mercoledì 25 maggio 2016
Task based Learning
Having to learn about TBA for my course with Coursera dealing with teaching Reading in ESL I carried out a research online dealing with the issue of the Task based Approach : here are some interesting documents online which are shared online.
They deal with an approach which meaningful for the learners but requires a new approach for the teachers:
" In a task-based lesson the teacher doesn't pre-determine what language will be studied, the lesson is based around the completion of a central task and the language studied is determined by what happens as the students complete it. "
Source :https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/a-task-based-approach
Inclusive education A Mooc by FutureLearn spring 2016
"The Right to Education"- Breaking down the Barriers
Mooc course by the University of Glasgow
FutureLearn.com Spring 2016
A short MOOC about education and inclusion which offerred interesting ideas about what education should be be like. In my country we have been debating the theme as more and more teachers are required to face the different needs of their students.
The Mooc
It was a great Mooc which portrayed ideas and a lot of information about how to work better. Often we forget that inclusion is a must and all the students require our attention and the best techniques.
Education should be for all, in particular for the students who are struggling but want to carry on studying.
The course ran for three weeks and provided videos and links to interesting sources. It was a source of interesting ideas and great help for me.
WEEK 1
The issue of inclusion
WEEK 2
INTERESTING IDEAS
http://www.unesco.org/education/tlsf/
The final part of the course presented this webpage with reference to education and in particular they suggested checking the session about " Teaching and Learning strategies".
Interesting topics were introduced:
Experiential learning
Storytelling
Values education
Enquiry learning
Appropriate assessment
Future Problem solving
Learning outside the classroom
Community Problem solving
It is worth checking what we can do in order to plan activities that aim at inclusion. There are activities which we can plan together and can support the learners and all the students.
The issue is important for every country as education is undergoing many changes but societies still present problems: it is the problem of many disabled children, students who come from other cuntries who do not speak our language. It is the problem of families who cannot support their children and risk being not included.
What is inclusion?
"It is described by some as the practice of ensuring that people feel they belong, are engaged, and connected. It is a universal human right whose aim is to embrace all people, irrespective of race, gender, disability or other attribute which can be perceived as different."
from http://www.keystoinclusion.co.uk/what-is-inclusion-2/
We should all try to implement our teaching and help our students who are facing education problems. Education is for all.
martedì 24 maggio 2016
END OF YEAR ACTIVITIES
END OF YEAR ACTIVITIES
May is going to end soon and by 6th June we will have finished most of our activities at school in Italy.
It is a demanding part of the school year for teachers and students. More tests and finally the holidays, some will stay at home while others are going to leave for the UK or seaside places in Italy.
I tried to see what we can do now to make our last activities more meaningful.
For the students who have to prepare for the exams it is time to recharge the batteries and work harder to face the tests.
For the others and for me as a teacher it is time to think about what went wrong, what I should have done and what I did not do well and how I could help and support the students who have difficulties.
For all my students it is time to think about free time and holidays, without forgetting their English.
I could see an interesting webinar on line by Shelly Terrell this month and she suggested some activities to do before leaving for the summer holidays.
It is time to use English and write together and share pictures, images and do some conversation in English. Everything should be " guided" and" meaningful" .
For me it is time to think about the feedback from my students and see if I can find a way to implement my teaching. I am a life-long learner and I need to see what is not working well and which activity needs improving.
You can find some interesting activities online shared by other other teachers and we might try to help also the students who are in difficulties.
Teaching can take place in difficult situations and I must say that this year has been hard . I do need to create some " engaging activities " which can motivate the students who have difficulties and are struggling learners and my idea is to prepare some work for their summer to help them overcome what is making their life difficult with English learning. I would like to create an ebook with some extra homework and to provide positive feedback during the summer days before they start school in September.
Here you can find links and the " inspiring presentation "which was commented by Shelly Terrell some weeks ago. Great talk for a great lover of teaching and learning.
LINKS :
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/profdev/profdev136.shtml
https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/end-year-activities
http://www.teachhub.com/top-12-effective-end-year-activities
http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2015/04/06/heres-the-end-of-year-goal-setting-activity-ive-done-with-english-language-learners-including-worksheet-video/
End of the Year Activities! from Shelly Sanchez Terrell
"Summer should be the time for having fun and bettering your skills".This is my wish to the students I have taught this year.
