I can’t believe we thought holding our second Teachmeet in term 4 was a good idea! Not only that, but in week 5!! I had 4 teachers RSVP to say they would be able to attend and I also had a few RSVP to say that couldn’t due to teaching commitments. Those of us that did turn up agreed that we are all exhausted and while it is valuable to meet and share, we all had to dig deep to do so. Consequently, we agreed that once a semester is enough and our next Teachmeet will be week 5, term 1 in 2015 and the final one for 2015 will be week 5, term 3.
While the topic was; bring along something you have used successfully in your classroom, our focus mostly centred on using iPads in the classroom.

Sharon shared the following apps:
Languages Online – very large app but useful because you can track student progress.

https://appsto.re/au/U2RO0.i

Sharon also mentioned that she had noticed that there were recent Indonesian story apps available. Kris immediately searched and found:

if you search cerita anak, the number is very impressive and most are free!! Just need to download them and assess their suitability now…… Definitely a summer holiday job!!

Other apps Sharon recommended include
Cari kata and Indonesian word search:

Moji Jam

TeacherTools

Buzz Monster – made by the same people who made Futaba, so guaranteed to be worth the cost.

Kris shared next:
Three ring – good for collecting and storing student assessment data.

Pass the parcel- looks like a fun game-

Kris also reminded us about the Web2 for Language Teachers wikispace she developed and now maintains. If you have any suggestions (apps etc) that could be included, don’t hesitate to contact her. http://web2-4languageteachers.wikispaces.com

Sharon next shared a few resources she found on her recent visit to Bali. First she shared a book she’d found which has great illustrations about significant cultural events from all over Indonesia.

And also a DVD called Didi Tikus. We watched part of the first episode which would definitely appeal to young students. The videos have very little language, are slap stick and reminded us all of Mr Bean.

I shared how I use class dojo in my classroom. Up until recently, I called the roll myself asking every student, “Apa kabar?”. Previously in term 4 of every year, students would be invited to call the roll, but it was agonising as it took so long. So I came up with the idea of timing students and having each class work together to achieve the school record. It has worked very well. So, now individual students call the roll using class dojo; one student asks everyone in their class, “Apa kabar?” while I time and record their answers. The fastest time is held by the year 7’s with 32 seconds! The student then completes the absences, lateness and assists me during the lesson recording points.