PODcasting in the Classroom

For years now, I have been an avid user of the podcast, Learn French by Podcast. As a student and teacher of French, I have enjoyed using this site for practicing my own French and for integrating various podcasts into French lessons.

In the past, I have used podcasts from this site to teach students important grammar, vocabulary, or communication skills. Likewise, I have chosen a particular podcast to highlight the utility of this amazing site. With or without being a member (you can sign up for a free account), one can access lesson 159, an intermediate lesson, entitled, "Es-tu sur Twitter?", to mean, "Are you on Twitter?" This is a very practical lesson, introducing intermediate-level grammar and vocabulary for using the internet and for communicating with others.

In the high school classroom, I would present this podcast with a worksheet for students to follow along and fill in target grammar and vocabulary words that I previously chose to work on. This listening in particular focuses on question words, negations, and vocabulary words related to social media. The interlocuteurs speak several times, at times in English, and discuss this meaning of the phrases and words, which would be helpful for students to make meaning of the conversation.

As a follow up activity, I would ask students to use these new words and phrases in a group activity, and possibly in their own activity surrounding the idea of Twitter or social media.

Connecting Globally

What better way to experience a foreign language than to connect with a classroom in a foreign country? ePals is an online Global Community that allows you to do just that. Teachers and students have access to great resources, and to other teachers and students from around the world.

My favorite feature on this site is the "Find a Classroom" tab where you can search a global classroom by language, age, country/region, and any other specifications. While browsing this section, I noticed that many international teachers are looking for pen pals to email, write letters, or Skype with their students to help practice their target language.

I also found this site helpful because it offers teacher resources and a forum where teachers can share ideas and communicate.

This would be a fantastic resource for any foreign language or ESL classroom to get students practicing the TL and speaking or writing with students their own age in an authentic context!

Storytelling with Storybird

Looking for a great way for students to create, read and write narratives? Check out Storybird! This is an excellent site that allows students to choose from a variety of different drawings, create or read stories using the pictures that they choose, and then share their stories.

I love this web tool and I can see myself using it in the classroom because it encourages creativity and individuality, but also focuses on literacy skills- reading and writing. Students would be able to create a personalized story, designed around the picture that they choose, and then share their story with their classmates.

Check out my story about two French friends, Madeline and Sophie!


Madeline et Sophie Rattrapent

Awesome, Easy, Animoto!

After signing up for a free account at Animoto, a site for creating personal or business videos, I was able to very easily navigate through the site and create my very own video geared toward travel in Paris. I was surprised at just how easy and quick this was to use. First, after creating an account, you choose a theme for your presentation, then upload the photos that you want to include, followed by text and pre-selected music (or, you may choose to upload your own music).

Even though the videos only last for thirty seconds and their is a limit to the amount of content that can be uploaded, I feel that this type of digital storytelling would be extremely effective in the foreign language or ESL classroom. As a teacher, I could create photo stories with my own pictures from travels (as I did in this video of Paris), or any other type of video that is not readily available on the internet. And for classroom activities and projects, I think this would be engaging and fun for students to create their own videos to share with their classmates!


Copy of Faire un Sejour A Paris

Digital Storytelling: What is it and How can it be Used in the Classroom?

If you haven't already heard about digital storytelling, you need to check it out! In the article, “7 Things You Should Know About DigitalStory Telling,” it defines digital storytelling as “ The practice of combining narrative with digital content, including images, sound, and video to create a short movie typically with strong emotional content. Another site, Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling sates that “Digital storytelling at its most basic core is the practice of using computer-based tools to tell stories.” In addition, Daniel Meadows defined digital stories as “short, personal multimedia tales told from the heart.”

The benefits of using Digital Stories in the classroom appear to be limitless. “7 Things You Should Know About Digital Story Telling” highlights the effectiveness of using this technique in the classroom: “Digital stories can be instructional, persuasive, historical, or reflective… giving the storyteller enormous creative latitude.”  Through digital storytelling, students can experience critical and independent thinking, while expressing individuality and creativity. The article continues to explain that “Among the initiative’s stated goals are, for faculty, to facilitate various learning styles and connect to students’ interest in technology, and, for students, to develop evaluate and use online content and electronic tools as a means of personal expression.”

I believe that digital storytelling would be an effective way to integrate technology and instruction into any subject area. For example, in the foreign language classroom, this method of instruction holds endless academic potential. I would have my French students create digital stories around various subject matters, from travel to family, and ask them to narrate in French. This would serve as excellent language practice, while at the same time allowing students to be creative and have fun!