tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34192625765224769712024-03-18T04:03:38.712+01:00Sharing LearningTeaching English with technology.Inma Alcázarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05257453012377027410noreply@blogger.comBlogger65125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3419262576522476971.post-24787104181099961712014-05-16T11:06:00.000+02:002014-06-14T11:14:04.632+02:00Design Your Own Music Magazine<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbf3CKUt2O52j3HzRlwhQJMzB53m1h1lY-7nrS2YiJd9UfpKRkOubW_bMuG1jWgt3x8hfXT7S1j8m_sD_u0t43ihrZtmc5wbLoIISyxesb2lwZ0dwa-My0xZ-NlAlaVl_cxQvm80EjG9ia/s1600/MUSIC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbf3CKUt2O52j3HzRlwhQJMzB53m1h1lY-7nrS2YiJd9UfpKRkOubW_bMuG1jWgt3x8hfXT7S1j8m_sD_u0t43ihrZtmc5wbLoIISyxesb2lwZ0dwa-My0xZ-NlAlaVl_cxQvm80EjG9ia/s1600/MUSIC.jpg" height="156" width="200" /></a></div>
<b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">INTRODUCTION</span></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In groups
of three you are going to work on the project. Remember you must include
vocabulary related to music. To create our magazine you will use the tool <b><a href="http://glossi.com/">Glossi</a></b>.
Log in through Facebook with the email account and password I gave you.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://pixabay.com/en/speakers-eq-equaliser-align-filter-258175/">Picture by Stux</a>.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Your
magazine is going to be divided into <span style="color: #990000;">five different sections</span>:</b><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1. COVER
PAGE<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2. MUSIC
QUESTIONNAIRE<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3. TOP FIVE<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">4.
INTERVIEW<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">5. REVIEW
(include the ones you have already written).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">COVER PAGE</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Your cover
page should have a title (try to be original), a picture and subtitles related
to the articles you are going to include in your magazine. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">MUSIC QUESTIONAIRE</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Write ten
different questions and ask them to your classmates, friends or family. <b>This is an example:<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">VERY OFTEN<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">OFTEN<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">SOMETIMES<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">NEVER<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How often do you
listen to these kinds of music?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">·<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Classical music<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">·<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Pop<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">·<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Pop-rock<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">·<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Funky<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">·<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Rap<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">·<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Heavy metal<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How often do you go
to concerts?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Why do you listen to
music?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">·<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Because it is relaxing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt 7.1pt; text-indent: -7.1pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">·<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Because it helps me to
concentrate when I'm doing homework/ working.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">·<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Because it makes you feel happy.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Write the
results and <b>record the conversations </b>using <b><a href="https://soundcloud.com/">Soundcloud</a></b>.
Ask some follow-up questions. For example, if the question is <i>Have you ever been to a concert?</i> You
should ask other questions to get more information, like <i>What group played? When was it? Did you enjoy it?<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">TOP FIVE</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A cool
music magazine always includes a Top 5 section which is, basically, the five
favourite tracks people have chosen, in this way your Music Magazine should
also have one. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In your Top
5, you will have to select 5 songs you like and explain to the rest of the
class:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1. Who is
the band playing them?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2. What is
the song about?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3. Why have
you chosen this song?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You can
play the songs in class (up to a minute) so that we can discuss what the song
is about.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">INTERVIEW</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For the
interview, you will have to choose an artist from the ones that you will talk
about in your magazine. Write the questions and <b>record the interview</b> using <b><a href="https://soundcloud.com/">Soundcloud</a>.</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Sample
questions:</u><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">·<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> - </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Who
do you usually dedicate your songs to?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">·<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> - </span></span><!--[endif]--></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Why
have you decided to call your album “…”?</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;">r <span style="color: #990000;"><b>ALBUM</b> <b>REVIEW</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b> </b>You have already done this part, so you just need to copy it into your magazine.</span></div>
Inma Alcázarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05257453012377027410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3419262576522476971.post-32588227261550687772014-04-07T10:55:00.000+02:002014-06-14T11:06:50.631+02:00An Extreme Map Project<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtORYjygnXNFWzkQ3tlEqIpvYRC6946f79ai6EvviZjYJULeBhAqgDEay4S_sUdmDitan4F2JtsFm0PlNDauzroA84OP4qnHlZCZwsiH4C4jANvDonon10SO_5X3oXMO1MFcXXM776evdW/s1600/Earth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtORYjygnXNFWzkQ3tlEqIpvYRC6946f79ai6EvviZjYJULeBhAqgDEay4S_sUdmDitan4F2JtsFm0PlNDauzroA84OP4qnHlZCZwsiH4C4jANvDonon10SO_5X3oXMO1MFcXXM776evdW/s1600/Earth.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://pixabay.com/en/globe-earth-magnifying-glass-hand-71443/">Picture by Gerald</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We are going to create an extreme map of a
country you choose<b>. </b>First of all,
complete the following information:</span></div>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; text-align: justify;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="background: #4F81BD; border-bottom: solid windowtext 2.25pt; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: solid windowtext 2.25pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 216.1pt;" valign="top" width="288"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #4F81BD; border-bottom: solid windowtext 2.25pt; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: solid windowtext 2.25pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 216.1pt;" valign="top" width="288"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">NAME OF THE COUNTRY<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background: #4F81BD; border: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 216.1pt;" valign="top" width="288"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Highest mountain<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #D8D8D8; border: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 216.1pt;" valign="top" width="288"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background: #4F81BD; border: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 216.1pt;" valign="top" width="288"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Longest river<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 216.1pt;" valign="top" width="288"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background: #4F81BD; border: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 216.1pt;" valign="top" width="288"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Largest lake<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #D8D8D8; border: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 216.1pt;" valign="top" width="288"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background: #4F81BD; border: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 216.1pt;" valign="top" width="288"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Biggest city<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 216.1pt;" valign="top" width="288"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background: #4F81BD; border: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 216.1pt;" valign="top" width="288"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Most important city<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #D8D8D8; border: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 216.1pt;" valign="top" width="288"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background: #4F81BD; border: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 216.1pt;" valign="top" width="288"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Most interesting extreme sports<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 216.1pt;" valign="top" width="288"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background: #4F81BD; border-bottom: solid windowtext 2.25pt; border: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 216.1pt;" valign="top" width="288"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Best festival<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #D8D8D8; border-bottom: solid windowtext 2.25pt; border: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 216.1pt;" valign="top" width="288"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">- </span></span><span lang="EN-US">USE
<b><a href="http://edu.glogster.com/?ref=com">Glogster</a></b>, <a href="http://prezi.com/business/?gclid=CNTwm6r--L4CFaXHtAodrBUAcA"><b>Prezi</b> </a>or <b>Power Point</b> to create your poster. This tool allows you to include videos, audio,
pictures and text. Log in with the user and password I gave you. Although I
explained in class how to use it, here you are a <a href="http://issuu.com/dolmos/docs/glogster">tutorial</a> for Glogster as well.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"> - - </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;">FIND photos / pictures on <a href="http://search.creativecommons.org/">http://search.creativecommons.org/</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">·</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">·</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">Photo 1</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">·<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US">Find a map of your country<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 53.5pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo3; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">·<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US">Introduce
your country: name, capital, number of inhabitants, number of regions, main
cities.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">Photo 2</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 35.45pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -14.15pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">·<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US">Find two pictures of that country first inhabitants<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 53.5pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo3; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">·<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Write
a short description. Who were them? Where did they live? What did they do?<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">Photo 3</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 35.45pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo3; text-align: justify; text-indent: -14.15pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">·<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US">Find at least three pictures of its landscape<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 53.4pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo4; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">-<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Highest
mountain. What’s its name? Where is it? How high is it? <b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 53.4pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo4; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">-<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Longest
river. What’s its name? How long is it? <b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 53.4pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo4; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">-<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Largest
lake. What’s its name? Where is it? How big is it?<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-US"> </span></b><span lang="EN-US">What other features can you mention?
Any volcanoes? Rainforests? Beaches?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">Photo 4</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo5; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">·<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><b><span lang="EN-US">Find two photos representing some of
the extreme sports you can do in the capital city.<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 53.4pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo4; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">-<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">What
extreme sports can you do there? What do they consist of?</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 53.4pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo4; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<b style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 53.4pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo4; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<b style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">FIVE ‘MUST-DO’S’ IN
THAT COUNTRY</span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">FIVE DO’S AND DON’TS
FOR EXTREME SPORTS</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
<b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Your poster <u>must include vocabulary related to
the topic and different grammar points:</u><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 53.4pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo4; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">-<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Present
simple<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 53.4pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo4; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">-<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Can<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 53.4pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo4; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">-<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Comparatives
and superlatives<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 53.4pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo4; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">-<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Past
simple<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 53.4pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo4; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">-<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Must<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 53.4pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo4; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">-<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Have
to or don’t have to<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 53.4pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo4; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">-<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Should
or shouldn’t<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 53.4pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo4; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">ORAL PRESENTATION IN
CLASS</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
<b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span></span></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once
you have finished, you will do an oral presentation in class. These are the <b><a href="http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson1076/rubric.pdf">criteria</a></b>
that we will use to evaluate your work. I will do it, you will evaluate
yourself and you will evaluate your partner’s work as well.</span></span></div>
Inma Alcázarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05257453012377027410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3419262576522476971.post-22976104724826671592014-02-03T10:32:00.000+01:002014-02-03T10:32:37.920+01:00Creating our own restaurant<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://chensien1.wix.com/international"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgumSug2trnH35gzCCln_C1f8-hnEsZwTZhjbHlvEl9oRZ_o3Onuiuazlqn38EG-0hghJfnfI_wtw-I5lV3a5ds9kZVnqIhbA0IpCOCdBXKKgC1J_en9d6MH7HvFuMpN6rdxrTzZFFJWmCw/s1600/international+restaurant+%2528blog%2529.jpg" height="245" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h2>
<a href="http://chensien1.wix.com/international">Internation Restaurant</a></h2>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">I have got a small pre-teens group this year and I'm finding very difficult to engage them in class. They want to play games all the time and don't like writing, so when I saw them working and enjoying this project, I couldn't believe my eyes!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: #990000;">Step 1 – Restaurant selection</span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;">What
KIND OF RESTAURANT is it going to be? A Chinese restaurant? A Mexican
restaurant? An English restaurant?</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;"> Now
you need a NAME and a LOGO for it so that people remember it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: #990000;">Step 2 – Create your own menu.</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;">Your
menu must include:</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<br />
<ul>
<li><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"><b>
</b></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;"><b>Starters</b></span></li>
<li><b style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Main
courses</span></b></li>
<li><b style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Side
dishes</span></b></li>
<li><b style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Drinks</span></b></li>
<li><b style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;"><b>Desserts</b></span></li>
</ul>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">-<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Brainstorm
different dishes that you are going to include in your menu.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">-<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Include
a short description of what each meal is (e.g. FISH AND CHIPS – an English meal
made from fried potatoes and fish).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">-<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Include
the price in pounds or dollars.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">
</span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: #990000;">Step 3 – Create a radio ad.</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now that you have created your own menu, it’s time to
advertise your restaurant to encourage customers to come in and enjoy a
delicious meal there.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<iframe frameborder="no" height="150" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/132408912&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&visual=true" width="100%"></iframe> <span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><b> </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Step 4 – Dining Out. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Create a short dialogue and act out a conversation in the restaurant. Two of you will be the customers and one will be the waiter or waitress.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><iframe frameborder="no" height="150" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/132409637&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&visual=true" width="100%"></iframe></div>
Inma Alcázarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05257453012377027410noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3419262576522476971.post-44794532190279908362014-01-26T20:58:00.001+01:002014-01-26T20:58:57.750+01:00EFL Chefs - A new TV cookery show<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZiGSTkgqaCp1p4joUhuqDgWN0CE01iRTzMS2skCtb0WMJJjDR7YzyMcXClwCdLd2mBvcn-hUMUNZQull_1yh6ZyHtJUOMsCTwxqLEjHYkRt8UAaCR1XNosc0vrAE_uPHBdauFZeyJTqsZ/s1600/cookies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZiGSTkgqaCp1p4joUhuqDgWN0CE01iRTzMS2skCtb0WMJJjDR7YzyMcXClwCdLd2mBvcn-hUMUNZQull_1yh6ZyHtJUOMsCTwxqLEjHYkRt8UAaCR1XNosc0vrAE_uPHBdauFZeyJTqsZ/s1600/cookies.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture taken by Inma Alcázar</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">After such a long time without posting anything in the blog... I'm back! Did you miss me? I hope so. After very busy months full of exciting things to do, this blog post had been left behind in a folder somewhere. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This was a lesson I and my students enjoyed a lot since it was about food, restaurants and cooking. Thinking on new ways for my students to learn new vocabulary, and not just that, but also remember it and put it into practice, I came up with this simple idea - <span style="color: #990000;"><b>EFL Chefs - A New Cookery Show.</b></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I asked them to think of a dish or dessert that they enjoy cooking, the ingredients they would need to cook that dish or dessert and imagine they are teaching others to cook that recipe in a new TV programme. This was the result. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/0lTRsW9TBG4" width="459"></iframe>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/J5_GtHQyVBo" width="459"></iframe>Inma Alcázarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05257453012377027410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3419262576522476971.post-35422934985498826632013-09-09T12:00:00.000+02:002013-09-13T15:34:11.187+02:00New School Year - Getting to Know You Activities for the First Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIh8W9dPTnVCiRnHAdPrdPeSMuCZGj4gUj06in09R0yt7v3N-7NP9wgRdmBhldtsnnsrR0EZNHqNW2DsSy8yt_T46HlEHObZkZ0D8uO9UHErmV-c8AVY_IUiqmzuJcbe20-Mr51b15PmXK/s1600/September+back+to+school.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIh8W9dPTnVCiRnHAdPrdPeSMuCZGj4gUj06in09R0yt7v3N-7NP9wgRdmBhldtsnnsrR0EZNHqNW2DsSy8yt_T46HlEHObZkZ0D8uO9UHErmV-c8AVY_IUiqmzuJcbe20-Mr51b15PmXK/s320/September+back+to+school.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">September has arrived again! The summer is almost over in this part of the world and many teachers start their classes with new students. It is time to build new relationships, a relationship of confidence between our students and us, but between students and their peers as well.
