tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57613596666514019062024-03-13T14:13:32.076-04:00An ICT OdysseyMy journey in the world of ICTs Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09968946658319642434noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761359666651401906.post-19421858145396608532014-07-09T22:40:00.002-04:302014-07-13T02:42:51.489-04:30Developing an English Unit Implementing a Course Blog for Listening Comprehension<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Introduction<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Learning
a language is not just learning a set of words or learn a structure, is not
like learning Math or Chemistry where you learn a set of formulas and you just
need to apply the numbers in order to get a result. Learning a language is more
complex than just learning a formula, learning a language involves a process
where we apply our eyes, ears, mouth in order to understand the information
that we are getting, but also expressing our ideas in an oral or written
way. As whole, learning a language, like
in the case of English, is a rather quite complex process because we are
learning a language, a tool for us to communicate to others therefore it needs
preparing different aspects such as grammar, writing skills, reading skills and
listening comprehension. Now with the rise of technology we, as teachers, can
improve the whole teaching experience by including Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and
Web based lessons.</span><span lang="EN-US"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Blogs
or Web-blogs are defined by Varlack (2009) as “web logs that are updated on a
regular basis by their author. They can contain information related to a
specific topic. In some cases blogs are used as daily diaries about people's
personal lives, political views, or even as social commentaries. The truth of
the matter is that blogs can be shaped into whatever you, the author, want them
to be”. In the following paper, an English Unit will be created implementing
the use of blogs, this unit is for 7<sup>th</sup> grade students at the
Instituto Jean Piaget School.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Other researches and
blogs<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Regarding
the topic of blogs on ELT, blogs are one of the most used tools on the webs.
However, most of the blogs found on the web regarding ELT are more oriented to
the teaching of grammar, vocabulary or reading. Examples can be seen in the
following pages:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">• http://englishforteaching.blogspot.com/
this blog presents activities and resources that teachers can use and implement
in their classrooms, activities like flashcards, games and puzzles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">• http://englishteachermargarita.blogspot.com/
this blog presents unit, class activities, evaluation and assessment activities
that teachers and instructors can implement in their classes. The activities
cover different skills like writing, grammar, vocabulary, reading and
listening.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">• http://lusine13.blogspot.com/ this
blog is similar to the previous mentioned, it gives to the teacher different
activities that can be applied to the classroom, improving the different skills
required in ELT.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">• http://www.englishblog.com/learning_english/#.U7IhU_mSxps
this blogs provides with lessons and exercises to students or people who wants
to learn English and also provides with activities for teachers to improve the
teaching experience.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Similar
researches about the use of blogs have been carried out, like for example the
one carried out by Fahad Hamad Aljumah in 2012 called Saudi Learner Perceptions
and Attitudes towards the Use of Blogs in Teaching English Writing Course for
EFL Majors at Qassim University which objective were, according to the
researcher, “(1) to investigate students’ attitudes toward the use of blog in
learning writing, and (2) to demonstrate the advantages and disadvantages of
using blog in language learning. A total of 35 Saudi students majoring in
English participated in this study. Data are collected from learners through
questionnaires conducted at the end of the writing course (ENG143) during
spring semester 2009. Responses indicate that students have a favorable
perception towards weblog use in their writing classroom. Findings suggest that
learner-perceived benefits of using blogs included increased interest and
motivation to use English because of interaction with, and feedback from
classmates and teachers. Teaching English Writing Course for EFL Majors at
Qassim University” (Aljumah, 2012). Other research is the one carried by Grami
Mohammad A. Grami in 2012 called Online Collaborative Writing for ESL Learners
Using Blogs and Feedback Checklists which seek to “reports on the experience of
seven Saudi female ESL students who worked collaboratively in an interactive
online writing environment over a period of four weeks. It chronicles their
experiences with online writing tasks, documents their responses to online
feedback, and examines their attempts to cope with different settings and
audiences. It was found that interactive features of weblogs helped establish a
valid peer review culture as an integral part of collaborative writing. The
experience also helped develop critical thinking and ability to identify target
audience. In general, students’ attitudes were positive and participants
exhibited a desire to incorporate similar tasks in upcoming ESL writing
classes. It is therefore recommended that educational authorities and teachers
should solicit online resources more often” (Grami, 2012).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Participants and their
context<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The
participants are described in the following list:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">• Name of the institution: Instituto
Jean Piaget.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">• Location of the school: the school is
located in los Guayabitos, Baruta municipality. The zone is considered as one
