Interactive blog to post and comment recent experiences in the ICT learning enviroment of EFL.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Interview to Maria Aurora Ovalles
This is an interview to Maria Aurora Ovalles, an EFL teacher, with a very special experience. Don't miss it, and send us your comments.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Maite's Interview on EFL
These interview show the main reasons why I decided to become an EFL teacher, as well as my oppinion and point of view about EFL, so I invite all of you to listen it. Enjoy and your comments will be appreciated and welcome.
Maite
Maite
Saturday, June 11, 2011
WEEK 6 - PODCAST
The new age of technology in which we live, makes it possible for many inventions and discoveries to develop, and one such discovery is Podcasting. Podcasts are files that can be downloaded directly from the internet or that can be accessed via streaming feeds like RSS feeds.
According to Wikipedia free encyclopedia, a podcast is a series of digital files, audio or video that are released and downloaded through web syndication.
Similarly the University of Texas Academics at the Community, Journalism & Research group in the USA
By having an MP3 player, or a normal PC. Podcasts can be used.
They were invented so that anyone could create broadcasts or video broadcasts which may include comedy, politics, entertainment, educational projects etc. Podcasts can be used for so many important broadcasts now days and even teachers can send Podcasts to absent students so that they can catch up on any missed lessons.You may also find out any information or enjoy a certain comedian, by searching on the various Podcasts websites. Additionally you can search a wide range of downloads on the iTunes website as well as Podcast and Podalley.
Podcasts were created to be educational as well as for pure entertainment value and you can listen to them just like you would listen to music in the car, when going for a jog, or just while relaxing. You can get information on diet tips, healthy ways to exercise, current news, astrology news, independent comedy shows, radio plays, and much more. All that people need to do is subscribe to a Podcast feed.
The term Podcast was derived from the iPod and broadcast. The name was to show that television and radio shows can be broadcast over a portable device and downloaded whenever you like. A Podcast is created when an MP3 file is made and sent to a client or server which can be then converted into an XML format, then it is published through common internet servers and can be uploaded to different blogs sites for people to see.
In order to receive the Podcast feeds you need to have a type of software on your PC like iTunes for Apple Macintosh and iPodder for Windows XP and 2000.
In order to receive the Podcast feeds you need to have a type of software on your PC like iTunes for Apple Macintosh and iPodder for Windows XP and 2000.
People realize that this is the perfect way to become well known and break into the industry of music, comedy, acting, and radio broadcasting. Podcasts will continue to grow as more and more people realize the significance of free broadcasts to just about anything that they want to listen to or watch. The formats that are used are MP3, MP4, text and PDF, and you can use any portable handheld device or your PC to receive the various Podcasts that you subscribe to.
Teachers have been blessed by the technology and its new implications and uses. Prove of this are the podcasts, which ennable us to record different audios such as radio programs,music,TV shows etc.
We teachers are commonly faced with unreal class situations, where our students can seldom participate in authentic situations. Now thanks to 2.0 web tools such as podcasts, real authentic situations can be brought to the EFL class, and expose our learners to all kind of different outputs.Thanks to this 2.0 web tool, students will be able to listen to a radio program, audiobooks, or recorded conversations, where they will be offered a wide scope of extra listening out of the classroom.
Moreover, it will grant us teachers an excellent way to keep our students interested, motivated
and curious of what is there in stock.
Teachers have been blessed by the technology and its new implications and uses. Prove of this are the podcasts, which ennable us to record different audios such as radio programs,music,TV shows etc.
We teachers are commonly faced with unreal class situations, where our students can seldom participate in authentic situations. Now thanks to 2.0 web tools such as podcasts, real authentic situations can be brought to the EFL class, and expose our learners to all kind of different outputs.Thanks to this 2.0 web tool, students will be able to listen to a radio program, audiobooks, or recorded conversations, where they will be offered a wide scope of extra listening out of the classroom.
Moreover, it will grant us teachers an excellent way to keep our students interested, motivated
and curious of what is there in stock.
References:
2. "Podcast Production". President and Fellows of Harvard College
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
WEEK 5- WIKIS
A wiki is a web page that can be viewed and modified by anybody with a web browser and access to internet. This means that any visitor to the wiki change its content if they desire. Wikis permit asynchronous communication and group collaboration across the Internet. They also provide usesrs with author and editor privileges.Additionaly they allow to incorporate sounds, movies, and pictures, they may prove to be a simple tool to create multimedia presentations and simple digital stories. Wikis are being used for a wide collaborative activities.
The word Wiki is not an acronym but according to Ward Cunningham: a "Hawaiian word" used as an alternative substitute for quick, and to avoid naming it, the quick-web, it turned out to Wiki.
Wikis have found many scneries but one of the most popular ones are in the Education field. Because wikis are on the Internet, students can access and participate from any location and therefore engage in collaborative activities which otherwise, might not be possible without a classroom enviroment. Wiki's have the capacity of showing the students the evolution of thoughts processes as they interact with the site and its content. They have also been found to be extremly useful in expanding community involvement and interest in their subjects and activities.
What is a Wiki and how does it work?
Technically a Wiki is a combination of a CGI script and a collection of plain text files thet allows user to create web pages inmediately. The only requirement is to have an Internet connection and a web browser. As you click on a wiki page you have two important buttons to keep in mind The Edit button and the Save button. All you have to do is click on the Edit button and modify what ever you need, then you have to be sure to click on the Save button so the information you have incorporated is incorporated into the text and it is sent to the wiki server and Voila! it is ready. Every time you or anybody included in the group need to insert some new information in the page, all they have to do is repeat the proccess. This can be done as many times as it is required since wikis offer a powerful and yet flexible collaborative communication tool for developing content. Consequently wikis grow and evolve as people add material to the site..
Finally it can be said that Wikis offer endless possibilities in any field but specialy in the Education field, as they represent a rainbow of posibilities which enhance the teaching and learning experience.
From my teaching point of view I have to say that I am thrilled by all the possible things that can be acomplished by the use of wikis in the educational field. The fact that they allow not only me but my students visit the page and contribute and collaborate in the the creation of any chosen project, just by clicking a button represent a great advantage . Additionaly they provide the alternative of engaging in an out the class activity, which is an additional motivating highlight.
References:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)