Leurs classes. Leurs mots.

Témoignage complet dans sa langue d’origine · Français

J'ai commencé mon projet pilote de "Smash Education" depuis deux semaines. J'en suis ravie!

Avant Smash, je passais beaucoup de temps à chercher des activités en ligne et à mettre ensemble des mini-unités qui répondent aux besoins de mes étudiants. Smash offre des unités complètes ou plutôt un programme complet qui répond aux attentes du CEFR, aux niveaux A1, A2, B1 et B2. Les unités de travail sont très bien organisées selon le principe d'échafaudage pédagogique pour assurer la réussite de l'élève.

Dans la même unité, il y a le vocabulaire, les exercices d'écoute, les exercices oraux et écrits, organisés d'une manière à facilement trouver les activités qui vont ensemble. Les thèmes des unités sont variés et offrent un choix vaste d'activités amusantes et agréables. L'enseignant peut suivre de près le travail de chaque élève et assigner du contenu selon le progrès de chaque. L'élève peut faire et refaire la même activité autant de fois que c'est nécessaire pour la maîtrise du matériel sans se faire pointer du doigt. Chaque activité faite par l'élève est notée par l'application et en plus l'enseignant peut assigner lui même des activités d'évaluation.

Comme je ne suis pas encore très familière avec tout le programme, j'ai souvent recours au soutien technique. On me répond dans un délai raisonnable et d'une manière efficace. J'aimerais bien essayer le programme en salle de classe pour pouvoir mieux témoigner de la réaction des élèves, mais en tant qu'enseignante je trouve que c'est super.

Témoignage complet dans sa langue d’origine · Anglais

I'm a high school Spanish teacher. I use Smash with my groups from 7th to 9th grade. I chose this application because it comes with everything I need. Now that the school is closed, I have noticed the great advantages of using it. My students have an iPad, so from home they can easily do grammar, vocabulary, writing and written and oral comprehension activities.

Beyond the interactive listening, pronunciation and writing activities, the short videos included in each module help them understand, not only the linguistic elements, but also the Hispanic culture. In addition, given the translation features and theoretical explanations included, they can continue to learn Spanish independently at home.

What I like most is that I can assign the necessary work according to their level of Spanish, not only according to their educational level. Thus, I can give remedial exercises to new students and more advanced exercises to those who already had prior knowledge of Spanish.

Finally, I can easily calculate the assigned work time, see the progress of each student, as well as provide feedback and formative evaluation if necessary. How lucky to have Smash in these times of uncertainty!

Témoignage complet dans sa langue d’origine · Anglais

SMASH allows me to deepen the material seen in class and to diversify my educational approach. I can choose to present the entire lesson online or choose only the modules that best correspond to the concepts studied in class. I have the possibility of creating exams or exercises adapted to my course.

It's easy to use, both for me and my students. In short, SMASH is a tool that gives me a lot of flexibility, it is very versatile, and makes teaching fun. Indeed, SMASH offers the ability for students to work individually at home or collaborative in the classroom in the form of games. Students learn while having fun. It is a great reinforcement activity. Whenever you finish a game, the students ask for more.

Témoignage complet dans sa langue d’origine · Anglais

The Smash Education platform allowed me to guarantee pedagogical monitoring of my students during isolation.

I'm a Spanish teacher and the only way to develop communication in language teaching is by practice; students need constant contact with the language. With Smash I can assign activities to students that allow them to go further than grammar or vocabulary. Smash immerses students in real situations (videos) where native Spanish speakers and students practice both, oral comprehension and oral expression. This give them the necessary close contact with Spanish.

Another advantage of Smash is that it comes with activities that grade automatically, providing immediate feedback to each student. It also comes with written and oral activities that need to be graded by the teacher. This allows us to stay in close contact with the student without the need for physical presence.

Students can also practice phonetics, pronunciation and they are able to learn about the culture of Spanish speaking countries.