of the most wanted zones to live here in the city of Caracas.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">• Sector of the School: High School.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">• Number of classrooms: 5 classrooms, from first year to fifth year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">• Number of sections: 1 per each grade.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">• Average of students per classroom: 26
students per classroom.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">• Classroom analyzed: 7th grade.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">• Number of students in 7th grade: 26 students.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">• Accommodations of the classroom: the
classrooms present a desk for the student, a desk with a chair for the
professor, a blackboard, markers and an eraser.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">• Others accommodations: an audio-visual
room, with a video beam, a television and chairs for the students. A computer
room with 30 computers with Windows 7 installed and speakers included..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">• Student’s level of English: the level
of English of the students in the Instituto Jean Piaget is low. The students
know a few words in English, also some basic concepts of grammar like present
simple, past simple and present progressive<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">• Causes of the student’s low level of
English: it can be caused by the absence of English teachers for more than one
period (trimester). Other causes can be the lack of motivation of the student
or misuse of the previous teacher’s teaching techniques.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">• Amount of class hours: 7th graders
receive 5 academic hours per week, being two classes of 2 academic hours on
Monday and Friday and one session of one academic hour on Tuesday. While the
other years receive 3 academic hours weekly of English (in the case of 2nd
year, 3rd year and 4th year), while 5th year receives one class of 2 academic
hours per week.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">• Sociocultural levels in the group:
since it is a private school, most of the students attending the Instituto Jean
Piaget are of high social status. According to some students, the students live
in zones near the school such as La Lagunita, La Trinidad, El Volcán and the
rest of the surrounding areas.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Materials <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The
researcher developed a unit to teach the 7<sup>th</sup> grade students the
Simple Past, this unit consist of explanation of the Simple Past, exercises
that cover the 4 skills such as reading, writing, speaking and listening
comprehension (In the annex section you can see the unit). To assess listening
comprehension, the researcher created a Blog where the researcher can post
activities related to the aforementioned skill. The blog was created on the web
page Blogger that lets it user to create a free blog that permits the use of
audio and video material in their post. Prior to the implementation of the
unit, the researcher created a questionnaire for students, professors and
administrative personnel in order to measure the acceptance of technology in
English class at the school (see annex section to see the questionnaire).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Procedure<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Since
the students have 5 academic hours of English during the week, the researcher
will start teaching the first part of the unit during one of the sections of
two academic hours. The use of the blog will be applied during the one academic
hour session in which the researcher can use the computer room, permitting the
students use the computer and log in to the blog itself to participate in the
activities.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Results<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">There
were no results because of time constraints and also that the researcher had a
pre-established class schedule in the school. However, the researcher predicts
a high acceptance to the implementation of ICT in English classes because it’s
something appealing and out of the ordinary for the students.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> <b>Conclusions<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Considering
the vast options that the use of blogs provides, we could say that its
implementation would be widely helpful both for teachers and his/her students
in order to develop not only the listening comprehension skills required in
class, but also how to take advantage of technological tools for their
education in other areas beside English. We have seen that there are an
incredible number of possibilities to apply different kind of exercises, each
one of them from a different perspective and with a different strategy, to
effectively guide and help the students in their process of developing their
listening comprehension skills.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">References<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Aljumah, F. 2012. <i>Use of Blogs in Teaching English Writing Course for EFL Majors at
Qassim University. </i>Taken from http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/elt/article/view/13881/9527
on July the second, 2014.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 35.7pt; text-indent: -17.85pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Grami, G. 2012. <i>Online Collaborative Writing for ESL Learners Using Blogs and Feedback Checklists. </i>Taken from http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/elt/article/view/19756/13034
on July the second, 2014.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 35.7pt; text-indent: -17.85pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -18pt;">Varlack, J. 2009. </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -18pt;">What are Blogs?</i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -18pt;"> Taken from http://www.mednet-tech.com/newsletter/author/joe-varlack
on July the first, 2014.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09968946658319642434noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761359666651401906.post-21136621042148584592014-06-08T21:41:00.000-04:302014-06-08T21:41:12.149-04:30Videos in ESL <div style="text-align: justify;">
