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4th CATEGORY

DIGITAL TOOLS

QUESTION 1

which digital tools resources or websites are useful to promote autonomous learning and improve listening and reading comprehension?

For the students improving their listening skills is a challenge in their daily life. Listening happens in real time and it is difficult to control the speed of the information that they hear. “They may also have to deal with a range of unfamiliar accents, noise interference from background environment and the pressure to respond to the person they are listening to” (Nik Peachey, September 23, 2019).

In class teachers play audios and students work in the activities lockstep together. It is an easy model if teacher doesn´t make sense about accents and real contexts that create critical thinking, perhaps because of the demand for tools that must be handled.

Fortunately, digital technology and mobile devices help to improve that important skill to create motivation and independence in students. Thereby, there are some useful tools:

1.    LyricsTraining

2.    Listen Notes

3.    Accent Rosie

4.    TeachVid

5.    Read Aloud

6.    Synth

7.    Fluid Data

8.    Listen and Write

9.    SpeakPipe

10. Video Converter

 

 

It combines listening to songs with learning a language. Students can choose songs in a variety of languages then watch the video of the song and try to reconstruct the lyrics. Students can choose the level of difficulty by selecting either to reconstruct the whole of the lyrics or to just have a few of the words taken out.

The app is gamified, so as they listen to the song, the music stops at the end of each line and they then have a time limit to fill in the missing words. If they don’t complete the line they have to start from the beginning of the song again.

 

Is a podcast search engine with a huge collection of podcasts on a wide range of topics. Podcasts are a great source of listening materials for students and can easily be downloaded onto mobile devices for replay at any convenient moment. Also, it can help teachers or students to find listening materials that fit their interests. If they log in, students can start to ‘curate’ collections of different podcast episodes that they like and keep working on their listening skills while listening to them whenever is convenient.

 

This is a great app for any of students who use Facebook. It is a simple free app that works with Facebook Messenger and sends students short audio clips. The students must listen to the audio clip and write down what they hear.

They can then send their text back and get instant feedback on how much they got correct. This is a great way for students to regularly work on developing their listening skills.

 

This is an app that combines listening with watching videos. TeachVid uses video from YouTube and builds a range of different activities around them, varying from text reconstruction, translation, multiple choice, jumbled sentences and many more. One of the nice things about TeachVid is that students can choose the types of exercise they want to do for improving specific listening skills.

 

Synth is an interesting way to make podcasts more interactive and engaging for students. You can record your podcast, a message, a question or an audio file for your students to listen to and they then have to record a reply, or add to your message. This is a great way to either collect knowledge together or create dialogue with students while developing their listening skills. It can be used on iOS or in the web-browser.

 

FLUID DATA 

This is a really interesting tool for anyone who is interested in improving their listening skills and learning how different lexical items appear in authentic speech. It is a little like a corpus, but has a wide collection of audio files that can be searched for specific language items.

You do this by typing the word or phrase you want to find into the search field. Fluid Data then shows you a list of audio clips with the part of the clip that contains the example phrase highlighted by an orange bar.

 

LISTEN AND WRITE

This app is similar to LyricsTraining, but has a wider variety of source materials. Again it is based around listening to what you hear and writing it down and like LyricsTraining you can select the level of challenge by deciding how many of the words of the script you need to type in. Generally, the texts used are of a higher level and have more complex vocabulary than those in LyricsTraining, so this would be better for higher level students who would like to specifically develop their listening skills or ones practicing for Cambridge exams.

This app allows you to create your own short video files, upload them to server and get a link that you can share with your students. This is a great tool for helping students who have specific problems with remembering pronunciation of words or phrases or for recording example sentences or very quick listening activities for students.

 

 

This is a useful tool for separating audio from video or for converting files for uses in different formats on different devices. Although the combination of video and audio can be really useful, sometimes it’s also great to split the two, so that students can focus silently on what they can learn from the body language and expressions of the characters and then, see how that corresponds to the actual words they are saying in the soundtrack.

 

Bibliography

Searched in pages: Oxford TEFL, and,  TEACHER TRAINING  

https://oxfordtefl.com/blog/10-tools-for-developing-students-listening-skills/#aioseo-lyricstraining

https://oxfordtefl.com/blog/10-tools-for-developing-students-listening-skills/#:~:text=Video%20converter%20makes%20it%20easy%20for%20you,available%20for%20helping%20you%20develop%20your%20students'

 

 

 

QUESTION 2

How digital tools such as online interactive forums and collaborative reading platforms contribute to enhancing students’ receptive skills beyond traditional methods?

Digital tools like online interactive forums and collaborative reading platforms offer several advantages over traditional methods for enhancing students' receptive skills (listening and reading). Here's how they contribute:

Immediate Feedback: These platforms can provide instant feedback to students, allowing them to assess their comprehension and understanding in real-time. This immediate feedback loop helps students identify areas of weakness and take corrective actions promptly.

Increased Engagement: Interactive forums and collaborative reading platforms often incorporate multimedia elements, such as videos, audio clips, and interactive exercises, which can capture students' attention and make learning more engaging than traditional text-based methods.

Accessibility: Digital tools make learning resources accessible anytime, anywhere, as long as students have an internet connection. This flexibility enables students to practice and improve their receptive skills at their own pace and convenience, outside of the constraints of traditional classroom settings.

Personalization: Many digital platforms offer personalized learning experiences by adapting content to students' proficiency levels, interests, and learning styles. This customization can optimize students' learning outcomes by providing them with relevant and engaging materials tailored to their individual needs.

Multimodal Learning: Digital tools often incorporate multiple modes of communication, such as text, images, videos, and audio, which cater to diverse learning preferences and modalities. Exposure to various forms of media can enhance students' comprehension and retention of information.

Real-World Relevance: Interactive forums and collaborative reading platforms can simulate real-world scenarios and contexts, exposing students to authentic language use and cultural nuances. This exposure helps students develop the skills necessary for effective communication in real-life situations.

Collaborative Learning: Online forums and collaborative reading platforms facilitate collaboration among students, allowing them to interact with peers, discuss ideas, and share perspectives. Collaborative learning not only enhances students' receptive skills but also promotes critical thinking, communication, and teamwork.

Data Analytics: Many digital platforms utilize data analytics to track students' progress, monitor their performance, and identify areas for improvement. Educators can leverage these insights to tailor instruction, provide targeted support, and optimize learning experiences for individual students or groups.

Overall, digital tools offer a rich array of features and functionalities that can complement and enhance traditional methods for developing students' receptive skills, making learning more dynamic, engaging, and effective.

 

Digital tools can also help students develop digital literacy skills, which can include:

• ·         Understanding digital responsibility
• ·         Improving online safety
• ·         Evaluating online sources and information
• ·         Citing sources and copyright material properly and consistently
• ·         Recognizing and distinguishing real from “fake news”
• ·         Learning to evaluate the credibility, accuracy, and relevance of digital sources.
• ·         Developing the ability to analyze, synthesize, and apply knowledge to real-world problems.

 

Bibliography:

Searched in blogs:  STEPmedia, and, Structural Learning

https://thestempedia.com/blog/digital-literacy-in-classrooms-for-equipping-children-for-the-future/#:~:text=They%20learn%20to%20evaluate%20the%20credibility%2C%20accuracy%2C,for%20effective%20collaboration%20in%20the%20digital%20realm.

https://www.structural-learning.com/post/developing-students-digital-literacy#:~:text=Identify%20relevant%20videos%20and%20images,choices%2C%20and%20to%20stay%20safe

SEARCH 2 

3rd CATEGORY 

STOCK IMAGES AND SOUND

QUESTION 1

Which are the best webapges to find and use stock sound effects and images in order to avoid overusing Google Images?

Stock Photo

A free stock photo is a photo that can be downloaded free of charge and can be used in various ways without any restrictions. These photos can be used in both personal, commercial and non-commercial projects. You can use these free stock images in your blogs, design projects, social media accounts, and in many other forms of creative work.
Here are some interesting weppages to find great apps:

Pexels is a provider of premium stock photos and stock footages. It maintains a library with over 3.2 million free to use stock photos and videos. Pexels is home to the best free stock photos, copyright-free images & videos shared by talented creators. Pexels provides high quality and completely free stock photos licensed under the Pexels license. Thanks to its wide collection of media, all the photos on Pexels are nicely tagged, searchable and also easy to discover through the discover pages.

