Events
Local Meetings in November and December
Dublin
meeting added / Table Quiz in Kildare
For further details on Hugh Nagle's workshops, read further below and contact your local chapter secretary at the link above.
News from Cork
A new committee was elected last week:
Chair: Alan White alanpwhite@gmail.com
Secretary : Barbara Murphy : barbara.murphy06@gmail.com
Treasurer: Elaine McKeon: elainemckeon@gmail.com
Committee: Peter Rooney: pvalrooneyI@hotmail.com
Rosaleen McInerney : mcinerney_rosaleen@hotmail.com
News from Kildare
FRENCH SENIOR TABLE QUIZ
Thursday 2nd December 2010, 7.00 PM
VENUE: Newbridge College, Newbridge.
Teams of four from Transition Year or Senior Cycle classes:
Entry free to teams from schools affiliated to FTA
Entries texted to Joe Walsh @ 087-6781543, or mail to mrjosephpwalsh@eircom.net
National News, as of November 22nd
Hugh Nagle's presentations in seven areas over the past fortnight have been very well attended with up to two hundred French teachers receiving a good grounding in comfortable usage of data projectors as well as general exploitation of the internet as a teaching tool. Hugh's notes will be posted here next week.
The FTA is launching new branches in two areas this month with another two to follow and enquiries from other areas from Kerry to Donegal. We have members ready to assist with this; for details on how to go about developing a supporting network in your area please contact
Our Chairperson, Joe Walsh (mrjosephpwalsh@eircom.net) The FTA is launching new branches in two areas this month with another two to follow and enquiries from other areas from Kerry to Donegal. We have members ready to assist with this; for details on how to go about developing a supporting network in your area please contact
Secretary, Eimear Holly (eimearholly@hotmail.com) or
Treasurer, Francis Foyle (ffoyle@hotmail.com)
Do bear in mind though that we are all holding down full-time teaching jobs, in addition to having other interests so please be patient when waiting for a reply.
Our website is barely a month old, and none of us on the National Executive are experienced in this area. We're keen to take on board suggestions as to how this can be developed and conscious that what's here is only the beginning. We'll have a meeting in late January of interested parties who would like to share ideas; in the meantime, please let Francis Foyle know how this can be improved upon.
Hugh Nagle is travelling to 9 venues in November:
'I will be giving a presentation to French teachers at the locations below, on the dates specified.
- Cork: 8th Nov, Monday. Cork Education Centre. 7.30 p.m.
- Naas: 11th Nov, Thursday. Naas CBS. 7.30 p.m.
- Galway: 13th Nov, Saturday. Clayton Hotel, Ballybrit. 9.30 a.m start time.
- Carrick-on-Shannon: Nov 15th, Monday. Community School. 7.30 p.m.
- Cavan: 16th Nov, Tuesday. Education Centre, Cootehill. 8.00 p.m start time.
- Dundalk: Nov 17th, Wednesday. Teachers' Centre, Chapel Street. 7.30 p.m.
- Castlebar: 18th Nov, Thursday. Mayo Education Centre. 7.30 p.m.
- Athlone: Nov 24th, Wednesday. Education Centre. 7.30 p.m.
- Limerick: Nov 25th, Thursday. Education Centre. 7.30 p.m.
-
Meeting
added:
Dublin: November 30th, Tuesday. Blackrock Education Centre, Kill Avenue, Dun Laoghaire 7.00pm start time
1. short general intro
why data projectors can be useful tools while still allowing for traditional teaching methodology
making students feel we're 'on their level' and are not afraid of new technologies
using the internet as a powerful source of information - text, audio, video all in one place
2. tips with regard to
basic setup of data projector equipment, cabling, laptop, etc.
advance planning for quick projector setup in a regular classroom
'squaring up' the projected image on the wall
ensuring that the projector lens is focused, etc.
what to do if/when a projector bulb blows (a rare occurrence, but one to be aware of)
allowing the projector to cool down adequately at the end of class, etc:
3. using the internet in class
connecting to the internet (via school wi-fi, USB mobile broadband stick if school wi-fi not available or inaccessible for whatever reason)
talking about 'browsers' (launching, quitting, using the 'back' button, increasing or decreasing font size to ensure optimum visibility, scrolling content in browser windows (using scrollbars, mouse wheel, trackpad, etc);
entering website addresses
manipulating browser 'windows'; maximising/minimising windows; closing a window temporarily (to discuss some point or other without distraction to the students)
playing back audio via data projector, computer, or external speaker;
downloading audio files from the internet; transferring audio files to external devices like phones or mp3 players (via physical cable or 'bluetooth')
arranging screen 'real estate' so that the teacher can physically write notes on the projection surface;
how to type accented characters in the Windows and Apple Mac operating systems
4. useful websites for French teachers
a quick visit to each of approx 8 sites that I use regularly when preparing French content
my own site at www.onlinelanguageresources.com
5. wrap up, Q&A
The goal of the presentations will be to encourage teachers to add scope to their current teaching practices by making use of a data projector in class.
If you can make one of the sessions above, please let me know (to give me an indication of numbers). Furthermore, regarding point no. 4 above, if there are websites that you yourself find useful for your classes, please let me know so that I can mention those sites, too, for the benefit of other teachers who will attend.
Best regards,
Hugh Nagle
Online Language Resources (Français Plus)
