Reading and Comprehension-Record Yourself!!!!

Anca Belascu Activity withAudio

Subject Area/Student Grade Level Taught

Reading and comprehension Seventh grade (5th year of study)

What goals will students use multimedia to meet?

·                     Become better consumers of multimedia

·                     Learn material in greater depth

·                     Work with material from multiple perspectives

·                     Create personally meaningful learning experiences.

·                     Become engaged and motivated to work on their own

·                     Generate a product with high standards

What will students do? Why will they do it?

The teacher records herself on http://vocaroo.com/  giving them instructions how to use it correctly. She sends them by email the oral, but also, the  written instruction of what they are going to do. The text is given in an attachment.

http://vocaroo.com/i/s1un3uK3Cz2E 

They have to read a text in English as well as they can. After reading the text they have to answer the questions. The questions are multiple choice. It is a reading and comprehension exercise.

They are free to tell the teacher the problems they encountered while reading the text, or understanding some words.

They must send the recording to their teacher who will send her feedback, as a written email.

This way the students can hear themselves reading and they will have the feedback of their teacher. They have the chance to repeat the reading as many times as they want until they are happy with their work.

The teacher can also send the recordings to the parents and this way they will be able to hear their children reading in English and receive the comments of the teacher by email.

Advantages:

• Use of modern tools
• Privacy (they may be embarrassed to read in front of the class)
• Faster teacher/student communication/feedback
• Teacher/parents communication.
• Home work

Observation:

The activity can also be done in the class, but requires equipment: laptop/computers/microphone/headphones

 Vocaroo- Reading activity

 Read the text and answer the questions please.

OBS: Please let me know if you encounter any problems or if you do not know all the words.

Please use this online site to register yourself and then send it to my email

Steps to record yourself:

1. Open the following link: http://vocaroo.com/
2. Press Click To Record
3. Start reading the text and answer the questions).
4. Press Click to stop (when you finish)
5. Click here to save
6. Choose Email
7. Complete: From(your email)

To: (ancabelascu@yahoo.com/ancabelascu@gmail.com)

8. Click Send
9. Relax and have fun

Today, millions of people want to learn or improve their English but it is difficult to find the best method. Is it better to study in Britain or America or to study in your own country?

The advantages of going to Britain seem obvious. Firstly, you will be able to listen to the language all the time you are in the country. You will be surrounded completely by the language wherever you go. Another advantage is that you have to speak the language if you are with other people. In Italy, it is always possible, in the class, to speak Italian if you want to and the learning is slower.

On the other hand, there are also advantages to staying at home to study. You don't have to make big changes to your life. As well as this, it is also a lot cheaper than going to Britain but it is never possible to achieve the results of living in the UK. If you have a good teacher in Italy, I think you can learn in a more concentrated way than being in Britain without going to a school.

So, in conclusion, I think that if you have enough time and enough money, the best choice is to spend some time in the UK. This is simply not possible for most people, so being here in Italy is the only viable option. The most important thing to do in this situation is to maximize your opportunities: to speak only English in class and to try to use English whenever possible outside the class.

1. What is the article about?
    How many people learn English.
    The best way to learn English.
    English schools in England and America.

2. What is one of the advantages of going to the UK to learn English?
    There are no Italians in Britain.
    You will have to speak English and not your language.
    The language schools are better.

3. What is one of the advantages of staying in your country to learn English?
    The teachers aren't very good in Britain.
    You have to work too hard in Britain.
    Your life can continue more or less as it was before.

4. People who don't have a lot of time and money should...
    Learn English in Britain.
    Try and speak English in class more often.
    Go to Italy to learn English.

These are two of the recordings the students allowed me to make public. Enjoy !

http://vocaroo.com/i/s0OkqeOUUkUv

http://vocaroo.com/i/s1ntkvZMcOGA

http://vocaroo.com/i/s0yHnYHKm5yx  

http://vocaroo.com/i/s0SXtIjnJEnn 

Electronic Assessment Plan

ANCA BELASCU- School “I. Agarbiceanu” Alba Iulia

Handout 3

Electronic Assessment Plan

Learning Outcome

To make a poster/multimedia project about their town that might enter a local competition

Games/Test & Quiz Makers/Flashcards

Students	answer a quiz delivered by the teacher using google.docs. The students have to write information about their town and to demonstrate they have researched the subject, before submitting the quiz.
Teachers	make a ppt with pictures which will help students find out what they have to do, and will give examples from a different town. She will also usegoogle.docs to give them basic vocabulary.

Rubrics

Students	Know what is expected of them from the rubrics posted on the personal blog http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php?screen=ShowRubric&rubric_id=2315766& http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php?screen=ShowRubric&module=Rubistar&rubric_id=2316583&
Teachers	Grade students’ work in correspondence with the rubrics on the blog

Electronic Projects

Students	They have to take their own pictures, print them and use them to finish the poster. The pictures must be posted on the teacher’s blog. They have to take pictures in the town, to record a short film in the town, or a PPT presentation. They also have to give the links they used, by email or on the blog
Teachers	1.Provide students with materials, cameras, post their work on the blog, school website. 2. Take pictures with the final product and presentations or post them on the blog. The multimedia project can be uploaded on the school website or only on the teacher’s blog.

E-Gradebooks

Students	Can see their grades, observations, suggestions (https://www.engrade.com)
Teachers	Write grades, comments Make positive comments on the blog-even if not everything is perfect but things that can help them. It can be encouraging for students.

Student Self-Evaluation (journals, portfolios, blogs)

Students	Create blogs or portfolios to record their work
Teachers	Read their journals/ portfolios/ blogs and assess their work or answer some questions.

What are some ways you can use technology to differentiate or personalize learning?

The students save time searching on the files submitted by the teacher. They are free to post comments and interfere in the discussion any time they want on the blog or ask questions by email. The teacher can also give them direct instruction and personalize their work by telling them in real time the mistakes and the strong points. They are free to choose their tools to create their products.

Telling Time Class

Hi there! Last week I had great fun with my students learning to tell time. It was a bit difficult because they do not really know how to read the clock and they were teaching each other.They also had to write the question and to tell time, what it was on the screen, or what other classmates told them to write.
They even wanted to make some paper clocks to change the time, but the class seemed too short for everyone.This was their homework. It was so much fun that they even asked me to stay during the break and play a game, in English.

The song was their favourite! They sang and danced! So sweet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biann2PWqIA

Poster Project rubric

This is a rubric that I have created for the project my students have to do for the next month. They have to make posters in such a way to attract tourists in our town. They work in groups of four and the poster has to be very creative and colourful. They have to imagine they go to a contest to represent our town. This is the link to my rubric:
http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php?screen=ShowRubric&rubric_id=2315766&http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php?screen=ShowRubric&rubric_id=2315766&


Because most of my students have computers, laptops, cameras, smartphones, along with the poster they can also create a multimedia product-record, photograph, so they can choose their task, a poster or a multi media presentation, that is why I have 2 rubrics, for all of them.
There are some that are not able to use the modern technology, because they do not have the material possibility, so they can make a poster.
This is the rubric for those who choose multimedia projects;
http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php?screen=ShowRubric&rubric_id=2316583&

I hope you will all enjoy the e-tools and this blog for sharing ideas and papers.

Hi there!

Hello everybody,
this blog has been created in order to use and record homework and learning during Module 5 in Integrating Teachnology in English Language Instruction-eCollege, Pearson.