Technology Resources
Technology Language Learning Tools
Digital Resource Repository
The Dallas TeleLearning Digital Resource Repository features a vast library of video and other media-rich resources to help faculty develop their ideal course. We've partnered with San Bernardino Community College District to deliver a digital media repository that meets the needs of higher education and offers:
- More than 2,500 video clips and interactive activities/exercises across multiple disciplines
- Windows Media video and Flash exercises
- Catalog interface with powerful browse and search
- Seamless integration into Learning Management Systems
- Ability to add videos outside of the repository to faculty playlist
- Subscription-based digital content based on 12-month academic year (i.e., access to hundreds of history clips for $1,000 or less)
Visit the website for price quotes and request guest access to browse and preview repository content.
JING
Jing is free downloadable software for Windows or MACs that adds visuals to your online conversations.
You can select a window, part of a window, or, you can click and drag the cross-hairs to select a region. Decide if you want to capture an image or video. You can add arrows, text and highlights to images. If you have a microphone, you can narrate your video! Videos are limited to 5 minutes in length. Choose what you want to do with the image (or video).
You could save the image to your computer. You can also copy the image to your clipboard. This makes it easy to switch to another application like a document or email and paste the image.
That's the basic idea! You quickly capture an image or make a little video. Then, you either share it or save it!
POLLEVERYWHERE
http://www.polleverywhere.com/sms-classroom-response-system
Know what your students are thinking and learning right now. Bringing interactive social assessment to every classroom is now possible and affordable. Using Poll Everywhere in your school or university, you can increase teaching effectiveness without breaking the bank.
- Increase classroom participation and attentiveness
- Encourage risk-taking with anonymous student responses
- Elicit diverse opinions when there isn't a correct answer
- Expose social misconceptions
- Gauge student comprehension of material immediately
- Grab students with thought-provoking opening questions
- Allow students to provide instructor feedback
- Automate taking attendance
- Assess last night's reading with a quick quiz
- Strengthen retention
- Utilize its capabilities outside the classroom for professional development, student-run presentations, talent shows, battle of the bands, company presentations, student government, or community forums.
Poll Everywhere is free for classes with up to 32 students per section. Sign up now (K-12 or Higher Ed) or read on to learn why Poll Everywhere is great for educators.
SCREENCORDER 5
From MatchWare : Free to try/ $299 to Purchase
ScreenCorder 5 captures and records all your desktop activity in minutes. Ideal for creating training and support videos or powerful demonstrations…Enhance recordings with step-by-step audio instructions and graphic speech bubbles. Easily correct audio and video or add new material to existing recordings. Adding one or more Web cam (PIP) recordings will help you personalize your video. Assess your viewers understanding of your video material by inserting SCORM-compliant quizzes. Export recordings to multiple video formats, including WMV and Flash.
Operating system: Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2000
ToonDoo
Registration required; no fee
ToonDoo allows you to create your own comic strips with just a few drag ‘n drops ‘n mouse clicks! Since ToonDoo users come from different countries and socio-cultural backgrounds, it is virtually impractical to monitor all the content that comes on the site and sift out the "safe" content while screening out the "inappropriate"; however, any inappropriate content can be flagged. Save as a public toon (can be viewed by all) or private (can only be viewed by you under 'My Toondoos').
WEB Communities
http://www.labnol.org/internet/web-3-concepts-explained/8908/
Do you want a quick overview on Web 1.0, Web 2.0, and Web 3.0, visit the following site and learn about the latest web environment. Slideshows and related links available at this site.
Annenberg Media
You can view Annenberg Media programs online with a broadband connection whenever you see the following icon.
Free sign up is required for first-time users. Select a program below and go to the individual program description listing and click on the icon. Programs include:
- Destinos: In Introduction to Spanish
- Fokus Deutsch French in Action
- Nuevos Destinos
- Teaching Foreign Languages K-12 Workshop
- Teaching Foreign Languages k-12: A Library of Classroom Practices
Google Applications Education Edition
Google Apps Education Edition is a broad IT solution that schools can use to bring communication and collaboration tools to the entire academic community for free. Google manages all the technology details. Students, teachers and staff can share ideas more quickly and get things done more effectively when they have access to the same powerful communication and sharing tools. Google Apps Education Edition lets tech administrators provide email, sharable online calendars, instant messaging tools and even a dedicated website to faculty, students and staff for free. There's no hardware or software to install or maintain, since everything is delivered through a standard web browser -- anytime, from anyplace. Click here to visit a website to see some examples of learning activities using Google Apps.
Google's Tools for Teachers: Google for Educator Links
- Google Docs: An online word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation editor that allows for easy organization and communication.
