One thing that struck me at the end of a rainy April week as students were working to complete assignments and prepare for finals was a thought that our relationship with the cohort is often best as we finish, there's an ease of conversation and confidence from both instructor and student nurtured throughout the semester.
Some instructors such as the one in the video below can get that going from the very start, but for some, it comes only through shared experience and shared learning. Next semester I will do more to encourage a strong group dynamic from the start so that it's even richer by the end. I think the blossom in the picture below provides the perfect simile.
This is the fifth of a series of newsletters providing you with a selection of carefully curated links, resources, and useful information to support technology, teaching, learning, and research in Modern Languages. If you have colleagues elsewhere who might find this newsletter useful then please direct them to the
Links and News
I had some fun playing with a new drawing tool that sits within Chrome, confusingly for us at CMU it's called Canvas, but it could be a quick way for students to sketch ideas or write words. It works on all Chrome browsers including iPad and Android, and there are plans to bring it to Firefox and Safari. More details can be found at the Verge.
The second application from Google is Tour Creator, which brings together 360 images and enables you to add hot spots for text description and media. If you're interested in seeing an example, then this tour of Mexico City might be a good starting point. Please ask if you need help creating a tour. I wanted to pass on a link to a gifted language teacher called Martina Bex who is passionate about giving students an authentic audience for their work. Her website The Comprehensible Classroom is packed full of ideas including lesson plans, activities, and technology tips. Whether you're involved in service-learning or want to incorporate some of her suggestions into your curriculum, there's a wealth of resources to draw upon. The 2019 Horizon Report from Educause is now available and highlights three key technologies that teachers should be finding out about. The first is Blockchain which might support the use of micro-credentials and capturing skills competencies, the second is the use of Haptic Devices (some aspects of which are in VR) and the third is XR technology, describing a full spectrum from Virtual Reality to Augmented Reality.
If you're interested in finding out more, then Macworld has a list of 10 augmented reality apps for iPhone and iPad you should be using right now.
Finally, a reminder that The MLRC will be open from noon to 5 pm the week of April 29th. If you need to use the Center before or after those hours please contact Marc ASAP and reserve the Center. The Center will close for the term on Monday, May 6th.
On-Screen
Great to see this teacher learned individual handshakes to greet each student as they arrived at the class, which goes to show how vital it is to start each session in an affirming positive way.
Jeremy Kong is an English and French high school teacher, and his Youtube channel is intended to provide entertaining and catchy ways to learn French for all French learners.
Finally, I couldn't resist adding this film, with a little bit of German at the start. For those of us brought up on film (my first short was on 16mm), this is heartbreaking and poignant.
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