Collablogatorium

Digital Skills for Teachers - Where Are You?

noreply@blogger.com (Carla Arena) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:46:00 +0000

Nik Peachey's post resonates to what I've been trying to do for the last decade in the school I work for, give support to teachers to help them enhance their digital skills' development.

Just by clicking on Nik's list, you'll be able to find where you are, how far you've gone and where you want to head to.

Teachers' digital skills tick list

As for my own professional development, besides being connected to my online network of educators through Twitter, Facebook, blogs, plus attending online webinars and conferences throughout the year mixed with f2f seminars and presentations in conferences, I have a motto of

"a skill or tool a semester"

Every single semester, I set a specific goal for my own learning and pursue it throughout the semester. It is doable, simple and it keeps me focused on my learning goals.

How about you? How do you keep yourself up-to-date? How do your pursue your professional development? Where do you want to head? What are your weaknesses that you want to transform into strength? How do you keep motivated to do your best on a daily basis? How are you constantly preparing for yourself to be an AGENT OF CHANGE?

Storytelling - Five Card Story

noreply@blogger.com (Carla Arena) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:39:00 +0000

This week, in our Digitools EVO session, we're exploring writing. To be more specific, creative writing. Jane Petring carefully prepared wonderful tasks for that. She used many interesting writing platforms that we had collected. They are all fantastic ones, but I'd like to highlight one in special created by Alan Levine, the Five Card story.

There are so many possibilities there for students. They have a choice to grab the five random cards to write their stories.

The students can write their stories and share on the site.

They can write the stories and give each other's stories the title of their peers' stories.

The teacher could assign the picture cards and see what students come up with and then compare to the original story posted on the site. Take, for example, this very short story. The teacher could show the pictures to students, give them the guidelines, they could write the stories, compare each other's stories and then check what the author came up with.

Five Card Story: The Best Thing about a Mac

a PLP ConnectU story created by tesuque

flickr photo by cogdogblog

flickr photo by cogdogblog

flickr photo by cogdogblog

flickr photo by AJ Wms

flickr photo by giulia.forsythe
Had a PC. Fed up with trojans.Bought a Mac. Finally saw the light! Practically no viruses!

So much to explore in the realm of digital storytelling, but my advice is always to keep it simple and fun for you and your learners.

EVO - The Art of Curation and Discovery in Professional Development

noreply@blogger.com (Carla Arena) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:24:00 +0000

Just came across George Siemens's insights

"A curatorial teacher acknowledges the autonomy of learners, yet understands the frustration of exploring unknown territories without a map. A curator is an expert learner. Instead of dispensing knowledge, he creates spaces in which knowledge can be created, explored, and connected. ... A curator balances the freedom of individual learners with the thoughtful interpretation of the subject being explored. While learners are free to explore, they encounter displays, concepts, and artifacts representative of the discipline. Their freedom to explore is unbounded. But when they engage with subject matter, the key concepts of a discipline are transparently reflected through the curatorial actions of the teacher."
(George Siemens, Friday, August 24th, 2007 at 10:31)

It is a perfect definition of how we try to do things in the Electronic Village Online, and it hasn't been different this year. With the Classroom Digital Tools session in full steam with 503 participants, the moderators are simply the enablers of people connection and the pointers to exciting educational content. We are designers and curators of meaningful learning experiences. And this is certainly disorienting at first to participants who join us for the first time. Why? Because they generally expect to have a traditional type of training in which we "teach", they "learn", in which we are the "experts" and they are the "recipients".

Soon they come to realize that by joining the EVO, they enter in a different realm of professional development. We are there together to experience learning in a community. And in a community, there's no one way road. In fact, we have roundabouts, u-turns, all kinds of communicational directions to achieve our main goal for the session, provide participants with the opportunity to learn how to be out there in the wild with more confidence, to click around, to explore, connect, add their own voices and to keep daring. Nobody wants to make a fool of himself in front of 500 other people, mainly when these people are educators. We have our own self-image to preserve. However, once participants realize that YES, it is OK to ask, to write in the wrong area, to comment, to make suggestions, to give and get constructive feedback, the learning possibilities are immediately amplified, and it seems that our professional development gets on a whirlwind of new perspectives and directions with the wonders of new nodes and connections with educators around the globe.

Week 1 in EVO is always daunting, a bit scary at times, but it is also a time of allurement and fascination, a time for discovery and optimism that reenergize us as professionals and educators trying to make a difference in every learner's life and in our own.

I can't help myself, but be totally touched by what has been shared in our session by participants coming from all over the globe with their multicultural perspectives, trying to see what works and what doesn't in their contexts.

Week 2 in the Digital Tools group has started with some creative minds in action! We never know where it is going to take us with such a fantastic community. Let us keep exploring the unbound freedom of guided discovery...

Some highlights of our session also available at http://www.scoop.it/t/classdigitools

Make it Small, Move Slowly, Make it Big

noreply@blogger.com (Carla Arena) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:34:00 +0000

Still on what I had mentioned for New Year's with my no-wish-list statement, I just came across a very enjoyable read that is inspiring and plain simple.

Mitch Joel, in his post "The Deception os Malcolm Gladwell, Seth Godin and Gary Vaynerchuk" (no wonder I'm a huge fan of these guys!) mentions the power of taking a step of a time, making things a habit and giving you some time to change. In fact, many people think that any move is about taking a big decision and just going for it. Wrong. All the big decisions in life have a maturation time, a period to settle in and become part of your mindset. Just then, it becomes an A-Ha moment. We might thing that it happens overnight, but it doesn't. We just need to have an open mind and the willingness to give a different perspective to our thoughts, actions and habits.

