e-learning tools

E-tools for Modern Foreign Language Teaching and Learning

Rationale | E-learning definitions | E-learning home

Task

Your trainer will ask you to go into either three or four groups. Each group will be asked to choose 2 or 3 e-learning tools from the list provided below. Each group needs to work with different tools – so please check your selection out with the trainer.

Please experiment with these tools using the links provided or others that you may find in a web search and try to answer the following questions focusing particularly on questions 5 and 6. This is a small group activity with about 3 or 4 people working together. Please decide how you would like to tackle the task for which you have 40 minutes. You will need to feed back to the larger group at the end.

Questions for consideration

What is this e-learning tool?
On a scale from 0 to 10, with 0 being not at all and 10 being extensively, how actively does this e-learning tool engage the learner in learning?
How does this tool encourage independent or collaborative learning?
How does this tool help with other priorities such as RARPA (Recognising and Recording Progress and Achievement) and inspection?
How can this e-learning tool help learners with practising one or all of the four skill?
If you could choose one of the assigned tools only, which one would you take back to your institution and why? How would your learners benefit?

Criteria for successful completion

Have at least two tangible activities that you can share with others
Collate any other useful websites and share them with others (we can put them on a USB stick and then send them out to everyone)
Present your chosen tool and your reasons why to the rest of the group
It would also be useful to add your comments about the tools here

1 Blogs

To create a blog in German, French or Italian please go to one of these sites. The instructions are clear and the forms short. Happy blogging!

http://my.myblog.de

http://www.myblog.fr/

www.skyblog.fr

For a host of information from creating weblogs to how to use them in learning and teaching go to www.aclearn.net.

About offers some good advice and comparison on a variety of blogging tools.

A blog for Modern Foreign Language professionals http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/cs/blogs/mfle/

2 Chat

To set up Yahoo messenger in a variety of languages please go to:

http://messenger.yahoo.com/

http://es.messenger.yahoo.com/

http://de.messenger.yahoo.com/

http://fr.messenger.yahoo.com/

http://it.messenger.yahoo.com/

http://br.messenger.yahoo.com/

To set up an MSN Messenger account in a variety of languages please go to:

http://messenger.msn.com/xp/downloadDefault.aspx

http://messenger.msn.fr/xp/downloadDefault.aspx

http://messenger.msn.es/xp/downloadDefault.aspx

3 Digital voice recorder

4 Drag and drop

For an example go to Drag and drop link and select “Präpositionen Interactive Whiteboard version”

5 DVD and CD-Rom

Films on DVD have now mostly replaced the old VHS. Here is a link to the benefits of using video in teaching http://www.oup.com/elt/catalogue/guidance_articles/article_video?cc=gb

For a Moodle discussion on using DVDs in MFL http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=18964 You will find some recommendation for software that can slow down speech by 60 to 200% without distorting the sound.

6 E-mail

To set up an e-mail account in a number of different languages visit

www.yahoo.co.uk (United Kingdom)

www.yahoo.de (Germany)

www.yahoo.fr (France)

www.yahoo.es (Spain)

www.yahoo.com.br (Brazil)

www.yahoo.it (Italy)

To try out e-mailing in French go to www.yahoo.fr and log in username donaldmfl and the password canard.

7 E-portfolios

Taken from - http://www.becta.org.uk/corporate/publications/documents/e-assessment.pdf

http://www.mirage1.u-net.com/ppf.htm Record of achievement software

8 HotPotatoes

http://www.halfbakedsoftware.com/ Actual software

For an example of using Hot Potatoes in Moodle with video http://moodle.org/mod/resource/view.php?id=3641

For a host of gap filling listening comprehension exercises in German, French, Spanish, Italian and a Mandarin example

http://www.ashcombe.surrey.sch.uk/Curriculum/modlang/index_teaching.htm

9 Interactive whiteboard

For advantages of using the interactive whiteboard in language teaching

http://www.thereviewproject.org/secondary/MFL/sec_mfl_index.htm

A BBC page for language tutors on using the interactive whiteboard http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/tutors/internet/ewhiteboard/1.shtml

10 Macromedia Flash

Here are some examples of Flash generated games including Naughts and Crosses http://www.ag-consulting.co.uk/games/resources/Naughts%20and%20Crosses/FlashFiles/naucross.swf

Magnetic Vocabulary http://www.ag-consulting.co.uk/games/resources/magnecticpoetry/magnecticpoetry.swf

Snakes and Ladders http://www.ag-consulting.co.uk/games/resources/snake_and_ladders/snakes_and_ladders.htm

and of course NLN subject materials use Flash for example in Complex Prepositions http://go.xtensis.co.uk/?a=a&loid={2126870B-586A-4A74-8387-6AB6A1998027}&nlnProvider=aclProv999

11 MALTED

For some concrete examples even though mostly in English http://malted.cnice.mecd.es/descargas/index.htm

12 Message boards

Create a free message board and link it to your website (even though there are banners on it) https://www.pliner.net/.

