Teaching With Technology Idea of the Month

Idea of the Month: Save the Planet: Project Hand-outs on Whiteboard. (by D. Trudeau)

If you dislike whiteboards but love the planet, here is one advantage of whiteboards over traditional blackboards: they can be turned into write-on projection screens. If you use transparencies, project them on the whiteboard and do your exercises normally, with the additional possibility of writing on the whiteboard. All types of exercises usually done on paper or using transparencies can be done this way: grammar and vocabulary, composition, pronunciation, cultural facts; fill in the blanks, mix and match, short answers, etc. If your classroom is equipped with a computer projector, take one step beyond to save the planet: project directly from the computer onto the whiteboard. This will save you the work of having to print out transparencies and the tedious task of putting them away after class. Another great advantage of computer projection on whiteboard is that texts and pictures can be easily edited or updated as needed, without wasting paper.

Example:

To teach the elision of mute “e”, I use “Le Poinçonneur des Lilas” by S. Gainsbourg. I project a version of the song without elisions on the whiteboard, and I play the song at the same time. The students have to find where there are elisions and when the composer purposely avoided them. We do the first two lines altogether, then each student comes to the whiteboard to do one line. We then discuss the rules that have been applied, and other phonetic changes (i.e. consonant assimilation) related to the elision of mute “e.”

Idea of the month by Jason Bagley

Task: Students will create a biography of a French artist.

Ability level: All levels

Technology: Microsoft PhotoStory (Power Point can also be used)

Assignment: Students will use PhotoStory to “teach the class” about a French artist. They may include things like biographical information, characteristics of the artistic movement to which they belong, and examples of works.

Things to note: PhotoStory is a free download from www.microsoft.com. This assignment allows students to narrate in French, practice citation skills, and extend learning on an art unit from class.

Equipment needed: computer, PhotoStory, microphone, access to the Internet or examples of works of art

Idea of the month (by Stéphanie Roulon and

Geraldine Blattner)

Etudions à l’étranger !

Description:

This is a semester-long wiki and blog-based project designed for beginners and intermediate students of French, which utilizes a computer-mediated classroom (at least once a week), and is made up of seven different components, all of which must be completed in teams of two continuously throughout the semester.  The objectives of this program’s activities are: 1) introduce students to creating, using and maintaining a wiki and a blog, 2) to acquaint students with the formalities of study abroad, 3) to prepare them for immersion in the French language and various Francophone cultures, 4) to promote basic cultural awareness, and 5) to encourage the development of language awareness in a specific context. 

Contents :

1)  A la découverte du monde francophone !

Language:  French

Content:  One detailed map, exploring all possible options for French study abroad programs available at your institution.  After researching and identifying each

Francophone region, ask students to provide a 100-word description (in French) of each location and post it to the class wiki.  At the end of each group’s entry, be sure to remind students to provide a link to the map and each of the websites they consulted in their research. 

Useful Links:

http://clicnet.swarthmore.edu/pays.francophones.html

http://cuip.uchicago.edu/~ddelaney/paysfrancophone.html

2)  On fait de la pub !

Language :  French

Content : After consulting the class wiki and selecting a program, students create a poster, any size, in an electronic format, which includes the following information :  country, city, host institution and provider, what semester(s) the program is offered, who it’s ideally suited for, whether or not there’s an internship available, the primary courses that are offered, the language in which the classes are conducted, the housing arrangement, and the eligibility requirements.  Students should provide a brief description of their group’s poster, as well as a link to the document itself, in their group’s blog.   

***list all websites and resources from which information was obtained.

Useful Link:

https://www.international.psu.edu/ieps/forms/SearchPrograms.asp

3)  Jouons aux cartes !

Language:  French

Content:  One illustrated map, any size, in an electronic format, which reveals the                     

regional specialties, main agricultural products, monuments, customs, etc., through its

illustrations.  Be sure to ask students to  include a key somewhere on the map, wherein each illustration is defined, and create a short description and link the map in their blog.  

