dimanche 18 mai 2008

Getting started on a collaborative project

This blog is intended as a place to discuss methods and projects using EWBs, or Electronic Whiteboards, TBIs or Tableaux Blancs Interactifs in French. The folks who responded on the E-Twinning forum are using a wide range of different EWBs, from Smart, to Interwrite, Hitachi, Promethean, or in my case E-Beam.

Regardless of which brand of EWB we're using, many of the techniques will be the same. The key functions of an EWB are to:
1) present information to a class, in the form of webpages, word files, hotpot exercises, powerpoint presentations, videos, images and so on, and
2) pilot the program from the whiteboard, using the stylus as a mouse, and
3) annotate projected materials by writing on top of them, filling out forms, taking notes on student production, and so on.

Of course there are many other things you can do with an EWB, some of them being specific to a specific manufacturer's EWB interface, and others being possible regardless of the specific interface you've got. I'll be presenting some of the activities I've used in the last 2-3 months that I've been using the E-Beam, and I hope that all of you will jump in and present some of the things you've been doing.

A few words about using a blog: I'll be adding your names as co-authors, which means that you'll be able to add content, pictures, videos and so on. One of the other members suggested setting up a shared google docs space to share worksheets, demos and other files, and that will be good too. Eventually, I expect we'll register this project with E-Twinning.

Just a short link to one of my earlier posts about EWBs, specifically the E-Beam.

This example was something I used in a separate E-Twinning project called "Saving Our Planet", and I'm sure I'll talk more about that soon. In the meantime, please respond to this message and introduce yourselves. Me, I've been teaching English in France for a little over 15 years, and doing project-based learning and web project for some ten years: a lot of WebQuests, as well as various international collaboration projects. We are going to have a very diverse group here, and I look forward to working with you.

Cheers, --- Phil

7 commentaires:

Rudolfs a dit…

Hi,
i think e-twinning project could be a great idea. Maybe for next year - LEO or COMENIUS partnership is also possible.

PhilB a dit…

Yes, Rudolfs, I agree. This is exactly the sort of project that should lead up to European funding for travel, so that we can work together face-to-face. I see three colleagues have already accepted the invitation as co-authors to this blog, and I invite everyone to introduce yourselves, perhaps as a response to this message.

Cheers, --- Phil

marie-line a dit…

Hi,
I am Marie-Line, and I have been an English teacher for....30 years now!
The school I teach in is a Lycée located in the North-East of Paris.
I have worked on several eTwinning projects but unfortunately we have never managed to complete them so far.
So I'm looking forward to working with you all.
All the best
Marie-Line

Ria De Wilde a dit…

Hi,
I am Ria and I am a teacher of French in a secondary school in Belgium (in Poperinge) where I also coordinate eTwinning and Comenius projects. I am a teacher of Spanish in an other school for adults (evening classes). I started with eTwinning projects in 2005 and I am very interested in collaborative learning and in the use of ICT in the language classroom. In July I will folow a Comenius training in Utrecht about this subject.
I think this blog will be an interesting platform for us, teachers, to discuss and to find inspiration.
Kind regards,
Ria

Francesca a dit…

Thanks Phil for starting to collect all the messages. I think this ETwinning project could be an innovative idea, so we had better register it and start working together.
My name is Francesca, I'm from Italy and I have been using a Smartboard for two years. I teach English in a Primary school in the surroundings of Florence and I normally prepare interactive lessons for all my pupils.
I would like to exchange ideas, tips, lessons so to increase my knowledge of this fantastic tool.
Cheers.
francesca

PhilB a dit…

It's great to see a couple of you responding to posts and introducing yourselves. But you know, the next step is making your own post about what you do in class, how you use your EWB and so on. It's really easy to become an author on a blog, and inserting images is very easy too. I didn't want to scare anybody away with my long post about using images and film extracts, really your contributions don't need to be tht long, but it would be great if a couple of you could jump in and post.
On another note, I have spoken with Francesca, who was the one who originally posted about this project on the E-Twinning forums, and we're working out how to get the project registered. This doesn't prevent us from getting started though. I've tried to show the way, but the rest of you need to jump in and show us your stuff!

Cheers, --- Phil

Harriet a dit…

I hadn't seen all the comments to Phil's blog - the writing must have been too small for me to see.
I'm really pleased now when I have read all your comments and will use the blog in future.
I've been a teacher for 27 years and i have taken part in four eTwinning projects. Two of them have been finished with Quality labels and two will finish at the end of this term.
I have had projects both in English and German.
I have also been trained by my national agency as an Ambassador for eTwinning.
I've never taken part in a Comenius partnership.