My review and reflections on Moodle MOOC7 by Bob Lejkowski-Clark (englishwithbob.org)
Monday, 14 December 2015
Closing Ceremony
Well this is the last post on MMOOC7 and the closing ceremony gave participants a chance to reflect on what they had got out of the course.
First of all, I didn't complete the Moodle part of the MOOC because I was so engrossed in all the wonderful webinars provided by a host of presenters with Nellie Deutsch at the helm. I wish that I had taken the opportunity to find out more about the inner workings of Moodle that Nellie provided but may be next time (Roll on MM8!) What I did learn, is that it is a versatile learning platform which can be used to provide courses online. Perhaps I will play a little more with MoodleCloud to try and see what I missed.
The webinars covered a variety of topics both theoretical and practical and although I originally intended to attend as many as possible, I found that I wasn't able to keep up with the pace and write this blog at the same time. (I don't know how Nellie managed, it must be something to do with her power poses.) Accordingly I focused on watching the replays which Nellie and others kindly posted in various places online. The main disadvantage of this was that I was not able to participate in the chats and live questions which are an integral part of any online webinar.
I watched presentations by people I had come across online before and other new (to me) people who also enriched my teaching with their ideas, anecdotes and resources. There have been too many excellent presentations to say which one I thought best. I have collated a list of resources from the webinars which are in a separate post for me to go through when I have time - they are in no particular order, just the order in which I found them and I am sure that I have missed loads! Some of them were presented and some were found from digging around when I saw a reference to them in a slide or in the chatbox.
The one thing that I thing I have got out of the webinars, and it cropped up many times with different presenters was the importance of learning by doing for teachers and students, as well as empowering students to take more responsibility and control of their own destinies. Having now written this blog I will go back through it after a short break and see which aspects I can introduce into my new teaching life online.
Thank you Nellie for creating and organising this wonderful online learning opportunity for so many and thank you to all of the presenters from around the world who took the time to prepare their sessions and share their valuable knowledge with us all. I apologise if I was not able to do justice to your presentation in this blog and apologise for any screenshots which you may have not intended to share. Once again thank you all.
Tools I would like to look at later.
In this month long fest of webinars there have been many tools that I have seen for the first time and I thought that it was a good idea to make a list of the ones that I personally would like to investigate further, apologies if your favourites are not included.
Socrative
Trello
Jognog
Coggle
Buildyourwildself
Plotagon
StoryboardThat
Websites
http://bilingual-communications.weebly.com/websites-i-recommend.html
quickrubric
photosforclass
efltalks
buildyourwildself
http://nimrodflores.com/internet-marketing/video-marketing/how-to-embed-youtube-videos-with-specific-start-and-end-times/
http://www.schrockguide.net/literacy-in-the-digital-age.html
http://sophiamavridi.edublogs.org/
http://sophiamavridi.com/
https://books.google.pl/books?id=8AacBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA251&lpg=PA251&dq=exploring+learning+and+teaching+in+higher+education+kroth&source=bl&ots=FqoTbnrSBY&sig=v-QzEjDTipAWqxI-3w9yEdsrJRQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwibpZ20pdnJAhUH4XIKHX8oDJIQ6AEIJTAC#v=onepage&q=exploring%20learning%20and%20teaching%20in%20higher%20education%20kroth&f=false
Socrative
Trello
Jognog
Coggle
Buildyourwildself
Plotagon
StoryboardThat
Websites
http://bilingual-communications.weebly.com/websites-i-recommend.html
quickrubric
photosforclass
efltalks
buildyourwildself
http://nimrodflores.com/internet-marketing/video-marketing/how-to-embed-youtube-videos-with-specific-start-and-end-times/
http://www.schrockguide.net/literacy-in-the-digital-age.html
http://sophiamavridi.edublogs.org/
http://sophiamavridi.com/
https://books.google.pl/books?id=8AacBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA251&lpg=PA251&dq=exploring+learning+and+teaching+in+higher+education+kroth&source=bl&ots=FqoTbnrSBY&sig=v-QzEjDTipAWqxI-3w9yEdsrJRQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwibpZ20pdnJAhUH4XIKHX8oDJIQ6AEIJTAC#v=onepage&q=exploring%20learning%20and%20teaching%20in%20higher%20education%20kroth&f=false
Promoting Digital Citizenship through Edmodo
This session was given by Sophia Mavridi, a Teacher Trainer, EAP Lecturer, and Joint Coordinator of the IATEFL Learning Technologies SIG, who I had not come across before but obviously I should!
First of all Sophia gave us a quick overview of Edmodo, which is a social learning network, where students and teachers can collaborate online and it is sometimes called Facebook for schools.
As sign up and personal information is not required from the students it is particularly useful for younger learners although it is used by learners of all ages. It is useful to teach digital literacy as it is necessary to create online communities to teach this subject in context. Digital Literacy Skills include online participation, netiquette, quality commenting, copyright and setting strong passwords.
We can encourage online participation by adding a picture, text or audio and asking students to post comments. This activity encourages netiquette, and quality comments as well as language use. Sophia then gave us an activity that we can use in class. She asked us what we know about digital footprints and whether it is a good or a bad thing and then she showed us the following video.
After the students have watched the video they are asked how they will express themselves, what they will do to protect their, and others, digital privacy. There were also some follow up activities including writing definitions and giving advice. This activity would easily lend itself to use in an online learning environment. (I like it!)
She then explained why we should do this activity on Edmodo rather than real life and there were various answers including ease of access, the fact that it is online - but it actually teaches digital literacies as well - online community, quality commenting and some others too.
Students are often banned from using tech in the classroom, but surely it is better to allow this tech so students learn digital responsibility in context.
She then went on to tell us other things that we can do with Edmodo, the first one was a webquest.
But she pointed out that especially for young learners that the teacher should provide the links, so we know they are safe. They will obviously learn about the topic, some language and also some digital literacy skills.
As it says in the slide the students can be taught to evaluate the source by asking the 3 questions, again another digital literacy skill, before going on to the follow ups. The first part is also part of critical thinking which is another skill which is essential in the digital world. At this stage in the chatbox Peggy put up a link to a site by Kathy Schrock which apparently has some good materials.
You can also use Edmodo as a repository for files and links.
We can also use the internet to educate students about the modern version of plagiarism and copyright abuse, they can be taught how to paraphrase and cite references as well as licensing their work online too.
You can ask students to post pictures to show changes in their lives and ask others to comment, you can also use polls and surveys, badges can be used to encourage learners too.
As parents get a code they can be kept in the loop about their children's work, they can be sent messages about events. There is also a free app for the phones.
She left us with this thought.
This was a useful webinar, even though I don't teach children as it opened my eyes to another tool as well as another useful person to follow online (to add to my PLN!) Thank you Sophia.
First of all Sophia gave us a quick overview of Edmodo, which is a social learning network, where students and teachers can collaborate online and it is sometimes called Facebook for schools.
As sign up and personal information is not required from the students it is particularly useful for younger learners although it is used by learners of all ages. It is useful to teach digital literacy as it is necessary to create online communities to teach this subject in context. Digital Literacy Skills include online participation, netiquette, quality commenting, copyright and setting strong passwords.
