Weebly

Weebly is simply the most fantastic tool!! I wasn't sure whether or not to include it in this blog as it's not strictly speaking a tool for English language learners, but it could easily be!

It's a web site building tool, but the difference is that it's free (for up to 6 pages) and much more importantly, it's practically idiot proof. If you can use Word and know how to drag and drop, you can really create a brilliant website in a really short time. Here's the advertising video - I'm honestly not on any kind of commission for this, but I'm so impressed.



The first time I put a web site together it was really painful, so this is a joy. You can put your web page together and then try out different templates, too.  For learners, you could use it for project work - they could make their own websites - I think this would be very motivating for teenagers, in particular, or you could make a class website and give each group in the class a page to complete. Alternatively, produce one yourself to give them practice in extensive reading or listening to authentic material - it's just as easy to edit as it is to set up.  Have a go - if you thought websites were something that required a professional web designer and a lot of cash or a lot of time learning the ropes, think again - you CAN do this!

English Teaching Websites

This site looks as if it's going to be a really useful one.  It isn't quite up and running yet, but the idea is that it will be a collection of useful websites and blogs for students and for teachers.  It's also got links to training sites, jobs, etc. Definitely worth keeping an eye on!

Snapanda

This is a great little tool that I've just discovered.  Haven't been able to try it out yet, as it's only for Android phones currently, but they are working on an iPhone version, so hopefully it won't be too long.
This is a free dictionary App, but with the twist that you just show the word to your phone using the camera in it and it will look it up for you.  Here's the promo video to explain better.

Digital Storytelling with Xtranormal.com

Check this out! If you want to encourage your learners to write and speak English this is a great tool to do it, especially with younger learners and teenagers. Xtranormal.com is a site where you can choose backgrounds, characters, sounds, actions etc and make a movie either by recording your voice or by typing in text that is then read back by an automatic voiceover (in a range of accents). It's like Voki, but you can get a lot more elaborate! When you have made one, you can e-mail it, embed it, download it (interestingly), share it on Twitter, Facebook etc etc....
Here's an example:
ICT Blog movie
by: JGakonga


It's free to play with and to make your first couple of videos (they give you 300 points to start with) but you do have to pay after that - I think it's quite cheap, though, and the three or four free ones that you are allowed on a free log in may well be enough for most learners.

Web Based Collaboration Tools- 15! -All free!

This blog post has a really great range of web based tools that are all free with which you (and more importantly, your learners) can collaborate on-line, either in real time or asynchronously.  There are a few here that you have probably heard of (Google docs, Skype) and another whole load that you probably haven't (Twiddla, Wet Paint, VYew).  I have to confess that I haven't checked all of these out, but if you want learners to collaborate outside class, there are some very simple to use tools here, and they are all free. 

Fodey.com - Make your own newspaper

This site is a really nice one for encouraging your learners to write at home.  They can easily and for free create a newspaper story like the one below or little animations with wizards, squirrels, cats or ninjas - all good fun and very easy.  You don't have to sign up and when you have created your image, you can just download it and it's yours to do what you want with - how easy is that? 

Get them to write a story and send a copy to you by e-mail, or print them out and stick them up on the wall. 

Free website hosting - KompoZer

Here's an interesting tool if you or your learners are feeling a bit 'techie'.  This site allows you to create your own website for free. You just go to the site and download the software on there and Bob's your mother's brother!  My 12 year old son assures me that it works and it's really easy to use (they are using it at school to make websites). The only thing that I'd say is that a quick internet search showed me to this site which gives a guide on how to use it, and it says that this is great for experimental or small scale sites,but that you have limited publishing availability, so you have been duely warned!   It has a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) style template set up so that you can do what you want really easily (if you can use Word, you can use this).

 There are lots of ways that you could use this for a class - make one yourself for your learners with links to useful websites or upload homework, etc.  If you (and they!) are a bit more ambitious, you could get them to make their own - it's a great motivation to produce writing for an authentic purpose.
Good luck!

Happy Anniversary!

I've just realised that it's a year and a day since my first post on here, so it seemed almost obligatory to add another one!

The big thing that has happened this week is that I have launched my on-line course - it's been nearly a year of trialing different options, but I've finally come up with what I think is a good option for easy access and supported learning.  During the pilots, the most surprising thing that emerged was that the convenience of being able to access things in your own time seems to win hands down over the immediacy of a real-time class (on-line).  With this in mind, I've revamped it all and although you can still hear my dulcit tones talking you through the information, but in a recorded format that you can watch at will.  If you are interested, have a look at www.elt-training.com and follow the links to 'Try before you buy'. 

There are also free teacher development webinars on the site, too, a new one each month. January's is on Continuing Professional Development using ICT - check it out!

Thanks to all of you who have supported me over this first year - it's been a steep learning curve, but soooo interesting!

Movie segments to assess grammar goals

I've just discovered this site and I think it's brilliant!   It has lots of ideas for teaching grammar with snippets of all sorts of films and worksheets to go with them - definitely a great resource.

Here's the profile of the man who has all the ideas....

My Brainshark.com

It's been a while since I've put a new entry on here - a combination of being away all summer and struggling to get back in the swing of things since we got back!
This site is a real winner, though, so I hope you find it useful.  It does the same kind of thing as Present Me, but with audio instead of video, but it is sooooo much easier to use - I really like it.
Essentially, it's a tool to record presentations, but you can also use it to narrate over a document or over pictures.  You have to register on the site, but it doesn't take long and it's free.  Once you've done this, you can upload a Powerpoint presentation or a document, or pics and then record your presentation over it.  I've used it for Powerpoint and the nice thing about it is that you create the presentation for one slide at a time, so (for learners) if you make a mistake, you don't have to re-record your whole presentation, just the last slide, and you have the option to listen to each slide again before you save it.  When it's saved, you can embed it into a blog (see below!) or send the url link to a friend, or your teacher.  This is brilliant for Business and Academic English, but your general English learners might like it, too.  The other way you can use it is as authentic listening practice.  There are loads of interesting presentations on the site that are freely available.  You could assign one for the learners to listen to (maybe with some comprehension questions) or ask them to find one they like and tell another learner about it when they come back into class.

If you want some help using this, here is Russell Stannard's video to show you how.

Quizlet

Quizlet is a great site for giving your learners practice in vocabulary that you want them to learn (or they can make their own!)  You can make vocabulary lists with definitions and send them the link and they can use the flashcards to learn the vocab, or play different games with it, or test themselves as many times as they like. You can also print out the flashcards if you want a set to use in class.  Another great thing about this site is that it gives you an automatic sound fgile for each word (ie it says it for you) - great for pronunciation. The only thing I would say is that it doesn't always seem to work :( but hey ho, you can't have everything!  You have to register witht he site, but it's free.  You can also look at other people's quizzes, which is nice - perhaps you won't have to make your own...

Here's an example of some flashcards I made for my celta trainees to help them learn the names of tenses....

Choose a Study ModeScatterLearnFlashcards

Study these flash cards | Study grammar flash cards

Glogster

This site is a really nice idea if you want to start your learners blogging but a blog is a bit intimidating! With this tool you can really easily create a page with pictures, text, music, videos etc. It's quick and easy,lots of fun and free!

Here's my example - I had to put it in as a pic, but there is music, too, if you follow this link you can get the full experience!!

You just go to the site, register (it's very quick) and you're ready to go! Nice to find other Glogs that you like, too...
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Present Me

Present Me is a really nice tool for encouraging your learners to get speaking/ presentation practice  outside class.  Learners can register and then upload a Powerpoint presentation and record themselves talking through the slides.  If you have Business English learners, or people studying for IELTS/ academic English, this is brilliant, but even some of the ESOL exams (eg the City and Guilds Level 1 and 2 Speaking and Listening that I'm currently doing with a class) involve learners giving a presentation, so this is a good way for them to practice, send it to you and get feedback before they do the real thing in class.

It's relatively easy to use, but here are Russell's detailed instructions, which are very helpful.  There are various levels of it, but the most basic is free, and frankly would be fine for most learners.  This allows you to upload up to 50MB of material and speak for 15 minutes.
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Voki

Vki is a really cute tool that will make your learners smile!  It's a website on which you can make your own 'voki' avatar and record messages for it to say, taking messages via e-mail or you can embed them on your website (like this!). In all honesty, the fun is in making the avatar, and the messaging is a bit secondary, so it's not all that applicable for language learning, but it's a bit of fun!

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My Website- ELT-Training.com

I haven't been blogging very much over the past few weeks as I've been madly busy with other things, not least trying to get my website off the ground!  It is now airbourne and I'm quite pleased with it!

This is what it looks like and I will be running on-line grammar courses and FREE monthly teacher training webinars from it. Have a look - any feedback gratefully received.

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Scoop it!

Scoop it is  brilliant tool that I just discovered through Nik Peachy (another winner!). I've already loaded up three different pages and it's a quick and easy way to put all of your internet 'goodies' in an easily accessible basket for people (learners/ trainees/ fellow teachers etc) to view.  In some ways this is like an on-line noticeboard.  You can add links to sites that you like and readers can follow the page (and get new links as they are posted) and/ or comment on the ones that are there. 
Here's a peek at one of my pages that has lots of ideas for lesson plans and materials to use in class.

I've also made pages with ideas for teacher development and with useful sites for learners - have a look and see what you think.

One of the best things about the tool is that it makes it so easy to share informatin in an attractie way.  All you need to do is add the url to the site you like and all of the text/ pics etc come up automatically, so it takes no time at all to do.  I particularly like the idea of having one for each class you teach with sites customised to their needs on it.  It searches the net for sites that might be useful to you, too, if you put in some key words.  The only problem with this is that there is a bit of information overload, so you need to be able to scan through and sift!

To get started, you have to send an e-mail to get registered.  You are then given an access url and you can put up as many different pages as you like.  Simple!

