Today you will go to the "Activities" page to learn how to choose the most appropriate exercises (= os exercícios mais adequados) to practice and reinforce (= reforçar) grammar and vocabulary that you studied (= estudaram). You will get more practice with interactive exercises and develop your learner autonomy. Finally, you will write and record a voice message about this lesson. This lesson will help you develop the four language skills and also you use the "Activities" page on your own (= sozinho).
Objectives
Students will:
Activities
1. Open the Activities page
2. Browse through the different exercises by grade, skill and topic area
3. Look for exercises to practice Grammar, Listening and Vocabulary
4. Complete the exercises
5. Write a message about this lesson
6. Record it in the voiceboard.
MyChingo voiceboard
Today we will work with a new audio tool to send voice messages. It's very simple to use, I promise. Let's look at the picture tutorial.
| 1. This is the "voiceboard" |
|
| 2. These are the "messages" |
|
| 3. These are the "Play" and "Stop" buttons |
|
|
4. To listen to a message, click on it and then click the "Play" button (once or twice) or double-click (two clicks) on the message |
 |
| 5. To leave a voice message, click on the "Leave a message" button |  |
|
|
|
6. A new window opens 7. Click "Record" 8. Click "Stop" when you finish 9. Click "Play" to listen to your message 10. Click "Send Message" if you like it, or click "Record" again VIP: You can also write the text of your message in the white area. |
Enjoy playing with this new tool or "toy"! And send lots of messages!!! 
During your second CALL lesson you will read messages that "you" and teacher-friends sent (= mandaram). You will also read a beautiful Christmas story and listen to Romanian carols (colinde) sent by teacher Dennis. Then you will listen to voice messages in our new voice tool, "Voicethread", learn how to send messages, send one from class and listen to it before leaving the classroom. In the same lesson you will have the chance to use the four language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing.
Objectives
Students will:
Activities
1. Read some of the messages in both blogs (there's a link to FwE3 in the Links section)
2. Read a Christmas story
3. Listen to a couple of Romanian carols
4. Listen to the messages in "Voicethread"
5. Write a collaborative message
6. Record the message in "Voicethread" and listen to it.
Enjoy the lesson!
Report
The main objective of this lesson was to introduce Voicethread, an audio tool for recording voice messages. I had started one over the weekend and was convinced that I understood the features of the tool after having inserted two photos (both of me, one with the title "Let's talk!") and recording an introductory message that I thought was linked to the title page. Two friends, Dafne and Dennis Oliver, also left messages prior to the lesson.
Anyway, I was wrong, as I found out in class. I didn't grasp the tool completely. And Internet connection problems during the 5B lesson didn't help at all. I got indications that the message wasn't being recorded, but it was. Then when I thought the recording had ended, because I had clicked the Stop button, it was still on and recorded an explanation that I gave the students about having to repeat the recording. Most of this, I believe, had to do with the erratic connection, because I spent the whole 5B lesson changing from wireless to cable connection.
With 5A I didn't have trouble with the recording, but I did have problems with inserting the recording where I wanted it to be. Better yet, I was under the impression that the recording wuld be inserted in chronological order and linked to the title page. It wasn't. Due to all these problems, but, above all, due to the fact that I didn't feel it was easy and intuitive enough for beginner EFL students, I put it aside. However, I didn't delete it. Everything is there to show how things didn't work the way I planned.
The students listened to a couple of Romanian carols and found them nice, though a bit strange, especially because they are sung by an adult choir. Though they didn't understand the text of the Christmas story, we talked about the animated pictures and they saw a simulation of an online book on the Web. They loved it.
Another activity they enjoy is reading or listening to new messages. They love seeing their own messages and reading those of colleagues.
This lesson wasn't as I had expected, but we always learn, or should learn, from our mistakes. And that's what I did. I immediately decided to look for another voice tool that would be very simple for my students to use in class or at home. The My Chingo voiceboard was my favorite among the tools I explored: Audio Dropbox, Chinswing, Evoca, Gabmail, Springdoo, Vaestro and Yackpack. None had the simplicity of click the "Leave a message" button, record your message, click "Send" and have your message uploaded to the voiceboard (with your name) in a matter of seconds. And since the messages are all stored there, anyone can play any message, anytime, anywhere by double-clicking on the name. I got a one-year paid subscription. My students deserve it.
Life is a Feast: "to learn how to use internet tools to enrich my classes and offer variety to my students" (Ana Maria Menezes, Brazil)
Ideas
-- revise ideas about time zones through a couple of the maps
-- talk about DST: what it is, are we in it, what it represents
-- read Dennis Oliver's comment #1 in CALL 8 about DST
Most of the U.S. changes time in the spring and in the fall, but most of the state of Arizona does not. I say "most of the state of Arizona" because part of this state (the Navajo Nation, which is on federally-owned land, not state-owned land) changes time in the spring and the fall, but the rest of the state does not. This is confusing, but it's also interesting, I think.
See the following link for more information on the time zones in Arizona.
http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/time-zone/usa/
-- about DST http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daylight_Saving_Time
-- map about DST in the world
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:DaylightSaving-World-Subdivisions.png
-- read comments and answers to questions by some teachers (insert clips in lesson, #5, 7, 15, 21) and additional info they give (#5, 6, 8, 13, 15, 16, 21); include excerpts of what is more relevant
-- what is happening in Toronto? what two countries are often mixed up/confused? what season is it in Brazil?
-- see Nina's map and Sasha's video
-- write a general comment about these lessons: how you feel, what you learned and what you can use these maps for
Metaweb Graph (Nova Spivack)
Taken from a Michael McLeod Moodle weekend message (May 13, 2007)
Below are six Christmas carols sung by 5th and 6th grade students of Escola de Sto. António - Parede and included in the CD-ROM, "Natal na Santo Antonio" (Christmas at Santo Antonio). They recorded the CD at a studio and it was sold at school before the Christmas break started. It's fa-bu-lous!!!
CONGRATULATIONS to all the students involved, among them 4 students from 6.C, 4 students from 6.D and 5 students from 6.E (my classes), and to the three music teachers, Ana Paula, Elsa and Pedro! What a great job you all did!!!
Enjoy! And... Merry Christmas!!!
To hear the music, doubleclick on the 
in the mini-consoles below:
Everybody likes to take a holiday
Natal branco / White Christmas
Vai nevar / Let it snow
Jingle bells
A todos um bom Natal
Miscelânea de Natal
Here are two very interesting links sent by my dear colleague, Moira Hunter:
It's a wonderful Internet (Take your time to read it and make sure to move your mouse over the pages and drag the timer and/or brownish arrow; the 'turn page' function is the grey arrow in the bottom right corner)
today
March 2008
February 2008
July 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006
October 2005
September 2005
March 2005