One of the first memories that I have is my father filming our family travels with his old Sony video-camera and later recording them into a cassette tape (yes I'm from the cassette tape era don't judge me). Videos, since the introduction of videocameras and video cassette tapes, have been one of the most used tools for almost every application. From videos for recipes, to music instructional to every instruments, videos are one of the sought after tools in education. Videos have been in a constant evolution, from video tape videos to the most recent tools like Youtube, Vimeo, webcams, etc. As a whole, videos are one of the most complete ICT that teachers have at hand when teaching a class because it has almost, not to say all of the elements of the ICT I have mentioned in my previous posts. For example, you can have a video blog oriented to teaching like for example this:</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/fIvKcff7Ugs?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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As you can see, videos encompasses both the discursive and visual tools that teachers in any subject can use. As I mentioned earlier, videos have been there for ages in the form of instructional videos, me as a musician consider instructional videos a valuable tool because it haves both the audio elements, the visual elements that help me as a person who is learning get the concepts and knowledge easily. In ESL, and in many areas of teaching videos can be applied as a valuable educational tool, like is in the case of the web page /www.teachwithvideo.com, a project dedicated to teaching any subject through videos. Another we can find is the web page www.eslvideo.com, this web page is dedicated mainly to ESL. The page provides many activities such as songs, unit lessons, quizzes, even exams. To me, eslvideo.com is one of the most complete page for ESL teaching. Another web page is http://www.teachertrainingvideos.com/ a web page to teaching teachers in how to teach and use tools and activities in his or her classrooms.</div>
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<a href="http://www.cristinacabal.com/imagenes/esl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.cristinacabal.com/imagenes/esl.jpg" height="114" width="320" /></a></div>
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Another way of using videos as an ICT is through the web page Youtube. Youtube, since its creation in 2007, Youtube has become as one of the most important social tools that people all around the world use, according to the webpage (N.D) more than 1 billion of people visit the page each month. Having said that, teachers can post videos and tutorials that can help people, either students or casual learners and even teachers. An example is the Youtube channel created by this lady called JenniferESL, you can visit her in the following link: https://www.youtube.com/user/JenniferESL, this channel contains tutorials and lessons for beginners, intermediate and advance English students: </div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/385AR25t1mo?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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To sum up, videos are an amazing tool for teachers to use in their classroom since it is a combination of both images, words and audio elements that facilitates the process of learning to the students. Thanks for reading my post and I invite you all to my Youtube channel in which I'm posting some ESL teaching related videos https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4NTuk61h5rRHLc_9e1zeDg. Over and out!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09968946658319642434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761359666651401906.post-21345488560961242382014-06-03T15:56:00.002-04:302014-06-03T15:56:10.598-04:30Podcast and its uses as an ICT Tool<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.optimum7.com/internet-marketing/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/podcast1-272x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.optimum7.com/internet-marketing/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/podcast1-272x300.jpg" /></a><span lang="EN-US"></span></div>
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In most of my post, I have talked about ICT
that makes us write and post and share information in a written way. Most of
you might think "is there any other ICT that I can create without writing
a ton of paragraphs like the ones you are making?" Well, the answer is
yes. Since we are working with technologies we can use many ways to express
ourselves, including oral speech, like is in the case of podcast. Podcast or
Netcast are according to Dictionary.com (N.D) "a digital audio or video
file or recording, usually part of a themed series that can be downloaded from a
website to a media player or computer”. We can say that podcast are sort of a
new age radio program that we as Internet users can create and express
ourselves. Podcast are of many different kind, we have music podcast,
literature podcast, politics podcasts even art podcast.</div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In my experience, I had the chance to
participate in two podcast, one was a music podcast that I had the chance to
write the script for the person who was hosting the podcast. The other one, I
was in charge of putting music and jingles to the podcast itself. I must say
that podcast are a more reliable tool than radio programs because you can post your
podcast and people can listen to it at any time without following a certain
schedule that radio stations have, unless the podcast is a live stream. You
guys are wondering “well, podcast are a nice tool, but how I, as a teacher, can
apply them to my school program or activities?” Since we are working with a
more audio related medium such as podcasts, you as a teacher can elaborate
activities related to listening comprehension. Let’s say for example you post
an interview on your podcast and at the description you put a set of questions
based on the interview, by making this you are developing your students’
listening comprehension skills. Other use in which you can apply podcasts is to
assess your pupils’ pronunciation and use of vocabulary. By making your
students create a podcast of their own favorite topic or a theme that you want
to use for a certain unit or chapter of the book, you can assess and evaluate
the use of vocabulary, pronunciation and their use of language in their own
podcast. Other uses can be if you are preparing a dictation activity, you can
post a podcast on your page or wiki and make the students listen to it without
