tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59957645354895339882024-02-20T04:33:57.736-08:00Teaching with Smart PhonesTeach smarter, not harder!Rich Baileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02808932457785499564noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995764535489533988.post-25381550448156447562016-12-11T18:59:00.000-08:002016-12-11T18:59:21.084-08:00Anki: Bringing flashcards out of the stone ageThis is the text of a guest post I wrote for the Everydaylanguagelearner blog. Unfortunately, the link is no longer current, so I thought I would re-post it here.<br />
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<b><u>Anki: Bringing flashcards out of the stone age</u></b><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Let's start out with what I really think.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you are not studying using <a href="http://ankisrs.net/" target="_blank">Anki</a> on a mobile device , then you are wasting your time. And, that, my friends, is the worst possible thing in the world.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I am going to assume you, the reader, are a serious language learner. You already study a lot, and by that, I mean hours a day. You're not one of those many people who say they really want to learn a language but don't actually give it any time.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Why do I keep going on about time? Because it is your most precious resource. You never have enough of it; we're all super busy. You can't buy any extra. You get a finite amount and then you're done. It's a harsh reality, but it's true. And, if you are a serious language learner, you know that it is time spent with the target language that gets the job done. So, desire and motivation are great, but without time – You. Will. Not. Learn. Period.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now, hear me out before you get all bent out of shape about my apparent ultimatum. I'm not saying that you can't learn a language by other means. In fact, I don't think you could learn a language just using Anki. You still need conversation, grammar, music, classes, books, listening, and everything else that we are all desperately trying to find time for.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">However, to be able to communicate in your target language comfortably and confidently, you need all that raw material cemented in your head. It needs to be automatic. It needs to be instantaneous. And it needs to be there all the time. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How do you burn it into your brain? By repeated exposure – time and time again.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That's where the beauty of Anki comes into play It shows you the material time and time again, but by using it's</span><a href="http://teachingwithanki.blogspot.com/2011/12/good-article-about-origin-of-spaced.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">spaced repetition</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> algorithm, you </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">only</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> study what you </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">need</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to study </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">when</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> you need to study it. Based on</span><a href="http://ankisrs.net/docs/manual.html#spaced-repetition" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">cognitive research</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, there is no more efficient and effective way to learn something. For that alone, you need to start using Anki. Anything else is a waste of your time.Let's start out with what I really think.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">However, to take it one step further, it is the ability to use Anki on the go that makes it the most amazing thing since beer in a can. When I first started using Anki, I spent hours sitting in front of my computer. I was learning, but it was</span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17sitting-t.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">killing me</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (please read this article about sitting too long). It was also easy to get tired, bored, and distracted.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Once I discovered the ability to use Anki on my iPod, I was off and running – well, walking actually. I started studying EVERYWHERE: on the walk to work, on the train, on the exercise bike at the gym, while waiting for students, and, in the spirit of full disclosure, on the toilet. My wife and I have become so addicted to moving and studying Anki that we actually bought a folding treadmill so we can study in the apartment during bad weather.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Suddenly, we were finding hours of extra time to study. And that, in a nutshell, is why you should be using mobile Anki.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So, let me tell you what else I think. If you are serious about learning your target language and you have a mobile device, you need to get the Anki app right now. If you don't have a mobile device, go buy an iPod (new or used) right now. Yes, I know it's not cheap, but you need to put your money where your mouth is.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It's time to stop wasting time, and it's time to start learning.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">P.S. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I don't work for Anki, nor do I have any commercial connection.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What you need to know to get started</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You can find very detailed information and instructions on how to setup and use Anki at its website:</span></div>
