Augmented Reality in Language Learning/Teaching

     Hello everyone! In this blog, i am going to talk about augmented reality (AR). As a beginning, i am going to start with giving some brief information about what AR is and then i am going o explain how we can use it in language learning and teaching.
Augmented reality is a product of technology which enables us to expand our physical environment by adding layers of digital information on it. It actually changes the perception of reality. AR apps makes conncections of digital animation to a special marker. Today, we can find four different types of augmented reality which are markerless, marker-based, projection-based and superimposition-based. AR doesn't create a new environment and replace the real with the virtual one unlike VR. However, it only appears in a view of existing environment by adding images, sounds, videos and graphics to it. You can find the examples of AR in Snapchat lenses or the in the shopping apps letting you try on clothes without physically being in the store.

When we come to the question of how we can use AR in language classes, i can say that there are many ways of its usage. As an example, it can be used to develop vocabulary about an environment that you can interactively add media on it. Moreover, there are actually language learning apps which use augmented reality to offer the best option. One of them is the Mondly that i talked before. It promises to bringing language classes to life by creating your own learning environment. Especially children may have fun while learning about things such as animals because with the usage of augmented reality in Mondly, life-sized animals can appear just in the middle of their living room. Also for the adult learners, they may have real world-like conversations. Therefore, learners can be engaged in the language in every aspect with the usage of augmented reality and it is doubtless that they will enjoy the experience.

Virtual Reality in Language Learning/Teaching

      Hello everyone! In this blog, i am going to talk about Virtual Reality(VR) in terms of language learning and teaching.
First i should start with a brief information about what virtual reality is. It is a three dimensional, simulated environment enhanced with the usage of computer. That are variety of systems used for this purpose such as headsets or speacial gloves as you can see from the pictures below.

With the usage of them, you can experience a version of reality which is actually not there but simulated so perfectly that you can feel it with your senses as if it is real and you may even react physically to the situations happening there.
However, the area that we are concerned here is how we can use VR in language learning and teaching. Since the VR 'brings languages o life', there are many ways that teachers can use it in a classroom environment. For example, they can bring a VR headset in class and perform creative tasks by immersing their students different environments such as a tropical island or a desert in another side of the world. Students can experience these types of expeditions which enables them an authentic learning environment. As another example of its usage, students can involve in a role-play task which they can perform by using VR and instantly reaching their area of the performance anywhere in the world. Therefore, the usage of VR in classrooms to teach language can be very effective for students.

Thinglink

      Hello everyone! In this blog, i am going to talk about the app Thinglink. It is an interactional image-creation tool. It works for anyone who prefers to present ideas on a visual basis. This platform can especially be useful for children who like to work on interactive and creative images, videos and 360° media. Children will enjoy creating material on this platform because of the fact that it contains images instead of boring mere texts. Thinglink allow users to add a text or another image on the material they work on. It also allows to add these stuff under a variety of icons. One of the best advantages of the app is providing an easy usage.

Teachers can form classes and invite their students to work together. While working on a subject, teachers can give interactive and meaningful assignments through which they can use Thinglink to create their materials. Thinglink also offers images which are already created by someone else to inspire the others with their work.
Here is the material that i created by using Thinglink: thinglink material that i created after viewing my material, you can click on the icon '+' which i provided on each image to give brief information about them.

Second Life

      Hello everyone! In this blog, i am going to talk about a 3D virtual world platform called Second Life. It contains the areas of entertainment, creativity, social, real estate, education and business. Users can start with creating their avatars after signing up for becoming a part of the 'second life' that totally belongs to them.
As our area of concern, educating in a virtual world that Second Life provides enables students a real life learning and has many advantages for them. Since this generation grows up with technology, they learn best in an environment which enables them to be creative and which meets the technological demands of their generation in terms of educational aspects. Many of the learning institutions are in Second Life today. These institutions can create their own virtual campuses and perform their distance education there easily. Moreover, they can collaborate with other learning organizations around the world. With the usage of Second Life in terms of education, you can actually reach more student than you do in a normal class environment.
Here is my first experience in Second Life photographed:

Information About TPACK and SAMR Models

      Hello everyone! In this blog, i am going to give brief information about the TPACK and the SAMR models and how to use them in language learning and teaching.
To begin with the TPACK model, it stands for the Technological Pedogogical Content Knowledge, in other words, a framework for teacher knowledge. These are the set of knowledge areas which teaches need to acquire in order to make their way of teaching effective. TPACK model combines these three categories, technology, pedagogy and content knowledge, with each other.