We can encourage online participation by adding a picture, text or audio and asking students to post comments. This activity encourages netiquette, and quality comments as well as language use. Sophia then gave us an activity that we can use in class. She asked us what we know about digital footprints and whether it is a good or a bad thing and then she showed us the following video.
After the students have watched the video they are asked how they will express themselves, what they will do to protect their, and others, digital privacy. There were also some follow up activities including writing definitions and giving advice. This activity would easily lend itself to use in an online learning environment. (I like it!)
She then explained why we should do this activity on Edmodo rather than real life and there were various answers including ease of access, the fact that it is online - but it actually teaches digital literacies as well - online community, quality commenting and some others too.
Students are often banned from using tech in the classroom, but surely it is better to allow this tech so students learn digital responsibility in context.
She then went on to tell us other things that we can do with Edmodo, the first one was a webquest.
But she pointed out that especially for young learners that the teacher should provide the links, so we know they are safe. They will obviously learn about the topic, some language and also some digital literacy skills.
As it says in the slide the students can be taught to evaluate the source by asking the 3 questions, again another digital literacy skill, before going on to the follow ups. The first part is also part of critical thinking which is another skill which is essential in the digital world. At this stage in the chatbox Peggy put up a link to a site by Kathy Schrock which apparently has some good materials.
You can also use Edmodo as a repository for files and links.
We can also use the internet to educate students about the modern version of plagiarism and copyright abuse, they can be taught how to paraphrase and cite references as well as licensing their work online too.
You can ask students to post pictures to show changes in their lives and ask others to comment, you can also use polls and surveys, badges can be used to encourage learners too.
As parents get a code they can be kept in the loop about their children's work, they can be sent messages about events. There is also a free app for the phones.
She left us with this thought.
This was a useful webinar, even though I don't teach children as it opened my eyes to another tool as well as another useful person to follow online (to add to my PLN!) Thank you Sophia.
Sunday, 13 December 2015
Culture of Learning
This presentation was given by Halina Ostankowicz- Bazan who is a senior University Lecturer from the University of Wroclaw in southern Poland.
She started by telling us that she was going to focus on the Transformative Culture of Learning and started off by showing us the following video.
Halina then gave us the definitions of learning from different points of view and then showed us the following slide which highlights when learning has happened.
I would certainly like to do something with all the knowledge I have gained this month.
Halina told us that there are three dimensions to transformative learning, they are psychological, behavioural and convictional. (psychological is the change in understanding, behavioural is the change in people's actions and convictional is the change in people's beliefs.) All of these ideas were proposed by Mezirow. The latest definition of transformative learning is from 2014 Knud Illeris and reads as follows- "The concept of transformative learning comprises all learning which implies changes in the identity of the learner."
She then went on to look at the differences between transactional learning and transformative learning. Transactional learning is the old idea of learning, that the student is an empty vessel which needs to be filled (sometimes called passive learning), whereas transformative learning is the expansion of consciousness by accessing and receiving the symbolic contents of the unconcious and critically analysing the underlying premise. Unlike transactional learning it is active learning.
Halina presented this slide from John Wenger to show us what this means in the real world
She explained that the research does not have much explanation of transactional learning but many learning experts say that self-directed self-controlled learning is most useful. The teacher's job is to provide dilemma for the students to experiment with and find solutions. She then showed us part of the 10 strategies provided by Mezirow and the technologies that can support these strategies. (Click to see full size picture!)
https://sites.google.com/site/transformativelearning/technology-impacts-in-transformative-learning-practices
But she did, like other presenters, point out that the technology is not the driver, just a means of reaching the objective and if it is not the best means then we should look again as to whether another tool can do the job in a better way.
She then went on to talk about a learning culture and highlighted that every human being has an inbuilt learning culture.
She said that a personal culture includes everything a person finds meaningful and is developed through social interaction with family and others in your environment. Teachers need to create a trust between themselves and students in order to facilitate learning.
She said that human beings are wired for learning and there was a link to a talk by Alan November of this topic - Alan November, I notice that there are some other parts on the playlist which may be worth looking at later. She also gave us a few books that she highly recommends on the subject. The slide seemed to flash past very quickly so I captured it and publish it below.
The latest problem is that terminology is changing and they are looking for new ways to describe things.
She also said that the Polish education system is not designed for the new world, it is set in the past. i do not teach in the school system but from what I see of students here, this seems a reasonable assessment but it may be changing slowly. Halina does what the school dictates and then she has fun using different resources and methods. She recommended the 'Handbook of Transformative Learning by Taylor and Cranton. Then she gave us some comments about transformative learning.
She then went on to talk about mindset, which I have come across several times now. Open mindsets are to be encouraged, She touched on blended learning and flipped classrooms. She then gave us this quote
“We don't receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us.”
― Marcel Proust
which seems to sum up the best of tranformational learning.
Even though I found this session quite heavy going for some reason, I did find it very interesting with lots of good, relevant information and pointers for further investigation. Thank you very much Halina. I will leave this review with a picture about mindset that one of the participants linked to in the chatbox about.
Saturday, 12 December 2015
Minecraft as a model for gamification in teacher training.
This session was led by Vance Stevens who is the founding father of the webheads and is still very active in their fields. I must admit I have always thought of Minecraft as 'kid's stuff' and never been really interested so it will be interesting for me to see what Vance has to say about the topic. (It was also a joint presentation with learning2gether!)
First of all he talked a little about the learning organisations including this one run by Nellie, also learning2gether and EVO and then he went on to talk about cMOOCs and xMOOCS. (There is a basic run down here! ) and then he gave us the following slide.
He then moved onto the EVO Minecraft MOOC which is due to run in January 2016 - EVO online 2016 and started talking about gamification which apparently is quite complex and needs to be experienced to understand it properly. He also stated that gamification is not for everyone.
In the Minecraft MOOC, teachers are called guides because the principle is that they use their knowledge to guide other participants on their learning journey. Minecraft as a model for learning helps people gain experience and join a community. He talked about the difficulties of becoming a guide/teacher in Minecraft and showed us the following slide which shows the stages from beginner to expert.
The biggest initial problem is to find a community because most communities are school-based and therefore not open to everyone, Vance's solution was to open his own Minecraft community to encourage teachers to learn the game by being in the game on EVO online. They had fun playing the game and learning as they went along.
The second challenge is creating and finding a place to play on and they got round this when one of the members set up a server on a university site. They learned how to create, collaborate and survive. They actually learn by doing in this virtual world, Vance told us about one participant Filip (who is 11 years old) who created rabbits and then showed the other members how to form bows and arrows so they could shoot the rabbits in order to survive. You also need to have shelter at night because creatures which can eat you come out and they will eat you if you don't have shelter or a means of survival.
It appears that there are two modes. Creative mode and Survival mode, creative mode is where you make things and survival mode is where you play.
There was a badge for survival and they also used the things they learned in 2015 to take forward to 2016.
He told us how Filip (the son of teacher Marijana Smolcec) actually achieved quite a high standard of English by using Minecraft, using the videos and the game to create things. Learning in action and they both contributed to this article on Minecraft - tesl-ej minecraft
Maha asked in the chat exactly what gamification was and Vance gave us the image that the difference between games and gamification is that games is like sitting at home watching the football and gamification is actually playing football in the stadium. In gamification you are immersed in the game complete with the rewards for achievements rather than taking part from the outside so it is a more involving experience.