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<a href="http://ankisrs.net/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://ankisrs.net/</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you have an Android based mobile device, you’re lucky - the <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ichi2.anki&hl=en" target="_blank">AnkiDroid Flashcards app</a> is free.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you have an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch, you’re not so lucky. The <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ankimobile-flashcards/id373493387?mt=8" target="_blank">Ankimoble Flashcard iPhone app</a> is $25. Yes, I know it seems expensive compared to most apps, but in my opinion, it is worth much more. If you are reluctant to pay for the app, one option is to learn how to use the free PC program and website study option. If you find that it is effective and want to reap the benefits of the app, you can buy it and sync to your account so you do not lose any progress.</span></div>
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Rich Baileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02808932457785499564noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995764535489533988.post-59549262059790742952016-12-06T16:02:00.002-08:002016-12-06T16:02:55.597-08:00Mobile Assisted Language Learning Facebook groupIn the interest of sharing ideas and information wtih teachers and students about using mobile digital devices for language learning, I have created a Facebook group:<br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/213090072467658/" target="_blank">Mobile Assisted Language Learning</a><br />
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Please join us and share your ideas and experiences!Rich Baileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02808932457785499564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995764535489533988.post-36686034615211726362016-09-03T01:44:00.003-07:002016-09-03T02:19:49.701-07:00Quizlet.Live: Classroom based social vocabulary game<a href="https://quizlet.com/">Quizlet</a> is a fantastic vocabulary flashcard website and smart phone app that we all should be using in our classes. Recently, Quizlet has come out with a new game called Quizlet Live, where students collaborate in teams to be the first to match all my terms.<br />
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My students love the game and really want to play it time and time again. Other teachers are using it at my university and report similar findings.<br />
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I recently wrote a short piece for the Digital & Mobile Language Learning website titled "Quizlet.Live: Classroom based social vocabulary game" about it and important information to make the process easier and smoother.<br />
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You can read the piece <a href="http://digitalmobilelanguagelearning.org/2016/09/quizlet-live-classroom-based-social-vocabulary-game/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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Rich Baileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02808932457785499564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995764535489533988.post-29854213869841216392014-06-30T21:07:00.000-07:002014-06-30T21:07:03.016-07:00Voice to Text (VoT) Technology on Smart Phones<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At the recent JALTCALL 2014 conference at Sugiyama Jyougakun University in Nagoya, I attended an excellent session given by James Henry from The Research Institute of English Language Education in Kobe regarding how he used Dragon Dictation, a free Voice to Text (VoT) application on iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touches to teach pronunciation and speaking. Over the years, VoT has improved dramatically and is much more reliable and accurate, and Dragon Dictation is one of the best currently available.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">James showed us how students, using Dragon Dictation and at their own pace, spoke words or phrases from a list into their smart devices and compared what the application registered on the screen to the text on their papers. After receiving this direct and immediate feedback on their pronunciation and speaking skills, many students were surprised by the results and felt challenged to try again, resulting in increased motivation and effort.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To better see this in action, please click on the following hyperlink to see a YouTube video of a similar process in an ESL classroom in California:</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3KaUbbkAu8" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ELL students practice English with iPods</span></a></h1>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I was very excited by the potential of VoT technology and immediately began trying to incorporate it into my teaching the following Monday. I introduced it to some individual students, who all strongly responded to the immediate feedback and reported that they felt challenged to try again and wanted to keep trying. I also introduced it to a Technical English for Engineers class and quickly was able to have all the students practicing their pronunciation of the new and difficult technical and scientific vocabulary they have been studying. With an adult staff class, I introduced VoT as a way for them to practice their speaking and pronunciation of conversational questions they have been studying. Both classes responded in the same positive way.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here are some suggestions and observations to make your life easier based on the above experiences:</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Before you try to introduce VoT to a class of students, make sure you know how to use the VoT options the different phone systems: iOS for iPhones and Android for most other phones. Often times, different phones have different settings in terms of input language, enabling voice to text, keyboard language, microphone button, etc. One idea is to work beforehand with one or two reliable students so that they understand the process and can assist in class. Another idea is to have students change the language of their phones to English so you can help guide them through the process of figuring out how to use VoT.