As can be seen from the framework above, one of the combinations is the pedagogy with the content knowledge creating PCK, pedagogical content knowledge. This means the knowledge that is central to teachers. The other one is the combination of technology and content knowledge which creates TCK, technological content knowledge. This combination is how technology inluences the content. The last combination is tehcnology with the pedagogical knowledge creating TPK, technological pedogogical knowledge. This one is the area where technology and pedagogy influences each other. Finally with the combination of all these areas, we reach a center area, TPACK. Each area in this model bears equal importance.
The integration of this framework into a classroom environment in terms of language teaching and learning will provide students with more efficient learning. Especially with the integration of technology into the other two areas, teachers can make their lessons more fun for students and they can save from time of preparation for example for the grammar teaching.

The other model SAMR, stands for Substitution, Augmentation, Modification and Redefinition. These are all categories of a framework about classroom technology integration. The technology can be used to replace the traditional tools such as coursebooks.



The picture above shows us the four categories of SAMR model. At the stage of substitution, technology is directly substituted for a more traditional tool as i mentioned before. This can be done by using powerpoint or prezi slides instead of distributing copies. The stage of augmentation presents significant enhancements on student experience. In the stage of modification, there is an actual change in the design of the course and the tasks. In the redefinition stage, student's experince is fully transformed. While the first two stages are categorized as 'enhancement', the last two steps are called 'transformation' beacuse in the first two steps , you just enhance the course by doing substitutions, however, in the last two steps, you actually create a difference by transforming the course and the student experience using technology.
SAMR model can be used in language learning classes by changing the coursebook into digital presentations and assigning students from digital platforms to let them be more creative with the enhanced world of technology.

Language Learning Apps

      Hello everyone! In this blog, i am going to talk about some famous language learning apps: Mondly, Busuu, Memrise and Duolingo.
Language learning has been considered as a must for a long time. Although there are lots of face to face language courses, there are not so many people who have the chance, money and the time to participate face to face courses. However, as the technology has been developed, it has brought about various opportunities in terms of language learning.
One of the best advantages of these apps is their being free of charge, especially at these times when the fees of face to face language courses are pretty high.
Also, they are pretty easy and effective in terms of usage and saving time. They allow you to organize your time of learning according to your availability.
When you forget about practicing regularly, these apps don't forget to send you a reminder of your responsibility as a language learner.
Moreover, as another advantage of these apps, you can find people to practice the language you're learning.
Therefore, these apps help you to learn languages in an efficient way with a lower cost than face to face courses.

Nearpod - Mindmeister

      Hello everyone! In this blog, i am going to write a review about two apps: Nearpod and Mindmeister.
Nearpod is a useful app for interactive presentations and assessments. Students can join the classes by entering the codes.

Maybe the most beautiful thing about the app is there being sample presentations of lessons prepared by other teachers who are professionals. These already-prepared presentations allow teachers to save their preparing times and to spend more time on teaching. In addition to preparing interactive presentations, teachers can also upload images, videos and documents in various formats to enrich their presentations.

The assessment part can be done at the time of presentation or with the post-session reports. Nearpod also allows teachers to evaluate their students individually or as a whole class.

The other app that i am going to write about is Mindmeister. It is an online mind mapping tool that works for anybody who wants to study by visualizing their thoughts. It also enables  creative problem-solving activities by using brainstorming technique.
One of the best advantages for the usage of the students is learning more effectively by easily structuring and categorizing the information. It also improves the memory through working with the clusters of the words.
In terms of a classroom environment, it helps students collaborate under a general idea and present their own distinct ideas.

Pixton

Hello everyone! In this blog, i am going to talk and present my material about the app Pixton. By using Pixton, you can create comics as you wish. You can use it either as a student or a teacher. As a teacher, you can open up a class of your own for your students and you can select a specific grade. Students can attend these classes by the codes distributed.
The app allows you to create an avatar of yours and continue your creation of comics with it. It offers lots of options for being creative and fun at the same time.
Students can create their own comics easily with lots of options of backgrounds, characters and text bubbles that they can apply to their characters.
Here is the comic that i created using Pixton:
you just need to click on this: my comic by Pixton

Quizlet

      Hello everyone! In this blog, i am going to talk a little bit about the app Quizlet and i am also going to share the material that i created with this app.
Quizlet is one of the most useful apps for education purposes. As a teacher or student, you can use quizlet to create digital flashcards for studying on any subject you want to learn.
For example, creating a vocabulary flashcard with quizlet is both an easy and efficient way to study and build up your vocabulary.
Especially in a classroom environmet, it will help to focus on vocabulary without students getting bored.
Here is the vocabulary flashcard that i created:
you just need to click on this: my vocabulary flashcard  and have fun with the words!

Flipgrid-Voki

      Hello everyone! In this blog, i am going to share my Flipgrid experience with you. Flipgrid allows you to create 'grids' for video discussions. Teachers can create their digital classrooms by having a code and then they can invite their students to attend these classes by distributing them these codes.
Teachers can assign students by giving varius topics to talk to and prepare a grid video about them easily through the app Flipgrid. These grids can be shared with classes or any other small groups that contain the same interest.
Here is the video that i created: my flipgrid video

Storybird: Digital Book

     Hello everyone! In this blog, i am going to present you a digital book that i created by using the app Storybird. 
Storybird is an excellent platform for the people who want to be creative about writing a book. It can be used both by students/individuals and educators.

