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ESL and Technology

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Connected Educators | Strengthening connected online communities of practice in education. Starter-kit-final. Rethinking Learning and Technology. Oh wow! What a process this has been. How you you take something you do so subconsciously and make it into something cognitive? I have changed how I want to portray myself as a learner in my personal learning environment (PLE) multiple times and I suspect that, like the diagram, my PLE will constantly evolve. So, here I am, needing to commit to one of my designs and formats. First, the picture: I started off using CMAP, but got really tired of seeing so many little boxes all of the page. By exploring the other tools, I felt like a child in a sandbox...including the part where they have a hissy-fit and knock down the sandcastle before rebuilding it.

The description: My PLE starts with me in the middle. Want Information? Want to Share? Want to Connect? Want to Reflect? So, that covers what is inside the circle in my PLE. There are so many ways to learn and my PLE will continue to reflect that. When will it end? The point is, it won't. More on Online Language Learning. Last week’s article on online language learning apparently hit a nerve; not only was it widely e-mailed, but a number of people told me about other language courses that I had missed in my research. In addition, a few factual corrections to the article are in order.

Starting with the latter, the free language courses at the BBC‘s Web site may not work in all countries. For example, the videos cannot be played in the United States, but other elements of the program do work. The Oxford Translator applications for the iPhone have changed their name; they are now known as the Odyssey Translator apps. And Tell Me More (not TellMeMore) currently offers both online and CD-ROM-based language courses for the PC; it’s an online version for the Mac that is forthcoming later this year. Other language learning programs include Busuu.com, a free and fee-based online service where one can learn English, French, German, Italian and Spanish.

ICT for Language Teachers: QR codes in education: Why all the fuss? The Web is abuzz at the moment with blogs on using QR codes in education. I am not going to give a detailed explanation of what a QR code is if you don’t already know. Suffice it to say that it’s a bit like a barcode but looks different and has a wider range of uses. The Wikipedia article on QR codes gives a good summary of their historical development and how they have been used, particularly in industry. These are examples of a QR code and a barcode that I generated: Barcode containing information about Graham Davies’s gender, age, weight, height, location and value in US$!

Generated by Although QR codes have been around for some time, namely since 1994, it is only recently that they have attracted the attention of educators. . • launch an mp3 file, • play a video, • visit a website and answer comprehension questions, • engage in a treasure hunt, • answer questions set by the teacher using QR code voting. Using barcodes in education did not catch on. Teachers Guide to The 21st Century Learning Model : Connected Learning. Social Innovation Audio Lectures | Social Innovation Conversations. K-12 Education & Learning Innovations with Proven Strategies that Work | Edutopia.