There is nothing that you can't find on Unsplash. With over 3.6 million free high-resolution images you can browse through, Unsplash surely is a treasure for content creators. At Unsplash, they select only the best and premium photos. New images are added on daily basis brought to you by the world’s most generous community of photographers.

Burst is a free stock photography platform that is powered by Shopify. At Burst, you can find free to use high-resolution images that are constantly being uploaded and updated by professional photographers. Their aim is to help creative users find the perfect free stock photos for their next project and to build the best free image library for entrepreneurs. You can use Burst pictures for your website, blog, online store, school projects, Instagram ads, facebook posts, desktop backgrounds, client work and more.

Pixabay is a free stock photography and royalty-free stock media website. It is a vibrant community of creators sharing copyright free images, illustrations, vector graphics, videos and music. All contents on Pixabay are released under the Pixabay License, which makes them safe to use for personal or commercial purposes without asking for permission or giving credit to the artist.

Vecteezy is a leading global provider of digital imagery developed by an American company Eezy Inc. Vecteezy aim to provide designers with the resources they need to do their best work, wherever they are in the creative process. Vecteezy provides fresh photos, videos and vector illustrations created by their fantastic creative community and worry-free licensing.

Stockvault is a stock image provider which offers 100% free user-contributed photos, images, textures, and vectors from all over the world. Their sole purpose is to gather and archive high resolution photographs that photographers, designers and students can use for their personal and non-commercial design projects. Stockvault is a growing community with over 137,000 free photos, 103,000 members, and around 27.03 Million downloads.

Stock soundIn the realm of digital storytelling, audio plays a pivotal role in breathing life into visuals, setting the mood, and engaging the audience. Whether you're crafting a gripping documentary, an instructional video, or an immersive podcast, the impact of precise, high-quality audio effects cannot be overstated. 

But where do you find these audio gems without exhausting your budget? 

Partners In Rhyme offers a variety of free sound effects and music loops for use in audio-visual projects of almost any kind. While it also sells premium sounds, its free collection is substantial and is sufficient for various creative needs. Free sounds are available for personal and commercial use but specific licensing for each sound may have different usage instructions.

Orange Free Sounds offers a wide range of sound effects, loops, and music that are free for personal and commercial use. Its collection includes everything from ambient sounds to soundscapes and instrumental music, perfect for creators who specialize in vlogging and ASMR-related content.

Bensound specializes in providing royalty-free music tracks for videos, presentations, podcasts, and many more audio-visual projects. While it's more music-focused, it offers a selection of sound effects that are useful for various creative projects like filmmaking, short-form video content and many more.

While primarily known for its vast selection of free music, the Free Music Archive also offers a range of sound effects.  It's a community-driven platform curated by a consortium of radio stations, labels, and other entities involved in audio production and sound design.

Pixabay is widely recognized for its vast collection of free stock photos, but it also offers an impressive library of free sound effects and music tracks. The platform is a valuable resource for content creators, filmmakers, and digital marketers looking for high-quality audio clips to enhance their projects.

Mixkit is a curated library of high-quality stock music and sound effects offered by Envato Elements, designed to provide creators with a wealth of audio options for their projects.  It stands out for its royalty-free collection that caters to a wide range of creative needs, from video editing and podcasting to game development and beyond.

QUESTION 2

How the use of digital tools for searching images can facilitate the creation of digital lessons for teachers?

How Visuals Impact Learning

Stunning graphics grab people’s attention, but research shows they don’t always boost learning. In fact, images with distracting or irrelevant details may hurt students’ understanding. 

Decades of studies show that people can learn more from words and graphics than from words alone (Mayer, 1989; Mayer & Anderson, 1991, 1992; Mayer, Bove, Bryman, Mars, & Tapangco, 1996; Mayer & Gallini, 1990; as cited in Mayer, 2009). In his foundational 2009 book Multimedia Learning, educational psychologist Richard Mayer gives this finding a name: the Multimedia Principle.

However, Mayer—along with other researchers like Atkinson (2002, as cited in Mayer, 2009) and Hegarty and colleagues (1991, 1993, as cited in Mayer, 2009)—emphasizes that different kinds of images have different impacts on learning. A study by Sung and Mayer (2012) explored the idea that any graphic in a learning experience can fall into one of three categories:

·         Instructive images: These visuals directly support learning and facilitate essential cognitive processing of core concepts. For example, a diagram illustrating Porter’s Five Forces can help students better understand this business strategy framework.

·         Decorative images: These graphics enhance aesthetics but don’t influence learning. For example, an image of a business handshake is visually appealing but neither assists nor impedes understanding of negotiation principles.

·         Distracting images: Sung and Mayer called this category “seductive” images. While these visuals may relate to the topic, they impede learning because they require extraneous cognitive processing. As an example, consider a complex organizational chart of a full corporation in a lesson on team leadership. The image connects broadly to the lesson but directs focus to irrelevant details, distracting students from the key concepts.

The results of Sung and Mayer’s study bore out their hypothesis. They found that, while all three kinds of images improved students’ satisfaction, distracting images detracted from students’ learning. These findings support the “coherence principle” that Mayer proposed in 2009–that people learn better from multimedia lessons when the graphics are relevant to the instructional goal.

So, how can you use this understanding of different kinds of graphics as you design your course materials?

1.     Select visuals that align with your learning outcomes. Avoid AI-generated visuals that are only tangentially related to the topic or include extraneous details. While these images might be eye-catching, they can get in the way of students’ learning by drawing attention away from core concepts. Instead, identify the key ideas you want to emphasize and choose visuals that directly support those learning outcomes.

2.     Vet AI-generated images carefully. AI image generators can make mistakes and produce inaccurate details, which can confuse students and undermine learning. If you’re not confident in your ability to assess an image’s accuracy, consider using examples vetted by subject matter experts or omitting the visual altogether.

3.     Trust your domain expertise. While AI tools offer powerful capabilities, they’re not a replacement for your subject knowledge. As an educator, it’s important to curate AI-generated visuals with potential pitfalls in mind. Even the most impressive AI graphics can’t substitute for your expertise in the course content.

Example :)

TEAM COMMUNICATION 

Let’s say you’re teaching a course on communication strategies. You tell a story about a team lead who overcomes communication barriers within her team. You might generate an instructive image that depicts that team lead during a successful meeting.

Midjourney created this image in response to this prompt: “/imagine A drawing of a woman who’s an empathetic project manager leading a successful collaborative brainstorming meeting.”

Or you might create AI-generated images of teammates actively collaborating during a brainstorming meeting.

Just make sure to screen your images for confusing details that could make them distracting. For example, you probably want don’t want the team lead to just be one more item on the group’s brainstorming whiteboard!

Then, the  use of digital tools for searching images can significantly facilitate the creation of digital lessons for teachers in several ways:

 Engagement: High-quality, relevant images can make lessons more engaging for students, capturing their attention and making the material more memorable.

Illustration of Concepts: Images can help illustrate complex concepts or processes, making them easier to understand. For instance, diagrams, charts, and infographics can simplify intricate information.

Time Efficiency:

 Quick Searches: Advanced search algorithms and filters allow teachers to find specific images quickly, saving time compared to traditional methods of sourcing images.

Curated Collections: Many digital tools offer curated collections of educational images, reducing the effort needed to find high-quality resources.

Customization and Adaptation:

 Editable Formats: Digital images can often be edited or annotated to suit specific lesson needs, allowing teachers to tailor visuals to their curriculum.

Thematic Consistency: Teachers can maintain a consistent visual theme across lessons, which can help in creating a cohesive and professional-looking digital lesson plan.

Interactive and Multimedia Integration:

 Interactive Content: Digital tools can facilitate the creation of interactive lessons where images are part of activities, quizzes, or interactive timelines.

Multimedia Lessons: Combining images with other digital media (videos, audio clips) enhances the overall learning experience.

Inclusive Education:

 Diverse Representation: Teachers can find images that represent diverse cultures, perspectives, and backgrounds, promoting inclusivity in the classroom.

Accessibility: Digital images can be adapted to be more accessible, such as through the use of alt text for visually impaired students.

REFERENCES 
https://mitsloanedtech.mit.edu/2024/03/06/supporting-learning-with-ai-generated-images-a-research-backed-guide/
https://www.b2w.tv/blog/best-free-sound-effects-sites
https://www.designiscope.com/post/15-amazing-websites-to-find-copyright-free-stock-images#viewer-2k6ij

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