Final Task with PIXTON 

Having visited Luis Alberto’s blog and seen his post on Pixton, I have decided that my final task will be a comic strip using this tool.

In 4^th class we have been working on daily routines, so I have decided that a fun task to do with them would be to create a comic of their daily routine. The steps that I would take are the following:

Step 1: Previous revision of daily routine vocabulary and the time.

Step 2: Presentation of Pixton.  To do this I would first show them an example (below) of a simple comic strip that I have made using Pixton ( EXAMPLE). We would then make a new one as a class to familiarise them with the tool.     

Step 3: Students prepare their own comic strip working in pairs.  The teacher would go around the class resolving any problems that the students encounter.

Step 4: Presentation of comics to class.

I would use a rubric to evaluate the students’ final production, as well as the process involved.

Having tried out this tool myself, I think that it’s a useful tool to enhance the teaching/learning process in the foreign language.  It also permits us to develop our students’ competences in a meaningful way.  I’m sure my students would enjoy creating their own comic strip!!

One drawback is that the free package quite limits your choices and, unless you pay, you cannot upload your own images (as in Storyjumper).

What I do like is the fact that you can create your class and students can access (with a code and a username) without the need for them to register with their personal details.

Mini-Project with Genially

Genially is a fantastic tool which I have only begun to discover recently.  It offers us many possibilities (from presentations to games) to enhance the learning-teaching process which I am dying to explore with my students.

To become familiar with the use of this tool, I have designed the following mini-project about wild animals, our current topic of study in 5th class.  This project will be worked on as a final task for the unit. Between preparation and final presentation, it will take up between 4 and 5 sessions.    The students will design a presentation about two wild animals of their choice (including some comparisons) and present it orally to the class.  They have previously worked on the language and structures that they need to enable them to carry out the project successfully. Below is an outline of the different stages which the students will follow.

Stages

1. Choose the topic: Wild animals.

2. Discuss evaluation and get students’ opinion on what they consider important- design a rubric for them to follow (this will be hung up in the class for students to consult when necessary).

3. Show Example of a project and familiarise them with the use of the tool.

4. Establish groups.  The students will work in pairs/ groups of 3 to carry out this project. The teacher will choose the groups, ensuring that they are as heterogenic as possible.

5. The groups will submit a plan of the steps they are going to take and how they will share the work (Project planner below).

6. Preparation of main ideas on paper- draft (The teacher will help with any doubts/problems).

7. On completion and revision of draft, the students will prepare the presentation (the teacher will assist with any technical problems).

8. Preparation of oral presentation.

9. Presentation to class and evaluation of groups (below).  Self-evaluation (below).

 

Although I am relatively new to this tool, I can certainly see how it will optimise my students’ learning experience. 

With regards the foreign language it enables us to fulfill the learning objectives in a motivating and extremely appealing way for our students, allowing us to integrate the 4 skills in a meaningful task. 

Furthermore, it also permits us to develop a range of competences (learning to learn, digital, artistic, autonomy and social competences) in our students, allowing us to do something with the language in a globalised manner, thus giving the learning experience a more significant meaning for our students.

 

  

Project Planner Topic: ____________________________________________________________________ Guiding Questions: _________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ Roles: ____________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________   ..................................................................................................................................................    Self-Evaluation          😀😐😔                                                          Group: __________________
Presentation:
Participation:
Oral presentation:

 

 

 

Evaluation of groups (during presentations)

 😀😐😔      

Group:
Topic:
Written Presentation:
Oral presentation:
I like:
I don’t like:

 

 

Storyjumper

Storyjumper is a brilliant tool to help us to develop our students’ writing skills. In order to see how to get the most out of it, I have created the following story with some of my 4th class students’ work. 

It's Halloween

Obviously, my intention would be to work with the whole group of students. On organising our work, I would first divide my students into small groups of two or three.

I have created the above story as a final task, having previously worked on the vocabulary and structures related to physical appearance.

A possible sequence of tasks would be the following:  

I would first show the students some examples of stories and familiarise them with the tool.  As a class we would then brainstorm possible ideas for creating our stories.