</span><br />
<blockquote>
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">No significant learning can occur without a significant relationship. James Comer.</span></b></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After many years of teaching English to students of different ages and levels, I must admit that I still get butterflies in my stomach on the first day of class. However, thanks to all those generous teachers who are online and share their successful activities on their blogs or on Twitter, I have learnt a lot on how to create an atmosphere of trust, respect and learning from day one. Now I would like to share some of those activities with you:
</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/12SmTlsoAZ9stbj1ccV0iOnZIX6jCRN3zC_xtMC6kXkA/present#slide=id.i0">36 Interesting Ways to Get to Know Your New Class</a> </b>Different ideas and tips provided by teachers.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><a href="http://shellyterrell.com/2012/08/03/10-getting-to-know-you-activities-for-teens-adults/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TeacherBootCamp+%28TeacherBootCamp%29">10+ Getting to Know You Activities for Teens and Adults</a> </b>and <b><a href="http://teacherrebootcamp.com/2012/08/20/10-getting-to-know-you-activities-for-kids/">10+Getting to Know You Activities for Kids</a></b> by <a href="https://twitter.com/ShellTerrell" style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><b>Shelly Terrell</b></span></a>. In her blog post you will find different kinds of activities to build relationships and a community of trust.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.theteacherjames.com/2011/09/getting-to-know-you-activity.html#comment-form"><b>A Personality Test</b></a> is a lesson plan created by<b> <a href="https://twitter.com/theteacherjames"><span style="color: #38761d;">James Taylor</span></a></b>. I think it is an original and useful idea mainly for Intermediate level groups, but it can also be adapted for lower levels.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><a href="http://kalinago.blogspot.com.es/2009/10/powerpointing-me.html">Powerpointing Me</a></b> is a lesson plan that I like a lot. It has been created by one of the most active teachers on the net, <span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="https://twitter.com/kalinagoenglish"><span style="color: #38761d;"><b>Karenne Sylvester</b></span></a>. </span>It includes different kinds of activities so that your students know you better and you know them as well using different tools or just without technology.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://sandymillin.wordpress.com/2013/05/27/a-map-of-me/"><b>A Map of Me</b></a> is an activity that <b><span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="https://twitter.com/sandymillin">Sandy Millin</a></span></b> shared in her blog some months ago. I tried with my adults students last month and it worked perfectly. At the beginning they were a little bit puzzled because it was not an activity they were used to, but after a while they started to enjoy it because it is quite interactive and useful to review question formation.</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I hope you find these ideas useful for your first day. If you would like to share your own ones with other teachers, don't forget to leave a comment!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
Inma Alcázarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05257453012377027410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3419262576522476971.post-76723246366211802902013-09-03T09:00:00.000+02:002013-09-03T10:41:50.692+02:00Useful websites for students - A2+ level<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In August, I was very lucky to teach an intensive English course for adults at the <b><a href="http://www.centreidiomes.es/">Centre d'Idiomes de la Universitat de València</a></b>. Apart from the traditional resources usually used in class, I encouraged my students to take advantage of the Internet and practise English outside of the classroom using free online resources. I think that an important part of the learning process is to give students the tools that they need to continue learning independently.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is <b><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fCIKnllNgmq_gGNOnlwwTWKiPO0q8ml0SIN6z5_J06A/edit?usp=sharing">the list</a></b> that I shared with them:</span><br />
<br />
<iframe src="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fCIKnllNgmq_gGNOnlwwTWKiPO0q8ml0SIN6z5_J06A/pub?embedded=true" style="width:600px; height:900px;" frameborder="0"></iframe>
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;">"If you could add any useful online resource to the list, what would it be? Why?"</span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>Inma Alcázarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05257453012377027410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3419262576522476971.post-66599671149610392522013-06-19T12:30:00.000+02:002013-09-19T00:42:53.795+02:00Useful Websites for PET Exam Preparation<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXGfuBLJiIUMkQPO7-5cae43saeBuVlc25EOAWTLomJJA6l8zOMgsGIW9gI65ed0Gks_lKoc8qxwcigSuHhltb_ihZ-_5jWYhbV51GOJgIK9sBA2pV0GV55_j1ixHWgR9iCge3ETQ8AqEH/s1600/CAMBRIDGE+ENGLISH+PRELIMINARY.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="82" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXGfuBLJiIUMkQPO7-5cae43saeBuVlc25EOAWTLomJJA6l8zOMgsGIW9gI65ed0Gks_lKoc8qxwcigSuHhltb_ihZ-_5jWYhbV51GOJgIK9sBA2pV0GV55_j1ixHWgR9iCge3ETQ8AqEH/s400/CAMBRIDGE+ENGLISH+PRELIMINARY.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These are all the websites I have
found to help my students preparing for the Preliminary English test. Some of
them do not include PET tasks, but I have decided to include them because I
think they can be useful to improve the different language skills.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">All the links worked the last time
I checked them, but please let me know if any of them are broken. Equally, if
you know other interesting sites which could be added to the list, please leave a comment or write me an email.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You can <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1W0wmola7wBHXcsw2mDLVJMS9U5aY3OXzhgmzBH9a3KY/edit?usp=sharing">access the document or download it</a>:</span></span><iframe frameborder="0" src="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1W0wmola7wBHXcsw2mDLVJMS9U5aY3OXzhgmzBH9a3KY/pub?embedded=true" style="height: 900px; width: 600px;"></iframe>
Inma Alcázarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05257453012377027410noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3419262576522476971.post-84089230061216972142013-06-14T12:31:00.000+02:002013-09-19T00:20:15.193+02:00Adapting a coursebook. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In most subjects and in any grade level, teachers and, therefore, students are expected to use a textbook as a resource in their classes. However, we have to bear in mind that although those textbooks are produced by experts, experienced teachers and teacher trainers, they are created to be used by teachers who work in different teaching contexts, in different countries and with students who are in the same class, but whose level is not exactly the same. Therefore we need some things that the book doesn't provide:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">CREATIVITY </span>to adapt the textbook in order to address our students' learning needs.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">SELECTION CRITERION</span> to choose just those activities which can be useful, meaningful and suit your students' needs.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">SUPPLEMENT </span>the textbook with other kinds of activities which could work for our students and can help them develop their speaking skills and fluency.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">ADAPT </span>the activities so that they are interesting, motivating and meaningful for our students.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is an example of an activity I adapted from the coursebook for one of my one-to-one classes with my 9 years old student. I was supposed to create a short theatre play with a group of students, but it was just her and me in the classroom. So, I decided that she could create a very short piece on her own including some of the new vocabulary and other expressions she had learn during the school year. She wrote the script and then we recorded it. This is the result. I hope you like it!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
<a href="http://goanimate.com/videos/0iRfwAyOEKu4?utm_source=embed" target="_blank">The search (Part 1)</a> by <a href="http://goanimate.com/user/0YZEVBCtUd5A" target="_blank">inmaav</a> on <a href="http://goanimate.com/?utm_source=embed" target="_blank">GoAnimate</a></span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://goanimate.com/videos/0FumSo5p2EuI?utm_source=embed&uid=0YZEVBCtUd5A" target="_blank">The Search (Second Part)</a> by <a href="http://goanimate.com/user/0YZEVBCtUd5A" target="_blank">urpillay</a> on <a href="http://goanimate.com/?utm_source=embed" target="_blank">GoAnimate</a><br />
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="258" scrolling="no" src="http://goanimate.com/player/embed/0FumSo5p2EuI" width="400"></iframe><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you are interested in discovering other possibilities to adapt your textbook I recommend you to watch <a href="https://twitter.com/ShellTerrell"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">Shelly Terrell</span></a>'s presentation on the topic:</span><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="421" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" mozallowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" src="http://es.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/12039908?rel=0" style="border-width: 1px 1px 0; border: 1px solid #CCC; margin-bottom: 5px;" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="512"> </iframe> <br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 5px;">
<strong> <a href="http://es.slideshare.net/ShellTerrell/10-ways-to-adapt-a-textbook" target="_blank" title="10+ Ways to Adapt a Textbook">10+ Ways to Adapt a Textbook</a> </strong> from <strong><a href="http://es.slideshare.net/ShellTerrell" target="_blank">Shelly Terrell</a></strong> </div>
Inma Alcázarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05257453012377027410noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3419262576522476971.post-36698305520667632862013-05-17T16:00:00.000+02:002013-05-17T18:22:11.142+02:00The Sunshine Award<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This morning I could hardly wake up, I felt exhausted, it was cloudy in the city of light and just when I switched on my computer to follow the latest news, I read that our "dear" Spanish Education Minister has finally decided to impose an education reform, LOMCE, which has been widely rejected. So, the Sunshine Award came at the perfect time from a talented teacher and blogger I look up to very much for all the effort, energy and heart she puts in everything she does! She and her students write on their blog <b><a href="http://stopandlearnenglish.blogspot.com.es/">Stop and Learn English</a></b> where they create and share their everyday learning and practices.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thank you very much, <b><a href="https://twitter.com/mjgsm">Mª Jesus</a></b>, for bringing me some extra sunshine today and thinking of my blog for this award! You definitely made my day! Who doesn't like a little recognition now and then?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Sunshine Award is an award given to bloggers by other bloggers. It is given to ...</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Bloggers who are positive and creatively inspire others in the blogosphere.</b></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now do you understand how honoured I feel?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Well, as with other similar awards, there are certain rules to keep to:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Rule 1.</span></span><span style="color: purple;"> </span></span><span style="color: #333333;"> Post the</span><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #333333; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> Sunshine</span><span style="color: #333333;"> Award logo on your blog.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Rule 2</span>.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Nominate 5 to 10 other wonderful bloggers.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Rule 3.</span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Announce their nomination in their blog’s comment section.</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Rule 4 </span>.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mention links back to their blog, including a link to the person who nominated you.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Rule 5.</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #ff6600; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Answer seven questions about yourself. This is designed to help people get to know you better.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;"><b>And my nominees are ....</b> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: large;">(Drums roll sound):</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333;"><b><a href="http://dreaminenglish.blogspot.com.es/">Think and Dream in English</a> </b>by<b> <a href="https://twitter.com/englishteach8">Pilar Pamblanco</a> </b>for the great amount of ESL resources and interesting news on education and technology she shares on her blog. Thanks for all your support and help on Twitter as well!</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://efllecturer.blogspot.com.es/">EFL SMARTBlog</a></b> by <b><a href="https://twitter.com/MainwoodDavid">David Mainwood</a> </b>also deserves this awards because he always shares useful lesson plans which include interesting resources from the net.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://www.citafgsr.org/educacion/myfirstblog/">My First Blog</a></b> by <b><a href="https://twitter.com/marizaballos">María Luisa Sánchez</a></b> for her great work on encouraging little children and parents to learn English together in a fun way using ICT and other resources to develop creativity.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://moviesegmentstoassessgrammargoals.blogspot.com.es/"><b>Movie Segments to Assess Grammar Goals</b></a> by <b><a href="https://twitter.com/claudiothomas1">Claudio Azevedo</a> </b>for his contribution to make language learning through films more meaningful and sharing activities which work in class for him.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://collablogatorium.blogspot.com.es/">Collablogatorium</a></b> by <a href="https://twitter.com/carlaarena" style="font-weight: bold;">Carla Arena</a>, always ready to share tips, her thoughts and reflections on EFL learning, teaching practice and technology integration.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://lenguetazosliterarios.blogspot.com.es/">Lengüetazos literarios</a></b> by <a href="https://twitter.com/SilviaGongo"><b>Silvia Gongo</b></a>, <a href="http://unatizaytu.blogspot.com.es/"><b>Una tiza y tú</b></a> by <b><a href="https://twitter.com/flosflorum">Carmen González</a></b>, <b><a href="http://educadoreshoy.wordpress.com/">Educadores Hoy</a></b> by <b><a href="https://twitter.com/Isabel_Ruiz">Isabel Ruiz</a> </b>and<b> <a href="http://canadablanchinfantil.blogspot.com.es/">Canada Blanch</a> </b>by <b><a href="https://twitter.com/londones">Mercedes Ruiz</a> (in Spanish), </b>teachers from different subjects, from different educative levels, from different regions, joined for their passion to share, collaborate and change education and the way students learn. Thank you very much for teaching me so much! That would had been impossible without Twitter!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://educacion-virtualidad.blogspot.com.es/">Educación y Virtualidad</a></b> by <a href="https://twitter.com/cristobalsuarez"><b>Cristóbal Suárez</b></a> <b>(in Spanish)</b> for your thought-provoking posts on education, collaboration, open learning and ICT. Thank you very much for encouraging me to start blogging when I thought I didn't have anything interesting to share. I have learnt so much from you!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Some things about me...</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b style="color: #0b5394;">1. Favourite colour. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I love purple! For me it's the colour of dreams, it makes me feel calm and usually is one of the best colours on me. </span><br />
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<b style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2. Favourite animal. </b><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I can't choose one. Can you? So... cats, dogs, horses and dolphins and mythically speaking, dragons.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><b style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3. Favourite number. </b><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Maybe 8?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b style="color: #0b5394;">4. Favourite non-alcoholic drink. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That's easy! A lovely cup of coffee to wake me up in the morning or enjoy with friends somewhere.</span><br />
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<b style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">5. Favourite alcoholic drink. </b><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm not a great fan of alcoholic drinks, but it depends on the moment. I always enjoy a glass of wine with some delicious "pintxos" and friends. However, if I go to a party (something I don't do lately... I'm getting old!), I prefer a mojito, a daiquiri cocktail or a chilled champagne sorbet.</span><br />
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<b style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 24px;">6. Facebook or Twitter. </b><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 24px;">Well, definitely, Twitter has had a great impact on my teaching life, on my way of understanding education, of collaborating with others, sharing, learning and be informed. Twitter is the gateway to reflection, discussion, resources, free online chats and webinars. What else? Well, this is just my personal experience. I think the Twitter experience is different for everyone, so look for your own one!</span><br />
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<b style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 24px;">7. My passions. </b><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 24px;">My family and good friends, travelling, dancing salsa, walking along the beach, sunny days, reading and watching films, new experiences and adventures, writing on my blog when possible, cooking, photography, and of course teaching!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 24px;"><br /></span><b style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 24px;">8. Giving or receiving gifts? </b><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Honestly, both of them make me happy and smile. However, something I find a little bit stressful is trying to find a present for someone just because it's a special day (birthday, Christmas day...). Any day is good to give and receive presents, isn't it?</span><br />
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<b style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 24px;">9. Favourite city or country?</b><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is one of the most difficult questions for me to answer. I can't choose just one! As a mentioned before, I love travelling and I always discover something marvellous, surprising in any city or country I visit.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I love London, its modern and historical arquitecture, its museums, its lively atmosphere and cosmopolitan lifestyle; Peru, a country full of surprises. Coast, mountains, desert and jungle, all in one place. I love its food and people as well! Greece, what can I say about Greece? It's an amazing country full of culture, sandy beaches, great food and people.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I wish I could travel to all the places I dream of, and take my family and friends with me!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>10. Favourite book?</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Impossible to choose one, once more! I love reading, it's one of my favourite pastimes. So, some of my favourite books are The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, Animal Farm by George Orwell, Elogio de la madrastra by Mario Vargas Llosa, El túnel by Ernesto Sábato or Cuentos by Julio Ramón Ribeyro. I also love reading and attending poetry readings, and going to the theatre.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Congratulations to all my nominees! Now it's your turn to spread the positive flow and send the sunshine to other fantastic and inspiring bloggers! <span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></div>
