So Much to Learn...So Little Time

Look where we all come from

ECML WEB JOURNALS IN LANGUAGE EDUCATION WORKSHOP

Here I am at another multi-cultural conference. Teachers and teacher trainers from all over Europe.

About 30+ teachers and languages being represented. Simultaneous translation in both French and English.

Already networked with Denis Cunningham who is President of the International Federation of Language Teacher Associations...why is SALT not a member???

Check out what the ECML does.

This is the BLOGS project we will be working on.

New and Improved In Service Podcast with free extras

  Here's the souped up version of the previous post's podcast.
It includes screenshots of my slides, url links to the relevant web pages and some music.
I recorded this presentation using a Griffin lapel mic connected to a Griffin iMic, connected to an Apple PowerBook G4 and Garageband 3.

Download aberdeenshire_and_city_modern_languages_in_service_day_may_2007.m4a

Notes to accompany presentation:

Promoting School/Departmental Activities
Resource bank / homework details
AifL/Peer Assessment
Reflection
Enterprise Activity
Collaborative Blog

What is a blog?
What is a podcast?
Typepad blogging tutorial
How to make a podcast

audacity download
audacity users guide
audacity tutorials

garageband 3
garageband tutorial

a good starters usb microphone

griffin imic / lapel mic

Some useful sources of information:
Joe Dale's ICT in Modern languages
Ewan MacIntosh
Ollie Bray
John Johnstone@Sandaig Primary
The Ashcombe School
MFLE blogs and podcasts
eggdeutsch

MFL Blogroll (courtesy of Joe Dale...thanks Joe)

This is a great list of links to MFL themed blogs from all over.

• A ship in the country
• Campo's Corner
• Edgehill College Spanish
• Eggdeutsch
• Ewan McIntosh
• Facing the currently unknown
• Inchinnan Primary
• Kirklandneuk Primary
• Langwitches
• Leanne Simmonds
• Lynne Horn
• MFL Innovations and Ideas Bank
• MFLE
• Montrose Academy
• Northgate High
• Partners in Excellence
• Rate my Mates
• Spectacularspanishandfabulousfrench
• Steph Hopkins
• TES ICT Blog
• TGS MFL HW
• Two Stars and a Wish
• Woodhill Primary
• York MFL PGCE

In Service 18th May 2007 (Blogging, Podcasting, Digital Video...in 30 mins.)

Blogging and Podcasting for busy teachers.
As promised here's the podcast of my performance today. This is just the basic recorded version. I'm going to link it with the powerpoint so the slides will show at the appropriate moment.

Download Inservice.mp3

Slideshows of my trip to Addis

I am pleased as punch this week.
I have had first communications with both our African cluster partners and  we had a very positive cluster meeting. I now have to go and face up to hordes of primary kids as I give presentations in their assemblies over the next couple of weeks.

Here are  slideshows I have made of my trip to Addis Ababa. You will need quicktime to view them. (Click the link to download it if need be.) This first one is entitled "At Play" - because we didn't work all the time.

Download connecting_classrooms_at_playsmall.mov

The Glass is Overflowing

Thank you Mr Griffiths.

I am so chuffed, the man in the big office said yes and I will be attending the ECML conference in June. But before that there is the small matter of

a weekend in Addis Abeba as it is correctly spelled.

I'm too tired tonight. More later when I've calmed down.

 

Communicate.07

A fine day of learning.

I really rather enjoyed my first experience of giving a presentation to colleagues from other schools from all over Scotland. For some reason I wasn't anywhere near as nervous as I thought I was going to be. Maybe that there were only 12 delegates in my session helped...you don't know what you missed! Unfortunately due to my over exuberance to get started I forgot to press record on the marantz and so didn't record the session as intended.

I picked up quite a lot of information during the course of my presentation. Namely that the willingness of teachers to get to grips with this sort of stuff knows no bounds but unfortunately their enthusiasm is quite often bridled by others who may have control over the IT situation either in school or within the authority. There are some quite worrying stories such IT people who when asked about uploading videos from You Tube said "What's that?" There seems to be a desire on the part of authorities to  block some/all of web 2.0 technology rather than allow it to be used in schools to help educate students on its safe usage. (I know Ewan's being going on about this for ages now.) Youngsters are going to use it at home so why ban it in school? As a profession we need to be aware of all these applications and how to use them.

During the morning I attended the plenary session with Stuart Hay et al from the Anderson High in Lerwick. (Their story of travel adversity brought back fond memories of my time in Shetland.) I came away brimming with thoughts about how we can use/adapt similar ideas if our application to the british Council is accepted. mainly ideas on how to share what we can do with African partners:
    •    film science experiments
    •    film/record debates in mod studs
    •    use different age/stage groups in MFL (ie older native speakers challenge younger TL speakers)
    •    see/hear ourselves as others see/hear us
    •    presenting our locality to others
    •    student research - students have been asked to assess effectiveness of school
    •    shared images course - open to all ages/stages - enables youngsters to have access to higher MFL learners/NS

    •    I am looking forward to investigating their website.