The students would then form groups and again brainstorm in their groups how they are going to create the story (what the story is about, characters, who writes each part, design, assignment of roles, etc.). This would be put on paper and kept as evidence of the process of their work. 

The students would then begin work on their story.  On completion of the first draft, they would share their story with another group and ask for feedback. I would give the students a checklist of items to look out for.  They would then complete a second draft and again share it with another group.  Finally, they would create the final draft and share it with the rest of the class.

 

My learning objectives for this task would be the following:

To work on the vocabulary and structures related to physical appearance with my students.

To develop students’ social / cooperative skills.

To develop their digital competence.

To develop students’ creativity.

To develop student’s autonomy.

To develop students’ confidence when using the foreign language to express ideas / to create a story.

To foster a positive attitude towards the foreign language.

 

Needless to say, the use of this tool would help me achieve all of the above goals. 

It enables the students to use the language in a creative way, with a view to sharing it with an audience.  It gives sense to the task and it gives the students freedom to express themselves in a creative manner and use their imagination. As they have to work together, it also helps to develop their social competence.  To create the story they have to become familiar with the use of the tool, thus developing their digital competence, as well as their autonomy.  Furthermore, it helps to develop confidence in our students when using the foreign language.  They can see that they are capable of being understood and that they can create something for pleasure in English.  I think that this has a very positive effect on their attitude towards the language, as we’re taking it away from “academics” and we’re bringing it to the world of the child.

Personally, I think that this tool has excellent potential and I will certainly make use of it with my classes. I’m sure my students would thoroughly enjoy the experience.  The only drawbacks are that each group would have to have access (privacy and consent are always issues, especially with minors.)  It also requires a lot of time, especially to familiarise young students with its use.

To share the finished products with the rest of the class, each group would project their story on the IWB.  The students would be provided with a checklist to enable them to evaluate each group’s work as well as their own.

As we can see, the creation of the story would also provide the students with many opportunities to co-evaluate and discuss the learning experience with each other.  With each draft, they would evaluate and get feedback on each other’s work.  On presenting the final product, each student would also have the opportunity to evaluate the final product of the other groups, as well as their own.

To conclude, this tool would be an excellent asset for use in the foreign language class, as it not only allows us to work on our students’ writing skills, but it also enables us to foster their creativity and imagination.

 

EDPUZZLE

Edpuzzle is a very useful tool which allows us to cut videos and edit them with a view to using them for educational purposes. 

This is the first time that I have made use of this tool. In general, my overall impression is that it is a useful tool to help us to enhance our students’ acquisition of the foreign language.  It enables us to present and work with authentic material in a very motivating way.   The use of audiovisual material helps our students to develop a deeper understanding of the language, as well as been a very stimulating experience for them.

I chose to work on the video of The Snowman with my students, as it tied in very well with the festive season. As we have also been working on daily routines, I combined both topics in an authentic way. The use of this video also allowed me to review clothing, the weather and how to talk about a process with my students (how to make a snowman!), all through the use of an authentic video!!

Click on the following link to watch the video: The Snowman

I used the video in the practice stage, enabling students to use the language that they have learnt in a meaningful and attractive way.  The students first watched the video without answering any questions. Then they watched it and we paused at each question and the students shared their ideas. 

We worked on it as a whole class and the children were very enthusiastic.  Participation in class certainly improved, with each vying to be the first to answer the next question!!

However, this tool would also enable us to flip our class and permit students to work individually and at their own pace on the video. This would help us to promote autonomous learning, as well as facilitating attention to diversity. The teacher could also gather direct information on each students’ progress. 

The highpoint of this tool is certainly that it allows us to use authentic material which is very motivating for our students.   Perhaps the only drawback that I see (thinking of privacy and data protection) is when setting up the account and using the tool with the students to flip the class and assign work.  To open an account you are asked for the name of your school and you also have to get each child to register if you want them to submit work.  

 

 Time Toast

TimeToast is an interesting tool for language teachers to use in order to work on reading skills.  It enables us to practise skills such as summarising or synthesising a story/text with our students.  We can also use it to sequence a story or even for something as simple as writing about someone's daily routine.