Useful Links:

http://www.google.fr                                                                 http://www.yahoo.fr

http://www.wanadoo.fr                                                             http://www.voila.fr

http://french.about.com                                                             http://www.linternaute.com

***list all websites and resources from which information was obtained.

4)  On se fait un resto !     

Language:  French

Content:  After the in-class screening of different restaurant scenes (i.e. L’aile ou la

Cuisse, Le placard), visit http://paris.planresto.fr and click on “découvrir” (in the upper right-hand corner).  Watch and listen to several of the video / sound clips presenting various restaurants.  Then students create their own establishment and menu, offering 3 choices for each course (3 entrées, 3 plats principaux, 3 desserts, 3 vins). They should design a name for your restaurant, and include typical regional cuisine on the menu, as well as some original dishes.

Now they want their restaurant to be featured on http://paris.planresto.fr, so they must   

digitally record a video presentation of it (following the models) that lasts approximately 2-3 minutes.  Link their video to their blog along with a short description of the restaurant (i.e. location, specialties, hours).

Useful Links:

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/L'Aile_ou_la_cuisse

http://paris.planresto.fr

***list all websites and resources from which information was obtained.

5)  La paperasserie ! 

Language :  French

Content :  2 pages.  Go to the French Embassy website and print out the application

they would need for a visa to study abroad for six months.  Fill it out in its entirety for a fictional character of their choosing, making sure to include a passport-sized photo. 

Useful Link:

http://www.info-france-usa.org/fr

***list all websites and resources from which information was obtained.

6)  Vous. Moi. Toît !

Language :  French

Length :  1 page

Content :  Students look at apartment adds online in French (preferably in the same region as their program).  They choose 3 that they would rent and explain in a paragraph that they will post on their group blog why they have chosen them.  (Don’t forget to include photos and/or links, if available).  Then, they carefully look through the announcements for roommates on http://www.colocation.fr/homepage.php.  Pick 3 that you would consider living with and explain your reasons in a paragraph (also posted to the blog).  Finally, write an announcement of your own and post it directly on the website. 

Useful Links:

http://www.seloger.com                                

http://www.colocation.fr/homepage.php 

***list all websites from which information was obtained.

7)  Voici notre blog !

Language :  French

Length :  10 minutes

Contents :  Imagine that they’ve just completed this study-abroad adventure.  Students share what they liked and learned about it in an oral presentation to the class, incorporating the material in their group’s blog (maps, posters, photos, links, etc.)  After each group presentation, each class member must post their impressions of the other groups’ projects (i.e. what did you like, dislike, learn, want to know more about) on the class wiki.  Be sure to include at least 3 discussion questions with your comments. 

Project will be graded on cultural accuracy, originality, creativity, presentation, comprehensibility, and grammatical and lexical accuracy.

Using Podcasts and Videocasts to Evaluate Speaking/Pronunciation Skills

If you are looking for a different way to evaluate speaking skills through non-traditional activities, Audacity, iMovie for Macs, and Movie Maker for Windows XP can help. 

Try asking students to make an audio and/or video cast in lieu of an in-class task.  For example, at the beginning of the semester, you may ask your students to prepare a 5-minutes self-portrait to share with you and their peers.  They can download Audacity for free and produce a WAV or MP3 file that can be easily sent as an attachment to an e-mail or posted in a drop box, if you are using Web CT, Blackboard, or eCollege.  You may want them to produce a video presentation instead.  Check out the equipment available to you in your Computer Lab or Language Lab.  Both PCs and Macs have video making tools such as a iMovie and Movie Maker.  Many Macs have a built-in camera, but you can also invest in a few inexpensive eyeball cameras that hook up directly on the computer monitor.  Students can produce a short video and send it or post it in the location you specify.

Try recording your evaluation, using the same tools, to provide your students with personalized and communicative feedback.  Your students will receive more than advice to improve their pronunciation, they will be able to hear and see you demonstrate.

Idea of the month (by Annalisa Mosca):

Let’s create our own class fairy tale!

Objectives: practice, usage and review of the imparfait versus passé composé.

