Week 6 – PowerPoint

Time is flying and this week we have checked some of the benefits of PowerPoint. As a PowerPoint fan I enjoyed reading about the tips and the different ways of making a class more dynamic with the use of presentations.

I started using PowerPoint as a student and I have also seen a lot of teachers using it. Like most people, I have made some mistakes while using this tool but that helped me improve little by little. I have learned that a PowerPoint presentation can be your best friend or your worst enemy, so you need to use it wisely. Like uncle Ben said, “With great power, comes great responsibility”.

Now I am in charge of the team that designs multimedia activities in the Binational Center where I work. We use a lot of PowerPoint games and they help motivate students in class. Having this team also helps teachers who struggle with technology. Apart from providing them with PPT games we also train them in the use of new technologies such as the interactive board and the like.

All in all, PowerPoint can help us a lot in class and we can help our colleagues to start using it too, so it’s a win-win situation.

Jota

Great news!!

I got married!!!!

An enlightening week 5

Last week we mentioned some of the problems and concerns we had with our classes. This week, however, we took a look at the possible solutions and I learned about WebQuests and PBL (Project-Based Learning). As I was reading about these tools my mind was working at a thousand and hour to plan activities focusing on this approach. I have always wanted to maximize my students talking time and focus on communication and now I have a better ideas on how to do it. I think it is a challenge, but I love challenges so it will be fun.

Another thing that worried me was the difference between exams results and communicative performances of my students. Then, I read about alternative assessment. It made me notice that sometimes traditional evaluation is not focused on communication. This is another thing I would try to include in my classes.

It was a really good week and also the start of a change, a change for good.

Jota

Week 4 - reading, writing and more

Week 4 came with a lot of resources. Teaching reading and writing is not an easy task, and as I found out that is a common issue around the world. Some of the websites provided this week will help me in my lessons when I have to include reading and writing activities.

I have learned that lesson planning is very important and useful and this week we created a technology-enhanced lesson plan so it was nice to work with a new format for a lesson plan and include the technology needed in the class.

Step 3 of my project came with week 4. I found some problems that I want to solve and I hope that technology can help me to do it.

I have learned so much so far and I can’t wait for week 5 to start.

Jota

Week 3 - CALL

I have to admit I loved this week. Reading about CALL (computer assisted language learning) was very exciting. It is just great to see how close technology and teaching have come. I think one of the biggest problems that CALL solves is the reduced amount of time that students have to practice their English in class. Students have access to English 24/7 and that is just amazing.

The obvious application of this technology is grammar practice. Students can get into different websites, solve exercises and get immediate feedback, which is very beneficial. They can even practice by playing some interactive games. There are some other websites that allow students to practice their speaking skills. Currently, the software found in websites does a great job when it comes to pronunciation practice. However, there is still a lot to improve to make a computer able to participate in an active conversation. Hopefully that will never happen and teachers won´t lose their jobs. Just kidding.

Most of my students spend 5 – 6 hours a day online, so why not taking advantage of that? Students love the Internet, games and socializing through the Web, now we can have them learn a language using something they consider fun.

Jota

Week 2 - Objectives and Web Search

Week 2 is coming to an end and one more time, it was great.  The ABCD model and web searches were the topics.

Setting objectives is very important to stay focused in class, not only for students but for teachers too.  That is why learning about the ABCD model was very useful. This model helps stating objectives in an easy and clear way so you know exactly how and what you want your students to do and achieve.

Web searching can be frustrating at times if you don´t know where to search. The problem is that sometimes we limit ourselves to one or maybe two search engines when there are plenty of them on the web. It was very beneficial to try different search engines and compare them in order to be able to see their advantages and disadvantages. Now I have a better idea of what search engine to use depending on the material I need to search for.