using any tapes or disks, or simply you can post a chapter in which you’ll talk
about a certain topic, make the students listen to it, and later on discuss it
in class.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">To conclude, even though podcast are more
oriented to listening comprehension and pronunciation, we can still find its
uses in our classrooms. As I said before, podcasts are a great communication
school because it can reach to more and more people around the world since you
are talking, also it gives you more room to prepare more interactive activities
such as discussion forums, interviews, etc. Hope you like this post, and I
invite you all to follow my podcast <a href="http://giacomederico.podbean.com/">http://giacomederico.podbean.com/</a>, and I invite you all to create a podcast and try it yourselves, see you on my next post. Over and out!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09968946658319642434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761359666651401906.post-63264613727683521932014-05-26T00:33:00.001-04:302014-05-26T00:33:35.825-04:30Teaching Through Wikis<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://informaticaellacuria.wikispaces.com/file/view/wiki.gif/75185643/wiki.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="177" src="https://informaticaellacuria.wikispaces.com/file/view/wiki.gif/75185643/wiki.gif" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Let’s say that you don’t want to send
a ton of emails to your students with the evaluation plan, program or
classrooms activities because most of the emails that the students gave to you
are going to bounce back, either they wrote it incorrectly or that someone didn’t
receive anything and you wish that all that information were stored in a place where your students, supervisors and
even your students’ parents can see, download or even participate in the making
of information for that place or webpage. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the
Wikis. What is a Wiki you might say? Well, basically Wikis are shared pages
from the web 2.0 era that lets people post and share information at any time
and any place. The main feature of the Wikis is that more than one person can
participate on the development of the Wiki, by posting or editing previous or
new information. Let’s take the example of the famous/infamous case of
Wikipedia, this page is a shared one in which people post information for
educational, research purposes. In it, we can find topics regarding, health,
history, sports or music.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.colegiozazuar.com/l/images/stories/wiki.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.colegiozazuar.com/l/images/stories/wiki.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> Other cases of Wikis are the ones that are specialized
on a certain topic, like for example a videogame wiki like the League of
Legends Wiki where the users post information about the game, also they post
strategy in order to master a character or explanation of the rules of the game
per se. How does a Wiki differentiate itself from other tools such as a blog
for example? Like I mentioned before, more than one user can post or edit
information that is published on the wiki, also, the content is dynamic, being
that it can change from time to time in order to keep the information fresh and
updated. Another aspect is that the information is organized in pages rather
than in post entries (like in the case of my blog). Other feature is that the
interaction between users and editors is less limited like in blogs where it is
only limited in the comment section of each post. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">Wikis are useful tools for education
too, imagine that you can post the program of your subject, your evaluation
plan and weekly activities and each of your students are notified without
having to send tons of emails. It sounds awesome, right? Well it gets better;
since it’s a shared page you can let your students be editors or writers of
your own wiki, letting them post their weekly assignments, or you can have them
participate in forums of discussion. The uses of a Wiki for ESL are huge, you
can assess and evaluate the student’s writing activities if you want to use
your wiki as a tool to assess and evaluate writing skills, also you can use it
to check your student’s reading skills or listening skills with readings or
videos. Other uses are for posting vocabulary list of the units that you are
working on, or a verb list with their respective conjugation. Summing up, I
invite you all teachers to use Wikis in your classrooms, also I invite you all
to my wiki: </span><a href="http://listeningcomprehensionclass.pbworks.com/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">http://listeningcomprehensionclass.pbworks.com/</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">,
it is still under construction, but soon I’ll start to post activities. Over
and out!</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09968946658319642434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761359666651401906.post-62943826031981320892014-05-25T22:18:00.003-04:302014-05-25T22:18:59.688-04:30Blogs as an ICT Tool for Teaching<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="http://documania20.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/principales-blogs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://documania20.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/principales-blogs.jpg" height="183" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 tools
have been useful in the passing, sharing and creation of information since the
Internet was established back in the 90’s. Being a social media like Facebook
or Twitter, a cloud service like Soundcloud or Dropbox or a video uploader
webpage like Youtube or Tubeplus we can let people from around the world our
points of view about a certain topic, show a new creation, recipe, song or
whatever you do. One of the most used tools in the Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 world
are Web-blogs, or commonly known as Blogs. Blogs are like personal logs that
people can post on the web and share it to the whole wide world. Since their
creation, blogs have been a staple in both Web 1.0 and Web 2.0. Blogs not only
are used for personal thoughts, or opinions, nowadays we can see through the
web many different blogs, cooking blogs, travelling blogs, music blogs and even
literary blogs. You might be wondering, "Where can I start my blog?"