The class fairy tale can also be used to review other grammar (which will come out in the students’ writing) especially the use of the following: discours direct/indirect, les phrases passives, les pronoms relatifs, le plusqueparfait, la concordance des temps de verbes.

Modalities: the instructor begins a fairy tale with the classic “Il était une fois...” and writes a very first line/paragraph of the tale, making sure to include a strange twist.  Each student then continues the class fairy tale on the electronic discussion board.

Example of my beginning (used in my class): Il était une fois un lieu magique, la Frafantasie.  Notre héro, Gamin, y était arrivé. Mais une chose bizarre s'était passée: pendant le voyage il est devenu un chat, et on l'appelait maintenant ... ??

Materials: forum discussion board or simply paper (it’s more fun on the discussion board)

Target language level: third semester proficiency (but can be adapted to any level)

Time frame: one week outside of class on the discussion board, for the specific writing activity and its discussion of the imparfait versus passé composé.  You may choose to read the class’s fairy tale during a class period and act it out.

Idea of the month (by Denise Wagstaff)

Create a PowerPoint travelogue project in which students “visit” various regions of France.  This project includes both pictures/photos as well as a writing component.

Objectives: to increase cultural awareness of the diversity of the regions of France; to give students the opportunity to express themselves in written French using a variety of tenses (future, passé composé/imparfait)

Time frame: 4-6 weeks (can be done entirely at home or partially during class time)

Language Level: intermediate (this project is best suited for a French 3 or 4 class)

Materials: PowerPoint

To access a description of the project & grading rubric, please go to:

http://geocities.com/dehamwey/regionsdefrance

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October 2007

Idea of the month:  Creating e-stories (by Deb. Reisinger)

Objectives: Students create personalized online slideshows with photos and voice overlay to demonstrate language abilities.

Time frame: Technology is very user friendly, so most work can be done outside of class.  Professor can create sample project to show in class, then students can work outside of class on projects.  Final project can be shared online using Web 2.0 sites such as Flickr, submitted to a central course management system for viewing, or displayed in class like a film festival. 

Language Level: Beginning to advanced.  For beginning levels, students can create photo stories of their families or dorm life.  At more advanced levels, students might narrate a personal story, describe their city, summarize an historical event, or frame a debate. 

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Idea #1

Contributed by: Monique Navelet  

Computer project: Creating a comic strip.

Age Appropriate from 2^nd grade up with modifications.

Technical knowledge requirements:

Power Point, scanning and internet research.

Pedagogical Benefits:

Students spend time reading, writing and speaking French.

1.      Choose a poem or a short story which can be illustrated

2.    Each student is in charge of illustrating  one or two sentences or a paragraph depending on the age of the students.

3.    The pictures are scanned in the computer For elementary school the teacher scans for Middle and High  schools the students scan

4.    Each student creates a Power Point Slide with the picture and the text.

5.    The slides are merged together for the final product to be shown to other sections.

6.    During the presentation the students read their sentence or their paragraph.

7.    If the students say that they cannot draw they can import pictures from the Internet.

This the simplest of the computer projects I have undertaken and it works quite well.

When and if you have technological support you can use Clicker 5 or Microworlds and have the students create their own games on the computer.

You can also use Imovies to obtain the same results. The students are acting out the poem or the story.

This would be a whole year project.

PowerPoint presentation created by my second graders at the Hewitt school is linked here.

Here is a link to another PowerPoint with lots of great links for French. Click here!

Idea #2

Submitted by Jason Bagley

Target Culture: French

Language Level: Elementary to low Intermediate

Time Involved: 30-45 minutes

Objective: Students will work within a budget and go on a virtual shopping spree. They will then describe what they “purchased”.

Materials Needed: Internet

Description of Activity:

Students will be given a set budget (ex. 150 euros). They will then visit a French shopping or catalog site, such as www.3suisses.fr .  They will create an outfit within their budget and to their taste. When they are done, they can either make an oral presentation of their outfit, or write a paragraph, whatever goal you might want to accomplish.   If students have money left over, you might want to have them tell the class what they will do with it.

May 2007

Google Earth – Go beyond finding your house and school on Google Earth. You can create a virtual tour of any francophone area by adding placemarks complete with pictures, text, links and even multimedia. You could do a tour as detailed as the monuments of Paris, as broad as the francophone countries in Africa, or anything in-between. In each placemark you add, enter information about the site, questions for students, and links to web sites with more information. For more fun, make it in the format of a scavenger hunt for facts about each area. Download Google Earth for free at http://earth.google.com/

Target Culture: French and/or Francophone culture

Language Level: Elementary through Advanced

Time involved:  30 minutes for initial exercises which can then be replicated and completed outside of class as homework

Objectives: Developing oral comprehension and production skills, becoming familiar with French culture and cinema.

Materials:

*      http://www.allocine.fr/ (Internet access with streaming capabilities)

*       Language lab with recording program such as Audacity (available for free download at http://audacity.sourceforge.net/) and microphone OR iPod with microphone

*       Website to upload or send electronic files

Description of Activity:

Students will watch the trailer for a French film and record answers to basic questions.  To do a pre-listening warm-up activity, have students look at the affiche du film and describe what they see.  Then ask students to watch the bande-annonce (trailer).  After the first viewing, pose 3 questions for them to think about while they watch it the second time.  Based on the level of your students and the grammar and vocabulary you have been studying, some questions might be: Décrivez un des personnages que vous avez vu.  De quoi s’agit-il dans le film?  Quelle est l’intrigue?  Quel type de film est-ce (un film d’amour? un drame? un western?) et comment le savez-vous?  Est-ce que vous avez envie de voir le film?  Pourquoi oui ou non?  Qu’est-ce qui s’est passé dans la bande-annonce? Décrivez les enjeux culturels que vous remarquez.  etc.  You can either create a link to the trailer and copy/paste the movie poster into a course management site such as Blackboard OR have students navigate through the site itself.  [Students enjoy watching English-language films dubbed, so it’s fun to show them something like the Spiderman 3 trailer, but for the purposes of the activity, direct them to a francophone film.]  After they have viewed the trailer a second time, pose each question again, this time giving students 30 seconds to think about their answer and then 1 minute to record before going on to the next question.  They can do this in a language lab using a program such as Audacity, Divace, or Soundforge or an iPod and Belkin recorder.  After recording, they should upload sound files to your course management system, which you can review later.

Evaluation: How you evaluate this exercise will depend on your objectives, but the following breakdown has worked well: 40% communication (40%), grammar (20%), vocabulary (20%), accuracy of pronunciation (20%) and fluency (10%).

This project has been developed, adapted, and contributed from a colleague at Lexington High School, Kim Seferian.

Target Culture: France/Francophone Countries

Language Level: Intermediate (French III-Honors)

Time Frame: 4-5 45 minute sessions in a computer lab. The time frame can be adjusted to accommodate your needs to be a shorter or longer project.

Objective:

Students will create an owner’s manual for a French car, demonstrating their knowledge of the imperative form of verbs and the subjunctive.

Materials:

Computer with Internet Access

Microsoft Publisher (Template for activity)

Description of Activity:

Day 1:

Students will research the major French car manufacturers on the web for images and information on the car model that they wish to highlight in their manual.

http://www.citroen.fr

http://www.renault.fr

http://www.peugeot.fr

Students will work on the cover of their manual, where they choose an image, display the make and model, as well as identifying information.

If students complete this, they can start on page two, where they choose an image of their car, and begin labeling ten items on the car.

Day 2:

Students will label the 10 items of their choice on their car. Students will need to be familiar with how to use a dictionary so that they correctly label the car. Some students may find car vocabulary on the Internet.

Day3:

Students will work on pages 3-4 of their manual. In this section, they will create statements on how to care for the car. Teachers may alter this section to fit whatever their learning objectives are. I chose to have students complete 5 sentences using the imperative, and 5 using the subjunctive.

Day 4:

Students will edit their manuals for accuracy and final preparations before turning them in to the teacher for grading.

