Phrasr pimpampum

Screenshot 1: Home page of Phrasr pimpampun

Description

This is a website where you can copy a text or sentences and paste. When you click start, you will get images connected to the words you typed in.

Steps

1. First open the home page at http://www.pimpampum.net/phrasr/.

2. Then type in or paste your sentences in the space provided and click start.

3. Then you can rearrange or choose another photo that appeared. Upon finishing that you can publish your work and spell in your name and your work title (Screenshot 2)

Screenshot 2: Rearrange images and publish your work from here

4. After publishing, your words and images will play as slideshow for you to view. You can share the slideshow afterwards online.

Advantages

1. User get to play with images and matching activity. They get to be creative as well to choose the most suitable images to their words.

2. The website is free and very easy to use. You only need to type in your sentences and click start then go through the simple process and produce your own work.

3. You can share your slides by any means online with only few clicks such as using twitter, facebook or other social networking sites.

Disadvantages

1. Images might not be appropriate as they are no automatic filter to remove inappropriate images.

2. No efficient function to monitor sentences typed in and images chosen.

3. Images are limited and at many times images that appear are not relevant and not related to the words and sentences.

Suggestions to improve

One way to improve is by providing more images to suit in more sentences and context. Such archive of images is needed to make sure the website can be fully utilised and made useful.

After building up the images archive, this website can add in some effects of slide transition to make it more interesting and perhaps add in music tracks to suit in the mood and make it smooth.

WordSift

Screenshot 1: Home page of WordSift

Description

The tool for introduction today is WordSift. It is a very simple and easy to use application currently maintained by Stanford University. This tool can generally be used to manage the demands of vocabulary and academic language in a text. First of all, you can try the video tour at the home page to listen to the tutorial videos. I have done it and it is quite useful and helpful for new users. If you are too lazy to go to the website, I have make it easier for you to click the link to the video tour below. Have a try.

Video tour
Click HERE for a free video tour! (of how to use WordSift)

Steps

1. It is very simple to use WordSift. First you need to have a text according to any language you prefer. Then copy and paste part of the text you want to have a check on. Then click 'Sift'.

2. Then you will find words in random sizes connected to your text. Here comes the interesting bit. You can arrange the words to appear according to your liking.

Screenshot 2: Sort the text from Common to Rare or any other and check on the outcome

3. Next below the random words, you can have a look at the images which appeared and choose the image you might want to use. Besides that, you can also find some examples from your text sources with highlighted words. The highlighted word is the word clicked from the diagram above. You can also click on any sentence you want and have a look at the entire text yourself with an indication to the sentence you clicked earlier.

4. By clicking on a word too you will find a cloud of inter-related words in the Visual Thesaurus section.

Screenshot 3: On the right the Visual Thesaurus. On the left the images from the internet suggested by the search engine.

Advantages

1. WordSift helps you sort out your text to find out common words or information useful for your lessons or text reading.

2. There is also a choice of images from the internet you might want to use.

3. You can also separate the text and read by sections.

Disadvantages

1. Some of the images might not be be appropriate or even related to the word clicked.

2. Words can be quite confusing when students need to look at so many words with different sizes at the same time.

Suggestion to improve

One way to improve is by filtering the images to make sure the images that appeared are related to the word clicked.

Next it will also be useful if the tool has the function to make notes and save it as readable document for users to use in the future.

Listen and Write

Screenshot 1: Home page of Listen and Write

Description

A website that offers many listening activities taken from audio, video files or youtube. Various types of activities offered with many different levels to suit every learners needs. It is a free listening practice. Hear about current news and improve your listening skills. Easy access and instruction is clear to learners of all level.

Screenshot 2: Different 7 columns in the home page and facebook login button

Steps

1. You can choose from different type of columns in the home page. First is the level column. You can try levels from 1 to 33. So you can do the low level ones to enjoy it or try a slightly harder to test or improve your skills.

2. Next you can choose the column Youtube where many videos from youtube are being suited to listening task. Be it music video or an intellectual TED discussion video. Various types of videos are there for you to pick and choose.

3. Then there is the Groups column where you can get to create or join any group with similar interest that you want. However you will need to log in an account with the website.

4. Besides that, there is also the column Categories where all listening items being put into category to categorised them. There are categories such as interview, learning, news, music, kids, movies, TED and many others. So there are much for you to discover in this column which is still in Beta mode.

5. After that you can try looking at the column Channels where users of the website posted their videos from all sort of sources. It is like a small youtube with many users, channels and video posted.

6. Lastly you can choose the column Language where you will find columns with other languages written on it. Here you can try clicking to listen to videos of other language. However many languages written there have very few and limited videos with some of them having none. The languages are only there for show with no real videos in it.

Advantages

a) It's free!

b) It's fun and easy to do for all types and level of learners.

c) Can do at home. Helps develop autonomous learning.

d) Various type of levels to choose from.

e) Few selections of videos in other languages.

f) Many selections of columns from home page for you to explore. In fact this whole blog will not be enough to fully mention and explore the functions provided in this website.

g) You also have a forum or group where you can interact and communicate with other user. Furthermore, you can upload your own video or audio of listening and turn it into listening activity for the website.

Disadvantages

a) Lack of resources and facilities at places with no internet connection.

b) Facebook login and youtube link function might be distracting for learners as they might be distracted from doing the task given.

c) To try some column function user may need to log in. This can be quite troublesome for visitors who visit to try the website.

d) Lack of video in other languages in some item in the Languages column.

Suggestion to improve

One way to improve such an excellent blog for listening purposes is by uploading and providing more videos in other languages to cater to more language user around the world. Such website with more other language function will become a world-known website to many users.

Lyrics Training

Screenshot 1: Home page of lyricstraining website

Description

A website with fun and easy method of learning language through the use of lyrics and music videos with interesting activity. You can choose from a simple description of easy, medium or hard language level. Easy Facebook login function with rooms to comment on each videos. Various selection of videos for you to choose from. You can also keep high score by registering as a website user and make new friends around while improving your listening, spelling and even social skills!

Advantages

a) Assist in vocabulary building where user can take step by step and learn vocabulary from the simplest one to the hard ones according to their own time.

b) Fun and interesting materials with various videos to suit anyone interest. They can choose videos with topics they like or even the celebrity they adore and do the activity with the video with full motivation until the end.

c) Can do activities at own pace while it encourages autonomous learning. User will be able to take their time doing the activity during their free time.

d) If you feel like taking a break you can click the Karaoke button and sing along with the artist in the video.

e) If there are videos in other languages, this website allow the function to choose other languages to filter videos in languages you want to.

Disadvantages

a) Sufficient amount of internet and computer accessories are needed if not the website cannot be used efficiently.

b) Some songs might be inappropriate for younger learners and it might be quite hard to filter the videos as there are no efficient automatic function.

c) Again, Facebook login and youtube link function can be quite distracting for learners as they might get attached to other things and not do their activity.

d) There is an awesome translation function where you get to choose from many languages. However, the big turn off is I tried clicking few languages but nothing comes out except for 'unable to perform translation' on my screen which is quite disappointing.

Suggestion to improve

One way to improve is by having an automatic under-18 restriction function to allow more room and freedom for younger learners. If this can be done, such website can attract older as well as younger learners.

Dvolver

Screenshot 1: Dvolver home page

Description

Dvolver is a simple movie-making website which allows users to work through and produce their own short clips. Users can choose and customise the situations, contexts and characters according to their creativity.

Suitable for: Users with intermediate level of English language proficiency and technical knowledge of computer skills.

Steps

1. First search 'http://www.dvolver.com/moviemaker/' in the internet.

2. At the home page, click 'Make a Movie' to start making your movie (screenshot 1)

Screenshot 2: choose the background and sky for your movie

3. Then you will come across a webpage (screenshot 2) where you can customise the context of your movie. Here you can choose the type of background and sky for your movie.

4. After clicking next you can choose type of conflict and plot from the given selection (screenshot 3).

5. Next, you can choose 2 characters (screenshot 4) from a list given and then after finishing start typing the dialogues with a limit of 100 characters per character line.

6. Then you can choose the music from a given playlist to suit your story mood.

Screenshot 3: 4 plots to choose from

7. Then you can click finish movie. Write in your name and email.

8. After having done that, you can preview and then email the short movie to your friends.

Advantages
a) Helps develop students' creativity.

b) Encourages real communication during classroom interaction.

c) Change of focus in learning style.

Screenshot 4: Choose character from a list given

d) Can be interesting to students.

e) Students can personalise the short movie to their interest and liking with limits set by teacher.

Disadvantages
a) Limited contexts - Can be a bit boring for advanced learners because limited choice in context, background, character, plot and music.

b) No method to filter use of improper language or situations. Students might abuse the freedom they get  when using this tool at home.

c) The technical bits may be difficult and demotivating for new learners who are not used to technology. Thus further interaction hour to train them into efficient user might be needed.

d) Dependent on resources available in classroom - Some schools might not have internet connection or enough computers. In order to overcome this, teacher can make the task as a homework. Hence no internet connection is needed during classroom hour. However teacher will need to demonstrate effectively during classroom interaction.

Ways to improve

One way to improve such a brilliant internet tool is to allow more freedom to personalise context by giving rooms for customised context in many more ways. If this can be done, the tool might be able to attract more professional users.

Another way to improve is by raising the word limit. The limit of 100 words can be quite distracting if user wants to make complicated dialogues. Thus by raising word limit, more efficient language user might be attracted to use this tool.

One last way to attract younger learner is by adding extra add-ons such as automatic dictionary, storyline suggestion from famous stories and vocabulary suggestion tool or simply an interactive thesaurus online.

Example of short-clip