'Education Dive' and 'Edudemic' websites

Hi everyone,

 

Phil would like to recommend to you this newsletter - Education Dive  - as well as the Edudemic website.  They are free to access and chock full of news and practical tips and advice, not just for teachers but anyone interested in education and technology. 

 

 

Language Perfect - vocabulary site

I went to a presentation today by Scott Cardwell, marketing manager of  "Language Perfect" an online language learning site developed here in Dunedin just 6 years ago.  What I saw showed great promise. I left the presentation motivated, excited about the possibilities for improving learning, wanting to know more, and more than that wanting to incorporate this programme into our courses.


The programme run by Language Perfect:-

•  Makes learning fun/exciting
• Promotes competition between friends and  colleagues and educational facilities nationally and internationally
• Offers tangible rewards
• Improves student vocabulary, spelling pronunciation reading writing listening speaking and typing skills
• Has a mobile phone app/
• Offers a world ranking for the number of correctly answered vocabulary questions
• Is customisable (add your own relevant word lists)
• Has a well set out web site
• Picks up on errors and repeats these wordas in later exercises.
• Accessable 24/7.
• Can be used anywhere anytime.
• Has grown exponentially in the 6 years it has been running
• Has achieved international recognition.
• Can be trialed for free.

Here is their storyThe Story
Language Perfect has raised the grades of an entire country. The Language Olympics / LP World Championships has boosted the profile of language learning and motivated students across an entire continent.
Now it's going global.
It all started 6 years ago when 15 year old New Zealand high school student Craig Smith was struggling to prepare for his French and Japanese exams. He created Language Perfect as a fun resource that could test him on key vocabulary, enable him to hear the words pronounced by a native speaker and focus on the words he was struggling with the most.
Teaming up with his brother Shane they turned learning vocabulary into a huge online competition.
They partnered with The New Zealand Association of Language Teachers to host the very first NZALT Vocabulary Olympics in 2008, linking in with the Beijing Olympic Games. Over 8000 students competed by answering 4 million questions in the 3 week competition.
They found what motivated students: a challenge. By adding prizes, certificates and important guest speakers at the awards ceremony to the mix, they successfully raised the profile of foreign languages in schools and the wider community.
Schools were amazed to see how motivated and enthusiastic their students were with this new way of learning, and almost 100% of participating schools registered their students on Language Perfect for the rest of the year.
In August 2010 80,000 students from around Australia and New Zealand answered 25 million questions in the NZALT Language Olympics 2010. Now 7 out of 10 senior high school language students in New Zealand purchase Language Perfect each year, and the most recent national examination report commented on significantly improved vocabulary across all students in New Zealand.
Later in 2010 30,000 students competed in the European Language Olympics, with entries from America and China as well!
In 2011 the competition was renamed "Language Perfect World Championships" included both the northern and southern hemisphere. Over 7 days students answered more than 36 million questions!
Now for the very first time Language Perfect is available to schools from around the world. The World Championships are the perfect opportunity to use Language Perfect with your students and see for yourself just how powerful the resource is. Your students can compete and learn at home, and in computer labs at school. You can customise the content they are studying, and follow their progress online.
Your students have full access to more than 10 languages. During the competition they can earn certificates and win awesome prizes. It's brilliant promotion for languages in your school and is a fantastic way to engage students and get them excited about language learning.
We set out to create a event that inspired and challenged students around New Zealand. We never expected it to change the grades of the entire country, and it's been a privilege to spend countless hours refining the concept with teachers from around the world.
Thank you to everyone for supporting the project. Show your support by joining the Language Perfect Facebook page (link on the left) and posting your comments, we would love to hear from you!
Let's change the world together.
Yours sincerely,
Craig Smith
Founder
Language Perfect and the Language Perfect World Championships

eTV Moodle Resource page
Rachel Cash produced this excellent guide to eTV, how to access this resource and use the material contained within it as part of your teaching material.

The eTV Guide steps you through the process of self-registration (you can create your own user code) and if it happens that you already have an eTV login account but have forgotten the password, the ISS Service Desk can help.

Please have a look & see if eTV contains video material that might assist with your academic programme.

