Graphs and Groups

Task 1
Excel: Which types of graphs should be used for which types of data?

Task 2
become a member of this group:
http://groups.google.com/group/pcskills-ujep

Visit the Discussion, and present your blog URL there. Visit your friends' blogs!

Excel for Teachers

Problem One: How can you share one (rather large) file with more people,
especially if you do not know all their email addresses?

Possibilities:
capsa.cz
dropbox.com


Problem Two: How should a teacher use excel for class evaluation and statistics?

Download two files (excel_start and excel_1) from http://prekladani.capsa.cz/, Folder PCSkills.
The "start" file shows erratic notes on Ss results.

Tasks:

1. Consider which headings are missing, and add them.
2. Order the students alphabetically.
3. Prepare some statistics – AVERAGE results of each test, of each student, the best and the worst mark of each test (MAX, MIN) and of each student.
4. Find out what MODE and MEDIAN mean. Use them.
5. Use the form COUNTIF for finding how many Ss got 1 during the whole term.
6. Express some of your statistical data in graphical forms. Which types of graphs should you use?

HOMEWORK:

Find out how to create contents (obsah) in a Word file, e.g. a diploma thesis.

Project Checklist

Here you can check whether your project site features all requested items. The structure of the web remains free, it is you decisiona nd responsibility to make it user-friendly!

BTW, haven't you forgotten about your personal blog?

WEB SITE
1. personal information - with sufficient safety precaution!
2. Hot Potatoes index page or spot, with information about the target group, topic, objectives, links to the all three exercises
3. three interlinked HP exercises - practicing THE SAME 10 vocabulary items!
4. a page focused on a topic of your choice - preferably something you are good at; avoid the primitive pasting of information from other sites! write about your hobby, experience, share what you know and the others don't.
5. a gallery - 12 images (of your hometown) you shot yourself, with self-recorded audio comment
6. link to your personal blog an dother useful links (e.g. the class blog, reliable sites focused on teaching English, dictionaries...)
7. references (links to data and graphics you used)

Working with sound

1. Find at least two sites which offer free listening material for teaching English (ESL or EFL). Focus on those which enable legal download. Insert the URLs into the comments to this blog entry.

2. What does the word "podcast" mean? Go to Podomatic, create an account and browse the site. How can we use it in teaching English?

Good examples - Teacher Luke at Podomatic, Splendid Speaking for advances learners

3. Download some text and some music (separate files, max. 3' each). Open Audacity - sound editing freeware - and try to combine the two files into one :)

Audacity Basics - you should be able to
- install Audacity and the lame library which enables export to mp3
- open a file in Audacity
- edit the file: cut and paste, fade in/out, change speed, delete, add silence
- create a new file
- combine two files (e.g. speech + background music)
- inserting silence (e.g. as a space for an answer)
- changing the speed or pitch (carefully!)

TASK
1. Record comments to the 12 images in your gallery (1 minute max., save in wav file)
2. Edit the recording in Audacity, add background music, cut out noises etc.
3. Export the wav to mp3
4. Upload the mp3 to your website

REMEMBER - before editing, create a backup copy of the original!

Examples of galleries with audio comments created by your colleagues:

http://www.dzblecht.wz.cz/My%20home%20town.html
http://skipit.wz.cz/galerie.html
http://vvalova.wz.cz/gallery.html
http://romankalecky.wz.cz/gallery.html
http://www.springday.euweb.cz/fotogalerie.html
http://personalpage.unas.cz/Personalgallery.html

Images in Teaching and Learning

In this lesson we will find out how to edit, compress and save images. The local editor available is GIMP; if you have your own notebook, feel free to use any editor you prefer.

GIMP Portable version for download

Image formats and how to use them

The basic skills you should master:

1. Saving an image from the web
2. Compressing, saving in various formats (with different extensions)
3. Cutting
4. Changing brightness, sharpness, hue and other basic features
5. Making a part of the image transparent

TASKS
1. Find a 1MB or bigger image, save it, create a strongly compressed version (an icon). Keep the original version safe!
2. Play with the commands your editor offers. Try to create
- an image which you could use as a background of a web page
- an image which could serve as a symbol, logo etc. you will use in your web
3. Find two images and combine them into one, applying transparency (e.g. Donald Duck walking through Usti nad Labem :) )


TIPS
How to make things transparent in GIMP:
Layers – Transparency – Add alpha channel
Choose the background using the magic wand.
The simplest method is to use Edit → Clear

More information on image formats (in Czech) - HERE
How to make a good photography?

