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Technology in the Classroom: News Website Sparks Discussions by InterAmerican Missed the latest news because you’re too busy
planning lessons and preparing for exams? Well, now you can catch up on
what’s going on in our area and have an interesting lesson that incorporates
technology at the same time. The Internet is a great tool for listening and
discussion activities especially for our higher level students. We
recently came across a great video news site at www.nbc6.net/news
which is an innovative way to watch current stories seen on channel 6
news. Just click on the little video camera icons under the heading FeedRoom Video. This will lead you to archives of
over 50 more stories in a wide range of topics. Then click on the story
you would like and the video will start. You can also enlarge it to fit
on the whole screen. Some stories even have the tape script available
so you can do cloze exercises, pick out important
vocabulary and expressions, or do endless other creative activities. The featured news stories are interesting and
timeless in many cases. Recent stories include topics about traveling
and airport security, credit cards and fraud, and one that hit close to home
entitled “Habla English?” In this segment, a
reporter follows an English speaker in a Spanish speaking neighborhood in
Miami, and a Spanish speaker in an English speaking neighborhood in Ft.
Lauderdale to see how they would make out doing every day things like
shopping or eating out. After watching, it sparked a heated debate in
our classes over the bilingual issue. There is even a discussion board
where students can go and post their opinions to the various stories. Teaching higher level speech classes can be
challenging, but students and teachers alike will love this website.
It’s easily accessible in the classroom as long as you have a room equipped
with a projector and computer. This is also a great lab assignment if
you don’t have time for it in the classroom. |