Well there are many ways where you can start a blog, one way is through blogger
(this webpage for example)</span>. Other ways are Wordpress, Tumblr or even in
Facebook you can carry a blog. Even though, the concept of video blogging have
been established through Youtube, the blogs have remained still becoming one of
the most used tools by Internet users. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But, how can I use blogs
as a teaching tool? The answer is quite simple. For those who have read my
previous post on ICT and its uses in teaching, you can see that blogs can
become quite a tool on your classrooms. Imagine yourself that you want to make
a reading comprehension activity but you don’t want to print 25, 35 or 50
copies of a reading for your classroom. Instead you can post the reading on
your school blog for your students to read and also post, either questions
regarding the reading or you can create a forum discussion for them to post
their opinions or thoughts. Let’s say that instead of a reading comprehension
activity, you want to make a listening comprehension activity, you can opt for
posting a video or a song (it can be with the lyrics in order to evaluate both
reading and listening comprehension) and you can post a series of questions
regarding the video or song that you posted. One of the ideas that I'm going to
put on next year for my students is for them to carry and administer a blog of
their own. By having this, I, as a teacher, I can evaluate and asses the
student’s writing skills and their use of grammar, vocabulary taught in class. With
the use of personal blogs, students can learn a second language by expressing
themselves, letting them use their favorite topics or things, but having some
limitations in order for the teacher to correctly asses or evaluate. As you can
see my fellow readers, blogs are an awesome tool for you teachers to use, I
invite you all to use them and have good time! Over and out. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09968946658319642434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761359666651401906.post-52270539419020920122014-05-22T14:39:00.000-04:302014-05-22T14:39:58.374-04:30Constant Motion: The Never-Ending Evolution of Internet and its Application in the Field of Education <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The
Internet since its introduction as a public tool for information or media, it
has not stopped evolving. I remember
when I was in school, I had to wait for my mom to hang up the phone and connect
my PC into the phone plug; now, 13 years after I’m always connected to the internet
almost everywhere, either on my laptop or my smartphones. But, to get to the
place where we are on this day and age we must get back to the start. Internet
started using Web 1.0, you guys all wondering “what’s web 1.0?” well basically
Web 1.0 was the first period of the Internet that ran from 1994 until 1997. What
were the characteristic of Web 1.0? The main features of Web 1.0 is the use of
static pages, one great example of the pages used in that era were the Terra.com,
Cheatcc.com, and many others. Other feature those Web 1.0 web pages were
static, meaning that the information posted is exactly the one that it was
stored on the webmaster’s computer. This feature also meant that the content of
the pages was only administered by the webmaster, without letting the
interaction between users. Even though Web 1.0 is somewhat outdated, it still
has it uses; news webpages like CNN.com, Globovision.com and others still use a
Web 1.0 format, where the reporters post the news or information needed to keep
the page dated and fresh. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Example of web 1.0 webpage (quite new, huh?)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Now, let’s head back up to more recent times, specifically
to 2003, where Web 2.0 was promoted. Web 2.0 is the type of web that we still
use nowadays in examples such as social networks, wikis, blogs, and other
sites. The main attractive of Web 2.0 is that the flow of information is
uninterrupted, letting users and webmasters create, share and modify the
information that is feeding the page, letting users participate in the
development of the webpage itself, something that was impossible back in the
Web 1.0 days. An example of Web 2.0 is on a wiki, someone something regarding a
specific topic, the person posts it, then the user or users can share that
information or they can modify it to make it look even better. Another
advantage that web 2.0 have permitted its users, is the inclusion of free
software, why? Because it permits people from around the world to create
software for educational, scientific or research purposes that can facilitates
the needs of other without having to wait for a developer to create it. An
important step for web 2.0 is its connectivity, by that I mean that it let us
communicate with others at anytime, anywhere. Thirteen years ago was difficult