So, instead of big promises with huge moves, what if we made a very small change in our routine that can become a major impacting change in the near future? No wish lists, no promises, but one small change. I've already decided for mine. Let's see how it works. How about you?

No Wish List for 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Carla Arena) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 14:55:00 +0000

How about starting the Year of 2012 with not so much weigh, to-do lists and wish lists?
How about taking a look back and just writing down all the accomplishments of 2011 to come to the conclusion that, YES, we´ve done much, accomplished tons, and still have a lot to do.

No wish list, but light-living, guilt-free 2012 with care and passion
with bonds and intensity
trust in others and self-confidence

To keep moving ahead
Doing our best
With a look back only to realize that
the future can be bright and light
It all depends on us
and our positive vibes

In the year of Iemenjá, the mother of all living things and the owner of the waters,
let us live with the flow
re-energized by calmer waters
let us float and leave regret and negativeness behind
keeping 2012 as a year to remember and cherish,
the one that we accomplished with no promises or lists,
but with at least one action that made a difference.

How about setting yourself for a great start in 2012 with all the positive sparkles one can think of?
Not with a big list, but with a lookout for doing more good, acting more upon your life
and living the way you feel it is right, not how people think you should be or do
2012, the year of flow and taking hold of your own self emanating vibrancy and passion

Books, Summer, Books

noreply@blogger.com (Carla Arena) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 11:33:00 +0000

For many, this is a winter list. Well, for us down South it is summer time, a perfect period of the year just to goof off with a great book or e-book in hand just for the sake of our own delight or of catching up whatever we couldn't read throughout the year.

I, personally, blend pleasure and work when it comes to summertime reading. Nothing better than being carried away by a good story or starting to dream and plan the year ahead.

Here's my list:

- Equator - Miguel Sousa Tavares
- Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen
- The Help - Kathryn Stockett

I'm already enjoying myself with Jonathan Field's "Uncertainty: Turning Fear and Doubt into Fuel for Brilliance". Great inspiring stories!

Also, in my Kindle I have some books for my professional development in the list:
The Connected Educator: Learning and Leading in a Digital Age
Playing with Media: simple ideas for powerful sharing
Now You See It: How the Brain Science of Attention Will Transform the Way We Live, Work, and Learn
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0054KBLBI/ref=kinw_myk_ro_title

Well, I guess I'd need more than my holiday season to catch up with my reading!

And here are some lists that you might enjoy, as well:

http://www.edutopia.org/winter-reading-list-2011
http://www.goodreads.com/award/choice/2011
http://www.npr.org/2011/12/14/143293240/year-end-fiction-wrap-up-the-10-best-novels-of-2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/11/books/10-best-books-of-2011.html?_r=1

So, what's in your reading list for summer or winter?

mLearning - from Apes to Apps 2

noreply@blogger.com (Carla Arena) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 23:12:00 +0000

The mLearning course at the Consultants-e is in full steam.

One of the highlights of the week is Gavin's video of some exciting iPad apps. I do agree with Gavin that real apps, not the ones specifically created for education, are much more exciting and full of potential in the classroom. It seems that publishers and app developers in the educational field are too far apart from what really makes apps an amazing tool for learning. Most of the educational apps lack flame, the alluring possibilities of the touch technologies. This market should really look into the apps kids love, the highly popular games and apps to give them clues to what really makes a difference when developing an app.

In my opinion, Flipboard is still one of the apps that makes use of the capabilities of the iPad to its fullest. Love it. Now, need to explore some that Gavin mentioned. How about you? Which app is your favorite? Which one would you like to give it a try with your students?

Here are the apps Gavin mentions:

Flipboard

Pressreader

Zinio

storyboards

strip designer

popplet

iThoughtsHD

Moodboard

Slide by slide

iGeopix (Flickr Creative Commons and Google Maps)

FlickStackr

viewfinder

sonicpics

Cork (sticky notes)

art authority

Monet HD

Articles for iPad

Shakespeare Pro

Star Walk for iPad

The World Factbook for iPad

wikihood plus for ipad

underscore notify

Phatpad

writepad

Pages, Numbers and Keynote

Penultimate

Goodreader for ipad

mLearning - From Apes to Apps

noreply@blogger.com (Carla Arena) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 12:21:00 +0000

Since the beginning of our existence, our main goal is connection, learning, survival, evolution. This is what we still pursue nowadays, meaningful connections, lifelong learning to become better human beings. Well, if it's not everyone's goals, at least these are mine, and I know a bunch of inspiring educators, like the Webheads, who pursue exactly that.

In my constant search for becoming a better professional, I'm now taking the Consultants-e mlearning course, which was made possible by the Binational Center I work for, Casa Thomas Jefferson, through a grant we've applied and won to use tablets to teach English to at-risk students in a program in partnership with the American Embassy, ACCESS.

We're in Week 2 of our online session, and it is always a pleasure to see Gavin Dudeney and Nicky Nockly in full steam, generous in their sharing and eager to connect in their facilitation.

Some of the highlights of the mlearning course so far:
- They've been making full use of MOODLE's flexibility in terms of design possibilities and interaction opportunities
- They've been doing what they preach, giving different options to take quizzes and do the activities. So, what they present about, talk or blog about is what you can see taking place in the course.
- The app to access MOODLE suggested by Gaving mTouch is a treat
- I loved the Sounds of you introductory activity, in which you were guided to share the sounds that talk a bit about you instead of the same old tell me a little bit more about you. This part was done as a task in which we had to fill out our profiles, generally an area in MOODLE that is blank (it makes much more sense as we can just click on the participants' names to remind ourselves who is who).
- My aha moment so far? Just found out about Wiffiti
A neat online application where you add tags and get a dynamic screen. Hum...I can imagine it being used with students tweeting straight to the screen about a certaing topic, or even using the Wiffiti webpage to add their thoughts on the topic.

