Gather Around Busy People! I Have a Solution!

Hiya, mates! What have you been up to lately? I am planning my study schedule and I heard some really good news! 

First of all, are you super-busy, like me? You want to learn a language but you have no time? When you have time, you just want sit back and relax, not to sit in front of a table and learn a language? You have a mobile phone? Duolingo is just for you! 

The free language learning app Duolingo offers 14 completed language courses for English speakers, 2 beta languages and 11 languages still "hatching" in their incubator form.

How Does It Work?

It's really simple to use. You set up a profile, choose your target language, set your weekly goals and off you go! Each course in Duolingo is made up of modules which are grouped to form skills.

Duolingo dictates the order in which you need to complete the different modules, with new modules becoming active only once you’ve completed the previous one. This is also the case with individual lessons within each module. You need to complete lesson 1 to be able to progress to lesson 2, and so on. That said, Duolingo allows you to ‘test out of’ individual modules as well as groups of modules(skills).

Pressing the ‘test out’ button lets you take a shortcut if you want to avoid going through the individual lessons or modules that cover material that you’re already familiar with. You need to pass the test to do that, however, because there are no shortcuts in language wearning!

What are the lesson like?

Each lesson in Duolingo is made up of a range of activities, such as translation:

Or this activity where you have to match words to their foreign language equivalents:

New vocabulary is often taught with images, and grammar points are explained in little speech bubbles. There are also listening exercises where you need to type what you hear, and speaking exercises where you say what you hear. This can be quite funny if you use Duolingo on public transport. The app does give you the option to deactivate your microph

one if you’d rather skip the pronunciation exercises.

And there is "Create Classroom" section. You can click there and create a classroom and tell your students its code to join the classroom. You can give them assignments and you can do many classroom activities, like games.

What other apps do you know for language learning? See you in next post! Cheerio!

Cats? Digital Storytelling? Am I in Heaven?

Hello, folks! It's been ages since I last posted here. How are you doing? My midterm week is over and I'm relieved. It's time to relax! So again I'm here to share an outlandish experience: creating a Digital Storytelling! I worked with Ömre, in this project.

What is Digital Storytelling?

Digital storytelling is the practice of using computer-based tools to tell stories. Digital storytelling is a very popular tool in educational technology as it enables the learners to engage in the learning process actively. 

Digital storytelling is very effective in triggering critical thinking and it is highly appreciated by constructivists.

You can learn more about digital storytelling from here and here.

How did we prepare a digital story?

We were assigned to prepare a digital storytelling out of three options:

• A video about being best friends
• A "How to" Video
• A fictional story

We chose to prepare a "how to" video, because it sounded like fun, and it turned out to be true. We wanted to make an enchanting video, not a boring "How to Cook" one. We love and adore cats, so we think "Why not make a video about cats?" 

Ömre has a cat called Bahri, a handsome tabby. We decided to shoot videos of Bahri. He is a playful and at the same time a noble cat. 

We searched about how we should do it and watched a lot of cat videos on Youtube. By the help of Wikihow, we prepared an outline and a transcription of our narratives. We adapted  the steps to the videos so that it wouldn't be longer than 2 minutes.

• Ömre recorded Bahri
• Ömre edited the videos in iMovie and I prepared a Story Board on Paint.
• We recorded the narrative in GarageBand.
• We chose the sound effects to add and found them on Youtube.
• We added the necessary effects in Movie Maker.
• We uploaded our video on Youtube.

Here is a photo of preparing stages:

Here is the story board I made on Paint, excuse my lack of talent in drawing:

Our Digital Storytelling: How To Pet Your Cat

Speakers: Meryem Ömre Akyüz & Elifnur Dayıoğlu

The Transcription:

Warning: This video contains high level of cuteness. 

How To Pet Your Cat  

Some people have difficulty in petting their cats. This video explains basic steps of petting a cat. 

The first step is letting the cat come to you.

• In order to make the cat feel comfortable, you should let it sniff you.

• Wait for the cat to bump its head against you. If you’re busy to pet the cat, never ignore the cat! NEVER!

• Pet it to make sure that the cat knows you care for it.

• Pet the cat whenever it lies down on you.

• It’s important to watch the signs that the cat doesn’t want to be petted anymore. Otherwise, things can get a bit scratchy!

The second step is focusing the areas with scent glands.Your cat’s scent glands are located in its mouth and on the sides of its head, the pads of its front paws, and its tail.

• You can scratch the areas between or behind the ears.

• You should pet the cat from forehead to tail. Don’t change the direction!

• You can scratch its chin softly.

• You can stratch the cheeks behind the whiskers.

• And you should love the cat with the back of your hand.

Starring: Bahri

Thinking about Digital Storytelling on Educational Perspective

In my opinion, Digital Storytelling has so many advantages in ELT department. We can create digital stories with students collaboratively. Especially, when you're new in school, it can help you to develop positive relationships with students. It enhances students' linguistic competence as well as communicative competence. When well planned and prepared, it can achieve a really creative job.

So what you think about our Digital Story? Tell me about your opinions. I'd be glad to hear your comments.

Thank you!