Follow Ken's board Chinese Technology Stuff on Pinterest. Follow Ken's board Education_Tech Stuff on Pinterest.
I changed this page to "Technology and Language Teaching" as the ideas, products and teaching strategies I present here can be used for just about any language or teaching subject. Learning or teaching, is like yin and yang, they are distinct, but can help and influence each other. One is tangible, the other intangible, one new, the other ancient. I started teaching in the 90s when technology was just starting to begin it's unstoppable and unimaginable march into education. When I was studying in Beijing in the mid-90s, I only discovered what email was through a friend who was emailing his friends back in the States.
Technological advancement has progressed since then from my IBM desk top with 3 megabits of RAM, to RAM now measured in gigs. Who would have thought a mobile phone now could be much more powerful than any computer of the 90s, including that of the Apollo spaceships who flew astronauts to the moon, what a journey that must have been, and what a journey we are all on now.
Though there are obvious benefits, technology does have it's downside.
Who can live without technology now? Some people choose to, but they are few. As teachers, I believe we have to have some ability to use technology in the classroom, it's our responsibility. Or be left behind.
I often pose the question to my students, will they be hand writing still by the time they leave school? I made a Prezi just on this topic and the students find it interesting and entertaining, I hope they even learnt something from watching it.
There are so many great blogs, websites, podcasts, Web 2.0 resources and other treasures to grab some amazing ideas. This blog is mainly one to discuss, recommend and put forward a few things that I do and would like to share and I encourage discussion and collaboration. Most of what will be here may not be new, but it might be another focal point for others, or at least for me!
千里之行， 始于足下
Click the titles below for detail.
Flipping the Language Classroom, a presentation
This presentation was created for a Chinese language teachers workshop. The ideas and tools can be used for any subject area.
Let's talk flipped learning basics
This post is an introduction to the basics of flipped learning and my ideas on FL.
What is the hype with hyperdocs?
Hyperdocs are an awesome tools for many reasons. Check out my post to see why.
QR Codes
QR codes are easy to use and lots of fun. See how you can create them and add them into your lessons.
Flipgrid For Language Learning and Teaching
Flipgrid is a great piece of smart software that you can use with your students to record their responses. Check out my review and a few ideas on how I use it.iPads in the iClass, Flipped learning with tablets
Check out my presentation at the FlipCon16 Adelaide conference on how I use the iPad in the classroom to flip lessons.
Instant Feedback in real-time, Classkick
Classkick is a great app for getting real-time feedback to your students. Check out how, here.The Inside, Outside Classroom Flip
A presentation given at FlipCon16Screencasting
Present your own video lessons with free software.
Back Channelling
Back channeling is a great way to get feedback, comments, and answer questions. See how you can use it with Google Slides.
Apps For Chinese
This page has the apps I found most useful for Chinese language learning and applicable for most other languages. Click on the heading of each post to get see my reviews and ideas.LoopSkool Chinese App
Learn and practice Chinese with rhythm!Google For Chinese
Google is a great cloud based resource for storage and production. For some useful tips on how Google can be used for Chinese, check out this page.
Skype 
and Google Hangout 
Skype and Google Hangout are great tools for communicating with other teachers, schools and students. See hou we have used them to set up language interaction with schools in China and Australia.Going Mobile
Mobile devices cover all things from smartphones, tablets, laptops and basically any device you can carry. They come in many shapes and sizes and there are many that have their enthusiastic followers. Check out the Going Mobile page for my views.Interactive Whiteboards
Sensational innovation and powerful tool, more so when they first came out. IWBs provide big screen, interactivity, and endless resources. Go to the IWB page for more.
Flipped Learning (post coming)
Flipped learning has been around for a while, but did not really take off till Youtube and screencasting technologies became more available and at an affordable cost, some screencasting software or apps are even free. See my page on screencasting above. You can view my Youtube channel here.
Video
Videos are a great way of presenting not just things to watch, but for content to think about. See how you can make videos more interactive.
Presentation Tools
Presentation tools are a great way of presenting, displaying, explaining, showcasing and much more. Go to the Presentation Tools page to find a list of handy web based and software options.QR Codes
QR codes are fun and easy to use, open the link to see some ideas and lessons.
SpeakIt!
Read my review and ideas on using SpeakIt! A useful tool for the language classroom. Available from the Chrome Web Store.iPad's text to speech function
See how this seldomly used function is easy to set up and can supplement your listening and reading resources.FluentU Language app
The FluentU app for iOS, and soon to be released Android app, is an essential tool for language learners and teachers. See how you can use it in your classroom.
Online Tools that Make Learning Fun!
A list of four free web based tools that make fun learning! Please read my brief review of Socrative, Kahoots, Google Forms and Quizlet. Be interested to get any feedback on these.
Don't blame your students for being off task, look at how you are using the device. Some suggested ideas on using the iPad with more app smashing ideas.
Language Immersion Chrome Extension
Language Immersion Chrome Extension is a useful tool for language teachers. See how you can change the language and scaffold web pages for your students.
Readlang
Check out Define for a useful and handy iPad text support feature.
No comments:
Post a Comment