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I have also entered a Webquest, A Car to Take You Far,
that I recently created for beginning ESL students. The Quest
includes several suggestions for extending the activity to more
advanced learners and adapting instruction to include additional
intelligences and content.
As you know from previous issues, carefully selected and
reviewed Webquests provide the ideal opportunity for students to
become independent learners. To learn more about Webquests and
access additional content, go to
http://www.webquest.org/.
Lunch and Learn
Following are our last two LL sessions for the year.
-
Adult Ed Moodle
6/12 - – This is a follow up session on April’s Introduction
to Moodle. You will be taken through the
process of entering a simple Moodle activity for your
students on our state site. You will be shown how to work
with information columns for all students (calendar,
calculator, contact, grades), how to enter assignments, how
to create quizzes, and how to open discussion forums and
generate dialog. You’ll be given links to easy tutorials
through which to build additional skills in Moodle. Spend
some summertime setting up your segments to the fall!
-
Second Life
6/19 - Travel with us through this amazing virtual world,
and watch avatars interacting with each other in educational
environments. This is one of the still underused free tools
on the Web. Once you experience it, you won't be able to
resist it - for yourself or your students. See you in Second
Life!
Our new Elluminate license allows for only ten people total, so
if you try to join the session and are turned away it is because
the session was closed.
You may access the session through our new URL:
https://sas.elluminate.com/m.jnlp?sid=voffice&password=M.35B7882A6447225E9F6C2DD13EEF05
You may access all content for Lunch and Learn sessions listed
on our wiki:
http://chiresources.pbworks.com/, along with many other
resources.
To become a writer and contributor to our wiki, simply register
to become a writer and, once approved, start adding your ideas
and resources to help us all become better at what we do.
Sites to Ponder
Websites are rich in content, and, if carefully selected, can
engage learners as never before as they acquire the knowledge
you offer them onsite through other tools.
Marsea Wynne suggests the English Language resources from BBC:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/.
They are wonderful. Be aware, however, that the English
vocabulary on BBC can be radically different from our own in
many cases, so review the content and clarify with students.
Check out their blog session and get involved at
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/communicate/blog/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pictionary -
Pictionary is a guessing
word game published in
1985. The game is
played with teams
with players trying
to identify specific words
from their teammates'
drawings. I played a version of the game growing up and
have used it in college ESL classes. It’s a hoot! Could also
work for ABE and GED, depending on the vocabulary to be covered,
from technical, to occupational, to anything.
Luri Owen suggests making your own picture dictionary, for ABE,
GED, Family Literacy or ESL, depending on the complexity and
type of the chosen content. Go to
http://www.realebooks.com/ . “Ready to get started with
RealeBooks?
Download the free version
of our RealeWriter software. With RealeWriter, you can download
RealeBooks directly from RealeLibraries right into your own
computer to see how others have crafted them. Then you can use
RealeWriter to try your hand at making and contributing your own
RealeBooks to inform and delight the people in your life or even
those beyond your own home.” Lots of sample on the site. Your
students will love this tool.
http://www.infovisual.info/ - You know that our students
learn predominantly through visual/spacial intelligences. “Try
Visual Dictionary, to learn by way of image with thematic, clear
and precise pages, with concise and rigorous texts,
multilingual, the InfoVisual will become an academic resource.
Different from an encyclopedia or from a traditional online
dictionaries, thesauri and glossaries because the images replace
the words.” Try one of the search options and enjoy.
http://www.teach-nology.com/ - This is a robust site filled
with ideas on integrating technology in instruction. I recently
taught a course on Theme-Based instruction. This site is one of
several that encourage cross-disciplinary instruction around a
theme. Among other great resources, you may access theme-based
tools that can really zap you learning environment. “Using a
thematic approach is a great way to cover a variety of topics
related to a major topic or unit. Pick a theme from our
selection of popular themes. There are topics and links to a
variety of resources that will help you to develop lessons that
are challenging, exciting, and fun for students!" The site
features over forty teacher resources per thematic unit.
Theme-based learning can be used by one instructor or by a team
of people working from different angles. It's sort of like
examining the elephant from different perspectives! Go to
http://www.teach-nology.com/themes/ on the same site.
http://www.teachersdomain.org/ - This site offers you what
so many others charge you for – rich, interactive content in a
huge variety of topics. I’m thinking GED prep, but you can use
the content in many ways.
http://www.apsva.us/15401081182015517/lib/15401081182015517/reepcurriculum/index.html
- I just came across this jewel, which develops ESL curriculum
for adults. “At REEP, ESL is much more than grammar, vocabulary
and pronunciation. Lifeskills instruction, student voice, and
integration of technology are cornerstones of REEP’s
instructional program. Students vote on lifeskills topics such
as health, employment, child's school and transportation to
determine the context through which they will develop their
speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills.”
Make Friends with Standards
Wouldn't it be rewarding to all if students could
look at standards as measures of accomplishment and gain a lot
of confidence from doing so? What would happen if we used
standards as review checklists with students?
Earlier this year, you were given technology standards at four
different levels. Those are posted on our wiki:
http://chiresources.pbworks.com/. Once you open the site,
you’ll find your Tech Ladder Technology Standards, matched to
several tutorials and resources on how to acquire the listed
skill. Those standards or checklists can significantly help
students measure their progress in learning computer skills. You
may also gain state-recognized certificates for your journey up
the ladder.
Along with other standards that you may have chosen for your
programs, SCANS skills and competencies also provide excellent
checklists for students. It is amazing what they can check off
after an hour’s session where they are engaged in learning.
The following site offers a different and very detailed
checklist of computer skills you may want to adopt or adapt for
students:
http://www.settlement.org/downloads/linc/LCG1to5/p8comp_checklist.PDF.
Let them keep their own records!
Finally, ISTE (International Society for Technology in
Education) provided educators with the first (and only?) set of
national technology standards to be integrated into education.
ISTE’s National Technology Education Standards (NETS) provide a
different view of stating skills: rubrics. To access those
thoroughly described rubrics, go to
http://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=NETS .
Why not match instruction to standards, not so much for
administrative purposes but for learners who love to see
concrete evidence of progress in our programs!
Rendezvous 2009 - http:www.caepa.org
Be sure to register
for Rendezvous 2009 to be held August 6-7, Beaver Run,
Breckenridge, Colorado. If you want additional information,
contact CAEPA president Glenda Sinks: (720) 944-2438 or
Glenda.Sinks@denvergov.org.
Thanks, Glenda, Jolene Goerend and others helping now and in
previous years, to promote this conference!
Think
Again
1. Native
Land
If Alan is from New Zealand,
And
Britain is where Rita is from,
Pease tell me if you are so able,
The countries of Eric and Don?
2. W
hat phrase does the box depict?
CLICK FOR ANSWER
THIS IS OUR LAST ISSUE OF THE YEAR. HAVE A GREAT SUMMER!
Your feedback,
suggestions, questions and error reports are most appreciated!
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