Workshops Spring 2009

Learn about interesting tablet PC features that can enhance learning experiences for your students.

Friendly LCLC staff will demonstrate some interesting uses of tablet PCs (and some general Vista features) that can enhance language learning. Please note that the only classroom lab on campus with tablets is GH 304, as of Spring 2009.

Upload files to your website (Tigger/Icarus at UIC) and create a podcast channel that other people can subscribe to.

Friendly LCLC staff and students will show you how to upload a very short pre-existing audio file to a server (that is, put an audio file online). Since this is UIC, we will use Tigger/Icarus webspace freely available to staff and students respectively. Then we will build a "channel" to create a podcast that your students (or colleagues, or even friends!) can subscribe to. Please note we will not be refining audio files this week - that was the previous week's workshop.

Learn the basics of audio editing with (free) Audacity in preparation for creating a podcast channel on a website.

Friendly LCLC staff and students will demonstrate basic uses of Audacity to refine an audio recording. This recording can be put online in various ways for student listening practice. For instance, it can be uploaded into various Wimba Voice Tools, or Wimba Podcaster, or put on iTunesU. It can also be uploaded to a webspace and used in a podcast - that's next week's workshop!

Creating and using podcasts outside the classroom.

Friendly LCLC staff and students will demonstrate as you make your own podcast using the Wimba Podcaster. Basic podcasting advice and pedagogical considerations/applications will be covered. Podcasts extend your students' L2 aural input well outside the classroom time, and can even give them speaking opportunities! It is strongly recommended that you have your own Blackboard site before coming to this workshop.

How to enable students to listen to or even create audio materials outside the classroom (and be able to evaluate something you didn't witness).

Friendly LCLC staff and students will guide you through all the Wimba Voice Tools currently available in Blackboard at UIC. You will learn how to create audio materials including podcasts for your class, and how your class can create audio materials or interact orally outside the classroom. You will also learn about how to incorporate these things into grades or your syllabus without having to listen to entire conversations between every student in your course.

How to increase interaction outside the classroom and build writing fluency in language and culture classes.

This popular workshop is back again to help spread the use of wikis to more departments! Already three new departments have used wikis in the 2008-09 school year with the help of LCLC. Friendly LCLC staff and students will guide you step-by-step through setting up a quick-and-easy wiki in your course. We will talk about why wikis are useful within the context of your course or language courses and show examples of how wikis have already been used here at UIC and other universities. We strongly encourage already having a Bb course to allow you to create your own wiki.