Lunch and Learn Agenda

Activities for ESL Students Using the Computer

A.  Introduce the Elluminate system (Audio and Video)

B.  Today’s Goal: To use computers to teach computer and basic language skills. (If we get disconnected, wait and I’ll join you from another computer within five minutes. While waiting, chat with each other in the chat box about what you do with technology.)

C.  Today’s Objectives:

1.    Explore computer activities for adult ESL students using the Web and MS Office Applications.

Ø  Word: Plurals

Ø  Excel: Survey Chart with participant Info

Ø  Obama Story

Ø  PP: Ordering sentences

2.    Participate in a group activity using the Elluminate Whiteboard to emulate Word features.

3.    Explore online resources at chiresources.org.

Sites with Activities for Beginning and Intermediate Students

NOTE: Always practice the activities before assigning them to students.  In some cases, you will have to walk a student through the activity first. Then that student can teach others.

GENERAL

Ø  http://a4esl.org/ - quizzes, tests, exercises and puzzles to help you learn English as a Second Language (ESL). This project of The Internet TESL Journal (iteslj.org) has thousands of contributions by many teachers.

Ø  http://www.quia.com/pages/alp.html - This is an amazing page with links to numerous fun activities for beginning students, emphasizing many language skills: listening, speaking, writing, listening, reading, and clicking.

Ø  http://tech.worlded.org/docs/cia/ - You’ll really love this site! Click on the Contents link and open multiple language learning links by reading the language objective in the right-hand column.

Ø  http://tech.worlded.org/docs/cesol/lessons.htm - From CESOL, click to your heart’s delight until you find something specific for your students. Lots there to explore!

IN SPANISH

Ø http://vtc.com/modules/products/titleListByLanguage.php?lan=spanish - Many of the sites I found for Spanish tutorials were done by translators, so the content felt very awkward. This is a super site. I took some of the tutorials. They are done by native speakers in movie mode. The graphics are fantastic. Not all are available free, but many, many are. Your Spanish speakers will love the modules. They can then have the technology skills to go further in English–speaking sites.( http://www.eduslide.com/ - the site that produced the above.)

Ø http://tpduggan.tripod.com/powerp.html - A HS Spanish teacher created these Spanish language Power Point tutorials that may be downloaded and adapted or used as they are. These are not for learning English, but elements of language.

Ø http://www.teachersfirst.com/getsource.cfm?id=7647 - this computer-literacy site can be used in ABE or GED also. You may scroll to the bottom and find some translated lessons. I notice that they do sound like translations, but they are understandable to Spanish Speakers. If your aim is to teach computer skills before English becomes proficient, some of the content may serve you well.

Ø http://www.pumarosa.com/ - From a teacher: This site is “intended for Spanish speakers, but really can be used for any language speaker if you have the student ignore the Spanish. In fact it, might be of better use for non-Spanish speakers so they don't rely on the translation.  It has a huge amount of vocabulary, organized by subject and level, and it pronounces all the vocabulary for the learner to repeat.  Its depth is incredible.

TUTORIALS and ACTIVITIES

• http://hcln.org/computertips.html - These are movies with sound. The English is not basic, but the instructions are very clear. I would open the video, play it once, and then go back and play again after the streaming completes. That should improve the sound quality.

• http://nimblefingers.com/ - This is a nifty typing program that requires little help to continue. So far, I’ve only been able to use this with my PC and IE. My Mac Safari won’t play.
• http://www.microsoft.com/Education/CreateTimeline.mspx - Create a timeline in Excel. Step by Step instructions, but you’ll have to walk your beginners through it.
• http://www.internet4classrooms.com/on-line.htm - This is a great site for you, the instructor. Once you follow the steps, you can copy and paste them for students. They cover many applications, with easy lesson plans and instructions.
• http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=92755126-a008-49b3-b3f4-6f33852af9c1&DisplayLang=en – From Microsoft. Create slideshows using your digital photos. With a single click, you can touch-up, crop, or rotate pictures. Add stunning special effects, soundtracks, and your own voice narration to your photo stories. Then, personalize them with titles and captions. Small file sizes make it easy to send your photo stories in an e-mail. Watch them on your TV, a computer, or a Windows Mobile–based portable device.
• http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ - Have students create sound files easily online and share them. Great for developing listening and speaking fluency! Of course, Windows XP has a nifty recorder that works in the same way, right on your PC! Got to Start -> Accessories -> Entertainment -> Sound recorder. It’s a great little tool that is super easy to use.
• http://web.uvic.ca/hrd/hotpot/index.htm -The Hot Potatoes suite includes six applications, enabling you to create interactive multiple-choice, short-answer, jumbled-sentence, crossword, matching/ordering and gap-fill exercises for the World Wide Web. Hot Potatoes is not freeware, but it is free of charge for those working for publicly-funded non-profit-making educational institutions, who make their pages available on the web. Other users must pay for a licence. Check out the Hot Potatoes licensing terms and pricing on the Half-Baked Software Website.
• http://www.yourchildlearns.com/geography.htm - Free maps and map puzzles to learn United States and World geography with Maps that Teach. Free interactive maps and map puzzles to learn continents, countries, states, capitals, borders, physical features and cultural monuments. Maps are vital to our understanding geography and the world we live in.  Interactive and fun, Maps that Teach help students learn basic geography..
• http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/- Grammar and writing activities. Cool way to add practice to context pieces.

