on any of the headings a new window will appear. The only thing you need to make this website work is a computer with internet connection. You do not have to be a member to visit this site and there are no fees involved which are a good thing for the school.
One of the things I thought was so great about this page is that there are so many different exercises to choose from. There is for an example language exercises which usually involves either that the children should read about something, look at a video or play a game and later on do a follow-up activity regarding the things they just learned called “your turn”. This works as a kind of repetition for the children and hopefully they will learn more because of that. Below is an example on how the exercises are structured:
The history of ice-cream
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This was just an example and maybe ice cream is not the most important topic for children to learn about but I only wanted to show you how and exercise can look like. Many of the tasks are structured like this i.e. that the children first read or listen to a text or play a game. Later on they will get a suggestion on what to do next. In this case they have to show that they have understood the text they just have read by answering the questions.
On the left hand side on the website you will find all the exercises there are to choose from. The good thing about this is that they are sorted in different categories like animals, holidays, people, movies, food and poetry. So if you are working whit a theme whit your students this is a great opportunity to let them go online and find many fun and exciting task regarding that topic on their own.
There are also the more “classic” topics to choose from like, vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, writing, reading and listening. They all contain many different tasks regarding whatever you chose. Under the category writing there is for an example one task that asks you to write an online chain story. You can choose to write on whatever “level” you think suits you personally. This is a great opportunity for the teacher to step in a “guide” the students on the right path according to their ability so that they will get “the most out of it”.
As a teacher it is important to remember that this type of site do not suit all of your students needs and interests. I would recommend using this website with older students that have been learning English for a couple of years. Before the students click on the task they want to try out there often is some sort of text that explains what to do during the exercise. Without some level of prior knowledge of the English language I believe that it may be too difficult for the students to understand the task.
Sunday 9 January 2011
Photo Story as an ICT tool
There are a lot of different ICT tools that teachers and pupils can work with in school. I believe that it is important to think outside the box when you work as a teacher and try to find new ways of teaching. I am going to tell you about a fun and educational ICT tool for both teachers and pupils. This ICT tool is called Photo Story.
How Photo Story works
Photo Story is a software program from Microsoft. It is free to download for anyone; all you need is a computer. The program can be downloaded from www.microsoft.com. This program is used to make digital presentations. These presentations contain photos, text and music. You create your own Photo Story in different steps. You start by choose pictures you find suitable for your presentation, you can use your own pictures or download from the Internet. When downloading pictures it is very important to make sure that there is no copyright on the pictures you want to use. After choosing pictures you can write a text to the photos, you can also record this text later. Next step is to choose music, you can create your own or use music from the Internet. There are different websites where you can download both pictures and music without worrying about the copyright, for example www.fotofinnaren.se and www.multimediabyran.se. The final step before you are done with your Photo Story is to choose other effects, for example how long you want each picture to be shown. When your Photo Story is done you just have to save it. Your Photo Story can be played on a PC using Windows Media Player.
How teachers and pupils can use Photo Story
I believe that Photo Story gives a lot of great opportunities for both teachers and pupils. As a teacher you can use Photo Story as an introduction to a task or a wider theme. The teacher can adapt the Photo Story so it is suitable for all pupils and their levels. There are a lot of tasks and themes that can be introduced by a Photo Story, for example: the teacher can show a Photo Story about his/her family and then tell the pupils that they are going to write and tell about their own family or perhaps make their own Photo Story and show to their peers. The teachers Photo Story can be a beginning of a story that the pupils continue to write on. To give an introduction like this is creative and fun. The possibilities to use Photo Story in the classroom are unlimited. It is also important to remember that Photo Story can be used by teachers as well as pupils. This is an alternative and creative way for the pupils to do tasks and presentations. They create their own work in a meaningful way and they practice their oral skills, reading and writing skills and their listening skills. I think that a Photo Story is very creative and motivating to work with for both teachers and pupils.
How Photo Story works
Photo Story is a software program from Microsoft. It is free to download for anyone; all you need is a computer. The program can be downloaded from www.microsoft.com. This program is used to make digital presentations. These presentations contain photos, text and music. You create your own Photo Story in different steps. You start by choose pictures you find suitable for your presentation, you can use your own pictures or download from the Internet. When downloading pictures it is very important to make sure that there is no copyright on the pictures you want to use. After choosing pictures you can write a text to the photos, you can also record this text later. Next step is to choose music, you can create your own or use music from the Internet. There are different websites where you can download both pictures and music without worrying about the copyright, for example www.fotofinnaren.se and www.multimediabyran.se. The final step before you are done with your Photo Story is to choose other effects, for example how long you want each picture to be shown. When your Photo Story is done you just have to save it. Your Photo Story can be played on a PC using Windows Media Player.
