Signs for ESL Civics

For those of you looking to supplement the Ventures curriculum with signs, there are a number of web sites available for you to use as resources. I’ve listed a small sampling below.

http://www.trafficsign.us/
http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/publications/rules_of_the_road/rr_chap09.html
http://www.manythings.org/signs/
http://www.ac-nancy-metz.fr/enseign/anglais/Henry/panneau.htm

NEW ESL Civics Hotlist

There's a new addition to the Student Hotlists: ESL Civics. Check it out by going into the list, choosing ESL Civics and clicking on it to enter the hotlist. As with all the hotlists, new additions will be added as I find them. Anyone who has sites to add can add a comment to this post, and I will review the site and add it if it is academically sound.

Author Stream: Upload PowerPoint Presentations

http://www.authorstream.com/

Author STREAM is a new app that allows you to quickly and easily upload PowerPoint presentations no matter what size. You can upload to share on MP3s, iPods, You Tube, Blogs and Websites, or, by using the Present Live link, you can share and discuss the PowerPoint with participants live and interactively. They can also participate in a live chat area.

You can use authorSTREAM to:

• Create e-learning content created with PowerPoint.
• To publish reports with audio-visual slideshows created with PowerPoint.
• Embed PowerPoint presentations in your blog or website.
• Convert and download them as video or share on iPods, iPhones and YouTube.
• Find, browse and download PowerPoint presentations created by other members.

Present Live link:
Another excellent tool on this site is Present Live!  It allows you upload your PPT and share it with colleagues world wide in real time. Participants can also respond in real time. A video explanation is available on the Authorstream site. See below:

Just upload your PowerPoint presentation and share the 'Present Live' link with your contacts.
All your contacts can then watch and discuss the same presentation. You can click through the slides and everyone attending will be on the same slide. Animations work the same way as in your PowerPoint file. Chat with attendees in a common chat area.

Call them on your favorite VoIP application like Skype or using the good old conference call and voila, you are in a live web meeting. And yes, Present Live is free for authorSTREAM members!

Nursing Assistant Practice and Review

http://www.hospitalenglish.com/students/nurse.php  Hospital English  Prepared for English as a Second Language student. Work on vocabulary, hear the vocabulary, lessons, matching and fill in the blank.

http://www.spanishdict.com/translate/nurse  English Spanish vocabulary, dialogue

http://www.hangman.learningtogether.net/anatomy/index.htm  Hangman game, anatomy words

http://www.manythings.org/vocabulary/lists/c/words.php?f=people_in_hospitals  English vocabulary for hospitals and health

http://www.smartphrase.com/Spanish/sp_medical_phr.shtml  Spanish/English medical terms and phrases

Interactive Social Assessment: Poll Everywhere

http://www.polleverywhere.com/

Here's a Web 2.0 tool to immediately create interest during PowerPoint presentations:

• Ask your audience a question
• They answer using SMS text messages or the web
• Results update live in your web browser or PowerPoint
  

This is the URL for the classroom side of the picture: http://www.polleverywhere.com/sms-classroom-response-system
Yes, it does require people to have cell phones and text messaging or browsing capabilities, but imagine the uses this would have in an audience.  There is no charge for up to 30 people using it at a time. Costs for larger groups are quite reasonable. You can sign up for free and there is instant set-up. No equipment (other than the cell phones) is needed.

Increase classroom participation and attentiveness
Encourage risk-taking with anonymous student responses
Elicit diverse opinions when there isn't a correct answer
Expose social misconceptions
Gauge student comprehension of material immediately
Grab students with thought-provoking opening questions
Allow students to provide instructor feedback
Automate taking attendance
Assess last night's reading with a quick quiz
Strengthen retention

Poll Everywhere can accept student responses via SMS text messaging on mobile phones, smartphones with data plans, or regular computers and wireless laptops via the web. Smartphones such as BlackBerries, iPhones, and Windows Mobile devices are quickly gaining popularity, and students can bypass SMS text messaging fees by responding through their smartphone web browser.

Create Screencasts: Screentoaster.com

http://www.screentoaster.com/

ScreenToaster is a free online screencast service allowing to capture screen activity. ScreenToaster is compatible with Windows Vista, Mac OS and Linux. It's incredibly easy to use and understand. It's still in beta format, but you can request an invitation to join. A demo explaining the site is embedded below.

To watch videos : Just click on a video to launch the player.

To record videos : Click on "Start recording" or "New recording", start recording using the shortcuts.

When finished, add audio and subtitles, describe and tag your video so other users can easily find your screencasts.

Record your screencast online

G Cast: Audio Podcast

http://www.gcast.com/   Here is another example of an audio only podcast that uses any telephone to set up. (see previous post on http://www.gabcast.com/) The sites are similar in function. This is the Gcast blurb:

"What's a podcast? Your own audio broadcast, where you can easily record voice messages, mix in your favorite music, and share it all for the world to hear.