Have fun and don't forget your English!!
May is going to end soon and by 6th June we will have finished most of our activities at school in Italy.
It is a demanding part of the school year for teachers and students. More tests and finally the holidays, some will stay at home while others are going to leave for the UK or seaside places in Italy.
I tried to see what we can do now to make our last activities more meaningful.
For the students who have to prepare for the exams it is time to recharge the batteries and work harder to face the tests.
For the others and for me as a teacher it is time to think about what went wrong, what I should have done and what I did not do well and how I could help and support the students who have difficulties.
For all my students it is time to think about free time and holidays, without forgetting their English.
I could see an interesting webinar on line by Shelly Terrell this month and she suggested some activities to do before leaving for the summer holidays.
It is time to use English and write together and share pictures, images and do some conversation in English. Everything should be " guided" and" meaningful" .
For me it is time to think about the feedback from my students and see if I can find a way to implement my teaching. I am a life-long learner and I need to see what is not working well and which activity needs improving.
You can find some interesting activities online shared by other other teachers and we might try to help also the students who are in difficulties.
Teaching can take place in difficult situations and I must say that this year has been hard . I do need to create some " engaging activities " which can motivate the students who have difficulties and are struggling learners and my idea is to prepare some work for their summer to help them overcome what is making their life difficult with English learning. I would like to create an ebook with some extra homework and to provide positive feedback during the summer days before they start school in September.
Here you can find links and the " inspiring presentation "which was commented by Shelly Terrell some weeks ago. Great talk for a great lover of teaching and learning.
LINKS :
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/profdev/profdev136.shtml
https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/end-year-activities
http://www.teachhub.com/top-12-effective-end-year-activities
http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2015/04/06/heres-the-end-of-year-goal-setting-activity-ive-done-with-english-language-learners-including-worksheet-video/
End of the Year Activities! from Shelly Sanchez Terrell
"Summer should be the time for having fun and bettering your skills".This is my wish to the students I have taught this year.
Have fun and don't forget your English!!
martedì 17 maggio 2016
E-BOOKS
How to create ebooks
In February I could do an interesting EVO SESSION about teachers as creators of ebooks. We worked online in a closed group which was created in GOOGLE+ and I could discover new tools . I also designed and developed my first ebook about Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet for English language learners. It was a great effort for me as I am not so tech-savvy as many other teachers but we were guided on line and Shelly Terrell was a great supporter for the activity. In five weeks I learnt how to keep on working on my ideal ebook.
I wrote some posts in the blog where I usually write about my learning about new technology . You can see them online now:
http://gettingdigitalizedinlifeandwork.blogspot.it/2016/01/editing-and-publishing-ebooks.html
http://gettingdigitalizedinlifeandwork.blogspot.it/2016/03/evo-2016-teachers-creating-digital.html
Last March I found an interesting ad about Italian MOOCS and I found out that they were running a course for teachers about the creation of ebooks. They seemed to have a different approach but I decided to try. I enrolled after 20th April and I have just finished my ebook based on the guide provided in the MOOC course - Ebook per la scuola italiana 2016 - you can find more online http://moodlehoc.polimi.it/.
We were left working online and we had to rely on the support of the other teachers, I was a bit confused at the beginning but then I followed the tutorial and learnt how to create my ebook in a short time. We were also provided with lots of information about the development of ebooks and ereaders. I also googled the tools and the approach which I was presented and discovered that other teachers have been working in the same way and with the same tools.
This is what I found online about creating ebooks and based on the steps which were provided. I also tried to see what is happening in Italian schools now. Not everywhere we have ebooks but some schools are trying to start using them. The role of the teacher is crucial. I am aware that not many are eager at learning about these new tools which we can use now.