Having seen this webinar, I now have a better idea about the use of Minecraft in education and there obviously is a place for it. For me personally, sorry Vance, I think I will pass on this.
First of all he talked a little about the learning organisations including this one run by Nellie, also learning2gether and EVO and then he went on to talk about cMOOCs and xMOOCS. (There is a basic run down here! ) and then he gave us the following slide.
He then moved onto the EVO Minecraft MOOC which is due to run in January 2016 - EVO online 2016 and started talking about gamification which apparently is quite complex and needs to be experienced to understand it properly. He also stated that gamification is not for everyone.
In the Minecraft MOOC, teachers are called guides because the principle is that they use their knowledge to guide other participants on their learning journey. Minecraft as a model for learning helps people gain experience and join a community. He talked about the difficulties of becoming a guide/teacher in Minecraft and showed us the following slide which shows the stages from beginner to expert.
The biggest initial problem is to find a community because most communities are school-based and therefore not open to everyone, Vance's solution was to open his own Minecraft community to encourage teachers to learn the game by being in the game on EVO online. They had fun playing the game and learning as they went along.
The second challenge is creating and finding a place to play on and they got round this when one of the members set up a server on a university site. They learned how to create, collaborate and survive. They actually learn by doing in this virtual world, Vance told us about one participant Filip (who is 11 years old) who created rabbits and then showed the other members how to form bows and arrows so they could shoot the rabbits in order to survive. You also need to have shelter at night because creatures which can eat you come out and they will eat you if you don't have shelter or a means of survival.
It appears that there are two modes. Creative mode and Survival mode, creative mode is where you make things and survival mode is where you play.
There was a badge for survival and they also used the things they learned in 2015 to take forward to 2016.
He told us how Filip (the son of teacher Marijana Smolcec) actually achieved quite a high standard of English by using Minecraft, using the videos and the game to create things. Learning in action and they both contributed to this article on Minecraft - tesl-ej minecraft
Maha asked in the chat exactly what gamification was and Vance gave us the image that the difference between games and gamification is that games is like sitting at home watching the football and gamification is actually playing football in the stadium. In gamification you are immersed in the game complete with the rewards for achievements rather than taking part from the outside so it is a more involving experience.
Having seen this webinar, I now have a better idea about the use of Minecraft in education and there obviously is a place for it. For me personally, sorry Vance, I think I will pass on this.
Friday, 11 December 2015
From “I Can’t” to “I Can” Multisensory Activities for Inclusion in ELT Classrooms
This session was presented by Susan Hillyard, another presenter that I remember from EVO sessions among other places.
She explained that this title was for teachers as well as students!
First of all she talked about Special Education Needs (SEN), students that have different abilities and need extra help. She started off with a class of ELLs with different needs and she looked at ways of giving them equal opportunities to succeed and gain the confidence they needed. She realised that the odd ones out actually enrich the classrooms and other people can actually learn from them. She uses drama to engage the students.
She asked participants for examples of SEN students and the best answer I heard was from Nellie, 'Students who don't conform to normal expectations.' This includes physically and mentally challenged students as well as students who are gifted because often teachers don't know what to do with them!
She thinks that drama is a good way to engage these students because they use the 5 senses and this approach benefits them. ( This is also a good way to engage regular students too.) We also need to find other ways of using the other senses in the classroom, not just listening and reading.
Susan then went on to show us some activities using SPICE. First she asked everybody to stand and draw a large 'S' in the air while saying sss, sss, sss. Everybody was doing it together, this was to remind us that S stands for Social, students enjoy learning in a social atmosphere. She repeated this for 'P', which stands for Physical Development, I for intellectual (cognitive) development - every lesson must be a thinking lesson. C stands for Creative development - students need to be creative and they need to be up and thinking, not sitting and writing. E stands for Emotional development. Using this technique you can use all of the skills!
Then she went on to look at this expression which I have heard before, it means that we need to reassess the way we teach and implement new techniques as necessary. Susan believes that we need to increase the presence, participation and achievement of all learners. To do this successfully in multisensory education we need to look at three strategies, the first one is affordances - we must afford the students the chance to do something instead of giving them activities that they can't do. The next strategy is interventions - we intervene when we need to but we try to give the students as much independence as possible. The final strategy was differentiation - different students have different activities.
We then looked at a common problem, Dyslexia, in which people have problems with sound letter combination. It is not just a reading problem, it can affect many different parts of their lives. SPICE is a good way of helping dyslexic students, use a multisensory approach with touch as well as the other senses.
I really loved this picture which was used to introduce the idea of ADHD, if you introduce movement into the classroom, ADHD disappears according to Susan.
She then talked about students with SEBD - social, emotional and behavioural disorders, Susan says that we should allow them to bring their emotions into the classroom and let them talk about their emotions and act their emotions in the classroom so that they understand the difference between drama and reality. We need to teach them how to deal with their problems.
We then went on to look at Aspergers Syndrome and Autism and we had another beautiful slide.
Susan suggested using lots of realia and take learning out of the traditional system and allow them to learn in new ways. Let students use masks and they become a different person. She gave us a list of general hints for dealing with students with different needs.
She talked through the advice and clarified that 2 footed questions are questions which relate to the students' real life. Checking in chunks means that the students have regular assessment rather than end of course/term tests.
She finished off by looking at the difference between equality and equity, equity means everyone has the same opportunity rather than the same challenges.
This was an eyeopening session for me as I had never really come in to contact with students with learning and other disabilities in the past and I had absolutely no idea how to deal with them if I did get them. Now I do have a better idea. Thank you Susan for opening my eyes.
She explained that this title was for teachers as well as students!
First of all she talked about Special Education Needs (SEN), students that have different abilities and need extra help. She started off with a class of ELLs with different needs and she looked at ways of giving them equal opportunities to succeed and gain the confidence they needed. She realised that the odd ones out actually enrich the classrooms and other people can actually learn from them. She uses drama to engage the students.
She asked participants for examples of SEN students and the best answer I heard was from Nellie, 'Students who don't conform to normal expectations.' This includes physically and mentally challenged students as well as students who are gifted because often teachers don't know what to do with them!
She thinks that drama is a good way to engage these students because they use the 5 senses and this approach benefits them. ( This is also a good way to engage regular students too.) We also need to find other ways of using the other senses in the classroom, not just listening and reading.
Susan then went on to show us some activities using SPICE. First she asked everybody to stand and draw a large 'S' in the air while saying sss, sss, sss. Everybody was doing it together, this was to remind us that S stands for Social, students enjoy learning in a social atmosphere. She repeated this for 'P', which stands for Physical Development, I for intellectual (cognitive) development - every lesson must be a thinking lesson. C stands for Creative development - students need to be creative and they need to be up and thinking, not sitting and writing. E stands for Emotional development. Using this technique you can use all of the skills!
Then she went on to look at this expression which I have heard before, it means that we need to reassess the way we teach and implement new techniques as necessary. Susan believes that we need to increase the presence, participation and achievement of all learners. To do this successfully in multisensory education we need to look at three strategies, the first one is affordances - we must afford the students the chance to do something instead of giving them activities that they can't do. The next strategy is interventions - we intervene when we need to but we try to give the students as much independence as possible. The final strategy was differentiation - different students have different activities.