Roman Pihan - a whole web on photography, including tutorials, tips and galleries
Ondřej Neff - practiacal tips for all

Jednoduše na kompozici

GIMP online help (in English)

Multiple Choice and Gap fill

Let's make our HotPot a bit more interesting!

1. Multiple choice
- 10 questions
- 4 distractors (no mistakes!)
- use sentences, not isolated words
- feedback - additional information, input

2. Gap fill
- 10 gaps
- context (e.g. a story)
- choose the gaps wisely  :)

Tips:
+ Create feedback which is interesting and informative; do not hesistate to include facts from our rela life.
+ Do not skip articles :)

HP exercises can be interonnected using the menu Configure - Buttons.


Suggested course of actions:

1. Create HP matching exercise Ex1. Connect it to the index.html. Make sure you have all the files, including images, in the same folder as the exercise. Save, export.
2. Create a HP multiple choice exercise Ex2.Connect it to the index.html. Carefully fill in the feedback! Save, export.
3. Create a HP gap fill exercise Ex3. Connect it to the index.html and Ex1.html. Save, export.
4. Connect Ex1 to Ex2, and Ex2 to Ex3. Save, export.
5. Open your index.html in NVU. Add links to all three HotPot exercises. Save.
6. Upload all files (index.html, Ex1.html, Ex2.html, Ex3.html, all images) to the web.



Do not forget:
+ No diacritics, no spaces in filenames.
+ Save everything you want to put online into a single folder. No subfolders.
+ Regularly save your changes.

 FAQ:

1. Do I have to use an authentic text in jcloze (gapfill) exercise?
YES.
Try to find an authentic text which will focus on the topic; some of the target vocabulary items should be included, but not necessarily all of them.
Such a text activates the passive vocabulary of the student, helps them understand the new words in context, and is much more informative than isolated sentences.

Tip: explore primary level sites for native speakers, e.g.
BBC for kids
British Council
Encyclopedia for kids


2. How do I make a good feedback in multiple choice?
Just follow these simple tips:
- DO NOT use capitals, exclamation marks, "NO!" "Unfortunately..." etc.
- be positive :) - do not start the feedback with "Sorry, no..."
- add extra information, eg.
Where do lions live? Chosen answer: "India"
Feedback: "Tigers live in India, but lions live in Africa."

3. How should I set the colour scheme?
- Remember that the text should be easy to read - the font and the background should be constrasting.
- The backgroud itself should not bee too bright, not to tire the eyes.
- study the Color Wheel site

4. What is the HotPot index?
It is a html file which includes links to all three hotpot exercises, and the basic info:
- the author
- the aim of the exercises, e.g. "Teaching the names of family members"
- the target group description, e.g. "Third grade, basic school, elementary level"

Hot Potatoes Starter

Hot Potatoes are perhaps the oldest living and upgraded, free authoring software for making interactive exercises. It offers five types of tasks: multiple choice, gapfill, matching, crossword and jumbled letters/words/sentences.

Remember!
When working with HP, you enter information into a “T’s Book” – a file with the extension .j** (.jcl. jmt…)
After finishing the exercise, you EXPORT it into html (“S’s book”). The names of the files should be identical, apart from the extension.
HotPot software does not recognise subfolders. All HotPot files AND all used images must be in the same folder


TASK 1
Choose a target age group and a topic for your own HotPot project – preferably a vocabulary field, which is taught at basic schools. Write your choice into the comment to this blog – each student must have an unique topic.
List ten vocabulary items (NOT proper names!) belonging to the chosen field – these you will present and practice in ALL THREE of your HotPot exercises.

Example:
endangered animals: snow leopard, elephant, lowland gorilla, vari, Comodo dragon... etc.