References online:
http://verytech.smartworld.it/come-creare-un-e-book-con-calibre-180221.html
http://www.ebookreaderitalia.com/instapapernaviga-salva-e-leggi-in-seguito/
http://fmanclossi.com/index.php/2015/12/17/come-convertire-un-ebook-con-calibre/
https://farinasullescarpe.wordpress.com/tag/ebook-instapaper-scribd-calibre-epub-fatica-esperienze/
http://www.istitutoperlasca.gov.it/attachments/article/121/opentextbook_libero.pdf
http://www.pearltrees.com/garabaldafafarata/conversione-formati-ebook/id8069839
EBOOKS
My third ebook, based on the second one but I wanted to add images and more information about the sonnet and the English sonnet
What I could not add to the book: the background image which was present in the word document I had designed. Here is a screenshot of what I had created:
The experience was useful and I am going to use the platform on Scribd for creating some ebooks for my students.
In February I could do an interesting EVO SESSION about teachers as creators of ebooks. We worked online in a closed group which was created in GOOGLE+ and I could discover new tools . I also designed and developed my first ebook about Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet for English language learners. It was a great effort for me as I am not so tech-savvy as many other teachers but we were guided on line and Shelly Terrell was a great supporter for the activity. In five weeks I learnt how to keep on working on my ideal ebook.
I wrote some posts in the blog where I usually write about my learning about new technology . You can see them online now:
http://gettingdigitalizedinlifeandwork.blogspot.it/2016/01/editing-and-publishing-ebooks.html
http://gettingdigitalizedinlifeandwork.blogspot.it/2016/03/evo-2016-teachers-creating-digital.html
Last March I found an interesting ad about Italian MOOCS and I found out that they were running a course for teachers about the creation of ebooks. They seemed to have a different approach but I decided to try. I enrolled after 20th April and I have just finished my ebook based on the guide provided in the MOOC course - Ebook per la scuola italiana 2016 - you can find more online http://moodlehoc.polimi.it/.
We were left working online and we had to rely on the support of the other teachers, I was a bit confused at the beginning but then I followed the tutorial and learnt how to create my ebook in a short time. We were also provided with lots of information about the development of ebooks and ereaders. I also googled the tools and the approach which I was presented and discovered that other teachers have been working in the same way and with the same tools.
This is what I found online about creating ebooks and based on the steps which were provided. I also tried to see what is happening in Italian schools now. Not everywhere we have ebooks but some schools are trying to start using them. The role of the teacher is crucial. I am aware that not many are eager at learning about these new tools which we can use now.
References online:
http://verytech.smartworld.it/come-creare-un-e-book-con-calibre-180221.html
http://www.ebookreaderitalia.com/instapapernaviga-salva-e-leggi-in-seguito/
http://fmanclossi.com/index.php/2015/12/17/come-convertire-un-ebook-con-calibre/
https://farinasullescarpe.wordpress.com/tag/ebook-instapaper-scribd-calibre-epub-fatica-esperienze/
http://www.istitutoperlasca.gov.it/attachments/article/121/opentextbook_libero.pdf
http://www.pearltrees.com/garabaldafafarata/conversione-formati-ebook/id8069839
EBOOKS
Ebook e classi virtuali from Veronica Cavicchi
PROGETTO BOOK IN PROGRESS
http://www.bookinprogress.org/
http://www.bookinprogress.org/bookinprogress/_file/documenti/PDF_LIBRI/inglese/AIE206%20P2%20inglese%20professionali%20UNITA%201.pdf
There is a project which is supported by some headmasters in Italian schools and which aims at creating ebooks for learners by their teachers - see Project Book in Progress.
The steps suggested in the MOOC
Some simple tools you need to have on your computer:
https://www.instapaper.com/ you need to be registered and have an account.
STEP 1- INSTAPAPER
This is useful for bookmarking websites you want to use in your ebook
Once you have chosen the websites you need to create a folder for them. This will be your " ebook". The tool is used for downloading the document in the epub form.
https://calibre-ebook.com/
The tool is used for reading epub books and for editing books. If you check online you will find this information:
calibre is a free and open source e-book library management application developed by users of e-books for users of e-books. It has a cornucopia of features divided into the following main categories:
The tool helps you turn the epub book into a doc document.
STEP 3- WORK ON THE DOCUMENT-EDITING
Once the document is ready you can add pictures, index, any personal text you want to add. The links to the webpages will be active and will open in the ebook online.