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You don’t have to use Dragon Dictation. Most newer iPhones and Android phones have built in VoT that can be used in composing emails and other texts. Dragon Dictation is easier to use, but it is not available for Android phones. There may be some free VoT applications available for Android phones, however.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It is better to have students focus on individual words or short phrases (2-3 words). With longer texts, it is much harder for the students to produce correct VoT text which that can be frustrating and demotivating.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Along the same lines, it is important to let the students know that even if they are unable to produce a VoT text with 100% accuracy, they can still be understood by a human listener. Remind them that this activity is just to improve their pronunciation.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When appropriate, use the student’s phone yourself to produce the correct text to show them that the VoT actually does work the way it is supposed to.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Next semester, I have a Listening and Speaking class where I plan to incorporate VoT as a regular activity in the classroom. I’d welcome any suggestions and thoughts on how that might be done. Stay tuned for updates!</span></div>
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Rich Baileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02808932457785499564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995764535489533988.post-2067199384663799602013-12-08T23:06:00.000-08:002013-12-08T23:06:01.321-08:00Technology workshop and presentationOn December 1st, I attended the <a href="http://jaltcue.org/content/cue-technology-workshop-2013">CUE Technology Workshop</a> at Keisen University in western Tokyo and was also able to give a short presentation about my past and current efforts to incorporate mobile technology into my teaching and into my students' lives outside of the classroom.<br />
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At the workshop, I attended some excellent sessions and learned what other teachers are doing. I was particularly impressed by Mark Firth's presentation about students using smartphones to make videos as a learning activity. He had some very good advice and pointers. Dan Ferreira's presentation on digitally streamlining the essay correction process was excellent.<br />
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I will post again when the power point presentations are available on the website.Rich Baileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02808932457785499564noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995764535489533988.post-86915874974397651712013-10-08T00:54:00.001-07:002013-10-08T00:54:46.032-07:00Getting students signed up for free Quizlet user accounts (false start!)<div class="MsoNormal">
In the week before our first computer lab meeting, I had the bright idea to have my Freshman English students signed up for free Quizlet accounts
using their smart phones. Bad idea. Even though they have used the website or app before on their smart phones, it did not go well at all. </div>
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One reason is that the app language
is in English, so it was not easy for them to understand what to do. Some were signing up using their Facebook accounts, and some created new accounts with usernames and passwords. Trying to monitor 24 students doing all this at the same time was quite stressful and not very effective.</div>
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And slow cell phone signals and wifi in classroom caused some smart phones to jam up.</div>
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I quickly realized that trying to do it this way was a bad idea, so we stopped right there and then and moved on. </div>
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The takeaway is to do it in a computer lab, very slowly and
clearly, leading them through the process on the Quizlet website. Another option would be to use my smart phone mirrored
up on the TV screen.</div>
Rich Baileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02808932457785499564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995764535489533988.post-90348641982961104132013-10-01T19:15:00.003-07:002016-12-08T14:38:14.404-08:00Change of Focus...Over the last three years, I have been experimenting with incorporating <a href="http://ankisrs.net/">Anki</a>, a s<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaced_repetition">paced-repetition software</a> (SRS), flashcard website and smartphone application (app) into my teaching. Personally and professionally, I think Anki on a mobile device is one of the best learning tools/methods available, and I use it daily to study Japanese.<br />
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However, I have come to the reluctant conclusion that Anki is not a good choice for many traditional teaching situations. To work effectively, SRS systems require the users to be very serious and diligent in their use. Many of my students, especially those taking required English classes, are not motivated enough to use it properly. As much as they say they want to learn English, few of them put forth the time and effort, for many understandable reasons.<br />
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In short, using Anki incorrectly is an inefficient and ineffective way to study and may be a waste of time.<br />
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With that in mind, I have decided to change my focus to <a href="http://quizlet.com/">Quizlet</a> (website and app) which has many similar features but does not require such serious and diligent use to be effective. Quizlet has a variety of study and game modes to keep it interesting for students. Another nice option is that teachers can create classes that students join and allow the teacher to keep track (in a limited way) on student use.<br />