Of course, these are just tidbits of a wealth of resources, discussions, activities that we've been experiencing. There's way more into it than I could write here, but I just wanted to keep all these precious online moments registered here.

More updates to this page coming soon as the course progresses and I keep on my ongoing opportunity search for professional development and evolution.

From Post-Its to Movie Segments in the EFL Classroom

noreply@blogger.com (Carla Arena) — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 16:39:00 +0000

I remember Cláudio as a very tall, charming teacher when I was still a student at the Binational Center we work in Brasília. Now, I feel terribly lucky to have Cláudio as a co-worker, always inspiring us with his fantastic activities with movie segments. He saves us time, helps us have ready-to-use activities promptly available for our English classes. It can be grammar-based activities, topic-based warm-ups and follow-ups, all freely available for use at:

Just like Cleide, our tecnophobe teacher who became a digital artist, Cláudio didn't know much about technology until the day he started having some training and repurposed his own professional path connecting his passion for films and technology to share what he was doing with others with the community of educators worldwide. In fact, every time we travel to a Conference, Cláudio is a popstar with a group of fans wanting to take photos and talk with him.

Learn more about this educator who has been enchanting and inspiring all of us for years at Casa Thomas Jefferson.

>>Cláudio, just some years ago, you didn't know anything about blogging. What was the turning point for you? What made you realize it was time for a change?

I felt that I was not following the speed of the changes in the educational field, especially concerning the tools available on the web. I started feeling embarrassed when I realized that novice teachers were much more familiar with the new trends in education than I was. They mastered the technological aspects, but lacked expertise in teaching. On the other hand, I mastered the teaching expertise, but did not know much about technology. I could not be behind the teachers I was supposed to monitor and develop. This feeling was shared by most of the Coordinators at the Casa Thomas Jefferson. These Coordinators eventually decided to take a course with a knowledgeable teacher at the CTJ, Ronaldo Mangueira, who taught us the basics of blogging and wikis. He assigned us one piece of homework, which was a turning point in this process. We had to develop a blog. Because I already had many activities connecting movies and grammar, which were ready to be used, I decided to create my blog to share what I had been doing and show my teacher I would manage to do my homework. Then everything took place rapidly. It was amazing how it motivated me to go on. The results were immediate. The number of visitors, the positive feedback and awards the blog received in such a short time showed me that I was in the right track, so I felt compelled to keep on developing the activities and sharing them with my readers. I think it was a wise decision.

>>You post a video activity with a grammar point handout every single week on your blog for free. Why free? What are your drives for giving so much to the community?

Many people have been talking me into charging for the worksheets or the site access. I refuse to do so. My main purpose is sharing. Teachers must help each other. How can a teacher in Russia or in Korea possibly compete against me? People with little access to technology or who are taking teaching training courses profit

enormously from my work. I am sure that I have been receiving much more in return by providing this free material than I would be if I had been charging for the use of the material. I gain by giving

presentations, relating with different teachers and institutions worldwide, giving short teacher development courses, and by fulfilling my generous way of being, sharing what I think I can do best. I also profit from other people’s work on the web, so my activities are just my share. I’ve been receiving many activities from my readers who want to share theirs too. I always publish them with the proper credits and I also use them in my classes. Most of them are excellent tasks. We end up helping each other.

>>How have you benefited from the community of educators who follow you? Any funny or touching stories about your followers?

Many experts in the teaching field have contacted me. We share links, ideas and knowledge. Famous professionals of the area have mentioned my work on important websites, such as Universities, Colleges, Governmental Organizations, among others. I have given interviews, made online presentations, and become a well-known reference in the use of videos and movies to teach grammar. This is simply fantastic, considering that Movie Segments to Assess Grammar Goals is turning three-years old in October 2011.

Readers have been sending messages of how their professional lives have changed after knowing my blog. Some of them say that their classes are much more fun now and that they use the segments practically every class. Some say they don’t teach a class without checking the blog out before they actually plan their lessons. I feel so pleased when teachers who have very few resources say that their students have become more motivated and participatory because of the activities. I also receive messages from students who start using my blog to practice the language, because their teachers let them know about the blog. And they do it spontaneously, just because they like the site. Just last week I received a message from a teacher from Malaysia, and she said that she was about to quit teaching for the lack of motivation and interest from her students in a small village where she lives in the cold mountains of the country. They hardly have access to movies or TV programs in English where they live in and their contact with foreigners is rare, which hindered the students’ intrinsic motivation to learn English . She said that her students are so eager to have English classes nowadays that she has started developing video activities herself. One of her activities will be shared in one of my future posts. She sent me pictures of her students using my blog. I almost cried seeing them! Another touching moment was when a teacher in Canada sent me a message with the topic: URGENT. The text said – “Claudio, I love you and your activities. You have saved my life so many times. I’m teaching a class on Dangling Modifiers on Monday. Can you prepare something for me. I am in complete despair without anything interesting for my students. Please HELP!!!”. Well, I did something with the movie “The Devil Wears Prada” for her. Three weeks later, I received a jar of Maple Syrup from her via snail mail. I loved it.

>>Why did you feel the need to keep adding to your Movie Segments to Assess Grammar Goals blog and creating another blog - Movie Segments for Warm-Ups and Follow-Ups?

I think I can’t stop feeding my blogs now. My readers expect a new post every week. They send messages if I am one day late with the post, for example, asking what happened. Moreover, new blockbusters and clever movies come out every week, many of them full of rich material. I simply cannot see a scene that can be used in class and ignore it. How can I leave the Twilight series out, for example? I have a lot of material already prepared for the next couple of years, ready to be published, so I don’t think I will ever stop doing it.

