tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69994743617412622892024-03-13T19:01:31.132+01:00TECHY TOOLS FOR SCHOOLS & EFLThe challenges in the new millennium require that both teachers and students become competent users of ICT, able to integrate Web 2.0 tools into their daily teaching and learning.
Many of these tools are currently being used by educators to teach ESL or EFL. This blog is dedicated to those tools which can easily be adapted for use in the English classroom. It's a question of using these tools in innovative ways in order to engage our digital learners and motivate them to learn English!Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01838833673552537112noreply@blogger.comBlogger80125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6999474361741262289.post-13895401744356301612016-04-14T11:01:00.002+02:002016-04-14T11:02:10.869+02:00Plickers
Plickers - Clickers without the need for clickers! This is a great app for taking polls, voting and giving your opinion with the added bonus that students don't need a mobile device. The teacher simply prints out the 'Plicker' cards and students hold them up in one of four positions in order to cast their vote. The letter of their vote needs to be at the top. There are 4 choices, A, B, Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01838833673552537112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6999474361741262289.post-58072217316566186012016-02-10T11:25:00.000+01:002016-02-10T11:47:24.684+01:00MYSTERY SKYPE
MYSTERY SKYPE
Mystery Skype and other educational Skype activities are taking off in a big way in schools all over the world. It's a great way to open up the walls of your classroom by taking your students to other classrooms around the world, virtually of course! It's also a great way to bring interesting people into your own classroom.
There are three activities offered on the Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01838833673552537112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6999474361741262289.post-4025690998090130722015-10-14T10:09:00.000+02:002015-10-14T10:14:06.388+02:00Riddle - Create, Customise, Publish, Analyse!Riddle is a great tool for creating polls, riddles and lists. Very easy to use and with some imagination, students could create some great content for their classmates to comment or vote on. Easy to use and easily shareable.
CLOUDSDo clouds weigh?
YESNOMAYBESusanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01838833673552537112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6999474361741262289.post-31057435514411920982015-06-10T13:33:00.005+02:002015-06-10T13:33:30.233+02:00HSTRY - Timelines for English language learners
HSTRY - Timelines for English language learners
There have been many different types of timeslines come out in these past few years and I have tried many of them. They all have different features that make one better, easier or more practical than the next. I just came across this one which also seems to have some unique features that your students may find attractive.
Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01838833673552537112noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6999474361741262289.post-68986349791410427422015-05-22T11:15:00.000+02:002015-05-22T11:15:39.355+02:00HEADLINE NEWS STORIES
This cool tool by Class Tools is great for creating personalized headlines related to real or fictive news. Students can use their imaginations to create dynamic titles, headlines and summaries of their news stories. The tool allows you to create an almost instant downloadable image which could be printed out to decorate the classroom. It also allows you to share the url or tweet your Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01838833673552537112noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6999474361741262289.post-52913786670306170752014-05-23T15:24:00.006+02:002014-05-23T15:26:09.653+02:00CODE-MONSTER
I'm sure a lot of you have heard of Scratch, which is a programming language which teaches kids how to code in order to make their own interactive games or stories. I just came across CODE-MONSTER which has the same purpose of teaching code language to kids but is much more basic. Kids carry out very simple tasks in order to get an idea of how coding works. The results are Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01838833673552537112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6999474361741262289.post-86546286497455600102014-05-21T12:14:00.001+02:002014-05-22T12:03:59.060+02:00GRAMMAR IN INFOGRAPHICS
Infographics are a great way to present grammar, punctuation or common spelling mistakes to your students. Not only are they good for students but also for many of us native speakers who often make the same common mistakes! How many of us have misspelt 'there' or 'their', 'meet' or 'meat', 'who's or whose'? Present it on an infograph and get your students to create others. A great visual Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01838833673552537112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6999474361741262289.post-76874337776202471952014-04-01T10:48:00.001+02:002014-04-01T10:51:01.608+02:00MAKING GUESSING GAMES WITH PREZI