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So, the plan for this semester is to incorporate Quizlet into two classes.<br />
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One is a regular Freshman English class, and we will meet in a computer lab once a week (out of four 45-minute classes) to use Quizlet. We will aslo use Quizlet on smartphones for short periods on the three other days.<br />
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The other class is a once-a-week (90 minute) class. We will also meet in a computer lab, with half the class time focused on face-to-face communication in my regular teaching style. The other half of the class will be focused on using the Quizlet website, especially using the Test mode as an assessment device.<br />
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Overall, I want to see how to best use Quizlet in class for both students and teachers. I also want to explore ways to get students to use the smartphone app (or website if they don't have a smartphone) to study Quizlet outside of class and how to monitor that usage in a useful way.Rich Baileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02808932457785499564noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995764535489533988.post-19436991957636266352012-10-24T18:12:00.001-07:002012-10-24T18:12:50.032-07:00Recruit a student helperIn my efforts to introduce SRS flashcard systems and smartphones into the classroom, I found the recruiting a student helper is invaluable.<br />
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The key is to identify someone who seems technogically savvy and work with the student individually, either in or out of class, to ensure a solid understanding of what you are trying to do.<br />
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Often, that student will be the one who finishes earlier than the rest of the students in the early steps of implementing the systems. You can use that extra time, waiting for the other students to catch up, to train your helper.<br />
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Once the student is on board, he or she can serve as your lieutenant, helping other students troubleshoot problems in their native language. You can also discuss or solve potential problems with this student before they occur on w larger scale in class.Rich Baileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02808932457785499564noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995764535489533988.post-18693191970469180122012-10-15T00:50:00.000-07:002012-10-15T00:50:03.240-07:00Anki users - "Remember to Sync!"If you are teaching students to use a spaced-repetition (SRS) flashcard system, such as Anki, that operates across different platforms (i.e., PC to website to app), it is extremely important to train the students to sync (or connect) before and after every study session and every card making session on any device - basically any time they do anything with their SRS system. If the students do not sync correctly, then the data that exist in the different places will not be the same, and there will be conflicts later, which could cause them to either lose the new cards they made or any study progress.<br />
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The other SRS system that I am recommending for iDevice users, Flashcard Elite, does not have this problem with syncing. Although, there is related problem with adding new cards to a deck that I will write about later.<br />
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Always syncing before and after every use of SRS ensures that the data are always the same in every place and removes the risk of conflicts.<br />
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I learned this the hard way today when I forgot to remind my students to sync at the beginning of our computer lab today - kind of embarrassing...Rich Baileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02808932457785499564noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995764535489533988.post-80964788804557335092012-10-04T00:50:00.002-07:002012-10-04T00:50:51.372-07:00Creating flashcards with different SRS systemsLast week at the first meeting in a computer lab with my 25 first-year, Economic faculty students, I <a href="http://teachingwithanki.blogspot.jp/2012/09/introducing-anki-to-classroom.html">introduced the students to the concept of spaced repetition system</a> (SRS) study and had them all sign up for accounts with Ankiweb.net and Quizlet.com.<br />
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During our second computer-lab meeting this week, students accessed their accounts and begin creating their own cards. As I mentioned in <a href="http://teachingwithsmartphones.blogspot.jp/2012/09/spaced-repetition-srs-flashcard-options.html">an earlier pos</a>t, in order for all students to have access to free SRS studying via a website and/or an smartphone app, Android smartphone students used Ankiweb.net, iPhone students used Quizlet.com, and non-smartphone students used Ankiweb.net<br />
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Overall, it went well. Some students needed more help than others, but by the end, all but two students were able to create the 13 cards required for the current unit. Some of the more technological savvy students even started studying their cards.<br />
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I might recommend, in this case; that you have all the Quizlet students and Anki students sit together. That way it is easy to explain things and to assess progress.<br />
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The Ankiweb site, to be honest, while functional enough, is designed to be used in conjunction with the free <a href="http://ankisrs.net/">Anki computer program</a> and not as a stand alone flashcard creation site. One of the major drawbacks is that when students create decks via the website, they cannot choose name of the deck. The first one is "My deck," and other new decks are "My deck1, "My deck2," etc. However, as my students cannot download the program in the university computer lab, it is the best solution I can find for the Android smartphone students at this time. Ideally, I will be able to find an Android SRS flashcard app that works with Quizlet.<br />