We then looked at a common problem, Dyslexia, in which people have problems with sound letter combination. It is not just a reading problem, it can affect many different parts of their lives. SPICE is a good way of helping dyslexic students, use a multisensory approach with touch as well as the other senses.
I really loved this picture which was used to introduce the idea of ADHD, if you introduce movement into the classroom, ADHD disappears according to Susan.
She then talked about students with SEBD - social, emotional and behavioural disorders, Susan says that we should allow them to bring their emotions into the classroom and let them talk about their emotions and act their emotions in the classroom so that they understand the difference between drama and reality. We need to teach them how to deal with their problems.
We then went on to look at Aspergers Syndrome and Autism and we had another beautiful slide.
Susan suggested using lots of realia and take learning out of the traditional system and allow them to learn in new ways. Let students use masks and they become a different person. She gave us a list of general hints for dealing with students with different needs.
She talked through the advice and clarified that 2 footed questions are questions which relate to the students' real life. Checking in chunks means that the students have regular assessment rather than end of course/term tests.
She finished off by looking at the difference between equality and equity, equity means everyone has the same opportunity rather than the same challenges.
This was an eyeopening session for me as I had never really come in to contact with students with learning and other disabilities in the past and I had absolutely no idea how to deal with them if I did get them. Now I do have a better idea. Thank you Susan for opening my eyes.
Wednesday, 9 December 2015
TECHNO-CLIL
This session was given by Letizia Cinganotto a researcher and Daniela Cuccurullo an EFL teacher from Italy. First of all Letizia explained that CLIL is teaching a regular subject in a foreign language, which I have come across before. In this way students learn both content and language at the same time.
David Marsh provided the original definition of CLIL and he also produced this chart to show how many different ways that CLIL can be used.
David Marsh has also written book called CLIL: education for the internet generation. Obviously modern technology makes it far easier to integrate language into everyday learning with the great variety of resources available. In 2012 there was CLIL provision throughout most of Europe and the European Onion has recommended that that this be taken up on a greater scale.
Letizia then went on to talk about integrating technology rather than just using technology in the classroom for CLIL and gave us this slide about it (I seem to think I saw something similar on one of the other webinars!) Technology Enhanced Language Learning (TELL - another acronym!)
She told us that in Italy, teachers have to provide at least 50% of the subject in a second language for upper secondary school students. The Ministry of Education has provided finance to train teachers to deliver this education.
Then Daniela told us about some of the resources that teachers can use in the classroom. First of all she talked about CLIL Magazine which has resources and guidance for teachers - this is a new one for me but it looks interesting. She then talked about other resources such as Khan Academy and TEDtalks using Flipped Classroom methodology before going on to edX, where you can actually learn things yourself to prepare yourself for flipped classrooms and also you can explore resources suggested by other people.
Daniela gave us another useful resource the CLILstore where there are lessons in different languages that can be utilised in the classroom and there are some other tools from the main page http://multidict.net/
Another really comprehensive resource she told us about was comeongetappy.com which give you the tools and guide to using them - a real gem!
And then another one The CLIL cascade network (It took a little while to load so you may need to be patient) which has a collection of links and ideas under the resources section as well as networking with people around the world. (Both of these sites warrant further investigation!) She also talked about EVO which I have been a part of before - more information here This is an amazing opprtunity to meet up with other teachers and learn and share ideas.
Daniela also recommended http://www.scoop.it/ where you can collate information and ideas as well as following other people with similar interests and the CLILEVO repository on pbworks which is still active after 2 years.
She also talked a little about the changing requirements for student literacies/fluencies in the 21st Century - After seeing her slide I found this site which has useful information and some resources too
https://globaldigitalcitizen.org/21st-century-fluencies
There is a journal which is published by the two ladies which also has useful information on the subject of CLIL and 21st Century Fluencies http://www.je-lks.org/ojs/index.php/Je-LKS_EN/index
A lot of really useful information included in this meeting, thank you Letizia and Daniela.
David Marsh provided the original definition of CLIL and he also produced this chart to show how many different ways that CLIL can be used.
David Marsh has also written book called CLIL: education for the internet generation. Obviously modern technology makes it far easier to integrate language into everyday learning with the great variety of resources available. In 2012 there was CLIL provision throughout most of Europe and the European Onion has recommended that that this be taken up on a greater scale.
Letizia then went on to talk about integrating technology rather than just using technology in the classroom for CLIL and gave us this slide about it (I seem to think I saw something similar on one of the other webinars!) Technology Enhanced Language Learning (TELL - another acronym!)
She told us that in Italy, teachers have to provide at least 50% of the subject in a second language for upper secondary school students. The Ministry of Education has provided finance to train teachers to deliver this education.
Then Daniela told us about some of the resources that teachers can use in the classroom. First of all she talked about CLIL Magazine which has resources and guidance for teachers - this is a new one for me but it looks interesting. She then talked about other resources such as Khan Academy and TEDtalks using Flipped Classroom methodology before going on to edX, where you can actually learn things yourself to prepare yourself for flipped classrooms and also you can explore resources suggested by other people.
Daniela gave us another useful resource the CLILstore where there are lessons in different languages that can be utilised in the classroom and there are some other tools from the main page http://multidict.net/
Another really comprehensive resource she told us about was comeongetappy.com which give you the tools and guide to using them - a real gem!
And then another one The CLIL cascade network (It took a little while to load so you may need to be patient) which has a collection of links and ideas under the resources section as well as networking with people around the world. (Both of these sites warrant further investigation!) She also talked about EVO which I have been a part of before - more information here This is an amazing opprtunity to meet up with other teachers and learn and share ideas.
Daniela also recommended http://www.scoop.it/ where you can collate information and ideas as well as following other people with similar interests and the CLILEVO repository on pbworks which is still active after 2 years.
She also talked a little about the changing requirements for student literacies/fluencies in the 21st Century - After seeing her slide I found this site which has useful information and some resources too
https://globaldigitalcitizen.org/21st-century-fluencies
There is a journal which is published by the two ladies which also has useful information on the subject of CLIL and 21st Century Fluencies http://www.je-lks.org/ojs/index.php/Je-LKS_EN/index
A lot of really useful information included in this meeting, thank you Letizia and Daniela.
Tuesday, 8 December 2015
Social Media & Teaching: Friends or Frenemies?
An intriguing title to the session given by Karin Heuert Galvão, she started off by asking participants if they used social media, which forms and how often and then she went on to talk about netiquette - how to behave online.
First of all she ran through the basics of netiquette, be diplomatic, think before you post, make sure posts are appropriate, NO SHOUTING! don't overuse emoticons or use them in an inappropriate context and the same for textspeak.
Then she went on to talk about Facebook, and whether you should 'friend' students on Facebook, many regular schools do not allow teachers to 'friend' students as part of the school policy, this is a problem which I have faced even when the students tell me and show me that their regular teachers are 'Facebook friends' , to avoid upsetting the sts I explain that it is not my policy, it is the school's policy and I have to follow it if I want to keep working for them. Their response is usually 'That's silly but now I understand why'.
I have now set up a separate web page but I still do not friend people although they are allowed to like my page, hopefully this gets around the problem. I also only teach adults now.