Create your podcast for FREE!
Take a quick tour
FREE hosting
FREE podsafe music
Mix playlists online
Embed your podcast
Record by phone
Email alerts

Gcast is run by the same people that run GarageBand.com. Our goal with GarageBand is to redefine how music is discovered and promoted. Our goal with Gcast is to make personal broadcasting simple. In pursuing these goals we hope to democratize both music and media"

Here is how to use it:
First you need to set up an account. To set up an account (http://novemberlearning.com/http;/www.gcast.com), begin by clicking on the Sign up now link You will be taken to a form that asks your email address, your zip code, and a password. Fill out the form and click I Agree, create my account . You can edit your podcast's name and description and upload a picture if you choose. Click Next. The next step will ask you to enter the ten-digit phone number that you would like to register with as well as a four-digit PIN number.
You should receive a confirmation email. Before you start podcasting, open this email and click on the confirmation link. Now, your class is ready to start podcasting using any phone. Once finished recording, press 3, and the recording will immediately be published.
Thanks to CC Long from the Classroom 2.0 Discussion for the info.

Classroom 2.0 Discussion Groups

I highly recommend Classroom 2.0 as a tool for educators ( http://www.classroom20.com/ ). In addition to various blogs and wikis, discussion groups and other informative, collaborative social networking, the site also has some interesting tools you can embed into your own elements. Check it out!

DigiSkills Group

"Developing Digital Skills @ School" is devoted to teachers and students working on innovative digital teaching methods like blogging, webquests, wikis, podcasting et cetera. Additionally, the project is open to educators all over the world.

http://grou.ps/digiskills/blogs

Quintura: Visual Cloud Search Engine

http://www.quintura.com/ Quintura takes searching to a new level...up in the clouds. It employs the new cloud technology to provide a more visual search, and also lets you see not just the usual search results, but also any images or videos that are in the selected websites. The images are useful if you need some quick visuals for PowerPoint presentations etc.

It also has an Amazon tab which shows you books available on the subject. It includes a widget building script so you can easily add it to your blogs or wikis (there's a sample in the right hand column).

For second language learners, the clouds help them find the exact information they need if they have difficulty determining effective key words, and the visualization helps them to check that what they have found is what they were indeed searching.

"Visualization becomes the center of user experience replacing antiquated listings and Boolean strings.

Visual Find Engine
While viewing the Quintura Cloud, you can visually navigate and easily refine in order to find relevant information faster and more efficiently!"

Scribd: Document Sharing Site

One of the most daunting tasks for people using the Web is the number of formats that are used, and the difficulty of using them cross platforms. This takes the idea of a PDF file and brings it to the Web 2.0 audience, allowing it to be used effectively on websites. From the Cogdogroo site:(http://cogdogroo.wikispaces.com/)   "Scribd is one of the best web tools for English Language Learners to use for language development. They can write a few sentences, a story, or an essay; easily upload it to Scribd, and, then, within seconds, have its text-to-speech capability read it back to them. Plus, it’s hosted there for free." (Larry Ferlazzo: http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/)

http://www.scribd.com/

Scribd is a San Francisco startup company changing the way people share documents online. You can think of Scribd as a big online library where everyone can publish original content, including you!
Since Scribd launched in March 2007, it has become one of the top 300 websites on the Internet, receiving over 20 million monthly visitors. It has also accumulated over 17 billion words in its library, making it five times the size of Wikipedia.

The Ideas Behind Scribd
Scribd began with a simple observation – there are billions of documents sitting siloed on people's hard drives. By making it easy for people to publish their documents to the internet, Scribd has unlocked this treasure trove of information. Every day, nearly a million people come to Scribd.com, most of them seeking some piece of information stored in this library. Some percentage of these people sign up for Scribd to be a part of the Scribd community and upload their own documents, perpetuating the cycle which powers Scribd's growth.
One of early problems Scribd encountered was that there was no good format for displaying its documents, as formats like PDF, Microsoft Word, and PowerPoint were designed before the Internet existed.
iPaper and Scribd Platform:
In response, Scribd created iPaper, the first document format built for the web. Like YouTube's player did for video formats, iPaper standardizes all document formats into one viewer that can be seamlessly integrated into webpages. Recognizing the value of this technology, Scribd released the Scribd Platform, which allows any website to use iPaper to display their documents.
Through Scribd.com, iPaper, and the Scribd Platform, Scribd is changing the way people view, publish, and monetize documents. Through our vast library of content and our unique document display technology, we hope to unlock the information in the world's documents and make it readily accessible to everyone.

Audio Dropboxes

CLEAR: Michigan State University
http://clear.msu.edu/teaching/online/ria/audioDropbox/AudioDropboxes.pdf Documentation
http://clear.msu.edu/store/moreinfo.php?product_ID=46 Information
http://clear.msu.edu/teaching/online/ria/audioDropbox/ Login and program (free)

A dropbox for paper assignments is a box where students place their homework,papers, or other assignments. Teachers can then retrieve the papers at their convenience.
An audio dropbox is an audio collection tool that can be put on any web page.Students record themselves using the tool, and their recordings are placed in the instructorʼs dropbox automatically.
Audio Dropboxes can be used to add speaking to language courses. You can have students describe pictures on a web page, read a text passage, or respond  to open-ended questions.

Center for Language Education and Research: CLEAR

http://clear.msu.edu/login/login.php Michigan State University

"Welcome to CLEAR's online store. CLEAR was established in 1996 as a Language Resource Center (LRC) through a Title VI grant from the U.S. Department of Education. As an LRC, CLEAR strives to promote and support the teaching and learning of foreign languages in the United States through its various projects and outreach activities.
The majority of our products are available free of charge. This includes web applications for language learning and teaching, CD-ROMs, and a variety of downloadable PDF publications. Some products, such as language learning software, workbooks, and videos, are available for a modest cost."

Yugma: Online Collaboration Tool

https://www.yugma.com/ Free, unless you want more robust usage features. " Yugma is the easy, secure and reliable collaboration tool for Windows, Mac and Linux. With Yugma, you really can collaborate better. Yugma enables any group to spontaneously collaborate on projects in real-time. Collaborate anytime with off-site team members, give virtual presentations, host webinars, streamline workflow, provide remote tech support, and much more."

Babbel

Learn Spanish, Italian, German or French easily online. Learn vocabulary, situational language , grammar, tutorials and more. http://www.babbel.com/ Requires a short, free signup.
"Learn languages in a playful and intuitive way. Unlike traditional learning methods, our concept is about fun, individual interest and the joy of learning. Join the Babbel community. Babbel's at its best when you're having fun and working together with others. Apply and improve your language knowledge in active conversations with other Babbel users. Learn at your own pace
With Babbel you learn what you want, when you want. No matter what your level is, the system adapts to your learning speed so you can learn on your own, or it gives you guidance to follow.

dabbleBOARD: Collaborative Whiteboard

http://www.dabbleboard.com/

Here's another collaborative whiteboard that was suggested by a reader. If you need visuals, dabbleBOARD is a great tool for letting you collaboratively draw your ideas. This is their blurb:

Dabbleboard is a powerful online whiteboard that's actually easy and fun to use. With a revolutionary new interface, Dabbleboard gets out of your way and just lets you draw.
Draw with flexible tools. Reuse previously-made drawings. Share and collaborate in real-time. All as naturally as using a marker or a pencil.

Reader Zohair gave this review: " Looks like you're covering a bunch of collaborative whiteboard apps today. I suggest giving Dabbleboard a try as well. As a whiteboard, it's got an innovative UI that makes drawing much easier and faster than anything else.
Admittedly it's just a whiteboard app and doesn't include other conferencing features, which we believe can be handled by several other applications anyway."

Thanks for sharing, and I will work on my skills of drawing with a mouse. We do so many planning sessions here at the college, and having a tool that can be quickly accessed to draw out ideas seems to have a lot of value. I think it could save time as well by sending to others at different sites and getting their immediate input, without the cost of everyone driving to the same campus. It's all about sustainability. Saving green while going green seems to be an absolutely brilliant plan.

addendum: I just realized that the program automatically detects basic shapes, and turns my squiggly rectangles and circles into something that looks quite professional. Very cool tool.

Cool Tools: Collaborative Web 2.0 Apps

I've been going to meetings and finding new Web 2.0 apps that allow for collaboration, meetings and even sketching and drawing, using only your browser. See posts below for ideas, and the right hand column for some easy access to the sites. Very Cool Tools. Would have been nice if they were used in place of actually GOING to the meetings....

Campfire: Instant Messaging for Groups

http://www.campfirenow.com/

Campfire is a web-based group chat tool that lets you set up password-protected chat rooms in just seconds. Invite a client, colleague, or vendor to chat, collaborate, and make decisions. Link to a room on your intranet for internal communications.

Campfire is especially great for groups with remote workers. There's no better way to keep everyone together when everyone's apart. It's as simple as visiting a web page.

Your Campfire chats are password protected and safe from prying eyes. You decide who you invite. You set up the rooms. You specify who can see which rooms

There are so many ways to use Campfire. Chatting, file sharing, image previewing, decision making, etc. Up to 60 people can chat at once. You can even browse previous chats by person,
room, or date.

The free plan allows up to 4 simultaneous users, 10MB storage and transcripts. Upgrades are available to allow more users and storage space.

Thinkature: Real Time Web Collaboration

http://www.thinkature.com/about/

Simple collaborative space that can be shared in real time. Free

With Thinkature, you can create a collaborative workspace and invite coworkers, friends, and colleagues to join you in just seconds. Once inside your workspace, you can communicate by chatting, drawing, creating cards, and adding content from around the Internet. It's all synchronous, too - no need to hit reload or get an editing lock.

Twiddla: Free Interactive Space

http://www.twiddla.com/Home.aspx

Mark up websites, graphics, and photos, or start brainstorming on a blank canvas. Browse the web with your friends or make that conference call more productive than ever. No plug-ins, downloads, or firewall voodoo - it's all here, ready to go when you are. Browser-agnostic, user-friendly.

Don't like to sign up for stuff? No worries! You don't need an account to use Twiddla - and neither does anybody else. The people you invite to meetings will never see so much as a login screen.