    •    Although school is doing heaps one thing stuart said struck home:     YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE AN INVENTOR

To close the plenary Robert McKinstry identified some interesting quotes by Stuart:
    •    "Almost every department has a virtual and an active timetable"
    •    "Bringing the world to the classroom"

Surely if we can get a project like this off the ground we will improve
unquestionalbly the level of interdepartmental communication within school.

Later that morning I attended a seminar on the use of mobiles in the classroom.
It was interesting in that i think I now know how to go about blogging via my phone
and I also got some great ideas about how to put them to good use in class for
things like directions around school.

So overall I found it very interesting. I have also come back with a vague idea about producing more "commercially" viable podcasts. Not in the profit making sense but can I set up a programme in school where kids produce podcasts in whatever subjects as ordered by departments. Eg if history want a resource on Civil Rights can we produce one for them???
I think I would like to speak to Mark Pentleton about this one.

But as my blog title says..."So much to learm...so little time"

PS I also learned that it's Communicate DOT 07 and not Communicate 07.

You can download my presentation here if you want. (It's a big file so be patient)

Download communicate.07 - Try It and You Will Learn.mov

Another First

My first presentation to peers.

This weekend sees me giving my first presentation to  my teaching colleagues nationwide. During the seminar I asked the delegates to script, produce and post a podcast. Here are the results.
Hopefully you will leave me a comment or two on how I did on the day.

Download coomunicate_07.m4a

Two Events

What a week, but it was worth it.

Well last week was one of my more busy ones. My S3's took part in the Institut Francais' Rencontres Theatrales on Wednesday. Of course I was worried about how they would perform, but once again they were awesome. It was quite a shared learning experience because I'm not exactly a drama teacher but I had ideas about what I wanted to see on stage. Some of my actors however perform regularly and were able to contribute some excellent ideas about how to stage our little masterpiece, so I am really quite pleased to say I learned a lot from them as well.
If you just happen to be curious about their play ("La jeune fille, le chef et la grenouille: une Cendrillon africaine") you can see it on the departmental blog, along with a slideshow of some pictures I took of the whole event. At a later date I will be posting podcasts of the other acts as well.

Next on Thursday I took part in Joe Dale's Flashmeeting. It was an hour of sharing practice and just decent conversation between hardworking teachers. Check out Joe's post rather than me going on about it...no pint in reinventing the wheel.
It was great to see and here from folk whose names I have come across on the web and it was even better to find out more about their work.

Now I've only got to worry about Communicate 07.

SCILT Outreach

As mentioned in previous post I attended one of the SCILT Outreach conferences in Elgin yesterday. On the whole these conferences are an excellent idea enabling us teachers fortunate enough not to work in the central belt to find out what is going on in the development of teaching and learning. You also usually get a great lunch..the salmon was fantastic.

In an appropriately reflective manner I would like to consider one or two point that cropped up. I will at a later date post cleaned up copies of my notes.

The first presetation was that of Alan Ogg of HMIe on Improving Scottish Education. I have to take issue with the fact that we were informed that we should always look at our strengths as teachers and then we were presented with a table showing that HMIe believe that almost 60% of teaching and learning in those schools inspected in 2006 - 06 was weak or adequate (which really means not all that good.) What a way to boost teachers on a Saturday. I often find that in these situations it is a case of do as I say not as I do. Imagine if an inspector came into the classrom whilst you were in the middle of explaining to all your students that 60% were really only adequate...
One colleague asked why she should stay in the profession if this was the encouragement we were getting for all the work we do.

Part 2 looked at CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) or put simply content dictates the language taught. I like the idea as it would involve lots of x-curricular stuff and despite some comments to the contrary I don't really think current SG syllabus is set up like this. It will also enable language teachers to get their teeth stuck into global issues such as the environment and citizenship.

part 3 was the now usual update on A Curricuclum for Excellence. Main point was that it will be behind schedule...bloody politicians as per usual who don't know their arse from their elbow.

Robert McKinstry indicated that the curriculum will need to drive (and indeed overtake) the exam syllabus. But can this really hapen if the hallowed SQA are not taking part in the discussions on what is potentially the most groundbreaking development in education for years. If they are not there will be no point in all of this because we will still end up having to conduct the same old exams. I like the idea of student shaving to achieve a min imum level of language competency by S3 and the idea of a language passport recognised europewide is a welcome development.

The last part of the day was a presentation by Robert McKinstry on developing Listening skills. I enjoyed this as it really gave me food for though about what I do in my classroom. Prattling on in TL was recommended...I can do that. The point being that babies learn their language by their parents wittering on all the time...must be something in it. Another point was the idea of developing the skill not just by "doing listenings" but by setting some time aside to maybe read a story or listen to a piece of music in the TL. It doesn't matter that it is relevant to the topic being studied as you would be developing a skill. I am going to try it... watch this space to see what happens.

So much food for thought. Allow me time to digest. Cognac anyone.