In short, this platform offers powerful yet easy to use tools that help teachers overcome this quarantine situation more easily.

Témoignage complet dans sa langue d’origine · Anglais

I became familiar with SMASH as a result of online teaching during the covid-19 school closures. I can honestly say that this program surpassed my expectations by far. It is inviting, engaging, and extremely easy to navigate. The curriculum offered is spot on, the activities are varied and engaging, the activities are easily tailorable to individual student needs, and tracking and evaluation are made easy. The students responded to it immediately, and even those who would normally be a challenge to get on board, were voluntarily participating. Training and support was readily available and so helpful. Whenever I had a question, it was promptly answered.

It was rewarding to watch my intermediate students get excited about learning French!

As an FSL teacher for the past 26 years, I am looking forward to continuing to share this fresh, educational and interactive program with my classes. As a “seasoned” educator, I highly recommend this program!

Témoignage complet dans sa langue d’origine · Anglais

Teaching with Smash is teaching in the digital age! Our students are different and they learn differently so why teach them again with only books and paper documents? In order to motivate them, you have to show them something better. At the same time, as teachers, it is easy to be overwhelmed trying to create new material, this takes lot of time - but with Smash everything has been created for us! When using Smash, you need to some time to know the ins and outs, but it is time well invested, Smash will save you a lot of time.

Using Smash doesn't mean you don't have to teach anymore ... It means that you are going to teach differently. Instead of speaking for more than 20 minutes, you are only going to take a few well-invested minutes to really explain the subject matter then they will get to work and then you finish the lesson by playing the Smash Game.

In addition, using Smash for academic continuity is a real charm! I have been using it for a year now and I love it, not only the product but the service, which is extraordinary. Technical problems are almost always resolved on the same day and there is always someone who answers the teacher for all student requests. What is also really interesting is that they keep bringing updates in order to always satisfy us more.

I am now looking forward to the new ESL platform!

Témoignage complet dans sa langue d’origine · Anglais

I have been using Smash Education since 2015. I have been witness to its great evolution. I personally enjoy the continuous face to face training and support that we receive from their specialists.

This beautiful platform helps my students to develop a solid base of vocabulary and grammar, a to put it in practice in multiple authentic situations and readings where they discover the Hispanic culture culture and improve their language by making comparisons with our beautiful Quebec.

I love the fact that Smash automatically tracks and grades every student along their progress. It also produces detailed linguistic skills reports for each and every one of my students, allowing me to take corrective action to ensure the success of each student.

It is a very useful language platform, even more in the context that we live in. My students enjoy learning at home with Smash.

Témoignage complet dans sa langue d’origine · Anglais

Smash has been a very helpful program to my students. I found it to be a well-rounded approach to teaching a language focusing on practical topics, vocabulary and grammar. I also appreciated that it incorporated all 4 strands of the FSL program. It was great to have the ability to hear my students speaking French and to see how they would react when speaking to others in a spontaneous situation.

I also appreciated all of the technological support as I learned to navigate the program. I sincerely hope that our board will consider purchasing this program for us to use especially as we are faced with so many uncertainties in the fall. We would be able to offer something for our students to use at home and in the classroom to continue their learning. Thank you for making this available to teachers and staff in our board! Merci beaucoup!

Témoignage complet dans sa langue d’origine · Anglais

I am a grade 7th, 8th and 9th Spanish teacher and I have many years of experience. I use Smash and I am very satisfied with it. Smash is a user-friendly application that allows me to spice up traditional teaching with games and technology. This application is very popular with my students. Once you have learned how the app works, it’s easy to assign work to multiple groups and different levels.

Smash is interesting because it allows me to differentiate instruction in the classroom as needed and it gives students the opportunity to work independently. In Grade 7th, Smash is particularly popular and becomes an incentive to start learning a new language.

With Smash, we can see how the students advance and work, and we can see the learning progress.