To become familiar with it and to allow me to incorporate it into my teaching practice, I have developed the following timelines using this digital tool.  

You can click on the following links to view:

Marie Curie                                           

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

The use of this tool has allowed me to develop the following learning objectives with my students:

- To work on reading skills in the foreign language.

- To present a summary of a story/text/biography.

- To sequence a story.

- To develop my students' digital competence.

- To review the past simple and vocabulary related to a story.

- To develop students' cooperative skills.

Using TimeToast has many advantages, mainly enabling me to work on my students' competences in a more globalised way. We can develop our students' digital, social, and linguistic competences, as well as their autonomy.  Bearing in mind that our students live in a world of technology, it is also a very attractive tool for our students.  The majority of them enjoy using computers and anything else related to technology. Furthermore, it allows students to work in groups which they find very motivating. It also permits the teacher to attend to diversity in the class.

Before introducing this tool, I would first work on the reading itself, clarifying any language difficulties or completing other activities related to what they have read.  

On presenting the students with this tool, I would first show them some examples and do a timeline with the whole group in order for them to see how it works.  It would also be necessary to show them how to upload photos/images. Once the students have become familiar with how it works, they would form groups and read the story, underlining the main points / most important information before beginning work on the timeline.

When doing the timelines myself I experienced some initial problems, mainly being that it didn't allow me to mix "time" and "timespans".  You either have to do one or the other.  Furthermore, it may not be very suitable to use with younger learners who have little digital competence, although it could be carried out at class level, with the students contributing with pictures that they have drawn (with or without text).  Each child or pair could design one "time"and it could all be put together as a story.  I'm sure that they would then enjoy reading it together!  

Despite certain problems, in general I think our students would react in a postive manner to using TimeToast to complete a task, as we're taking the focus off the language and enabling them to create something with it, which in the long run will be a more memorable experience for them.

If I had to say anything negative about this tool, it would probably be the limitations of the free plan.  In reality it doesn't give you many options.  Furthermore, to avoid wasting time, I would get my students to first do a rough draft on paper. 

Finally, to end my reflection on the use of this tool, I would summarise by saying that TimeToast helps me to achieve my learning objectives in many ways and therefore it would be a beneficial tool to use with my students to further enhance not only their language skills, but also their digital and social skills as well as their autonomy.

 Reflection on Reading Habits

Throughout my life I have always been an avid reader.

As a child I enjoyed immensely my trips to the local library to take out another book and allow myself to become immersed in an adventure in a far off distant land.

Needless to say, as I grew up academic life obliged me to read for other reasons apart from pleasure (to get that desired grade at the end of the year!), but I have always reserved time to allow myself to escape to the pleasures of a good book.  Before going to bed I find nothing more relaxing than to take a book and disconnect from the daily routine. I’m afraid I’m old school and nothing can replace the feel  and smell of a paperback!  I particularly enjoy historical novels, but am willing to read anything that is recommended to me.  Having lived in Spain for a number of years I have no difficulty and also enjoy reading novels in Spanish, but still nothing compares to reading  in your own native tongue. 

 As we can see from the photos, we read for many different reasons: for pleasure, to find information, to study…and, as we grow up these reasons can vary at different stages of our lives. 

Considering my own experience, reading for academic purposes can be a demanding task, even if the book we are reading is a good one.  The focus has changed from a purely pleasurable and aesthetic experience to an academic one where we have to analyse, criticise, locate information, etc.  As a student of Spanish at university in Ireland, this was my first introduction to reading in Spanish.  Needless to say, facing Cervantes, Unamuno or Cortázar with a very limited knowledge of the foreign language was a daunting experience, and in my opinion, it was utterly absurd to expect a student with 2 or 3 years of Spanish to develop an appreciation of Cervantes or any other author in this way.  It actually probably caused the opposite effect in most students.  It goes without saying that the translations of all these books were in high demand on campus!

 

 

 Welcome to my English blog!!! Through this blog I would like to share with all of you useful materials and other ideas or resources related to the teaching of English , especially at Primary level.  I will focus mainly on the use of new technologies (TAC) to enhance the teaching learning process. I hope that what you find will be of use to you.