Evaluation:

Car Manual Grading Rubric

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[originally published at the NCLRC http://www.nclrc.org/cultureclub/teachers_lounge.html]

Target Culture: France/Francophone Countries

Language Level: Intermediate to Advanced

Time involved: One semester

Objectives: This activity is designed to help students explore a potential study abroad site in a French-speaking country. Students also have opportunities to practice speaking and presenting their ideas to others. They work on listening skills (listening to other podcasts) and writing (text based blog entry(ies).

Materials:

• http://wordpress.com/: to set up a class blog
• http://odeo.com/: to record audio for podcasts
• Internet access

 Description of Activity[1]:

During the semester, our class will maintain 2 weblogs (4-6 students per group). You will be placed in a team and will be required to contribute to the blog three times during the semester; you will be asked to visit the other class blog and comment three times during the semester. The topic of each of the blogs will be study abroad. While some of you might be planning to study abroad and others of you not, these topics will give you ideas about the study abroad experience and if it would be an appropriate option for you.

For the blog posting, you will be asked to write 200 words including and a picture or link to (it is a good idea to write your posting on Word and then copy and paste it to the blog so that you have an extra copy) and create a 1 ½  minute-long podcast. For the other two postings, you will be asked to produce a longer podcast. Be sure to cite any sources you use when writing your blog or producing a podcast (with a link to the website, for example). During the week after you finish your blog/podcast, you should visit the opposing team’s blog and comment on what they wrote/said. If you as the author then respond to those comments left by your classmates, demonstrating in your answer that you read the comment, you will receive ½ point extra credit on your blog assignment per response. At the end of the semester, we will have a contest and ask French speakers to vote on which blog they felt was the most informative, entertaining, and creative. The losing blog group will then throw a party for the winning group during the last week of class. The topics are listed below:

 Context – study abroad

1. Blog (200 words) Introduce yourself – answer questions for study abroad application

• Have you traveled or studied abroad before? Where?
• Describe your family.
• Tell us about your personal interests and hobbies.
• Why are you a good candidate for studying abroad?
• Why do you want to study in this country?
• What do you want to achieve during your experience?

-Required image: picture of yourself

-Podcast (1 ½ minutes)– intercultural story/misunderstanding that occurred either in US or abroad and what you learned from it

 2. Interview (4 minutes) – Interview someone who has studied abroad. Prepare a list of 3-4 questions about study abroad (2 minutes) and then discuss stereotypes you have about French and what kinds of stereotypes they have about us. Are they necessarily true? Why or why not? (2 minutes)

-Required image: picture of person you interviewed (could also be a picture of interviewee taken while studying abroad)

 3. Podcast (3-4 minutes) – Research a French/Francophone town in which you would be interested in studying abroad. Then create an advertisement (what to see, do, eat, sleep, university, classes, etc.) for the city. Remember that you are trying to encourage your classmates to visit you here, so try to make it sound interesting and inviting.

-Required image: 3-4 pictures of the town

Evaluation:

Blog Grading Rubric

Expansion: Students can present their projects in class using PowerPoint, posters, or other tools.

Variations: Students can introduce their state or region to a partner class in France or they can explore a certain region in France in-depth. Many variations are possible.

Sample projects for French:

http://fllc.cas.sc.edu/FR209A/wordpress/

http://fllc.cas.sc.edu/FR209B/wordpress/

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January 2007 - Create Flowcharts with Inspiration (Gail Corder)

Standards: Communication, Connections

The TV5 website is a wonderful resource for teachers interested in using videos to complement their classroom activities.  In a section for teachers, the website offers music videos, newscasts, documentaries, all accompanied by lesson plans adapted to all levels of French . Note that some videos play on Windows Media Player, but the majority use Real Player. It might also be a good idea to have a data projector and a good set of speakers. http://www.tv5.org

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Standard: Communities

Type of Activity: Tourist Brochure

Materials Needed: Computer lab with Internet access and Microsoft Publisher, printer

Duration of activity: 2, 90 minute class blocks as a minimum- OR you can break the project into smaller time frames and do it over several class periods.

