ESL Podcasting

Using podcasting for teaching can be a very beneficial tool for learners. At eslpod.com, many podcasts are uploaded daily to help people understand concepts in English. In this particular episode, the topics of Eleanor Roosevelt, Renaissance fairs, admit versus confess, mix versus blend and chick flicks are covered. If i were to give a lesson on teaching about historical figures while introducing some new vocabulary and/or phrases, this is a great episode to do it. My students would be able to take this lesson on the go and play it over and over if there were some confusion. The author does a great job speaking clear and slow enough for any one to understand. He also gives definitions for more of the difficult terms used in the podcast. Lot's of terms and idioms are also addressed here so it gives the listener a lot of new things to comprehend.

ePals

The ePals program is a great way to incorporate technology in the classroom. It is designed for students and teachers who are more comfortable using technology with instruction. ePals uses digital content designed for self-directed learning and global sharing. Through global sharing, students and teachers can engage in relevant issues while learning, motivating each other, building self confidence and enhancing skills necessary for the future. ePals can help benefit teachers by using technology effectively in classrooms, developing curriculums and helping them professionally. ePals stresses effective learning, global collaboration, safety and security, and a foundation to provide life long learning. ESL wise, this benefits me as well as my students because it allows for social networking around the world. For example- A high school student studying Spanish, might use ePals to connect to a student studying English in Spain. These type of connections can benefit students as well as teachers making language learning more efficient, fun and social.

ePals products are also great for the classroom. They offer Learning Space, Global Community, School Mail and in2Books. Learning Space is a safe virtual workspace for k-12 students where communication and collaboration are emphasized. The Global Community allows the same thing except you can connect world wide with other classrooms and students to share and obtain knowledge. School mail is a great way to keep emails strictly for the classroom. in2Books is a curriculum based e-mentoring program designed for 3rd - 5th graders. 

A helpful resource!

Big Huge Labs is a great website to create objects that can be useful in your teaching. It offers several applications you can link together with Flickr that you can use in the classroom. I recently experimented and made flashcards with personal photos. These flashcards are used to talk about holidays and they give a description about them. This helps ESL students as they can see a live picture as well as read about the picture. The picture can help students develop an image in their head when they hear key words in the description. My most recent creation talks about Halloween. Enjoy!

(thought a black cat was appropriate here because of the mention of Hallowen)......maybe not I dunno haha

photo by:  asrusch

Creative Commons Licensing 101

When talking about creative commons licensing, there are several ways to go about doing so. Creative commons  is described as a non-profit that offers an alternative to copyright. Four ways of doing this are as follows- Attribution, Non Commercial, No derivative works, and Share alike. 


Attribution allows others to copy, distribute, display and perform your copyrighted works,(along with derivative works based upon it) but only if you give credit for it.  Non Commercial allows the same things as attribution, but only for non commercial purposes. No derivative works is when you let others copy, distribute, display, and perform only verbatim copies of your work, not derivative works based upon it. Share alike is when you allow others to distribute derivative works only under a license identical to the license that governs your work.


Here's an example of attribution:




photo by: Linda N.

Tweeting for Teachers

     Recently, I read two interesting articles about Twitter in the classroom. One deals with nine great reasons why teachers should tweet (an article by Laura Walker a director of E-learning in the UK), and the other offers tips and advice for using twitter to teach modern foreign languages (brought to you by Joe Dale, a passionate language teacher).

      In the first article, Walker pretty much states that twitter is a great tool especially with those who do not have time, comparing educational systems globally, self reflection, idea workshopping, news updates, professional developing, info searching, communication and staying up to date. Joe Dale gives a run down on how to use twitter and how it is good for professional development. He provides nice videos to help with the tweeting process.

     These articles provided a good insight on how I could use microblogging for my own professional development. Twitter is great for accessing a wealth of resources instantly. Ideas, opinions and links can all by found from global professionals with a single click. It is also great for sharing ideas and talking about techniques to improve your teaching daily. What's great about twitter is that you can receive constant feedback from anyone around the world, within seconds if needed. Twitter is also a great way to stay current with news, healthy debating and just communication in general. It is easy to search for topics or people that might interest you in your field. This is good for professional development because you an contact those who can give you good advice or search for information that will improve your educational and teaching mindset.

     Overall, if you like to stay up to date and enjoy technology, I highly recommend microblogging or twitter to help you in professional development. It is a great way to stay connected to a network of great minds, countless amounts of information and topics about almost anything.

An interesting find!

I recently stumbled across a blog post that talked about Educators and their use of twitter. I found this interesting because it shows how social networking and technology is increasing through the educational world. More educators are using it and it seems to be vastly increasing daily.

A useful forum!

I recently joined a group called Classroom 2.0.  This group is useful in terms of helping with ways to become a better teacher and learner in the classroom through social media in education. This group provides numerous links to other websites as well as a forum for peer help. Lots of information is shared on this website between educators. Ideas and knowledge are shared with a variety of topics regarding almost anything you can think of when dealing with social media in the classroom. This is indeed helpful as I can get many opinions and suggestions if I need help while experimenting with technology in the classroom setting.

A learner is like......

