Transparent Language Blog
Menu
Search

New Image-Based Learning Activities Posted by on May 5, 2020 in For Educators, Lesson Authoring Updates

Let’s get visual! Two new image-based activities are now available in the lesson authoring tool in Transparent Language Online for Education.

We remember more of what we see than what we hear[1]—a fact that should be exploited particularly in language teaching. Images of objects bring vocabulary items to life and street scenes from far off regions brings another country and its culture right to your screen, creating a more engaging experience.

To help learners visualize language and explore culture, we’re adding two new interactive image activities to Transparent Language Online: Image Explorer – Preview It and Image Explorer – Locate It. Both activities work with flat images and 360-degree images, so your learners can explore a real-world environment from their phone, tablet, computer, or even a VR headset.

Image Explorer – Preview It

If you’ve completed any number of lessons in Transparent Language Online, you’ve almost certainly run in to the Preview It activity, in which you click through a series of vocab items presented in the known and learning language.

Image Explorer – Preview It builds upon that premise, strategically placing labels on an image of the lesson author’s choosing. In the example below, learners explore a market in Indonesia, where they can click on labels to read and hear the word or phrase for the corresponding object, such as “las uvas” for grapes. Labels can be used to preview vocabulary or to point out relevant cultural, historical, or other notes.

Transparent Language Online image explorer activities

Lesson authors can place as many labels on an image as they wish, and can link multiple images together so learners can explore a full environment, such as different rooms in a building or several streets in the same city. The activity supports both flat images and 360-degree images, which learners can explore both on their computers and phones or in a VR headset.

Image Explorer – Locate It

Image Explorer – Locate It builds on the previous activity, taking all of the vocab-based labels and asking learners to click on the corresponding label to a given word or phrase. In the example below, a learner is shown “las piñas”, the Spanish term for “pineapples”, and has correctly identified the corresponding label on the image.

Transparent Language Online image explorer activities

No double duty for lesson authors here—all vocab labels configured in Image Explorer – Preview It will automatically display in this activity, so while you can choose to further edit the labels, you won’t have to duplicate your efforts.

You can expect to see these image activities appearing in some of our upcoming materials in Transparent Language Online, but both activities are already available for use in your custom lessons created with the Lesson Authoring tool in Transparent Language Online for Education! Watch this quick tutorial video to get started.

Don’t have an account? Learn more about Transparent Language Online for Education and sign up for the free trial to explore lesson authoring, class management tools, reporting, and more.

[1] https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0089914#s3

Keep learning a language with us!

Build vocabulary, practice pronunciation, and more with Transparent Language Online. Available anytime, anywhere, on any device.

Try it Free Find it at your Library
Share this:
Pin it

About the Author: meaghan

Meaghan is the Marketing Communications Manager at Transparent Language. She speaks enough French and Spanish to survive, and remembers enough Hausa to say "Hello my name is Meaghan, I'm studying Hausa." (But sadly that's it).


Comments:

  1. Fernando Camacho:

    In Mexico the scale is called “Balanza” and not “Escala”.

  2. martin:

    Is this available in Norwegian

    • meaghan:

      @martin Hi! We do offer Norwegian in Transparent Language Online. Right now, since this activity is brand new, there are no Norwegian lessons that include this activity, but it is available for educators who want to create their own custom lessons in Norwegian for their students. If you have questions about educator accounts, you can contact edsales@transparent.com.


Leave a comment: