So Much to Learn...So Little Time

links for 2009-06-11

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  RT @Cameron_Quinn: Mac users! Don't let this get away. Only 4 days left. http://offto.net/macupdate 91% off top quality Apple software. [from http://twitter.com/adamsutcliffe/statuses/2106605292]
  (tags: tweecious)

links for 2009-06-04

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  Posted 'TGS Sports Day 2009' to blip.tv: http://blip.tv/file/2196409 [from http://twitter.com/adamsutcliffe/statuses/2021328672]
  (tags: tweecious Facebook Reddit Digg MySpace FlashVideo Newsvine QuickTime OntheWeb)

What Makes a Good Citizen - Citoyens du Monde (SCIAF Part 3)

As luck would have it the commencement of our new timetable has been delayed a week!!!
This has meant that despite all the usual end of term type disruptions I'll be able to finish what I started with my S2's on their Citoyens du Monde Congo work.

To finish this up I wanted the class to think about what makes someone a "good citizen" or a role model. I set a homework for the students to think about someone they believe to be a good role model for them. They had to find a picture and then think about why this person was a role model, and come up with a list of qualities of a good citizen.

In class they then had to present their role model saying who it was and why they had been chosen. (Again this was done in English to ensure adequate thought would be given to the reasons.) I have to say some of the choices surprised me, but I was so impressed by some of the reasons the pupils came up with; eg Leona Lewis was one girl's role model not solely because of her talent but because she apparently refuses to lose weight for promotional purposes. Anyway you will see on the film below the wide range of role models adopted.

Next I had them translate their good citizen qualities into french and write the words around our "good citizen." Finally we looked at how to use the construction "il faut" with "être" and "avoir":
Pour être un bon citoyen il faut être altruiste...et il faut avoir une volonté de fer.

And that is pretty much it. I'd like to actually sound out what they have thought about this unit of work, but time unfortunately has slipped away, although my overall impression is that they have enjoyed the departure from the usual text book, powerpoint, vocab stuff.
Here's the last film on this topic. The first half was done with I Can Animate using the MacBook's built in iSight taking 5 frames at a time. Not the quality I was looking for unfortunately but I had left my firewire cable at home so couldn't use a camcorder. The 2nd part was filmed with my newest toy a Flip Ultra. The music is from garageband.com and band called Onadi with their song "Model Citizen" (found by searching for "citizen")




I previously said that time had slipped away from me so I didn't really get a chance to have the students evaluate what they thought about they had been doing...that was until I remembered what Catriona at SCILT had told me about Polleverywhere. So I thought I'd give it a go and let the kids use their mobiles in class...surprised at how many didn't actually have one with them (almost half).
Some were as impressed as I am by it (I was playing with it all morning..off and on anyway).
Ok so their "evaluations" are not quite what I would have originally hoped but at least we have gone some way to think about the work we have done.

As for Polleverywhere, I mentioned it to a colleague who went straight off to use it to assess what his S4s thought of their exam. Who needs expensive polling systems.
Anyway here are the results.

Get a free sms student response system at Poll Everywhere

sciaf, scilt, polleverywhere, flipvideo,

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links for 2009-06-03

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  Posted 'What we do in MFL' to blip.tv: http://blip.tv/file/2191605 [from http://twitter.com/adamsutcliffe/statuses/2009884092]
  (tags: tweecious FlashVideo MySpace Facebook CreativeCommons Microsoft RSS QuickTime ITunes)

What we do in MFL

Click to Play

A very quick look at some of the stuff I've been doing with video in my class