Languages ICT

Presentation software: Animations and timings are easy to set up with a little practice. They add movement and increased teacher control to a presentation. Apart from using text and images you can insert or embed a sound or video file into a slide, thus adding a spoken resource and developing listening skills.

Integrate applications: Links can be used to move between applications, guiding pupils from presentation to discussion of a text or image or whole class work with a worksheet or a Web page. For data interpretation activities you can import a chart prepared in another application such as a spreadsheet.

Interactive whiteboard: There are many features which improve whole class teaching. You can annotate an on-screen text: very useful with a live webpage as well as model answers. You can hide and reveal images, words or parts of words, such as the endings on adjectives. You can use the keyhole tool to focus exclusively on a word or image. Drag and drop can be used for matching activities. Audio or video recordings can be inserted into flipcharts to give a multimedia dimension to your teaching and develop different language skills.

Pupil interaction: Pupils can also interact with the whiteboard. You can allow them to come to the front and manipulate text and images with the electronic pen. An option with certain models is the slate which allows pupil interaction from their desks. With certain models, pupils can also vote on multiple choice options, and the teacher can monitor how pupils vote.

Download notes on the advantages of interactive whiteboards and consult Becta. Read the comments on interactivity in the Making the Case for ICT section.

Authoring software gives the teacher control over the content and type of activity created. Activities such as multiple choices, text or text-picture matching, text salad, word scramble, gap fill, and dialogues can all be created by you and tailored to your pupils’ specific needs and ability.

More recent versions enable you to create multimedia activities, incorporating audio or video files into the activities.

Available products; You can consult Curriculum Online to gain a picture of what is available for your language. Popular products include Fun with Texts, Task Magic and Hot Potatoes, which is available free of charge under certain conditions. This list is not exhaustive and does not constitute a recommendation.

Audio and video files can be inserted into many applications. It might be best to begin with sound recording. This can be done direct to your computer using a microphone and Windows Sound Recorder, which is standard with Windows operating systems. You can edit in Windows Sound Recorder or use sound editors to tailor the recording to suit your purposes. Sound editing of speech is fairly straightforward at a beginner’s level and appropriate software is readily available. You can download a free audio editor at Audacity.

Multimedia truly brings a new dimension to your teaching. Audio files of native speaker, perhaps a Foreign Language Assistant or colleague, bring authentic materials directly to the pupil and develop listening skills. Audio can be used in many ways as suggested above.

Images: Many images can be obtained from the Internet. It is possible to purchase images, especially photos. Printed photos can be scanned into a digital format. However, the advent of digital cameras has enabled teachers, and pupils, to load digital photos directly to a computer’s hard drive. Basic editing software is often given with a digital camera, allowing the user to edit images in many ways, such as to crop images, improve appearance and re-save as separate files. Image editing software is available and varies in price. Images can be integrated into applications in many ways by you and your pupils.

E-mail can be used to receive and return pupils’ work. In addition to a note on a piece or work contained in an e-mail you can attach files of pupil work or further guidance. E-mail is efficient and quick. Pupils have often commented on the speed of feedback when e-mail is used to submit work.

Electronic annotation of pupil work is focused, and specific. In word processed and presentation documents use the Comment feature to point out to pupils exactly where they need to improve or have made a mistake. You can also put links into your comments so that pupils can go directly to further support

Flexible access to materials on the network, outside class times or from home, allows pupils to follow up work done in class, using support materials. It often enables them to submit work by e-mail.