How teachers and pupils can use Photo Story
I believe that Photo Story gives a lot of great opportunities for both teachers and pupils. As a teacher you can use Photo Story as an introduction to a task or a wider theme. The teacher can adapt the Photo Story so it is suitable for all pupils and their levels. There are a lot of tasks and themes that can be introduced by a Photo Story, for example: the teacher can show a Photo Story about his/her family and then tell the pupils that they are going to write and tell about their own family or perhaps make their own Photo Story and show to their peers. The teachers Photo Story can be a beginning of a story that the pupils continue to write on. To give an introduction like this is creative and fun. The possibilities to use Photo Story in the classroom are unlimited. It is also important to remember that Photo Story can be used by teachers as well as pupils. This is an alternative and creative way for the pupils to do tasks and presentations. They create their own work in a meaningful way and they practice their oral skills, reading and writing skills and their listening skills. I think that a Photo Story is very creative and motivating to work with for both teachers and pupils.
ICT resource - Photo Story
Photo Story is a free programme that can be used in various ways in the classroom. In the programme, pictures, music, text and your own voice can be used to do a presentation. Photo Story is a Microsoft programme and can be downloaded on www.microsoft.com to computers with Windows XP. To be able to use Photo Story you need to install Windows Media Player on your computer.
When creating a Photo Story you start by choosing suitable pictures. You can use your own pictures or download them from the Internet. You can then write text to the pictures and add background music. You can also record you own voice to talk about the pictures. When downloading pictures and music it is important to think about the copyright. www.fotofinnaren.se and www.mulitmediabyran.skolverket.se are websites where teachers and pupils can download pictures and music that are to be used for school activities only.
How Photo Story can be used in the classroom
Photo Story is a fun, creative and different way for both pupils and teachers to do a presentation in the classroom. Pupils can for example use Photo Story to do presentations about themselves, about their interests, about their idol or about a book they have read. Teachers can for example use Photo Story to introduce a new theme to their class or to present an assignment.
On my teacher training period I were in a sixth grade class. A year and a half ago, when they were in the fourth grade and had just started to learn English in school, they did a Photo Story in English about themselves. They brought pictures from home and wrote a short text to each picture. Then they recorded what they had written with their own voice. When I were with them this autumn they were going to do new Photo Stories about themselves and they were going to look at their development from fourth grade. They now used new pictures and this time they were going to speak without depending on a text. Then they looked at each other’s Photo Stories and compared them with the first ones they did. They evaluated their use of language and looked at for example pronunciation and vocabulary. This was a fun and instructive way to work with English and a good and encouraging way for the pupils to be aware of their development and their abilities.
The pupils in my class also used Photo Story in their math lessons. When they worked with angles in their math books they took pictures on different angles they found in their homes, in the schoolyard and in the wood. They then talked about the angles, what they were called and where you can find them.
Photo Story is a programme that can be used in many different ways in the classroom and it can be used in many different subjects. Working with photo story is fun, creative and constructive for both pupils and teachers.
Saturday 8 January 2011
National Geographic kids
I have chosen to describe the website National Geographic for kids, http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/ (2010). One can access the site without being a member and it is also possible to subscribe on their magazine for kids. The website contains many pictures and color and is also easy to manage, which Estling Vannestål (2010) says is motivating for the pupils. The website has different texts, videos, games and activities about animals, people, countries, science, history and fun facts. There is also a blog where one can register and share thoughts and experiences with others. One can thus read the thoughts of children around the entire world, but what is published on the blog is decided by the National Geographic kids’ staff.
How it can be used by pupils and teachers
This website has many opportunities for teaching, because it is directed to children and has different information about different topics. The language is though quite difficult and therefore the pupils should have studied English for a time and already have some vocabulary. Some things on the website can however be used with younger pupils, for instance pictures, videos and activities. For instance a picture of a lion can be used to tell a story about a lion, a video about a lion can be used to encourage an interest from the pupils for lions and experiments like how to balance an egg.
The older pupils, fourth too sixth grade, can use the website by themselves or in groups. Estling Vannestål (2010) mentions how important it is with group work, when the pupils can communicate and help each other in English. They can watch videos and read facts about animals, places and history. There are also quizzes to do to see how much they know about for instance about Maya culture, global warming and pirates. If the teacher wants the pupils to read the texts or watch the pictures and videos at the same time, there might be good if there is a possibility to connect the computer to the board. If this does not work, one can print out the facts by pressing “print this creature”.
The pupils can write their own texts about animals, places, people and history. They can read stories, which are like articles and make their own articles to make a newspaper. After reading the Blog they can write about an experience that also can be published in this newspaper or on a blog. The can write a fictional text about an animal or a place. One can even write a letter about why tigers should be protected and send in to the National Geographic, but the pupils parents need to sign that they are allowed to do this. There are also cartoon videos. The pupils can watch the beginning and continue the story themselves or in groups. They can discuss what they think will happen and after they can watch the video to actually see what happens.
