AUGMENTED REALITY

                      

 Hello again, today I will tell you about an augmented reality application and its effects on language acquisition. The name of the application is Mondly AR.

 First of all, I'd like to start with the definition of Augmented Reality. Have you ever considered the difference between Augmented and Virtual Reality? The two are actually different, even if they look like very similar.
 Augmented Realirty (AR), refers to a simple combination of real and virtual (computer-generated) worlds. Superimposing virtual objects on real images by using object recognition feature of devices is called Augmented Reality. You need to have access to the internet, to have a device that is suitable for applying augmented reality and to download the application developed for augmented reality to your device. 

 The area of usage is very large of Augmented Reality. It can be used in many fields such as education, decoration, tourism, arts and museums, logistics, real estate, games, shopping...
  I first saw it in Ikea's application but I didn't know that it was called augmented reality. With that application, you can virtually place the furniture you want to buy and you can see if it fits or not. 
Here is the link of the application--- APPLICATON OF IKEA





   Augmented reality is also used in the area of education.
 (You see me and my virtual friend on the left:)) ). I believe 
that augmented reality enhances learning but to a certain point. I mean, elementary level students can improve their English to some extent. They can learn animals, colors, basic/common words. After some point, they need to support their learning process with other resources.
   I tried the app ''MondlyAR'' last week. I chose to learn Italian because I take Italian courses this year. This application helped me learn the names of several animals. It changes the way we learn, the application is unusual. It is available for both Android and iOS users. 
-You have to pay if you want to learn more. 
-Also, it offers limited learning opportunity. 
+ It gives us the opportunity to interact with the character. 
+Virtual assistant uses a human voice in order to give a realistic effect.

  Application made me feel like a kid. After a while, I was bored.

 This technology can be improved much more and applications can cost less if producers/developers are supported by the government. 





THANK YOU FOR READING! NEXT TIME I'LL EXPLAIN VIRTUAL REALITY. 
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS,  YOU CAN LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW or YOU CAN SEND ME AN E-MAIL. :)

sagrakaracan98@gmail.com

Powtoon

 Powtoon is a user-friendly tool that allows you to create an animation using speech bubbles, shapes, images, characters, and more. It has both paid and free options. You can be sure that the products youcan create for free are enough for your courses! Creating different, interesting animations is totally up to you! You can create various animations by using your creativity and imagination. If you want to make
your lessons more fun and to add diversity to the lessons, POWTOON is for you!

HOW TO USE POWTOON? / HOW TO CREATE ANIMATIONS?

 It seems a little bit complicated but you'll see it's not that hard to create animations. Also, there are different language options. (You're reading this article in English, and English option is available in Powtoon. That's why you don't need other language options, I guess:) ) In the free version of Powtoon, you can share the animations that you've created on YouTube or on other video sharing websites and you can let your students watch your animations through these websites.

 Now I want to show you how to get started step by step : 

1.Go to the Powtoon homepage.

2.Click Sign Up.

3.Sign up using one of the options.

POWTOON HOMEPAGE LOOKS LIKE THIS.

 

CREATING SLIDES LOOKS LIKE THIS

You can choose different templates depending on your purpose. You can teach a grammar topic, animate a story, support your story with slides and pictures. I decided to introdruce myself with a video on Powtoon. I chose a characters that looks like me. 

I choose to introduce myself when I try to produce a content on a website because I rehearse my first day in class and meeting my students a lot. :))

I'll try to upload my Powtoon video above but if there's any problem with the video, you can click on the link below!

Teacher Intro Video!

I hope you'll like my video!! HAVE A NICE WEEK :)

Using the Socrative in English Language Teaching Classes

 

 New technological applications come into our life almost every day. It is inevitable to use those technological devices in the field of education for efficient teaching and learning. Socrative is a way of giving students an immediate feedback. It's a platform that you can create quizzes for your students in the forms of ''multiple choice'', ''true/false'', ''short answers''. It was created by teachers and it saves time when grading students. This platform gives teachers the opportunity to collect data from their student, and to assess them immediately via smartphones, tablets and laptops. Also, It creates a competitive area for students.

