HT: augmented reality

    Augmented reality (AR) is a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented (or supplemented) by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. 
    

    A view of reality is modified (possibly even diminished rather than augmented) by a computer. As a result, the technology functions by enhancing one’s current perception of reality. By contrast, virtual reality replaces the real world with a simulated one. Augmentation is conventionally in real time and in semantic context with environmental elements, such as sports scores on TV during a match.

    Firstly you may think that augmented reality may help in game producing, design or else, but not in study.

However, it is not true.

    Augmented reality applications can complement a standard curriculum. Text, graphics, video and audio can be superimposed into a student’s real time environment. Textbooks, flashcards and other educational reading material can contain embedded "markers" that, when scanned by an AR device, produce supplementary information to the student rendered in a multimedia format.

    As for studying foreign languages, it is also a very useful means of study. This resource could also be of advantage in primary school. Children can learn through experiences, and visuals can be used to help them learn. 

    For instanse, using AR in Country Studies, studying new vocabulary with visualising to remember it better and so on.

   

    There are lots of companies and sources that produce platforms for AR, and this is one of them I want to share with you: LayAR

    It has got interesting services:

    Also you may publish and share your creation and let people know they can scan your items with the free Layar app for magical experience :)

Seminar 10: Mobile apps

Mobile learning is the trend of 2016

1. It has got three main principles:

• study everything

• study for everyone

• study just in time

    And this is one video from the Open University where guys with such a good English explain the principles of Mobile Learning:

2. QR-Code as one of the means for ML:

    QR-Code (abbreviated from Quick Response Code) is the trademark for a type of matrix barcode (or two-dimensional barcode) first designed for the automotive industry in Japan. A barcode is a machine-readable optical label that contains information about the item to which it is attached.

    

(QR code for the URL of the English Wikipedia Mobile main page)

   A QR-Code consists of black squares arranged in a square grid on a white background, which can be read by an imaging device such as a camera, and processed using Reed–Solomon error correction until the image can be appropriately interpreted. The required data are then extracted from patterns that are present in both horizontal and vertical components of the image.

   QR-Codes have become common in consumer advertising. Typically, a smartphone is used as a QR code scanner, displaying the code and converting it to some useful form (such as a standard URL for a website, thereby obviating the need for a user to type it into a web browser). QR code has become a focus of advertising strategy, since it provides a way to access a brand's website more quickly than by manually entering a URL.

    Usually a mobile phone is used to screen a QR-Code, but a browser may also be used.

3. Quizlet - a platform for flashcards

The link to my flashcard: https://quizlet.com/_2txg83

4. Polleverywhere

The link: https://PollEv.com/surveys/LvOxIQNsb/web

Seminar 9: MOOC platforms

Massive
Open
Online
Course

...was built for you to get any information everywhere. It's a participatory distributed open course which supports life-long networked learning. MOOCs provide affordable and flexible way to learn new skills, persue lifelong interests and deliver quality educational experiences at sacle. Whether you're interested in learning for yourself, advancing your career or leveraging online courses to educate your workforce.

The MOOC isn't just a school or just an online course, it's a way to connect and collaborate while developing digital skills whilst engagimg in the learning process. Imoprtantly, it's an event around which people gather together and discuss the topic.

MOOC platforms

edX is an open source platform - the same that universities such as Harvard and MIT use to offer courses to 100,000+ students. edX is suitable for organizations that want a modern, flexible, robust course-management platform.

Learning at edX

Valuable Certificate

See Professional Certificate Courses

See Credit Courses

See MicroMasters Programs

XSeries Programs

Moodle  is an open-source learning management system (LMS) that allows users to build and offer online courses. It was built for traditional online classrooms rather than MOOCs, which attract a large number of students. It tends to be easier to install than edX, and there are hosted or one-click install options available. And the website is multilingual.

More posts:

Calendar events:

Personally I liked Coursera as the opportunities they give seem more clear and understandable to me. And this was the website that inspired me to take a course on personal development:

Seminar 8: Wiki

Today I'm going to give a feedback on Wiki experience.

   But first, let me explain what is Wiki as a whole.