to communicate because e-mail was the only available option, and it still is
one of the tools that we use, but, nowadays we have Skype, Twitter or Facebook
that let us know new people from other parts of the world, we can share our
creations to other people (by using clouds or other services), in the case of
musicians (I’m a musician myself), we can show our songs and albums to people
from other countries without the necessity of a producer or a record company. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The difference between 1.0 and 2.0</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">As
I said before, Internet is in constant motion, evolving without ending, right
now users from around the world are using web 2.0 pages or applications all
around the world, but we are reaching the next step: Web 3.0, 3.0 will be the
next step in information technology that will allow us to immerse into virtual
worlds, a good example is the Project Occulus Rift (see the video below)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/MNAa_QI_jbA/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/MNAa_QI_jbA&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/MNAa_QI_jbA&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Besides its connectivity, web 3.0 will allow us not only to share or create information, but also to look up on information, rather than using keywords or phrases in order to get it. In here I post another video about web 3.0 and the inclussion of semantic webs.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial Narrow, sans-serif;">But how web 2.0, 1.0 or 3.0 can affect Education? well, the answer is simple, the new generation is adapting more and more to technology, whether they use smartphones, tablets, Internet, laptops, etc. and we as a teachers must adapt to this coming era. With educational platforms like Moodle, Edmodo, Blogster we can adapt our teaching to this new pages and gadgets making our day to day work easily. Imagine the possibilities, we can create chat rooms, or forums in which our students can debate on a certain topic letting teacher evaluate their writing of use of grammar, or put a video and make questions about it, letting the teacher evaluate their listening comprehension. Heres a video about the uses of web 2.0 for education.</span></div>
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<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/_rE3rTnWccE/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/_rE3rTnWccE&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/_rE3rTnWccE&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial Narrow, sans-serif;">Before I go, Internet and the web are useful tools that can allow us to improve our teachings and we as teachers, professors or reseachers must adapt and gain this opportunity to open the student's door to knowledge. Over and out. </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09968946658319642434noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761359666651401906.post-20995610247830256942014-05-18T22:42:00.002-04:302014-05-20T17:20:54.064-04:30What is ICT? How can I apply them in my classroom?<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">In
my previous post I talked about the concept of Digital Literacy and how it can
affects the learning process in our students through the use of technology, and
also I mentioned what are the necessary competence that a 21<sup>st</sup>
century teacher must have. Today I’m going to talk about ICTs, ICTs or
Information and Communication Technologies is a term that refers to all the
group of communication and information devices, applications or webpages (<a href="http://searchcio.techtarget.com/">http://searchcio.techtarget.com</a>,
N.D). This includes examples such as radio, television, computers, social
media, telephones etc. The term it may sound new to you, but the term ICT was
created in 1997 by Dennis Stevenson, a successful businessman (Stevenson,
1997). ICT is a great tool for teachers that let us expand the teaching process
enhancing the process of learning for our students. Tools such as teaching
webpages, educational platforms, social networks, e-classrooms, videogames,
etc. are examples of tools that the teacher can use. But, let’s start with some
basic ICT concepts:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 150%; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Distance Learning: also
called D-Learning, is according to the webpage thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk
(N.D) refers to the “way of learning remotely without being in regular
face-to-face contact with a teacher in the classroom”. Examples of distance
learning can be courses or Master’s Program that are taught by mail, through
internet, etc.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">E-learning: E-Learning or
electronic learning refers to teaching through the use of electronic devices
such as videotapes, cd-rom, dvd and computers (e-learningconsulting.com, N.D).