  Teachers login and select an activity appropriate to the topic described in the classroom.
  Students login with their device and interact real time with the content (room number is required).

Now, I'll show you how to create quizzes step by step:

As you see, it is very simple to create quizzes!
It is also a very effective way to increase students participation, in addition being useful for the teacher.

YOU ARE ONLY LIMITED BY YOUR IMAGINATION! YOUR STUDENTS WILL LOVE IT!

IF YOU WANT TO LOOK AT MY FIRST SOCRATIVE QUIZ, PLEASE CLICK HERE!

BLACKBOARD

                                         

Hello everyone! I hope you're doing well!

Today I'll be talking about a learning tool, Blackboard. So, what is Blackboard? Blackboard is a learning management system like Moodle. It’s a tool that allows faculty to add resources for students to access online. Resources are added into Blackboard courses for students to enhance teaching. It’s an flexible, learner achievement centered tool, that’s why you can use any theory to teach your online course. 

It's not free like Moodle, so it has a more user-friendly interface than Moodle.  It’s a paid service and its market is bigger , it can be used by government and schools. If you have money and also if you want it to be professional, you should use Blackboard.

 Online learning can be done in a synchronous or asynchronous environment. In a synchronous environment, students and instructors have instant or "real-time" interaction. Course members need to meet at a certain time and this may seem to be a negative aspect. Setting a clock, however, can help students keep track of everything as needed and manage their time. An example of a synchronous tool is Blackboard Collaborate. In Collaboration, your class can be gathered for a course. You can organize office hours, work sessions, improvised developing discussions and invite guest speakers.

  As you can see, there are various courses on Blackboard and you give roles to these courses. Roles control access to tools and content within a course. Each user is assigned a role for each course in which he or she participates. For example, a user with the role of ''Teaching Assistant'' on one course may have the ''Student'' role on another course.

 You can be sure that you can give all students the opportunity to succeed with Blackboard. You can set courses and change their contents.You can give your students homework, take exams, grade them, set goals for them and even track their performance.

                        

   There is much more to say about the Blackboard, but these are what I can tell you. If you want to get lost in the depths of the Blackboard and discover it yourself, here is the website; Blackboard Ally LMS 

I'll be giving information about Moodle on my next post! See you soon!

YOUR ONLINE CLASSROOM, EDMODO!

Edmodo is an educational website where students and teachers can communicate, solve problems, and share useful information. As a student, you can join different classes, and you can create classes as teachers and give studies to your students. Parents can also join these classes and follow the development of their children. 

It is used a as a resource. Edmodo can be adapted to any class in a variety of ways. For example, when I was in first grade, we used this website in two different ways. In one of them, we shared our writing assignments and our teacher gave us feedback; in the other, we summarized and shared with each other the sections in which we were responsible. 

It is a very useful application that enhances both students' and teachers' improvement.

Students can be assessed by teachers, surveys can be done. As you see, how you would use EDMODO can be different depending on what you are teaching, the environment you work in.

Also, you don't have to carry your laptop with you all the time. There is a mobile application for EDMODO! The more you communicate with your friends, the faster you answer the questions in your head. Edmodo is a very simple application to set up and use. It takes very short time and very little effort. If you want to know how it is set up, I will explain now. and.. did I mention that it is free??

IF YOU ARE A TEACHER; 

-You need to sign up, there is no verification e-mail.

-Set up your groups. (classes for students)

-After you create the group, a window pops up that confirms the groups are created and the code to join to the group.

IF YOU ARE A STUDENT;

- Go to edmodo.com and click on I'm a student.

-After/when you sign up, enter the group code.(take the code from your teacher)

You can share notes, alerts, quizzes, new assignments, polls! Also, you can add links or files to your posts and share them with your students, content depends on you and your imagination! 

HERE IS THE WEBSITE; https://new.edmodo.com/home

MEET THE AMAZING WEB 2.0 TOOL, VOKI!

MEET MY VOKI, SAGRA !

 Are you looking for a tool in order to enhance your students' 21st skills and interests? You are in the right place! Voki is a great Web 2.0 tool that allows kids to create talking characters. This site features educational resources, including teacher-submitted lesson plans.

  You can customize your characters to resemble animals, living people, cartoons. You can record your own voice, upload from your computer or choose an existing audio on the site. 

  With your free voki account, you can create lots of characters. You can record 60 seconds with this character. However, if you upgrade your account to a paid Voki Classroom subscription, you can select pre-made historical figures and scenes, and record 90 seconds of audio! Also, additional management options come with a paid account.

   You can create different classroom activities by using this application!

1. Let students create characters that look like themselves. Ask them to write a script that identifies their best qualities and communicates what's most important to them. Then, ask them to use one of the three audio input methods to record their tracks.(They can choose an existing audio or they can record their own voice.) The last step is to have students share their animations with the class! This activity will really interest and entertain them.

2. This is a very good tool that can be used in language classes. Let them to be creative, design is not important. Ask them to write the vocabulary list they need to practice that week, choose one of the three audio input methods to record the five words and their definitions. Finally, give them a quiz to reinforce their learning. 

3. Begin this public speaking exercise by having students design their interpretations of famous characters from literature.Then, ask them to record their favorite monologue. Give them time to use their animations to help them remember their monologues. Have them present their animations to the class, followed by them reciting their monologues without the help of the animation.

Using your imagination, you can do a lot of activities and increase your student's participation in the class! 

HERE IS MY FIRST VOKI CHARACTER; MEET ASHLEY!

KAHOOT

 DID YOU KNOW THAT KAHOOT IS THE MOST FUN WEB 2.0 TOOL FOR STUDENTS?

  It is very important to adapt the technology to the classes in order to involve today's students to the lessons and to catch the wave of today's world. Kids aren't studying enough for the exams, and I have to admit I don't like the exams, too. If our goal is to make learning permanent, then we must be able to apply what we have learned in theory. With Kahoot, students can reinforce what they have learned, and we teachers can make learning unforgettable. Kahoot application is used in more than 180 countries and 20 million games are played per month. Teachers can create Kahoot can be in different categories such as quizzes, polls, discussions, puzzles.
  Kahoot is a very simple app with everything. It is very easy to implement and prepare! If you want to use this application, you need to do the following;

IF YOU ARE A TEACHER; 

 1.Go to the Kahoot.com website and click on ''GET MY FREE ACCOUNT''.
 2.Select your role, set your username and password, then click on ''CREATE ACCOUNT''.

 3. Then you can prepare quizzes, discussions and surveys. Select the Quiz option and proceed to the next step.
4.Next step is to prepare your quizzes.

   

5.Finally, you press the play button to start the quiz you have prepared. The system gives you a code for your students to access. Students can start the quiz by entering this code.


IF YOU ARE A STUDENT; 

-Follow the first to steps that I mentioned above.
-Then, enter the code your teacher gave you.
-Choose your nickname!
-Then start your quiz!

WHY DO STUDENTS LIKE KAHOOT?
Because they can set their own username and they like it. Also, the sense of competition and limited time increases the excitement.

   Kahoot is very useful/beneficial for all students. You can reach kahoot on many topics, not just English.I can recommend this app to you as an english teacher. You can use your imagination to give your students an unforgettable experience.

IF YOU WANT TO SEE AN EXAMPLE, YOU CAN ACCESS MY KAHOOT ACCOUNT and FIRST QUIZ ABOUT MODAL VERBS HERE,
SAGRA'S KAHOOT ACCOUNT / FIRST QUIZ