- Google Book Search: A searchable online library that provides reference details, book excerpts, and purchasing information.
- Google Maps: Detailed street, satellite, and topographical maps you can personalize and enhance.
- Blogger: An online journal requiring no HTML coding that allows you to post and share information.
MOODLE
Moodle is a course management system (CMS) - a free, Open Source software package designed using sound pedagogical principles, to help educators create effective online learning communities. You can download and use it on any computer you have handy (including webhosts), yet it can scale from a single-teacher site to a University with 200,000 students. See the Demonstration course on-line—you must create a Moodle Account before you can view the demo. or download MOODLE.
PODCASTING
Visit the Education Podcast Network to see/hear examples of what other educators are producing. You really don't need much equipment -- essentially, a computer with a microphone jack, and a microphone (about $20). For long-distance interviews, use online telephony services such as Skype or iChat to record conversation. Once you have your audio sources ready, use sound-editing free software such as Audacity to mix in soundtracks and edit. [See also: Gargage Band). The final stage is to get that podcast onto the Internet. The easiest way to do this is to sign up with a service that specializes in podcasts. Groups such as Ourmedia.org offer free hosting under a Creative Commons license, or search online for "podcast host" for more options. A podcasting host will give you a place to store your files and will provide the world with a special kind of URL called an RSS feed (Really Simple Syndication)—for a one-page primer on this topic, visit the following link: http://www.whatisrss.com/. For a YouTube video explanation, click here.
An RSS feed acts as your own personal radio channel. Every time you upload something new, people subscribed to your feed will be notified. If you'd like a larger audience, register your new feed with a podcast directory -- basically a podcasting yellow pages -- such as iTunes and Podcast.net.
QUIA
Quia books are foreign language textbooks that are supplemented with student workbooks and online learning aides. Each chapter in Quia has corresponding online grammar, vocabulary and audio resources, as well as interactive homework problems that can be graded and submitted online. This type of learning encourages students to teach themselves grammar at home, therefore these books are most helpful to students who are practicing their verbal skills in class.
SKYPE:
Skype was founded in 2003 by Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis. Skype created a little piece of software that makes communicating with people around the world easy and fun. With Skype you can say hello or share a laugh with anyone, anywhere. If both you and your friend have downloaded Skype (free) you can call each other for free and talk for as long as you like. You can also have a video call if you connect a webcam to your computer. Some of the newer computers have the webcam built in. If you are using an external webcam, find the USB port on your computer; it's the one with the matching USB symbol and hook up the webcam (see the installation disk). Skype will automatically help you test your webcam to make sure everything is working correctly.
Skype is available in 28 languages and is used in almost every country around the world. Skype is based in Luxembourg. You can download Skype at: http://www.skype.com/
TechSoup
TechSoup.org offers nonprofit groups dependable technological assistance in the form of free information, resources and support. In addition, TechSoup Stock offers nonprofits technology products that have been donated or highly discounted by nonprofit and corporate technology partners. This website is an excellent resource for teachers who would like to buy updated language software or another computer for language practice.
Voicethread
Ed.VoiceThread is a web-based communications network for K-12 and higher education students and educators. Simple, powerful and safe, Ed.VoiceThread is a place for creating and collaborating on digital stories and documentaries, practicing and documenting language skills, exploring geography and culture, solving math problems, or simply finding and honing student voices. There is no software to download, install, manage or upgrade, and all data is redundantly backed up by the VoiceThread infrastructure. There is a nominal yearly fee per user; check the website to determine your costs.
VOKI and Speaking Avatars
Voki enables users to express themselves on the web in their own voice using a talking character. You can customize your Voki to look like you or take on the identity of lots of other types of characters… animals, monsters, anime etc. Your Voki can speak with your own voice which is added via microphone, upload, or phone. Voki lives on your blog, social network profile and will soon be integrated in various instant messaging platforms. You will also be able to download it to most video supported phones. You will always be able to come and create a character for free at Voki. However, we may offer special items or characters for sale at some point. Also some of the things you can do with your Voki, like downloading it to your phone, may cost money. It is also likely that you will see different kinds of sponsorship on the site. No matter what we do to make money through Voki, we'll make sure we keep you in the loop, get your feedback, and try not to do anything that makes Voki less entertaining to have. Try creating language lessons using different voki characters you or your students create.
WIKI
A wiki is a piece of server software that allows users to freely create and edit Web page content using any Web browser. Wikis support hyperlinks and has simple text syntax for creating new pages and crosslinks between internal pages. Click here to see a You-Tube video for a simple explanation of how a wiki works. Sign up for a wiki space at one of the following locations: