Wiki Presentations Year 10 French

Today we started work on some oral presentations in year 10 French. We used a Wiki which had the task instructions on a welcome page, then the students had their own personal pages to write their preparation work on. Online based work means the teacher gets access to multiple students' work in one place and is able to see immediately at what stage the student is at. Student's can also see the work of their peers for ideas to improve their own. A "Comments" facility enables the students to ask questions to the teacher who can answer them directly. This provides another avenue of communication of the student were to be unable to find the teacher during the school day for example. The students were very motivated especially at the prospect of being able to peer correct each other's work. We will continue to experiment with capabilities of Wikis as the project develops. (We have kept the Wiki closed to public access for child protection purposes).

Madamoiselle Hardman

Spanish Essay Competition

Our Spanish GCSE students were invited to enter an essay competition organised by the Instituto Cervantes, in collaboration with the Consejería de Educación on the occasion of the International Book Day. The theme of the essay was the Don Quijote in your life.

Amy, in Year 11, entered this competition and her essay has been published in the Instituto Cervantes blog. Congratulations!!! This is the link

Flashmeeting Overcomes Volcano Hurdle

How exciting! As our Swiss German language assistant has been unable to return to the UK for the new term, due to the volcanic ash from Iceland cancelling her flight, many of our 6th formers have been left without the specific 1-to-1 input in the target language. However, to overcome this we have set up a test Flashmeeting videoconference today between Swiss German and the Weald of Kent students that were scheduled to meet with her today. Trouble shooting issues were over come, (sending out the Flashmeeting booking link to students and languages assistant alike, testing available headphones, and ensuring students were familiar with how to work the software) and a successful videoconference is taking place as we type...!



UPDATE: Feedback from the students suggests that Flashmeeting is an effective videoconferencing tool as the assistant could use the "Chat" function (instant messaging) to type any words that the students found difficult to understand from listening to the spoken word.

It definately created a buzz in the corridor as other students waiting for the next lesson could see the videoconference taking place.

We will be setting up a schedule of Flashmeeting videoconferences for the remaining time that our assistant will be away.

Successful Videoconference with France!

On the 31/03/10 we held a successful videoconference between the French and English sides of our French work experience exchange. We set up 15 web cams on our side, with the students sharing in pairs, whilst the French side used one web cam interchanging the students as they took their place to speak. Time was tight given the only mutually convenient time was 8.30 am to 9.00am that morning. However, 10 of the students from the Weald of Kent Grammar School held conversations in French with their corresponding partners in France. The English students used the time to ask questions in French to the French students about their on coming stay in France in June. At first the students were nervous to take part and speak on camera, however, they were eventually encouraging us to use as much of the time as possible to allow as many students to take part. All in all a successful videoconference which we hope to follow up with another before June so the French side can practise their English.

This has been a very successful use of our recent purchase of 15 web cams for the MFL department and we hope to integrate their use into other exchanges across the department. Videoconferences provide authentic language experiences for our students to develop their confidence with languages.

JAPAN TRIP FEBRUARY 2010

Going to Japan was a surreal cultural experience. The sites in Japan are unique and spectacular, the Buddah was especially amazing. Having stayed in Tokyo, Miyajima and Kyoto we experienced the hospitality of the Japanese people everywhere we went. As a group we were welcomed into their society and took part in several traditions and routines. Japan was the best experience, especially staying with the host families as you could get a real feel for Japanese culture, which was very different to England. The fact that you have so many different shoes to wear in houses and hotels and also the food was a new, exciting experience. Going to Japan was a trip none of us will forget.

Year 11 GCSE group

Year 9 French Assessment

Bonsoir 9D!

For your homework I'd like you to assess the below pieces of work (call them A, B and C going down the page). Please award each piece of work a mark according to the Edexcel writing assessment criteria (Communication and Content / 15, Knowledge and Application of Language /10, and Accuracy /5)Bear in mind that you only see this shapshot and they may have added other tenses / detail further down / on the otherside, but just go on what you see here. Merci!
Mademoiselle Hardman

Year 8 level 5-6 Spanish classwork

Today we have been analysing how we did in a recent piece of written classwork entitled ¿Qué hiciste?. Here are two examples. What level would you mark them at? If the mark is shown, do you agree? Why/Why not?

Videoconference second stage success!

Success! We have just completed another test videoconference with one of our partner schools in France. Last time it was from our home addresses to familiarise but this time we based ourselves at our respective schools. We were excited to find that both sides were able to load photos (excuse the picture of a bucket - it was just a test!) and URL's for the other side to see. This will be great when asking the French party of students to provide photos of where the English students will be staying and useful websites of their home town. Next step the conference itself!
Miss Hardman & Mr Oakley

9B Spanish Avatars

¡Hola! Today we have been setting up Avatars for future use with online projects. They form part of our awareness of being safe online. Here are the results for 9B!:

Videoconference Preparations

In the languages dept we have been practising with Flashmeeting - and online videoconference tool - in order to link with our exchange partners inbetween visits. Miss Sheehan and Miss Figueira have both been getting to grips with it, and Miss Hardman has been also practising with a teacher in France involved with the Elbeuf work experience exchange. Plans are in place to test the technology between the English and French school sites, with the student videoconference planned prior to our visit to France in June.