French made fun through technology

Looking for fun tools to help your students learn French?  Want to use technology in the classroom but don’t know how to go about it?  Here are a few free (and fun!) websites that you can use with your students, no matter their level.

1.    Voki (www.voki.com): This site allows students to create their own characters (avatars) and to make them speak.  What better way to have them practice a language?  It is a great site to help shy students or to motivate those who need to be pushed a little.  A student’s voice can be recorded with a microphone or through a telephone.  Here is an example on the French for the Future website.

2.    Vocaroo (www.vocaroo.com): Like Voki, this site allows students to record their voice, but without an avatar.  Students can easily send their recording to their teacher by email.  It was be an excellent way to evaluate their reading and pronunciation skills.

3.    Animoto (www.animoto.com): This site is ideal for students wishing to present a project using video.  They will need a few photos (or JPG images) and a short text.  It is simple to create a dynamic video and only takes a few minutes.  Click here for an example.

4.    Polleverywhere (www.polleverywhere.com)  Your school doesn’t have funds available to buy a televoting device?  The Polleverywhere site can be used the same way as a televoting system but without the prohibitive price tag.  The only problem is that it requires the use of cell phones.  However, with special permission or during an activity outside of the school, the use of this tool could be possible with your students.  All you need is a computer with an internet connection and a projector.

Have fun!

Myriam Lafrance is the Progam Director at French for the Future.  She has a Bachelor of Education from McGill University and taught for 5 years.  You can contact her at mlafrance@french-future.org