I had the need to create Movie Segments for Warm-ups and Follow-ups because many teachers at Casa Thomas Jefferson and other readers of mine know that I am a movie buff, so they usually ask me if I know a scene to lead some topics in, such as weddings, genetic engineering, cloning, travel hassles, among others. Besides, I also make use of segments to brainstorm new topics, readings, and for my conversation classes, so I decided to create another blog for that purpose. It is funny because both blogs have different audiences. This new blog attracts a lot of ESL and private teachers. In fact, it is a success too. The number of visitors increase every week. It contains activities and tasks that can be used just for 10 minutes or for a whole 120 minute-class. This is one of the reasons why teachers enjoy it, I guess.

>>I know you have a very interesting creative process to have the video segments ready for the educators. Can you tell us a little bit about it? How do you prepare the activities?

I’m not sure how it really happens. I have always prepared grammar activities based on movie segments, but I believe that technology nowadays has provided me with the tools I needed to store and share what I have always done. I usually see lots of films and I try to focus on how I can use scenes to practice grammar. However, I believe that practice makes perfect, so I have developed the skill to see movies with different eyes, which I call “grammar eyes”.

There are two ways of using my “grammar eyes”. One of them is to look for a specific grammar point when I see a blockbuster movie. So, if I’m looking for something to contrast the use of the simple past x past perfect, for instance, I already know I need a scene with a sequence of actions that take place during one single scene. This way I will manage to have a context that provides me with two actions that happen in the past, one before the other, and I will have enough input to use the tenses I’m looking for. The second way is when the movie has a scene that is simply perfect for a certain grammar goal. For example, I’m seeing a movie and there is a scene that shows a period of time, or activities which a character has performed during an unfinished period of time. This means I can use it for the present perfect tense. Modals for speculations must have a scene with an unexplained mystery. For the passive voice, you must find a scene with a series of actions. To contrast the past continuous and the simple past tenses, you must look for a scene in which several activities take place at the same time. I do not look for the grammar point in the lines the
characters say during the scene – sometimes I am lucky enough to have one or another scene like that – but I look for a context that allows a movie scene with certain characteristics to be used. This way teachers do not have to depend on my scenes, but they will manage to develop their own activities with the DVDs they have at home. The scene must be contextualized so you don’t have to explain what had happened before the snippet, and it can’t be longer than 7 minutes. Otherwise, students get distracted and don’t focus on the grammar point. I usually go to the movies with post-it notes so I can remember the scenes I need, but this is something I do, nobody will ever do it.

>>Have you changed anything in the process along the way?

No, I have not changed the process, which is easier for me now, though. I can identify useful scenes faster. Now that I am familiar with more webtools, the process is more practical. Editing the scenes, for example, used to be a hassle for me, but now it is a piece of cake. But the rationale behind the creative process is pretty much the same.

>>Any other plans for the future? Next steps?

These blogs have kept me busy for a while recently. Preparing the activities is time-consuming, and so is feeding the blogs, responding to comments, formatting other readers activities, online presentations on the subject, and so on. My main goal is to keep on promoting them and give presentations and courses about them. I’m collecting the material for a future publication or a book as well. I wish I had longer days to do everything I would like to.

>>A sentence of advice to EFL teachers around the globe:

It is never too late to update your technological knowledge. If you have a good concept or idea, it will eventually work out. Besides, sharing is extremely rewarding. We make use of the web to improve our own classes, why not share and help other fellows too? Don’t give up. If I managed it, you may manage it as well.

From Tecnophobe to TechnoArtist - An Educator Journey

noreply@blogger.com (Carla Arena) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 01:07:00 +0000

I've known Cleide, Cleidita, Cleidoca since I started working at Casa Thomas Jefferson in 1999. What really stroke me about that lovely teacher with a constant smile on her face was her natural artistic talent. At that time, to find educational resources with the exact pedagogical objective we had in mind was a herculean task, but if you had Cleide as a co-worker, your material problems were solved. With a firm hand and any piece of paper, she could do wonders in seconds, skillfully drawing any scene, character or object you're looking after. I still remember a set she drew for me on scrap paper and I laminated it to keep it forever! Forever is too long, though.

On one side there was Cleide with her innate abilities, on the other a poor mortal like me enjoying myself with the early experiments involving technology in the classroom and willing to share with teachers what I learned.

Fast forward a decade. You can picture Cleide and me still pursuing excellence in the classroom, but through different strategies. I kept bugging Cleide to amplify her artistic talents by exploring the digital possibilities of the 21st century. Well, Cleide thought she was a technophobe at heart, that technology and her didn't match, that it was not for her...You know how the story goes. However, I never gave up. Being an optimist at heart, I persisted and insisted until Cleide couldn't resist the call. To make the story short, Cleide is now multiplying tech ideas with her colleagues about what she has learned, she's coaching others, she has partnered with another teacher and is a presenter of digital project ideas for the English classroom. I've told her how powerful the connection between technology and tapping into one's passion could be, igniting a renewed motivation to go beyond, with no boundaries to what might be the next big thing in her teaching career. Cleide is still the sweetest smiley teacher I met last century, but with a different spark in her eyes and full of tech ideas and projects for one more century!

Learn more about Cleide, our guest this week, meet her character SuperDuper and check her self-published book, which might be super helpful for your beginner's EFL/ESL classroom.

You are a very experienced teacher, but in the past a technophobe, right, Cleide? What made you change?
The fact that many teachers were using technology in class but me. Also, Dani Lyra, who motivated me and taught me lots of things. We tend not to like what we don't know. What is not familiar to us. This happens with food, cars, people, places. if Idon't know it, I don't like it.