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The Quizlet website is very easy to use, and students can even choose to have the entire site with instructions be in their own language. However, the flashcard studying portion of it is not SRS. Yet, it seems to be the best choice to use with the best, free iPhone flashcard app that I can find, <a href="http://www.flashcardelite.com/#!home/mainPage">Flashcard Elite</a>.<br />
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Ideally, it would be nice to have all the students doing the same thing at the same time. However, this does not seem to be possible. This combination of apps and methods seems to allow all students to study in a similar way and benifit from SRS flashcards.Rich Baileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02808932457785499564noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995764535489533988.post-60178432588489749312012-10-03T05:14:00.000-07:002012-10-03T05:14:02.418-07:00One small victory for SRS!Today, in one of my classes, IT finally happened...<br />
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In our first meeting the week before, I introduced SRS studying on smartphones to the tiny class of four students. The one Android smartphone student dowloaded the AnkiDroid app, and the two iPhone students downloaded the Flashcard Elite app. The non-smartphone student used my netbook to create an Ankiweb account. Quickly, they started making their own cards from the class material.<br />
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In class today, we spent some time practicing correct usage. I put a Anki deck of class materials up on the television and quizzed an individual student. Then I asked the other two students to play the role of teacher and evaluate the answer. Then I asked the answering student to evaluate his or her own answer. The students really concentrated and seemed to grasp the idea of the importance of honestly evaluating their own answers.<br />
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After that, I set them loose to study. After awhile, I circled around to check on the students' progress. One of them was busily pecking away at his smartphone, with a piece of paper on his desk that I did not recognize.<br />
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"What's that?" I asked. He replied, "It's my paper from my other English class."<br />
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Without my prompting him to, he had created a brand new deck and was making new cards to study.<br />
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I swear, I almost hugged him.<br />
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That is what I have been trying to do in my class: create empowered and independent users of SRS.<br />
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That's one - only three more to go...Rich Baileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02808932457785499564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995764535489533988.post-15877274160572127762012-09-30T03:37:00.001-07:002012-09-30T03:37:14.643-07:00Spaced-repetition (SRS) flashcard options for teachingWhile I think that studying with the <a href="http://ankisrs.net/">Anki </a>spaced repetition (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaced_repetition">SRS</a>) flashcard app on a smartphone is ideal, it is often not possible to have all students doing the same thing. Some students do not have smartphones. And the Anki app for iPhones is approximately $25 (expensive but completely worth the money in my opinion), while the <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ichi2.anki&hl=en">AnkiDroid</a> app is free. I feel that I cannot require some students to buy an expensive app while some get the equivalent for free.<br />
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One option is to have the students use the <a href="http://ankiweb.net/">Anki website</a>, allowing them to study from any web browsing device. This is a functional solution to the above problems, but it is not ideal. The Anki website is not as fast and easy to use as the Anki app, and, if the students do not have access to the Internet (no cell phone signal or wifi), they cannot study.<br />
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As I wrote earlier about an <a href="http://teachingwithsmartphones.blogspot.jp/2012/09/a-good-maybe-free-srs-smartphone-app.html">alternative to Anki on the iDevices</a>, I believe that another SRS flashcard app, <a href="http://www.flashcardelite.com/">Flashcard Elite</a>, has potential to be a replacement for Anki. Users can create and download flashcard decks from <a href="http://quizlet.com/">Quizlet.com</a> and study on their smartphones. I would not recommend that students study on the Quizlet website itself because, as far as I can tell, it does not use SRS.<br />
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So, with my goal being to find a way where as many students as possible can benefit from an SRS flashcard app on a smartphone, here is my current plan for this semester:<br />
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<u>Students without smartphones</u><br />
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These students will create Anki website accounts and create a deck of flashcards via the website in class once a week. On other days, these students will work with a partner who has a smartphone. Using their partners' smartphones, they will access their accounts via the web and then hand the smartphone back to the owners. Those students will then quiz the non-smartphone students on their decks.<br />
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<u>Students with Android smartphones</u><br />
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These students will download the AnkiDroid app to their smartphones. Then, they will create Anki website accounts and sync (connect) accounts to the smartphone app. After they create decks of cards via the website in class, their decks of cards will be downloaded to the smartphone app. On other days, these students will work with a partner in the same manner above, except that the studying will be through the Anki app, not the Anki website.<br />