     While reading an article on connectivism and watching a video on the impact of social software on learning, I wasn't quite sure how to describe a learner. So, I took a break and watched some TV. My favorite movie so happened to be on- Forrest Gump. The line "life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get" immediately grabbed my attention. This is when I thought, "You know? A learner today is like a box of chocolates, because you never know what you are going to get from a learner."
     Learners today have so many options, resources and ways of obtaining knowledge. With those resources, comes a vast amount of opinions and thoughts. As a teacher, you truly never know what you are going to get from a learner. They can be misinformed one day, then come in the next and know everything about a topic. The article on connectivism stated that, "learning rests in the diversity of opinions, its a process of connecting information sources, and it may reside on non human sources." Connectivism also focuses on currency and up to date information. I believe this coincides with what learners are like today. They obtain info in a manner very differently then back in the "old days". Back in the day, there was really only one way to obtain information and that was through books. Now, you never know what you are going to get from a learner because through technology, there are so many ways of obtaining information. Through computers, internet, networking- there are a plethora of ways to obtain information.
     A great example from the youtube video was when he stated that "a programmer does not live in isolation, he needs to connect with other programmers so he/she can stay current". The video also describes blogs and social networking as a positive impact on learning. Learners use social networking sites these days almost everyday. They are constantly sharing knowledge with each other and all over the world to stay current on info. You truly never know where a learner gets their information these days whether it be from a website, book or social networking. Learners are unpredictable in their ways of obtaining information and sharing information. They have so many options in doing it these days.
     So when I say a learner is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get from them, internally and externally it is shown daily. From a teacher standpoint, a learner can surprise you with information at any given time. From a student standpoint, you can obtain all the world's knowledge with the touch of a button. Its just up to you to do it; therefore, you never know what you are going to get.

Blog #3

     The social media revolution video as you can see here provides astonishing statistics on the amount of people and time spent on the internet. I was really shocked to see how far social media has come in our generation and the question they presented was "is social media a fad?"
     Personally, I think this video is right on and technology is here to stay for a while. Like other things, maybe it will phase out and be topped by something greater, but I do not see that happening for a very long time. I was shocked by some of the statistics that were shown in the video such as- 96% of millenials have joined social networks, Facebook topping Google for most traffic in the US, 1/8 couples married in the US meet online, and if facebook were a country, it would be third largest in the world. Everyone seems to be joining in on the phenomenon from kids to grandparents and businesses to education institutions. One study that stood out was the fact that students seemed to do better via online then face to face instruction. I feel sooner or later, everything will revolve around the online world. People will work from home more, shopping, books and cds will all be phased out and even stores and businesses will just do everything online.
      Social media is a scary thing, but if used the right way,  I believe it to be very beneficial to society. How about you? Do you think social media is a fad?

Blog #2 Internet Safety for students when blogging

    Students should be aware of the many dangers on the internet when starting a blog or even when interacting with others. Although the internet and blogging can be very fun, it can also lead to unfortunate situations and reckless behavior. Here are a couple ideas to keep in mind for students when blogging!

1. Keep your information private- some students make the mistake of publishing all of their information. This can lead to identity theft, bad encounters and cyber bullying. Try to use first names or pseudonyms to protect privacy. Keep your passwords private and do not post pictures to strangers.

2. Minimize chatting with strangers- people aren’t always who they say they are on the Internet. Anyone can pose as a “buddy of a buddy.” 


3. Familiarize yourself fully with the website- Sometimes students can get stuck in unwanted situations and not know what to do. Familiarize yourself with help functions or what to do on a website if a situation occurs in which you need help. 


4. Be a good cyber citizen- The Internet is still a place where you should treat people with respect. A good rule of thumb: If you wouldn’t do something in real life, you shouldn’t do it online. 

5. Have fun! Just be careful what you post- Some personal beliefs and thoughts can be offensive to others. Be prepared to face some criticism and backlash if you decide to talk about debatable issues!

These tips should help make a student blogger's life a little bit easier on the net.

Blog #1 Blogging for my own professional development

     I find blogging to be very beneficial for developing professionally. The internet is a gateway to a plethora of information and resources. Blogging only adds to that. Whether it is starting your blog, commenting or reading someone else' blog, ideas and information can be swapped in an informal way, creating a casual atmosphere and friendly environment while doing so.
    The book supports many ideas in which a blogger can develop professionally. In chapter 2, it talks about the idea of reflecting on teaching experiences. This is a great way to get feedback and share ideas with others to improve teaching in the classroom. You can share your experiences with teachers from all over the world and develop relationships and new ways to enhance your skills.
    Other educators might also blog about teacher training experiences, workshops and tips. By subscribing to their blogs, that can also help in professional development. This can provide insights from other classrooms around the world and helpful ways to deal with problems in the classroom.
    Blogging can also help develop better relationships with students. With a better relationship, teachers are able to educate in a more comfortable manner while children are more active and respectful in the classroom. By blogging about specific issues or just providing updated information on classes, students can keep up to date on materials even if they forget to bring things home. Blogging can also be a great way to keep parents up to date on their children's progress in school.
    The use of blogging can really help professional development in so many ways. It allows you to prepare for future experiences while improving your present and past experiences.