Javier García Bonifaz's blog for English teachers

ENGLISH FOR FREE 1- Units 1 & 2

2012-11-19T14:38:00.000+01:00

Here you've got the link to download units 1 &2 of my book ENGLISH FOR FREE 1. If you want to have a look at it, download it, unzip it and double click on the file index.html that you will see inside the main folder.

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B-hVHzApg_YkenZPXzRKOEY5aGM

Javier García

ENGLISH FOR FREE - More on Unit 1

2012-09-22T22:23:00.001+02:00

I've uploaded more material for UNIT 1 in my course ENGLISH FOR FREE for 1st BAT in Spain. You can download the zip file. Just unzip it and double click on the file "index.html".

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/26222390/my%20digital%20textbooks%20(White%20Space%20Conflict)/1st%20BAT/V1.0.zip

As always, all comments are welcome: jgarciateacher@hotmail.com

ENGLISH FOR FREE 1 - Advance of unit 1

2012-09-16T22:08:00.000+02:00

My textbook ENGLISH FOR FREE 1 (for 1st BAT in Spain) is in progress. If You want to have a look at the structure of the book and the first lessons in Unit 1, click on the link below. You just have to unzip it. Then you'll see a folder called V1.0 (which stands for version 1.0). Open that folder and double clik on the file called index.html.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/26222390/my%20digital%20textbooks%20(White%20Space%20Conflict)/1st%20BAT/V1.0.zip

You'll see that only Unit 1 is there, and only the first 4 lessons in Unit 1. I hope that in a few days I can put the whole Unit 1 at everyone's disposal.

As always, comments are really welcome. Please send them to jgarciateacher@hotmail.com.

ENGLISH FOR FREE! WORKBOOK, UNIT 1

2012-09-14T08:49:00.000+02:00

I am working in free digital textbooks for 1st BAT in SPAIN (secondary education, 16-17-year-olds). The idea is that students have a digital textbook, which is used in class and they can study with at home. That textbook is accompanied by a "virtual" workbook. That "virtual" workbook consists of consolidation exercises set in a VLE (Virtual Learning Environment), in this case MOODLE. You can have a look at the first unit at http://iesenricvalor.edu.gva.es/aulavirtual/moodle/course/view.php?id=36. You can enter the course as visitors. If you want to have a closer look, I can send you a backup file of the MOODLE course, so that you can install it in your own MOODLE. If you want to have an outline of the course, I can also send you the document. For that, and for any questions or comments, please send me an email: jgarciateacher@hotmail.com.

MALTED, software to use, create and edit digital textbooks

2012-09-10T13:51:00.001+02:00

The Spanish Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte has a very interesting material at everyone's disposal. Its name is MALTED. There are didactic units made with it that cover all ESO and BAT courses. I think those materials are not enough to replace a textbook, but anyone can edit and modify them, even create new materials to suit their own needs. There are courses on MALTED at formacionenred. If you want to have a look at MALTED, go here.

Software to create digital materials: ARDORA

2012-09-07T13:27:00.002+02:00

ARDORA is software to create digital interactive materials. It offers a great range of activities (45 different types). The result comes as a webpage, so that it can be seen in any browser. The only problem is that the software to create the materials is only available for Windows (and for Linux under Wine). In any case, it is an interesting option if you want to start creating your own textbook or activities.

Check it at ARDORA.

EDILIM (software to create digital textbooks)

2012-09-06T14:20:00.001+02:00

EDILIM is software to create digital educational materials. It helps you to create digital textbooks with lots of interactive activities. It works under Windows and Linux. EDILIM is free software. If you are interested, please visit http://www.educalim.com/cinicio.htm. It is fairly intuitive to use. In the website you can see examples and tutorials.

Creative Commons listenings at elllo, http://elllo.org/

2012-09-04T17:24:00.003+02:00

If you are interested in listenings under a Creative Commons licence, have a look at elllo, at http://elllo.org/. It stands for "English Listening Lesson Library Online". There are also videos and games. Speakers come from all over the world, with all kinds of different accents. There are also transcriptions and questions on the listenings. A highly recommendable website.

Online Courses for Spanish teachers

2012-09-02T20:40:00.001+02:00

The Spanish Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte offers courses online for teachers at http://formacionprofesorado.educacion.es/. Applications for those courses can be submitted from 3rd to 10th September. There is a wide variety of courses, especially related to ICT.

English for free

2012-08-18T12:52:00.001+02:00

I keep on working on a digital textbook for Bachillerato in Spain. The name will be "English for free". I hope it can be used in other countries as well. The idea is to have digital materials under a Creative Commons licence. Students would have a digital copy of the book and teachers could use the book in the classroom with a multimedia projector or a digital whiteboard. I hope the first unit will be finished by the end of the month and the next two by the end of September, and the whole book by Christmas. If anyone is interested, please let me know at jgarciateacher@hotmail.com.