Next Karin explained how her colleagues in BRELT, use social media as a tool in the teaching process. One teacher tags students so they can read articles she feels may be interesting, another uses groups on Facebook and also Instagram with BYOD (Bring Your Own Devices), still another teacher uses Whatsapp groups and gives each group a different topic or question according to the level of the students. Another teacher also uses Whatsapp to record students speaking so that they can analyse and comment on each others language. A teacher from Greece says that it is fine to use Pinterest, blogs and similar sites to display students' work as it gives them a real reason for using the language if they know that other people may see their work, I would also think that it would be a great motivational device too.
She then went on to tell us about some activities that she has for using social media. She talked about (secret) groups for sharing work and announcements and then talked about Facebook as a way of engaging students in discussions ie post the questions on FB.
She uses Twitter to share her achievements but is not a big fan of twitter, I do know of several groups that have regular Tweetmeets and exchange ideas using Twitter - have a look at #ELTCHAT
She also talked about groups on Google+ which allow you to have discussions about various topics.
She then returned to the topic of groups on Facebook to create organisations for communication and then she also went on to talk about ELTCHAT on Twitter.
She talked about getting to know you activities using social media - including instagram - my important things which is an adaptation from an activity she found in Teaching Online by Hockly and Clandfield, Then she talked about an activity called 'My window my world' Photographs are shown that have been taken through the window and students can talk about what they see, where it is ... ( I might steal this for my FB page :) )
Finally she talked about developing your PLN through social media, facebook, twitter, linked in, and many other types of media. She did give us a warning to be careful what you post on social media as it can come back on you if you are not careful.
Thank you Karin for refreshing my knowledge and also for some ideas that I can use too!
First of all she ran through the basics of netiquette, be diplomatic, think before you post, make sure posts are appropriate, NO SHOUTING! don't overuse emoticons or use them in an inappropriate context and the same for textspeak.
Then she went on to talk about Facebook, and whether you should 'friend' students on Facebook, many regular schools do not allow teachers to 'friend' students as part of the school policy, this is a problem which I have faced even when the students tell me and show me that their regular teachers are 'Facebook friends' , to avoid upsetting the sts I explain that it is not my policy, it is the school's policy and I have to follow it if I want to keep working for them. Their response is usually 'That's silly but now I understand why'.
I have now set up a separate web page but I still do not friend people although they are allowed to like my page, hopefully this gets around the problem. I also only teach adults now.
Next Karin explained how her colleagues in BRELT, use social media as a tool in the teaching process. One teacher tags students so they can read articles she feels may be interesting, another uses groups on Facebook and also Instagram with BYOD (Bring Your Own Devices), still another teacher uses Whatsapp groups and gives each group a different topic or question according to the level of the students. Another teacher also uses Whatsapp to record students speaking so that they can analyse and comment on each others language. A teacher from Greece says that it is fine to use Pinterest, blogs and similar sites to display students' work as it gives them a real reason for using the language if they know that other people may see their work, I would also think that it would be a great motivational device too.
She then went on to tell us about some activities that she has for using social media. She talked about (secret) groups for sharing work and announcements and then talked about Facebook as a way of engaging students in discussions ie post the questions on FB.
She uses Twitter to share her achievements but is not a big fan of twitter, I do know of several groups that have regular Tweetmeets and exchange ideas using Twitter - have a look at #ELTCHAT
She also talked about groups on Google+ which allow you to have discussions about various topics.
She then returned to the topic of groups on Facebook to create organisations for communication and then she also went on to talk about ELTCHAT on Twitter.
She talked about getting to know you activities using social media - including instagram - my important things which is an adaptation from an activity she found in Teaching Online by Hockly and Clandfield, Then she talked about an activity called 'My window my world' Photographs are shown that have been taken through the window and students can talk about what they see, where it is ... ( I might steal this for my FB page :) )
Finally she talked about developing your PLN through social media, facebook, twitter, linked in, and many other types of media. She did give us a warning to be careful what you post on social media as it can come back on you if you are not careful.
Thank you Karin for refreshing my knowledge and also for some ideas that I can use too!
Friday, 4 December 2015
Even Taking Risks Benefits Students
I have lost count of how many sessions I have seen but I have got something from each of them. This session was presented by Fabiana Laura Casella.
The first risk we should take is to leave our comfort zone, to try something new. Nellie pointed out that students are out of their comfort zones when they are learning a new language. Unfortunately this was another webinar with big audio problems.
She talked about taking baby steps when we are out of our comfort zones and how to face up the the obstacles we meet.
Fabiana said that she has always worked with people who are open-minded and encourage risk taking - visionaries.
She talked about a major influence on her life Shelly Terrell, who I have also had the pleasure of learning from online - a truly inspirational person.
Shelly set up the 30 Goals Challenge for educators which encourages educators to try new things as well as running webinars for AmericanTESOL.
Fabiana told us that through these beginnings she was able to connect with teachers from all around the world and participated in other people's blogs and activities. She finished off by showing us a lipsync video that her students made having been inspired by a video they saw from another school.
It is a pity about the audio quality on the recording of Fabiana because she obviously has a lot to share but I think we got the basic message - get out of your comfort zone!
More online CPD
If you enjoyed attending MMOOC7 or reading about the sessions why not join the EFL magazine's Online Teaching Summit this weekend http://eflmagazine.com/webinar-signup/
Ten Tips for using apps in the EAP classroom
The session was presented by Julie Pratten and while I don't teach EAP I though that some of the apps may be of use in my classrooms too.
First of all Julie looked at the typical 21st Century Learner, students are not as verbal as they used to be because they are always on technology, we as teachers need to tap in to this technology for teaching them.
She then asked the participants which apps they use with their students. Some answers were given like movenote, evernote, phonetic alphabet app and quizlet, Socrative and IELTS apps.
She showed us some feedback from students that had been introduced to apps and the general response was very positive. Students can actually start writing up notes on the way home so as not to waste time on their journey and also make the notes while their memory is fresher.
The first app she talked about was evernote, which is a note taking and organising app. This is very important for students generally (as well as other people!) It can be used on a variety of devices so it is very portable.
Then she talked about IELTS skills app.
This is a good app because it has some really useful tasks and she really likes the disappearing text exercise because it speeds up reading skills which is important in the exam room. There is a free and paid version!
Julie then quickly looked at the Socratic app which is used for quizzes before going on to the AWL app, academicflipword. This was actually created by Julie for her students, and uses lists 1 & 2. It seems very simple to use for students and one of the most useful sections is the 'add word' section where students can create their own cards so they create their own personal dictionary. She is now working on a new app called 'Academic Buzzwords' which uses lists 3 & 4. This is a more gamified app as it is more attractive to students.
After this we went on to 'Periscope', which is an app in which you can see the progress that is being made on a project live. You can log in from any location and record a video too. Next was 'infohub' where students can find a lot of information in one app.
Her last tip was to try a couple of apps ourselves and see if we like them before we try them on our students. Nellie pointed out that most publishers have apps so it is worth looking at their sites.
Her ninth tip was to find out from students what they use.
The final tip was to get mobile, use the mobile devices in different ways to assist learnings.
Although this was titled apps in the EAP classroom, I certainly did find some useful apps here for my students, especially the IELTS app. Thank you Julie.
PS In her list of resources she gave us a pdf from the British Council here is the real link mobile-pedagogy-english-language-teaching-guide-teachers
First of all Julie looked at the typical 21st Century Learner, students are not as verbal as they used to be because they are always on technology, we as teachers need to tap in to this technology for teaching them.
