Technologies used in my courses
Having worked in Further and Higher Education (HE) Institutions since 2007 has enabled me to integrate various technologies in my courses. These are some examples I have used with my students throughout the years:
Innovative technological tools:
Virtual Reality hardware
Oculus Rift
Oculus Go
Samsung Gear VR
Sony Playstation 4
HTC Vive
Virtual Reality applications
Tilt Brush:
It involves painting in a 3D space with Virtual Reality, using a virtual canvas with various shades and colours. I used this application in the course "English for Fine Arts". I also used this for research purposes with my CUT LC colleague, Dimitrios Boglou.
Sharecare VR:
I used this app for the course "English for Nursing". My students had the chance to enter a 3D model of the human body and navigate inside, watching human organs i.e. the heart, or the lungs, and associate the definitions of words we had studied in class with real-content.
Google Earth:
I used this as an introductory app with during Phase I (familiarisation stage) with the VR equipment.
Micro Cosmic Worlds:
This app allowed student to enter the microcosmos and to navigate through things you can only see with a microscope i.e. inside a plant, being able to see bacteria and other small microbes. The course was "English for Chemical Engineering".
Mondly:
Eftychia Xerou (Italian language in CUT LC) and I used this application for the course "Italian I". It allowed the students to simulate authentic conditions while learning the Italian language and experience conversations with an agent (fluent in Italian) through the use of chatbots.
Dreams of Dali:
This exciting application was used in the course "English for Fine Arts". This app offers a unique experience, representing Salvador Dali's famous 'Archaeological Reminiscence of Millet's “Angelus"' painting. Students were given the opportunity to navigate through the intricate details of the painting and marvel at this masterpiece. Surrealism at its best!
Web 2.0
Personalised pages / E-portfolios (WordPress, Weebly, Wix, Google Sites)
Facebook: as a collaborative classroom tool
LinkedIn: creating students' employability and internship opportunities
YouTube: creating and sharing interactive videos and watching videos for ESP courses
G Suite: (Google Drive, Gmail, Google Sites, Google Forms)
Blogs: creating blogs in "English for Graphic Design"
Vlogs: creating vlogs in "English for Graphic Design"
Wikis (Wikispaces): in ESP courses
Slideshare: in ESP courses
Podcasts: in ESP courses (listening exercise and authentic scenarios)
TedTalks: in ESP courses (listening exercise and authentic scenarios)
Deviant Art: collaborative tool for "English for Fine Arts" (providing feedback through course-related material)
Padlet: collaborative tool for exchanging ideas, posting opinions and creating a digital collage
Mentimeter: a tool for interactive presentations; also great for collaboration
Game-based platforms:
Kahoot
Moodle (CUT official platform) - e-learning
Moodle as an asynchronous teaching tool
Moodle tools for interaction and collaboration - the creation of Wikis, Quizzes, Web-conferences (synchronous e-learning), games
ELMS Educational Platform
Teleconferencing tools
Zoom
Skype
Microsoft Teams
BigBlueButton (Moodle Web-conferencing tool)
Facebook LiveStreaming
VR EQUIPMENT:
Samsung Gear VR with a Samsung Galaxy smart phone
Application:
Mondly
COLLABORATIVE TOOLS:
Using Facebook for educational purposes.
Communication with students is established outside class boundaries.
I use Facebook in all my courses.
Application:
"Tilt Brush" - on Oculus Rift
Fine Arts students' 3D work on Tilt Brush. This was part of the course "English for Fine Arts".
Course: "English for Fine Arts"
COLLABORATIVE TOOLS:
Theory is no longer boring! Notions, movements and concepts come to life through YouTube.
YouTube videos are a valuable source of information for my students and for myself, as well.
INTERACTIVE LEARNING SPACES:
Teaching in the innovative makerspace of the Cyprus University of Technology, CUTing Edge, where students can test all the latest technological tools and collaborate on their shared projects.
Creating productive learning opportunities for adults in their workplace through the use of technologies.
Lesson: "BusinessEnglish"
Application: "Dreams of Dali" - On Oculus Rift
Theory gains experiential substance!
Here is Surrealism like students have never seen it before: entering the famous Salvador Dali painting, ‘Archaeological Reminiscence of Millet’s “Angelus”’, through Oculus Rift VR.
Course: "English for Fine Arts"
"Sharecare VR" on Oculus Rift
This application provides real-time simulation on the human body and allows the users to navigate through its different organs while exploring their functions.
The application also gives the users the chance to experience the organs while they are severely diseased and see their altered shape and manner.
Course: "English for Nursing"
Testing "Oculus Go" at the CUT Innovation Centre, CUTing Edge.
DEVIANT ART
Collaborative tool for the Fine Arts students.
Course: "English for Fine Arts"
"Deviant Art" is an online social community for artists, featuring artwork, videography and photography.