Inma Alcázarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05257453012377027410noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3419262576522476971.post-9449026877045854242012-10-02T19:36:00.000+02:002013-06-18T12:13:48.084+02:00Learning to Teach at the British Council<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi_XUuf1Lh6mqPCoM8ElWrd1A2X8gfmg5LSgtyVcTEjJfZlUokRXEuq9flx_qqeApghWbw1u9jijTwMU3eJeZXCwkJCiSbseMqA1fxgIpno02erVTShvWa_w_SjNivj8iR5Ynx7vuk4koG/s1600/british+council+teachers'+conference.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Photo: British Council España" border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi_XUuf1Lh6mqPCoM8ElWrd1A2X8gfmg5LSgtyVcTEjJfZlUokRXEuq9flx_qqeApghWbw1u9jijTwMU3eJeZXCwkJCiSbseMqA1fxgIpno02erVTShvWa_w_SjNivj8iR5Ynx7vuk4koG/s400/british+council+teachers'+conference.jpg" title="Photo: British Council España" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Last Saturday I had the privilege to attend the <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/458553874155168/">5th Annual Teacher's Conference organised by the British Council</a></b>, here in Valencia. There were many young and enthusiastic teachers, but also very experienced ones to learn from.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Being interested in knowing new ways to motivate students, it was a pleasure to listen to <b><span style="color: #073763;">Deborah Bullock</span></b> talking about <b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Projects to Motivate Teenagers</span></b>. Her session was really dynamic. She encouraged teachers to participate and share our views and experiences on working through projects in the English class. We brainstormed some advantages and disadvantages of working on projects, thought of topics which teenagers could be interested in and draft a project idea in small groups.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1EWusQ9u3EDjv4DJ0uidST1x1Uoy5Udc-ciJKCcLjrSc__tdDWHe_pRigN__hzvXRAFo_si1xflPn48PpkEvfxoXAnZLZ11WqdrJV5wXfOo1ADDTDQC0Ko359u4lPZj0ypzu-OgsUBpll/s1600/cuadro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1EWusQ9u3EDjv4DJ0uidST1x1Uoy5Udc-ciJKCcLjrSc__tdDWHe_pRigN__hzvXRAFo_si1xflPn48PpkEvfxoXAnZLZ11WqdrJV5wXfOo1ADDTDQC0Ko359u4lPZj0ypzu-OgsUBpll/s400/cuadro.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These are two of the projects which were successful for Deborah:</span><br />
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<li><b><a href="http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/articles/audio-exchange-project"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Audio Exchange Project</span></a></b></li>
<li><b><a href="http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/articles/video-exchange-project"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Video Exchange Projects</span></a></b></li>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Some interested resources Deborah shared with us:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>BOOKS</b>:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Budden, J. 2009. <b><i><a href="http://www.cup.es/pe/elt/catalogue/subject/project/item2424303/Teen-World-Product-home/?site_locale=es_PE&currentSubjectID=382376&currentProject=2424303">Teen World.</a></i> </b>CUP.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Madylus, O. 2009.<i> <b><a href="http://www.cambridge.org/gb/elt/catalogue/subject/project/item2424301/Film,-TV-and-Music/?site_locale=en_GB&currentSubjectID=382376">Film, TV and music</a></b>. </i>CUP.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Phillips, D; S. Burwood and H. Dunford. 1999. <i><b><a href="http://elt.oup.com/catalogue/items/global/teacher_development/primary_resource_books_for_teachers/9780194371957?cc=global&selLanguage=en">Projects with Young Learners</a></b>. </i>OUP.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Wicks, M. 2000. <b><a href="http://www.cup.es/pe/elt/catalogue/subject/project/item404545/Imaginative-Projects/?site_locale=es_PE">I<i>maginative Projects</i></a></b>. CUP. </span></li>
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">WEBINAR</span></b></div>
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<li><b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://britishcouncil.adobeconnect.com/_a917587435/p5yufy50kkd?launcher=false&fcsContent=true&pbMode=normal">Using Learning Technologies for Project Work with YLs</a>.</span></b></li>
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">SOME WEB 2.0 TOOL TO USE FOR PROJECT WORK</span></b></div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://www.dvolver.com/moviemaker/make.html">Dvolver </a>or <a href="http://www.zimmertwins.com/">Zimmer Twins</a> </b>for creating film scenes.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/">Make Beliefs</a></b> for <b><a href="http://myeslcorner.blogspot.com.es/2008/11/funny-esl-writing.html">creating comic strips.</a></b> I personally prefer <b><a href="http://myeslcorner.blogspot.com.es/2010/06/playcomic-more-than-simple-comic.html">Play Comic </a></b>since it includes different kinds of activities and a didactic guide for teachers.</span></li>
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">SOME SCHOOL PROJECTS</span></b></div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://schoolnet.gov.mt/jeannette.cardona/myprojects.htm">Primary students projects</a> </b>around different topics such as the circus, pirates or the space.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://sandaigprimary.co.uk/radio_sandaig/index.php">Primary school students' podcasts</a></b>. Radio programmes.</span></li>
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">FIND A SCHOOL PARTNERSHIP!</span></b></div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://elanguages.org/">ELanguages</a>.</span></b></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.epals.com/"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">EPals.</span></a></b></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://schoolsonline.britishcouncil.org/"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Schools Online.</span></a></b></li>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The second session I attended was <b><span style="color: #073763;">Michael O'Brien</span></b>'s talk on <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>Grammar 'Goodies'</b></span> or better said 'Rules'. His talk was brilliant and quite thought-provoking. He pointed out that teaching students grammar rules or recommend them to use a grammar reference to learn English is sometimes pointless. These kinds of books include unnatural sentences, dialogues and longer responses. That's not the way native speakers talk! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is clear that there are differences between written and spoken grammar. Surely spoken grammar cannot be taught through written grammar rules and within rules, there are always exceptions. So, what kind of grammar should we teach to our students? Shouldn't we teach them some rules to guide them through their learning process? In my humble opinion, i</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">f students' main objective is to pass an examination, then by all means, - they will definitely need to study grammar! Although I'm not a big fan of constantly repeated grammar points course after course, I think grammar is necessary, is a means to master the language, not an end in itself.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">An interesting point Michael O'Brien brought up was that grammar is much more than context and much more than objective time. There is also a time called psychological time which refers to the way speakers perceive actions and experiences, not what 'objectively happened'. In my opinion this is really relevant, because it is something which is not always taken into account by ELT course writers. I mean, there is only one possible correct answer in most gap fill practise activities or multiple choice quizzes, when actually it is possible to use different aspects of a tense. In order to demonstrate his view, he asked us to complete a text taken from a coursebook. Here it is the result:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">He finished his speech stating that the perfect rule is that there aren't rules, it's a matter of choice. Then taking this reflection into account, I wonder if we really need to teach these kinds of things. Wouldn't it be more confusing for students? Would it help them to pass their exams?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">For the last session I chose </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #073763;">Patrick Howard</span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">'s presentation whose title was </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Using Visuals</span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">. This session was full of practical ideas for using visuals to develop speaking skills and review vocabulary.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The first activity we did in small group was a brainstorm related to Olympic events and verbs related to sports. After that, Patrick gave us a set of cards with some words related to sports written on them. In turns we played pictionary with those cards and then a memory game with the cards and pictures we had previously drawn.</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Video without sound - Describing (Present simple and continuous)</b></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">For the second activity he used the following video:</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/BzrI15uw92k?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">We worked in groups of three. He handed in a piece of paper with some words written on it to two members of the group who sat down in front of the screen. Then he played the video without sound and one member of each group had to describe what they could see. The people with the worksheets had to crossed those words they heard.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">This time Patrick showed us a picture covered with post-it notes and we had to guess what the picture was, using modal verbs like must, could, may, might and can't. In turns, we rolled a dice and depending on the number (1 and 2 = must; 3 and 4 = could, may, might; 5 and 6 = can't) we had to use that modal verb in a sentence. I have just discovered </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://ryanschude.com/#/Book%201/one/7/">this site</a></b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> which has great photos for speculating. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Describing pictures</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We received half of a postcard each. The objective was to find the partner who had the piece from the same postcard. So we walk around the class describing our picture to the other teachers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Picture cards game - Storytelling</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The last game we played was a card game with a beautiful set of picture cards. It is very good to tell stories, experiences, talk about feelings and so on since it includes different kinds of cards with people, places and situations on it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How to play (groups of 3-5 students):</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- Deal four cards for each student.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- In turns, each student describes his card. The other ones listen to him and try to find a card that matches his story. They have to explain their choice.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I love attending to these kinds of teaching events since as teachers there is always something new to add, learn, improve, change or share with other colleagues.</span></div>
Inma Alcázarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05257453012377027410noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3419262576522476971.post-40297957520942141542012-04-25T01:08:00.000+02:002012-04-25T01:08:58.486+02:00Digital Games: Learning English by Playing<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17px;">“Games are a more natural way to learn than traditional classrooms. Not only have humans been learning by playing games since the beginning of our species, but intelligent animals as well”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17px;"> (Clark Aldrich, <i>Learning Online with Games, Simulations and Virtual Worlds,</i> 2009).</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; text-align: justify;">Playing is an important part of human development and life. We learn by doing, socializing exchanging ideas and collaborating with our peers. However, we grow up and all of a sudden – voilà – school appears and playing takes a back seat. What has happened? Teaching, understood as instruction, does not consider it relevant for learning.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 17px;">However, in spite of this negative picture, there is still hope as ICT is changing the way we perceive games and particularly videogames. They are becoming to be considered powerful and valuable tools for learning. </span></span></div>
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</span><span style="line-height: 17px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Videogames play an important role in children and teens’ life. What we call 'technology', they call it 'life'. Therefore, why not gamify our language class? Do you need more reasons for it?</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 26px; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Digital games are...</span></b></span></h2>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 17px; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">G</span></b></span>ood for learning, <span lang="EN-US">developing strategies and skills to solve problems in context and critical thinking.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></b></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><b>A</b></span></span><span lang="EN-US">utonomous learners.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></b></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">M</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">otivating for students.</span><br />
<b><br /></b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold;">E</span>motional e</span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">ngagement.</span><br />
<b><br /></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">S</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">ituated learning, social learning, students become the centre of attention.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As part of European Schoolnet's project <b>'</b></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://games.eun.org/upload/GIS_HANDBOOK_EN.PDF"><b>Digital Games in Schools. A Teacher's Handbook</b></a></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">' was published in 2009. The handbook is intended for those teachers interested in introducing digital games in their teaching practice. Therefore, it provides useful information about the benefits of digital games for learning as well as tips on how to use them as educational and motivational resources.</span></div>
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<a href="http://games.eun.org/upload/GIS_HANDBOOK_EN.PDF"><img alt="" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj45D-eqBsdcX4dwom8lI8HhsJoJv1y1CkE-g7WDMkBwe18am6dWQOU4bEus_1mvdcwn6aOt422wZbu7qGvJ468wqftR8n5PafTTRnk61hSO1RpbiPIT1I81c3RHt4wJFXuyF-LDpCtS5ht/s320/digital+games+in+schools.jpg" title="" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 17px;">The handbook will be very helpful as an overview of this issue. Nevertheless, if you wish to explore the possibilities of videogames for second/foreign language learning, I recommend you to visit <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/grahamstanley" style="font-weight: bold;">Graham Stanley</a> and <a href="http://kylemawer.wikispaces.com/"><b>Kyle Mawer</b></a>'blog <b><a href="http://www.digitalplay.info/blog/">Digital Play</a>. </b>The blog is really easy to navigate and offers a wide range of activities and lesson plans based on digital games to accomplish different language learning objectives while having fun. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 17px;">In the following video, Graham Stanley talks about the ways gamification can be used in the English classroom and shares some ideas for adapting games for language teaching. If you want to have access to the full version, <b><a href="https://lancelot.adobeconnect.com/_a875817169/p63gcazrn2t/?launcher=false&fcsContent=true&pbMode=normal">click here</a></b>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">An interesting educational digital game which will be launched next summer is <b><a href="http://www.wikiduca.com/">Wikiduca</a>. </b> This is the project of two creative Spanish young minds, David Anthony and Anton Popovine, who decided to work on this educational browser-game to help children learn English vocabulary through videogames.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj699jvAJ4M-DDrUKSlzSdaBnhl5dVqDZYDaINPfo8rE74tvAqei3dsJrUeKQs3nkFVaMbu4_R_zck5I12Jy-ZT1ayU3s4SlOeMGf_ZHzTh3wIFHfOEoCSBxM6y1JGKFCnV38-x2LI8iYO5/s1600/wikiduca.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj699jvAJ4M-DDrUKSlzSdaBnhl5dVqDZYDaINPfo8rE74tvAqei3dsJrUeKQs3nkFVaMbu4_R_zck5I12Jy-ZT1ayU3s4SlOeMGf_ZHzTh3wIFHfOEoCSBxM6y1JGKFCnV38-x2LI8iYO5/s320/wikiduca.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">Starting from the idea that children love video games, fantasy worlds and solving mysteries, David and Anton propose exciting quests and minigames for them. As children increase their vocabulary words, they gain more powers and new missions within the game. The key point is "learning by playing".</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">Wikieduca is basically based on a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freemium"><b>business freemium model</b></a>, that is, most of the content will be free except a small part of extras. You can read this <b><a href="http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2012/04/21/valencia/1335026335.html">news in Spanish</a></b>.</span><br />
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<b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For further reading:<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://venturebeat.com/2012/03/13/kids-and-video-games-why-children-should-play-more/">Why Children Should Play More?</a> </b>by Scott Steinberg</span></li>
<li><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://linked.eun.org/c/document_library/get_file?p_l_id=23809&folderId=23868&name=DLFE-746.pdf">How
Can a Digital Game for Learning Be Defined?</a></span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> by Patricia Felicia</span></li>
<li><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://es.scribd.com/doc/78256708/Language-Teaching-Online-Games-Gamification">Language
Teaching and Learning. Online Digital Games and Gamification</a></span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> by Graham Stanley</span></li>
<li><b><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/2012/sessions/2012-03-22/learn-language-using-interactive-fiction-digital-game-based-language-learning"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Using
Interactive Fiction for Digital Game-Based Language Learning</span></a></span></b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> by Joe Pereira.</span></span></li>
<li><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://sixthings.net/2009/03/26/six-computer-games-to-use-in-an-english-language-classroom/">Six Computer Games to Use in an English Language Classroom</a></b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> by Lindsay Clandfield.</span></li>
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Other websites where you can find useful digital games for your classes</b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://playfic.com/">Playfic</a>: </b>an online community for writing and playing interactive fiction.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://www.gamesforchange.org/">Games for change</a></b>: learning games to change the world.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://www.inanimatealice.com/">Inanimate Alice</a></b>: a digital novel which includes teachers' resources.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/multimedia/dickens/index_popup.shtml">Charles Dickens Life and Victorian London</a> </b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://www.3xplus.com/pasnet01/scrpasnet01US.htm">A detective story</a>.</b></span></li>
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<a href="http://www.onlinecolleges.net/2011/08/25/how-video-games-are-changing-education"><img _fcksavedurl="https://s3.amazonaws.com/infographics/VideoGamesEducation3_page.png" alt="Video Games and Education" border="0" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/infographics/VideoGamesEducation3_page.png" width="600" /></a></div>
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Via: <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.onlinecolleges.net" href="http://www.onlinecolleges.net/">Online Colleges Guide</a>Inma Alcázarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05257453012377027410noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3419262576522476971.post-29939808892621188172012-04-14T01:12:00.002+02:002012-04-14T01:26:04.334+02:00Collaborative project: A Wall of Books to celebrate World Book Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZD-hKA7APzA3iaUX1RVEYwdCR51uTgZngsl74Iz7JQcoO_KAYXv9g0oDPFcM45h4y22FdKnMUPod01bPsjyxhctVx_AzHhB6YqJnpM7O65zCKfzoRC75dRzbGseJBZm8dczziInm4BCLM/s1600/WORLD+BOOK+DAY.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZD-hKA7APzA3iaUX1RVEYwdCR51uTgZngsl74Iz7JQcoO_KAYXv9g0oDPFcM45h4y22FdKnMUPod01bPsjyxhctVx_AzHhB6YqJnpM7O65zCKfzoRC75dRzbGseJBZm8dczziInm4BCLM/s200/WORLD+BOOK+DAY.jpg" width="170" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">23rd April is <b><a href="http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php-URL_ID=5125&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">World Book and Copyright Day</a></b>, an initiative from UNESCO to celebrate world literature and promote reading. This year, <b><a href="https://twitter.com/#!/mjgsm"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Mª Jesús García San Martín</span></a></b>, a creative English teacher who I really look up to, has had the brilliant idea of celebrating this day by creating a collaborative <b><span style="color: red;"><a href="http://pinterest.com/mjgsm/a-wall-of-books/">wall of books</a></span></b> using <b><a href="http://pinterest.com/">Pinterest</a></b>. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Everybody is invited to join and take part in this project. The aim is to create a literary wall full of book recommendations to promote reading.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If you would like to become a contributor, just register on Pinterest or sign in with your Facebook or Twitter account to pin your favourite book and explain the reason why you like it and other people should read it. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">All the pins can be embedded in the school or classroom blog, website and wikis.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Información en español sobre el proyecto en el <b><a href="http://recursostic.educacion.es/blogs/malted/index.php/2012/04/09/a-wall-of-books">Blog de TIC en lenguas extranjeras</a></b>.</span></div>Inma Alcázarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05257453012377027410noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3419262576522476971.post-45904446536650642022012-03-08T12:25:00.003+01:002013-06-18T12:14:26.673+02:00English with Music<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8PNdCYU4BdgF1BIIqnpEy5TbwUtOOYvOMzD1R8RgruG56-dd1DmDTIO0pFV0jmzOzThvNNowfPXZf4p8ovpxDnt5M9xtqJEdun3sMVL1yEEaWxjjTsTVjChdc0Zh-xBctc05pWf7_FVuG/s1600/music.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8PNdCYU4BdgF1BIIqnpEy5TbwUtOOYvOMzD1R8RgruG56-dd1DmDTIO0pFV0jmzOzThvNNowfPXZf4p8ovpxDnt5M9xtqJEdun3sMVL1yEEaWxjjTsTVjChdc0Zh-xBctc05pWf7_FVuG/s320/music.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Can you imagine a world without music? No tunes, no songs, no melodies, no singers or concerts. Music surrounds us and it is an important part of our lives, as well as of our students' lives. They are enjoyable, motivating, full of examples of real English and, therefore, very effective tools for reviewing vocabulary, grammar structures, pronunciation, culture and dealing with social issues in upper-intermediate and advanced classes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What is very important to bear in mind before choosing a song are the objectives, the resources we will use and the activities we will use so that students can achieve their goals and develop the different language skills.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Try not to choose songs that are popular among teenagers because, although they may love and enjoy them, they will already know the lyrics and the activities you have carefully prepared may become an absolutely flop. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Digital resources for our classes</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGcjcC-mWif4T46HdcmvNSs0G82wMMKCJ_RvI45Zf5wGl_8i7e0f22RVmW8plWoRf2bHPN7EMR7cUhoKXbUZs993jctpgztGfBtG0KnwSgMN3RLqXYO6_ip0dkcXs6LTOpBEWYaDImaVqe/s1600/tune.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="88" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGcjcC-mWif4T46HdcmvNSs0G82wMMKCJ_RvI45Zf5wGl_8i7e0f22RVmW8plWoRf2bHPN7EMR7cUhoKXbUZs993jctpgztGfBtG0KnwSgMN3RLqXYO6_ip0dkcXs6LTOpBEWYaDImaVqe/s320/tune.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><a href="http://www.tuneintoenglish.com/">Tune into English</a></b> is one of my favourite sites because it offers a section for teachers and another one for students. In the teachers section you will find lesson plans created by teachers to use different kinds of songs in your classes. Those lessons plans are in word format, what means that you can adapt the activities to suit your students' needs. Within the students area, students will find a lot of games, resources and links to learn more about music and learn English through songs.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzn4r7rDZFRe_Jytnn-9ANqEwqniSHg9CCEAN_EMZwhAodXbmwS-ULzqHWjDZU7EWFrcogXi-4Hc_4USbXBv0Hk2Dh6oHOi0Dm4r2NUgTdm-0TkFY-AUQOL4KMSMRXla4cbcFDVrlVHpRe/s1600/TUNES.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzn4r7rDZFRe_Jytnn-9ANqEwqniSHg9CCEAN_EMZwhAodXbmwS-ULzqHWjDZU7EWFrcogXi-4Hc_4USbXBv0Hk2Dh6oHOi0Dm4r2NUgTdm-0TkFY-AUQOL4KMSMRXla4cbcFDVrlVHpRe/s320/TUNES.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><a href="http://www.tefltunes.com/">TEFLTune</a></b>s is a great place to find song ideas for <b><a href="http://tefltunes.com/grammarsongs.aspx">teaching grammar</a></b> and <b><a href="http://www.tefltunes.com/themesongs.aspx">topics</a></b>. However, not all the resources provided are free. There are free lesson plans but if you want get full access, you will need to subscribe and pay </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif;">£10GBP.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><a href="http://www.lyricstraining.com/">Lyrics training</a></b> is another great tool for students to improve their understanding of lyrics. The site includes YouTube videoclips which are organised in different levels of difficulty and cloze-type activities to complete the whole song.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What I do not like so much about it is that it includes a wide range of songs and some of them may be not suitable for pre-teens or teenagers.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1__af4_7edvq2deG0NRlWggYeVzlfz_NXbo0KhcN5jVs/edit?pli=1#slide=id.p18">Contribute with your ideas!</a></span></b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0" height="389" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://docs.google.com/presentation/embed?id=1__af4_7edvq2deG0NRlWggYeVzlfz_NXbo0KhcN5jVs&start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="480"></iframe><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Interesting articles about this topic:</b></span><br />
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<li><b><a href="http://eltchat.com/2011/01/17/teaching-english-through-songs-in-the-digital-age-eltchat-summary-12012011/">Teaching English through Songs in the Digital Age</a> by <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/eltchat">@ELTchat</a></b></li>
<li><b><a href="http://evasimkesyan.edublogs.org/2010/05/15/liven-up-classroom-with-music/">Liven up Classroom with Music</a> by <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/evab2001">@eva2001</a></b></li>
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Inma Alcázarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05257453012377027410noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3419262576522476971.post-62167629654953215412012-01-28T01:39:00.005+01:002016-11-21T04:24:17.922+01:00Collaborative writing<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">New week, new exciting tasks! This week I have been exploring some digital tools for collaborative writing in the English class. The first activity consisted of selecting one of the four pictures in each column, three columns in total, and writing a 50-word story-starter based on those pictures.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">These are the three pictures I chose and my short story:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPJJbgcraQ-MV27okuLa2r7wZsr-SlBwKeMWd-azzf-SaM5iBpMl-uGT3WJvhazsbAITVZcSr1eR8VSlroIw91gQtpTtT_eCdN-kqnLMjOxodddgJGgZv6DQPihnIVPSx7fxyPsckwnpn7/s1600/pictures.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPJJbgcraQ-MV27okuLa2r7wZsr-SlBwKeMWd-azzf-SaM5iBpMl-uGT3WJvhazsbAITVZcSr1eR8VSlroIw91gQtpTtT_eCdN-kqnLMjOxodddgJGgZv6DQPihnIVPSx7fxyPsckwnpn7/s640/pictures.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It was a beautiful sunny morning on Coconut island. Nina woke up with the idea of enjoying the exciting school trip to the city of Pombo. She had breadfast, hastily kissed her mum and raced off to take the school bus. Nobody could imagine that that would be a day for sorrow and grief...</span></i></span> </div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">Written under each picture, there were some tools we had to explore and, then, share our thoughts on what at least one tool is for, how we can use it, what age group is the tool for and what are its advantages and limitations:</span><br />
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<li><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><a href="http://www.brucevanpatter.com/storykitchen.html">The Story Kitchen</a> </b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><a href="http://creativewritingprompts.com/">Creative Writing Prompts</a></b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><a href="http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/storystarters/storystarter1.htm">Story Starters</a></b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><a href="http://5card.cogdogblog.com/index.php">Five Card Flickr Stories</a></b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><a href="http://www.bitstrips.com/landing">Bitstrips</a></b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><a href="http://piclits.com/compose_dragdrop.aspx">Pic-Lits</a></b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><a href="http://storybird.com/">Storybird</a></b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><a href="http://www.zooburst.com/">Zooburst</a></b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><a href="http://dreamdoze.com/">Dreamdoze</a></b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><a href="http://ohlife.com/">Oh Life</a></b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><a href="http://www.futureme.org/">Future Me</a></b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><a href="http://letterpop.com/">Letter Pop</a></b></span></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px;">One of the tools I liked the most was <b><a href="http://5card.cogdogblog.com/index.php">Five Card Flickr Stories</a>, </b>an interesting website based on the </span></span><b style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px;"><a href="http://tr.im/fivecardnancy">Five Card Nancy game</a> </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px;">which lets you pick five pictures from a group of images from Flickr and get some inspiration to write creative stories. Would you like to read my story?</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px;"> Could you continue it? Could you write a different story with the same pictures?</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "segoe ui" , "lucida grande" , "arial"; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px;"> </span><br />
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<a href="http://5card.cogdogblog.com/show.php?id=27283">Five Card Story: Through the Bare Land</a></h2>
a <a href="http://5card.cogdogblog.com/show.php?suit=5card">Five Card Flickr</a> story created by Inma Alcázar<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/9445648@N03/6191076031/"><img src="https://farm7.static.flickr.com/6006/6191076031_ea8fabda1a_d.jpg" /></a><br />
flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/9445648@N03/6191076031/" target="_blank">Serenae</a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29096601@N00/6342767884/"><img src="https://farm7.static.flickr.com/6053/6342767884_22496aa38a_d.jpg" /></a><br />
flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29096601@N00/6342767884/" target="_blank">bionicteaching</a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/35820404@N03/3340166122/"><img src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3408/3340166122_bbefe849df_d.jpg" /></a><br />
flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/35820404@N03/3340166122/" target="_blank">IKnowHowToWhistle</a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29096601@N00/6135929373/"><img src="https://farm7.static.flickr.com/6188/6135929373_36a5cdb98c_d.jpg" /></a><br />
flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29096601@N00/6135929373/" target="_blank">bionicteaching</a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/9445648@N03/5953177268/"><img src="https://farm7.static.flickr.com/6141/5953177268_150375c565_d.jpg" /></a><br />
flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/9445648@N03/5953177268/" target="_blank">Serenae</a><br />
<em>Strolling down the narrow streets of Katmandu where not much happens, legend has it that a mysterious woman dressed in black used to wander through the forest. All the villagers were completely frightened. No birds, no crops, no flowers grew in the area, just death and desolation.</em><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I think this website is a great tool for Secondary school and Bachillerato students (15-18) to develop their creative writing skills through these visual prompts. It is true that students can do this without technology. However, what this tools adds to education is the possibility to receive feedback from other students. In my opinion, this fact is very motivating for them since they are writing for an audience, not just for the teacher.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">How can we use it in the English class?</span></b><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Collaborative writing: </b>publish your own student and share it in your English class blog with your students. Ask them to write two or three more lines each to the story.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>5 pictures = a lot of stories</b>: go to <b style="background-color: white; color: #444444; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;"><a href="http://5card.cogdogblog.com/index.php">Five Card Flickr Stories</a>, </b><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">choose five inspiring photographs, embed them in your class blog. Divide students in groups of three and ask them to write their own collaborative story using those pictures.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;"><b>Creative writing</b>: as in the previous activity but letting students to choose their own pictures.</span></span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Twitstory: </b>ask students to write 140 characters stories based on five pictures, chosen from Five Card Flickr Stories, using a class hashtag. Embed students' stories in the class blog using <b><a href="http://embedtweet.com/">EmbedTweet</a></b>. Students vote their favourite one.</span></span></li>
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<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><u>Optional</u>: provide them with different categories for their stories:</span></span></li>
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<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">horror</span></span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">romantic</span></span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">funny</span></span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">inspirational</span></span></li>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">After exploring these great collaborative website, our amazing teachers asked us to put collaboration into practice. They provided us a list of sites designed to allow multiple writers to participate in a kind of collaborative literary experimentation:</span><br />
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</span><br />
<ul style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 3em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://bubbl.us/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">BubbleUs </span></a>Brainstorming made simple</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://entri.co/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Entri</span></a> Get feedback on rough drafts / Jot down ideas and share through Twitter</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://accounts.google.com/ServiceLogin?service=writely&passive=1209600&continue=http://docs.google.com/&followup=http://docs.google.com/&ltmpl=homepage" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Google Docs</span></a> Collaborative writing </span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://livetyping.com/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">LiveTyping </span></a>Collaborative writing</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.mixedink.com/#/_how_it_works" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">MixedInk</span></a> Collaborative writing for groups</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.novlet.com/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Novlet </span></a>Collaborative writing of nonlinear stories</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.thinkfree.com/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">ThinkFree Online</span></a> Virtual office / Edit documents in your web browser</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://willyou.typewith.me/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">TypeWithMe</span></a> Collaborative writing</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.writeboard.com/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">WriteBoard</span></a> Sharable web-based documents</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://writer.zoho.com/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Zoho Writer</span></a> Online word processor - create, connect, collaborate</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We had to read other teachers' stories, choose one story starter we liked and contribute to it using one of the previous tools mentioned. I chose Vicky Theodoraki's story about The Sanders and their strange neighbour, Mr Tuc</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">ker, using <a href="http://for%20task%203%2C%20writing%20a%20collaborative%20story%2C%20i%27ve%20chosen%20vicky%20theodoraki%27s%20story%20about%20the%20sanders%20and%20their%20strange%20neighbour%2C%20mr%20tucker./" style="font-weight: bold;">Just Paste It</a>, a cool tool for collaborative writing. What I liked about this tool is that you don't need to spend time signing in, you can just start writing, include pictures or even a video, and share the link to encourage more people to contribute to it. This was <b><a href="http://justpaste.it/edit/752964/0b004211">our story</a></b>:</span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
The loving Sanders family had just moved to a provincial town. Little did they know that their life would soon take a sinister turn. Their new neighbour Mr Tucker, an elderly man, had an unworldy quality. Howls and all sorts of weird sound would often come from his house.<br />
<span style="color: purple;">Last night, while they were having dinner in the garden their daughter Margaret screamed: 'Have you seen that? Look! There is an odd shadow coming out of the wall. I mean, out of the wall where there isn't a hole.' </span><br />
<span style="color: purple;"><span style="color: blue;">"What in the world is that?" cried Mother Sanders. Fearful, she quickly escorted her family back into the house. Dinner in the garden had sounded like such a nice idea, but now it seemed a much safer choice to be inside. Who could they talk to? What could they do? What was it that they saw?!</span></span><br />
<span style="color: purple;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: #ff6600;"></span></span><span style="color: #ff6600;">When they went inside they could hardly sleep. They kept on talking about the odd shadow that Margaret saw and then Mother Sanders had an idea. She decided that in the morning they will go over to Mr. Tucker's house an ask him to come for a visit. The point was to try and find out what he was like and what were the howls and weird sounds that were heard from his house.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: green;">The family had a restless night and could hardly wait for morning. As soon as dawn broke and the first rays lit up the little town, they were up and about, eager to solve the mystery of their mysterious neighbor.</span><br />
<span style="color: green;"><strong>They arrive to Mr. Tucker's house and knock the door, but nobody respond then they decide to enter. It's dark inside still but they have a light. They look across the room and see in the middle a beautiful glass vase on a table and a painting on the wall. They call Mr. Tucker but nobody respond. This is very mysterious. </strong></span><br />
<span style="color: green;"><strong><span style="color: #993300;">Suddenly there was some noise under the table. They all jumped up but it was just a cat. When their daughter wanted to caress it, the cat ran away. Then the daughter shrieked - the painting on the wall moved.</span></strong></span><br />
<span style="color: olive;">The moment they realised there was an unmarked door set in the wall, it creaked open. Mr Sanders stood in the doorway for a moment before he popped his head through the narrow oak door. He decided to enter the pitch-dark corridor.</span><br />
<span style="color: olive;"><span style="color: maroon;">He disappeared in the darkness. His wife wanted to follow him there but SLAM - the door closed and they could not open it again. Mr Sanders was on his own in the dark.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: green;"><br />
</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Would you like to know more about digital storytelling? Visit <a href="http://50ways.wikispaces.com/" style="font-weight: bold;">50 + Web 2.0 ways to tell a story</a>, a wiki full of ideas which was created by <b><a href="http://cogdogblog.com/">Alan Levine</a></b>.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What other ideas can you come up with for using these tools?</span></li>
</ul>
Inma Alcázarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05257453012377027410noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3419262576522476971.post-22002942118688570612012-01-15T03:08:00.002+01:002012-01-15T03:16:40.145+01:00Electronic Village Online 2012: Classdigitools<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXZsUyM7WWiQef-3nGFSbMkhsnYy45OsCZKUedVK5LIjy6vxriWc1ijK9Zei4jKl2-h2lot7VBQIN-LbIyj-EGB4pk_Y3JdUuU3_QiWVB0yDg8Ad1Kw0jTUvD0tYoaSIcAehsZNpAND_lP/s1600/thebeginning-15mj900.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXZsUyM7WWiQef-3nGFSbMkhsnYy45OsCZKUedVK5LIjy6vxriWc1ijK9Zei4jKl2-h2lot7VBQIN-LbIyj-EGB4pk_Y3JdUuU3_QiWVB0yDg8Ad1Kw0jTUvD0tYoaSIcAehsZNpAND_lP/s200/thebeginning-15mj900.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">New year, new resolution: to take any opportunity I can to improve my professional development. No sooner said than done! Seven days ago I joined <a href="http://evosessions.pbworks.com/w/page/48510148/Call_for_Participation2012"><b>Electronic Village Online Sessions 2012</b></a> which are free virtual courses. For five weeks teachers will connect to others teachers from all over the world, will discuss different topics related to the ELT world, collaborate and dare to work out new ideas and activities which can spice up their teaching practice.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One of the sessions I have enrolled in is <b><a href="http://evosessions.pbworks.com/w/page/48526238/Digital_Tools2012">Digital Tools with a Purpose in the Classroom</a></b>. Throughout the first week we had to complete several tasks:</span></div><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>TASK 1</b>: Join the group online meeting place: Edmodo and Wiki.</span></li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These two learning environments were absolutely new to me, but I have not had many problems so far since they are really intuitive. It just took me some time to explore them and know where I had to publish comments or share my portfolio, this blog.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.edmodo.com/"><b>Edmodo</b> </a>is a virtual learning environment which includes several tools to share documents, pictures, videos, audios, links and others to foster participation, colaboration<span style="line-height: 18px;">. As it is private and there are no age restrictions, we can use it with students from any educative level.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"></div><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>TASK 2</b>: Exchange introductions and become familiar with the group environments.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>TASK 3</b>: Explore different online tools:</span></li>
<ul><li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;"> </span><a href="http://animoto.com/" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #114488; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">http://animoto.com</a></b><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"> </span></span> <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">(make a 30-second video about ourselves)</span></span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;"> </span><a href="http://about.me/" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #114488; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>http://about.me/</b></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">(tell other participants who we are)</span></span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;"> </span><a href="http://flavors.me/" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #114488; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">http://flavors.me</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;"> </span></b> </span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;"> </span><b style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #114488; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://prezi.com/" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #114488; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">http://prezi.com</a></b></span></li>
</ul></ul><div><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This time we were asked to introduce ourselves using different tools, interact and provide feedback to other participants. There is so much creativity in the group! I was really impressed by some teachers who expressed themselves through poems, songs and really nice presentations using a great variety of tools such as <b><a href="http://edu.glogster.com/">Glogster</a></b>, <a href="http://ed.voicethread.com/about/features/" style="font-weight: bold;">Voicethread </a>(two of my favourite tools), <a href="http://www.dvolver.com/moviemaker/make.html" style="font-weight: bold;">Dvolver</a> and <b><a href="http://www.sliderocket.com/">Sliderocket</a></b>, among others.</span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For this task I preferred to use </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://studio.stupeflix.com/">Stupeflix</a>, </b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">an online video editing service similar to Animoto. However,</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> instead of just 30 seconds, it allowed me to create a bit longer presentation for free. In addition to this, Stupeflix is very easy to use and straightforward. You only need to sign up, upload the pictures you would like to include in your video, add text, choose or upload your own music and share it. This is the video I produced using this tool:</span></div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><iframe class="SxPlayer" frameborder="0" height="270" src="http://studio.stupeflix.com/embed/zeQZXDA16t/" title="Stupeflix Video Player" width="480"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Another tool I decided to explore was</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://flavors.me/" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #114488; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">http://flavors.me</a>, a free service with an appealing interface. What I like about this tools is that it allows you to gather all your social activity in one place.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://flavors.me/inma_a"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQsYzM0PcSAaAC1MmKVobVGJFp0QPK73VvNJHKUSletYF2dFqNceQKwD66-M9XMSRhHeT0osPoTVAcwa8WAqsxDoCxEch57Au5l8tkgOj_x2g-QZqb6pZ6b-FwDe2IteaZ6bw_1IfWEXDL/s400/flavors.jpg" width="400" /></a><span id="goog_1838801578"></span><span id="goog_1838801579"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;"><br />
</span></b></div></div><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>TASK 4</b>: Create and/or share our digital portfolios. As you can see I have decided to use my blog as my digital portfolio since it is where I have been writing about topics related to ELT, sharing links and teaching ideas for three years now.</span></li>
</ul><div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: 19px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> The idea was that we:</span></div></div><ul style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 3em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><ul><li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">collected the digital resources we produced along the way.</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">kept a space for reflection on our learning and the tools we get to know about.</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">received feedback from our peers in what we had been producing.</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">started our journey as a lifelong learner.</span></li>
</ul></ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><br />
</span></span></div><ul style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 3em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>TASK 5</b>: Go on a web safari about technology integration. This time we were asked to check the </span><a href="http://technology%20integration%20matrix/" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Technology Integration Matrix</a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> (TIM) which illustrates how teachers can use technology to enhance learning for K-12 and reflect upon where we are nowadays and where we would like to be according to our own education context. We added our thoughts to our <b><a href="http://www.edmodo.com/post/41275015">Edmodo Group Discussion</a>:</b></span></li>
</ul><blockquote class="tr_bq"><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span class="comment-wrapper" id="comment-wrapper-44087201" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">I love this useful and detailed matrix you have shared with us! Generally speaking, I would say I'm in the adoption / active level. As I mainly teach one-to-one and small groups with different learning abilities, it is not always easy to integrate technology in the way I would like to do it - collaboratively. Some of my students use technology outside the classroom just to revise some language aspects previously seen in class. Others love using web 2.0 tools like Glogster, Blabberize or Xtranormal for writing and speaking tasks.</span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; line-height: 18px;">In the near future, I would like to work in a secondary school where I have the opportunity to move ahead and use technology to enhance collaboration and participate in projects together with other schools.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="comment-wrapper" id="comment-wrapper-44087201" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; text-align: -webkit-auto;"></span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="comment-wrapper" id="comment-wrapper-44087201" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span class="comment-wrapper" id="comment-wrapper-44087201" style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Achieving the transformation stage is another of my goals, I would like my students to work more independently and provide them learning activities which help all of them to succeed. However, we should not forget that technology is just a means for students to achieve their learning objectives and not an end in itself.</span></span><span class="comment-wrapper" id="comment-wrapper-44087201" style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">In the near future, I would like to work in a secondary school where I have the opportunity to move ahead and use technology to enhance collaboration and participate in projects together with other schools.</span></span></span><span class="comment-wrapper" id="comment-wrapper-44087201" style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Achieving the transformation stage is another of my goals, I would like my students to work more independently and provide them learning activities which help all of them to succeed. However, we should not forget that technology is just a means for students to achieve their learning objectives and not an end in itself.</span></span></span></span></span></div></blockquote></div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b2850; font-family: Puritan, 'Trebuchet MS', serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 14px;"> </span></span></div></ul></blockquote><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Discuss our own ideas on how we can use those tools with our students. I am afraid I will not have enough time to complete this task on time. Nevertheless, I would like to share with my colleages some ideas I wrote some time ago about using Glogster in the English class: <b><a href="http://myeslcorner.blogspot.com/2010/10/do-you-glog-reinventing-posters-with.html">Do you glog? Reinventing posters with Glogster Edu</a></b>. It includes:</span></li>
<ul><li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Tutorials.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Posters created by my students.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A poster I created as an example to write a biography and create a poem based on Rudyard Kipling's poem <i>If.</i></span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ideas from other teachers.</span></li>
</ul></ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Waiting for your comments and suggestions!</b></span></div>Inma Alcázarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05257453012377027410noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3419262576522476971.post-2277454494760353772012-01-12T11:47:00.000+01:002012-01-12T11:47:23.042+01:00From the screen to the classroom. Part 2.<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; text-align: justify;">Last week, I introduced the amazing work that some great teachers are producing to work with films in the English class. They are really inspiring to encourage other teachers to create their own video activities and improve their teaching practice.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">This week, I would like to concentrate on different techniques we can use to plan our lessons based on films. Any ideas you would like to add or share? Please, contact me! I will post them in the blog.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">How to use them?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">We can resort to the old way bringing a film, pressing play, watching it for the whole class and asking students to answer some questions about the film or write a summary of it. But have you wondered if there is any point in approaching the learning of English in such a way? Are you sure your students have learnt something in that lesson?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">I think that a more sensible idea to work deeply with films in our classes is to select a short film scene (3 – 4 minutes) and divide the lesson in three parts, including pre-viewing, while-viewing, and post-viewing activities. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Previewing activities</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"> are really good to arouse the students’ interest to the film clip they are going to watch.<o:p></o:p></span></div><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="square"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Vocabulary</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">: pre-teaching some words which appear in the video and may be unfamiliar to students is essential to avoid interruptions and questions during the viewing process. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Brainstorming</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">: this is a great technique, and very student-centered. We can use visuals, trailers or film scenes and ask students to speculate about the scene’s details such as the characters, the plot or the setting.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Predicting</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">:<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="circle"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l3 level2 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"> You can provide students with a handout with some facts about the film and they have to predict if they are true or false.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l3 level2 lfo1; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"> You can create a series of screen shots with <b><a href="http://www.vidinotes.com/">Vidinotes</a> </b>or just with Paint and ask students to predict what the story is about or what the characters may say.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul></ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">While-viewing activities: </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">they provide a deeper understanding of the film, and allow to check if students.</span></div><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Predicting</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">: the students check if they were right or wrong in their previous predictions about the film.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Imaging: </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">freeze the scene as something is going to happen and ask students to work in group and try to deduce what will happen next. Elicit from the class what happens.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Jigsaw predictions: </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">divide students into two big groups and sit down back to back in two rows. Only students in group B can watch the video, while<span style="color: red;"> </span>students in group A will be able to listen to the video only. When the video ends, the teacher asks students in group A to interpret the meaning of what they have heard. Once they have finished reconstructing the story, students in group B tell students in group A what actually happened.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Video ON/ Sound OFF: </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">play the film scene, but this time with the sound turned off. Ask students to write a short narrative text predicting the content of the scene. They do this activity in small groups.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"> You can show them some questions on the overhead projector or on the digital blackboard to guide them. Once they have finished, they read their stories and vote for the funniest story. After that, they watch the scene with the sound on to know what really happened.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Ordering events</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">: play the video and distribute a worksheet to students with a series of events from the video. Ask them to put them in order, as they happen in the film. The students watch the video a second time to confirm the correct order. </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Post-viewing</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">:<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l4 level1 lfo4; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">There is no need to leave <b>grammar</b> out of a video-based lesson. We can use sentence examples which appear on a video to introduce a grammar point and ask students to deduce the rules and uses planning different kinds of activities. <i>How</i> we teach grammar is really important since grammar is necessary so that students achieve accuracy in English. So, we need to be creative and produce student-friendly, student-centered activities which develop students’ curiosity in how English works. You will find a lot of ideas in Claudio Azevedo’s blog <b><a href="http://moviesegmentstoassessgrammargoals.blogspot.com/">Movie Segments to Assess Grammar Goals</a></b><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l4 level1 lfo4; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Production of the next scene script: </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">ask students to write a dialogue between two characters of the movie which take place after the part of the video they have previously watched. To do this, they can use some free web 2.0 tools:<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="circle"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l4 level2 lfo4; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><a href="http://www.xtranormal.com/">Xtranormal</a><o:p></o:p></span></b></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l4 level2 lfo4; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><a href="http://goanimate.com/">Go Animate</a></span></b></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l4 level2 lfo4; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><a href="http://www.dvolver.com/moviemaker/make.html">Dvolver Movie Maker</a><o:p></o:p></span></b></li>
</ul><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l4 level1 lfo4; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Writing a movie review </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">for the school (online) newspaper.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l4 level1 lfo4; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Discussion group activity: </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">ask students to choose sides around the topic introduced in the video and take a in-favour/against position from others in the classroom to debate it.<b> </b><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l4 level1 lfo4; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Watching videos can also enhance some <b>pronunciation</b> aspects which students have difficulties with, such as connected speech, word stress and sentence intonation, among others. They are a really good source of authentic listening material.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">This is my lesson plan sample on excuses and relationships using the film scene I found in <b><a href="http://warmupsfollowups.blogspot.com/2009/12/hes-just-not-that-into-you-excuses.html">Claudio Azevedo's blog. </a></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><strong style="display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 12px;"><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/urpillay/lesson-plan-economical-with-the-truth" target="_blank" title="Lesson plan (economical with the truth">Lesson plan (economical with the truth</a></strong></div><div id="__ss_10985124" style="width: 477px;"> <iframe frameborder="0" height="510" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/10985124" width="477"></iframe> <br />
<div style="padding: 5px 0 12px;">View more <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/" target="_blank">documents</a> from <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/urpillay" target="_blank">Inma Alcázar</a> </div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Some websites where you can find videos and information about films to create your own activities:<o:p></o:p></span></div><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><a href="http://www.movieflix.com/">Free Online Movies</a></span></b></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.thehydetube.com/">The Hyde Tube</a></span></span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">: </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">huge collection of short films.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><a href="http://www.aniboom.com/">Aniboom</a>: </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">animated films.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><a href="http://www.documentarytube.com/">Documentary Tube</a>: </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">documentaries.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><a href="http://www.neok12.com/">CLIL</a>: </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">history, science and so on.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/">IMDb</a>: </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">great information about films, film stars, and a lot of more<b>.<o:p></o:p></b></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><a href="http://www.script-o-rama.com/table.shtml">Film Scripts</a><o:p></o:p></span></b></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">If you found this post useful, you may also like:</span></div><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><a href="https://twitter.com/Harmerj">Harmer, Jeremy</a>; <i>The Practice of English Language Teaching</i></span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"> (2007), 4<sup>th</sup> edition. Person Longman.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Stempleski, S. & Tomalin, B., <i><a href="http://www.script-o-rama.com/table.shtml">Film</a> </i>(2001), Oxford University Press.<o:p></o:p></span></b></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><a href="http://exchanges.state.gov/englishteaching/forum/archives/docs/files-folder111111/48_2-etf-intercultural-training-with-films.pdf">Intercultural Training with Films</a></span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"> by Christine Roell.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><a href="http://www.eslpartyland.com/teachers/nov/film.htm">ESL PartyLand Video Activities</a><o:p></o:p></span></b></li>
</ul>Inma Alcázarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05257453012377027410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3419262576522476971.post-88540637004330912462012-01-04T23:41:00.001+01:002012-01-04T23:43:54.284+01:00From screen to the classroom. Part 1<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HG6M9JFAB88/TwTTqb1OB9I/AAAAAAAAA0I/KSTE7N90kiM/s1600/lights-camera-action-clapper.32095721_std+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="185" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HG6M9JFAB88/TwTTqb1OB9I/AAAAAAAAA0I/KSTE7N90kiM/s200/lights-camera-action-clapper.32095721_std+%25281%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Films have always been a great source of ideas and an excellent resource we can use to suit our English classes, motivate our students and help them develop their listening, speaking and writing skills. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><br />
</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Apart from that, films are a highly valuable source of authentic language since they are full of vocabulary, expressions and structures that native speakers use. They are perfect to bring the English-speaking world into the classroom.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">The question for teachers is what kinds of film clips we can use, what for and how to use them.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">What kinds of films can we use and how?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Did you know that there are some absolutely fabulous teachers’ blogs which can inspire you to create your own activities to suit your students’ needs? Through their blogs they share their own materials just for free and give useful tips on how to create your own ones.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">One of them is <b><a href="http://film-english.com/">Film English</a></b>, a wonderful project started by <b><a href="https://twitter.com/kierandonaghy">Kieran Donaghy</a></b>, an English teacher at UAB Idiomes Barcelona, whose aim is to promote the use of film in the language classroom. In this blog you will find lesson plans around different topics such as jobs, money and greed, football and values, among others.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><a href="https://twitter.com/#!/claudioazevedoo">Claudio Azevedo</a></span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"> is another teacher who I have inspired me and I have learnt a lot from. He publish his own resources in two blogs:<o:p></o:p></span></div><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="square"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l5 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><a href="http://warmupsfollowups.blogspot.com/">Movie Segments for Warm-ups and Follow-ups</a> </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">which includes a series of movie segments to be used to brainstorm and prepare students for the topic that will be discussed in class. </span><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"> </span></li>
</ul><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="square"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l5 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">His second blog, <b><a href="http://moviesegmentstoassessgrammargoals.blogspot.com/">Movie Segments to Assess Grammar Goals</a></b>, is full of creative ideas and challenging activities to introduce grammar in our classes.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">What can I say about <b><a href="https://twitter.com/#!/cheimi10">Jamie Keddie’s</a></b> <b><a href="http://lessonstream.org/browse-lessons/">Lessonstream website</a></b>? Well, he is a really creative and enthusiastic teacher and this can just be seen by visiting his new website full of free lesson plans based on films for different levels and aims.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><b>Next week, I will publish the second part of this post with more ideas and examples on how to work with films in the English class.</b></span></div><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"></ul>Inma Alcázarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05257453012377027410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3419262576522476971.post-20488630709225782182011-12-18T18:57:00.003+01:002013-06-18T12:16:13.553+02:00It's Christmas time!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Uu5qgYKZW8Q/TwWcTpj9glI/AAAAAAAAA1E/w_7egDhTMug/s1600/santa-computer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="124" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Uu5qgYKZW8Q/TwWcTpj9glI/AAAAAAAAA1E/w_7egDhTMug/s200/santa-computer.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Christmas is just around the corner! No matter what religion or place in the world you live, Christmas is a celebration all children and teenagers love and cannot be ignored. <br />
<br />
This is a lesson plan I have produced. <br />
<br />
LEVEL: pre-intermediate / intermediate<br />
OBJECTIVES:<br />
<ul>
<li>VOCABULARY: revise Christmas vocabulary.</li>
<li>GRAMMAR: </li>
<ul>
<li> practice past simple and past continuous in context.</li>
<li>express opinions about the best and worst Christmas presents using expressions such as <i>I think, in my opinion, from my point of view, among others.</i></li>
</ul>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>CULTURE: learn about Christmas traditions in other countries around the world.</li>
<li>WRITING: for students to develop their creativity and plan the writing of a poem.</li>
<li>READING: for students to develop strategies to understand general and specific information about different Christmas traditions around the world in order to carry out specific tasks.</li>
<li>VIEWING: extract specific and global information from a Christmas commercial to perform required tasks.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<b>TASK 1: WARM-UP ACTIVITIES.</b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Chat about Christmas and traditions. Ask your students what kinds of activities they usually do, what special dishes they eat, what is their opinion about the over-commercialisation of Christmas and so on.</li>
<li>Display the wordle with Christmas vocabulary on the overhead projector and ask students to place them into the correct category <b>FEELINGS/ACTIONS, THINGS, FOOD</b>. Discuss how they relate to Christmas.</li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2gC-xQnuo4s/TwWJW0_igwI/AAAAAAAAA0U/QYp5WqXGRPA/s1600/wordle+%2528Christmas%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="173" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2gC-xQnuo4s/TwWJW0_igwI/AAAAAAAAA0U/QYp5WqXGRPA/s320/wordle+%2528Christmas%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>TASK 2: WRITING AN ACROSTIC POEM</b></div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Ask your students to write their own acrostic poems using a Christmas word. </li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jjoyc_yreLc/TwWKPtF3x9I/AAAAAAAAA0g/IQM_uNO-ers/s320/Christmas.jpg" width="320" /><span id="goog_1271506477"></span><span id="goog_1271506478"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://myenglishportfoliooo.blogspot.com/2011/12/its-christmas-time.html">Poem written by Laura (2º E.S.O.)</a></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
If you have many students in your classes, it would be a great idea to ask them to create a class poems book using <b><a href="https://docs.google.com/">GoogleDocs</a> </b>and publish the document in the class blog. Students vote on which is the most original poem.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>TASK 3: READING COMPREHENSION: </b>Where in the world?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Pre-reading</b>: ask students to predict a series of facts related to the celebration of Christmas in different countries.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Post-reading</b>: once they have read the text, they confirm their predictions.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><span style="font-size: 15px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PJ3Q8EVVnEo/TwWQr4-IyZI/AAAAAAAAA0s/ih5TkfsLAKo/s320/reading.jpg" width="317" /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ce_Ctkntk7JHu6j0lC7IhtnK9uNKte0x4ZH3oqdTSbM/edit?hl=es">https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ce_Ctkntk7JHu6j0lC7IhtnK9uNKte0x4ZH3oqdTSbM/edit?hl=es</a> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">by <b>Inma Alcázar</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
If there are students from different countries in your class, ask students to write five questions to know about how their partners celebrate Christmas in their countries.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>TASK 4: VIDEO ACTIVITY</b>: John Lewis Christmas Advert 2011 - This is a wonderful advert I discovered in <b><a href="http://pilarsclassroom.blogspot.com/2011/11/john-lewis-christmas-advert-2011.html">Pilar's blog</a></b> some weeks ago. I think it is great, not for listening but for developing their viewing and oral skills. There is not speech in the advert, just scenes which are part of the child's story. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Pre-viewing</b>: create a series of screen shots using <a href="http://www.vidinotes.com/" style="font-weight: bold;">Vidinotes</a> and ask students to predict what the story is about.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>While-viewing</b>: check that they have understood the ad with a series of questions about the video. The activity is corrected orally.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/pSLOnR1s74o?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<ul>
<li>Why was the boy so nervous?</li>
<li>What was he really waiting for?</li>
<li>What activities did he do to kill time?</li>
<li>How did his parents feel?</li>
<li>What is the slogan for the advert?</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Post-viewing</b>: ask students what was the worst gift they ever received. Then in small groups (3-4 students) they read the description of some unusual Christmas presents and put them in order from the best to the worst explaining the reasons for the order they have chosen.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z_ynxCVQysA/TwWW-wrkjOI/AAAAAAAAA04/K7-tk2uF554/s1600/unusual+gifts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z_ynxCVQysA/TwWW-wrkjOI/AAAAAAAAA04/K7-tk2uF554/s320/unusual+gifts.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/language-assistant/essential-uk/christmas">http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/language-assistant/essential-uk/christmas</a> by Jo Budden</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">To all, my best Season's Greetings! Enjoy, dream and be happy!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</span></div>
</div>
Inma Alcázarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05257453012377027410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3419262576522476971.post-81039180002152495812011-10-20T13:49:00.086+02:002011-11-01T01:13:11.594+01:00Halloween Teaching Ideas and Resources The spooky, scary Halloween festival is just round the corner! These are some activities and ideas which came to my mind after reading <b><a href="http://jasonrenshaw.typepad.com/jason_renshaws_web_log/2011/10/the-english-raven-halloween-lesson-materials-design-challenge.html">The English Raven Halloween lesson materials design challenge</a></b>. Are you ready to invite your students to plan your school Halloween party?<br />
<br />
<div><div style="text-align: center;"><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" id="743de269-7311-43e7-1cdb-4202a65cb432" style="height: 300px; width: 620px;"><param name="movie" value="http://static.issuu.com/webembed/viewers/style1/v2/IssuuReader.swf?mode=mini&autoFlip=true&titleBarEnabled=true&backgroundColor=%23222222&documentId=111030235528-1059fa932364457aac668e54c836d2b4" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"/><param name="menu" value="false"/><param name="wmode" value="transparent"/><embed src="http://static.issuu.com/webembed/viewers/style1/v2/IssuuReader.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" menu="false" wmode="transparent" style="width:420px;height:148px" flashvars="mode=mini&autoFlip=true&titleBarEnabled=true&backgroundColor=%23222222&documentId=111030235528-1059fa932364457aac668e54c836d2b4" /></object></div><div style="text-align: center; width: 420px;"> <a href="http://issuu.com/ialcazar/docs/halloween?mode=window&backgroundColor=%23222222" target="_blank">Open publication</a> - Free <a href="http://issuu.com/" target="_blank">publishing</a> - <a href="http://issuu.com/search?q=halloween" target="_blank">More halloween</a></div></div><br />
<div><b>Activity D2</b></div><form action="http://poll.pollcode.com/L5Wb" method="post"><br />
<table bgcolor="EEEEEE" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2" style="width: 200px;"><tbody>
<tr><td colspan="2"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><b>What activities would you like to organize and participate in at the school Halloween party?</b></span></div></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><input name="answer" type="radio" value="1" /></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Halloween Recipe Contest</span></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><input name="answer" type="radio" value="2" /></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana;">The 50 Word Fright Contest</span></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><input name="answer" type="radio" value="3" /></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Traditional Halloween Games</span></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><input name="answer" type="radio" value="4" /></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Costume Contest</span></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><input name="answer" type="radio" value="5" /></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: Halloween</span></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><input name="answer" type="radio" value="6" /></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Spooky Halloween Storytelling Night</span></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><input name="answer" type="radio" value="7" /></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Jack O'Lantern Workshop</span></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"><br />
<br />
<center><input type="submit" value="Vote" /> <input name="view" type="submit" value="View" /></center></td></tr>
<tr><td align="right" colspan="2"><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;">pollcode.com <a href="http://pollcode.com/">free polls</a> </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;"> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><b>More ideas and activities:</b></div><ul><li style="text-align: left;"> <b><a href="http://www.dailylit.com/forums/other/reader-challenges/2010/10/06/50-word-fright?source=nl-10-11">50 Word Fright</a></b> (scary stories). </li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><b><a href="http://www.its-teachers.com/activities/its121/14_halloween.asp">Read the story and put the section in order</a></b> - It's teachers magazine.</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><b><a href="http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/language-assistant/essential-uk/halloween">Halloween ideas</a></b> - The British Council. </li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><b><a href="http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2008/10/05/the-best-websites-for-learning-about-halloween/">The Best Websites for Learning about Halloween</a></b> by Larry Ferlazzo.</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><b><a href="http://teacherbootcamp.edublogs.org/2011/10/17/18-educational-apps-for-halloween/">18 Educational Apps for Halloween</a></b> by Shelly Terrell.</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><b><a href="http://www.esolcourses.com/topics/halloween.html">Halloween resources</a></b> - ESOL Courses.</li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><b><a href="http://www.theydrawandcook.com/">Halloween recipes</a></b> - They Draw & Cook.</li>
</ul></form>Inma Alcázarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05257453012377027410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3419262576522476971.post-11639748050141714292011-07-29T19:17:00.011+02:002011-10-01T01:50:19.810+02:00Verbling - Let's practice English with native speakers in real time<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4FT_1frNG5yMNOeAGMyZbFKlSb_RWnEOIau5k9_h4qQCgt7KFYpk1RDSdnm0ONVYa3kAb0xJJc3x_OSldx6gd4U4bCmp3g3N7gbIvOrWX-nA_tstaXpx2NU5KSfUUKmoKpwr7KwUdLSlZ/s1600/Verbling.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4FT_1frNG5yMNOeAGMyZbFKlSb_RWnEOIau5k9_h4qQCgt7KFYpk1RDSdnm0ONVYa3kAb0xJJc3x_OSldx6gd4U4bCmp3g3N7gbIvOrWX-nA_tstaXpx2NU5KSfUUKmoKpwr7KwUdLSlZ/s320/Verbling.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5634892243276091042" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >The Internet has revolutionised not only the way people communicate but also the way we learn foreign languages such as English.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Gone are those days when learning how to speak this language in a non-speaking country was quite challenging. The only contact we had with English was through music, books or our teachers. There were like twenty-five, thirty students in my class so we did not have the chance to practice.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Nowadays everything is much easier and there are a lot of online alternatives to language classrooms to improve our oral skills. A long time ago Karen Schweitzer and I wrote about some online language learning communities we can join in to practice English with native speakers:</span></div><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://myeslcorner.blogspot.com/2009/12/10-learning-communities-for-esl.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" >10 Learning Communities for ESL Students</span></a></b></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://myeslcorner.blogspot.com/2009/08/language-networks-dont-stop-learning.html"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" >Language Social Networks. Don't Stop Learning!</span></b></a></li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >However, this year a new site, <b><a href="http://verbling.com/">Verbling</a></b>, has been launched. Verbling is a free live video service for chatting only available in English and Spanish at the moment, since it is in its beta test phase. Nevertheless, they will expand the possibilities soon. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Two of the great features of this new online language learning site, compared to other alternatives, is that it includes video and you can instantly connect to a partner. You do not need to spend time looking for a partner to practice since once you join the site, the system match you up to a parner taking into account your skill level and interests. Then you start chatting in one language around a topic for five minutes and halfway through the session a timer tells you to switch off to the other language. In this way both people get practice. All you need is a microphone, a webcam and an email address.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >What is not so good about the site is that it does not include the option to disconnect the webcam just in case you do not want other people watch you. However, on the other hand, I think the webcam is a great option because it allows us to see the other person's reaction to our words, grasp new vocabulary easily and so on. And, finally, it would be great as well to have the possibility to choose your partner's gender and age.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><b>The site is not meant for under 13</b>. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" >More information about Verbling:</span></b></div><div><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://www.tnooz.com/2011/07/12/tlabs/verbling-wants-to-be-a-next-generation-language-learning-service/"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Verbling wants to be a next-generation language learning service</span></a></b></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://wiredcpu.com/verbling-help-you-learn-language-through-live-video-chat/"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Verbling helps you learn language through live video chat</span></a></b></li></ul></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><b>Más información sobre Verbling en español</b>:</span></div><div><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><b><a href="http://www.elpais.com/articulo/Pantallas/Trueque/lenguas/elpten/20110726elpepirtv_2/Tes">Trueque de lenguas</a></b> </span></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://elblogdelingles.blogspot.com/2011/07/como-hablar-ingles-con-nativos-gratis-y.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Cómo hablar inglés con nativos gratis y de forma instantánea. ¡Verbling!</span></a></b></li></ul></div>Inma Alcázarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05257453012377027410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3419262576522476971.post-53127252653805111552011-06-30T16:41:00.001+02:002011-10-30T01:52:20.416+02:00BAAM GAMEGames are a great way to learn and motivate our students. I knew about this one just some weeks ago when I was looking for a cinema game on the internet to finish my didactic unit on Films and Passive Voice. I could not find the game but <b><a href="http://twitter.com/#!/ddeubel">David Deubelbeiss</a></b> from <a href="http://community.eflclassroom.com/"><b>ESL Classroom 2.0</b></a> gave me the clue to create my own one.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Furthermore, you can use the template and adapt it to any vocabulary, conversation topic or grammar point you can imagine. If you like the idea, you can download the templates or other teachers' BAAM games from the following <b><a href="http://community.eflclassroom.com/resources/topics/baam-games-create-some">website</a></b>. The idea is very simple and I think it really motivates students to take part in.</div><strong style="display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><strong style="display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 12px;"><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/urpillay/baam-cinema-trivia-game" title="BAAM! Cinema Trivia Game">BAAM! Cinema Trivia Game</a></strong></span></strong><br />
<div id="__ss_8267995" style="width: 425px;"><object height="355" id="__sse8267995" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=baamtriviagame-110610021554-phpapp02&stripped_title=baam-cinema-trivia-game&userName=urpillay" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"/><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"/><embed name="__sse8267995" src="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=baamtriviagame-110610021554-phpapp02&stripped_title=baam-cinema-trivia-game&userName=urpillay" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><br />
<div style="padding: 5px 0 12px;">View more <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/">presentations</a> from <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/urpillay">Inma Alcázar</a>.<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px;">All the pictures on this powerpoint are not my property. They have been taken from different sources. Therefore, if any picture is under your copyrights please, send me an email and I will remove it within 48 hours.</span></div></div></div>Inma Alcázarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05257453012377027410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3419262576522476971.post-38893931545325707412010-10-01T21:21:00.036+02:002014-06-17T15:02:21.784+02:00Do you glog? Reinventing Posters with Glogster Edu<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_W2Fomlwguvrlrh3lm0MKlSyKHeXL93u4JbdPlcLV0N5FkWAzIzA7v8A-Mll77CHshpcSiGBkouqKgz0j0e9kdyWRvdrXz0pWpax0m0SNJhagOWnHOfdg6dRUNQXObEISksk8nDmEKmO2/s1600/glogster.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_W2Fomlwguvrlrh3lm0MKlSyKHeXL93u4JbdPlcLV0N5FkWAzIzA7v8A-Mll77CHshpcSiGBkouqKgz0j0e9kdyWRvdrXz0pWpax0m0SNJhagOWnHOfdg6dRUNQXObEISksk8nDmEKmO2/s200/glogster.JPG" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658293139998369314" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 182px; margin: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 200px;" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span">Posters have always been considered a valuable resource to stimulate students' creativity as well as an opportunity for teachers to know what students' have learnt. Do you remember when we created posters using a cardboard, crayons, coloured pencils, pictures taken from magazines, and so on?</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">Much time has passed since then and with the revolution of technology we have "discovered" many useful tools which can make learning more engaging for our students. Don't our students spend most of their free time at their PCs? So, why not combine the </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span">effectiveness </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span">of web 2.0 tools to give them more autonomy to create their own projects in which they will be the speakers, the writers, the editors, and the introduction of </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span">interesting topics</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span"> our students are interested in?</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">If you are curious to find out how technology tools can enhance your teaching and involve your students in their English learning proces</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">s, you should use </span><b><a href="http://edu.glogster.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span">Glogster Edu</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span">:</span></b></span></span></span></div>
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<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span">It allows teachers and students to create digital posters.</span></span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span">It is free.</span></span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span">It is safe.</span></span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span">You can add pictures and graphics from the Internet or from your own computer.</span></span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span">It is possible to add videos from the Internet or from your own computer.</span></span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span">You can record your own voice, so it is perfect to record an interview, a speech, a recitation of a poem or a song.</span></span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span">You can write your own texts to express yourself.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span">So, Glogster Edu is wonderful for creative projects but also for reflections on cultural and social topics.</span></span></span></li>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span">I honestly think this is one of the easiest tools I have worked with and the possibilities to incorporate it in the English class are endless. In addition to this, as Glogster Edu was created with an educational purpose in mind, it ensures that all the content students view is appropriate. You can supervise our students' projects as well and both you and your students can comment on each other's glogs, print them and embed the glog in your classroom blog or wiki. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">What are you waiting for using it?</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span">TUTORIALS:</span></b></span></div>
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<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;"><b><a href="http://www.schooltube.com/video/c92d54a70fbe49328a52/Glogster-Tech-Tip"><span class="Apple-style-span">GlogsterEdu Video Tutorial</span></a></b><span class="Apple-style-span"> by Copiague Middle School.</span></span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;"><b><a href="https://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dgqwv5cr_127g7nqc8fm"><span class="Apple-style-span">GlogsterEdu Tutorial</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span">by Traci Blazoski (Google Docs).</span></span></li>
</ul>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span">GLOGSTERS CREATED BY TEACHERS:</span></b></span></div>
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<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;"><b><a href="http://seanbanville.com/2010/01/30/glogster-my-glog/"><span class="Apple-style-span">To introduce yourself to your students</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span">by Sean Banville.</span></span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;"><a href="http://magicenglish.wikispaces.com/Our+Stories"><b><span class="Apple-style-span">To show your students's works</span></b></a><span class="Apple-style-span"> - Ozge Karaoglu's kindergarten students telling their stories.</span></span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;"><b><a href="http://ozgekaraoglu.wikispaces.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span">To create your own digital portfolio</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span">by Ozge Karaoglu.</span></span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;"><a href="http://sunrise651.edu.glogster.com/grammar/"><b><span class="Apple-style-span">To introduce grammar</span></b></a><span class="Apple-style-span"> tenses by Sunrise651.</span></span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;"><a href="http://sunrise651.edu.glogster.com/food/"><b><span class="Apple-style-span">Lesson Plan on Food</span></b></a><span class="Apple-style-span"> for primary students by Sunrise 651.</span></span></li>
</ul>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span">GLOGSTERS CREATED BY STUDENTS:</span></b></span></div>
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<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><a href="http://xoxomadzxoxo.edu.glogster.com/cell-phones/">Advantages and Disadvantages of Mobile Phones</a></b> by xoxoMadzxoxo. </span></span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><a href="http://s9sy2gj.edu.glogster.com/helping-family-then-the-world/">Helping Family</a></b> by s9sy2gh.</span></span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;"><b><a href="http://nurinadlina.edu.glogster.com/my-portfolio/">Portfolio</a> </b>by Nurin Adlina.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://www.webquestdirect.com.au/webquest.asp?id=1945&page=14908">Create an interactive cookbook</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span">(Webquest final task) by Rubilime. </span></span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;"><b><a href="http://greetingsfromtheworld.wikispaces.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span">Greatings from the World Project</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></b></span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;"><b><a href="http://b2class.glogster.com/london"><span class="Apple-style-span">A Trip to London</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></b><a href="http://markaki-students.blogspot.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span">- Maria Markaki's Class.</span></a></span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><a href="http://mmolina.glogster.com/airport-project"><span class="Apple-style-span">The Airport Project</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span">by Mireia Molina (4º E.S.O.)</span></span></li>
</ul>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span">TEACHERS' NETWORKS:</span></b></span></div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;"><a href="http://educationglogster.ning.com/?xg_source=badge"><b><span class="Apple-style-span">Education Glogster</span></b></a><span class="Apple-style-span"> - Ning Network.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">MY STUDENT'S GLOGS</span></span><iframe frameborder="0" height="530" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://edu.glogster.com/glog.php?glog_id=7606454&scale=40" style="overflow: hidden;" width="500"></iframe><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Ángela -</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">6th Primary</span><br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="530" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://edu.glogster.com/glog.php?glog_id=13123480&scale=40" style="overflow: hidden;" width="500"></iframe><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Laura - 1st ESO</span><br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="300" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://edu.glogster.com/glog.php?glog_id=12624420&scale=40" style="overflow: hidden;" width="500"></iframe><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Lucía - 1ºESO</span><br />
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María - 5º primaria<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">MY GLOG</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">This is a Glogster I created myself as an example for 1º Bachillerato students' project at the end of a didactic unit dealing with Rudyard Kipling, conditional sentences and the situation of people living in developing countries. The purpose of this project was that students wrote their own poems based on Rudyard Kipling's poem </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">If </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">and recorded them, and wrote a short biography of Rudyard Kipling.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 21px;">.</span></span><iframe frameborder="0" height="530" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://edu.glogster.com/glog.php?glog_id=7657313&scale=40" style="overflow: hidden;" width="400"></iframe></div>
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Inma Alcázarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05257453012377027410noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3419262576522476971.post-6786511934206591892010-09-10T21:13:00.033+02:002011-11-01T01:02:50.891+01:00CUADERNIA - an educational materials generator<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeg6c0Eg9A1ukak1y9Nt4UV-OhpwDJDOQErKEQDf4LdMb7ghRySllWT_Lnrl923pZqJkIqjxrWiK8UdsODyZsZzcCsXrW2D0NauyDDFNMrLRSvNABKtF7S6-meuLSliD40dWMIoYtgg-7i/s1600/Cuadernia.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658299935249428034" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeg6c0Eg9A1ukak1y9Nt4UV-OhpwDJDOQErKEQDf4LdMb7ghRySllWT_Lnrl923pZqJkIqjxrWiK8UdsODyZsZzcCsXrW2D0NauyDDFNMrLRSvNABKtF7S6-meuLSliD40dWMIoYtgg-7i/s200/Cuadernia.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 90px; margin: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 200px;" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span">It has been almost two years since I started writing this blog and it is incredible how much I have learnt from many great teachers I have met on the net. Writing was not easy at first. What could an almost new teacher say? However, I have enjoyed a lot having "this little window" to share what I have learnt, my educational worries and tips to introduce technology in the classroom. After a long busy year without time to update the blog, I am back to introduce you a valuable tool to create educational digital books, <span style="color: #cc0000; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">CUADERNIA 2.0</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span">.</span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"></span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">This fantastic free authoring tool, created by Oscar Guerrero Sánchez and his team </span></span><a href="http://www.entornosinnovadores.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Entornos Innovadores</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span">,</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"> is at teachers' disposal in the website of</span><a href="http://www.educa.jccm.es/educa-jccm/cm/recursos/tkContent?idContent=70658&locale=es_ES&textOnly=false"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">the Education Department of Castilla-La Mancha</span></span></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span">(Spain). Up to now, it is only available for Windows and is offered only in Spanish language. I hope there is an English version, as well, in the future so that teachers from all over the world can benefit from it.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></div></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><div style="text-align: justify;">Cuadernia is really easy to use, even for those teachers who do not have much computering knowlege, and it has real potential for helping to make our lessons more engaging and dynamic. You do not need to be a genius to create complementary material for your English lessons, you just need to know your students' interests, motivations and needs to generate activities which are relevant for them. Many times course books include many general topics and they may be useful for English teachers who teach in a big city, for instance, but not for teachers working in a village. This is just one of the reasons I believe that creating our own material or adapting it is worthwhile.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">One of the tools you can use to create your own materials is </span></span><a href="http://www.educa.jccm.es/educa-jccm/cm/recursos/tkContent?idContent=70658&locale=es_ES&textOnly=false"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Cuadernia 2.0</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"> which allows us to create </span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">21 different kinds of activities</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"> using a background, text, flash images, pictures, videos as well as speech bubbles, augmented reality objects and some</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span><a href="http://www.educa.jccm.es/educa-jccm/cm/recursos/tkContent?idContent=71355&locale=es_ES&textOnly=false" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">free applications</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"> to change your archives to different formats.</span></div></span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span">The software is available in three different versions - an online version, a downloadable version for your PC or laptop and another one to save it in your USB. If you decide to use the online version, you have to take into account that it is not possible to save the digital version directly. You will need to export it to your PC to be able to save it and finish your digital book later.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">Lorena Pinillos Chávez has published an </span><a href="http://www.youblisher.com/p/44693-MANUAL-DE-CUADERNIA-Publicado-por-Lorena-PINILLOS-CHAVEZ/"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">easy to follow tutorial</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"> (20 pages) that shows you how to use Cuadernia. However, you will find a </span><a href="http://repositorio.educa.jccm.es/portal/Cuadernia/index.html" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">more complete tutorial</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"> (81 pages) in the website of the Education Department of Castilla-La Mancha.<br />
