ICT in the Foreign Language Classsroom

Fortbildung Online are currently offering a series of free webinars about ICT in the foreign language classsroom.

The one hour webinars are conducted mainly through German, although there are also some French and English sessions scheduled. The series will runs through April, May and June.

Coming up this Thursday (18/2013 - 19:00h - 20:30h CET), Shona Whyte (Université de Nice) will be speaking on "Interactive technologies for classroom language teaching: iTILT and the IWB". Shona will be covering:

• the lack of training & materials to use Interactive whiteboards (IWBs) effectively for language teaching
• presentation of resources from a recent European project on IWBs in language teaching [http://itilt.eu]
• discussion of materials, activities, and examples of language teaching with the IWB
• discussion of alternative technological solutions for those without access to an IWB

To register simply send an email to JWagner@lpm.uni-sb.de
To participate: Click on the access link: https://webconf.vc.dfn.de/shona/

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The rest of the schedule is as follows:

22. 04. 2013 - 19:00h - 20:30h
Elke Lackner
Durch die Cloud zum kreativen Endprodukt
Zugangslink: https://webconf.vc.dfn.de/wordclouds/

29. 04. 2013 - 19:00h - 20:00h
Pilar Munuera
Les Perles du TICE - remue-méninges sur le FLE [Scoop.it]
Zugangslink: https://webconf.vc.dfn.de/pilar/

06. 05. 2013 - 19:00h - 20:30h
Marie-Hélène Fasquel
Projet e-Twinning et création de livres électroniques
Zugangslink: https://webconf.vc.dfn.de/fasquel/

10. 06. 2013: 19:00h - 20:30h
Jean-Michel Ducrot
"Insuf-FLE" - Le blog phare du FLE
Zugangslink: https://webconf.vc.dfn.de/insuffle/

06. 06. 2013 - 19:00h - 20:30h
Uwe Klemm
Einsatzmöglichkeiten von Moodle im Fremdsprachenunterricht
Zugangslink: https://webconf.vc.dfn.de/moodleimfsu/

17. 06. 2013 - 19:00h - 20:30h
Stephan Rinke
Online Textarbeit mit dem Etherpad/Edupad
Zugangslink: https://webconf.vc.dfn.de/etherpad/

10. 10. 2013 - 19:00h - 20:30h
Stephan Rinke
Moodle muß Spaß machen
Zugangslink: https://webconf.vc.dfn.de/moodlespass/

14. 11. 2013 - 19:00h - 20:30h
Andrew Pickles
Task-based learning
Zugangslink: https://webconf.vc.dfn.de/taskbased/

21. 11. 2013 - 19:00h - 20:30h
Manfred Overmann
Le site portail du professeur de FLE
Zugangslink: https://webconf.vc.dfn.de/overmann/

02. 10. 2013 - 19:00h - 20:30h
Mélanie Auriel
Des applis iPad pour une pédagogie "classe inversée"
Zugangslink: https://webconf.vc.dfn.de/applis/

16. 01. 2014 - 19:00h - 20:30h
Heike Kolacki
"Kooperative Lernformen" im Französischunterricht
Zusammenarbeit mit Cornelsen
Zugangslink: https://webconf.vc.dfn.de/kolacki/

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Monitoring Teachers' ICT Skills

Extract from the very interesting "Key Data on Learning and Innovation through ICT at School in Europe  2011" report (pdf).

NO evaluation in Ireland. NO requirement to have any level of ICT skills!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Training Material for IT Certification

The Mobile Classroom, by James Messer, is a great ICT resource providing videos to help you with some of your most common questions about personal computer technology. The content is aimed at anyone who has a connection to the Internet.



James also provides specialized video training material for some IT industry certifications including CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+, Microsoft 70-680 and Nmap at his Professor Messer website.

These videos run approximately from ten to twenty minutes and are all hosted on Professor Messer'sYoutube Channel.

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Technology Related Animated Explanations

Just came across Animated Explanations thanks to a tweet from @ninapeery.

Animated Explanations is a website "full of animated movies, interactive tutorials and instructional videos, all free for you to view and to embed in your website".

Currently there are over 50 animations covering the areas of Health, Technology and Work. Great little assets for your online learning environment!