She then asked the participants which apps they use with their students. Some answers were given like movenote, evernote, phonetic alphabet app and quizlet, Socrative and IELTS apps.
She showed us some feedback from students that had been introduced to apps and the general response was very positive. Students can actually start writing up notes on the way home so as not to waste time on their journey and also make the notes while their memory is fresher.
The first app she talked about was evernote, which is a note taking and organising app. This is very important for students generally (as well as other people!) It can be used on a variety of devices so it is very portable.
Then she talked about IELTS skills app.
This is a good app because it has some really useful tasks and she really likes the disappearing text exercise because it speeds up reading skills which is important in the exam room. There is a free and paid version!
Julie then quickly looked at the Socratic app which is used for quizzes before going on to the AWL app, academicflipword. This was actually created by Julie for her students, and uses lists 1 & 2. It seems very simple to use for students and one of the most useful sections is the 'add word' section where students can create their own cards so they create their own personal dictionary. She is now working on a new app called 'Academic Buzzwords' which uses lists 3 & 4. This is a more gamified app as it is more attractive to students.
After this we went on to 'Periscope', which is an app in which you can see the progress that is being made on a project live. You can log in from any location and record a video too. Next was 'infohub' where students can find a lot of information in one app.
Her last tip was to try a couple of apps ourselves and see if we like them before we try them on our students. Nellie pointed out that most publishers have apps so it is worth looking at their sites.
Her ninth tip was to find out from students what they use.
The final tip was to get mobile, use the mobile devices in different ways to assist learnings.
Although this was titled apps in the EAP classroom, I certainly did find some useful apps here for my students, especially the IELTS app. Thank you Julie.
PS In her list of resources she gave us a pdf from the British Council here is the real link mobile-pedagogy-english-language-teaching-guide-teachers
Thursday, 3 December 2015
Business English Writing: How to Help Our Clients Write with Impact
This session was presented by Shanthi Cumaraswamy Streat and was one I wish I had been able to attend live as I sometimes have to teach Business English. I did learn how to write business letters in my previous working life but we can always learn something new. I am grateful that it was recorded. It was interesting for me to hear about her because I, too, came to teaching later in life!
She talked about what students need (even if they don't always realise it themselves!) Her clients want to have more vocabulary, to use more complex sentence structures, to use more sophisticated language - in short to write like a 'native speaker' and not spend so much time doing it!
What they really need is to be clear about their objective, their reason for writing. they need to think about their reader and to have better cohesion of thought and to use simpler language. This was very popular when I worked in the bank. We needed to write to customers in language they could use not in jargonese! It still bugs me when people write long winded sentences to explain a simple concept.
The students need to learn about the structure of their texts. This is all very similar to what I teach when teaching writing skills.
Shanthi asks her students to think about the above questions when they want to do a piece of writing, again generally similar to the questions I teach my students (but I am teaching General English or Exam English)
They need to decide whether they are writing to a client or internally, their position in the heirarchy and leading on from this the formality of the text to be produced. The next question is to determine the function of the communication. It is selling, persuading, informing, complaining or giving news. Again the type of function depends of the style of language to be used.
Something she gained from a Business Maximiser book was the detail in the following slide.
I need to remember that this is for real business communication so the first point is very important. Will a phone call cover this situation? and then the rest of the points need to be looked at. Then she started to look at the procedure and a common theme from the participants (me too ) is to make a plan or brainstorm first. and then build your communication from these notes. I have spent so much time telling my students to make a plan before they write to make sure that they have all the content they need before they start writing. Using these notes they can prepare an outline and easily select and reject things they want to include. I also had a problem which I called the crazy bumble bee. The students would write long rambling texts which were all over the place. By making plans they were able to write a 'straight line' communication which is what I was aiming for.
She then looked at some of the formats for organising writing, these are shown in the next slide.
All of these are logical for us but may not be in the culture which the learner comes from. Shanthi was also talking about culture when talking about sentence structure, the Spanish love to write long sentences with many clauses but this doesn't work in English. I tell my students that it sounds like they are running! Shorter sentences means there is less chance of making mistakes, they need not necessarily be simpler. They should use a mix of complex and compound sentences. Simple sentences are concise and straightforward whereas complex sentences are more professional and serious.
For my reference a compound sentence is two simpler sentences joined together with a conjunction like 'and' or 'but'. A complex sentence which is joined with a relative pronoun or contains a subordinating conjunction.
After that she looked at the effect of using different contrast words in the same context. Which words may throw a different light or emphasis on parts of the text. And then she looked at logical connectors and the reasons for choosing them, what their functions are. It is important for learners to know how to use linkers correctly, so don't just give them a list! We also looked at chronological connectors which are easier to understand.
Sometimes students like the layout of a letter, even though it may not contain such high level language. Clarity is king! Students also need to know the difference between formal writing, professional writing and informal writing.
Shanthi suggested that standard professional writing is probably a happy medium to achieve. There are also two different styles, push and pull, the differences can be seen in the slide below.
Again, as she said, it is logical once you think about it , but very often we need to see it first in order to appreciate it. I had never heard about this before but it does make sense. Push is more likely to raise animosity by the recipient and may have the opposite effect to that desired. We should also use more positive words and again she gave us a list of possible alternatives.
Shanthi gave us the 4 'C's of writing - be Clear, Concise, Complete and Correct. She then referred to the Clear English campaign, why use a long word if a shorter one will do! Some of the longer phrases some older people, like me, use automatically because it is the way we learned.
We should also make students aware of common abbreviations that may be used in business contexts to help them with understanding as well as using them.
Shanthi told us that if a student writes a letter which looks very complicated ask them to explain it in their own words verbally. Then tell them to write what they said as it is clearer as often when they write from a plan they lose the clarity.
She finished off with the does and don't of writing for students.
This was quite a long session but it didn't seem long and there was so much information which may be of use to me. Thank you very much Shanthi.
She talked about what students need (even if they don't always realise it themselves!) Her clients want to have more vocabulary, to use more complex sentence structures, to use more sophisticated language - in short to write like a 'native speaker' and not spend so much time doing it!
What they really need is to be clear about their objective, their reason for writing. they need to think about their reader and to have better cohesion of thought and to use simpler language. This was very popular when I worked in the bank. We needed to write to customers in language they could use not in jargonese! It still bugs me when people write long winded sentences to explain a simple concept.
The students need to learn about the structure of their texts. This is all very similar to what I teach when teaching writing skills.
They need to decide whether they are writing to a client or internally, their position in the heirarchy and leading on from this the formality of the text to be produced. The next question is to determine the function of the communication. It is selling, persuading, informing, complaining or giving news. Again the type of function depends of the style of language to be used.
Something she gained from a Business Maximiser book was the detail in the following slide.
I need to remember that this is for real business communication so the first point is very important. Will a phone call cover this situation? and then the rest of the points need to be looked at. Then she started to look at the procedure and a common theme from the participants (me too ) is to make a plan or brainstorm first. and then build your communication from these notes. I have spent so much time telling my students to make a plan before they write to make sure that they have all the content they need before they start writing. Using these notes they can prepare an outline and easily select and reject things they want to include. I also had a problem which I called the crazy bumble bee. The students would write long rambling texts which were all over the place. By making plans they were able to write a 'straight line' communication which is what I was aiming for.