   All of us use such a source as Wikipedia. It's one of the genres of wiki sites. Wiki is a web technology used for collaborative publishing on the web. Wiki is a type of server software that allows you to work with data on a remote server on the Web. Users interact with the software through a web interface that lets them read, edit and publish content.
 
   1) Teflpedia - a great example of a professional teachers’ community that comes together by means of a wiki site. It's a wiki dedicated to everything associated with teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) or second language (TESL).

This is how the starting page welcomes you:

You can also browse the history:

   2) Nice presentation on SlideShare about using Wikispaces:

Use the link to see the presentation with all written steps how to use the source Wikispaces.

   3) Wikiversity: a project devoted to learning resources, learning projects, and research for use in all levels, types, and styles of education from pre-school to university, including professional training and informal learning. It's a good source for teachers, students, and researchers to join in creating open educational resources and collaborative learning communities.

So, how to get started:

Proves the improving of the source:

So, you can definitely see that lots of sources provide us with the possibility of including computer studying into the ordinary process of learning. Try them and make your classes more remembering and productive!

Seminar 7: survey services

Today I'm going to give feedback on the services which provide us with the opportunity to make e-tests.

1) MyTestX

   You simply download the app, where you have three modules: MyTestStudent (for testing knowledge), MyTestEditor (for editing), and MyTestServer (for the testing results). There you can use any system to give marks - from 2 to 100.

   If you have a computer network, the magazine module MyTestX can be used, where you can easily:

• organize a centralized collection and processing of test results. The results of the tasks are displayed and sent to the teacher. The teacher can assess or review them at any convenient time.

• organize the distribution of tests to students through the network, then there is no need to copy each time the test files on all computers. Several different tests can be handed out at once.

• just follow the testing process. You can see who and how performs the test, how many tasks have already been accomplished and what is their effectiveness.

2) Twitter

Voting in the poll on Twitter

   Seeing the poll, you simply click the desired option. The results will be displayed immediately after the vote. Your vote will be labeled a checkmark next to the selected answers.

   You can vote in the survey only once. Under-choice questions are displayed the current number of votes and the time remaining until the end of voting.

   The duration of the poll on Twitter is from 5 minutes to 7 days from the date of its publication, depending on the value specified by the author of the tweet. If you voted in the poll, the phone can display push-notification of the final results.

3) Google forms

   Using Google Forms, you can quickly conduct a survey, make a list of guests, gather email addresses for a newsletter and even hold a quiz.

   Yet you can create your own theme - simply download a photo or logo, and the Form automatically pick the right color palette.

   Forms can be easily created, edited, and filled both your PC and mobile devices.

   The statistics of answers, including in the form of a chart, you will find directly in the form and the answers of respondents in the automatically created Google spreadsheet.

4) Socrative

   Socrative app allows teachers to develop their own quizzes for their students, or select some of the standard quizzes for classes. 

   Answers of participants help teachers analyze how well the material learned and to estimate the volume of their knowledge in order to transform and improve the curriculum. Teachers can draw conclusions about the presence of successful and lagging students, about the class as a whole progress and to track changes in these indicators over time.

   For the preparation of the quiz you need your mobile device to have a special app for teachers. The application offers many different versions of tests: in the form of questions that need answering "true" or "false", questions with multiple-choice questions and open questions.

   The main plus for the teachers who use this app is the ease of use and large amount of data that are not collected manually, but automatically by the program.

Link to my quiz: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1-Se9U7BJtL3U2F2ZmQOCPZC-0l4XL4OriyzTzsyLdrU/edit

Google services

It's widely known that Google company is one of the hugest Internet companies in the world. Among the facts that it produces lots of useful interactive sources (like Google Translate, Google Search, Google Bookmarks), it also has a lot of to help the learning process.

1) Google Mail
It is widely used all around the world for exchanging not only e-letters but also you may attach links, documents, pictures, etc. Despite a little bit difficult content which was hard for me to get used to, it opens much more than you first think. It opens all the Google produced services, which are mostly free to use not only for exchanging information and collaborative work, but for education and simplification of many studying processes.