MAKING GUESSING GAMES WITH PREZI
To introduce my teens to Prezi for the first time, I had them make sentences about a 'secret animal'. It was a great first activity because they learned how to place their sentences on the canvas, make their own paths and hide the image somewhere within the words. They also practised the vocabulary we were learning; adjectives, comparatives and Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01838833673552537112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6999474361741262289.post-44634899396803883932014-01-02T11:11:00.001+01:002014-04-01T10:38:49.231+02:00BUNCEE
BUNCEE
This looks like an interesting tool to use with your students. Basically, Buncee is yet another web-based content creation tool. Students can add photos, videos, audio, text, drawings, etc. in order to create dynamic project presentations. Teachers can use Buncee to create lessons online. You can also make fun greeting cards like the example I am showing here. I joinedSusanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01838833673552537112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6999474361741262289.post-12780955285533771492013-10-10T10:46:00.000+02:002013-10-10T10:46:16.295+02:00SYMPHONICAL
I recently discovered this tool and thought that I'd put it here for you teachers to have a look at. It could be very useful for organizing all of those tasks that seem to never get done and stack up on a pile. This tool allows you to visual tasks to do, tasks in progress and tasks that have been completed. I like the looks of it too!
Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01838833673552537112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6999474361741262289.post-45002795255354694552013-07-11T14:37:00.003+02:002013-07-11T14:40:04.740+02:00MINDMUP MAPSMake your mind tick! Have some fun making mind maps with Mind Mup. Easy to use and good for some brain exercise during the Summer months!!SUMMER TIME on MindMup
Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01838833673552537112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6999474361741262289.post-65184402267897927452013-06-27T10:44:00.000+02:002013-08-29T10:01:08.735+02:00THINGLINK
Have some fun this Summer creating interactive images and sharing them with your friends. THINGLINK is a tool which allows you to add 'hotspots' to your image, making it interactive in some way. You can link the hotspots to text, exterior links, videos, etc... Give your students a task such as the one found in the example below. All they need is an image and some imagination!
CLICK HERE TO Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01838833673552537112noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6999474361741262289.post-1918863272350983082013-05-29T10:57:00.001+02:002013-05-29T11:13:56.892+02:00Create guides and tutorials with TILDEE
There is no better way to learn than by teaching. Getting your students involved in teaching is an effective way to get them to use new language and structures in a useful and purposeful way. TILDEE is a free tool that helps you to create and instantly share tutorials on any subject. In the example (http://www.tildee.com/y8A3tj)you will see that a teacher has written a tutorial on Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01838833673552537112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6999474361741262289.post-77253269791991494662013-04-18T10:06:00.000+02:002013-04-18T10:27:25.991+02:00DIGITAL STORYTELLING
DIGITAL STORYTELLING
I have posted before about the educational value of creating digital stories but I am going to add some new thoughts. We can all create a good story. No matter the age of the students you are teaching or what their interests or 'learning-language' may be, I can guarantee you that they have a story to tell. Let's help them as teachers to find their Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01838833673552537112noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6999474361741262289.post-71823781355060915952013-01-03T09:01:00.004+01:002013-01-03T09:01:44.067+01:00GRAMMAR GAMBLE
Grammar is not usually fun so why not try making it fun with GRAMMAR GAMBLE?
Learn and practise grammar as a game with the whole class. What I like about this game
is that you can practise specific grammar topics that you may be learning at the moment.
If not, you can go straight into playing the game and competing against others from all
over the world with mixed grammar-related questionsSusanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01838833673552537112noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6999474361741262289.post-88426616009177026082012-10-20T12:04:00.002+02:002012-10-21T14:01:49.958+02:00USING POLLS WITH STUDENTS
Let’s talk about POLLS.