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<u>Students with iPhones</u><br />
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These students will download the Flashcard Elite app to their smartphones. Then, they will create Quizlet accounts and create decks of cards via the Quizlet website in class. After that, they will access Quizlet from the Flashcard Elite app and download their decks. On other days, these students will work with partners in the same manner above, except that the studying will be through the Flashcard Elite app.<br />
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Please understand that this is a work in progress and subject to change. It will create more work for the teacher in terms of the logistics of teaching with SRS, but I feel it is worth the effort.<br />
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I would really appreciate any feedback about what I have proposed. Please feel free to leave a comment or question!Rich Baileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02808932457785499564noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995764535489533988.post-20278560964219328622012-09-25T18:34:00.004-07:002012-09-25T18:34:57.410-07:00Introducing digital SRS flashcards to the classroomAt <a href="http://teachingwithanki.blogspot.jp/">Teaching with Anki</a>, I write about <a href="http://teachingwithanki.blogspot.jp/2012/09/introducing-anki-to-classroom.html">Day 1 of introducing Anki</a>, a spaced repetition, flashcard program, to my first year English students.<br />
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On a side note, I plan to start transitioning all my writing about Teaching with Anki to this website.Rich Baileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02808932457785499564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995764535489533988.post-54147987731425356512012-09-25T02:10:00.002-07:002012-09-25T03:54:12.013-07:00A good (maybe), free SRS smartphone appIn trying to find ways to incorporate smartphones into the classroom, I have been experimenting a great deal with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaced_repetition">spaced-repetition</a> system (SRS) flashcard apps. Since I am a heavy user of the <a href="http://ankisrs.net/">Anki program/app</a> and know it well, it has been the main focus of my classroom efforts for the last two years.<br />
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However, due to the cost, I cannot require my students to buy the Anki app. Instead, the students have been using the Anki website to create and study cards. It is not an ideal solution but a functional one.<br />
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Recently, I have been looking for alternatives to Anki. Unfortunately, many of the free apps leave something to be desired.<br />
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However, just the other day, on an excellent website called <a href="http://www.flashcardapps.info/">Flashcard apps for for iPhone & iPad</a>, I discovered a distinct possibility called <a href="http://www.flashcardelite.com/#!home/mainPage">Flashcard Elite</a>.<br />
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I have only downloaded it today and am trying a JLPT N2 (Japanese level 2) deck. So far it looks pretty good! I'll report more later after I've used it some more...Rich Baileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02808932457785499564noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995764535489533988.post-78611587579124998762012-09-24T00:55:00.003-07:002012-09-24T00:55:50.787-07:0050 smartphone apps every teacher should know!Check out this <a href="http://edudemic.com/2012/08/50-smartphone-apps/">great list</a> of ways teachers can use smartphones for their teaching!Rich Baileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02808932457785499564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995764535489533988.post-80060548569874393622012-08-24T16:40:00.000-07:002012-08-24T16:40:54.852-07:00Smartphone Apps for EducatorsHere is an article from the Chronicle of Higher Education titled "<a href="http://chronicle.com/article/College-20-6-Top-Smartphone/125764/">6 Top Smartphone Apps to Improve Teaching, Research, and Your Life.</a>"Rich Baileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02808932457785499564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5995764535489533988.post-71480446282244424832012-08-24T16:32:00.002-07:002012-08-24T16:32:22.912-07:00Welcome to Teaching with Smartphones!My name is Rich Bailey, and I teach English for the <a href="http://www.asia-u.ac.jp/cele/index.htm">Center for English Language Education</a> at <a href="http://www.asia-u.ac.jp/english/">Asia University</a> in Tokyo, Japan.<br />
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For the last few years, I have been exploring how to use <a href="http://ankisrs.net/">Anki</a>, a spaced-repetition flashcard program, in and out of the classroom at my <a href="http://teachingwithanki.blogspot.jp/">Teaching with Anki</a> website. It has been very interesting and rewarding work, and now I would like to broaden my perspective and look at other uses of smartphones in teaching.<br />
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Smartphones and related devices are rapidly becoming the dominate form of technology in society, and as educators, we need to jump on that train or get left behind!<br />
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While there are a thousand and one ways that smartphones can be used in the classroom (attendance apps, feedback devices, etc.), my main focus will be on figuring out ways that teachers and students can use their smartphones to improve and enhance the process of learning a language - in this case, English.<br />
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Hopefully this site will become a place for exploring and sharing ideas and information for teaching with smartphones!Rich Baileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02808932457785499564noreply@blogger.com0