For example:

2) Google Docs
If you have a Google account, it's much more easier for you to start using this source. You may create, change and keep for free documents, sheets, presentations, etc. You also can give the access to your colleagues for viewing, correcting or adding some information online.
    2.1) Google forms
    I want to emphasize this source for teachers as well as for students, as it is convenient indeed to check       smn's knowledge without being mistaken while checking. So, try it if you want to make your learning process more modern.

3) Google Calendar
It's a nice and convenient calendar where you add your plans or tasks and get notifications in the right time. It's a good source for time-management as well as for learning to be responsible and punctual. And also not to be afraid to forget smth ;)

Seminar 5: BOOKMARKS

Part 1. Evolution of bookmark services

Whatever service you choose, you can easily add to its catalog a new bookmark or edit the old sort bookmarks by tags assigned to them or place them in different folders. However, each service has its own pros and cons, which you encounter when you work with bookmarks directly from the browser without having to go to the bookmarks directory site.

The best way to show the comparison is to use the chart taken from one of the review sites:

Where:

 integration into the page services in the form of button-links

 it has a toolbar; bookmarks can be used without visiting the site, although some operations can be performed only on the website;

here you can fully manage the bookmarks from the browser without visiting the site;

service synchronizes the "native" browser bookmarks directory.


One minus of this research is the lack of studying Google Chrome browser. But still, using the Google Bookmarks in the native Google browser seems to me the best variant.

I oftenly use only Chrome, do the next step of my message I will make in Google Chrome browser using Google Bookmarks.

Part 2: Personal bookmarks

You simply attach your Google account to this plugin and do not be afraid of losing something you added.

Seminar 4: presentation feedback

1) SlideShare is one of my favourite services for creating presentations. While having been at work in summer, our marketing team used SlideShare every time when prepared presentations for public speeches. It's not only a nice stock but also a good interactive source for education, as well as for tracking the public interest in the chosen theme.

2) Speaker Deck is one more convenient site to share your presentations online. Here you simply upload your slides in a PDF format, and the system automatically transforms it into an online presentation. What is more, you may watch presentations on interesting topics in a convinient way as there is a topic division. 

3) Projeqt is a dynamic interactive source for creating more than presentations online. The main pecularity is that your presentation never stays static. For example, you use a twitter hashtag for showing results on some purpose. These results will never be the same, as the system automatically refreshes and shows the freshest twits with the given hashtags.

4) Prezi is the most popular service for creating presentations. You may use it freely online or try a 30-days period offline. Also, this service is in free access for unis and students (but you need a verification). It's a wide range of tools, which make you presentation more memorable and uniqe. All you need is your creativity.

And there goes the links to my presentations so you can see how some services work:

1. Old Germanic Alphabet (prepared for History of English language);
2. Usability (internet-marketing);
3.  Leg of lamb with amazing gravy (inspired by Jamie Oliver)

Some interactive services for studying at MFL department

Integration of some interactive services to "From&to English translation"

There are a lot of sources which I can propose you to develop your translating skills. Firstly, I want to emphasize www.puzzle-english.com website, which is really one of the coolest sources to train your abilities.

Here you can see the screenshot of the section "Day translator", where you personally suggest the translation of the phrase of the day:

This is the test which shows your vocabulary www.puzzle-english.com/vocabulary:

That is the approximate number of my English vocabulary:

The source where you can learn new words in different ways www.puzzle-english.com/words?new:

If you choose learning new words, you see this kind of screen where the speaker also tells you the correct pronunciaton:

After you watched the five new words, there goes the first stage of memorization, where the speaker reads the word and you must choose the correct translation:

Than you're to write or click in the right order the correct word shown you in Russian:

;

The next stage is where the speaker sounds the word and you must spell it correctly:

And the last stage is for the results, where you're shown the number of the correct answers and the countdown timer till the next training:

Learning with Splendid Speaking

Today's vocabulary quiz on www.splendid-speaking.com/products/wotd/index.html

1) You start from the task when you are to choose the right word to complete the idiom:

2) Then you complete the gaps printing the missing words:

3) And finally you answer the given question in order to fully remember new idioms:

Also you can sign up for their newsletter:

I wish you good luck in your learning English!