School radio

2012-06-17T11:34:00.003+02:00

A good alternative to having a school radio is a repository of audio files that can be accessed, downloaded and uploaded by all students. SPREAKER is a fantastic option if you want to do that. Check it at http://www.spreaker.com/.

Creative Commons books

2012-06-03T17:16:00.002+02:00

Hi, everybody.

I continue trying to get rid of textbooks. For that reason I'm creating my own materials. The idea is to give students a digital book, crated with EXE LEARNING. All the texts and videos in the digital textbook will be under a Creative Commons license, so that teachers will be able to change and adapt the materials. The texts are from Wikipedia and sounds and pictures from Wikimedia Commons. I'm taking the listenings from www.elllo.org. Along the digital book, students will have access to exercises in Moodle, which will act as a workbook. Please, I'd like to receive ideas and feedback. As soon as I've got Unit 1 ready, I'll post it in my blog.

Spice up your lessons

2012-02-22T17:27:00.000+01:00

If you want to give your lessons a touch of humour, here is an idea that has given me good results with my students. The idea is called Lateral Thinking and it basically means that we should think in an unorthodox way. Visit Paul Sloane's website. There you have some riddles with their solutions. I usually post them in my school's website (in a forum) and give the students a week to find the answers and comment possible solutions to the riddle. Then I post the solution. This usually interests them. You can also use them in your lessons straightaway. If you want to find more riddles of this kind, just type "lateral thinking" in Google.
Have fun!

Get rid of textbooks!!!

2012-02-22T15:39:00.000+01:00

Hi, everybody. I'm starting to work on my textbook for 1st BAT for next year. After having a look at MALTED and seeing that it crashes quite often, I think the best option is EXE LEARNING. I've already got a plan for nine lessons and I'm in the process of looking for materials. Any comments and/or help will be welcome.

Let's get rid of textbooks!!!

2012-02-15T19:46:00.000+01:00

We all have to contribute to overcome the crisis. I think it is really a shame that we are still using paper-made workbooks when we have Internet and most of our schools have computers and multimedia projectors. Let's make the most of those resources and get rid of textbooks. That would imply a huge saving for our students' families and, furthermore, that's an investment that could pay huge benefits for the future. I mean, we can create materials that we can adapt in the future, thus not obliging our students to buy new books every year. I'm starting to make my materials for next year and I wouldn't mind sharing them with anyone. If you are interested, please let me know.

Creating a digital coursebook for Bachillerato

2012-02-12T11:26:00.000+01:00

Hi, I'm seriously thinking of creating my own digital coursebook for English bachillerato, according to Spanish curriculum. Obviously, all should be done with a Creative Commons license. The idea is to create materials (most likely with Malted) so that students don't have to buy a coursebook. Students would be given a CD (or USB pen) with the book contents and there would also be interactive exercises in our school's website. So far the big problem I've found is how to find audio and video that can be shared freely. I'm thinking of using TED talks, but I'd be grateful if someone could give some hints. Needless to say, materials would be shared with any school interested in this project.

2012-01-07T09:46:00.000+01:00

Radio for schools on the Internet (continued)

I finally did it! I've got a radio station working! It's at http://ies-enric-valor.playtheradio.com. After some tests, I think that Radionomy is the best option. I still have to find out how to broadcast live, but I hope I will be able to do that in the next few days.

2011-12-31T11:54:00.000+01:00

Radio on the Internet for schools (continued)

I've found two more possibilities to broadcast for free. There are also servers where you can broadcast from for a small fee. Listen2myradio and Live365 offer both possibilites (free and paid).

2011-12-31T09:16:00.000+01:00

Radio on the Internet for schools (continued)

I've trying Radionomy and the system seem to work quite well, but it means a lot of work. Another drawback is that they insert commercials in your radio, but that seems a low price to pay for the service. With Winamp and Shoutcast you have more control over your own radio, and I think you can also play "live" music or speech, but I'm still having trouble with the IP address. Again, if anyone has experience on that, comments will be welcome.

2011-12-30T16:29:00.000+01:00

Radio on the Internet

I've been thinking about setting up a radio at my school for my students. The most obvious possibility is using ShoutCast. Here is a link (in Spanish) that explains how to do it. Another possibility is using Radionomy. If anyone has tried both possibilities, I'd appreciate some feedback on the advantages and disadvantages of both of them.

2011-12-30T12:43:00.000+01:00

Your online magazine for your students

If you want to encourage your students to write, why don't you use Magazine Factory? It's easy to use. Students become journalists and teachers are editors. You edit and publish their articles so as to avoid inappropriate content. Just get in touch with the people at Magazine Factory and create your own online magazine.

Teaching English at British Council

2011-09-22T08:27:00.001+02:00

It's a wonderful site. All ELT teachers should become members and subscribe to the newsletter.
Teaching English at British Council.