Marc Wong

Today, we tried a website (www.pagamo.org). It allows students to pick an avatar and enter a game similar to Three Kingdoms. The idea is that they have to answer questions in different subjects, e.g. English, Mathematics, to upgrade their abilities. Then they can conquer other areas and expand their territories. In the form of a game, students are motivated to answer questions which originally look boring to them. They can compete with each other and try to conquer as much land as possible. Usage in the classroom: 1. Students log onto the website (www.pagamo.org). 2.  Students select an avatar for themselves. 3. Students will then need to complete 20 basic questions before they can start to explore the map. 4. Once they are on the map, they can start choosing challenges and answering questions. 5. Every week, the teacher will log onto the teacher's console and see which students are winning. 6. Rewards will be given to the top students in the game. I think students ...

Today we've come across the concept of e-portfolios. The idea is to create a website detailing one's personal background, personal development, future goals and anything one wants to share with others. For example, a teacher can share his teaching methodologies on his site. In the classroom, students can do something similar by composing a website talking about their personal background, interests, future plans and anything that interest them, e.g. movies, books, articles, etc. Procedures in the classroom: 1. The teacher demonstrates how to create an account on wordpress.com. 2. The teacher shows how to create a post, including how to upload pictures, videos, music, external links, etc. 3. Students need to create their own e-portfolios with at least three pages, including personal background, interests and future plans. 4. The students need to complete the website in a month. 5. The teacher will check their progress and select some good works to share with other...

Today we've come across a website, posetest.com. We can use it to help students learn the subtle differences in pronunciation. I deem this site useful as many of my students are unable to distinguish the differences between some consonants, e.g. /f/ and /th/, /b/ and /p/, etc. Procedures in the classroom: 1. Students create their own accounts using their email addresses. 2. A demonstration about how to use the website will be performed by me. 3. I will use the first section about vowels to demonstrate. 4. Students need to complete a section per week. 5. In seven weeks' time, all the sections will be completed. 6. I will use the interface for teachers to check their progress. Pronunciation has long been a big problem for students in Hong Kong. By listening to the demonstrations on the website repeatedly, they can have a better impression of the sounds in English.

Today we learnt about speech recognition technology. We used the website iSpraak.com to practise pronunciation. I find this website very useful because my students often encounter difficulties with pronunciation as we only have one speaking lesson per cycle. Only a few students are selected to practise in front of the whole class and it is hard for the teacher to listen to all the students. Procedures: 1. First, an article from the Young Post is selected. 2. The text is then entered into iSpraak.com. 3. In the lesson, the teacher reads the article and explain the vocabulary to students. 4. The students need to read it together once in class. 5. At home, students need to read the article to the computer on the website iSpraak.com. 6. The teacher can monitor students' progress. As the results are sent to the teacher's email, this website can let the teacher keep track of the students' progress and spot any difficulties they have.