1. What are computers useful for?
2. Hardware and software explained
3. Switching on and logging in
4. Using the keyboard and the mouse
5. Simple text editing
Producing audio materials
1. Storing your documents and moving them around
2. Create simple layouts and presentations in Powerpoint
3. More on editing text
4. Using text in class
Producing audio materials
1. Making a good sound recording
2. Sound editing with Audacity
3. Storing your audio files and moving them around
4. Burning a CD
5. Using audio in class
Using video resources
1. Storing your video files and moving them around
2. Grabbing broadcast materials
3. Storing your videos on a DVD
4. Ideas and heuristics for using video in class
Blended learning in practice
1. How to cut down on photocopying
2. Using teaching and learning resources in and out of the classroom
3.How to use a Virtual Learning Environment
Spotlight on Technology: Making clips from a DVD
A short demonstration with instructions on a specific skill that is useful for language teachers and other staff.
Each session lasts about 30 minutes. For those interested there is time afterwards to try out the techniques and ask questions.
This Spotlight involves advanced technology which does not always work within the limited means available. In this session we will look at one reliable method for Windows XP and one for MacOSX. The freeware used is DVDx and Handbrake.
Spotlight on Technology: Recording video from the Internet
A short demonstration with instructions on a specific skill that is useful for language teachers and other staff.
Each session lasts about 30 minutes. For those interested there is time afterwards to try out the techniques and ask questions.
This Spotlight highlights a technology that may involve substantial knowledge and is not always reliable. We will use the free RealPlayer v11 recorder which works both on Windows XP and MacOSX.
Spotlight on Technology: Digitising analogue audio tapes
A short demonstration with instructions on a specific skill that is useful for language teachers and other staff.
Each session lasts about 30 minutes. For those interested there is time afterwards to try out the techniques and ask questions.
Do you have piles of tapes with valuable audio material which you can’t use with the computer and/or interactive whiteboard? Digitising audio tapes is easy and you can transfer this skill to other tasks.
Spotlight on Technology: Editing audio material
A short demonstration with instructions on a specific skill that is useful for language teachers and other staff.
Each session lasts about 30 minutes. For those interested there is time afterwards to try out the techniques and ask questions.
One of the great advantages of using an audio file rather than an audio tape is that you can make snippets of the interesting sequences rather than having to move backwards and forwards through a tape. But how can we isolate the interesting bits and transfer them to MP3 format? We will look at this process using the freeware ‘Audacity’.
Spotlight on Technology: Handling images
A short demonstration with instructions on a specific skill that is useful for language teachers and other staff.
Each session lasts about 30 minutes. For those interested there is time afterwards to try out the techniques and ask questions.
Have you ever looked at a photo on the computer and saw just a corner of it? Or, have you scanned a document, included it in your interactive whiteboard presentation only to find that the application did not work? This session will be about the concept of pixels and how to optimise images for their intended purposes.
Spotlight on Technology: Using media files made with mobile devices
A short demonstration with instructions on a specific skill that is useful for language teachers and other staff.
Each session lasts about 30 minutes. For those interested there is time afterwards to try out the techniques and ask questions.
In this Spotlight we will look at how to transfer and optimise images from your mobile phone and / or still camera. Knowledge of how to handle images always comes in handy.
Spotlight on Technology: Creating material for the interactive whiteboard
A short demonstration with instructions on a specific skill that is useful for language teachers and other staff.
Each session lasts about 30 minutes. For those interested there is time afterwards to try out the techniques and ask questions.
What can we do with all our digitised and optimised audio-visual material? Making use of it with an interactive whiteboard is one answer. This entails getting to know the ‘Notebook’ software and trying out some ideas on how to include media files in a teaching session.
This Spotlight can only show core functions, but if there is interest, there can be a workshop dedicated to creating an entire lesson.
Spotlight on Technology: Creating a course in the virtual learning environment (VLE) Moodle
A short demonstration with instructions on a specific skill that is useful for language teachers and other staff.
Each session lasts about 30 minutes. For those interested there is time afterwards to try out the techniques and ask questions.
Moodle is a means of presenting content such as media files, text, links and activities such as forums, assignments and quizzes to create an entire course.
We look at the core technologies, but if there is interest there can be a workshop dedicated to creating a larger module, including quizzes made with the ‘HotPotatoes’ freeware.