What advice would you give to any educator who is very skillful, but tired of the same old things?
Try different things, experiment, make mistakes, but try. If you don't know about something, ask. If you're in doubt, ask. See other people doing it and do it too. SHARE! I'm absolutely sure there'll be at least one colleague willing to help or teach you something. And in case you think you won't be able to accomplish that, because it's overwhelming, I have news for you! You will.

How has the experience of combining your passion for art and technology been?
It's been crazy (meaning fun) . I never thought I would come this far. I'm amazed with myself. This semester, I have been able to make three digital projects with one group of students only and the semester has not ended yet. I haven't had the opportunity to explore all the tools I have available yet but I'm about to.

You now have a wonderful online space for your students, as well as a resource-rich page for educators - the Superduperctj. What are your main goals there? Who's Super Duper? What do you think your students have gained from this fun red-haired character?

I created this character to illustrate my wiki. Students like him, although many of them think he's a girl (giggles), I think that deep down inside, he's actually my alterego. I try to make him as different from me as possible but there is always something in common. My plans? I haven't thought about it yet, but as soon as something comes up, I'll let you know. I'll be glad if I can count on you!

You've even published your first book! How can educators and learners profit from it? Where can they find it?
I published a book about Super Duper's routine, which is about action verbs, the use of the simple present and sequence words. There are also pages with activities suggested for the book. Teachers and students will like it. It's available at www.lulu.com . There is the traditional paper book and the downloadable version. If you want to get your copy for classroom use, you can access it here.

What are your next steps?
I'm involved with some illustrations for a friend's album. Not EFL related, but I'm planning on publishing some more material.

Check Cleide's wiki at http://superduperctj.pbworks.com

And if you have any questions or comments to Cleide, leave them in the comment area. I'm sure she'll stop by to answer you.

Learning English with Comic Strips

noreply@blogger.com (Carla Arena) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 12:45:00 +0000

I've always told my students that comics are a great way to learn about language structures and it's current use, for they:

are visually appealing

provide the student with comprehensible input

are fun and engaging

deal with language used in our daily lives

give the students a sense of accomplishment as the are able to figure out language from context and images

Today, I've just come across this fantastic site with all kinds of phrasal verbs in comic-like format. Learning English with Comics is a great way to practice an introduce new phrasal verbs to your students. It can be done in short bits, it provides context, and it gives tons of examples. Plus, the visuals are clean and clear. I'm sure students will love to practice English with those comic strips!

Culture Gone Digital

noreply@blogger.com (Carla Arena) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 02:14:00 +0000

To champion the selfless acts of others. This is the motto of a great site to explore the wonders of different cultures around the globe. http://explore.org is a "multimedia organization that documents leaders around the world who have devoted their lives to extraordinary causes. Both educational and inspirational, explore creates a portal into the soul of humanity."
Through powerful videos and photos, an educator can bring a whole new, fresh cultural perspective to the classroom. What I love about Explore besides all its culture richness? The fact that you can watch any video in a tablet. m-Learning at its best! Can you imagine a classroom activity in which every student can learn about a specific cultural aspect in different countries and then share their findings with peers?

Another great place for cultural explorations? Pocketcultures, a place made of the views of expats in foreign lands, as well as the natives' perspectives. It ranges from posts about people, interesting blogs, to cultural curiosities. The world in Pocketcultures is at the tip of your fingers and your students' . Don't miss the chance to connect language with a cultural touch to promote better understanding, awareness and tolerance among people.

Still on the Mantras for Tired Teachers

noreply@blogger.com (Carla Arena) — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 12:35:00 +0000

In my last post, I talked about the three mantras for tired teachers, and mentioned that my learning goal of the month was to not only learn, but also test the pedagogical possibilites of QRcodes. I'm delighted to say that I followed the two first mantras (learn and try) and am here to share (as part of the last one!) the results of my classroom results.

I studied QRcodes, thought of a lesson plan that fit my students' needs and school curriculum. It all started when I told my adult students how the advertisement industry was using QRcodes and Augmented reality in their campaigns (we were discussing about the world of advertisement). They had a question mark on their faces, for they'd never heard of QRcodes or Augmented reality. I explained it, then, there was a brochure in our school with a QRcode. I showed them how it worked. Most of my adult students own a smartphone. So, I sent my customary email of the day and included links to free app downloads of QRreaders for iphones and android phones. Plus, I added they homework in QRcode to make them curious and willing to take their time to download the apps.

I used http://qrstuff.com to generate the colorful QRcodes with amazon links to specific products. We were practicing how to say in different ways how something was expensive or cheap, as explained in my last post:

2. Try, fail, try again in class
Learning is not enough. Practice really makes perfect. Test with a plan.
I learned about QR-generators and found powerful free QRreader apps to encourage my students to download them.
I planned a shopping activity with QRCodes to practice talking about things that are too expensive and a bargain.
I invited my students to download the app to their cellphones (I gave suggestions for either Apple and Android smarthphones)
I feel ready to try. Here are the colorful QRcodes I prepared for the activity.
https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1_N-ykajXMynurxERnk3E3ZBAkjt-b6JDUBMwn6fkTBg

I was ready for the classroom trial. I had my cellphone with a QRreader app and my son's iPod touch. When I got to class, I asked if some of them had downloaded the app. Yes, Yes, Yes! So, we were ready. First, I elicited from students the dialogue we were practicing and the expressions they could use to say something was way too expensive or a good deal. Then, I handed in to the groups different QRcodes in different colors. They scanned them, and had a wonderful practice using real products from Amazon. I was careful to choose products that might really interest them (GPS running watch, Nespresso Coffee Maker, Gold bracelet, Watch, Touchscreen digital camera). The students were really into the activity and practiced extensively ways of talking about a purchase. I asked them to stand up and change partners holding their cellphones and their products. So, they had on the cellphone screen the product they wanted to talk about and they could also use the QRreader history to browse other products they had scanned. Some students had the cellphones, others asked about the products. The hard part was to make them stop!!! After that, we talked about the products and prices and what they would really buy, students were curious about how to buy online, what the shipping costs and taxes were, if it was reliable to buy online. What a wonderful discussion in which all the students had an experience to share! I was ecstatic with the positive results of my own learning.

