Thinglink

Thinglink: Uncountable food

This week, I tried out a tool called "Thinglink", as I couldn't think of how I could use the other tools with my student population, pre-literate adult learners with no computer access for most, and little to no computer knowledge.  I'm currently working on food with my students, and we have non-count (or uncountable) food nouns coming up next week.  I looked for an infographic I could use, and put that on Thinglink, and put "links" onto the picture.  I have to admit that even after looking at other Thinglinks, I really liked some of the Thinglinks I saw, especially this one...
https://www.thinglink.com/scene/657897861412814848

But with my own, I wasn't really able to think of as many creative ways to use it with my students.  I made it kind of like an interactive quiz sheet, and I put a link to a GREAT video I found on YouTube (which I plan to make an EdPuzzle of for next week).

I didn't find it very easy to use, as I was unable to add links, and after watching a number of how-to videos, I finally just copied my links and added them and then edited them.  I can see what a great tool this could be in certain situations, such as the example I provided above, and will keep it in my teaching 'toolbox' to use at a future date I'm certain.

The effect of non-cognitive skills on cognitive learning

Any teacher who has worked with at-risk pupils, especially in an inner-city environment, can attest to the fact that learning outcomes are affected not only by intelligence, but by social and emotional skills.  This should not surprise us; in adulthood, when applying for a job, many employers include a personality assessment which can play a key part in determining whether an individual is hired or not.  In light of this, SEL, or social and emotional learning, programs have increased in popularity.  These programs seek to teach students the social-emotional competencies in five key areas: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making.  In 2011, Durlak and associated conducted a meta-analysis of 213 school-based, universal social and emotional learning (SEL) programs involving 270,034 kindergarten through high-school students.  The study found that students who participated in these programs demonstrated not only significantly improved social and emotional skills, attitudes and behavior, but academic performance, with an 11-percentile-point gain in achievement.  This is an astounding gain, and these programs were, on the whole, conducted by classroom teachers.  Currently, three states (IL, KS, and PA) have K-12 standards for emotional learning.  However, with 11-percentile-point gains, perhaps more school administrators and state-level bureaucrats will begin to notice and introduce such programs into their own schools at all grade levels.

2008, Educational Research Institute of America
    How Non-Cognitive Skills Drive Student Achievement: The Research Behind the Leadership           Skills Development Course. Retrieved from http://mawiasgedom.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/FLVS-Mawi-Learning-Leadership-Skills-Development-White-Paper.pdf, May 9, 2015.

2011, Durlak, J.A., et. al.
    The Impact of Enhancing Students' Social and Emotional Learning: A Meta-Analysis of School-Based Universal Interventions. Child Development, 82(1):405-432.

ESL video vs. Edpuzzle

Wow, what a frustrating assignment.  I could NOT figure out how to embed the URL code for ESL video into Schoology, and spent over an hour working on this, looking it up in Google, watching different videos that were supposed to show me, looking at my classmates' assignments to see if I could figure out how they did it.  I have a quote posted, I believe on my old Myspace page (if any of you are old enough to have used this site before Facebook came out); "Technology is great.  When it works."  (And just checked, Myspace DOES still exist, but it's totally different; your old "page" is gone.  FYI.  :)
That was this week's assignment for me.  I LOVED the screenshot program, and am already beginning to use it.  I was familiar with Edpuzzle, as I tried to see if I could use it for a story video I was using in my classroom, but it was awkward, as the video was quite fast for my students, and had to be paused after every sentence.  But when I went on ESLvideo.com, I found some GREAT videos, and used one of them (from youtube) to make an ESLvideo quiz, and another to make an Edpuzzle quiz.  Both programs are nice, but different.  I like that there is a database of videos for each level, so it's a wonderful source for videos, and one that I will continue to use.  I didn't like that the questions can ONLY be written, and though students can answer the questions at any time (during or after the video), for beginning students, an extra hint about where in the video the answer can be found (as in Edpuzzle, where the video pauses for questions) may be necessary.  Also, that quizzes MUST be written can limit its use with beginner students.  My biggest problem with ESLvideo was that the embed codes didn't work.  I was unable to embed it (whether user error or site error is yet to be discovered).  However, Edpuzzle was quite easy to embed (although I'm also not sure if I did it correctly), making it more user-friendly.  I like being able to insert questions throughout the video, either verbal or written, although I wish that my students could write a written reply to my verbal question.  I also like how I can speak over the video WHILE it continues to play, giving my own running commentary.  While neither tool will be used in a flipped-classroom, students-doing-it-on-their-own way, I made two video quizzes, which I plan to try out in my classroom this week.  I'll let you know how it goes.  ;)

ESLvideo.com
+
video library with already made videos and quizes
-
can ONLY be written quizzes


Edpuzzle
+
insert questions DURING the video
questions can be verbal, not just written
able to do voice-over (like a running commentary)
-
video cannot be watched all the way through without pausing
must upload your own video