</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">Some of the </span><strong><span class="Apple-style-span">main advantages</span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span"> which Cuadernia offers are:</span></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><span class="Apple-style-span">It provides an attractive learning environment for students.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">It is not just a tool for teacher to create their materials and share them with other teachers, but also a collaborative tool for students. Have a look at "</span><a href="http://issuu.com/evamate/docs/articulo_estrategia_cuadernia" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Estrategia pedagógica con Cuadernia</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span">" by Eva M. Perdiguero Garzo.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">It includes a broad range of resources to assist in the autonomous use of the programme (tutorials, videotutorials in </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/cuadernia?gl=ES&hl=es" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Cuadernia Youtube Channel</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span">).</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">It includes a </span><a href="http://edu.jccm.es/cuadernia/index.php" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">forum</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"> where teachers can express their opinions about the software and help to its improvement as well as a </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/cuadernia" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">facebook group</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span">.<br />
In the </span><a href="http://www.educa.jccm.es/educa-jccm/cm/recursos/tkContent?idContent=70674&textOnly=false&locale=es_ES"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Educative Digital Objects Library</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"> (Librería ODEs) you will find some didactic units not just for the English Class but for other subjects as well. </span></span></li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span">What I do not find so easy using this software is:</span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">Inserting the digital books in a blog. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><b><div align="center"></div></b><br />
</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span">using other types of formats, you need to change them using the applications offered.</span></li>
</ul><div align="center"><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="center" style="font-size: medium;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://repositorio.educa.jccm.es/portal/odes/ingles/primaria_human_body/index.html" width="505"></iframe></div><div align="center" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</div><div align="center" style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;">You can download some <strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">EFL materials created with Cuadernia</span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">:</span></div></div><div align="center" style="font-size: medium;"><ul><li style="font-weight: bold; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://sites.google.com/site/recursosymas/actividades/primaria/ingls"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">English (Primary).</span></a></li>
<li style="font-weight: bold; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://sites.google.com/site/recursosymas/actividades/eoi/ingls"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">E.O.I (Official Language Schools in Spain).</span></a></li>
</ul></div>Inma Alcázarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05257453012377027410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3419262576522476971.post-45575417157414940472010-06-22T16:56:00.010+02:002011-10-01T01:59:28.117+02:00English Pronunciation Resources for Students and Teachers<div style="text-align: justify;">Given the many different places that "native" English speakers hail from, there is no such thing as perfect English pronunciation. That said, knowing how to pronounce words is an important part of learning any language. If you are struggling with pronunciation or know a student who is struggling, the following free resources may help:</div><span class="Apple-style-span"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.spokenskills.com/index.cfm?type=15&content=studentactivities"><span class="Apple-style-span">SpokenSkills</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"> - SpokenSkills offers many different resources for ESL teachers, language professionals and students, including vowel sounds, consonant sounds, audio and video clips, and listening comprehension podcasts.</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.learnersdictionary.com/pronex/pronex.htm"><span class="Apple-style-span">Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"> - This online learning dictionary from Merriam-Webster provides 15 free sessions of perfect pronunciation exercises for ESL students. Each session includes practice with words, phrases, and sentences.</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.oup.com/elt/global/products/englishfile/"><span class="Apple-style-span">New English File</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"> - This Oxford University Press site offers pronunciation practice for beginner, elementary, pre-intermediate, intermediate, upper-intermediate, and advance</span></div></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;">d level English language learners. Students in each level can check their pronunciation of English sounds against audio files and play games to reinforce learning.</div><span class="Apple-style-span"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://fonetiks.org/index.html"><span class="Apple-style-span">Fonetiks</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"> - Fonetiks offers comprehensive pronunciation guides for nine different varieties of the English language. Other site features include an online English dictionary with instant sound, minimal pair practice, an interactive reading course, a list of words that are difficult to pronounce, and a pronunciation guide for names of people and places.</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://inogolo.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span">Inogolo</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"> - Inogolo is an online American English pronunciation guide for ESL and EFL learners. The guide includes pronunciations for the names of people, places, and things.</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.howjsay.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; "></span></a><a href="http://www.howjsay.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span">Howjsay</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"> - Howsjay is a talking online dictionary that contains audio pronunciations for more than 130,000 English words and phrases. If the word you are looking for is not contained in the dictio</span></div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">nary, you can post a question about the word on the site's comment board.</div><span class="Apple-style-span"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://englishinteractive.net/pronunciation.html"><span class="Apple-style-span">English Interactive</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"> - English Interactive links to a wide range of sites that offer English pronunciation practice. Other site features include interactive vocabulary practice with audio and conversation resources.</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.manythings.org/pp/"><span class="Apple-style-span">American English Pronunciation Practice</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"> - Charles Kelley, a textbook writer and ESL enthusiast, created this page for ESL and EFL students who need pronunciation practice. The page includes listen and repeat videos, tongue twisters, and game-like minimal pair practice using Flash and MP3 files.</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://radiolingua.com/shows/english-efl/write-back-soon/"><span class="Apple-style-span">Write Back Soon</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"> - Radio Lingua Network provides several different podcasts for English learners, including this phrasal verb podcast known as Write Back Soon. The podcast series consists of eight archived episodes that help ESL students understand and practice phrasal verbs.</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.esl-lab.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span">Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"> - This online listening lab is great for students who need speaking, listening, and pronunciation practice. The lab provides short listening quizzes and activities for beginner and intermediate students as well as videos of long conversations and interviews for more advanced students.</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.uiowa.edu/~acadtech/phonetics/"><span class="Apple-style-span">Phonetics Flash Animation Project</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"> - This online project from the University of Iowa features animated libraries of phonetic sounds of English. An animated diagram, description, and audio file of the sound being used in context are available for each English consonant and vowel.</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://www.kantalk.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span">KanTalk</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"> - Created specifically for English students who need spoken English practice, this online com</span></span>munity offers a space to practice conversations and share recordings and videos.</div></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span class="Apple-style-span"><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.busuu.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span">Busuu</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"> - Busuu is an international language learning community for people who want to practice English and other languages with native speakers. The site's integrated video-chat-application makes it easy to chat with anyone you meet on Busuu.</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.sharedtalk.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span">SharedTalk</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"> - SharedTalk is a free Rosetta Stone community that provides both voice and text chat for members who want to practice their language skills online.</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.livemocha.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span">Livemocha</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"> - Livemocha is a popular online language learning community that supports six different languages, including English. Students can use the site to find language partners, user-made videos, and other ESL resources.</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.addlang.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span">AddLang</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"> - AddLang makes it easy for students to practice pronunciation with native English speakers over Skype. Students can also practice their English with other AddLang members using MSN Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, and AOL Messenger</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.usingenglish.com/forum/"><span class="Apple-style-span">UsingEnglish.com</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"> - The English Language Discussion Forum on UsingEnglish.com has a special section just for students who want to discuss questions related to pronunciation, phonetics, and other aspect of speech. The forum also offers an "Ask the Teacher" section for students who need additional help.</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /><a href="http://www.learnersdictionary.com/pronex/pronex.htm"><span class="Apple-style-span"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-nbt5quPd2ToQ8LGd9drW4LKh7xL7qhtvZRP_24-FyO7WwxR4UhNG1LDsgbgwls0u5mE750a_F78EtrnvMW7t8eM5UjiJKI2HPWZEOvUrnBlP1G_e9tvg0QGjDp8wofBslLKcckbI3yFT/s200/KarenSchweitzerPic.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658305082051444338" style="float: left; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; width: 72px; height: 100px; " /></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"></span>Gu</span><span class="Apple-style-span">est post from education writer Karen Schweitzer. Karen is the About.com Guide to Business School. She also writes about </span><a href="http://www.pharmacytechniciancertification.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span">pharmacy technician certification</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"> for PharmacyTechnicianCertification.com.</span></span></div>Inma Alcázarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05257453012377027410noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3419262576522476971.post-63173330258476129492010-06-08T19:37:00.013+02:002012-05-29T20:33:20.871+02:00PLAYCOMIC, more than a simple comic creator<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaRFkLH4TJSNZ2quPnDXfsXCELKiZGPrtVCWF3RVCPoNrUL9Y2mJeb48S5EsEdxSBD03PFM7odn7oMg4Dm1e88dh8EOj9A78d2DX3N9lC8WF_D6IiIt3c5tCpkDvgdD-hoMDBc8zMBydR9/s1600/PLAYCOMIC2.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658307375432269890" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaRFkLH4TJSNZ2quPnDXfsXCELKiZGPrtVCWF3RVCPoNrUL9Y2mJeb48S5EsEdxSBD03PFM7odn7oMg4Dm1e88dh8EOj9A78d2DX3N9lC8WF_D6IiIt3c5tCpkDvgdD-hoMDBc8zMBydR9/s200/PLAYCOMIC2.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 140px; margin: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 200px;" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">It has been a long time ago since I wrote my last post, due to lack of time. However, today I found an incredible comic creator tool which I would like to share with you. It is called </span><a href="http://www.ite.educacion.es/w3/eos/MaterialesEducativos/mem2009/playcomic/index.html" style="color: #3366ff; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">PLAYCOMIC</span></a><span style="color: #3366ff;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">and it has been designed and created by </span><a href="http://anmuge.blogspot.com/2008/11/utilizacin-de-unidades-virtuales.html" style="color: #3366ff; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Antonio Muñoz </span></a><a href="http://anmuge.blogspot.com/2008/11/utilizacin-de-unidades-virtuales.html" style="color: #3366ff; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Germán</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> in order to help stu</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">dents to develop their writing and oral communication skills in English and in Spanish.<br />
<br />
There is a great amount of characters and backgrounds students can choose from, so the possibilities to create different kinds of situational dialogues is almost endless. They will be able to create their own comic strips, finish one of more than 40 stories included, transform a comic into a narrative and viceversa, fill the balloons with their own dialogues and add as many pages as they want to.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658309235703471106" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmV3VbvPCYwWZDGGyAVvxLs-1ki_7PLxf8ugGxCE2XaYVgRhTXbayVJluIsSxHw_wLKKxYxrtFSF8QKeQdhYZrV1yZRKUfcfvIFHd97bch61N46taAKklNBHuRQMBftRJ37eaIXGeRPf3P/s320/PLAYCOMIC3.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 190px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Teachers will benefit as well from this software since it includes a </span><a href="http://www.ite.educacion.es/w3/eos/MaterialesEducativos/mem2009/playcomic/documentacion/didacticguide.pdf" style="color: #3366ff; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">didactic guide</span></a><span style="color: #3366ff;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">with a series of methodological principles, as well as </span><a href="http://www.ite.educacion.es/w3/eos/MaterialesEducativos/mem2009/playcomic/english/index_flash.html" style="color: #3366ff;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">educational suggestions</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> for different kinds of activities using comics, and a </span><a href="http://www.ite.educacion.es/w3/eos/MaterialesEducativos/mem2009/playcomic/documentacion/detailedguide.pdf" style="color: #3366ff;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">detailed guide</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> to learn how to use this tool.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><u><br />
</u></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Well, I hope you find time to explore and try this tool with your students because it is really worth it.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">If you want to know more about how to integrate comics in the classroom, I recommend you to see S. Hendy presentation. She suggests different ideas to integrate comics within the curriculum. </span></div><br />
<div id="__ss_2611606" style="width: 425px;"><strong style="display: block; margin: 12px 0 4px;"><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/shend5/tap-into-the-world-of-comics-2comic-version" target="_blank" title="Tap Into The World Of Comics #2:Comic Version">Tap Into The World Of Comics #2:Comic Version</a></strong> <object height="355" id="__sse2611606" width="425"> <param name="movie" value="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=tapintotheworldofcomicscomicversion-091130002557-phpapp02&stripped_title=tap-into-the-world-of-comics-2comic-version&userName=shend5" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"/><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"/><param name="wmode" value="transparent"/><embed name="__sse2611606" src="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=tapintotheworldofcomicscomicversion-091130002557-phpapp02&stripped_title=tap-into-the-world-of-comics-2comic-version&userName=shend5" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed> </object> <br />
<div style="padding: 5px 0 12px;">View more <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/" target="_blank">presentations</a> from <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/shend5" target="_blank">S. Hendy</a> </div></div>Inma Alcázarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05257453012377027410noreply@blogger.com0