A classic example of e-learning would be interactive games such as Brain Age
for the Nintendo DS, the Encarta Encyclopedia, and the Duolingo web page.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Online or Virtual Learning: online
or virtual learning consist in teaching through the use of the Internet. By
using computers, online or virtual learning class consist in synchronous
classes by having in which professors are connected on the web on a certain
place and students connected via a laptop or a computer. Most of these types of
classes use a certain platform or website that lets teacher to post activities,
evaluation plan, or the program of the subject. Educational platforms such as
WizIQ, Edmodo, Moogle, etc. are the most used among teachers and students.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Blended Learning: blended
learning consist according to knewton.com (N.D) in the “formal education
program in which a student learns at least in part through online delivery of
content and instruction with some element of student control over time, place,
path or pace.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Mobile Learning: mobile
learning is a type of e-learning that consist in teaching through the use of
mobile phones. Mobile phones nowadays are as capable as computer in connecting
to the web, log in to websites, share information and also do functions related
to educations. Apart from interactive games like “Preguntados”, there are also
apps like Duolingo that teaches a second language by an array of exercises that
cover the 4 skills corresponding to second language learning. Also there’s the
mobile version of Edmodo, a virtual education platform but for smartphones and
tablets.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Having
some concepts related to ICT and the different means of using ICT in our
classroom, let’s talk about my situation in my country regarding to ESL using
ICT. Regarding with teaching English using ICT in middle and high schools is
something very uncommon because most of the teachers stick to the traditional
curriculum that the Ministry of Education sets. However, in Universities , like
for example the School of Modern Languages, teachers use online and blended
learning in their classes, like for example English from 1 to 4, Composition,
Literature and Translation. In my case, I work in a high school in which I
apply the use of mobile learning through the Duolingo application since most of
the students have smartphones. Hopefully for the next school year, all the
teachers will start to apply the Edmodo platform in order to post information such
as activities, homework, the program and the syllabus.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">To
sum up, ICT are a great tool that has many options for teachers to apply in the
classroom, by applying them correctly, the teacher can expand and improve the
student’s learning process.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> <o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">References:</span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">E-learningconsulting.com.
N.D. <i>What is E-learning?. </i>Taken from <a href="http://www.e-learningconsulting.com/consulting/what/e-learning.html">http://www.e-learningconsulting.com/consulting/what/e-learning.html</a>
on May 18, 2014.<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Knewton.com. N.D. <i>Blended Learning Infographic. </i>Taken from
<a href="http://www.knewton.com/blended-learning/">http://www.knewton.com/blended-learning/</a>
on May 18, 2014.<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Searchcio.techtarget.com,
N.D. <i>ICT (information and communications
technology - or technologies. </i>Taken from <a href="http://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/ICT-information-and-communications-technology-or-technologies">http://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/ICT-information-and-communications-technology-or-technologies</a>
on May 18, 2014.<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Stevenson, D. 1997. <i>Information and Communications Technology in
UK Schools: An Independent Inquiry. </i>(pdf version). Taken from <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20070104225121/http:/rubble.ultralab.anglia.ac.uk/stevenson/ICT.pdf">http://web.archive.org/web/20070104225121/http://rubble.ultralab.anglia.ac.uk/stevenson/ICT.pdf</a>
on May 18, 2014.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk.
N.D. <i>What is Distance Learning?. </i>Taken
from <a href="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/distance-learning/what-is-distance-learning/">http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/distance-learning/what-is-distance-learning/</a>
on May 18, 2014.<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09968946658319642434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761359666651401906.post-26192590299536519502014-05-02T04:03:00.001-04:302014-05-20T17:21:15.469-04:30Digital Literacy and the 21st Century English Teacher<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Right now we are living in
a world almost covered from head to toe with technology. 50 years ago in order
to get in touch with someone who lived abroad, we must write a letter to that
person, this said letter could arrive one month even three months after it was
written, making it hard to communicate with friends, relatives or the people we
hold dear. Nowadays we can communicate with people abroad in the commodity of our
homes through Skype, Facebook or even with our smartphones. Another example is
shopping, nowadays we have webpages such as Mercadolibre.com, E-bay, Amazon.org
and many more that let us buy things at any time in any place. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.colourbox.com/preview/2271002-263852-earth-and-the-communication-on-its-surface-a-symbol-of-high-speed-and-technology.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.colourbox.com/preview/2271002-263852-earth-and-the-communication-on-its-surface-a-symbol-of-high-speed-and-technology.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
<h4 style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;">
Tecnology connects us all around the world. </h4>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">As a whole, technology
has become an integral part of our lives making living quite easy. In the case
of education, especially in English Teaching, technology is a huge tool that
can improve the teaching experience, enhancing the learner’s learning process.
