Technologies and Languages: Planning a task
Welcome to your three hours of registered professional learning! This course is open
from 17 August 2012 to 14 September 2012 inclusive.
Follow these steps to participate:
1. Register on MyPL@Edu. The Event ID is 42501.
2. Read through the descriptions of the six online tools below. Choose one you
would like to try with your Stage 3 or Stage 4 students. (Note: You don’t need to
try it with students to complete your professional learning.)
3. Explore your chosen online tool, discovering its capabilities and suitability for
your context.
4. Create a product, in your language, using your chosen online tool.
5. Using the planning template, create an assessment task for your students. You
can view a completed template.
6. Complete your self-reflection on the task.
7. Ask your supervisor to complete the supervisor’s statement.
8. Email your completed planning template, self-reflection, supervisor’s statement
and product (this can be as a link to your chosen website) to
elisabeth.robertson@det.nsw.edu.au
9. Complete the online evaluation of the course on MyPL@Edu (Event ID 42501).
Note 1: Many of these websites will only accept foreign/special characters by using the
ALT codes. The full range of available ALT codes can be found at:
http://usefulshortcuts.com/alt-codes/accents-alt-codes.php
Note 2: Some of the websites enable you to upload sound files. Audacity is free software
which enables you to record and manipulate your voice. It is included on all DER laptops,
or can be downloaded for free on to your school or home computer. Watch our short
teach-yourself guide to learn more.
Scripted and non-scripted languages
1. http://www.pixton.com/uk/
Pixton provides a visual writing tool. From fully
posable characters to dynamic panels, props, and
speech bubbles, every aspect of a comic can be
controlled in an intuitive click-and-drag motion.
Comics can be published and shared, enabling
classmates to view and comment.
Languages available: Arabic, Chinese, French,
Greek, Japanese, Korean, Spanish (+ ALT codes
can be used).
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This publication is funded by the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment
and Workplace Relations through the National Asian Languages and Studies in Schools Program.
© NSW Department of Education and Communities, 2012
2. www.voki.com
Students create their own online avatars. Students register, then
create their avatar, customising their chosen character with
different facial features and colours, clothing, ‘bling’, voice and
background. Students can type in text and then select
Accent/Language to have their text generated into spoken
language, or students may record their own voices. Great fun and
quick and easy to use! Creations may be published and/or
emailed.
Note: If completing this task for your professional learning, you must record your
speech using Audacity (or similar) and upload a sound file. Computerised speech will
not be accepted.
Languages available include: Chinese, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean,
Spanish.
3. http://www.kerpoof.com
Kerpoof is a suite of online multimedia software to create original artwork, animated
movies, stories, greeting cards and more. It is owned by the Walt Disney company and
has a section dedicated for educators. Check out the teachers’ guide, provided lesson
plans .
Scripted languages work in Make a movie
and Make a picture but not in the other
sections. However, you can use the pencil
in Tell a story to draw the script and use the
text box below to enter the meaning – a
nice way for students to build their own
kanji/hanzi reference book.
You can also use script by using Create a
doodle in Make a card to draw your
message using the pen.
4. http://edu.glogster.com/
“Poster yourself”!
This is a fantastic website to support writing skills. Students
register, then create their own topic-based posters,
appropriate to any Stage of learning. They can add their own
images, sound files, movie files, text, graphics, etc. Students
can type special characters and accents (e.g. è, ß), and Chinese
and Japanese are available. Perfect for primary students
through to Stage 6.
Click here for instructions for adding script.
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This publication is funded by the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment
and Workplace Relations through the National Asian Languages and Studies in Schools Program.
© NSW Department of Education and Communities, 2012
5. http://www.toondoo.com/
ToonDoo is an online comic-creating tool. You can
sign up for free, or pay for an educational version.
To create comics in foreign languages, simply
choose the text bubble that looks like this:
This site also has the option to create your
own cartoon characters,
called TraitR. What a fun
way to explore describing
what people look like in other languages. Students could
create their own characters, then describe what they look like,
or create a character from the description the teacher
provides.
Non-scripted languages only
6. http://goanimate.com/
Go Animate! enables students to make their own
cartoons and animations, choosing characters,
scenes, props, soundtracks, special FX, etc. It is a
great tool for encouraging students’ writing skills
and embedding ICT. European characters can be
inserted using the ALT codes.
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This publication is funded by the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment
and Workplace Relations through the National Asian Languages and Studies in Schools Program.
© NSW Department of Education and Communities, 2012