adobe connect

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have you ever heard about CONNECTED CLASSROOM?sounds familiar, isn't?

yes, it is actually about how technology can be used to connect students/learners to the outside context of their classroom. One of the tools that we can use to apply this kind of classroom is called 

This is a website where people can connect with others online in order to share information, to have a meeting, discussion, chat, or virtual classroom session. So, because this tool can be used for these purposes, it is parallel with the connected classroom concept.

So, today we are going to discuss this tool, ADOBE CONNECT!

before that, MAKE SURE you have installed the Adobe Flash Player software to make it work nicely =).

then what do you need to do next??

1. go to this page . Create an Adobe account.

 sad to say, it's not free (maybe because it's good =) hopefully)

you get the 30 days free trial package. If you find that it's worth paying, you can pay for it.

 

then you'll have to fill in your details

then, log in

accept the terms of service first

30 days. a date to remember

this is how your HOME looks like

if you click on create a virtual classroom, you will have to fill in these things.

  

 next steps

then, TADAAA!!

this is how your virtual class looks like. so get connected then!

example of online classes with Russell Stannard

then, if you go back to HOME and try to create another thing, eg: sharing content

 

you have to fill in these information first before you can share your content with others

So, back to the connected classroom thing, how can you get benefit from this tool and use it in your classroom?

1. teacher can make an extra online class session in the weekend or maybe during the holiday time. teacher will  give students the details of the class (date, time, and url) and just do an extra lesson with the students. Teacher may ask a few students to participate and give ideas either by speaking or writing in a chat box. *so what's good here is that both teacher and students don't have to come to the class to do an extra class. So, it saves time and space* 
2. teacher can ask students to do a homework like discussing a topic in groups by using  this. then tomorrow the students will be asked to present their discussion to the class.*this is also good because students will have opportunities to find more supports quickly as they can share the links, pictures, videos together with the member in their groups. so this kind of discussion is much more effective in my opinion*
3. in the evening, teacher can ask students to give feedback about the previous lesson in classroom (what they feel about the lesson, is it easy to be understood, how can they connect it with other things, sharing additional information about the lesson, and asking questions). *Here, students will more likely to participate more than they do in their classroom because it is not a face to face interaction. So here, students will be more relaxed and confident to express their opinion/maybe to express their criticism as well*

WHAT I LIKE ABOUT ADOBE CONNECT:

1. we can share content such as mp3 files, photos and others.
2. whilst having a virtual classroom or a meeting, the host can give permission to participants to view their video, audio and their screen, not only him/herself can share them
3. it's a new and different ways of learning. basically people will like new things the most and this will make them become more interested and eager to participate
4. it encourages collaborative learning in which students or people (of course between teachers as well) from all other the world can connect together, EASILY
5. input and information can be shared/discuss more lively with the supports from other parties (links to related websites, photos or pictures or videos)

BUT THERE ARE THINGS I DON'T LIKE ABOUT IT:

1. it's not free! Why? Why?
2. it doesn't really help students in presenting skills (communicative strategies) because the interactions that happen is not really face to face
3. technical problem might occur especially when there are too many participants join the class. this will cause a problem where students might get disconnected with the class
4. quite difficult to be used, and require many things to be filled in before you can really start using /creating a room for online classes and etc
5. since it is not a face to face interaction, teacher can't really know what the students are doing (maybe they are doing other things and pretending to join the class)

That's it for today!! thanks Russell for introducing this tool to us! =))

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click and learn

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Click AND Learn!!

WHAT IS IT?

Find it HERE

this is a very interesting website to be used by students to learn English in terms of grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and general knowledge. It is actually a website made by French government for their students to learn English so this websites contain some of French instructions that can't be translated.

HOW TO USE IT??

EXAMPLES OF ACTIVITIES THAT I DID:

There are three activities that i have tried. So far, these activities have both pros and cons. I'll list it based on every  activities:

(1) PRONUNCIATION ACTIVITY

WHAT IS GOOD:

-it models Ss with the right pronunciation of the words ending with -ed suffix

-Ss can repeat the sound of the words are pronounced

-the next activities are related to the previous activities and I think this is a good thing since Ss learn by using i+1 concept where they have some kind of comprehensible input in learning new lesson

-some of the activities are repeated activities so that Ss can train themselves (like a drilling activity and then be familiar with the structure)

-Ss can learn the rules of grammar effectively by the aids of visual and sound

-score is given so that Ss can know their level and this can motivate them as well

WHAT I DON'T LIKE:

-We can't go back to the previous page because there's no button for it and this can make Ss lost interest of the activities that are more challenging as they can't refer to the previous activities

-there's an activity that Ss need to drag the words, but it's not working well (the way it is dragged is sometimes out of control)

-sometimes the sound by the speaker is not clear enough and confusing, so it will cause Ss to give a wrong answer

(2) GRAMMAR ACTIVITY

WHAT IS GOOD:

-it gives some information about the use of the grammar structure so Ss can have a little knowledge about that or refresh their previous lesson about the structure in order to do the task

-fill in the blanks exercise with the given answers is quite traditional and Ss is familiar with it so they can manage to do the exercise without having to write and type the words since they only have to drag the word to the correct place

-the nest task require Ss to type the answer themselves but the choice of words are given so it will help Ss to answer the questions without having a spelling error

-the exercise are also given by using the context of everyday life and this is quite effective because it is personal to the students, in addition their motivation level will increase

-Ss can learn from the incorrect answer because they won't be able to proceed to the next task without giving the right answer

WHAT I DON'T LIKE:

-can't go back to the previous page to view the information

-the dragging activity is out of control (can't drag it properly so it may cause Ss to drag the words to the incorrect places then it will deduct the score)

-it deducts score for every incorrect answer and this will make Ss lost interest in doing these activities

-(IN MY CASE) if i make a spelling mistake and want to delete it by pressing the "backspace" button, the websites go crazy to HOMEpage again. It happens twice and I'm really fed up to continue the exercise. it could happen to Ss as well.