Challenges and tips:

Such an activity will only work if your students have smartphones with data plan or ipod touch devices with wifi (and wifi at your school). Or if you bring your own devices to class.
there needs to be preparation beforehand and, at least, some students need to download the scanning app
The content you choose to be scanned must be exciting, close to students' reality to make the effort worth it.
Encourage other teachers to join you. It is REALLY fun and brain-friendly.

For ideas on how to use QRcodes in the classroom check this PPT:

Three Powerful Mantras for Tired Teachers

noreply@blogger.com (Carla Arena) — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 15:31:00 +0000

We can easily picture educators who suffer from an ongoing, cronic burnout. No motivation, no strength, happiness in the eye, passion. Many become the complainers, resistant, tired souls that simply let life pass by, waiting for the day they can retire.

I'm an optimist at heart and truly believe that if one decided to become an educator, there's always a passionate soul that is dormant somewhere out there. It is just a matter of refocusing, finding a new purpose, meaning to what we're doing. It's about finding opportunities to ignite that passion again.

These are, then, my three mantras for those who have no escape but to seize the day, become happier, self-fulfilled educators touching students' lives in very meaningful ways:

1. Learn, learn, learn something new
In my case, I've decided that this is the QR-Codes month. I want to test pedagogical uses for them with my adult group. I've read about it, asked around, saw videos, and checked wonderful PPT with educational ideas for them.
So, just set up a XXXXX month. What are you going to focus your learning efforts on this month?

2. Try, fail, try again in class
Learning is not enough. Practice really makes perfect. Test with a plan.
I learned about QR-generators and found powerful free QRreader apps to encourage my students to download them.
I planned a shopping activity with QRCodes to practice talking about things that are too expensive and a bargain.
I invited my students to download the app to their cellphones (I gave suggestions for either Apple and Android smarthphones)
I feel ready to try. Here are the colorful QRcodes I prepared for the activity.
https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1_N-ykajXMynurxERnk3E3ZBAkjt-b6JDUBMwn6fkTBg

3. Share, share, share your successes and failures
I'm already sharing my ideas here with you, but I still want to go beyond and share how the activity went once I get my feet wet with my students. Can't wait!

What would be your mantras to keep your passion for teaching and learning alive?

Twisting Homework Work - A tool, A thousand Ways to Engage students

noreply@blogger.com (Carla Arena) — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 15:17:00 +0000

She was meant to be a star. Her photos were all over, Vogue magazine, among all renowned international magazines you can think of. One day, though, ...

How about a bit of homework revolution for a change?

Add this sentence to the board, send the photo to your students and tell them to access http://photofunia.com, upload the photo you sent or students can upload their own to continue the story.

This idea can be used for storytelling, vocabulary practice or any grammar point reinforcement activity.

Students, then, share in class their stories and the photos they edited and added to the story.

I can bet here that you'll be surprised by students' creativity!

Other possibilities:
Every end of class, you add an edited photo of one of the students and they have to come up with a creative sentence about it as homework assignment.

email an edited photo to students with a reminder about the homework assignment they have. (the photo is, then, just a motivational sparkler for the assignment)

Ask students to choose three people in their family, edit the photos in photofunia and talk about family members in class.

Can you think of other classroom activities to use the editions in Photofunia?

Abundance x Scarcity - Digital Literacy in the Equation

noreply@blogger.com (Carla Arena) — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 14:11:00 +0000

In my presentation about how educators have been collaborating in our school, sharing resources, ideas, connecting, interacting, my first slide is about abundant and scarce resources in our workplace.

First answer from the audience about scarcity in an educational setting? TIME.
For me? INITIATIVE!

Some people are willing to follow, but not to start a movement, for action means having to deal with failure/success.

Also, most resist. Resist bravely. Reasons for not changing?

I guess the main point has to do with our own limitations, weaknesses. When there's change, we'll be dealing with the unpredictable, the moving sands until we get to solid ground. It's about touching the unknown.

For some, it means excitement, the feeling of a fresh start, some rain after dry season to start a blooming season.

For others, a shake in the building blocks of our fixed ideas and values. Change in the status quo, in the rules of the game. Much more so when we are talking about change that brings abundance through social media.

Not long ago, there was much more institutional control over the handouts, exercises, materials teachers were producing. Even because of physical constraints, there was a limit to what teachers could produce and share. Now, with our online shared space, a wiki, thousands of files have been produced. The scarcity X abundance balance is disrupted. We now capitalize in our scarce resource TIME, for many educators are producing and sharing resources that would be done individually in the past. However, it is argued that quality is sacrificed in the name of abundance. True up to a certain point. Surely the resources have different levels of quality in terms of content and design. But, haven't we always produced content for the classroom? In the past, nobody would see it, now there's a social control of these shared educational resources in an online collaborative space.

Our challenge now is to keep moving forward in this new digital paradigm shift and understand that the resources that are shared is the group's shared effort. Thus, these resources should be improved, remixed, re-purposed to be made even more useful and appropriate to our learners.