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30 Goals

One of the great things about getting out and about on the net is the number of REALLY innovative, interesting, motivated educators that you come into contact with. I thought I was quite a motivated sort of person, but it awes me how much get-up-and-go some people have!  My latest example of this is Shelly Terrell, who is a powerhouse!   Her blog, Teacher Reboot Camp can be found here  and through this links to her project '30 Goals'.  This is her challenge to you (yes, you!) to achieve 30 short term IT based goals in 30 days (or in as long as you think is more realistic for you).  She's produced a book (below) giving ideas and there are more on her blog and the idea is that you don't do this in splendid isolation, but you tweet about what you achieve so that you can get support from other like-minded people.  How great is that??!!


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Digital Publishing with YUDU

The only thing I'd say is that most of us mere mortals don't have her energy, but I'm going to try to do some of them - maybe on a slightly longer time-scale.  

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iTunes and Using Podcasts.

People are often put off looking into iTunes because they don't have an iPod, iPhone, etc, I know I was, but in the oft-quoted words of Mr Stannard:

'You don't have to have an iPod to use iTunes'! 

This is a phenomenal resource which can open up a world of listening resources, most of them free, and you can listen on any computer.  All that you need to do is to download the iTunes software onto your desktop, and it's all yours!  Probably the most useful part of all this is the podcasts that are available for authentic listening practice and for specific lessons in English (or in a wealth of other languages...).  If you're still thinking, 'What's she on about?!', a podcast is like a short (usually) radio programme that is produced on a regular basis and the majority are made non-commercially by people like you and me. Ther are also video-podcasts (or vodcasts) on the site, but we'll stick to the audio for now!

Here is a small selection of the podcasts for learning English that were on the first page I looked at -but there are literally hundreds of others. 



As you can see, there is a 'subscribe' button next to each - teh best idea is to listen to a couple of episodes and you'll soon decide whether or not this person's approach accords with your own!  If they do, you can click 'subscribe' and every time a new episode is published, your computer will pick it up and download it automatically for you - what could be easier?   They'll show up on your iTunes page (see below) and are then accessible to listen to on yor computer, or download to your iPod etc and listen to on the move.

Here's a link to Russell Stannard's step-by step video on how to get the best out of iTunes, not just podcasts, but also apps for language learning. This will tell you everything you need to know!

http://www.teachertrainingvideos.com/iTunesNew/index.html



Podcasts are great for langauge learning for all sorts of reasons.  They are, of course, a great source of authentic material, both for teachers to use in class and for learners to use outside class.  There is such a huge variety of material on every subject, it would be impossible not to find something that would interest any individual.  You could challenge your learners as homework to find a podcast that they really like (maybe by telling them that they have to listen to a minimum of 4 or 5) and then post the links on a class blog, or a Wallwisher (see other posts about these) so that they can all try out each others.  Hopefully, if they find something useful/ interesting, they'll stick with it and this is an ideal way of motivating learners to continue to learn, week after week, on the long haul that is learning a language.  The only difficulty is the sheer amount of material that is available, some of which is brilliant, and some of which (of course) isn't so great.  If you search for a certain type of podcast, eg put TEFL or ESL into the search box, you'll get a list that will also show you how popular each one is, and this can help to be some kind of guide as to the quality.  At least once you've found something that you like, it's not a one off - it'll keep on coming!

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VYou

This is another real winner from Nik Peachy - I think the man should have a knighthood, personally. Where does he find all this brilliant stuff??!!
One of the most motivating things when you are learning a language is to get involved on a personal level with native speakers of that language in my experience, but this can be a tall order.  If you are in your home country, there won't be many English speakers around probably, and even those people who are living in an English speaking country (ironically) sometimes find that making friends and interacting outside of their own language community can be difficult.  This site is a great way to practice your listening, but in a very personal way.  If you click on the site, there are hundreds of people there with a brief description of who they are, categorised under 'hobbies, entertainment, professional sports etc etc. You can ask any of them a question and they will send you a video reply (presumably within a couple of days).  You can also watch video responses to questions that other people have asked.  Predictably, some of the responses are a bit lame, but some people are just great.  One guy will write you a song about any idea that you send him!
If you'd like to be a participator as well as a listener, the sign up process is very easy and quick.  And, of course, if you'd like to talk to me or ask me a question, here I am - go right ahead!!



The only potential problem with this is the obvious one that it's not filtered, so you might get some unsavoury content, but having had a quick surf through it, it seems OK.
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Wallwisher

Another great site from Nick Peachy's blog.  It's free, it's quick to set up, you don't have to register and it's very interactive!    It's the internet equivalent of a big notice board that anyone can add content to.  This could be text, pics, video, links to websites, etc.  
There are all sorts of possibilities with a class - you could have a discussion topic in class and ask them to post their views so that they can all be viewed or you could get individuals to make a wall each over a period of time (maybe a month).  This could be on a particular theme, or could be an accumulation of ideas, language, texts that they like etc over that time. In this way, it acts just like a blog, but perhaps because it's so easy and intuitive to use, it might be seen as more of a do-able task to less 'techie' learners.

The only downside I can see is that it's potentially very public (but so is a blog...).  You can set it so that only the designer of the wall has access to it, or so that other peole can see it but not add to it, and you also have the option of 'vetting' all posts before they go on the wall, so hopefully this will be enough to ensure that you don't get anything nasty on there!

Here's my 'wall' - feel free to stick a comment on it!


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