Category Archives: Web2.0 tools

Curation tools

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Pearltrees

Pearltrees is a collaborative curation tool that allows users to collect, organise and share any URL they find online as well as to upload personal photos and notes. It has a visual interface that allows users to drag collected URLs into units called pearls that themselves can be further organized in a hierarchical structure with pearltrees. Users of this tool can collaborate in teams on the same pearltree and they can pin pearls found on other peoples’ pearltrees to their pearltree.

New links added to user accounts and new pearltrees created by users can be broadcast via a user’s Twitter and Facebook accounts, if users have enabled this feature. Users can also embed a pearltree into most content management systems such as wikis and blogs. See an example of one of my pearltrees below.

Pearltrees has an online version and apps for iOS and Android devices.
My favourite writing tools in My favourite digital tools for languages teaching

Pinterest

Pinterest is a service that lets you visually bookmark web sites for later reference. You can create multiple “boards” or categories to which you pin your finds and can share links to these boards. “Pins” (bookmarks) are created by “pinning” an image from a web site to one of your boards. You do this either by clicking on a Pinterest icon on the web site (if there is one) or by clicking on the + symbol alongside your name on the Pinterest web site and selecting add from a website. You then select an image that best represents the site as a pin, write a brief description and save it to the appropriate board.

As well as sharing your boards with other Pinterest users, you can also browse through their boards and repin some of their finds to your boards. You might like to click on the follow button of people who have a lot of pins that you like. Pinterest has proven especially popular among educators. Teachers like to pin sites for later referral. Students also use Pinterest to organise sources and collaborate on projects. Check out some of the Pinterest boards that have been saved in the education category , or search by individual language to see some of the topics that interest educators and find some people to follow. Once you have created your own board(s) why don’t you write a comment on this post and share the URL of your finds?

Here is a screen capture of my Pinterest boards. Click here to go directly to them.

pinterest1

Padlet (formerly Wallwisher)

Padlet is an online tool that can be used for a variety of purposes, including the curation of web sites. I used Padlet to create the page element below. You can use it as I have to just curate and display web links in a visual manner but the beauty of Padlet is that users can work collaboratively on the same wall to access/post links to various websites. Possible additional uses in the languages classroom might be to post a web site or multimedia item (YouTube video, PowerPoint Presentation etc.) and invite general comments or answers to specific questions. Your students can provide feedback/answers in the form of post-it notes.

Check out this YouTube video for a good tutorial on how to make a Padlet.


Below is an example of a Padlet that I have made. Don’t worry if you don’t like the background that I have selected . I admit that it is very busy but I thought the robot theme was relevant to the content of this page. There are lots of calmer backgrounds and even a cork pinboard!

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Speaking tools

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Audiopal

I’ve just come across Audiopal again and think it’s a great tool for embeding messages into a wiki or blog with a compact flash-based video player. The way Audiopal works is very similar to Voki – you can record directly through the microphone, prepare a message using a pre-recorded text, or convert typed text to speech in a range of languages.

audiopal

To make a voice recording click on the microphone  tab. You will be prompted to let the computer take control of your microphone. Once you grant permission you will see the record button and can start the recording. If you prefer, you can use a file that you pre-recorded using software such as Audacity. Just remember to export the file as an mp3 file (or export it as a .wav file and convert it to mp3). Navigate to this file and click upload for the file to be attached to the player. Once your recording has been uploaded you can preview the message by clicking on the play button of the sample player. When you are ready to export your message type in your email address and then click on Get It! Your message will be sent to you by email with the embed code ready for you to copy and add to your site.

If you want to practise writing skills in the target language rather than speaking skills, click on the Text-to-Speech button and select a language and gender from the drop down menu.

Go!Animate

With the movie maker Xtranormal being no longer available after the end of today I have been looking around for an alternative. I think that Go!Animate is an excellent replacement. With a free Go!Animate account there are two options: a basic “quick” text-to-speech movie maker, and a more sophisticated “full” program with features like character movement and scene changes. Both versions are very easy to use. When you go into into the full video maker for the first time you are taken through the steps of making a movie. Go!Animate has also published a number of YouTube videos to support  both the quick and the full video makers. Go!Animate supports text to speech in a range of languages. You also have the option of recording your own voice. There is a limited number of options for exporting your finished movie with the free account but you can embed it in a wiki or blog or email the link. You need a paid account to upload to YouTube. Have a look at the quick version that I’ve made with a French voice over (text to speech). I was a little disappointed that the adult voices don’t really go with the two child actors. Next time I’ll record my own voice.

On va au cinéma? by krispaul on GoAnimate

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Useful tools for teachers

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appsgonefree

Apps Gone Free – a free iPad/iPhone app

Apps Gone Free, as its name suggests, is a source of free apps. While many of these apps may not be of interest to educators, there are enough that are useful to make it worthwhile installing Apps Gone Free on your iPhone or iPad. I download quite a few of the free apps to check out their features. It is easy enough the delete them later if I find something better.

As some of the apps are only free for one day. I usually check what’s available first thing.  The time sone difference with the United States means that some apps will have expired by the end of the day.

Triptico – a free downloadable app for PCs or Macs

Triptico is a free downloadable app  for computers that runs on Adobe Air, making it compatible with both Macs and PCs. Triptico provides you with a set of resources that you can use with your interactive whiteboard.  The great feature of Triptico is that it will work  with any make and model of interactive whiteboard unlike many of the commercial programs which are brand specific.

Triptico

 When you come to install the Triptico app you will be prompted to install Adobe Air if you don’t have it already on your computer.Once you have installed and launched the application, you can explore the different activities available by clicking on the tabs: Tools, Timers, Selectors and Quizzes. You don’t need to register with the application to use the resources.

Available resources include:

Tools: Word Magnets, Order Sorter, Class Count, Think/Link, Task Generator

Timers: Flip Timer, Hourglass, Circle Timer

Selectors: Student Group, Flip Selector, Pin Board, Text Spinner, Sliding Scores, Score Tapper

Quizzes: Find Ten, Match Maker, Word mix, What’s the question

An annual subscription of around AU$23 to Triptico Plus will give you access to additional resources such as Word Magnets PLUS, Card Board, Calculate, Student Selector PLUS, Image Spinner and Triptico Bingo and bonus features such as Save to Cloud.

Check your version occasionally. If there is a new version, be sure to uninstall your old one before installing the update.

Screen Time – a free iPad/iPhone app

This app enables teachers and parents to control the amount of time children spend on a device. It’s relatively easy to use: just set up a passcode, choose a time limit, set a user and hand it to your student. When the time runs out, the device will lock up and the only way to unlock it will be to enter the passcode.

This app is great for setting time limits when you need students to be purposeful in their use of apps. Teachers can use it to monitor their students and to support them with managing their time.

ScreenTime

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