Now we're talking about another issue in the mix - digital literacy. Digital is totally abundant, literacy is still the scarce part of the equation, for it involves not only the development of the functional/technical expertise in relation to the digital world, but also the critical view on the use of digital educational resources, which certainly takes time. It is a process that will add the equilibrium to the equation of abundance of digital resources x their quality once educators enhance their digital literacy skills.Also, it will give another mindset to the new users/producers of content in the sense of understanding that there's no problem to get somebody's work and remix it for a different group of students with specific needs and unique interests. What's there is not MINE, it's OURS. Let's make this social construct even more exciting.

...And we're back again to the scarcity of INITIATIVE...
No problem! I don't give up and keep trying to inspire my colleagues to move on. Nowadays in a much more one-to-one, minimalist, subtle way than in the past of one-size-fits-all type of teacher training. The way we share has changed into a much more abundant, non-linear way, so has the approach we should take to teacher training and the development of everyone's digital literacy skills.

Talking about Pets

noreply@blogger.com (Carla Arena) — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 01:42:00 +0000

My class tomorrow is about pets.

This is a topic that arouses lots of interest and interaction as there are many people attached to their pets. A while ago, I recorded this simple video with a friend. As voicethread is a dynamic tool to create learning objects, now I can use it with my students with an even richer listening practice touch, for other teachers have also talked about their pets.

The idea is to start the class showing some photos of animals that could be "weird" pets (i.e, iguanas) and to discuss if those animals would make good pets and the reasons for the answers.

Then, I'll show the Voicethread and ask students to write questions to my friend Luiz Cláudio about his pets. Then, they will talk about their own pets and will bring images of their own pets for a topic wrap up in the following class.

Some questions for discussion:

- Are you attached to animals? Do you have pets? How attached are you to your pet?
- How many pets have you had so far?
- When isn't it good to have pets?
- Pets are more work than fun. Agree or disagree?
- Animals are not meant to become pets. Agree or disagree?

RSCON 3 - Professional Development in Pajamas

noreply@blogger.com (Carla Arena) — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 15:43:00 +0000

Last week, we had the wonderful Online conference - the "Reform Symposium". I was delighted to have presented there, as there were so many talented educators presenting. Truly an honor.

http://reformsymposium.com

As much as I wanted to be there 24/7 for the three inspiring days of the free online professional development opportunity, I couldn't because it was the first weekend I was with my two little ones after three long weeks they were traveling to their grandparents' house. So, it meant that I missed the chance to watch the presentations live, but, as in the year before, I knew there would be recordings of the presentations and I could catch up later on, even if I knew it was a different, more lonely experience than being there live, listening, commenting, asking questions and networking. A choice to be with the family, some sacrifice.

Now, I'm glad to know that the recordings are already being made available by the wonderful team of the Reform Symposium organizers. You can still watch the sessions in a spirit of "professional development in pajamas", fun, open, with no time or place constraints.

You just need to access http://bit.ly/recordingsrscon3

Many of the resources can also be found online at
http://www.scoop.it/t/rscon3

http://bit.ly/reflectionsrscon3
RSCON3 Social Media Storify

No excuses, then, to be inspired and do things even better in your classroom.

Reformsymposium - Your Professional Development Excuses are Over

noreply@blogger.com (Carla Arena) — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 14:03:00 +0000

There's no way you can keep finding excuses for not learning with other educators around the globe.

This is your chance, so grab it and enjoy the ride starting tomorrow, July 29th.


http://reformsymposium.com

Info about my presentation available at http://brazilbridges.pbworks.com/RSCON3

Icebreakers, not Sleeping Pills

noreply@blogger.com (Carla Arena) — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 13:21:00 +0000

I remember when I had English classes, most of them started the same. The teacher would tell the rules of our class and write on the board the test dates for us to copy. Then, there would be some kind of warmer that sometimes was colder than being in the Antarctic with inappropriate clothes for the weather. Yes, I have a vivid memory about that, and not so much about fun, engaging activities during the first class. Funny thing is that even the simplest activity would please me as the first day was always an exciting part of my school year. We met the new teacher, new friends and old ones. The book was new, new pens, pencils and notebook, ready for action.

First day at school, buh. It was pretty boring so I spent my time decorating my hand :)
The only interesting thing he said was "if you want to see more photos of this building, you can go to flickr.com" yay!

Now, as a teacher, I really spend some time to find simple, pleasant activities to make my students remember why they enrolled in an English class in the first place. If the students don't know me, in the past I used to write some numbers on the board for students to figure out what they meant for me. It was a lot of fun, lots of questions and discovery. Personal. Then, they'd do the same with their peers. It has always worked. No need for much preparation. And if teachers want to play safe, this activity is engaging and effective.

However, with so much out there at the tip of our fingers, I've been trying to go beyond, to make my first day a more memorable first encounter, a more critical-thinking enhanced class.

This is my plan. First, I'll show some pictures of mine. Students need to guess what it is about, who those people are. Plus, they can ask me some questions. I created this by grabbing my favorite photos set in Flickr and adding them to a Gallery (you can only do that by using other people's photos)
Here's my presentation. Can you guess things about me from the pictures?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/carlaarena/galleries/72157627143771675/

Oh, but wait a minute! This class was mine last semester! I'll need to be more creative than that, for they know a lot about me. So, I'll do the opposite. I'll show images to tell them 7 things they don't know about me and they have to guess what's the story behind it.
Here's my selection of images:

Then, I'm going to show students powerful images with colors, emotions, places, people and they will have to relate the images with their lives, themselves or their vacation. By doing that, I'm sure I'll be able to learn more than ever about my students, their passions, and interests. Isn't that a good start for us to make informed decisions when we're planning our next lessons?

Another way to do the students' part is for them to look for any images in their cell phones or wallets, they show to peers, and peers try to guess from the image a bit more about them. If students don't have images in their cell phones, they can find any object in their purses and wallets to share with their pairs.

