Monthly Archives: December 2015

Learning2gether with Maha Abdelmoneim and Peggy George showing us around Blab.im

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Learning2gether Episode 307

Download mp3:
https://learning2getherdotnet.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/learning2gether-with-maha-abdelmoneim-showing-us-blab-im.mp3?

As we often do with Learning2gether, we experimented today with a new tool mentioned by Maha Abdelmoneim at the end of Learning2gether episode 306, which she graciously offered to show it to us today.

We were fortunate to have been joined by Peggy George and briefly by Maria Colussa, both of whom were extensive users of Blab, and who both provided valuable insights into the tool, especially regarding its social affordances and the commitment of the developers to interacting with Blab users.

Here is the Blab recording, and a YouTube recording of it:
https://blab.im/maha-abdelmoneim-learning2gether-307-a-tour-of-blab-by-maha-abdelmoneim

Join the conversation at the Google+ event page
https://plus.google.com/u/0/events/c5gnu7t258racaa6pnfc31aju2s

There are many reviews of Blab.im available through Google; e.g. http://www.marc-levy.com/blab-im-tutorial/

Here are some of the things we know about it

  • It supports only 4 cameras at a given moment, but participants can come and go (very fluid, Maha says)
  • It supports additional registered participants in comment mode
  • To join you have to register through a social network site such as Twitter and agree to the Terms of Service there.
    You’ll then be able to participate in the stream and make comments to all who are there
  • You can later revoke any permissions given to third party apps to use your Twitter acct here https://twitter.com/settings/applications
  • You can view the stream without signing in, but you cannot interact there, only view
  • However, all participants will be able to interact with non-registered viewers in Chatwing: http://chatwing.com/vancestev,
    so all are welcome to come along and see what’s happening.

During the conversation we learned much more about the tool, especially from Blab users Peggy George and Maria Colussa. I took notes on remarks Peggy made in Chatwing:

Here are the chat transcripts from Blab and Chatwing,
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VA5-ihK6NWG3_fQU7KcfUkRlSYBNwKFxR4TvG2vb-Bc/edit?usp=sharing

2015-12-30_1023peggy

Announcements

2016-01-04_1729linkedin

Earlier this week

Learning2gether Episode 306 – Sun Dec 20 1500 UTC Shaping the Way We Teach English

https://learning2gether.net/2015/12/20/robert-wachman-organizes-a-discussion-of-shaping-the-way-we-teach-english-with-developers-deborah-healey-and-jeff-magoto/

 

Mon Dec 21 Edunation Office Party – Tired of going out?

 

Why not indeed?

 

Robert Wachman organizes a discussion of Shaping the way we Teach English with developers Deborah Healey and Jeff Magoto

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Learning2gether Episode 306


Download mp3:
https://learning2getherdotnet.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/2015dec20shapingtheway-64k.mp3?

On Sun Dec 20 Robert Wachman arranged for us to host a discussion of the value of the Coursera courses, Shaping the Way We Teach English, Parts 1 and 2,  developed and conducted by Deborah Healey, Elizabeth Hanson-Smith and Jeff Magoto (sponsored by the University of Oregon and the United States Department of State).

Featured participants included course developers and instructors Deborah Healey and Jeff Magoto; volunteer Community Teaching Assistants Magdalena Brzezinska, Rebecca Casas Sagot, Gilda Battagliese, Robert Wachman, and StWwTE participant Tiziana Angiolini. And there were of course many participants from the Webheads in Action and Learning2gether communities.

2015-12-21_2156ep306guests

Robert sees this discussion as a continuation of the discussion of MOOCs begun in Learning2gether Episode 301, November 17, 2015
https://learning2gether.net/2015/11/19/the-annual-global-education-conference-why-online-teacher-trainers-should-know-about-cmoocs/

In that episode, features of the Shaping courses were mentioned by Elizabeth Hanson-Smith toward the end of a follow-up discussion meant for Electronic Village Online moderators.  Links to archived audio and video recordings of these discussions may be found at the link above.  (For the follow-up discussion scroll down to find “Post-show: EVO moderators met…”

Robert has made an audio excerpt of Elizabeth’s comments which you can hear below:

and you can download this audio if you wish:
https://learning2getherdotnet.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/11-17-onshaping.mp3?

