Social Media and Creativity in

The Language Classroom

Isabelle Jones, Head of Languages,

The Radclyffe School, Oldham

Lead Teacher Oldham SLN, North West RSA (ALL)

@icpjones http://twitter.com/icpjonesMy Languages Blog http://isabellejones.blogspot.com

icpjones@yahoo.co.uk

What is creativity?

What is creativity?

What is Social Media?

“Social media” is media designed to be

disseminated through social interaction,

created using Internet and web-based

technologies to transform broadcast media

monologues (one to many) into social media

dialogues (many to many).

It supports the democratization of knowledge

and information, transforming people from

content consumers into content producers.

(Wikipedia)

What is Social Media?

Attractive way to present your own ideas and

resources integrating multimedia (pictures, audio,

video) and social interaction (sharing, getting

comments from other people).

How can Social Media help creativity?

•By sharing ideas with teachers that may have

tried similar activities before: practicalities, pitfalls

•By providing a worldwide audience

•By providing examples of ready-made and tried-

and-tested resources

•By providing peer-to-peer training

Useful social networking tools for Language Teachers

• Yahoo groups- mfl resources

http://www.mflresources.org.uk/

Join the yahoo group from this page

Best to set up a separate yahoo! Email as this group

is very busy-great to share ideas e.g. Cross-curricular.

Useful social networking tools for Language Teachers

• Diigo (social bookmarking)

What is it?

Enables you to save your favourite websites on an

independent (free) account accessible from any

computer.

Enables you to share your bookmarks with other

people (of your own choice or the public).

Enables you to connect with people you have a

common area of interest with.

Diigo (social bookmarking)

Diigo Groups (social bookmarking)

http://groups.diigo.com/group/resources-for-languages

390 members

Diigo Groups (social bookmarking)

http://groups.diigo.com/group/resources-for-languages

390 members

Useful social networking tools for Language Teachers

Ning (online group/ forum)

What is it?

•Enables you to share ideas and resources

•Makes it easy to contact all members of a group

(distribution list)

•Resources can be pictures, files, videos, links...

•Closed and/ or open

•Good for support groups/ exchanges/ teacher

linguistic upskilling

http://oldhamsln.ning.com

Ning (online group/ forum)

http://oldhamsln.ning.com

http://horslesmurs.ning.com/groups

http://apprendre2point0.ning.com/

http://worldlanguagesteachers.ning.com/

http://profesoresdespanol.ning.com/

Cross-curricular/ CLIL

Useful social networking tools for Language Teachers

• Sharing videos and photoshttp://www.flickr.com/

http://www.flickr.com/groups/ima

gestoteachlanguages/

set up by @aliceayel

http://www.youtube.com /

Useful social networking tools for Language Teachers

• Blogging and micro-blogging

http://isabellejones.blogspot.com /

Useful social networking tools for Language Teachers

• Blogging and micro-blogging

http://twitter.com/icpjones /

Useful social networking tools for Language Teachers

• Blogging and micro-blogging

http://twitter.com/icpjones /

Wallwisher

• 2 stars and a wish (direct/ post-it notes/

wallwisher) http://www.wallwisher.com

http://www.diigo.com/user/isabellejones/wallwisher

Useful social networking tools for Language Teachers

• Yahoo groups- mfl resources

• Diigo/ Diigo groups

• Ning groups

• Flickr/ Flickr groups

• You Tube

• Blogging Platform/ blogger

• Twitter

Are you being creative?

•Develop/ extend ideas

•Write about it: newspaper article/ letter/

presentation to penpal/ blog post/ short play/ poem/

story for young audience/ minibook.

•Talk about it: dialogue, news report, drama...

audio/ video (podcast/ video sharing)

•Apply imagination

Nightmare holiday/day, Famous for a day:

who/what/why,

Life Swap (dice), School of the future, My film

(dice)...

My Film dice game

A.Le role principal

1=une petite fille 2=un adolescent 3=une grand-mère

4=une tortue 5=une danseuse 6=un chanteur de rock

B. L’ événement principal

1=un spectacle 2=des vacances nulles 3=une course

4=un voyage 5=un concert 6=un cambriolage

C. Le lieu principal

1=l’ école 2=les Bahamas 3=un château hanté

4=un bateau de croisière 5=un stade 6=un musée

Raconte le film comme si tu étais dans le role

principal!

http://mfl-storybirds.wikispaces.com/French+Storybirds

http://wisdom-soft.com/products/screenhunter_free.htm

•Making links: Learners are given a selection

of familiar words and asked to make a concept

map by adding connecting words between the

words already on the list.

http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/1751079/Me_gusta

Analogies

•Create pairs of related words:

Père et

Chaussures et

Mère

Pieds

•Make/guess the analogy:

Manger + bois =

Maison + douche =

Table

Salle de bains

•Use unusual image/ sound associations:

Students’ own Equitación (galloping sound)

Je suis (I eat sweet)

Pink car (voiture is feminine)

Blue car(coche is masculine)

Creative Activities and social media

• Create your own sandwich, fruit drink, ice

cream... Share ingredients using wallwisher

http://www.wallwisher.com/

• Poems: recipes, acrostics, calligrams,

comparisons

• Raps & rhythms: record & share on class blog

• Songs

• Riddles

Display and invite comments by putting on a wiki

or a blog

Evaluation Skills

http://langwitch.wikispaces.com/8qF1

http://pltsinmfl.wikispaces.com/

Creative Activities helped by social media

• Poems: Recipes

• Pour faire un bon ami, il faut:

• Deux cuillères de générosité

• Beaucoup de sourires

• Ecouter pendant des heures

• Partager à la fin

Poems: calligrams (word mosaic)

Image Chef: http://www.imagechef.com

How would you use these symbols?

What other symbols might you find useful?

Songs/ Poems: Ne Me quitte pas (J. Brel)

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfegOxTCuOQ

Rebus http://www.rebus-o-matic.com/index.php

Je m’appelle

Isabelle

C’est lundi

J’aime les chats blancs

How can Social Media help creativity?

•By sharing ideas with teachers that may have

tried similar activities before: practicalities, pitfalls

•By providing a worldwide audience

•By providing examples of ready-made and tried-

and-tested resources

•By providing peer-to-peer training

Social Media and Creativity in

The Language Classroom

Isabelle Jones, Head of Languages,

The Radclyffe School, Oldham

Lead Teacher Oldham SLN, North West RSA (ALL)

@icpjones http://twitter.com/icpjonesMy Languages Blog http://isabellejones.blogspot.com

icpjones@yahoo.co.uk