Old Faithful: Linoit

Linoit is not new. In fact it's probably one of the first collaborative tools I learned to use. Last week's blog was about making (what I later learned was called) "Quote Graphics", for a Post-reading Activity for a literary text (in this case, we were working on The Road Not Taken). There I explained the process, and that the final products were to be uploaded to a Linoit.

Then I realized, that I had never actually written a blog about Linoit! I have known (and loved) Linoit for at least 5 years, and sort of assumed that EVERYONE knows about it. But just so I am sure that EVERYONE in the WORLD knows about it (because everyone in the world reads my blog...hahaha... as if) I want to sing its praises!

Linoit is an online tool that is a virtual bulletin board. On that board, people can post sticky notes, pictures, graphics and even videos. There are all sorts of fancy ways to use it, when all of the participants are signed in, but I usually use it the generic way, so that anyone who has the link, can post on it. 

Linoit has stood the test of time, because, unlike other applications that come and go, Linoit still ROCKS! And I can use it even MORE easily today than I could in the past, because ALL my students have cellphones! I used to use it with the students working from their computers, which limited it to either homework or when I would get the coveted computer room (not complaining - our school is well endowed technology wise... but still ... it meant I needed to be sure to plan in advance AND remember to get the computer room, and all for an activity that is really quite short). Since they all have cellphones, I can just have them do their task for the 5 minutes it takes to do it, show the results on the board (in fact, they really get a kick out of watching their notes appear) and then go on with other stuff. 

You won't BELIEVE the things I use it for!

First of all, with my students:

When I first started teaching the class (when they were in the 10th grade) I used Linoit with them to introduce themselves. We also used it to send New Year's Greetings to each other. (I have since deleted those boards.... didn't know I would be blogging about them three years later ;-) 

That same year, though, I used Linoit with them for a pre-reading activity for teaching the poem Count That Day Lost:

This year, I used the tool as part of the process of teaching the literary term "Conflict". MOST of the class did the activity on the REAL bulletin board in the classroom, but those who were absent that lesson (and many were because of some other activity) were able to make it up at home, on this board:

In last week's blog, I described the activity I was planning, using cellphones and making the "Quote Graphics" as a post-reading activity. They went out, took pictures with their phones, used my blog to see what graphics programs they could used, and had a great time doing it! (I shared the link through our class What's App group.) They are still in the process of uploading them, but this is what they have done so far: 

I also use Linoit in my counseling work. This year it was part of our winter Newsletter - sending greetings to each other from around the country:

And Lionit even helps me keep it all together when doing the very confusing and complicated task of organizing the oral testing roster for my region (designating which teachers go to test in which schools) (a system originally devised by my friend and colleague Judie Segal, using REAL Post It notes on a wall or huge window, but with this virtual version I have no worries that a strong breeze, frisky dog or mischievous cat might knock them off, making me scramble back to square one!

Here's a short, concise tutorial about more ideas for using Linoit and a quick "How to":

Have you ever used Linoit? Can you think of ways that it can help you in your teaching? Other aspects of your work? If so, please share!


Digitally yours,  

@dele

Programs that can encourage your students to write

Practice makes perfect. In order to improve your writing, you need to write. And luckily, today we teachers have more tools at our disposal than in the past to try to coax that writing our of our students. There are LOTS of digital options to use (Googledocs, and CNN iReports, which I have written about here, before) but it is really exciting to get your students to write a book! This can be done on any level (even the  most basic) of language acquisition. Your students can write books that are based on pictures, or they can write books that have more text in them. 

One of the platforms I was aware of before is called Flipsnack, where you can upload files that are written in Word, saved in PDF and uploaded. 

Another option which I discovered more recently, is called OurBoox. It is an Israeli-based platform which claims to be the simplest platform for uploading and sharing books. You can read more about them in their "About" section. In order to make a book with OurBoox, you do not need to use PDF files. You can just have your students write their stories in Word or Googledocs, gather the photographs or graphics they want to use (be sure they have the rights to use the graphics and do not infringe upon others' copyrights) and then easily upload and publish them on OurBoox. 

As a counselor for Digital Pedagogy for teaching languages, I have made a tutorial that shows just how easy it is to make a digital book. The tutorial is in Hebrew. 

Have you ever had your students sharpen their writing skills by producing a digital book? What do you think of the idea? If you DO experiment with this idea, please fill out the feedback form so I know how it goes!


I hope you find this adds to your digital language teaching toolbox!

Digitally yours, 
@dele

P.S. If you have any questions about the OurBoox platform , Mel Rosenberg is happy to provide support (in English or in Hebrew). Just drop him a line: mel@ourboox.com

Infographics: For what a graphic is worth a thousand words (or at least more engaging?)

We live in the ages of sound-bytes. The visual sound-byte of 2014 is called an "Infographic". We see them all over the place.  Here is what they are:

Or, in other words, it is an "information graphic" that presents information in a graphic format, rather than only verbal. It aims to make the data being presented understood easily, quickly and concisely. Infographics try to boil the information down to its essential points. Granted, in the age of sound-bytes and infographics, the details can sometimes be lost, but their popularity suggests they achieve their aim.

I have been playing around with infographics in my class recently, and find them useful and full of yet-unused (by me) potential.  There are different sites that can be used to make an infographic. I have been playing around with Easelly (http://www.easel.ly/) but it certainly is not the only one. 

The first one I made was to instruct my students in how to prepare for doing a listening comprehension activity (when the students hear an audio text and need to answer questions about it). They will be having such an exercise on their Module E matriculation exam at the end of this year, and it is a technique that can easily be improved by practice. I discussed what they need to do in order to best succeed, and embedded this infographic on my webpage - so as I explained the procedure, I had this on the screen. Then, when I played the text for them, I left it on the screen so that they could refer back to it.

Here's another one: In tomorrow's lesson, the class will need to write a biography. This infographic will help me present the procedure, and will be on the screen as they write, so that they can refer to it while they work.

  (I made this infographic in conjunction with the textbook Bridges, p. 17)

Another rich potential for infographics is student presentation. I have not incorporated this into my class practice yet, but intend to offer it as a mode of presentation for the biography that they write. 


If you are interested and want to learn more about making and using infographics, here are some sources I found useful:

• Adam Simpson has some interesting insights about using them in the English teaching classroom.  
• Larissa also has some clever ideas for taking advantage of infographics in language teaching.

Have you ever used infographics in your teaching practices? If so, please share your ideas here!

Digitally yours,
@dele