The excerpt is taken from 33 minutes into the original recording, where you can hear Elizabeth finish her sentence at 37 minutes, “and to me that’s a very fruitful use of a very short course in 5 weeks.” The original recording is made available here for your convenience:


Download mp3:
https://learning2getherdotnet.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/2015nov17gec_postshow-64k.mp3?

Background materials and springboards for discussion:

2015-11-28_1955shaping

Pictured: Deborah Healey, Jeff Magoto, and Elizabeth Hanson-Smith

The Shaping the Way We Teach English Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) was launched through a partnership with University of Oregon and Coursera in 2014. This MOOC is for English as Foreign Language (EFL) educators, both those who are intending to pursue this field as a career and those already working in the field who would like to revise and refresh their methods and approaches.  The free materials and approaches presented complement college courses such as Introduction to Methods for Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) or Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL).

This MOOC consists of two distinct 5-week parts, separated by a one-week break.  Participants may enroll in both parts of the course, or enroll in only one part, treating the part as an independent 5-week course.  Participants will enhance their English language teaching expertise by sharing ideas with others through interactive discussion forums, peer reviews, online group projects, and watching videos highlighting best practices in English language teaching.

Part 1: The Landscape of English Language Teaching:
https://www.coursera.org/course/shaping1landscape

  • Week 1 Oct 5: Authentic materials to enhance student motivation
  • Week 2 Oct 12: Pair and group work for collaborative learning
  • Week 3 Oct 19: Critical and creative thinking to drive learning
  • Week 4 Oct 26: Learner feedback and assessment to evaluate student progress
  • Week 5 Oct 30-Nov 5: Language in context and using content to structure language learning

Part 2: Paths to Success in English Language Teaching:
https://www.coursera.org/course/shaping2paths

  • Week 1: Nov 9-15: Integrating skills and using tasks to motivate learners
  • Week 2: Nov 16-22: Alternative assessment to demonstrate language ability
  • Week 3: Nov 23-29: Incorporating individual learning differences in instruction
  • Week 4: Nov 30-Dec 6: Effective classroom management
  • Week 5: Dec 7-13: Reflective teaching

This video helps to introduce the program to teachers who want to enrich their pedagogical background and improve their classroom practices:
https://youtu.be/kLpwuQsNiLg

All the Shaping content videos are on YouTube, e.g.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLpwuQsNiLg

Shaping the Way we Teach English does not appear to use  a #tag, but it can be searched on Twitter
https://twitter.com/search?q=shaping%20the%20way%20we%20teach%20english&src=typd

Finally, there was this opportunity to be a Community Teaching Assistant

Have you taken the Shaping the Way We Teach English MOOC ? We are looking for Community Teaching Assistants to facilitate the latest iteration of the course!

Finding ways to make online courses interactive and localize the content is what can make MOOCs successful. Read more about this opportunity in the Community TA Handbook. We don’t anticipate this taking more than 2 hours a week of your time. Please note this is a volunteer opportunity, but you will gain valuable skills you can add to your toolkit and professional development.

If you are interested in this opportunity, please fill out this  brief questionnaire (https://oregon.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_73NMORBiC4bPb01) so that the University of Oregon MOOC staff can contact you with further information. You’ll also have to register for this course.

Opportunity to host MOOC camps in your community

Another way to assist other teachers in your community is by setting up MOOC camps. These are face-to-face meetings held at least once a week during the course with anyone in your community taking the course. It’s a great way to discuss topics and assignments and brainstorm ways to apply new concepts to your local context. Feel free to organize MOOC camps with your colleagues!

Visit American English Webinar Series at: http://americanenglishwebinars.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network

Where was this held? 