TASK 2
Use the web and find illustrations to the ten words you have chosen - the images should be in jpg format, between 10-20 kilobytes. Save them into a folder "HotPot" you create in your flashdisc.
SAVE the Urls of pages you use for downloading pictures! You will publish them as references.

TASK 3
Start working on a matching exercise, presenting the meaning of the ten words you have chosen, through the pictures. Use images of cca 20-40K size, approx. 100*100 pixels, all the same format!


Learning objectives - In this seminar you should learn how to:
- create a matching exercise in HP, save, export into html
- modify the colours of HP exercises
- insert images into HP exercises, set their size and position
- add and/or modify prompts and feedback in HP exercises
- set the timer, shuffle questions, show a limited number of questions in HP exercises

Your Brand New Web Site

Today you should start your brand new personal web site. Your own web space serves as a presentation of your individual achievements, as well as the place to upload and publish your projects.
First, read all the tasks, listed below; you can fulfill them in random order.

If in doubt, do not hesitate to ask!

1. Draw the structure of your future web on a sheet of paper. Check the credit requirements on the English Dept. web page to get an idea what the compulsory parts are.

2. Open Notepad (Poznamkovy blok) and write the text you would like to publish in your site. Start with the content of the index page - the first page the user will see. Keep the Internet Safety Rules in mind – do not publish your personal data (the date of birth, phone number, credit card numbers …)

3. Open the WYSIWYG web editor New View (nvu.exe) and explore the possibilities of the software.
Above all, learn how to:

• - modify colours
• - insert images
• - organise the page content using frames (tables)
• - insert links into text and images

Of course there are more elegant ways of editing, but our main aim is to understand the principles of web creation. If you are safe in this field, feel free to apply your creativity and do more!

4. Start new web at webzdarma.cz and upload your files (index.html, images...)

5. Publish the URL of your new web as a comment to this blog. :)


HOMEWORK:
Bring an English textbook (basic school level)  for the next lesson.


Do not forget our three main rules:

1. SAVE, SAVE, SAVE (and upload)
2. NO DIACRITICS, NO SPACES IN FILENAMES
3. ALL-IN-ONE (folder, od course)

...AND MORE:
Ideas and instructions on web page creation: http://www.jakpsatweb.cz/
Musing about your web colours? Read this for inspiration.



Image source

Introduction

What are your expectations?
Write your ideas into the comment to this blog entry. Do not forget to sign your text.

Your First Project

The first credit project seems to be very easy - but it requires some long-term effort, too!

You will start a blog - anywhere, in Czech or in English - and will keep it alive for one semester. The minimum of five entries is required, spread within at least two months.

Do not try to write long texts into your blogs! A short, interesting, well-expressed entry is more valuable.

You can find lots of examples of good blogs online. The most valued usually present some interesting experience or well-argumented opinions.

This one is my favourite - even if it is not actually called a blog :)

My personal and very occassional blog you may find here.

... And do not forget about the graphics - you should also add photos or illustrations to your blog, to make it more attractive.

TASK 1 - Blog

Start a blog, and enter its URL into the comment to this blog.

Homework: Make a suitable photo and add it to your blog.

TASK 2 - Hotkeys

Go to http://pcskills.capsa.cz/

Download the file Hotkeys_Task.doc

Find out how to use the listed hotkeys :)

TASK 3 - Using Word

Download the file Word_Task.doc form capsa.

Find out whether you really know how to work with WORD!

Checklist

What can you do?
1. text editing: e.g. creating an index/content, inserting charts and images
2. excel: e.g. inserting formulas, creating various graphs
3. WEB:
understanding the system of files and folders
creating links
designing a page - inserting images, tables
understanding some basic html codes
4. IMAGE:
changing the size (in pixels)
crop
transparency
inserting onepicture into another
5. AUDIO:
recording a high quality audio
cutting and editing (fade in, fade out, deleting noises in pauses)
modifying from wav to mp3

The Third Project - Web Evaluation

As you know, your task - apart from WebQuest and IWB material - is to create a presentation and evaluation of a site focused on interactive practice of English at any level, which will be presented in your webpage.