(3) ISSUES ACTIVITY

WHAT IS GOOD:

-it gives visual information (which is good) at the beginning before Ss do the tasks so that Ss will have a general idea regarding the topic so this can prepare them before doing the actual task

-the activity is TRUE and FALSE activity where Ss need to read a short question then mark whether the statements are true or false. If the Ss get the answer right, more detail information about the statements will appear on the screen

-At the end of the activities, there is a game which is a quite interesting way to arouse Ss' interest

WHAT I DON'T LIKE:

-it is too wordy (contains too much words which can make Ss lost interest because they need to read a very long text) *I don't like it either*

-The game as well, too many options of answers to be read before choosing the right one. I think it is not worth reading all that for only one answer because you have a lot of doors to open (one door one question) and this will consume much time.

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GENERALLY,

I think this website is good to be used by students, BUT the teacher MUST be selective. Try to do the activities by yourself first before asking your Ss to do it in the classroom. So, if you encounter any problem, you can prepare for it or avoid using the problematic part. While doing the activities yourself, try to FIND any pros and cons especially, then how to deal with the cons (if you really want to use the activities)

FOR ANY HELP/SUPPORT, this websites prepare these:

these can be used by teacher as a guidance before choosing what activities can be used before teaching Ss


happy CLICKING and LEARNING!!


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wordle

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NOW it's the time for WORDLE!!

WHAT IS IT???

It is a website where you can paste a long or short text and then the website will highlights important words from the text (keywords) in a unique design. For example:

Before using this website,
REMEMBER!!


your computer MUST have a JAVA player, if not it won't work.
Download and install java player HERE.

Here is the link for the website. CLICK.

HOW TO USE IT??? DUN WORRY!! 


it's SOOO SIMPLE! =))

 scroll down for MORE!!

then click GO.

tadaaaaa! the result!

other random designs

if you don't want others to view it, delete it

paste it onto your blog or your own website

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Can be used for other languages as well:

Malay

korean language

BUT it is only applicable for alphabet words, not others:

can't be used for hanguk (korean writing system), the words can't be recognised

HOW CAN IT BE USED IN THE CLASSROOM??:

1. teacher can show this wordle for Ss then ask Ss to guess what is the main idea about this text. This is good for activating Ss' schemata before they proceed to the next task. 
2. Prepare and train Ss' with new vocabulary or vocabulary items that are related to the text
3. Teacher can show the wordle to Ss and ask them to write a story by using the words, then compare it with other Ss and the actual text,it will be useful as a writing task
4. it is also useful for after reading activity in which Ss can remember the important keywords of the text after their readings

WHAT IS GOOD ABOUT IT???

1. can be used in other languages as long as it is alphabet
2. the designs are very interesting, colourful and easy to be read
3. it's free and simple to do, doesn't need much time

WHAT I DON'T LIKE:

1. some of the designs are too colourful and funky, mito ght not be suitable for some people with colour blind problem
2. it doesn't help students in terms of using real language only keywords are given, not full sentences, but it is good as a support materials for teachers
3. students must have internet access and they have to know certain websites that provides long text
4. it can't be used for other kinds of handwriting except for alphabets

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visuword

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WHAT IS VISUWORDS??

In my opinion, the word 'visuwords' is derived from the words visual and words, which mean the words that are visualised. 

What makes me said that?

Because it is a website that present ideas in a graphic organizer

LOOK HERE:

INTERESTING, ISN'T IT???

So basically, visuwords is a website that presents relationship of ideas and words added by their concepts as well as the meanings of the words

HOW TO USE IT??

it's easy peasy lemon squeezy! 

learn it HERE:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

IS USING IT IN THE CLASSROOM A GOOD IDEA?HOW???

1. I can ask students to write an essay from the graphic organiser
2. I can ask students in groups to discuss one part of a discussion, eg: marriage in details
3. i can save the page, edit it by erasing the colour (which shows relationship between words), print it and ask students to find the relationship between words
4. I can teach vocabulary to students and the words that are related to the word
5. Students can use this to study by themselves/just getting the broad view about a topic

WHAT IS GOOD THEN??

1. it's FREE, you don't have to sign up, and it's easy peasy lemon squeezy!!
2. It's quick because once you've typed the word and clicked Enter, the related words appear in a few seconds
3. it's beautiful and interesting because there are many different colours like your own notes
4. it shows relationships between words and the meaning as well
5. it gives details explanation of the words if you are hovering on the words
6. you get to enhance your vocabulary since you can see a lot of new words and the words that are related to the word you typed
7. you can memorise keywords for certain topics because you learn through graphic organiser, this is quite suitable for self-study
8. it can be viewed in full screen, can be zoomed in and out so you can see the ideas closely or broadly
9. the graphic organiser can be dragged and moved, but the relationship cannot be changed (this can either be good or bad)

HOWEVER, IT HAS SOME PROBLEMS:

1. it contains too many colours that represent too many relationships between words. This might be a problem for students who are colour blind. And this might cause confusion because there are too many relationships and colours to be memorised. Yes, they can refer it, but it will consume much time then
2. the connection of the words that appeared after you typed the word might be too broad and general, and students can lost tracks without teacher's guidance

HAPPY TRYING!!!

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