But by only knowing some English Teaching websites makes you a teacher who
adapts technology to his or her classes. First off, the teacher must know
Digital Literacy, but, what is Digital Literacy? Digital Literacy is the
ability to understand and process information and create more information
through the use of technology (library.illinois.edu, N.D). But how Digital Literacy can help English
Teachers? The answer is rather simple: since we are living in a world where
digital media, social media such as Twitter, Facebook or Tumblr and technology
are part of day to day routine, teachers, professor all around the world can use this useful tool to their advantage to improve the class experience, breaking the mold of the old school style of teaching that sometimes is difficult for both teachers and students.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://macoun.edublogs.org/files/2009/01/digital-literacy-presentation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://macoun.edublogs.org/files/2009/01/digital-literacy-presentation.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<h4 style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;">
Digital Literacy, The New Frontier.<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></h4>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">A good example can be:
instead of using expensive course books, a teacher can upload the program,
syllabus and the necessary material through a Cloud like Dropbox where the
student can download it to their smartphones or tablets. If one day the teacher
wants to change things around, he or she can use a digital classroom like
Moogle or WizIQ where the Teacher can use many resources to explain a certain
unit from anywhere he is. Another possibility of using technology in developing for example writing could be through the use of the Edmodo platform. Let's say for example, that the teacher wants to evaluate the student's ability to create a declarative paragraph or essay, the teacher by using Edmodo can post a forum for discussion in which the students will post their ideas or opinion on a topic that the teacher has previously explained. But as the concept of Digital Literacy say, teachers must know some competence in order to apply technology, in here I put, to me, the necessary skills that a 21st century Teacher must have: </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Know your group of student</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">: this is something that
every teacher, from the old school teachers to the new ones, they must need
their students and their respective needs and not throw information at random
because you are a teacher and you are the authority because that will cause distraught
in your classroom.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Use whatever that is at
your disposal</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">:
technology is everywhere and you can get it anywhere at any time. Most of the
software for teaching purpose, blogs, social networks, are free, so take that
into account. However, the schools or institutes are not well suited, that is sometimes that teachers must take into account and adapt to what the school or workplace are providing us.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Know the technology: </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">as I said before, just
because you know some websites it won’t make you a “techno” teacher. No, you
must read beforehand what you are going to apply with your students, whether is
going to be positive or negative for them. Also to know which software or webpage is going to improve or decrease their skills, wether ir oral, written or readinf.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Adapt to new technologies:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> with the lives we are living,
sometimes what we think is brand new, two hours later is old and outdated. We
as teachers must learn to adapt to the running course of society and the technology
that it keeps updating almost frequently.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">In summary, to me, teaching
through the use of technologies is a huge advantage that we have over the
teachers that were before us, why? Because it let us explore roads that weren’t
explored, it let us use mediums such as videos, movies, images even video games
that let us create a better teaching/learning environment to our students. I
think this won’t stop because technology keeps growing and growing, improving
each and every day making the task of teaching more suitable.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Before I finish my first
blog entry (wohoo!) I invite you all to visit this websites that talk about
digital literacy:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><a href="http://classroom-aid.com/educational-resources/digital-literacy/">http://classroom-aid.com/educational-resources/digital-literacy/</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><a href="http://cleach.wordpress.com/">http://cleach.wordpress.com/</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><a href="http://www.futurelab.org.uk/resources/digital-literacy-across-curriculum-handbook">http://www.futurelab.org.uk/resources/digital-literacy-across-curriculum-handbook</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><a href="http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2013/02/a-great-digital-literacy-skills.html">http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2013/02/a-great-digital-literacy-skills.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">With nothing else to say, I’ll
see you on my next entry. Over and out! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.library.illinois.edu/diglit/images/diglit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.library.illinois.edu/diglit/images/diglit.jpg" height="320" width="238" /></a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09968946658319642434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761359666651401906.post-65181292069420006502014-05-01T17:45:00.000-04:302014-05-22T20:24:50.491-04:30Welcome All!<div style="text-align: justify;">
Welcome my readers to my blog, An ICT Odysset, in here you will read about my adventures in the world of ICTs and how I apply them in my classroom. But first of all, let me introduce myself; my name is Giacomo Mederico, I'm 25 years old, I graduated in Modern Languages at the Unimet, also I'm a Public Interpreter graduated at the Ministry of Internal Affairs. I'm also a huge fan of Video Games and Comic Books and also I'm a bass player. If you want to contact me, you can do it through here or via my email: giacolecturas@gmail.com, also through my wordpress account: <a href="http://giacosclassroom.wordpress.com/">http://giacosclassroom.wordpress.com/</a> and through my Soundcloud: <a href="http://www.soundcloud.com/giaco-6">www.soundcloud.com/giaco-6</a>. I'll see you on my next blog post! Over and out.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09968946658319642434noreply@blogger.com2Caracas, Venezuela10.5 -66.91666670000000710.2501705 -67.2393902 10.7498295 -66.593943200000012