Background story: Imagine you are an English teacher trying to attract the students' attention to various online resources, available for independent studies. You would like to help the students avoid crap and use the ideal, well designed sites.

Hints:
1. Find a high quality site, featuring interactive material for teaching English - e.g. quizzes, gap fills etc, including feedback. Enter its URL into the comment of this blog to avoid duplicity.
2. Consider the purpose of your presentation: it should serve as a fast insight, which will help the reader to decide whether the site is suitable for him or not.
3. List the criteria you will be using. Do not forget about the target group, aims and objectives, laguage quality, the quality of feedback, graphics and other formal characteristics...
4. Summarise your findings, create a new web page in nvu or any other editor, and put it on your website. Make your text as much communicative, informative and easy to read as possible. Apply the general suggestions for making a good webpage, which we mentioned several times.

Some very simple, general advice you can find for example HERE.
Good luck!

Organising a Webquest

In any project work, we strive to vary the organisation forms as much as possible - respecting their specifics of course - to offer the students more variability.

Organisation forms and the fields of work they are most suitable for:

1. Individual work - subtasks focused mostly on research and information processing (first stage); creating posters, web sites, multimedia etc. - preparing components of the final products
2. Pair work - brainstorming, information processing (second stage), mutual support and close co-operation, more complicated sub-
tasks
3. group work - collecting and evaluating information (processing third stage); developing organisation skills and social skills, decision making
4. whole class - sharing key information; T:introducing the WebQuest topic; Ss: summarising, presenting the products

And finally - some motivation techniques may be useful for you:
CLICK HERE

Dropbox

"Save your files and share you photos online!"

Lots of similar ads attract our attention nowadays... let'http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifs have a look at one of the offered spaces - dropbox.com

1. Create an account.
2. Explore the possibilities of sharing files - especially for the purpose of sharing a your Interactive Board materialor the WebQuest.

"The Public Folder lets you easily share single files in your Dropbox. Any file you put in this folder gets its own Internet link so that you can share it with others-- even non-Dropbox users! These links work even if your computer’s turned off.

Step 1: Drop a file into the Public folder.

Step 2: Right-click/control-click this file, then choose Dropbox > Copy Public Link. This copies the Internet link to your file so that you can paste it somewhere else."

Motivation in Projects

Every student asks: "Why should I do the task?"

Give him some reasons. Every task or project should
1. be interesting (both task + topic)
2. offer success, not failure
3. use the student's creativity
4. enable autonomous approach
5. give feedback (includes positives, negatives and advice)
6. be variable (apply your own creativity!)

DO NOT FORGET:
Většina lidí si pamatuje: 10% z toho, co čtou, 20% z toho, co slyší, 30% z toho, co vidí, 50% z toho, co slyší a vidí, 70% z toho, co řeknou, 90% z toho, co dělají.
(Škvorová, J. - Škvor, D.: Proč zlobím? lehká mozková dysfunkce LMD/ADHD, ISBN 80-7254-407-1, str. 200)

WebQuest - The Brainstorming

Task 1
Become a team - work with your chosen partner(s) - max 3 people.
Share your ideas, brainstorm, discuss; use coloured pens and a big sheet of paper, draw, make notes, argue.
Respect the suggested structure (see Task 2) and the compulsory components of a webquest (Task 3).
At the end of the lesson http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifinsert into the comment to this blog this info about your WebQuest:
1. Topic
2. Task
3. Product
4. authors - the members of your team

Task 2
Look at WebQuest templates to learn more about its structure.
Find some high quality WebQuests online. Evaluate for example this one.


For the final design and publishing of your WebQuest, you may:

use questgarden or zunal:
http://questgarden.com/
http://www.zunal.com/
Read the registration and free use conditions first.

Or download a template and use it:
http://www.educationaltechnology.ca/resources/webquest/templates.php
http://webquest.sdsu.edu/LessonTemplate.html

Download a WORD format template from Capsa.

Or you can create the whole structure yourself - you know very well how to link web pages!


