7 Tips and Ideas to Manage Your Online Life

When I mention my blogging and social bookmarking habit, I am always asked the same question: Where do you find the time? The answer is: time is an abstract concept...

1. Establish routines:
Use dead time-on the bus, train or while your dinner is in the oven. How often do you read your emails? I have a social networking email where I let emails accumulate and keep things to check out, then I decide to spend a set amount of time on that account. If I like what I see, I Diigo it or send a shortcut to my desktop and read later if it is a more substantial document. When my desktop starts looking untidy, I scan the shortcuts again for a set amount of time and delete anything that is unlikely to be of immediate use in the near future.
If this leads to a blog post, I don’t necessarily write out and publish straight away. Unless the post is strongly time-related, it is probably better to try to blog once a week than do it every day for 6 weeks and not at all for another 2 months...

2. Multitask:
I put my Twitter on when I am working and often upload pictures to Flickr while I am doing something else on the computer. If I need uninterrupted concentration on a particularly difficult task, I just switch off my tweetdeck alerts.

3. Integrate:
I used to use mechanical plurk but it does not seem to work for me anymore. It was great for sending all of my tweets directly to plurk and start other conversations that I could access directly from my blog-I need to check this one out again. Friendfeed is also a good one for checking communication on many networks at the same time.
I have also been using tweeetdeck to check out my friends’ Facebook activities and my favourite blogs link from my blog-keeping the RSS feeds for extended reading session once in a while. I am sure there are a lot more ways to “integrate” my online life and I am always on the lookout for them...

4. Find out where to look for every occasion:
If you get to know your online friends better, you are likely to know where to look for specifics e.g. Spanish or French teaching, ICT integration training materials, management or e-learning resources...

5. Use to-do lists:
I have started to use the simple Ta-Da lists system, thanks to a post by Alice Ayel.
It is very simple, but it ensures that all my blogging ideas can be logged and prioritised.

6. Don’t feel the pressure:
Blogging should be a pleasure, not a chore. We have enough deadlines in our lives-I strongly feel blogging should not be like that. I am not a professional journalist, I am just a person using blogging to provide me with a bit of thinking space and hopefully engage in some kind of a dialogue with other people.

7. Don’t worry about missing anything:
If it is that good, it will be shared again! I also view the information shared on social networking site a bit like a lottery, some days you get very lucky and others you just don’t gain that much...

New GCSE and Controlled Assessment –What is new?

I recently attended a course organised by AQA about their new GCSE in Spanish.
Although the course concentrated on the delivery and assessment of speaking, some useful references to Controlled Assessment, the replacement for coursework were made. (see AQA’s useful leaflet that is specific to MFL)

Some other points to note were:
• All the questions will be in English. All answers will be in English or it will be a multiple choice set-up. This has implications for target language use in the classroom and the teaching of dictionary skills as proof of understanding will rely on accurate translation most of the time.
• Context= broad topics, Purposes = subtopics
• May 7th will be the deadline for the final submission of Speaking and Writing controlled assessment marks. (writing to be marked by AQA)
• The controlled assessment can be on any topic area-it does not need to be on the specification.
• For the writing, the 2 tasks submitted need to be different task types.
• The same language cannot be used across the writing and speaking tasks
• For the Speaking: 2 tasks need to be completed but only one task needs to be submitted as evidence. The Speaking is marked by the teacher and it makes sense to submit the best mark out of the two.
• No need for speaking candidates to be invigilated and no extra preparation is needed on the day. Each task should last 6 minutes maximum.
• Students will have access to the task in the exam as well as the task-planning form (cue card with 40 words maximum, no conjugated verbs or complete sentences-can be written in the Target Language or English )
• Speaking tasks designed by each teacher have to be changed every two years (by at least one bullet point). AQA will provide new exemplars every two years.
• Controlled Assessment advisers should be in place in September 2009. They will be able to help with task-setting but not with marking. (No permission needs to be sought from AQA for designing own tasks but advice is available if needed)

The distinctions between the 3 stages were also discussed at length:
• Stage 1: Teaching the topic
• Stage 2: Give students the task they are going to do
• Stage 3: When students do the task (for speaking, when the recording takes place)
At stage 1: Some preparation can be done under the form of written homework (can be marked)

