Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Google Hangouts in Google +

What is it?

It is a space from Google to meet via video connection with other people that have Google+ accounts and are part of your circle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bo390-3ohW4

I want to Hangout! What do I need?
There are several ways to get to your Hangout area. Here is one:

1-   You need a Google account [Your @hawaii.edu will not work]
2-   Once you have a Google account you need Google+ à Click on the very left item of the black bar at the top of your Google account +YOU 


3-   Fill up the information and add the people that you want to your circle




  
 You can also find Google + by going to the last item of the menu on the black bar and choose MORE. If you don’t see Google, then click EVEN MORE and find it on the opening page.





 

4-   Once you have created your + account and have a few people in your circle, then you can start a
Hangout


 










You will see all your friends and you can select who you want to include in your Hangout (as well as you camera on the bottom of the screen). Green dots show who is connected. Click on their images and start the conversation. You can have up to 9 people on a Hangout but it is not recommendable J



What can I do with it?

It works for almost any activity that you would do in pairs and groups in the language class but the students can do it outside of the class. Interactive collaborative homework!

A few ideas:


•      [Intermediate to advanced] –Telecollaboration- Use Hangouts to connect students in your language class with students in faraway places that speak the L2 to work collaborative in telecollaborative projects. For example:
o  Prepare a trip together
o  Discuss a movie/book that can be found in both languages
o  A number of intercultural activities to discover each others’ cultures (word association, concept comparison, ...)
o  Develop a power point or webpage on a topic/famous person/place/…
o  Anything that students would do otherwise in groups or pairs in the class

•      [Intermediate to advanced] –Culture topics- Ask them to respond and compare questions about culture/art/music (holidays, pop music...).


•      [Intermediate to advanced] – A mystery speaker- Have two or three students connect and interview a
"guest speaker" to practice questions and find out information to then write a biography.


•      [Intermediate] – Gap tasks- Students work in pairs or groups of three. One describes a picture (that
the teacher can send ahead of time or they can draw it themselves) and the other ones draw what it is
being described in the L2. Then they show the result and discuss the differences.



•      [Beginner] - What am I holding in my hand?- Ask one participant to turn off the camera and describe an object in her/his hand and answer questions until one of the other students guess what it is.




•      Other ideas?

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

CALL resources

Here are some of the CALL Resources than can help you stay current in your knowledge of technologies for language learning. Don't forget to share anything interesting with the rest of us in our website:
http://bruneiusprogramme.org/




ONLINE RESOURCES

ð CALL4All - Collection of websites related to language learning and teaching, compiled by Jean Paul Loucky.
ð MJ Website. Collection of sites, software, resources and articles of EFL compiled by Maria Jordano. Very complete and interesting. 
ð Foreign Language and Culture - A large site compiling links to language and culture, all around the world. 
ð Graham Davies' Favorite Websites - A site of alphabetically-ordered annotated links related to foreign language learning and teaching.
ð CT4LT - Originally funded by the European Commission, this extensive series of modules on ICT for language teachers is continuously revised, offering analysis and 'hands-on' advice by top practitioners. The Questionnaire and "can do" lists are a good starting point for newcomers to the field. 
ð Language Guide - Free resources for language learners and teachers provided by Language Revolution.




JOURNALS AND PUBLICATIONS

·         Journalof Computer-mediated Communication - A web-based, peer-reviewed interdisciplinary journal. Its focus is social science research on computer-mediated communication via the Internet, the World Wide Web, and wireless technologies. 
·         NFLRC- Selected papers from the Distance Education, Distributed Learning & Language Instruction 2004 Symposium. 
·         Wikipediaon CALL - Includes a history section as well as multiple links to professional associations, journals and other sites. 
·         LL&T - Language Learning and Technology. A refereed on-line journal sponsored and funded by the University of Hawai'i National Foreign Language Resource Center (NFLRC) and the Michigan State University Center for Language Education And Research (CLEAR), and co-sponsored by the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL)
·         System - A journal devoted to the applications of educational technology and applied linguistics to problems of foreign language teaching and learning of a variety of languages. 
·         CALL – Computer Assisted Language Learning Journal, published by Taylor & Francis, is dedicated to the use of computers and L1 and L2 learning, teaching and testing. It also provides a discussion forum. 



ASSOCIATIONS INTERESTED IN CALL

·         CALICO - (Computer Assisted Language Instruction Consortium) is a professional organization dedicated to the world of education and technology, with emphasis on modern language teaching and learning.  It provides access to special interest groups and Calico's annual conference, as well as the Calico Journal, all of which are excellent sources of research on new technologies applied to language learning. For more information visit 
·         WorldCALL– With headquarters at Griffith University, Australia, and with Mike Levy as Executive Director, this organization promotes opportunities for those nations currently underserved in the areas of CALL and TELL for participation and collaboration in the development of materials, research, and technological capabilities 
·         APACALL – The Asia-Pacific Association for Computer-Assisted Language Learning. Its membership is free. Members can subscribe to the APACALL E-list, join one APACALL SIG (special interest group), and submit chapters/articles to the APACALL Book Series/APACALL Journal. 
 ·         IATEFL Learning technologies SIG – this special interest group for members of the worldwide ESL association IATEFL hosts frequent events and a discussion forum. Thrice yearly it publishes Call Review, which is available online to SIG members. 
·         IALLT - The International Association for Language Learning Technology is dedicated to promoting effective uses of media centers for language teaching, learning, and research. With a biennial conference and The Journal of Language Learning Technologies, a refereed journal, published twice a year.