With the current situation, Smash is all the more interesting, the teacher can assign work to be completed at home, and students work at their own pace. Smash checks if the work is done, the progress, the level of success and the time spent by students. The monitoring and grades are easy to use, teacher easily know where the students are in their progress. Something that would have been impossible if I had a book.

The application allows me to see where the students and to give them feedback. I can see difficulties when they arise and I can take immediate action.

Finally, unlike books, Smash offers fast, reliable and appreciated technical and educational support.

In conclusion, I strongly recommend this application which is a great tool for teaching languages.

Témoignage complet dans sa langue d’origine · Anglais

In this particular time of isolation, it was important to me that my students continue to progress in Spanish and English. The great thing about the Smash and Mambo programs is that since my students have already received the work plan with lessons and assessments, each student can continue to progress at their own pace.

For my part, it's easy to see their progress, answer their questions and give them personalized feedback. The programs are already designed so that the student is independent in his learning. Today, more than ever, I am grateful to be able to count on Smash and Mambo. My students love being able to continue to progress from home. Parents also appreciate the fact that their children will not miss any lesson and will not fall behind in learning despite the confinement. Smash and Mambo are essential tools for all language teachers!

I see the other teachers wracking their heads to prepare lessons, photocopies, material for the students... It was not my case for my Spanish and English students, everything was already created and my students know so well how everything works that there no confusion or disorientation! So I can maintain my timelines (assessments) for the time being and I can produce a report card at the end of the period since the students do exactly what they did in class, but at home.

Témoignage complet dans sa langue d’origine · Anglais

I have tried popular language software before and just like a shiny new toy, my students were excited during the first two weeks and then the sporadic logins became inexistent. They were easy to use but lead to limited results.

This past year, I discovered Smash and Mambo Education which offers teachers endless possibilities to tailor goals for each one of their students or groups. All teachers know one of the keys to keeping students engaged is assigning them age and skill-appropriate tasks.

This is where this tool is amazing. This time around, as the teacher, I was able to design my curriculum by selecting them from an endless bank of activities meant to help students learn French. The result: students are engaged and continue to be through the year. Amongst the various features, I love recording my feedback instead of typing, the automated feedback for “right or wrong” questions and the various contexts offered to learn new words.

As it is often the case with technology, there is a learning curve for the teacher but it is a worthwhile time investment to unlock the potential of Smash and Mambo Education. With this resource, the teacher leads and the technology is there to support the learning, not the reverse.

Témoignage complet dans sa langue d’origine · Anglais

I really like the Smash app and so do my students! The variety of activities are presented in a fun way and they cover a wide variety of themes, grammatical notions, cultural aspects, vocabulary, authentic stations and much more. It's easy to assign tasks to students and to differentiate instruction whenever needed.

The immediate feedback of most activities allows students to dramatically improve on their learning. In addition, technical support is quick, courteous and easily accessible for both students and teachers. Thanks to the whole team !

Témoignage complet dans sa langue d’origine · Anglais

Smash is a wonderful tool for students learning French as a Second Language. I found the content extremely useful and adapted to students with different learning needs. In addition, the platform functionalities are user-friendly. The other thing for which I like Smash education is the training videos which are short but useful and informative. I like the way the technical support is so quick and supportive. The majority of my students found learning French through Smash fun and enjoyable. Smash education is an excellent teaching tool!

Témoignage complet dans sa langue d’origine · Anglais

Thanks to Smash I can assign homework, my students can practice, review and deepen the content seen in class. I find it important that we can personalize the content, choose the activities we want to work on.

Students can complete their activities and Smash tracks their progress and performance. They can record their oral communication practice, complete comprehension exercises, and the teacher can send feedback.

Smash is quite comprehensive and the kids really like the activities!

Témoignage complet dans sa langue d’origine · Anglais

I'm a Spanish teacher from the Quebec City area and I've been using the "SMASH" app for a few years now. I must say that I am not computer savvy and not very skilled using technology either. Fortunately "SMASH" is a very user friendly application and there is always someone to speak with if needed. I don't do everything with "SMASH’, at the moment it supplements my teaching. It allows my students to reinforced everything we see in class. My students enjoy the immediate feedback and the variety of activities. I enjoy the automatic grade report, they save me a lot of time.

