I was speaking this morning at the Assessment is for Learning conference on Clydeside. This particular focus was on Personal Learning Planning, and the processes involved. I podcast my talk and you can listen by clicking this link:
Download mflepodcast19_aifl.m4a (this file is now fixed, after not working before)
Requires Quicktime or iTunes
A good intro to podcasting and blogging can be found on the Modern Foreign Languages Environment (MFLE) Creative Teaching section. This will show some of the tools available.
I have been using the edublogs.org service to get free blogs for myself and my students. It requires you to make up your username, blog title and give an email address and you're off!
French teacher at Musselburgh Grammar School, Morgane Leroux, uses edublogs.org with her Advanced Higher French class. Her 'AHFrench mother blog' has just started, with links off to her students. This was an example of a teacher blog which provides the 'how to' for student-led tasks.
John Johnstone and his pupils blog over at Sandaig Primary School and they are teaming up with Hope Park Primary over their Roman Music project. The link was found by running a search for the term "Roman AND music" over at Technorati, the blog search engine.
Darren Kuropatwa has his own reflective blog, but the best of his students' Scribe Posts are gathered on the Hall of Fame wiki. A perfect example of learning logs in mathematics.
I hope that some of those present will start their own teacher learning blog, keeping track of the highs and lows of their work. To make sure that other teachers know you're blogging to them it's worth adding your blog to the page at the ScotEduBlogs wiki. Remember, you can change the page yourself just by clickinh 'edit', changing things and then clicking 'save'. Enjoy!
If there are any other links you would like that I've maybe missed just mention roughly what it was here in a comment and I will oblige.
Have found it great for target setting at beginning of session (when the timetable changed). Certainly want my new language class to blog about their language learning experiences when we restart in August (maybe will try it out initially next week with them). In fact part of the PC passport requires them to do something like this (doesn't mention blogging specifically)
Posted by: Lynne | June 08, 2006 at 05:19 PM
Linda came back this afternoon ethusing about the young man talking at the assessment for learning meeting. Be encouraged by such a positive response to your talk!
Posted by: Gordon McKinlay | June 08, 2006 at 08:13 PM
I had great fun and hope that those present will have great fun doing what I do every day, too. Can't wait to hear from more of those present on how they would like to use things. I would be able to help, I'm sure, if they are enthusiastic to see things through.
Posted by: Ewan McIntosh | June 08, 2006 at 09:44 PM
Hi Ewan,
Great job linking our primary five with the Hope Park podcast, I'll need to start these smart Technorati searches. There seems to have been a jump in the quality of conversations going on in pupil blogs in Scotland recently, you and Andy should be held responsible.
A really nice example of a developing conversation is going on at Sandaig at the moment between Kimberley-Jayne and Carol Fuller from the USA. All of Kimberley-Jayne's comments are from home the original poem was the only thing blogged from school. You can be held accountable for that one too as you introduced Carol to Sandaig.
Posted by: John | June 08, 2006 at 11:18 PM
It's great fun making the connections but is something that is, literally, kids play. Hope the kids will get some technorati-ing done in class (I think that needs some supervision, still).
Posted by: Ewan McIntosh | June 08, 2006 at 11:45 PM
Congrats for this great research work and visualization.
I have been in this same marathon, albeit in Canada, for some time now. See this at: Blog As A Teaching Tool
By the way, I have cited your work. Would appreciate if you leave your comments about my effort.
Best, Mohamed
Most recent item in my other blog:
Multifaith Hall of Fame of the 21st century
Posted by: Dr. Mohamed Taher | June 09, 2006 at 07:34 AM
Ewan,
As soon as I get my "Collaborative Communication" policy passed I am looking to get one of our secondary modern language departments moving with blogging and podcasting. The PT is one of our Masterclass group and enthusiastic to do something a bit more interesting. I may well come back to you on your comment to help!
PS Why can't I get any audio from the podcast at the top of the page?
Posted by: Gordon McKinlay | June 09, 2006 at 09:07 AM
Garageband was being naughty, but it looks like I've managed to fix the file now!
Posted by: Ewan McIntosh | June 09, 2006 at 11:53 AM