And if you're willing to see more fantastic examples of icebreakers, here are some that educators at the school I work for prepared:
http://ctjconnected.blogspot.com/2010/07/language-learning-tips.html
http://ctjconnected.blogspot.com/2010/01/ice-breakers.html

How about test dates and rules? Not in my first day of class when I want students to turn on and not OFF. I want to open up their brains for an exciting, enticing journey. I want them to want more, to be there with me next class. Test dates and rules can wait another class, or, if not possible, the end of the class.

How about you? Any other tips?

No Excuses for Educators to Go Beyond - Professional Development

noreply@blogger.com (Carla Arena) — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 15:35:00 +0000

I truly believe that institutions are not able to provide all the professional development opportunities an educator needs. In the past, workshops, training sessions, lectures with invited speakers were the only way to go for professional development, and we thought that this would suffice. Certainly not true anymore. One-size-fits-all kind of training seems to me so outdated if you consider the limitless online possibilities. Surely, we could look for paid online courses, but my focus is on free (yes, totally free!) educational opportunities for teachers who want to move further, have a breath of fresh air, aim to be more engaging, and look for inspiring ideas for the classroom.

There are just so many options, but I'll focus on three to keep it simple and avoid our own excuses of things being too overwhelming. No excuses anymore, learning instead:

Follow Sue-Lyon Jones's Scoop it with the latest news on professional development opportunities.
http://www.scoop.it/t/cpd-in-education
Join a Community of Practice. I'd highly recommend the Webheads, a group of inspired educators always on the learning loop
Take one of the free online sessions offered by the Electronic Village Online every January. Sessions range from teaching Young Learners to adventuring yourself in Second Life. Every year new educational topics are explored.

So, what are you waiting for? Why would you wait for the next conference or the next workshop if you have everything at the tip of your fingers?

There's no excuse of time, money or institutional issues that will resist the incredible chance you have to connect to like-minded educators online, learn a lot, and give another meaning to your teaching career.

Posterous - Blogging with Style

noreply@blogger.com (Carla Arena) — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 22:00:00 +0000


http://narede.posterous.com

I've been using Posterous for a while, and if you are considering blogging as an option to keep your thoughts, ideas, resources, comments, audio and video files in one place, Posterous might be what you're looking for.

Its main advantage is its user-friendliness. It is so simple to start using it that the whole process begins with an email. You send an email to Posterous and your blog is ready to go! Then, you can keep blogging by email. If you attach photos, Posterous creates a slideshow. If you attach an audio file, it automatically embeds a neat player.

However, what I'd really like to highlight is the group feature in Posterous. You can have a group of people blogging into one Posterous blog once the administrator invites the contributors to collaborate. It nicely aggregates all the posts into one place, which makes it very easy for the group to keep track of the updates without understanding much of feed issues (as shown in the image above).

Posterous makes blogging easy, effective and social. Try it and you'll see what I mean.

Cool Writing Tool of the Week - OhLife

noreply@blogger.com (Carla Arena) — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 22:15:00 +0000

http://ohlife.com

Do you want a simple tool to invite your students to write more and keep a journal?

It can be a journal about their learning experience, or their daily lives.

OhLife! sends them a reminder everyday and they simply have to reply to the message by mail to have their thoughts neatly posted. If they add a photo as attachment, OhLife does the job of neatly embedding it. This tool makes writing practice simple and exciting. Plus, the students can export their writings as text and share them with the teachers and friends.

Professional Development - Do-It-Yourself Approach

noreply@blogger.com (Carla Arena) — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 22:02:00 +0000

Ann Foreman has shared her wonderful presentation about professional development. What she says is exactly what I've been advocating for some years now. Educators need to be in charge of their own learning. They need to understand that PD is not institutionally-bound. We need to get hold of our own professional development perspective and analyze where we want to get and why.

REAL TICE | Making sense of chaos | Madrid 2011 on Prezi

Here are some of my presentations related to the topic that might be of interest:

Share, Connect, Learn

From Incubation to Change

Digital Magic of Professional Development

365 Photos - Telling a Story

noreply@blogger.com (Carla Arena) — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 20:05:00 +0000

Photos are snapshots of a flash of a moment that will never happen again. They freezes time, space, people. They tell a story. They keep memories alive.

Since 2009 I've been part of this wonderful group of passion-driven people, educators, amateurs who take their time every day to share a snapshot, that frozen moment of their days with the community. When I started, the group had more than a 100 people. Now, there are more than 600 and growing.

In 365 photos Flickr group, we connect, we take photos, we share, we talk, we appreciate. It's beauty in essence, that captured moment from different parts of the world, a mosaic of lives.

This week, I got an email from Kathy, one of the persons in the group who has always shared and talked back. There was always a kind comment, a personal touch she'd give to my own photos. Because of a workshop she was taking on digital storytelling, she produced this very powerful, touching story made of the community's stories and her own:

I replied to Kathy:

"Dear Kathy, I feel totally touched to see our story made yours, to listen to your voice for the first time.

I've been faithful with the community for a while, but this year I thought I couldn't live up to it because I missed some days. I stopped, but now you made me realize it really doesn't matter, for what I long for is the connections I had established in the group. Our stories. Our fragments of stories. So, even if I have a fragmented collection this year, no problem, there's no punishment, except for my own. I'll get back there and start posting my photos as if this were the first day of the year.

Thanks for such a wonderful story. It is touching. It gets to our hearts, the stops, the music, the transitions, the images. They all matter in the story construction.

You made my day."

I started sharing my photos again. Kathy reminded me why I've decided to be part of this community in the first place. I'm back. I want to feel alive. I want to look around with other perspective. I want to give me some time of the day to appreciate what surrounds me. I want to connect. I want to see what others around the globe care about.