She then looked at some of the formats for organising writing, these are shown in the next slide.
All of these are logical for us but may not be in the culture which the learner comes from. Shanthi was also talking about culture when talking about sentence structure, the Spanish love to write long sentences with many clauses but this doesn't work in English. I tell my students that it sounds like they are running! Shorter sentences means there is less chance of making mistakes, they need not necessarily be simpler. They should use a mix of complex and compound sentences. Simple sentences are concise and straightforward whereas complex sentences are more professional and serious.
After that she looked at the effect of using different contrast words in the same context. Which words may throw a different light or emphasis on parts of the text. And then she looked at logical connectors and the reasons for choosing them, what their functions are. It is important for learners to know how to use linkers correctly, so don't just give them a list! We also looked at chronological connectors which are easier to understand.
Sometimes students like the layout of a letter, even though it may not contain such high level language. Clarity is king! Students also need to know the difference between formal writing, professional writing and informal writing.
Again, as she said, it is logical once you think about it , but very often we need to see it first in order to appreciate it. I had never heard about this before but it does make sense. Push is more likely to raise animosity by the recipient and may have the opposite effect to that desired. We should also use more positive words and again she gave us a list of possible alternatives.
Shanthi gave us the 4 'C's of writing - be Clear, Concise, Complete and Correct. She then referred to the Clear English campaign, why use a long word if a shorter one will do! Some of the longer phrases some older people, like me, use automatically because it is the way we learned.
We should also make students aware of common abbreviations that may be used in business contexts to help them with understanding as well as using them.
Shanthi told us that if a student writes a letter which looks very complicated ask them to explain it in their own words verbally. Then tell them to write what they said as it is clearer as often when they write from a plan they lose the clarity.
She finished off with the does and don't of writing for students.
This was quite a long session but it didn't seem long and there was so much information which may be of use to me. Thank you very much Shanthi.
Wednesday, 2 December 2015
Tech or no Tech: the impact on teacher development
This presentation was given by Emma Louise Potter. First of all she talked about the way technology is now such a major part of our lives, but very often not so much a part of the way that we teach. She reminded us about our students. The so-called Generation Z, they have the following qualities.
The system is so engrained that parents expect the same as they had and will often resist change even if a teacher is brave enough to try something new. But students need soft skills now, they are shown in the wordle below.
Today students need to know their personal and social responsibilities, critical thinking skills, strong communication and presentation skills and cross-cultural understanding. Students are now very visual and we need to give them visualisation and decision making skills. They need to know what the best tool for the job is.
The role of teachers has changed, there is a difference between using technology in the classroom and integrating technology. The use of technology is now planned with clear objectives in mind. It is no longer a fill in activity or just used for the entertainment value, it is a routine part of lessons and it is no longer just used by the teacher but by all the members of the class and it is used to engage and motivate the students. By integrating the technology it develops students soft skills and the teachers are used to develop the students knowledge. Another great step forward is that learning becomes social. Students learn better together. Teachers need different management skills now.
Emma then went on to talk about the ATC21S project which was a collaboration between the University of Melbourne, Micro$oft, Cisco and Intel. The prime objective was to transform educational assessment by changing the way we think, the way we work, the tools we use and the world in which we live. The slide below highlights the new ways we need to think and assess students.
As teachers we need to take risks, to move out of our comfort zones. We need to be critical thinkers, we need to model the skills we want our students need to develop. We as teachers need to continually learn and be autonomous, motivated and engaged.
Teachers need to learn to collaborate and communicate better within schools and forums. We need to know more about the tools that we have available and be able to decide which is the best tool for the job. Finally we need to show our students that we are living in the real world, we are digital citizens.
Project based learning is the idea that she is trying to spread, I personally used PBL in Summer Schools, students have to complete a project working in teams and the learning plan work backwards. We start at the end and build it up to the beginning including all the things the students will need to learn in order to be able to complete the project. It also covers all the skills needed in the 21st century.
Then she asked us to reflect upon our ways of thinking and working.
I am lucky in that now I am moving into a new sphere of teaching - online teaching - so everythinmg is new to me. I have taken online courses but not live lessons as a participant so I can learn from others and from my students. I do communicate with other teachers from around the world on courses like this, webinars and other fora. I think the day I stop learning will be the day you have to bury me!
Rob from ESL Online pointed out that some teachers are also resistant to change and had witnessed and been parts of arguments with teachers who don't like change. They think that projects can only be used to present work at the end of a course unit and not to learn from. Louise pointed out that students can ask interesting questions and then you can work back from these 'leading' questions. Teachers need to model and helping the students to learn. Not teach them anymore as we say to create the optimum environment for learning.
Then followed a discussion about the merits of modern teaching methods using technology and project based learning. Louise pointed out that very often when students are doing project based learning they are more engaged and less likely to have disciplinary problems.
This was an interesting talk on the differences between older outdated teaching styles and the more modern student centred styles which are definitely better for learning if they are carried out properly by both teachers and learners. Thank you Louise for this session.
The system is so engrained that parents expect the same as they had and will often resist change even if a teacher is brave enough to try something new. But students need soft skills now, they are shown in the wordle below.
Today students need to know their personal and social responsibilities, critical thinking skills, strong communication and presentation skills and cross-cultural understanding. Students are now very visual and we need to give them visualisation and decision making skills. They need to know what the best tool for the job is.
The role of teachers has changed, there is a difference between using technology in the classroom and integrating technology. The use of technology is now planned with clear objectives in mind. It is no longer a fill in activity or just used for the entertainment value, it is a routine part of lessons and it is no longer just used by the teacher but by all the members of the class and it is used to engage and motivate the students. By integrating the technology it develops students soft skills and the teachers are used to develop the students knowledge. Another great step forward is that learning becomes social. Students learn better together. Teachers need different management skills now.
Emma then went on to talk about the ATC21S project which was a collaboration between the University of Melbourne, Micro$oft, Cisco and Intel. The prime objective was to transform educational assessment by changing the way we think, the way we work, the tools we use and the world in which we live. The slide below highlights the new ways we need to think and assess students.
As teachers we need to take risks, to move out of our comfort zones. We need to be critical thinkers, we need to model the skills we want our students need to develop. We as teachers need to continually learn and be autonomous, motivated and engaged.
Teachers need to learn to collaborate and communicate better within schools and forums. We need to know more about the tools that we have available and be able to decide which is the best tool for the job. Finally we need to show our students that we are living in the real world, we are digital citizens.
Project based learning is the idea that she is trying to spread, I personally used PBL in Summer Schools, students have to complete a project working in teams and the learning plan work backwards. We start at the end and build it up to the beginning including all the things the students will need to learn in order to be able to complete the project. It also covers all the skills needed in the 21st century.
Then she asked us to reflect upon our ways of thinking and working.
I am lucky in that now I am moving into a new sphere of teaching - online teaching - so everythinmg is new to me. I have taken online courses but not live lessons as a participant so I can learn from others and from my students. I do communicate with other teachers from around the world on courses like this, webinars and other fora. I think the day I stop learning will be the day you have to bury me!
Rob from ESL Online pointed out that some teachers are also resistant to change and had witnessed and been parts of arguments with teachers who don't like change. They think that projects can only be used to present work at the end of a course unit and not to learn from. Louise pointed out that students can ask interesting questions and then you can work back from these 'leading' questions. Teachers need to model and helping the students to learn. Not teach them anymore as we say to create the optimum environment for learning.