I'm not using the app at its full capacity yet, but there are really many possibilities and it's always evolving. As far as I am concerned, I mainly use the vocabulary, grammar and games a lot and I practice oral expression and oral comprehension with the dialogues in the videos; where questions are asked and students need to respond spontaneously.

Smash has helped me a lot on snow days and specially now that our students have to continue learning at home while we are in quarantine; they currently have exercises to do on the app and everything is going well.

Témoignage complet dans sa langue d’origine · Anglais

In this quarantine situation, it is very important to help our students continue to be intellectually active. Hence the relevance of using Smash as an educational resource.

Smash is a very powerful and interactive platform that allows my students to learn, consolidate their knowledge and have fun at home. This platform offers a wide variety of activities with enriching and contextualized content to support my students in their learning. It comes with a large number of videos, readings and authentic situations which allow me to work with my students on all language skills.

What I like the most is that in order to familiarize myself with the platform and make the most of it, the people of Smash are always at my disposal to give technical support and personal training. It is very appreciated to be followed up by human, charismatic, professional, available, enthusiastic and dynamic people who guide until you get use to this wonderful work tool.

I highly recommend using Smash Education, especially during this quarantine.

Témoignage complet dans sa langue d’origine · Anglais

Smash is a great option when studying at home. It has proven very helpful in dealing with the current situation.

With my students, we have a very good experience with the platform because it allows us to work on all linguistic skills, which adapts to all language courses. The fact that it is divided into different levels allows us to differentiate and we can work from basic concepts to advanced levels.

The different sections cover a variety of subjects, which allow you to work on vocabulary, grammar and most importantly, culture and authentic situations. There are video capsules that help understand oral comprehension and cultural aspects. At the same time, there are interactive exercises that allow students to repeat and improve pronunciation. Another feature that my students really like is the fun side with the Smash game which allows you to learn and have fun at the same time.

The different tools available in Smash make the students’ progress and performance easy to control and follow up. I personally love the online technical support because they provide support to students or the teacher and the administrator of the platform.

Témoignage complet dans sa langue d’origine · Anglais

Dear colleagues,

I hope you are doing well with the closure of our schools. It’s a difficult time, even a little sad, but I'm sure we will get rid of this VIRUS.

I personally miss my students. I can't wait to be back at school, the noise, the laughs and the exchanges with my students. They are definitely part of my life..

Fortunately, Smash has allowed my students to continue studying at home. My students are busy, they continue to practice Spanish with enough variety and with very interesting activities. They are busier and have less time to worry about the current situation.

With Smash, each student works at their own pace and whenever they want. I can easily follow their progress. They do oral and written comprehension activities, writing, interviewing, and games. Basically, with Smash, they learn while having fun.

Good luck and be well take care of you students!

Témoignage complet dans sa langue d’origine · Anglais

Smash is a very user-friendly tool for both teachers and students. It comes with a variety of activities, games, exams and much more; in fact, students are able to develop all skills quite well.

Smash allows me to assig work in class or for home, it also allows me to closely follow-up my students’ work. And because the progress and the results of the students will be automatically recorded, it saves me a lot of time.

My students love to learning, using and most importantly playing the Smash Game !

Témoignage complet dans sa langue d’origine · Anglais

I have been a Spanish teacher for over 20 years and I've been using Smash Spanish learning software for more than 7 years. This software comes with a lot of content; you can find all sort of activities for the classroom, for homework, quizzes, exams and much more. Smash covers every language learning skill, more specifically, written and oral comprehension as well as written and oral expression.

One thing I particularly thing I love about Smash is the excellent user support and service. The designer always works to improve his product and this by always listening to the teachers and students.

