Using Dvolver in Classroom

This week I used Dvolver in order to create a mini digital story about going to the movies. I really liked this website. I first tried using Strip Generator, but after I got errors each time I tried to publish my story, I turned to Dvolver. I liked Dvolver because you can easily choose from many different characters, music and settings, but I would have loved it more if it had let us customize it all a little bit more.




By creating their digital story, my students could demonstrate the following performance indicators:

ESL.1.5-8.4.1.9: Students use appropriate vocabulary, expressions, language, routines, and interaction styles for various audiences and formal and informal social or school situations, noticing how intention is realized through language.

ESL.1.5-8.1.1.12: Students convey information and ideas through spoken and written language using conventions and features of American English appropriate to audience and purpose.

I would assess my students on the basis of their content being meaningful. If I make it clear that I want students to use certain forms, terms, words in their dialogues, I can check and see if they used them properly, I could also have them act out their role plays in the classroom and assess their spoken performance based on stress, intonation, and pronunciation.

Flipped Classroom

I think the idea of flipped classroom became popular a few years ago (Dear readers, please leave a comment below if you think I am wrong), and I have just found out about it this week! These articles here and here summarize the flipped classroom approach very well. It is a new approach to teaching which is reversing our understanding of traditional teaching by having students learn about the subject at home, and classroom time is used for exercises, projects, and discussions. 

I love the idea of flipped classroom as a teacher and a student! Here are a few reasons. First, each student learn at a different pace and flipped classroom strategy gives them freedom to learn at their own pace. If they are using a video as the instructional material, they can rewind and watch again if need be. Second, classroom time is precious, and with this strategy you use it to solve problems and strengthen comprehension, which I call a better use of time. Third, flipped classroom promotes learner-centered classroom where a lot of time can be allotted to collaborative exercises.

I also have some concerns about this approach. First of all, flipped classroom means students will need technology outside of class. Not every student has a computer and internet at home. Second, flipped classroom means that students will need to spend a lot of time in front of their computer. If all their lessons are flipped, it means hours and hours of studying at home. Lastly, it will sound selfish but will my students think that I am not needed anymore? I understand that flipped classroom is more than assigning videos to students, but what will parents think? It is not always easy for people to embrace something so untraditional like this. It is a big change!  

ePals

This week, we explored an online network for teachers and students where they can connect with many other students and teachers from around the world: ePals. I should admit that it took me a while to figure out how it works, and I made use of e-Pals is Global Education in order to see how people are using the website. You will see comments from other users on the right side of this page.

There are a lot of things you can do on ePals. You can find connections from around the world to collaborate, and while looking for connections, you can narrow your search results by choosing the country, language, student age group, average class size, subjects, interests, grades taught, and specializations. I was really  happy to see that there are many connections from my home country, Turkey. If I had known about ePals when I was in Turkey, I would have definitely used it while teaching English to my students. It would provide us with opportunities to connect with native speakers of English, and participate in projects with classrooms from around the world. Needless to say, this would contribute so much to my students' cultural awareness and communication skills in many ways.

I especially loved the Explore Experiences feature. I liked the idea of School Swap project, where you can have your students partner with a classroom from another country. Through this project, students will be discovering the similarities and differences between their classrooms, activities, campuses. As a culminating project, it is suggested that the students create a video presenting facts and info about their partner school. It is a very interesting project where students will have the opportunity to communicate with native speakers of the target language and use this info while creating their video. I also loved the Taste of Culture project, where students exchange recipes and examine what the ingredients tell them about the other culture’s location and climate. Food is always fun, and you can use this project when you teach imperatives in English as the recipes always have directions.