Instructional Teaching
Smart phones and tablets are students’ inseparable
companions: if you ask them to put them away in class, they continue check
their messages secretly! But I believe that this attraction to technology among
today’s students is something that teachers can harness to make learning
foreign language more interesting. In my classes, I use different types of
technologies that I have learned in the FLTP workshops. The workshops I
attended include:
1. Flipped
Language Tutorials with Camtasia studio
2. Creating
Effective Surveys
3. Listening
Comprehension with Technology
4. Share
Fair
5. VoiceThread
in D2L
6. Blend,
Flip, Adapt
7. SLA
and Technology: The Theory in Practice
8. Flipped
Tutorials with VoiceThread
9. Virtual
Immersion Experience
10. Using
technology to Energize Task-Based Teaching
11. Portfolio
Intensive (part one and Two)
Based on these workshops and with help of ALTEC I have learned many technologies to incorporate in my classes.
Camtasia Studio
Camtasia is a tool that I use frequently. It is a
little difficult to learn at first, but gradually it becomes easier. I learned
about this tool in one of the FLTP workshops, and with the help of the handouts
I was able to record screenshot lessons. This is a great tool for flipped
classes. I also use it with the tablet to record handwriting lessons.
Goals for using Camtasia Studio
Everyone has a different pace in learning. Sometimes
class time is not enough for students to master new grammar constructions. Some
students need more time to see and hear these constructions. My main goal for
using Camtasia Studio was to record the screen while I create lessons that
involve different language skills such as reading, writing, speaking, and
listening.
Camtasia allows students to go back to the site and
watch the video lesson as many times as they need to.
Learning objectives using Camtasia videos
for students
ü Be
able to see how letters are written.
ü Be
able to listen to the sounds of each letter.
ü Be
able to write the alphabet.
ü Be
able to read the alphabet.
Technology used
Camtasia studio and Bamboo tablet
Project development
Camtasia videos can be uploaded through YouTube to the
website. They are easy to embed in D2L.
Assessment
I do formative assessment after each video, including
quizzes, short readings, and short writing exercises. They also have to do a
homework assignment attached to each video.
As a summative assessment they will have a final
examination after each series of videos finished.
Example of formative assessment:
Challenges
It is sometimes difficult to write on the tablet while
speaking. I spent a lot of time redoing the videos, but finally I recorded the
screen and audio in separate files and then merged them in Camtasia Studio. This
made the work easier, but more time-consuming.
I created this Hindi script website using Camtasia:
Other Classroom Technology Tools
Some other tools that
I use in my teaching are PowerPoint, Glogster, Dropbox, YouTube, and the Hindi-Urdu
Flagship’s website.
PowerPoint
I found that PowerPoint is very useful for practicing reading
and translation. After students say a phrase in Hindi I show them the
translation. I use animation to hide the translation. It saves class time by
not having to write this on the board.
Example:
I like to use Glogster in my class because it lets
students present one topic on a single page. With Glogster students can combine
pictures, text, and, recordings.
Example:
Dropbox
In class sometimes it is difficult to correct
everybody’s spoken language. I use the D2L dropbox feature where students can
record their thoughts about such topics as my friends, my house, and my family.
YouTube
YouTube is a great resource for free authentic
materials. I use it for the Hindi songs, advertisements, TV programs, and movie
clips. It is very easy to use and effective as well.
Example:
For
a lesson on imperative verbs, I will play the song “aaiye meharbaan” from the
Bollywood movie “Hawrah Bridge”:
Students
will have a handout with the text below. While listening to the song, they will
fill in the blanks with the imperative verbs that they hear.
फ़िल्म : हावड़ा ब्रिज (1958)
__________
मेहरबान, __________ जाने-जां
शौक़ से __________ जी, इश्क़ के इम्तहान
कैसे हो तुम नौजवान, इतने हसीन मेहमान
कैसे करूँ मैं बयान, मिलती नहीं है ज़बान
__________
मेहरबान
देखा मचल के जिधर, बिजली गिरा दी उधर
किसका जला आशियाना, बिजली को ये क्या ख़बर
__________
मेहरबान
Hindi-Urdu flagship