At stage 2:
• The task can be discussed in English: organisation/ type of content
• Reference can be made to the work done at stage 1 but the language cannot be given directly
• Maximum of 6 hours spent at Stage 2

For teacher-designed speaking task, the following needs to be considered:
• 4-6 minutes
• Do not go over time
• All bullet points need to be covered or full mark cannot be given.
• There can also be subdivisions within a bullet points to help the candidate develop their answers, but all the subdivisions do not need to be covered.
• The unprepared question should be accessible to all candidates-to understand and to answer (use cognates if possible)
• Important not to teach language that is beyond the candidate’s ability at stage1 or communication will suffer.
• The number of bullet is up to the teacher-examiner but AQA recommends a minimum of 3, the best being 4-5 bullet points plus an unprepared question.
• All teacher-designed tasks will have to be submitted to AQA (bullet points only)
• Students will also be able to make a one minute presentation (first bullet point) with 3-5 minutes of Questions and Answers afterwards.
• Audio files were presented as the easiest way to carry out the tests and store them, with possible use of digital recorders for added flexibility.
• If a student does not do well on a task, they can re-take it but it has to be a different task (at least one bullet point must be changed)
• The 2 tasks submitted cannot have any similar bullet points.

Ideas to investigate:
• Foreign Language Assistant to conduct tests-they just need to be trained to go through a series of questions. The test could be recorded by the FLA and marked by the teacher. This could be particularly suitable for a student who got full mark on his first task.
• Possibility in the future to re-do any units once and have January entries for Listening and Reading.
• Peer assessment is allowed at Stage 2.
• Plan possible pronunciation issues t stage 1 as no feedback can be given at stage 2.
• Introduce advantages/ disadvantages in unprepared questions for teacher-designed tasks in order to introduce more complex opinions.

Assessment:
• Communication (/10), Range and Accuracy (/10), Pronunciation and Intonation (/5), Interaction and Fluency (/5)
• Variety of tenses: 2 or more but present and present continuous are considered as 2 tenses
• Complexity: variety of structures such as different ways to express opinions
• Different tenses-3 or more tenses-required for A*-B
• If students get one mark for communication, they have to get something for range and accuracy
• Individual responses required from students.
• Focus is on fluency rather than initiative (interactions)
• Development (quantity) is opposed to Initiative (the ability to take own direction in the conversation)
• No extra marks for spontaneity
• Unpredictable questions can be re-phrased but you cannot ask another question.

Latest News from AQA-1st July 2009

Speaking and Writing -Stage 2
“If a candidate produces a draft, it must be produced under the teacher’s supervision”
More information about this will be available for Speaking meetings taking place in Autumn 2009 and in the writing materials for the Teacher Resource Bank also available on AQA website.

Writing-Stage 3
“The “writing up” of each controlled assessment task for writing should last no longer than the duration of a normal timetabled lesson i.e 45-60 minutes”

Register with AskAQA to be informed of the latest updates.

For an overview of all the specifications and the differences between them, see the very useful presentation put together by Helen Myers.

It is however worth noting that the differences will not be in the weighting between skills-30% Speaking 30% Writing 20% Listening 20% Reading as this was set by QCA.

Top 100 Language Blogs!

I have had the pleasant surprise to find out that My Languages has been nominated in the Top 100 Language Blog competition in the category language learning. Although quite a few of my favourite language blogs are not on the list, this might be an opportunity to widen my language blog-reading horizons.
The voting is opened until the end of the month. (just click on the button on the right-hand side if you want to vote for this blog)

Skype Interview : Social Bookmarking

Michèle Drechsler is an “inspector of the Education Nationale” in France. She manages a district of 260 teachers. She is responsible for the mission “environment numerical of work” for the departement of Moselle. She undertook university research on the topic: What are the changes caused by the new technologies for the professional training against the KM (Knowledge Management) and Cops (community of practices) paradigm? She currently prepares a doctorate thesis: Teaching resources on line and Web2.0.Indexing, bookmarking and folksonomy

Not only was it an honour to answer Michèle’s questions over Skype, but it really made me reflect on my social bookmarking practices.

Does socialbookmarking help you in your daily practice ?
It provides ideas for my classes, resources to create my own materials and it is now for me an essential tool to share good practice with other teachers.