MS OFFICE PROJECTS

What Are They Saying File (Word) - students add dialog to clipart

Obama Story(Excel) - Part of Speech/Sentence Parts

Obama Story Handout

Matching Conditional Clauses to Main Clauses (Excel)

Health - How to Create a Power Point for Students (Word Lesson Plan)

Your Opinion - Instructions for student survey and results in Excel. (Word)

Create A Word Table

Organizing Ideasin a Table

Plurals with Images - Instructions (Word)

Plurals with Images - Student file (Word)

EXCEL EXCELS!

Baby Growth (Excel)

Trip Cost (Excel)

Colors ((Excel)

Literacy(Excel)

Matching words(Excel)

Ten Frame(Excel)

Skeleton(Excel)

Heart Rate(Excel)

SA Map(Excel)(Scroll over the little red triangles)

Watch Fractions Work(Excel)

Prepositions of Place(Excel)

Comparative Terms with links to Web (Excel)

Just a few links to Sites with tutorial and spreadsheets that can be adapted to many student uses!

Instructions

http://www.education-world.com/a_tech/techtorial/techtorial010.shtml - Excel-ent Activities Across the Ghttp://www.education

http://classroom.jc-schools.net/mather/excel.html

http://jc-schools.net/tutorials/excel-activities.htm - Great instructions for Excel in the Classroom

http://www.sabine.k12.la.us/training/Excel%202000.htm – Excel Viewlets and Guides

http://www.amphi.com/~psteffen/excel.html -Integrating Spreadsheets in the Classroom

http://academic.pgcc.edu/~ssinex/excelets/ - Developer's Guide to Excelets – Loads of sheets from which to work

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel/HA101491511033.aspx - Please use this site for training and for downloading templates of all kinds.

Sheets

http://www.northcanton.sparcc.org/~technology/excel/ - Lots of sheets for adaptation

http://www.northcanton.sparcc.org/~technology/excel/files/Visualizing_Fractions.xls - Vizualizing Fractions  

http://www.northcanton.sparcc.org/~technology/excel/files/Pie_Chart_8.xls - Pie Chart for adaptation

http://www.northcanton.sparcc.org/~technology/excel/ - Many links

http://www.vertex42.com/ExcelTemplates/ - long list of more traditional templates

http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/techtorial/techtorial010.pdf - K- 12 activities

http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/techtorial/techtorial010.pdf - Group Graphing

http://collaboratory.nunet.net/hou/i_excel/interactive_excel.htm - Content-area downloads

http://www.nwnet.org.uk/pages/maths/y56/downloads/excel/shape_puzzle.xls Very simple - Good template to reproduce

http://www1.harlingen.isd.tenet.edu/standards/Student_Excel_Activities.html  – Student Excel activities

http://www.internet4classrooms.com/single_use_ss.htm - Trip cost estimator

http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00000602.shtml - “These sites offer numerous ideas for doing classroom projects that include the use of Microsoft Excel. There are many examples of using timelines, graphs, and probability charts for a variety of fun activities. Many sites offer step-by-step instructions or allow you to download a pre-formatted spreadsheet and change it to fit your needs. Also includes Excel tutorials.”

http://academic.pgcc.edu/~ssinex/excelets/fractions.xls - Fractions

http://academic.pgcc.edu/~ssinex/excelets/counting_coins.xls - Counting Coins