Wiki types

There's a fantastically well organised and comprehensive list of wiki types here.

bulk account handling at wikispaces

Can't reuse Voki or create a template!!

If anyone reading this knows how to create a voki template so that you can save the same avatar saying different text and so permit longer texts - or simply your own avatar giving instructions for exercises, PLEASE let me know how. I've spent hours trying!!

Cyber-bullying and internet use

There's a great video here, which is hosted by Vimeo but created by a high school, in which students talk about what they use internet for and staff give an overview of internet pros and cons.

Web 2.0 & Grammar - Lexis - incompatible?

Recuerdo mi entrenamiento práctico de profesor. Los tutores insistian en la necesidad de apartarnos de un curriculum basado en conceptos gramaticales que además no eran necesarimente 'verdaderos' (como el 'Future Tense' en inglés que no existe en la realidad). Pero no puedo evitar sentir que aquí hay un peligro de que las posibilidades de la Web 2.0 nos hacen olvidar la razón por que somos nosotros sentados con los niños en clase. Hay muchos adultos en su mundo... ¿en nuestra horita que es la prioridad? ¿O es que ya no estamos sentados... no hay solamente una horita...es una cuestion de nuestra relación con ellos, un papel que tenemos - tanto en su presencía como en el mundo virtual...? ¿El mundo ha cambiado y estoy quedando atrás?   More here.

Example of Xtranormal Lesson

The website BoxofTricks has regular updates on using technology to teach. It has just featured this video created using the text-to-speech site xtranormal, mentioned earlier, and also has a full lesson plan for the activity:

1. visit site, explore and start on scripts (pairs)
2. second class editing the site
3. homework creating characters and recording
4. submit homework by email/edmodo


Xtranormal in the classroom from José Picardo on Vimeo.

Using Voki as a roving reporter!

I love this idea from the TIC Llengües site - creating a Voki and placing them in front of a scene and using them as a face for your voice, commenting the scene.

Once the information has been researched and the text created and improved, the Vokis can be recorded and posted to the class Wiki, where they are visualised and voted on, with the winner being posted to the class blog or school website.

In the example from mvidal, the Voki character talks about their favourite place while standing in front of an image.

Basically you are asking for an audio file, but making the whole process more creative, fun and natural.

But the really collaborative part of this comes when the other students in the class watch the clips and fulfill a task, such as evaluation, note-taking, or voting for their favourite.

Perhaps pair work or group work could be done using the cartoon creator mentioned earlier?

Adobe vs Google

It looks as if Adobe wants to offer the same services as Google - and more!

Evaluation of Web Resources

Our task for Montserrat Casanovas was to create a form for evaluating web resources. These resources have traditionally been web pages with static text and images. Increasingly these are dynamic pages with embedded images, videos, gadgets, etc, and with content that changes rapidly or which is modified or created by the person using the site.

The form or 'plantilla' which I have developed is a questionnaire to be used by myself or my students. All the results are stored in Google Docs as a spreadsheet, meaning that together we are automatically creating a library of resources.

Careful attention has been payed to the order of the questions and their phrasing, and the decision about which should be compulsory and which optional, as well as the question format chosen.

Please scroll down or see the full-length version here. Oh, and please fill it in!! :-)

Educational blogs

Reasons for using blogs and a list of 100s of useful school blogs here.