How long have you been using social bookmarking ? How did you find out about Diigo ? What were the most important reasons for you to join Diigo?
I found out about Diigo via Twitter. I was already using del.icio.us but I sensed that Diigo had much more potential to share bookmarks with like-minded people. My first aim was to meet other linguists and languages teachers to exchange bookmarks for ideas and resources, hence the creation of my "Resources for Languages" Diigo group. I then found out that Diigo was a very effective way to keep up to date with cutting edge practice integrating new technologies in general and their application to language learning and teaching in particular.I have been using Diigo for a bit less than two years.

What are the most important advantages of Diigo according to you ? Visualisation ? Groups ?
Some of my contacts moved on to Diigo and decided to try it too. As I knew that I could transfer my del.icio.us links to Diigo , there was not a lot of risk involved…
I like the fact that on Diigo the bookmarks are linked to a person and a profile. It is therefore easier to identify people who have common interests with you and maximise the exchanges.
I also love the groups and the fact that their activity is easily trackable by rss and (immediate or weekly) emails.

What is the contribution of digital resources in your practice? What is a digital resource for you ? What is a good resource?
For me, a digital resource is anything that can be kept on or accessed through my computer: sound files,photos, images, documents (especially powerpoint, word and excel ), notebook files for my IWB, bookmarks to online resources...
A good resource is a resource that is adaptable to my students’ needs and a resource that is going to grab their attention-at least for a while- and engage them . For learning languages, I would say that a combination of audio files and high quality visuals is the most effective.

How do you keep abreast of new developments ?
I create powerpoint presentations for each lesson I teach and I use them to include a wide range of resources, from “low tech” (cards and worksheet) to “high tech” (notebook documents for the IWB including photos/ videos and sound)

Where do you find your new Diigo bookmarks ? Do you tag your findings as you go along as do you have any tricks to find the resources again ?
I am a member of Twitter and of a great number of other social networks like yahoo groups and Ning networks. I use Plurk, del.icio.us et Diigo. I also use rss to read a great number of blogs.

Do you do searches by key words ? Do you search for specific individuals that you « follow »?
The trick is to find people that have the same areas of interest as you and to follow them on twitter and via other social networks they might be part of. I use tweetdeck and I have a permanent search column for "languages".

How much time do spend searching for new materials? On average, per week?
I would say at least one hour per day but more at the weekend-especially in the evening. I try not to spend too much time on one occasion but to look for things when I have only a very limited amount of time available several times in the day.

How much time do you spend on the various groups you are a member of ? How do you manage your subscriptions?
I usually start going through my Diigo emails as I have joined quite a few Diigo groups but I also check my emails from the mfl resources yahoo list as it is such a fantastic source of information and resources for UK MFL teachers. I manage the information according to the time available to me: quick check, save on Diigo or if it something that takes more time to read, I send a shortcut to my computer desktop as a reminder to read the article or the report later…

In your opinion, does Social Bookmarking improve research ? What are its limits?
Of course it does ! The limit is sometimes the validity of the research, like anything else on the internet… It can be harder to find out whether it is completely reliable.

Does Social Bookmarking enable you to carry out out more relevant searches than with Google?
Yes because contacts can vouch for the validity or usefulness of specific resources whereas Google just gives an idea of the web presence of its author-and a greater web presence does not necessarily equate with greater the reliability/ validity.

Do you trust other users, is that right?
Yes, particularly if the resource has been widely used by the majority of my contacts. It gives you more confidence as it is not just a number of anonymous people.-You have some genuine common interests with your contacts.

How do you view the simultaneous presence of amateurs and experts discussing common topics ?
On the net, anybody can present themselves as an expert. I prefer to think that we are all amateurs because we never cease to learn and that our ability to be critical of everything we come across is the most important thing.

Is tagging a cognitive activity ? Does tagging force you to reflect on categories to find the correct key word?
Yes, but I feel that it remains quite personal too. Lately, I attended an Elluminate session on tagging for Flickr. We were asked to tag a picture and we then compared all the different words and categories suggested-fascinating... For photos the choice of categories is maybe wider but I believe that we also get the categories to fit our needs. The question is always: if I want to find this again to do… what key word do I need?

Key words need to be standardized. Is a protocol necessary at some stage to determine a common vocabulary or is self-regulation best?
This is a very interesting point. I have always allowed self-regulation as I feel that it may be too restricting to regulate for a whole group,-especially if the members speak different languages. Provided the bookmark is accessible via a great selection of key words, I do not think it makes any difference…

Has using digital resources changed your professional practice? Does socialbookmarking enable you to be innovative?
It means that I can store all my resources in one place-my computer, I can share resources more easily with my colleagues as well as edit them to improve them… Using digital resources also enable me to include sound and pictures and to create resources that are more engaging for my students. Using social bookmarking, I can also be sure that my knowledge of how new technologies are applied in my area of work is also up-to-date. Social Bookmarking made me discover new tools such as Wordle or Voki….

Did Social Bookmarking enable you to be more innovative in the classroom ?
Yes, by using relevant You tube videos, by using audacity to do some recordings for my students, by using voki, wordle, by using live web pages to illustrate a point, teach vocabulary or a grammar item-for example, showing an interactive weather map in Spanish while teaching phrases to discuss the weather.

Is there a difference between what the tool is designed for and what you use it for in practice?
Yes because we need to tailor any resources we use to the need of our students, given a defined time allocation and technical situation-blocked sites, access to computer rooms… For instance, avatars can be used to encourage students to write descriptions in another language. That was not why they were created but the use we make of the tools available also depends on our creativity in the classroom…

What are the most important lessons you have learnt through using social bookmarking?
You get more out of social bookmarking if you use it actively. Keeping your good bookmarks to yourself does not make you grow as a professional or as an individual. “Sharing is receiving”. This is probably the most difficult message to spread. The time issue often comes up when I talk about actively using social bookmarking. It does not take any more time than deleting unwanted emails and it is so much more productive…

Are TeachMeets the Most Effective Form of CPD for Languages Teachers?

The TeachMeet concept is simple: Let’s meet to talk about what we have been up to in the classroom. Technology is often central to the event: it has often been discussed on Twitter and various fora like MFLResources.

It is informal and yet it follows quite a few unwritten-or even sometimes written rules like a “no powerpoints please” rule to ensure presenters try to engage more fully with their audience-or at least that is what I think the benefit of such rule may be!

Whatever the practical details, the aim of the meeting is to foster a focused and honest exchange of ideas and good practice. So this is no place to go and talk for hours or unashamedly advertise your own products!

As I could not attend in person, I was delighted to see that a flashmeeting would be available to watch and comment via the flashmeeting chat facility. The flashmeeting was recorded bd can be accessed here (part 1) and here (part 2).

In real unconference style, a wiki was first set up to enable participants to register interest and allow them to volunteer for different short speeches on a topic of their choice. A Ning was also available to receive more information and to ensure pre and post-teachmeet networking as well as the sharing of all Teachmeet materials.

After the conference, which I followed live from the comfort of my own home, I read about a few of the blog posts about it on Chris Harte’s and Helena Butterfield’s blog.

I was also particularly impressed by the use of Etherpad to support the exchange of information within the TeachMeet as well as facilitate better networking. In my case, I was able to find even more interesting people to follow on Twitter and blogs to read...

Truly impressive! Now I can’t wait the TeachMeet North West in October, the London Show & Tell on 1st November and the Coventry Show & Tell on 14th November

That should care of CPD for the Autumn term...

The National Languages Strategy Update, Manchester 8th June 2009-Secondary

The situation of the language offer in Secondary schools was discussed from different perspectives:

How do students learn?
=>rich input of language
=>interaction through and with languages
=>motivation to learn, use “meanings that matter”

How do teachers develop?
=>support and partnership
=>innovation and evaluation
=>network and discussion
=>development and dissemination
Developing reflective practitioners is key.

A New Secondary Experience should include the following:
*take account of transition and what has been done at Primary
*recognition of achievement (e.g. through Asset Languages)
*variation/ personalization of the new curriculum
*engaging curricular content, use “Meanings that matter”
*opportunities for teachers to reflect and develop (CPD)

From Compulsion to Expectation
In January 2006 Jacqui Smith, then Minister for Schools and 14-19 learners, wrote a letter to schools advocating a target 50-90% uptake for languages at KS4.
Although the A*-C target is not limited to GCSE, there is still limited incentive for non-Language Colleges to extend the language offer through alternative qualifications at KS4.

