ePals Where Learners Connect: An Involvement of Classmates Around the World

Students today are not restricted to collaborating with the students physically beside them in the classroom, they are also given the opportunity to communicate with other students around the world! They can do this through the involvement of projects and activities that other students across the world are participating in. How is this possible?  A recent global community that I have explored, ePals, allows this interaction to effectively take place through their website which is safe, secure, easy to use, and manageable for educators. You are able to manage what children see, whom they speak with, and what they can post. 

Educators across the globe can add their project onto the ePals site to share and collaborate with other classrooms. You are able to read the objectives of the activity, the procedures they completed with their students, pictures of student's work, and the outcomes at the end of the project. Similar to blogging, you are able to filter through projects with tags to find an appropriate lesson to fit the needs of your students. A specific project I read was titled, Collective Detective Story and featured a 'Teacher in the Spotlight'. The following information about the activity was listed as such:

Description:

Students learned the concept of writing a short narrative detective story with twists and turns in collaboration with their foreign friends. The project motivated and engaged students in reading stories in the crime fiction genre. They used logical thinking and reasoning skills to brainstorm the future of their composition. They also learned about the culture of another country and gained an understanding of another countries' education system. .

Outcomes:

1. Students will compose a short narrative story.

2. Students will practice Netiquette skills.

3. Students will create a Wiki page.

4. Students will learn about the culture of another country.

5. Students will develop skills in recognizing relationships.

6. Students will make comparisons and inferences as well as reflect and interpret reading between the lines.

This description allowed me to quickly determine if this was something I would like to use in my future classroom. The format of each project on the site allows for educators to collaborate with other classrooms because of the detailed description and outcomes listed. 
As a future educator, I am excited to see that there are other opportunities for me to involve my students with not only through textbooks. I will be able to now rely on technology to share and reflect the activities I create for my own classroom, collaborate my students with classrooms around the world, and have a solid foundation of networking with other teachers. The more cultural involvement for me as an L2 educator, the better. This website has much more to offer than projects and collaboration.  It has a resource section for teachers that are also filtered through tags. I highly recommend visiting this site and signing up!

Short Comics with Idioms

Idioms are a significant part of the English language that many ESL students find hard to understand. By offering visual/audio short comic clips to students, it will provide a more meaningful and engaging language learning experience for the students. Too often do you see idioms presented to ESL students through textbooks, role playing, or 'out-dated' videos. By using this site, GoAnimate you are able to create your own comic clips and modify them to fit the needs of your current students interests and level.  I found this site very easy to use and immediately thought of idioms when creating a story line. 

The title of my comic clip is called Shy George. Just like my previous post using the Animoto site, you are able to create a free account using limited tools.  The pricing site is located on the, Our Plans for Personal Use Link where you can explore a variety of pricing plans to use personally or within a business or school district. I find this website to be very useful and engaging for students to watch and/or create their own! 

Animoto! A Great Digital Story Telling Program!

Recently I have been exploring Digital Story Telling! Digital Story Telling can be as simple or complex as you want to make it. However, to be able to use it beneficially in your classroom, I feel like the simpler you make it, the better. This will allow students in your classroom be able to learn how to use these resources on their own, and if they choose to explore more options to enhance their videos they can. I was introduced to a website called, Animoto.  This site allows you to sign up for a free version and create 30 second photo videos including music and text.  Your options are limited as to what you chose to create but sufficient enough to produce short video clips to engage students' learning. As an educator, if you feel as if you want to use this tool in your classroom at a higher level, you can purchase your own package on their pricing page here: Personal Pricing Plan.

When creating my own short film, I thought of using this video in my classroom as part of an introductory video of myself. (I would modify it depending on the age and level of my students). One of my favorite activities in life are spending time with my pets. I can foresee using this video in an EFL class, using basic vocabulary to enhance the students interest in learning the language. The students would also be given the opportunity to create a video of their favorite activity or pet, on their own, in the beginning of the year. The students could first create a video in their first language and as a mid-way or end of year assessment, the students can create their video using the English language to show their developing vocabulary and English language skills.The title of my video is called, Midnight and Shadow's First Christmas and was created through the free account Animoto provides.

What is Digital Storytelling? How Can I Use it in an ESL Classroom?

Digital storytelling is a way in which students or educators can create a story through technology using: audio recording, images, text, music, animation, videos, etc.  A digital story focuses on a specific topic, allowing the creator to reflect and share their work in a creative and unique way.  

According to The EDUCause Learning Initiative Site, they provide 7 things you should know about Digital Storytelling. The most informative part of the article is under the subtopic of 'Why is Digital Storytelling Significant' where they explain how digital storytelling is meaningful for students learning. "Digital stories let students express themselves not only with their own words but also in their own voices, fostering a sense of individuality and of “owning” their creations. At the same time, digital stories give students an opportunity to experiment with self-representation—telling a story that highlights specific characteristics or events—a key part of establishing their identity, a process that for many is an important aspect of the college years." It is crucial for ELL students to hold a sense of individuality and purpose of their learning experiences. Story telling in their L1 and L2 would give them a wonderful opportunity to reflect and share their journey of learning a second language, living in another country, and adapting to an entirely new culture. 

In the next section of this assignment, I will explore first hand how the process of digital storytelling works, and have a better sense on how develop, share, and utilize this tool in my future classroom.  What I read to be the finest aspect of digital storytelling is from a very informative website, Educational Uses of Storytelling. The site provided very convicing information regarding this educational tool in all levels of education. 

According to Bernard Robin, Ph.D., "Today the use of digital storytelling is being practiced in neighborhood community centers, schools, libraries and businesses, by novice technology users to those with advanced skills. In the field of education, teachers and their students, from early childhood classrooms through graduate school, are using digital storytelling in many different content areas and across a wide range of grade levels." The research and information on this site gave me a true understanding on how digital storytelling is used by many different individuals in various fields.  I look forward to creating my own!