10 Reasons to Create an E-Portfolio
Different from other seminars, in Media in Foreign Language Education we could chose our form of performance record: A Term Paper or an E-Portfolio to represent our learning progress. Since we learn working and teaching with media, at the end of the semester we should also have a product created by media. The obligatory group blogs are a reasonable compromise for those who prefer traditional teaching without new media and want to elaborate a term paper. Preparing the entries for the group blog encouraged me to create an e-portfolio because it was work I enjoyed. And here are ten reasons for you to create an e-portfolio at the earliest occasion: Read more »
Lesson Creating- Poem
You want to teach analyzing poems in English? Here is one with an interesting topic: “racism”
Racism has a human heart,
An artery of cruelty & death,
It has blood of anger, & evil…,
Has a force of pain & antipathy.
Racism has a human mind….
An Intellect of terror & delusion,
Has an emotion of extreme savage
Imagination of vile ideas, macabre.
Racism has a human mouth,
It has tongue of torture, depravity,
Many teeth of brutal incision & kill
Has a lip of sorrow, hate & death.
JOHN NELSON 4-Mar-09
You can just print it, give it to your grade 11 students with a list of rhetorical devices and go through it with your class. That is easy, but very boring. Try something easy and interesting by using new media. Read more »
Teaching Comma Uses and Literary Terms on Quizlet
There are two widespread topics of English, grammar and literature and on Quizlet you can find a variety of exercises referring to both. I have chosen comma rules and literary terms because they are not taught in detail, at least as far as I know from my school days. If you feel the same way as a student, Quizlet offers you to practice these. Also, as a teacher you can get some ideas or even use it in your lessons to close the knowledge gaps of your students. Go to Find Flashcards and click on Languages & Vocabulary. Read more »
30 000 € Media Project
After our field trip to the Alfred-Wegener-Schule Kirchhain we got an idea of a school providing its students with technical equipment to improve their media competence. In order to reflect on this experience we have worked out our own concept for a media school. We are given a school with a computer lab including 30 old PCs and get 30 000 € to improve the technical equipment. Read more »
Media at the Alfred Wegener Schule
Until now we worked out theoretically how new media can be integrated in teaching and to observe how new media is actually used at school we visited a school. Luckily, this was the Alfred-Wegener-Schule Kirchhain which is awarded as the Media School of the Month (January 2009).
New Media in FLE – pro & con
| PRO | CONTRA |
| Various learning forms:
- self-directed learning (motivating because students proceed at own speed; cognitive skills) - student centered learning - demonstrative learning (visualization due to new media) - multi channel learning - active learning |
Teacher has to
- know/learn how to use media didactically - supervise (media is expensive) - take time to organize - while working with new media, controlling students is not easy (because no ex-cathedra teaching) |
| Media competence | Students need to
- take responsibility to work with expensive media - be aware of inappropriate websites (unreliable sources; adult websites) |
| Accessibility (magazines, newspaper articles) | Always a backup plan necessary
- internet is not reachable - virus on computer - other technical problems |
| Explorative
(new designs, interesting for student and teacher) |
Media should be a means to an end;
Learning content must be in the foreground |
| Communicative/ Social Skills
(e.g. e-mail project) |
More and more work online; students addle
(they do not go to libraries for research etc.) |
| Up-to-dateness
(worldwide current material enriches the classroom) |
Not every school can afford enough new media for the students
(e.g. 30 000 € Media Project) |
reference: VLZ: New Media in Foreign Language Teaching – WT 2009/10
E-Mail Project
Thinking of appropriate ways to use media in the English lessons, we have spent a session on creating an e-mail project for year 5 students. Our first preparation was to discuss the following question in class on EtherPad: “How can writing e-mails in English be facilitated for year 5 students?” Our instructor gave us some links to find a partner group and to inform ourselves about other experiences in e-mail projects. Read more »
scoyo- “Spielen, lernen, gute Noten”
Scoyo is a German online learning platform for students from the 1st to the 7th grade stating to be the greatest. It offers tasks in the main subjects: German and maths for elementary school students and biology, physics, chemistry, arts and English for students from the 5th to 7th grade. The concept can be described as edutaining.
We got the task: “You have a child in a grammar school, whose grades in English could be better. You are thinking about additional tutoring in the afternoon. On TV, you heard about Scoyo.”
That sounds promising. Let´s go online and explore the website. “Write down 5 key arguments for or against the use of this platform.” Read more »
WebQuest Creating: links with hints and examples
WebQuests can be very useful in Foreign Language Education but not just because it looks nice and the colours and pictures are eyecatching. So, be careful! The task is much more important than the glittering presentation of some vague content.
But how do you choose an appropriate topic for a WebQuest?
http://www.nelliemuller.com/Junior_High_WebQuests.htm. Here you can also find examples Run for Your Health.
Here is one of a Romeo and Juliet WebQuest.
These links give you hints how to create a WebQuest:
http://webquest.sdsu.edu/webquestwebquest-hs.html
http://www.bescherer.de/webquests/webquests/webquest/index.html
WebQuests help students to learn autonomously but creating them takes much time and effort because you have to search for reliable sources,. Even though, do not worry there are enough databases for WebQuests.
Midterm Summary
The following is an overwiew of my notes from the last session before the Christmas holidays:
1. What is worth keeping in mind for the future?
- lesson plans: e-mail projects; 100 essential web tools, WebQuests, digital schoolbag, edutainment
- technical backround: video projector setup, creating blogs, software skills
- advantages/ disadvantages of new media; e.g. the advantages of web 2.0: collaborative learning is fostered, results are always available for all team members, they can contribute own ideas and thoughts… Read more »