You simply select the animated explanation that you want and follow the instructions to add it to your site. Works a treat. Here is one, from the Work section, about choosing a safe password.


How to choose a safe password - Animated Explanations

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Tune in for Your Daily Technology Tip

Tekzilla provides daily tips on using digital technology and is a great resource for teaching/learning to use ICT. The videos produced at Tekzilla are short, clear and interesting to watch.

As of today, Tekzilla has 274 archived episodes available. Certainly, it would be well worth adding Tekzilla to your RSS reader!

Thanks to Richard for pointing this one out.

This is an interesting tip about adding the weather to your Google calendar.

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Technorati Tags: technology tips, tekzilla

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Computer and Internet Definitions

Webopedia is a great starting point for finding definitions of most common computer terms. The definitions given in Webopedia are not too technical being written in a way that is easy to understand.

For example, here's the entry for USB Flash Drive:
"A small, portable flash memory card that plugs into a computer’s USB port and functions as a portable hard drive. USB flash drives are touted as being easy-to-use as they are small enough to be carried in a pocket and can plug into any computer with a USB drive. USB flash drives have less storage capacity than an external hard drive, but they are smaller and more durable because they do not contain any internal moving parts. USB flash drives also are called thumb drives, jump drives, pen drives, key drives, tokens, or simply USB drives".

Links are also provided to definitions of other relevant terms, where appropriate.

The only drawback is that images/diagrams are not provided for every definition. That said, Webopedia is still a very useful resource for those learning or interested in ICT.

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Technorati Tags: ict, webopedia

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Handy ICT Advice Sheets

NCTE provides some very useful advice sheets for those involved in ICT.

The list is continually expanding so it is well worth checking back periodically. Unfortunately, no RSS provided for the page but you could always use Page2RSS as described in an earlier post!

Apart from the advice sheets, there is lots of other useful information to be found at NCTE.

NCTE is the National Centre for Technology in Education, the Irish Government agency established to provide advice, support and information on the use of ICT in education.

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Technorati Tags: ict, ncte

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Great ICT Resource Site

Teach-ICT provides many, many useful ICT resources including quizzes, screencast videos, notes, worksheets, posters and an ICT dictionary.

The materials cover several English examining bodies including GCSE, A-level, BTEC and ECDL.

A news section and newsletter are also provided. Teach-ICT is an amazing ICT resouce well worth visiting again and again!!

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Technorati Tags: ecdl, ict resources,

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Free Subscription to PC Magazine

Sign up now for your free 1 year online subscription to PC Magazine from the Read Green Initiative.

"PC Magazine is America’s #1 technology magazine, delivering authoritative, lab-based comparative reviews of technology products and services to more than 6.6 million professionals every issue".

Just enter your email address and register for an account with Zinio and that's it. Your shiny new December issue of PC Magazine will be waiting for you in your Library section. You can read the publication online, in your browser, or download the Zinio reader and enjoy it offline.

If PC Magazine is not your 'cup of tea' then browse through the available subscriptions at the Read Green Initiative and pick the one that suits you best. You are allowed one free subscription per email account!

Thanks for this one Amit.

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Technorati Tags: pc magazine, read green initiative, zinio

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Basic Computer Concepts with Microsoft

Microsoft Digital Literacy provides eLearning in five distinct courses:
* Computer Basics
* The Internet and the World Wide Web
* Productivity Programs
* Computer Security
* Privacy and Digital Lifestyles

Although the courses are heavily text based, useful videos and practical interactive simulation labs are also included and they can either be taken online or downloaded for offline study.

The recommended time to finish each course is 2-3 hours after which time you can take the corresponding online assessment.  There is also a Certificate Test, covering topics from all five courses, which leads to a printable personalized Digital Literacy Certificate if you pass.

Despite much of the material being based on Microsoft products, it is a very useful resource for a 'beginners ICT' class.

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Technorati Tags: computer basics, digital literacy

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Computer Applications Tips and Tricks

Microsoft provide some interesting how-to articles on using their standard office products. These may provide you with a new angle on introducing or using some of the functions in each package.

What is more, the tips can also be adapted for OpenOffice if you have made the change!

Some interesting lesson plans, for traditional subjects, are also provided as part of the Microsoft Education section.

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Technorati Tags: lesson plans, microsoft education, openoffice 

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