Task 3
Compulsory components of a WebQuest:

1. Target group (age, proficiency)
2. Objectives - what will the students learn? (in the fields of the language, realia, co-operation, creativity...)
3. Final product - what will be the result of their work? (a web page/site, a poster, a presentation, an essay, a dramatisation...)
4. Motivation (the background story, creativity, autonomy...)

5. Timing - how much time for the whole project, how much for each sub-task?
6. Organisation - suggest the ways of co-operation if necessary
7. Links - present valid, reliable, relavant sites, written in good, understandable English.
8. Feedback - at certain phases the work should be checked by the teacher, or sub-tasks presented, to make sure that the group is on the right track.
9. Evaluation - inform your students at the beginning about the evaluation criteria;
10. Teachers Book with comments and instructions for the teacher.
11. References - in APA format, preferably a separate page.

TIPS:
Imagine a specific person (a kid, a student) for whom you prepare the webquest.
Follow the objectives of the webquest. Make the students THINK, not copy and paste.
Check your LANGUAGE carefully. The instructions should be correct, very clear and quite brief.
Include all the sources you used into the REFERENCES part.
Do not forget that your finalised WebQuest must be available online permanently - uschovna is therefore not a suitable server.

Containing and other tricks

USING CONTAINERS
1. Text to be moved:
Identification: Name = Panda
Contain: Return if not contained = True


2. Image or a space where to put the text/answer:
Can Contain = Specific object
Contain Object = (Select Object) Panda
Contain Rule = Completely contained

Interactive Board - What and Why?

What and why?
1. To identify the purpose of the material:
Intro – topic, aim, target group
Source – textbook
Credits

2. To identify the resources:
References – texts, audio, images resources (last page)

3. To suggest how to use the material – create a Teacher’s book:
– instructions to tasks (focus on organization, variability)

4. To enable easy navigation: Insert links
In Activ Inspire - use "Another page" and "Open a website"
In Smart - right click at the object, use "Odkaz"

5. To use visual input: insert images
In Active Inspire: go to Resource Browser (the symbol of 2 music notes)
In Smart: go to Gallery (the symbol of a picture)
In both: download an image, and drag it to the chosen page

WebQuest Registration

Project 3 WebQuest to be created in groups of max. 3 – deadline December 12

Please register in the comments.
Include (in this order)

1. Topic
2. Task
2. Target group
4. Your name(s)

Interactive Board Registration

Project 2 Material for interactive board – deadline November 14

Please register in the comments.
Include (in this order)

1. Topic
2. Target group
3. The textbook and lesson you use
4. Your name

Credit requirements

Welcome into the new semester!

Task 1
Go to http://www.veskole.cz/
Choose two materials for teaching English - a great one and a ... hmmm... not the best one. Carefully copy the link into the comment to this blog. Sign your entry (when working in pairs, write both names.)

Task 2
Browse the links in the comments, explore the files your friends suggested.
What makes a bad IWB material?
What makes a good one?

Make notes, discuss in groups of 4. At 11:00 each group will present their suggestions in the comment to this blog.

You already found something very interesting - explore
http://www.pimpampum.net/phrasr/

-------------------------------
2nd year Solo – Computer Skills 2 KAJ/6119

Credit requirements
1. A presentation and evaluation of a site focused on interactive practice of English at any level (presented in your webpage)
deadline December 20
2. Material for interactive board – deadline November 14
3. WebQuest to be created in groups of max. 3 – deadline December 12


Finalised projects shall be submitted before given deadlines; please publish your project in your personal web site and send me an email (jana.pavlikova@ujep.cz) with the URL.

EXAM – KAJ/6119
written, the task will be to publish 2 interlinked HotPot exercises and IWB material on a given topic, and with the requested details.


Homework:
1. Install SMART and ACTIV Inspire into your PC or laptop
2. Visit the Resource Room. Browse the textbooks for basic schools, and choose TWO topics/lessons/content items and target group, for which you will create your Ineractive Board material. Borrow the book or make a copy of the chosem lessons, and bring it to the seminar on October 3, 2011.


For installing Activ Inspire:
Register at Promethean Planet