Description of activity: Create a travel brochure for French-speaking tourists about your town, city, or area. Draw and label pictures of places you think they would like to visit, or use photos from other sources. Be sure to include important information such as times and days the places are open, the entrance fees, the type of food available, and so on. Before you make your final brochure, write a rough draft and have two classmates proofread it.

This activity can be used for any level of instruction, just modify the type or complexity of language expected.

Try to partner with the Chamber of Commerce in your area to see if they might be interested in publishing some of your students’ brochures!

View a sample brochure!

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SiteNous.com was born of the collaboration between a technology consultant whose wife and daughters shared a passion for French, and a French teacher looking for ways to improve pen pal exchanges. By combining their strengths and knowledge, they created a website to complement a French teacher’s classroom and provide opportunities to enhance intercultural communication.

Most teachers agree that pen pal exchanges bring reality into the classroom: French is not just a subject anymore but a language spoken by teens in other parts of the world. However, the logistics of organizing a successful pen pal exchange can sometimes be challenging: you don’t have the same number of students in both groups, some students find little to talk about with their partners, or you keep waiting for students who are always late in bringing their letters to you. SiteNous.com eliminates most of these problems by bringing all students together in one space at Internet speed.

Whether you are a beginning user of technology or your world revolves around new multi-media gadgets, this site has something for you. Set up as a virtual classroom, SiteNous.com provides each teacher with their own space, an online meeting place for their students. A beginning teacher can simply use forums to facilitate the interaction among his or her students while a more tech-savvy teacher might enjoy using such features as wikis, podcastings, file sharing or blogs. Teachers can customize their own space to fit their needs as time goes on.

In this international classroom, a group of students from Pennsylvania are in contact with a group of students from Tournai, in Belgium. Each month, the teacher posts a new topic to which students have to answer. Depending on the topic and the students’ level, these posts can be in French or in English. Students are encouraged to respond to each other and submit new ideas of topics and activities. On a more advanced level, students from both countries can work collaboratively on various topics, comparing and contrasting items of their daily life: what’s a typical day like? Where do you go on vacation? They can create photomontages, short videos, or PowerPoint presentations to be posted on the website.

It is important to note that student safety is of the utmost importance to SiteNous.com’s creators. Each classroom is password protected and accessible only to students registered in the class. All actions within the virtual classroom are recorded and a teacher can pull reports of all activities on the site. This is true also of chat rooms where everything is recorded even if the teacher is not present.

In addition to the virtual classroom assigned to them, teachers have access to a teacher forum where they can share ideas on how best to use the website and other tools. Small tutorials on the various technologies, from podcasting to videoconferencing, are also available.

SiteNous.com is a new website and still looking for teachers willing to try their hands at a new way to complement their classroom and/or approach pen pal exchanges. SiteNous.com is also trying to “recruit” French-speaking teachers who would like to be partnered with an English-speaking class. Note that it is not necessary to have a partner class for you to be able to use the virtual classroom. If you are interested or know anyone who might be, go to http://www.sitenous.com

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Level: Intermediate

Technology experience: Basic (Microsoft word + editing tools)

Subject: You will write about your summer (fall/spring/winter) break: invent (or tell) an adventure or amusing anecdote that happened to you during the break. Use the past tense.

1. All students should sit at a computer (students who don't have a computer can sit in chairs and write). They open MS word, and begin to type an introduction paragraph about their vacation (the teacher can situate the context).  Students should set up the story (adventure, funny anecdote, etc.).

2. The teacher should bring a tape and/or CD to class in order to play music from the podium and have students move around (ex.: 5 seats forward, 3 seats backward, etc.) whenever the music stops. Each time the music stops, you have them move. You may allow 5 minutes one time or 2 minutes another time to write. Each student has to make a new contribution to the composition she/he is at when the music stops (and do editing if time permits). Each student may work on 4 or 5 (or more) different compositions during the class.

3. Students can take 5 minutes at the end of class to go back to the original document that they started, read what others have added and edit it. Students can vote on the funniest or most original (etc.) story.

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