"The tongue of man is a twisty thing, there are plenty of words there of every kind, the range of words is wide, and their variance." ~Homer, Iliad [9th B.C.E.]




Welcome to the iBabel Language Learning Website!

There are three goals we will be striving to meet this new academic year 2012-2013:

1. Learn Survival Skills in a Foreign Language of your choice
2. Learn Cultural facts about chosen country
3. Present a 2 minute video presentation using iMovie, to fellow classmates, summarizing what has been learned.

The Tower of Babel is reference in the Bible. In the book of Genesis, the story tells of a city in Shinar in which Noah's descendants tried to build a tower intended to reach to heaven. God punished its builders for this presumption and prevented them from finishing the tower by causing them all suddenly to speak in different languages so that they could not understand one another. The expression "The Tower of Babel" has come to mean a place of confusion. With the use of the iMacs and iPads, and listening to podcasts on sites such as iTunes and creating videos using iMovie, calling our CMS Independent Language Learning Program...iBabel, seemed an apt expression for our mission is to develop in the months ahead survival language skills in a world rapidly becoming more interconnected.

Using iMovie to Create a Video Presentation...

Friday, January 20, 2012

Apple iMovie Screen
Objective of Project:  Students will be able to reproduce their country research information and new language skills using a form of technology that is comprehensive, creative and organized...

iMovie tutorials:   http://www.apple.com/support/imovie/


  • Students will be able to plan and execute their projects, and to follow a time schedule to complete their work.
  • Students will become familiar with copyright infringements by using only public domain photographs and film clips from sites such as the Internet Archive.  
  • Students will be able to assist one another before presenting their works to their classrooms; sharing their knowledge with others, deepens one's own knowledge.
  • Students will be able to use the two iMacs in the Library Media Center to Create their Video Presentation on the country of the origin of their chosen language.
The intent is to teach the basics of iMovie, including:

  •   Planning stages and storyboarding
  •   Creating an iMovie project with a theme incorporating their research and new language skills
  •   Importing stills and video
  •   Editing skills on trimming video and adding sound clips and voiceovers
  •   Add title and a bibliography or credits page
  •   Presenting their final video clip to their individual classes

Essential Questions:
  • What did I learn from this project that I can teach someone else about?
  • What diagrams or pictures or video clips can I use to help illustrate what I have discovered in my study of a language and its country of origin?
  • How can I express and explain what I've researched and learned in a clear manner to someone else?
Posted by Grace M. Dyrek at Friday, January 20, 2012 0 comments

Welcome "CMS Virtual Travelers"!

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Here at Cleveland Middle School we take seriously our role to help students become well-equipped citizens for the world in which they live.  Foreign languages introduce students to the appreciation of other cultures, understanding future foreign market places and helps further their interdisciplinary thinking skills.  The goal of our "Virtual Travelers" program is to give students a speaking, writing and reading knowledge of foreign languages at an entry level or  better; so, when they move on to high school they will already have the basics of learning a language and would be better prepared to choose which one they would like to learn further.

We expect our "Virtual Travelers" to work independently, building their basic listening comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing skills in their chosen language.  "Virtual Travelers" will keep a journal of their growing knowledge and will work on projects to share with other students in their classrooms using Web 2.0 tools.
Posted by Grace M. Dyrek at Wednesday, February 17, 2010 1 comments
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Religions of the World