A More Engaging Curriculum

*The New Secondary Curriculum
*Revised KS3 Framework linked to KS2
*New approaches, CLIL (using languages to access real content)
*New languages: intensive course in Mandarin, Japanese, Arabic, Russian …

*Open School For Languages to be launched next autumn.

The new approaches must be rooted in the situation of individual schools.

The renewed KS3 Framework will be re-launched at the end of June 2009.

5 strands:
*Listening and Speaking
*Reading and Writing
*Intercultural Understanding
*Knowledge About Language (KAL)
*Language learning strategies

Revised Assessment Framework
Reforming GCSE: controlled assessment in speaking test (revised speaking test)
Promoting alternative qualifications to GCSE. The Openqual site is useful for this.
Asset languages/Asset for the world of work (French and Spanish) can be alternatives to consider in a more flexible vocational context.

The Diploma: Languages and International Communication

Principal Learning: How languages work
Identity and internationalism
Languages in context
Professional communication
Languages in the work place
Becoming an autonomous learner

Using languages for:
*investigation, gathering information , doing research
*exchanging ideas, networking, interacting, discussing
*accessing imaginative work

Support for teachers
Networks: SLNs, Secondary Curriculum,

Focus on regional support: Links into Languages to replace Comenius Centres.
Linked-up (National Teacher Research Scholarship for Languages): funds available to work on specific projects e.g. CLIL, KS2/ KS3 transition (more information to be found on the website as scheme starts in September)
TDA initiatives: upskilling secondary teachers who want to go and teach in primary schools

The National Languages Strategy Update, Manchester 8th June 2009-Primary

It is now two years since the Languages Review was published and the update provided an overview of the progress made so far. The briefing covered: primary, key stage 4, the new primary curriculum, KS4 performance indicators, the new Languages and International Communication Diploma, the Open School for Languages and the Links into Languages programme.

The Update was presented by Lid King and Kate Green.
Lid King established the Languages Company in 2008 in order to support the National Languages Strategy. A languages teacher in secondary, higher and adult education, advanced level examiner and materials writer, Lid was Director of CILT from 1992 to 2003.
Kate Green is a secondary languages specialist with additional experience in primary, adult languages and EFL. She is now a member of the Languages Company and her work has a particular focus on the national situation of the MFL uptake at KS4. She is also a Senior Adviser for the Links into Languages programme.

In Primary the Language offer was presented as follows:

=>The New Curriculum includes languages for all (7-14) from 2011
=>More appropriate assessment
=>Choice and personalization (support for improved)

Primary aims were defined as: =>Enthusiasm for language learning
=>Focus on Speaking and Listening
=>Develop understanding of other cultures

The most popular languages in Primary were French (89%), Spanish (23%) and German (9%).
The average time allocation was 30-60 minutes per week in primary schools and the teaching was most commonly carried out by the class teacher. One of the most important changes was that many more schools had some kind of assessment scheme in place.

Making and Marking Progress is a taster pack with suggestions and materials to support progression in the summer term of Year3

Cilt transition projects are also available

New website : http://primarylanguages.org.uk/ which is a combination of the former NACELL and Primary Languages training zone websites. A "Linguistic Upskilling specification" will be put into place to support primary school teachers. The syllabus will be delivered in all LAs and firmly rooted in primary practice. The specification will consist of 4 modules of 30 hours each and the phonology strand will run through the course with a specific focus on intonation and stress (video clips to be found on the primary languages website)

The Rose Review (Primary)
* Languages to be statutory at KS2 from September 2011
* Programme of Studies and progression based on the KS2 framework
* Languages will be within the “English, Communication and Languages” Area of Learning (focus on language development and learning languages as a way to develop literacy skills)
* It is recommended to teach 1 or 2 languages in order to develop clear levels of competence (move away from the multilingual / cultural/ linguistic awareness models)
* Free choice of languages (it does not have to include a language from the EC anymore)
* OFSTED Review by 2014

Entitlement for each child to reach a certain level in :

* Listening and Speaking (at about level 3)
* Reading and Writing (and phonic)
* Intercultural Understanding

09-10 Priorities
1. Maintain existing support for workforce development
2. Language Upskilling
3. Support for progression, assessment and transition
4. Monitoring progress and provision (OFSTED)