Then followed a discussion about the merits of modern teaching methods using technology and project based learning. Louise pointed out that very often when students are doing project based learning they are more engaged and less likely to have disciplinary problems.
This was an interesting talk on the differences between older outdated teaching styles and the more modern student centred styles which are definitely better for learning if they are carried out properly by both teachers and learners. Thank you Louise for this session.
Tuesday, 1 December 2015
The power of action songs.
This was presented by Charles Goodger from funsongs education.
He started by showing us a photo of a classroom from the 1920s and said that although a lot has changed it doesn't matter what was taught if nothing was learnt. And by that he means that the knowledge can be used, not just recited parrot fashion.
As there are a great many benefits to using songs with children (and adults!) and he was going to talk about action songs which is the heart of the funsongs philosophy. By using action songs it makes the learning fun and emotionally engaging and therefore motivating. Music is memorable, we all suffer from earworms - the tune you can't get out of your head. Imagine doing that with language. The final benefit is pronunciation, the students can hear the words spoken correctly and mimic it successfully.
By using movement with the song it helps to reinforce the learning, he then told us a little about Professor James Asher the founder of the idea of TPR. His ideas are that learning comes in three stages, first of all understanding, then speaking and finally reading and writing. Charles uses the idea of TPR combined with music to create his funsongs.
He then went on to show us a video of the monster song which unfortunately we couldn't see so I found a copy on youtube
He then went on to tell us about the basics of songs for the classroom. The most important thing is that you need a really catchy tune, if not the students will not enjoy it as it will be boring. The song also needs a strong infectious rhythm that engages the listener/student. the rhythm also helps with pronunciation. You need appropriate themes and useful language. This is why Charles writes his own songs.
After that you need worksheets and activities to help internalise the new language. The final essential is expressive mime and actions. The most important thing for teachers is to become familiar with the song before it is taught. He showed us the following video to illustrate this
Charles then went on to talk about action songs as presentation vehicles and gave us the following slide most of which I think is self-explanatory
The only part that does need a little clarification is number 3. First of all the students chant with the teacher, and then they learn the words and the actions step by step, there may have been some more here but unfortunately the video was playing while Charles was talking!
Afterwards he showed us some of the worksheets which are in black and white so the students can colour them in afterwards. They are progressive so they move from basics and then to language.
Although I don't teach and never will teach children, I still found this an interesting presentation as I always like using music in the live classroom and am interested in different ways of using music.
I do have a blog with songs and worksheets that I have created in the past. http://bobsgrammarsongs.blogspot.com/
Please note that this was created as a repository for my work so may not always be perfect! Please allow time for the pages to load as they have the videos embedded.
He started by showing us a photo of a classroom from the 1920s and said that although a lot has changed it doesn't matter what was taught if nothing was learnt. And by that he means that the knowledge can be used, not just recited parrot fashion.
As there are a great many benefits to using songs with children (and adults!) and he was going to talk about action songs which is the heart of the funsongs philosophy. By using action songs it makes the learning fun and emotionally engaging and therefore motivating. Music is memorable, we all suffer from earworms - the tune you can't get out of your head. Imagine doing that with language. The final benefit is pronunciation, the students can hear the words spoken correctly and mimic it successfully.
By using movement with the song it helps to reinforce the learning, he then told us a little about Professor James Asher the founder of the idea of TPR. His ideas are that learning comes in three stages, first of all understanding, then speaking and finally reading and writing. Charles uses the idea of TPR combined with music to create his funsongs.
He then went on to show us a video of the monster song which unfortunately we couldn't see so I found a copy on youtube
He then went on to tell us about the basics of songs for the classroom. The most important thing is that you need a really catchy tune, if not the students will not enjoy it as it will be boring. The song also needs a strong infectious rhythm that engages the listener/student. the rhythm also helps with pronunciation. You need appropriate themes and useful language. This is why Charles writes his own songs.
After that you need worksheets and activities to help internalise the new language. The final essential is expressive mime and actions. The most important thing for teachers is to become familiar with the song before it is taught. He showed us the following video to illustrate this
Charles then went on to talk about action songs as presentation vehicles and gave us the following slide most of which I think is self-explanatory
The only part that does need a little clarification is number 3. First of all the students chant with the teacher, and then they learn the words and the actions step by step, there may have been some more here but unfortunately the video was playing while Charles was talking!
Afterwards he showed us some of the worksheets which are in black and white so the students can colour them in afterwards. They are progressive so they move from basics and then to language.
Although I don't teach and never will teach children, I still found this an interesting presentation as I always like using music in the live classroom and am interested in different ways of using music.
I do have a blog with songs and worksheets that I have created in the past. http://bobsgrammarsongs.blogspot.com/
Please note that this was created as a repository for my work so may not always be perfect! Please allow time for the pages to load as they have the videos embedded.
Monday, 30 November 2015
Just say no.
A presentation with an interesting title which reminds me of my younger days. I think it was used for drug awareness or something similar! It was presented by Helen Waldron and was about negotiation, especially for teachers.
She is a very experienced teacher of Business English, great chunks of which involve negotiation. She has discovered that there is a difference between negotiation as taught and negotiation in business practice.
After a few warm up questions she asked the participants for their definitions of negotiation before presenting us with her first information slide.
She went through the different things that we may need to teach clients about negotiating in the slide above. Mainly language in negotiations. She felt that there was more to this than meets the eye so some of her colleagues went to a conference about negotiation and came back with the things listed at the bottom of the slide under what else.
Following on we looked at the theory of negotiation, a lot based on the 'Getting to yes' book. First of all there are two types of negotiation. Distributive negotiation means winning at the expense of the other party. It is a win-lose situation which often results in the losing party having negative feelings. If this is a customer, this may be the last time you see this customer. The second time is called Integrative negotiation. Each side tries to meet the needs of the other. This is a win-win situation where each party feels more or less satisfied. In business this would mean that you are more likely to keep that customer.
Then she went on to talk about negotiating styles
Then she asked about the differences between EFL teachers negotiations. She pointed out that we are often negotiating from a personal point of view, we personally win or lose and it is asymmetrical as we are often not in a power of strength. And finally it's not what we do best! Most of us have never been taught how to negotiate.
Then she looked at the qualities of business people and teachers, by asking people she knew what their qualities they would ascribe to each field and the results were maybe surprising, maybe unsurprising.
Then she looked at the future of the workforce and it seems that a few powerful people get more and more and the rest of the workforce become increasingly more fragmented. We, as teachers, can establish support networks and build up information in order to present a united front to those we negotiate with. (Personally it appears that often these days, people and companies just want the cheapest option regardless of the quality, this means that 'pirates' will often take work from proper teachers by undercutting prices!)
Finally she looked at some other negotiating positions, the first one was BATNA and the second ZOPRA.
For teachers if we understand BATNA it puts us in a stronger negotiating position and ZOPRA means that we can move into a stronger BATNA position.
She finished off with a list of her references including this video about a guy who goes around asking people to do things on spec. (A bit like some schools with teachers!) I must admit that this has become my modus now. If you don't like my price, go somewhere else!
A very useful session to hopefully help us achieve our desires in life.
PS I found this pdf from Harvard on negotiating styles https://hms.harvard.edu/
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