There are activities like recipes, crafts and experiments that the teacher can use in theme-based learning. There are for instance recipes from different cultures and if the pupils are working with Asia the pupils can make Kaju Burfi, which is a sweet one eats to celebrate a festival. The teacher can thus combine the facts about Asia on the website with some of the activities on the site.
Other considerations
There are many games on the site and if the pupils visit the website by themselves during the lesson the teacher might make sure that the pupils do what they are supposed to do on the website. On the website one can also order the magazine and it is therefore important that the teacher make sure the pupils know this and that they do not order it by accident.
How it can be used by pupils and teachers
This website has many opportunities for teaching, because it is directed to children and has different information about different topics. The language is though quite difficult and therefore the pupils should have studied English for a time and already have some vocabulary. Some things on the website can however be used with younger pupils, for instance pictures, videos and activities. For instance a picture of a lion can be used to tell a story about a lion, a video about a lion can be used to encourage an interest from the pupils for lions and experiments like how to balance an egg.
The older pupils, fourth too sixth grade, can use the website by themselves or in groups. Estling Vannestål (2010) mentions how important it is with group work, when the pupils can communicate and help each other in English. They can watch videos and read facts about animals, places and history. There are also quizzes to do to see how much they know about for instance about Maya culture, global warming and pirates. If the teacher wants the pupils to read the texts or watch the pictures and videos at the same time, there might be good if there is a possibility to connect the computer to the board. If this does not work, one can print out the facts by pressing “print this creature”.
The pupils can write their own texts about animals, places, people and history. They can read stories, which are like articles and make their own articles to make a newspaper. After reading the Blog they can write about an experience that also can be published in this newspaper or on a blog. The can write a fictional text about an animal or a place. One can even write a letter about why tigers should be protected and send in to the National Geographic, but the pupils parents need to sign that they are allowed to do this. There are also cartoon videos. The pupils can watch the beginning and continue the story themselves or in groups. They can discuss what they think will happen and after they can watch the video to actually see what happens.
There are activities like recipes, crafts and experiments that the teacher can use in theme-based learning. There are for instance recipes from different cultures and if the pupils are working with Asia the pupils can make Kaju Burfi, which is a sweet one eats to celebrate a festival. The teacher can thus combine the facts about Asia on the website with some of the activities on the site.
Other considerations
There are many games on the site and if the pupils visit the website by themselves during the lesson the teacher might make sure that the pupils do what they are supposed to do on the website. On the website one can also order the magazine and it is therefore important that the teacher make sure the pupils know this and that they do not order it by accident.
Tuesday 4 January 2011
Open Office Presentation as an ICT tool
The resource is called Open Office and it contains several programs such as a presentation program, a text document program, a calculation program and a paint program. The resource is free and everybody is able to download it to their computer as long as they have an internet connection, therefore it is a valuable tool for schools to use.
I am going to explain some of the possibilities of the presentation program and how it can be used by teachers and pupils.
It is possible to write text, work with pictures, photos, music and different sounds. This program is useful for either an oral presentation where you use pictures and sounds as support or if you let the program work itself with you as the creator in the background.
When you start the program, different windows will show and ask you what sort of presentation you want to make. You could choose to work with an already made up template or create one on your own. You chose how many pages you want the presentation to contain and then you add the text, music and pictures you possibly want to use.
You could choose how long the pages should be shown or click on the screen when you want to turn to the next page. You could also choose whether you want the music to run through the whole presentation or stop when the first page ends. It is also possible to change music along the way if you want to express for example a certain feeling. There are special effects to add to the pictures as well.
The only thing you need, to make this program work, is a computer with an internet connection.
A presentation can be used over and over, and therefore it saves time and effort for teachers. It is also easy to rework so that it fits a special occasion. When working with the program you automatically think through the subject you are going to present and you adapt the information so that your pupils will understand. It is possible to print out the pages or forward it to pupils’ or parents’ email addresses. This could be useful in some situations. Teachers can help each other by sharing material, which is good if you have a limited time schedule or if you are just fresh out of ideas.
Many pupils find it very difficult to orally present something to a larger group of people. With a program like Open Office presentation it is possible to ease the situation. By using pre fabricated material the pupil making the presentation will feel more secure. The presentation will eliminate the need of papers and move the focus from the presenter to the presentation.
More senses will be stimulated when using picture, sound and text. The audience will get a greater experience and they will hopefully learn more.
It is easy to cut and paste in the program and it enables pupils to work individually and then put something together as a group. Working with the computer is stimulating for many pupils and the program offers a free mind combined with a structured order.
It is easy to get feedback from teachers during the process of learning since it is possible to forward the unfinished material by mail or posting it in a learning platform.
It is not certain that every family is able to buy expensive computer programs for their children to use in school purposes. Therefore it is good to know about free programs which everybody is able to download as long as they have a computer with an internet connection.
