I NTRODUCTION TO ICT FOR L ANGUAGE T EACHERS At the University of Limerick Language Center 20 th July – 31 st July 2015 Presented by Daniela Katsarova This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

DISCUSSION 1. What does “ICT in the classroom” mean? 2. Should teachers use technology in the classroom? Why? 3. How do you imagine the difference between the Traditional and the ICT classroom?

Google Docs is a free Google app that provides users with the ability to create, edit and collaborate with others live on the web. To get started, all you need is to create a free Google account – gmail Introduction to Google Docs

Google Drive is Google’s new storage app, creating a single place for you to access your document from anywhere. It integrates with Google Docs. You can create folders, Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, My maps, Drawings and other apps. Google Drive

1. As you are writing, it’s saving it for you online automatically 2. You can share it with other people from a group and control over what you want them to do – to edit, comment or view 3. A perfect place for project work in groups 4. The participants can use the chat box 5. The teacher can see in real time what the students are doing. Why using Google Drive?

An app, very acceptable and really useful for coordination and academic purposes. You can: - Text and insert links - Upload photos and videos - Create events and polls - Create circles with your contacts - Communicate on daily basis with students and colleagues - Put notes from the board - Assignments Google+

BYOD – B RING Y OUR O WN D EVICE The idea is that almost everyone has a device and it’s a good idea to incorporate it in the language learning, allowing the students to use the technology with which they feel most comfortable — their own laptops, smartphones and tablets — in class. Students are allowed to use their personal devices to take notes, collaborate on class assignments, conduct Internet research and use cloud- based apps.

U SEFUL O NLINE R ECOURSES FOR E NGLISH T EACHERS 1. webster.com/dictionary/easy%20going (useful in terms of apps for IPhone, IPad, Android) webster.com/dictionary/easy%20going 2. tml tml 3. (very useful for integrating synonyms, thesaurus and grammar as English-English online dictionary) (for students who intend to do the Cambridge examinations) (quite challenging)

Help on how to write an essay m Online recourses – vocabulary, grammar… Multimedia platform – BBC Learning English Short stories with exercises:

“Edmodo is an educational website that takes the ideas of a social network and refines them and makes it appropriate for a classroom. Using Edmodo, students and teachers can reach out to one another and connect by sharing ideas, problems, and helpful tips.” (A guide to explain it all By: Patrick Cauley - IT Babble.com) er%20guide.pdf What is Edmodo?

A teacher can: - assign and grade work - communicate with students online - post notifications - create quizzes and polls - see everything that is posted on Edmodo. Students can: - get help from the entire class - work in a safe environment, because there is no bullying or inappropriate content Parents can join the class to bring a level of transparency What can be done on Edmodo?

A WebQuest is an inquiry- oriented lesson format in which most or all the information that learners work with comes from the web. What is a WebQuest?

Technologically, creating a WebQuest can be very simple. As long as you can create a document with hyperlinks, you can create a WebQuest. That means that a WebQuest can be created in Word, Powerpoint, and even Excel! If you're going to call it a WebQuest, though, be sure that it has all the critical attributes. Creating WebQuests

- is wrapped around a doable and interesting task that is ideally a scaled down version of things that adults do as citizens or workers. - requires higher level thinking, not simply summarizing. This includes synthesis, analysis, problem-solving, creativity and judgment. - makes good use of the web. A WebQuest that isn't based on real resources from the web is probably just a traditional lesson in disguise. A real WebQuest…

- isn't a research report or a step- by-step science or math procedure. Having learners simply distilling web sites and making a presentation about them isn't enough. - isn't just a series of web-based experiences. Having learners go look at this page, then go play this game, then go here and turn your name into hieroglyphs doesn't require higher level thinking skills and so, by definition, isn't a WebQuest.

How can the teacher use podcasting? - Record oral tests - Give instructions on a project - Record dictations; the students can practice at home - Teach the students to record their own voice in order to complete different oral tasks, then they listen to them, correct themselves and improve their speaking skills (shy students) Podcasting

Some ideas – students can: - Introduce themselves - Talk about their life, likes/ dislikes… - Tell stories - Retell literary texts - Record a diary over their everyday routine - Conduct interviews and edit them - Do pronunciation exercises and listen to them

What tools can we use to create a podcast? 1. Install an app on your mobile phone: Smart Voice Recorder 2. Make a recording and upload it to: Google Drive, Drop box or your e- mail 3. Edit the mp3 recording using: Audacity – a program for audio editing

Creating films as part of the teaching 1. Planning 2. Writing the story/ storyboard 3. Shooting the video 4. Editing, using Movie Maker 5. Sharing and watching the videos A good site with: - Lessons how to create a classroom project video - Project videos, created by primary students - Video creating

1. There is information on every topic, students can discover everything 2. News at the moment, esp. popular 3. Minimal time investment 4. Students learn to express themselves clearly – there’s a 140- character limit 5. Students can ask questions, get advice, interact 6. It makes the classroom less central Twitter

1. Blogger 2. Wix.com You can use them to create online lessons and blogs Blogs

T HANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION ! Presented by Daniela Katsarova, Senior English teacher at 2 nd SOU “Akad. Emiliyan Stanev”, Sofia, Bulgaria Under the Erasmus+ KA1 project