VNU EFL537 - Day#3 - May 20, 2008

I wish I was there to help you in person, but  because I'm not please help each other as much as possible.  If you do not understand an assignment, please ask a classmate to help you.  If you're computer is not working  properly, please share with someone or take turns using the one that does work.

Todays' Agenda

1 ) Class Roster
Please look at this class roster.  Make sure you name is on it and the infomration is correct.

2) Technical System Check
From reading your comments, I'm not sure how many of the lab computers are capable of playing screencasts and recording audio comments.
To help answer these questions, please complete the Computer Question Survey here
(if this is not accessible,  I will ask the questions in the skype chat)

3)  Discuss Updated  Course Objectives and Assignments
After thinking about what you have told me about your teaching situations and goals for this course, I think it would a good idea to focus on the things listed below for the rest of the course.

These are text, audio, & video materials you can use in your teaching situation without accessing the internet.  They can be saved from other websites or things you create using Powerpoint, Word,or other tools.

Even if you don't currently have internet access at home or at school, you hopefully will eventually.  When you do, you can use this to find what you're interested in.

Use Edublogs or Wikispaces to create a website that you can use now and in the future

   We can  also practice additional skills like creating presentations, producing audio files, editing graphics, and creating games & quizzes.  Which skills we practice and how much time we spend developing those skills will depend on student interest and abilities.


4) Practice Saving Files from Websites.
  Watch this screencast (on the projector if possible) about saving files from learning website resources.
http://www.efl537.com/screencast/saving-files-internet

To save files from the internet, RIGHT click/Save Link as


Types of files and programs that open them
Types of File Programs
.ppt or .pps  Powerpoint or OpenOffice Impress
.doc or .rtf Microsoft Word or Open Office
.pdf Foxit or Adobe Reader
.mp3 Windows Media Player, VLC, and other Media Players
.htm or .html Firefox, MSIE  , or other browsers

 Sites that contain free learning materials that you can download.
 Please visit these sites, find files you would like to save, and save them to your computerr.
5) Social Bookmarking - Using Del.icio.us

Try to use Del.icious - a social bookmarking site that helps you find, save and share links  to sites of itnerest
Guides: Watch the Delicious Screencast   Additional help here
Task: Register at Del.icio.us, install the browser plugin, and bookmark at least threee sites (they can be the same sites you blogged about above). Add the URL of your del.icio.us account (i.e. http://del.icio.us/jefflebow/) to your profile  (Login to efl537.com , click my account, Profile, enter URL)






Assignment:
Continue saving files and adding websites to your Del.icio.us account.

Since some students are having problems with Edublogs.org, let's try another blog hosting site - Wordpress.com . You can register here.  If you're already setup with Edublogs, you can use that. Try to experiment with writing a post and changing the design.  We will work on this tomorrow.

Please Read: Using Technology to Teach Reading Skills
You do not have to do the activities or answer discussion questions that are part of the reading.  However, please write a blog post (EFL537.com, Edublogs, or Wordpress.com) about how the ideas contained in the article relate to your approach toward reading English?  Also, look at the websites linked to in the article - which might be useful for your students?