If Schools do not want to promote a certain company, Open Office is a good alternative. If you use for example Microsoft Office which is the equivalent to Open Office, Microsoft will benefit financially on you teaching your pupils the office suit.
I am going to explain some of the possibilities of the presentation program and how it can be used by teachers and pupils.
It is possible to write text, work with pictures, photos, music and different sounds. This program is useful for either an oral presentation where you use pictures and sounds as support or if you let the program work itself with you as the creator in the background.
When you start the program, different windows will show and ask you what sort of presentation you want to make. You could choose to work with an already made up template or create one on your own. You chose how many pages you want the presentation to contain and then you add the text, music and pictures you possibly want to use.
You could choose how long the pages should be shown or click on the screen when you want to turn to the next page. You could also choose whether you want the music to run through the whole presentation or stop when the first page ends. It is also possible to change music along the way if you want to express for example a certain feeling. There are special effects to add to the pictures as well.
The only thing you need, to make this program work, is a computer with an internet connection.
A presentation can be used over and over, and therefore it saves time and effort for teachers. It is also easy to rework so that it fits a special occasion. When working with the program you automatically think through the subject you are going to present and you adapt the information so that your pupils will understand. It is possible to print out the pages or forward it to pupils’ or parents’ email addresses. This could be useful in some situations. Teachers can help each other by sharing material, which is good if you have a limited time schedule or if you are just fresh out of ideas.
Many pupils find it very difficult to orally present something to a larger group of people. With a program like Open Office presentation it is possible to ease the situation. By using pre fabricated material the pupil making the presentation will feel more secure. The presentation will eliminate the need of papers and move the focus from the presenter to the presentation.
More senses will be stimulated when using picture, sound and text. The audience will get a greater experience and they will hopefully learn more.
It is easy to cut and paste in the program and it enables pupils to work individually and then put something together as a group. Working with the computer is stimulating for many pupils and the program offers a free mind combined with a structured order.
It is easy to get feedback from teachers during the process of learning since it is possible to forward the unfinished material by mail or posting it in a learning platform.
It is not certain that every family is able to buy expensive computer programs for their children to use in school purposes. Therefore it is good to know about free programs which everybody is able to download as long as they have a computer with an internet connection.
If Schools do not want to promote a certain company, Open Office is a good alternative. If you use for example Microsoft Office which is the equivalent to Open Office, Microsoft will benefit financially on you teaching your pupils the office suit.
Monday 3 January 2011
Word document and e-mailing
Microsoft Word is a tool that we all recognize. It is easy to use. It is a program made of Microsoft. There exist other programs with the same function, but Microsoft Word is the most common. Word is something that you have to use more commonly now days where more tasks/applications require that it should be written on a computer, and then we use Microsoft Word.
Microsoft Word is not just used in schools; we use it more and more in our homes to write CV, applications for jobs, you might use it daily in your work were you write a lot. As a teacher you might write your memos and plan lessons.
I chose to write about a word task in collaboration how you send an email and attach a file to your document. The focus on the task was how we formulate a letter and how we get a word document into an email.
On the left you see the document with the task instructions for the pupils. In the middle it is as an example of a letter could be formed. On the right you see my instruction of how to attach a file in your email. Everything is written in a Word document that I showed on the interactive white board and I handed it out with the instruction of what the letter should contain.
This type of assignment, writing an email, is a great opportunity for the pupils to write in English about their daily life or for example the task I performed together with the pupils at my VFU how the pupils’ traditional Christmas is celebrated. They learn the meaning of tradition and phrases in English that belongs to the Christmas theme but also reflect over how their email friends celebrate Christmas.
To have email friends is a great opportunity to get your pupils to write. They know that they have a clear receiver. To develop the pupils’ writing let the teacher read it first to make corrections on the language and the student might have to develop their text in order to explain further what he or she is meaning. The assignment will be a type of progress writing. To develop the emailing further, when the pupil have received a response to her or his letter they could write a short resume about things that might be similar or write about the diversity. Whilst doing an assignment like this we have to take in consideration on what age the pupils are as well as their knowledge and understanding in English and at the same time give clear direction on what they will reflect over. In Maria Estling Vannestål book Lära Engelska på internet she gives examples on agency that offers internet communication for emailfriends.
Word can be used in many different tasks. Computers and programs are more commonly today than it has been. It is also sinking in age levels. Already in first grade you start working with computers and write in a Word document. Therefore I believe that the pupils recurrently should get the chance to work in a Word document in form of different assignments . This assignment is a great chance for the pupils to start writing. It can be done right in the email without attach a file. But if you let your student do that, a good idea is to let them write it first in a Word document so they can save their texts and rewrite them and copy and paste it into the email.
Let your students start writing today! They will be eager to read the response from their email buddy!
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