Join the conversation at this Google+ event
https://plus.google.com/u/0/events/cd533df60ghfuj3nhlb2srui6oc

2015-12-27_2052bossa

Announcements

Earlier this week

Learning2gether Episode 305 – Sun Dec 13 Mika Mokko interviews Vance Stevens for her research study

https://learning2gether.net/2015/12/13/mika-mokko-interviews-vance-stevens-for-her-study-on-attitude-activity-and-influences-of-esl-teachers-who-have-built-and-maintained-successful-plns/

 

Sat Dec 19 0900 PST Vicky Sedgwick and Extending the Hour of Code on Classroom 2.0

Date: Sat., December 19, 2015
Time: 9:00am PT/10:00am MT/11:00am CT/12:00pm ET
Location: Blackboard Collaborate (http://tinyurl.com/cr20live)Peggy George, Lorie Moffat and Tammy Moore will be hosting another Classroom 2.0 LIVE show. As an extension to the Classroom 2.0 Ning community, Classroom 2.0 “LIVE” shows are opportunities to gather with other educators in real-time events, complete with audio, chat, desktop sharing and closed captioning. A Google calendar of upcoming shows is available at http://live.classroom20.com/calendar.html.The official “Hour of Code” week is over but there are tons of resources and activities available for continuing coding/programming experiences throughout the year! We are very excited to have Vicky Sedgwick joining us as our special guest presenter for this session. Vicky has been a leader in integrating coding activities in her school and as a frequent presenter on this topic. She will share her stories, resources and experiences for extending these programming opportunities with your students.Vicky Sedgwick currently works at St. Martin’s Episcopal School in Winnetka, CA as a K-8 technology teacher. As a former software designer and computer programmer, Vicky is very excited about the current STEAM movement in education especially when it comes to introducing K-8 students to the world of computer science and coding. She loves to share about computer science and coding not only with her students. but also with other teachers as co-moderator of the #csk8 Twitter chat and as a presenter at conferences and other events. Vicky is especially looking forward to having her students work more with Sphero, mBot, Dash & Dot, and Parrot mini drones this year. Connect with Vicky on Twitter at @visionsbyvicky.More information and session details are at http://live.classroom20.com. If you’re new to the Classroom 2.0 LIVE! show you might want to spend a few minutes viewing the screencast on the homepage to learn how we use Blackboard Collaborate, and navigate the site. Each show begins at 12pm Eastern (GMT-5) and may be accessed in Blackboard Collaborate directly using the following Classroom 2.0 LIVE! link athttp://tinyurl.com/cr20live. All webinars are closed captioned.On the Classroom 2.0 LIVE! site (http://live.classroom20.com) you’ll find the recordings and Livebinder from our recent “Music Can Move Us” session with Dr. Lodge McCammon. Click on the Archives and Resources tab.When tweeting about Classroom 2.0 LIVE, be sure to use #liveclass20. Special thanks to our sponsors: The Learning Revolution and Blackboard Collaborate!Classroom 2.0 LIVE Team: Peggy George, Lorie Moffat, Tammy Moore, Steve Hargadon

Visit Classroom 2.0 at:
http://www.classroom20.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network

 

 

 

Mika Mokko interviews Vance Stevens for her study on attitude, activity and influences of ESL teachers who have built and maintained successful PLNs

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Learning2gether Episode 305 


Download mp3:
https://learning2getherdotnet.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/2015dec13mikal2g_edited.mp3?

Vance recently responded to the following call from Mika Mokko, Department Of Literacy, Culture, And Language Education, Associate Instructor and PhD Candidate, Indiana University. Her dissertation study is a case study research involving two semi-structured interviews, the first one between 60-90 minutes in length and the second one between 30-60 minutes in length, as well as observation of interactions online within the subject’s PLN.

I am a fifth year PhD candidate in the Department of Literacy, Culture, and Language Education at Indiana University looking for participants for my dissertation research. I would like to invite current ESL teachers who utilize a PLN (with a minimum of three tools such as Twitter, blogs, Nings, etc.) on a weekly basis for L2 professional development to participate in my study. This case study research aims at investigating the attitude, activity and influences of ESL teachers who have built and maintained successful PLNs to enhance their L2 professional development.

Mika asked those interested in participating to please fill out a short demographic survey: http://goo.gl/forms/MfYj23xbf3

This webcast records and shares the first of the proposed interviews with me, Vance Stevens.

Mika has graciously agreed that we can share this interview with the Learning2gether community.

Where was this held?  

Mika hosted the discussion in Adobe Connect, recording: https://connect.iu.edu/p316ectcqun/

There is also a Google+ event page:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/events/csmtmds7pja8ifhqoh6su18l80g

Chatwing chat log from http://chatwing.com/vancestev

Announcements

Coda

In March 2019 I encountered Dr. Mokko giving a presentation at the TESOL conference in Atlanta on the results of the study of which I was a small part.

20190313_122133

Earlier this week

EFL Magazine Online Teaching Summit – Saturday & Sunday December 5 & 6

and

Learning2gether Episode 304 – Nellie Deutsch demonstrating Zoom Meetings

https://learning2gether.net/2015/12/06/learning2gether-with-efl-magazine-online-teaching-summit-and-nellie-deutsch-showing-us-zoom/

Wed Dec 9 Stephen Ridgeway and Talking VET Episode #41 reflections for 2015

TheTalkingVTE #41 recording is here:
https://youtu.be/DFvJ295r4Ow

For more information see the wiki

http://sridgway.wikispaces.com/talkingvte41

Learning2gether with EFL Magazine Online Teaching Summit and Nellie Deutsch showing us Zoom

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Learning2gether Episode 304

Learning2gether had a longtime arrangement to meet with Nellie Deutsch on Dec 6 on Zoom Meetings vs. Virtual Classes. When I became aware that she was also deeply involved in the two day EFL Magazine Online Teaching Summit hosted by Philip Pound Dec 5 and 6 I asked her if she was sure she wanted to keep her commitment. After all she was involved in setting up WizIQ for the conference and was constantly listening in and interjecting where needed Saturday and Sunday. Plus, the time she had agreed to demonstrate Zoom, she was also due to speak at EFLMOTS the following hour. In the end, she did it all, and seamlessly.

In this video you can see the result from the perspective of a participant who recorded in Camtasia and posted to YouTube: https://youtu.be/QqV0VAU3sS4

Nellie shared the mp4 she produced as host of the event in Zoom  and I posted that to YouTube: https://youtu.be/R-3f3Cz8WYs

Here is how we introduced Nellie’s Learning2gether event

Dr. Nellie Deutsche will showcase Zoom.com and compare it to virtual class platforms such as Adobe Connect, BB Collaborate, Mconf/BBB and WizIQ and how you can get them all for free. There will be a discussion of the pros and cons of each.

There was a Google+ event page:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/events/ch3h8kg2hb3vjkmrpm750qej3ao

You could Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android:
https://zoom.us/j/5318007710

Or join by phone:
+1 415 762 9988 (US Toll) or +1 646 568 7788 (US Toll)
Meeting ID: 531 800 7710
International numbers available:
https://zoom.us/zoomconference?m=hu9uDMCPxtRUeKzOPrqWNOXr4WPbRlxa 

Nellie’s ZOOM tutorials:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RCfwpBq5A8&list=TLcgzNkPs_SvwwNTEyMjAxNQ

