Podcasting

What is Podcast?

From my understanding, Podcast is a type of digital media consisting of audio (sort of like radio online).

How to use this in language teaching and learning?

I guess, this tool can be used to teach listening and speaking as well. We can also ask students to do a project using podcast. The one that I'm posting here is the example of how you can assign students to do a project using Podcast. The main software I use is the Audacity for recording purpose. Below is the sample of this project assignment:

Topic: Entertainment

1. Students are divided into group of three.
2. They are given list of titles to be selected:
    (a) Food
    (b) Cultural dance
    (c) Sports
    (d) Music
    (e) TV Show
    (f)  Video games
3. Each group chooses one topic and create a recording regarding the topic.
4. They have to outline the idea as well as the script for the recording.
5. Students are taught how to record themselves using Audacity and edit the recording.
6. Once done, every group will produce their own .mp3 format recording to be presented in class or to be published in their blog.

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This is the sample that the students can do. 

1. Topic chosen: Music

2. The idea: We will have a song review in the recording. The short podcast will have the introduction of the song and the song itself will be played.

3. The script:

    "The jingle is playing. 

      The host is singing a part of the chosen song then continues by welcoming the listeners to the 

      show.
      The song is being introduced: The song that I sing just now is called ASEAN Rise sang by Stefanie           Sun.
      The brief description about the song is continued: This song is about.....
      Then, the host plays part of the song.
4. Below is the lyric of this song:

ASEAN Rise

By Stefanie Sun

VERSE 1

There is a voice within my mind

Singing the songs of distant times

Speaking the thoughts from lost horizons.

Music and words that must be signs

Shaping the facets that define

How we have come to be the present

Descendants.

BRIDGE

Though we're from ten different lands

Bound by shores of common sand

Singing out as one

Let's stand

The world is in our hands

CHORUS

No matter where we're from

If we could sing one song

Dreams that are yours and mine

They will be realized

Trusting the love we feel

Trust in the love that's real

Children unite

People of ASEAN rise.

VERSE 2

Chapters unfolding from the past

Speaking of wisdom to my heart

Lessons to learn from our ancestors.

Pushing horizons let's have faith

Our differences we will embrace

Shaping as one our common future

Our future.

REPEAT BRIDGE

REPEAT CHORUS

5. This is the podcast that students may come out with:

That's all for now.

NEXT: How to edit sound in Audacity.

Voki - a tool that can be used to teach speaking and listening in your classroom

Dear teachers,

Today, I want to share you on a new tool that I learn. It's called Voki. You can use this tool to teach your students on how to pronounce words because the avatar's lips are moving exactly with the words you type. You can also use your own voice or upload from other sources as well.

For listening activity, instead of recording your own voice reading the listening text, you can trigger your students' interest with interactive Voki and its voice here. Try it now! Visit www.voki.com for more information.

See you next time. Aloha!

Using Google Document to share your writing

The good new thing I learn today is how to use Google Docs to share my document and ask my colleagues to work on it together without being in the same room. Here is the video on how to use this tool.

Now, as English teachers, we can always use this tool to help our students develop their writing skills by having them write in a group. Students can interactively change ideas and correct each other using Google Document. 

Now, let us try using this tool for students assignment below:

Assignment for students

Source: http://jerrygarrett.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/uss_arizona_memorial.jpg

Above is the picture of USS Arizona Memorial which is situated in the famous historic site in Hawaii, the Pearl Harbor.

1. In your group, using Google Document, you are required to write about this historic site and other interesting places that you can find here. Your group must come out with an essay of 200 - 300 words.

2. In your essay, please include images and a map on how to get there (you can use Google map for this purpose).

3. Once your essay has been shared and edited together by the group members, share your essay with your teacher to be marked.

Introducing my new blog

Learning is a lifelong journey and process. 

That's the main reason why I put up this blog. Its main purpose is to share my experiential learning with technology to be used in English language teaching and learning. Being selected as one of the participants for the Brunei - US English Language Project 2013 is a bless for me because here I am taught a lot of things to improve my teaching as an English teacher and hopefully through this blog I can share new ideas and lessons I learn from expert professors and colleagues from all over ASEAN with other teachers as well.