TESOLANZ now on Facebook

TESOLANZ now on Facebook

Presentation tips

Welcome, to  Olivia Mitchell's  website.  It is full of presentation tips to help you in your next presentation.
Start by downloading my free guide "How to make an effective PowerPoint Presentation". The Guide will take you through her streamlined process for creating an effective presentation. It's full of presentation tips to help you structure your talk and create PowerPoint slides.

Register at the site and you'll also receive my free email course giving you new presentation tips every week.

Then explore the many articles. I've divided the articles into five main categories:

1. How to make an effective presentation
2. How to create powerpoint slides
3. How to give an effective presentation
4. How to overcome the fear of public speaking
5. How to manage the audience

How to create Power Point presentatins using Prezzi.com

How to create Power Point presentatins using Prezzi.com

English for Nursing Resources-Wikispace

English for Nursing Resources-Wikispace

Moodle courses

Moodle courses

New Zealand Certificate in English Language

Here is the link for the new course New Zealand Certificate in English Language

1.Teacher guidelines

 

2. Assessment task /resource documents

 

3. Candidate instructions

 

4. Assessment schedule

 

It is intended that resources will be written for Level 1 and 2 ESOL unit standards, next year.

 

 

Summary writing

This site has some useful tips for teachibng summary writing

One Stop English resources for nurses

This site One Stop English has a range of resources for international nurses 

TOEFL information on Facebook

Check out TOEFL resources and information on facebook

"Welcome to the TOEFL iBT Testing Centre" Video

At this site a six minute video will familiarise students with the registration, check in and testing process.

TOEFL Journey

TOEFL Journey, is  an interactivce programme creates a personalised web page for students based on expressed study abroad interests and identified stage within the testing process. The programme also provides access to a wide spectrum of resources ranging from helpful hints for living in a foreign country, to a comprehensive listing of student visa requirements and available scholarship opportunities, as well as timely and helpful email and rext messages customised for your journey.

TOEFL TV Channel hosted on You Tube

At this site watch a new video each day sharing best practices and study tips regarding the TOEFL test from English - language teachers, students who have taken the TOEFL test, as well as institutions around the world who accept the TOEFL test.

TOEFL Go Anywhere Website

Visit the interactive website that is constantly updatedwith new resources specifically for TOEFL test takers.  Through the site's multimedia platforms, students can benefit fom various study resources, such as the Study Group video serries available here. These videos provide specific strategies for the reading, writing, speaking and listening sections of the TOEFL test.

TOEFL Test Prep Planner

The TOEFL Test Prep Planner provides an 8 week study calendar.

"Inside the TOEFL test" video serries

The format of the writing and speaking sections of the TOEFL test don't have to be a mystery.  A new five part video serries provides an in - depth look at the Writing and Speaking section s of the TOEFl test to familiarise students

TOEFL iBT Quick Prep

Students are always requesting more sample test questions from ETS!
The TOEFL iBT Quick Prep offers test questions that have appeared on past TOEFL tests to aid students with study preparation.

Lexile Measures

Based on your TOEFL reading score that can be determined by this site, a lexile score can help select materials of interest that will provide an appropriate level of challenge to promote reading development and recommend graded readers to suit.

N.Z Teaching Council site has a 5 module course to raise awareness of the usefulness of Social Media in Ecuaction

Teachers & Social Media
Social media can be an effective tool for engaging with learners and communicating with parents, whānau and communities. Teachers who model good social media use will grow learners who apply positive, respectful values in their interactions on social media platforms

About this site

The primary aim of this website is to promote discussion about the Code of Ethics for Registered Teachers/ Ngā Tikanga Matatika mō Ngā Pouako Kua Rēhitatia and its relationship with social media. The resources include:

• guidelines to help teachers use social media safely and ethically
• animated scenarios showing ethical dilemmas
• presentation frameworks to help teachers unpack the issues and examine social media use in their own school/centre
• positive case studies from teachers who have used social media successfully
• links to other sites with useful information about social media including concepts such as digital citizenship, privacy and copyright
• a social media map, describing different platforms and the characteristics of social media.