TCS+conference+presentation+2007

//Learning languages is fun! Have a snoop://
=**1 Kunterbunt's podcast**=



This podcast is from a presentation I gave at TCS. We had to imagine about what could be done about student education if NZ post went on strike for an indefinite time. To create the podcast I used the free audio programme [|Audacity] (if you want to save your recording as .mp3 file, you also need to download the free programme [|LAME]). The sound effects and the background music were taken from a [|free sounds website].

media type="file" key="Audio_track_1.mp3"

=2 Individual lesson via online communication= For the first two terms of 2007, I have taught a German taster course via Video Conferencing, Blackboard and email. The first attachment shows the first lesson that I had sent them prior to our first VC session (personal infos changed here).

The second attachment shows a document with embedded audio files put up on Blackboard.

=**3 Colours and Easter customs**= Our German taster course was running over Easter time, so we learnt about some German Easter customs. One of them is colouring Easter eggs and displaying them as a bunch.

First the students learnt the colours in German.

Then they were given some links for egg design ideas. Link: **[|Easter egg design]**

And here are some results: We also made Easter cards. [|Easter_card_jess_Fairhall.jpg]
 * [[image:Osterstrauss_Hilary_Derrick1.JPG width="261" height="352"]] || [[image:Osterstrauss_Hilary_Derrick_2.JPG width="339" height="295" caption="Osterstrauß"]] ||

Another German Easter custom is having a big bonfire. Here's a link to a bonfire in a German town. Link: [|Osterfeuer Gohlau]

=**4 Pirates**= The VC students were all taking part in their school's musical, so I asked them to come to one lesson in their costumes (personalised learning taking their wider community into account). They did little role plays and took digital photos. As they were not interested in learning words for clothes (personalised learning), I created the bubbles for them in the pictures below where they only had to fill in the German words for colours (revision). Really great was that they later on sent me a CD-ROM with a live recording of their whole musical.



=**5 Song**= We also learnt the German numbers. I remembered a song from the time I was at school and yeah, it was available on youtube, a great "edu-kete". We also sang the song in parts, eg. students the numbers, teacher the words in between. The students had also been sent cards beforehand with numbers written out in German. After the song, they had to put them into consecutive order. Then the studnets chose two cards each and had to hold their cards up when their numbers were mentioned in the song while listening again. Great fun. [|1,2 Polizei by MoDo]

=**6 Song**= The students wanted to learn about animals.

They also knew about the Schnappi song and wanted to learn to sing and understand the German version. Link: [|Schnappi - Das kleine Krokodil] Link: **[|Schnappi - German Lyrics]** Link: [|**Schnappi - English lyrics**]

=**7 Online and print revision**= For revision they were given links to websites, such as the one below. We liked this one as there was the option of online and/or print material. Open: //1 Welcher Tag ist heute?// and //4 Ordne die Monate// and //Print: Wortspirale.// [|Days of the week + Months]

=**8 Vokis on Kunterbunt123s blog**= Towards the end of our course, I discovered two cool cartoon makers. Voki allows you to insert your own audio and pictures and to completely manipulate the appearance of the character. Vokis can be used as listening/reading comprehension (students get a descriptuion of a character and its surroundings and have to create an appropriate voki) or as speaking task( intruducing a person, poems, raps etc.) The audio can be either recorded or typed in. There are settings to choose different languages and the typed text gets read out then. Here are some Voki examples: Link: [|Vokis] Here is the official [|voki site]. You need to sign up with them if you want to save or email created vokis.

=9 Dvolver films on Kunterbunt123s blog= The cartoonmaker dvolver has a range of characters, backgrounds and music to choose from. You can include several scenes. Here are some Dvolver examples: Link: [|Devolver Film: Teufelstreffen] Link: [|Devolver Film: Entenzank] Here is the official [|dvolver moviemaker site]. You don't need to sign up with them but I noticed that sometimes, when you email your film it does not arrive. Once you have put the email address where you want it sent to in and clicked on sent, you will see a code box appear. Copy the code and put it into your blog. This way you have a back-up copy. I use [|blogger] for mine.

=10 Mr Picassohead and Graffiti creator= [|Mr Picassohead] allows you to create faces of all sorts - realistic, artistic, futuristic... Here's an example: Link:

With [|graffiti creator] you can create graffiti in various fonts. here's an example: Link:

Both applications have been taken from the [|dead gekko site] (scroll down in the site to get to the free application links).

=11 Hot Potatoes= [|Hot potatoes]