A poll is a survey used to
give a public opinion about a specific topic or question. Using a poll with in your class
allows you to ask one
multiple choice question and receive results
which will reflect how other students feel about a particular subject. Nowadays, most polls are being asked online.
An online poll tool gives you the Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01838833673552537112noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6999474361741262289.post-78279531747495169592012-10-01T12:04:00.002+02:002012-10-01T12:04:46.367+02:00WORDSIFT
Here is a tool I came across that I think could be useful for teachers working on reading skills. I think it could best be used by the teacher with the whole class, projecting the text in question using the OHP and working on the text as a group activity. As well as working on reading skills, teachers are introducing key vocabulary in a visual way which facilitates Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01838833673552537112noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6999474361741262289.post-29050407589420448982012-09-18T13:31:00.001+02:002012-09-18T23:17:54.989+02:00CULIPS
ESL PODCASTS
A Canadian based website with playful podcasts to help you learn English. Culips podcasts have a lot of cultural contents and we talk a lot about life in Canada and in Montreal in particular.
Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01838833673552537112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6999474361741262289.post-16284251747147357882012-09-13T14:05:00.000+02:002012-09-13T14:05:05.352+02:00THE TIMES IN PLAIN ENGLISH
Reading a newspaper can be a
frustrating experience, even in one’s own language!
Add to the equation a language which isn’t
your native tongue and the task becomes even more cumbersome. Try
using ‘The
Times in Plain English’.
The Times in Plain English brings you important news from America’s best
sources of information. The writing is in clear, readable EnglishSusanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01838833673552537112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6999474361741262289.post-74861203841972490252012-09-13T11:56:00.001+02:002012-09-13T11:56:14.637+02:006 GREAT VIDEO TOOLS FOR TEACHERS
Here is a link to some great applications for making or editing videos.
Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01838833673552537112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6999474361741262289.post-63149616996358332142012-09-06T10:02:00.001+02:002012-09-06T10:02:35.522+02:0015 REASONS WHY ONLINE TEACHER DEVELOPMENT WORKS BEST
Nik Peachey has recently published 15 reasons why online teaching development works best. I normally try to use my own ideas when blogging but it turns out that I completely agree with Nik and couldn't have expressed myself better than he has!
As an online learner myself, I can completely back up any of the points mentioned. Having done an online masters practically full time for twoSusanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01838833673552537112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6999474361741262289.post-43578047084987880442012-09-06T09:13:00.002+02:002012-09-06T09:13:40.941+02:003 EASY AND EFFECTIVE ESL LESSON PLAN STRATEGIES
I came across this short and sweet text written by Melissa LaBianca about ESL lesson plan strategies and wanted to quickly share the link. Most of you will be starting up a new school year and wanting some new and refreshing strategies and ideas which will help you when it comes to planning your lessons. Something to think about!
Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01838833673552537112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6999474361741262289.post-1409068692237754452012-08-14T21:33:00.004+02:002012-08-21T16:54:28.898+02:00RE-ENERGIZING OUR TEACHING
I was recently reading a presentation by Professor Dalton Kehoe of York University about 'energizing teaching with technology'. He is actually referring to university level students in his presentation but I feel his advice is very relevant when it comes to re-energizing teachers or students of all ages.
I would like to share a few good points that I've taken from the presentation and Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01838833673552537112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6999474361741262289.post-35357220760521709312012-05-25T20:04:00.001+02:002012-05-25T20:04:10.830+02:00TEACHERS ARE HEROESTeachers are Heroes [INFOGRAPHIC]Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01838833673552537112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6999474361741262289.post-63957159844277568712012-05-20T12:37:00.001+02:002012-08-21T17:14:52.924+02:00DIGITAL STORY PROJECT
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I've been working on digital stories with my students over the course of one term. I set up a project with three other schools; two from the States and one from Canada. The first step of the project, other than finding the other schools, was to work on 'Script-writing'. Students worked in pairs or in small groups to decide what it was they Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01838833673552537112noreply@blogger.com0