STEP 4- UPLOAD YOUR DOC FILE TO SCRIBD
What is Scribd ? It is an open publishing platform where people can upload their books and they can read books. For reading books they are required to pay for some as the writers have published their books on the platform.
https://www.scribd.com/
You need to upload the file and then in just a few minutes you have your ebook published. The ebook can be downloaded and viewed by other people. It can be read online,shared and embedded in blogs and websites.
Easy? It is a different approach, but I have learnt about some tools which were new to me.
My attempts: you can find online what I have created.
It was based on the introduction to William Shakespeare, the play The Tempest and his sonnets. I wanted to create a summer work for students of English which could be " free" online and with interesting weblinks and also videos. The final product was not excellent but an interesting experience for me.
To download the book students need to be registered: the book will be a pdf document.
My second ebook:
PROGETTO BOOK IN PROGRESS
http://www.bookinprogress.org/
http://www.bookinprogress.org/bookinprogress/_file/documenti/PDF_LIBRI/inglese/AIE206%20P2%20inglese%20professionali%20UNITA%201.pdf
There is a project which is supported by some headmasters in Italian schools and which aims at creating ebooks for learners by their teachers - see Project Book in Progress.
The steps suggested in the MOOC
Some simple tools you need to have on your computer:
https://www.instapaper.com/ you need to be registered and have an account.
STEP 1- INSTAPAPER
This is useful for bookmarking websites you want to use in your ebook
Once you have chosen the websites you need to create a folder for them. This will be your " ebook". The tool is used for downloading the document in the epub form.
https://calibre-ebook.com/
The tool is used for reading epub books and for editing books. If you check online you will find this information:
calibre is a free and open source e-book library management application developed by users of e-books for users of e-books. It has a cornucopia of features divided into the following main categories:
- Library Management
- E-book conversion
- Syncing to e-book reader devices
- Downloading news from the web and converting it into e-book form
- Comprehensive e-book viewer
- Content server for online access to your book collection
- E-book editor for the major e-book formats
The tool helps you turn the epub book into a doc document.
STEP 3- WORK ON THE DOCUMENT-EDITING
Once the document is ready you can add pictures, index, any personal text you want to add. The links to the webpages will be active and will open in the ebook online.
STEP 4- UPLOAD YOUR DOC FILE TO SCRIBD
What is Scribd ? It is an open publishing platform where people can upload their books and they can read books. For reading books they are required to pay for some as the writers have published their books on the platform.
https://www.scribd.com/
You need to upload the file and then in just a few minutes you have your ebook published. The ebook can be downloaded and viewed by other people. It can be read online,shared and embedded in blogs and websites.
Easy? It is a different approach, but I have learnt about some tools which were new to me.
My attempts: you can find online what I have created.
It was based on the introduction to William Shakespeare, the play The Tempest and his sonnets. I wanted to create a summer work for students of English which could be " free" online and with interesting weblinks and also videos. The final product was not excellent but an interesting experience for me.
To download the book students need to be registered: the book will be a pdf document.
My second ebook:
My third ebook, based on the second one but I wanted to add images and more information about the sonnet and the English sonnet
What I could not add to the book: the background image which was present in the word document I had designed. Here is a screenshot of what I had created:
The experience was useful and I am going to use the platform on Scribd for creating some ebooks for my students.
domenica 15 maggio 2016
Professional Development : where to find events in education and interesting events for teachers of English and other subjects
The importance of Professional Development
More and more we are required to keep on learning and working on our CPD. I was pleased to learn about this helpful calendar online for people who are teaching and involved in education and which has just been presented.
It is possible to learn about most of the education events and we can all choose what to do. This is the link :
https://sites.google.com/site/theeducationcalendar/
Here you can find the video presentation by Monica Burnes who is a leading teacher and an expert in modern technology.
I have come across these interesting website where teachers share ideas :
EVENTS IN MAY 2016
FOR LANGUAGE TEACHERS AND TEACHERS WHO ARE INTERESTED IN EDUCATION AND TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION
You can follow the Free Friday Webinars which are presented by Shelly Terrell : here is the collection which she has shared online
It is a pity which the events on Friday are late for people like me who are in Europe but I think it is worth trying to follow some webinars as Shelly provides good tips and useful slides about what we can do to enhance our learning. I get to bed late after I have watched them and I feel that we can all learn by watching online webinars!
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