Click here to try out the one that has been created for this website.

or you can have a message board as part of Yahoo Groups, which can also be set up for free http://groups.yahoo.com/

13 Mimio

14 Mobile phone

For an innovative way of using mobile phones in MFL http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2003/09_september/02/chinese_mobile.shtml

15 Moodle

A tutorial for using Audacity using Moodle http://moodle.org/mod/resource/view.php?id=3545

For an example of using Hot Potatoes in Moodle with video http://moodle.org/mod/resource/view.php?id=3641

16 On-line dictionaries

http://www.freedict.com/

http://www.yourdictionary.com/

17 PDA

Using your PDA to learn German http://german.about.com/library/weekly/aa040901a.htm

A learner’s perspective http://german.about.com/cs/computers/a/pdager2.htm

18 PowerPoint

Am Bahnhof.ppt
Kann ich mit Herrn Vogel sprechen.ppt

Matching personal information (listening activity)

19 Quia

Quia is an authoring tool similar to HotPotatoes. You can register for a free 30-day trial by going to www.quia.com

If you would like to try out some activities prepared in Quia please go here. Quia

20 Text to speech (not all free)

There are a variety of text to speech softwares around such as Mariansoft http://marsiansoft.com/textspeechpro/index.html, which gives you mostly American English voices. However at Naturareders http://www.naturalreaders.com/ you can buy additional readers in Spanish, German and French and the same applies to Nextup

http://www.nextup.com/index.html

21 Translation tools

http://babelfish.altavista.com/

http://www.google.com/language_tools

http://www.itools.com/lang#trans

http://translation.langenberg.com/ (A variety of tools are available – translation of words, phrases, text, webpages and a variety of internet tools to do so)

22 Video conferencing and webcams

You can set up a simple video conference by registering for free with http://www.skype.com or Yahoo Messenger (for links see Chat above)

23 Voting system

24 Webquests

For a facility to search the web for Webquests in a variety of languages please go to http://webquest.org/

There are a large number of resources around Webquests on http://www.aclearn.net

Here are some examples of webquests for example one for French about Canada http://www.station05.qc.ca/css/ecoles/stmarg/cv/lecanada.htm#La%20tâche:

25 Wireless keyboard/mouse

For uses of wireless keyboards and mouse http://ferl.becta.org.uk/display.cfm?resID=8950

26 Wiki

I have created a Wiki at http://mfls.pbwiki.com/ The password is mfls the user name is donald canard and the email is andrea@ag-consulting.co.uk.
If you would like to create your own Wiki then go to www.pbwiki.com

27 Word

You can find a number of resources at http://www.ag-consulting.co.uk/games/resources/htmfiles/templates.htm

27 World Wide Web

How to websites

http://www.languages-ict.org.uk/ This website from CILT and ALL provides a gateway to information and guidance for teachers of languages on using Information and Communications Technology in the classroom. School focus

General language websites

http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/ you can also assess your skills here in a variety of languages. The test is simple and as soon as you get one answer wrong it stops you there.

http://taste.merlot.org/portal/world_languages/ fantastic site to a great number of languages

http://www.cortland.edu/flteach/flteach-res.html

http://www.fredriley.org.uk/call/langsite/ excellent site – similar to merlot used to be a University of Hull site – now maintained privately but free

http://polyglot.lss.wisc.edu/lss/lang/teach.html

http://www.sussex.ac.uk/languages/1-6-4-9-2.html

For a fantastic site that offers you a searchable collection of language learning materials in a large number of languages as well as a self-assessment tool go to http://www.langnet.org/

Learning German

http://db.aatg.org/

http://www.uncg.edu/%7Elixlpurc/german.html

http://www.dw-world.de/ Deutsche Welle – inkludiert auch Video und Radio

http://german.about.com/

Learning French

http://french.about.com/

Learning Italian

http://italian.about.com/

Learning Spanish

http://spanish.about.com/

Link to all newspapers of the world