As can be seen from the picture above, you can read, write or even develop your writing skills with challenges created by professional educators and expert authors. There are options for you to write on such as a picture book, longform story, comics, flash fiction or poetry. You can also decide on an age, level, format and the genre of the book for your readers.

Here is my own storybird; digital book:

   

Edmodo

     Hello everyone! In this blog, i am going to present an app review: Edmodo. It is a very useful app both for teachers and students and even for parents to follow the educational activities of their children.

Through Edmodo, teachers can create digital classrooms where they can gather plenty of students under their classes with the class codes given as can be seen from the screenshot below. 

They can also share useful class materials such as videos, documents, links and images through this platform and they can give students various assignments by setting a deadline for each. 

There is a 'planner' section for the students that lists their upcoming assignments thus reminding them what's due. 

The platform also contains a 'discover' section in which students can improve themselves through challenging games.

In short, edmodo provides a digital learning environment where teachers, students and parents can cooperate to contribute the education of the students. 

Seesaw

     Hello! Today i am here again to share with you an app review and the task that i created with the app: Seesaw. It is basically a digital portfolio especially useful for students, teachers and even for parents!

 
In order to sign up, you need to choose from the options if you're going to use the app as a teacher, student or a family member.

 
If you are using it as a student, seesaw allows you to make your assignments in a creative way. You can enhance your assignment in your portfolio through a text, link, image, drawing, video, anything that you're feeling comfortable with presenting your ideas. This also helps teachers to get to know their students better and to make comments on the works of the students.

      

As it can be seen in the screenshot above, the seesaw app also offers some remote learning activities that students can benefit from during spending time at home. The activities are categorized according to the grade levels, topic and skills.
     It is also advantageous for parents because they can follow their children's activites through their portfolios thus, enabling them to take more part in the educational period of their children.

Here is the task i created;

*I opened a teacher account and i chose 7th grade for my english class*

Padlet

     Hello everyone! In this blog, i am going to cover a brief review of the app Padlet. Padlet is a digital board or canvas for people to create their own idea boards. In addition to creating, you can also attend to other padlets which enables you to work together with other people. 

As you can see from the picture above, the app allows you to make and join to padlets either through scanning a QR code or pasting an URL. Also, you can see the padlets you've created on this first page.

 
When you decide to create a padlet, there will appear some blank boards for you to choose a specific type such as wall, canvas, stream and grid. I chose to start with a grid to arrange my content in rows of boxes. If you are not sure which one to choose and start with, there are also preview sections for each type of board which allow you to see the structured examples of each. Moreover, you not only can add texts to your padlets but also links,images and videos as shown in the picture above.
   
     Padlet is quite suitable for teachers to use in a class environment if the facilities are provided. It can be used to provide collaborative learning among students by gathering them under one padlet board and topic through sharing links. You can also ask your students to add texts or images to the same board thus, enabling the brainstorming.

   

Animation

Hello everyone! In this blog, i am going to show you my educational experience with the app Toontastic. It helps to create animated scenes. Here is my animated class video;

Podcast/Vidcast

Hello everyone! Today i’m going to post one podcast and one vidcast about education.

Here is my podcast about two strategies for speeding up your reading: skimming&scanning. In this podcast you’re gonna learn about how and where you can use the skimming and scanning which are the fast-reading strategies.

my podcast

Here is my vidcast about how mind mapping strategy helps you to learn a foreign language effectively. It consists of three parts.
-part1-
part1

-part 2-
part2

-part 3-
part3

Hope both my podcast and vidcast will be beneficial for you:) You just need to click on the 'my podcast' , 'part 1' , 'part 2' and 'part3' sections.

Gistory App Review

     Hello everyone! As an introduction to the contents of my blog, i can say that i'm basically going to share practical informations about instructional technologies that can be useful both for language teaching and learning.
     My first subject will be about an app whose name is 'Gistory' and i will briefly share my observations.
     Surely, it is a very useful app both for children and their teachers to make the process of learning english more effective by providing creative materials such as stories including multimedia which makes it easier and funnier to grasp the information.

 
     As you can see from the screenshots above, there are some featured gistories such as 'Learning Present Continuous Tense', Around the World in 80 Days' and 'No Puede Ser Posible' to help you with your language and creating new gistories.

 

     For instance, the multimedia and the continuation questions in one of the featured gistories of a very famous book 'Around the World in 80 Days' create an enthusiasm about the book and the conent that needs to be learnt.
     However, there is a small problem about adding chunks which may result from the insufficient instructions given. As i said before, it is a well-thought app which might really contribute to language learning if teachers comprehend the importance of using these kind of creative activities in classrooms or as a task.