Nellie’s tutorials comparing online tools

Here is the text chat copied and saved from the Zoom meeting

05:49:01 From Vance : I hear you Nellie, can you hear me?
05:56:30 From jeff : Howdy, Wife is sleeping, so I can’t make too much noise and I still need to do some prep for the rapidly approaching Monday morning, but wanted to stop by to check things out.
05:56:42 From jeff : Very nice first impression of Zoon
05:56:50 From jeff : Zoom
05:58:24 From jeff : 11pm
05:58:34 From jeff : wife crashed a bit early this evening
05:58:39 From jeff : Yes. Korea.
06:03:33 From jeff : It is Jeff Lebow
06:04:01 From jeff : Trying to at least get my webcam recognized, but having some issues. Must be some rust in the system 🙂
06:06:53 From jeff : Options/Annotate
06:07:17 From jeff : In full screen mode
06:11:17 From Vance : thanks
06:19:10 From Chris Fry (Barcelona) : There appears to be a chat facility, too
06:19:45 From Vance : we’re following chat
06:21:03 From glenyshanson : Hi Chris!
06:23:28 From Chris Fry (Barcelona) : I’m really impressed by the quality of the video
06:24:45 From Chris Fry (Barcelona) : I’m just downloading the app on my Tablet
06:25:10 From jeff : Me too. Great video and audio quality. Seems very light as well.
06:27:16 From jeff : I need to step out, but thanks very much for introducing this Nellie and Vance. I haven’t had such a good first date since my first ‘Hangout’.
06:27:29 From Vance : great 🙂
06:27:52 From Morteza Barin : so should we pay for using it in our teaching and learning
06:28:21 From Nellie Deutsch : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzhbOhy7Qxo
06:29:03 From Nellie Deutsch : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4nZu_XtdOU
06:29:45 From Nellie Deutsch : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baPEopK39jM
06:33:15 From glenyshanson : Thanks Nellie, Vance and everyone.
06:33:16 From Chris Fry (Barcelona) : E:\Users\Chris\My Documents\Zoom\2015-12-06 15.32.25 Nellie Deutsch’s Personal Meeting Room 5318007710

Click to enroll in a self-paced online course with ongoing support and coach by your side to learn about, schedule, and practice teaching in virtual classes with BigBlueButton and WizIQ on Moodle
http://www.integrating-technology.org/enrol/index.php?id=136

Link here to previous conversations between Vance Stevens and Dr. Nellie Deutsch

https://learning2gether.net/2011/10/16/nellie-deutsch-in-conversation-with-vance-ste/

Announcements 

 

EFL Magazine Online Teaching Summit – Saturday & Sunday December 5 & 6

In order to participate, you need to register and wait for an email with subject Online Teaching Summit

Once you sign up, look for a mail from Philip Pound. It should look like this.

As far as I can tell it’s the only way to get the link to access this conference live

 

Earlier this week

Learning2gether Episode 303 Sun Nov 29 1400 to 1900 UTC – Moodle MOOC 7

https://learning2gether.net/2015/11/29/learning2gether-with-moodle-mooc7/

Thu Dec 03 1800 UTC Globinar – Amélie Silvert on how to Empower students and give them a voice

This is a copy / paste of Jürgen Wagner’s post-paratory email, which sums up well this event

Click on this hyperlink to display the full version of this follow-up mail.

According to our server there was a maximum of 69 simultaneous attendees last night, but …

The follow-up e-mail is sent to 200 registrants from 38 different countries   

Algeria – Argentina – Austria – Chile – Croatia –
Czech Republic – Egypt – Estonia – France – Germany –
Great Britain – Greece – Guyana – India – Iran –
Italy – Jordan – Luxembourg – Macedonia – Mexico –
Morocco – Netherlands – Peru – Poland – Portugal –
Romania – Russia – Saudi Arabia – Slovakia – South Africa –
Spain – Switzerland – Togo – Tunisia -Turkey –
Ukraine – United States of America – Uruguay

Register for further Globinars at:

http://lpm.lpm.uni-sb.de/Webinar/index2.php 

Please, REMEMBER to enter your feedback into the following padlet: 
http://de.padlet.com/wagjuer/webinars 
Best wishes

Jürgen Wagner

Meanwhile Nellie Deutsch wrapped up her Learn to Blend and Flip your Classes with Technology from January 5 – December 4, 2015

The course offers new, veteran, and future teachers theoretical and practical knowledge on how to teach and learn using technology. The topics of the course will focus on applying the science of learning, ways to transform teachers, promote a learning partnership with students, will how to set up team and motivate students to become lifelong learners, and finally to teach small chunks in a live online class or micro teaching in pairs. Teachers will develop a philosophy of education statement and learn how to share it with the world.

Link to enrol: https://www.wiziq.com/course/92339-teaching-with-technology