Personally, and particularly for this situation where students are learning from home, I would definitely recommend any Smash software to any Spanish teacher.

Témoignage complet dans sa langue d’origine · Anglais

My name is Silvia Rodriguez. I am a Spanish teacher at a high school in Montreal, Canada. I started using the interactive SMASH Spanish program last year and I immediately saw all the benefits of using it.

I like all the different approaches for learning each subject and because it is dynamic, the learning is inevitable while students are completing the activities. I like that each student can complete the activities at their own pace, without rushing.

The fact that students can access this program from anywhere and any device is a great advantage. Also, the way the curriculum is made connects the previous subjects to the new learning allowing the students to apply and review their previously acquired knowledge.

While using this program we have covered much more material than in previous years. I believe that learning through the SMASH is a fantastic way for students to learn this beautiful language.

Témoignage complet dans sa langue d’origine · Anglais

I loved being able to provide Smash activities to my students weekly. There is a variety of activities reinforcing vocabulary and language conventions. I really enjoyed the interviews and being able to listen to my students’ responses and just being able to hear their voices during our distance learning and time apart. I liked the way there were individual comment boxes for each response, so that I could directly comment on individual responses. I really appreciated the possibility to provide my students with a more accurate grade. The support Smash provides is excellent. Anytime, I had a question, there was a response in a short period of time. Smash is an online tool that Is easily navigated for both teachers and students. I had requests from students to provide them with more Smash activities. I had students that committed a great deal of time completing Smash activities. I definitely would use Smash in my classroom as well as an extra way to reinforce vocabulary and language conventions at home or if we have distance learning in September as well.

I am so grateful to Smash. Thank you so much for allowing us the opportunity to use your program at no charge. It truly made my teaching experience during our distance learning much easier.

Témoignage complet dans sa langue d’origine · Anglais

My students really enjoyed the interactive games and activities offered on Smash. This program is easy to use and the customer service and tech support made the transition to online learning easy.

Thank you Smash! You were a big help and were very helpful during what was a very stressful experience!

Témoignage complet dans sa langue d’origine · Anglais

I am so grateful for all of Smash help this year and for kindly allowing our school to use SMASH!

I have really enjoyed the program and so have my students! It is a very fun way for students to practice their French skills without them feeling like they are doing work’. I also really like how some activities allow me to hear the students speaking French when they record themselves. With the busyness at homes during the pandemic my students and their families appreciated how they could work on their French at any time of convenience to them. I would definitely recommend SMASH to other teachers and would love to use the program in the future!

Témoignage complet dans sa langue d’origine · Anglais

During the remote learning period, while the Smash program was offered to core French students at St Gregory, I was very happy to have the opportunity to explore the potential of this program. Students who logged on enjoyed the speech and scenario options (I see an opportunity for in-class skits using the scenarios provided as templates!) As a teacher, I am excited to master the exam, time and grade tracking sections to help in maximizing the learning potential for students. The potential for utilizing Smash in a flipped classroom setting is boundless, allowing for students to practice concepts first introduced in the classroom.

I would be negligent if I did not mention the incredible support provided the team, in responding to concerns and in running many introductory workshops to assist us in the implementation of Smash:)

I am hopeful that Smash will be an instrumental component of the Core French Program this coming school year!

Témoignage complet dans sa langue d’origine · Anglais

Both my FSL students (Grades One - Five), and myself, have enjoyed and benefited from the opportunities to participate in the FSL SMASH education learning website. The students progressed very well through the learning categories, and from a teacher's perspective, this was an excellent way to continue the development of oral communication, listening, read and writing skills. The microphone is an excellent feature. Grading and feedback is well organized. The Smash team is hugely helpful and accessible to respond to questions.

The program is suitable for students from Grades Three and up - perhaps at some time there could be curriculum content better suited to younger, and first year FSL learners, especially the reading and writing strands. I am hoping that our school board will continue with SMASH on a permanent basis. It would work very well as a companion to in-class learning.