Settlement Language Training PD

After watching a YouTube video on how to make a healthy dessert (Fresh Fruit Crisp), create a listening exercise. Then, extract vocabulary --food and cooking verbs and make a matching exercise (SCORM activity)  These words could also go into a cooking glossary.  If you want to incorporate writing, students could go to a blog activity where students can share a healthy recipe or something easy to make.  These recipes could then be compiled into a healthy-eating cookbook for the class.

Adding a URL is a great feature. I can link to local sites to make things more relevant. I can also link to external spelling practice for key vocabulary.

Use a forum to brainstorm and collect ideas to make a list of field trips. We did 10 field trips over the months of May & June which led us to learn about Toronto's history and the flavour of different neighbourhoods. The forum could also be used post field trip to get feedback on learner experience. For learners reluctant to speak in class this provides a way of sharing. 

Use the forum as a virtual "coffee shop" for students to have informal discussions. The instructor can post relevant news articles from the community - specifically, local articles (the more interesting the better) that link to the clients in some way. Clients can read the news articles on their own time and then react by writing their opinion in response to the article. Students can then react to each others' reactions by replying to various posts. This would teach students the value of personal opinion and the right to free speech in Canada, while simultaneously fine tuning the art of respectfully disagreeing with somebody's point of view.

After field trips, you can use the discussion forum to have students post something useful they learned from the trip. For example, after attending a volunteer fair, I had my students share information about one volunteer opportunity they were interested in, with details & contact person, etc.  This was a nice way to recap the field trip and pool the info they had collected.

While I was reading the section about using a wiki, an idea occurred to me. I'm currently teaching a LINC 4 evening class and we've been working on consumer skills. I'm planning a field trip next week to Best Buy and Future Shop to get students to do some comparison shopping on specific household appliances. Also, I'd like them to find out about return policies and warranties on those products. Here's my new idea: get them to work in small groups at the stores and then create short presentations on their findings. I'll also get them to use a wiki to plan that presentation. It will help them collaborate even though they are all short of time. Additionally, I will have a concrete record of who has contributed and who has not.

The choice activity can be used in many ways. I used it to poll students on what theme they were most interested in covering in the summer school class and also if they wanted to concentrate on listening, speaking, reading or writing. I also used it to ask questions during a unit, to get an idea whether they had understood something or not. I will also poll them at the end of the course to find out what they thought of the course.

I have found that after having a class discussion on a topic, it's a good idea to ask them to write their ideas on a wiki, where they use their Microsoft Word skills as well.

Shoushan

In LINC 7 (Workplace Focus) the Ss have to perform case studies about workplace safety and human rights. They work in teams of 4 to analyze the case (reading summaries, listening to "conversations" about the case, and researching BC law). They then must write a report that includes a summary, an analysis, and at least 5 recommendations.

In the past I had Ss use Google Docs for this, so that they could work on different sections of the report simultaneously. However, I definitely see the application of using a Wiki for this because it is perfect for collaboration and allows Ss more flexibility than Google Docs.

I would upload the task instructions, the text and audio components, and then let the Ss work out how to best present their ideas. They could add audio and video samples to support their case. The resulting Report could be a much more dynamic document.

I was teaching a LINC 3 class while I was using the courseware. Because most of the students were not tech-savvy, I first introduced them my wiki in computer lab in order to get them use to a process of getting to a certain site. Once they got familiarized with it, I introduced them the courseware site. Getting onto this site was more challenging as they had to log in/off and get to know how to navigate the site (as opposed to the wiki - easy-to-use environment – site). In order to eliminate their confusion with a few passwords they already had (for computer log in, Moodle, e-mail, etc.), I printed off and gave everyone a paper with edulinc log in site including their usernames and passwords so they do not mix up their usernames and passwords with other log in information for different sites. It made the process of getting to the site a lot easier. I also added a link to my wiki on the main page of the courseware so that my students can benefit from both sites.