Using GoAnimate in the Classroom

Using comic strips in the classroom can be a really effective tool for ESL learners.  Personally I used the comic strip generator GoAnimate to create my ESL 30 second comic strip.  I wasn't aware of this type of internet tool before and I was pretty fascinated by it.  It was actually a lot of fun to create despite having your options limited by the free 30 second version.  It was pretty clear to see the classroom and language implications that can be supported by such a feature.  There are so many ways to use something like this in class.  As a teacher you can get a subscription and make much longer comics that can be used to reinforce difficult lesson concepts or could potentially serve as the medium used to teach an aspect of the language.  There are so many options of characters, backgrounds and motions available through the website that you could create a running theme that could be incorporated into every lesson as an assistant to the teacher during the entire semester or school year.  The text to speech option makes it really very easy to have the characters say all kinds of vocabulary and produce all different types of grammar.

Using comic strips like this in the classroom can be very beneficial to student interest and motivation.  I prefer to use the comic strip generator over the digital storytelling in the classroom because I think it is more involved and that the possibilities  are greater than the story telling tool I reviewed in my earlier post.  Although I think both tools have good implications for L2 classrooms, GoAnimate just allows you as a teacher to do so much more and create so many more scenarios for ESL learners.
 

Using Animoto in the Classroom

I chose to use Animoto to create a video to practice the question "have you been?"  I think it is an interesting internet tool that can serve a purpose in a modern ESL classroom.  I was surprised at how quick and easy it was to make something interesting and aesthetically pleasing.  There are a couple ways that short videos can be used for ESL purposes.  One way is to create a video that reinforces themes or concepts learned during the lesson.  It can be used to reinforce vocabulary, grammar, and contextual awareness. Teachers can either create videos or have the students create their own videos.  The process of learning how to use Animoto and following the English directions, can also serve to reinforce practical language use by L2 learners. 

It would be interesting as a teacher to see what the full version of the program can do.  The thrity second trial video is just a good example of the potential of the program in the ESL classroom.  With the full version teachers and students can make much longer videos.  For example a teacher could make a video discussing a certain grammar structure or set of vocabulary words and have the student respond with their own videos explaining the grammar or unseeing the vocabulary.  Animoto is another great resource for teachers and students and has great pedagogical implications for the L2 classroom.

Gamififcation Part Two: The Serious Game

The serious game is the game that is designed with a purpose other than entertainment only.  There are a number of very good serious games that can be used for learning outside of the classroom.  I played the game The Garbage Game one time.  This game required the player to manage the waste produced by New York City.  I chose this game because it seemed to have an interesting and relevant theme to it, which is important for learner motivation. 

The game involved a lot of reading and use of reading comprehension skills.  This game would be very difficult for anyone below the advanced level of ESL.  For advanced learners this game is a very good way to practice intensive English reading in an authentic way.  Intensive reading comprehension is an important learning objective for advanced ESL learners. The theme of the game is a relevant one as well, the idea is to consume as little waste and use as little energy as possible.  Energy production and usage and its environmental impact has had an increasing voice in popular media as of late.  It is an important question that needs to be addressed in the coming generations and an interesting and relevant topic for discussion.  As ESL speakers become advanced they need to be stimulated by advanced readings that capture their ideas and help them to process more complex language usages such as thinking about and discussing real life hot topics such as waste management.

As a teacher this is a game that could be used as a homework assignment in comprehensive reading.  To check that the learning objective has been met you can require students to write a report on their results and and thoughts on the content and its real life implications.  A presentation could also be made to present their assignment as well as create an opportunity to practice speaking skills.

The Garbage Game  is an excellent game to use for advanced learners to practice their reading comprehensive skills.  It is best completed outside of the classroom as there is a lot of reading which can take a while for ESL learners.  Overall the potential for success depends on learner motivation, Gamification is an excellent resource to use in the classroom to help stimulate students and keep them motivated to learn.

Twitterchat The Good The Bad and The Ugly

I joined twitter chat #edtechchat on Monday March 10 from 8-9pm after reading Lilliy Marshall's blog post: What is Twitter Chat and How Can it Help You in Fifteen Minutes or Less?

The Good:
There are several good aspects about Twitter Chat.  It is an excellent place to connect with other educators and discuss ideas.  Upon entering the chat it is clear that the main topic was about the blending online and face to face classrooms and their effect on learning.  There were many questions proposed by the moderator that were well developed and thought provoking, this helped to guide the chat in a general direction.  Users were able to share resources and ideas with each other in real time as well as answering relevant questions on interesting topics.  

The Bad:
In addition to the good aspects of Twitter Chat there were some bad aspects as well.  Mainly the speed at which the chat flows.  I found that the chat I participated in moved very quickly, too quickly in fact.  I found that I would read a question posted by the moderator and in the time it took me to think of an interesting and relevant response there were already 30+ responses, and by the time I got through reading the next 30 there were 50 more.  This pace made it very difficult to follow and be involved with. This pace made it difficult to even read all of the questions asked by the moderator let alone answer them. 


The Ugly:
The ugly refers to a few specific aspects, in particular the character limit and "troll" responses.  The character limit for tweets makes it difficult to express your self with clarity to some rather deep and thought provoking questions.  This results in several responses that are incomplete or appear to be disorganized.  Also the use of abbreviations short hand is frequent and if you are not familiar with it it can be difficult to understand.  For example I noticed the expression f2f come up in several responses and at first I was confused as to what it meant.  After coming across it many more times in different contexts I was able to decipher its meaning as face to face.  However in the time it took for me to figure this out I had already missed out on understanding many tweets and thus fell behind in the discussion.  Finally by troll responses I refer to responses that are too short to mean anything or are way off topic and clutter the page with multiple tweets you must read through. 

Overall I would say that it was a difficult and slightly confusing experience.  I think some of that had to do with my own inexperience with twitter and Twitter Chat.  Many of the tweeters in the chat expressed a great fondness for the chat and perhaps with more experience I will have better experiences in the future.  I think that there is a high level of potential for sharing information and communication with other professionals but there are some formatting limits to the forum.