Updated index of most interesting posts

A personal selection of the most interesting posts (ie. not a complete listing of all posts...) on this blog. Posts are in reverse chronological order, with the newest post nearest the top in each section.

About this blog

• About this blog
  


• What's the purpose of this blog?
  

>> All posts labelled "About this blog"

Bibliography

• Teaching Teenagers
  


• 10 great ELT books your Mum could get you for Xmas


• 1000+ Pictures for Teachers to Copy
  


• Bibliography: Books on using technology
  

>> All posts labelled "Bibliography"

Blogging

• Video: How to start a blog with Blogger
  


• More ideas for blogging projects, webquests
  


• Setting up a blog with Blogger
  


• Protecting your (young) learners' privacy
  


• Nice poster, couldn’t we have put it on a blog?
  


• Class reader blogging project
  


• Is a blog open to anyone?
  


• Why blog...?
  


• What can you do with a blog?
  

>> All posts labelled "Blogging"

Business English

• Business English, links and books
  

CELTA sessions

>> All posts labelled "CELTA sessions"

Conferences courses and workshops

• Online: IATEFL Annual Conference
  


• EVO 2008 sessions
  

>> All posts labelled "Conferences courses and workshops"

Creating multimedia material

>> All posts labelled "Creating multimedia material"

Creating webpages

>> All posts labelled "Creating webpages"

Days of the Year

• Christmas lessons
  


• April Fool's Day
  


• Be my Valentine!
  


• Halloween
  


• Today is...
  

>> All posts labelled "Days of the Year"

Games

• Role playing games for language learning?
  

>> All posts labelled "Games"

Getting a job in TEFL

• Writing a decent CV
  

Getting students to write

• Creative writing with flowers


• Getting your students to write
  

>> All posts labelled "Getting students to write"

Good teaching

• Creativity in the language classroom
  


• What (doesn't) make a good task in the computer room?
  


• What makes a good task?
  

>> All posts labelled "Good teaching"

Google-is-Evil

• Why is Google Evil?

>> All posts labelled "Google-is-Evil"

Grammar

• Interactive grammar exercises

How to...

• Vista, Word 2007 tutorials
  


• How to download movies from YouTube (etc)
  

>> All posts labelled "How to..."

Ideas for lessons

• Me, from A to Z
  


• 10 seconds: the makings of half a class
  


• Learn these 84 irregular verbs for Monday
  


• Lateral thinking puzzles
  


• Designing prepositions
  

>> All posts labelled "Ideas for lessons"

Images

• More image links and ideas for using them
  


• Why it's wrong to steal images... and text
  


• Images, and where to get them from
  


• Using pictures in class
  


• Don't waste time looking for pictures on Google
  

>> All posts labelled "Images"

Interactive Whiteboards

• Interactive whiteboards in the classroom


• Interactive whiteboards
  

>> All posts labelled "Interactive Whiteboards"

iPods

• 10 different uses for an iPod
  

Listening

• BBC World Service Radio
  


• Listening material on the Internet
  

>> All posts labelled "Listening"

Mobile phones

• Would you mind if I take a photo of you?


• Using cell phones in class


• Using mobile phones in the classroom
  

>> All posts labelled "Mobile phones"

Muddiest points

• CATs and muddiest points
  

>> All posts labelled "Muddiest points"

Not technology

>> All posts labelled "Not technology"

Other languages

• Teaching other languages
  

>> All posts labelled "Other languages"

Other technologies

• Twitter
  


• MySpace or Our Space?
  

>> All posts labelled "Other technologies"

Phonetics

>> All posts labelled "Phonetics"

Podcasting

• Podcasting Guide
  


• What is... podcasting?
  

>> All posts labelled "Podcasting"

Privacy

• Is your Yahoo (etc) account safe?

>> All posts labelled "Privacy"

Project work

• A six-word biography
  


• Single digital image, plus text
  


• Our amazing houses project


• Word collages
  


• A room with a view
  


• 100 greatest albums
  


• Mini-sagas and 100-word stories
  


• Projects using technology for language learning
  


• Portraits of Learning - superb use of technology
  

>> All posts labelled "Project work"

Reading activities

• Bizarre stories from Ananova
  

>> All posts labelled "Reading activities"

Searching the Web

• Something else I didn't have to search for


• Wikipedia, not the worst place to look
  


• Finding information on the Internet
  


• Don't waste your time on the Internet!
  


• RSS: Don't search -- have things come to you
  

>> All posts labelled "Searching the Web"

Second Life

• Second Life: where to find out more
  


• Second Life: the hype


• Virtual worlds here to stay


• Second Life: where to get started
  


• I hate Second Life
  

>> All posts labelled "Second Life"

Skype

• How to use Skype to help with language lessons

Speaking activities

• splendid-speaking.com


• Hard Bargaining

>> All posts labelled "Speaking activities"

Story telling

• A creative writing project


• Storytelling


• Ficlets: collaborative stories
  

>> All posts labelled "Story telling"

Teaching Young Learners

• Arts and crafts with young learners


• Resources for teaching children


• Making animations with young(-ish) learners
  

>> All posts labelled "Teaching Young Learners"

Technology 101

• What's Second Life? What's an interactive whiteboard (etc)?


• I don't know the first thing about technology


• Understanding the technical terms


• Basic tools


• "Paste special" to copy content from the Internet


• Keyboard shortcuts


• Change the default start page on your browser
  

>> All posts labelled "Technology 101"

That’s Technology ;-)!

>> All posts labelled "That's Technology ;-)!"

Useful links

• Best of Larry Ferlazzo
  


• Great new things from a great ELT site
  


• Learning your phonetics
  


• Get started with Office 2007
  


• BBC Learning English
  


• Larry Ferlazzo's great collection of links
  


• NiceNet: Your own virtual classroom
  


• Strip cartoons with stripgenerator.com
  


• Lesson plans in your mail box
  


• Finding images for use in class
  


• Finding texts for use in class
  


• Learning strategies
  

>> All posts labelled "Useful links"

Using technology

• Good practice in hi-tech classrooms
  


• Why bother with technology?
  


• Is a particular website suitable for use with your learners?
  

>> All posts labelled "Using technology"

Video

• Video storytelling
  

>> All posts labelled "Video"

Virtual worlds

• Virtual worlds
  

>> All posts labelled "Virtual worlds"

Web 2.0

• 50 Web 2.0 Ways To Tell a Story
  


• Web 2.0, Web 3.0...
  

>> All posts labelled "Web 2.0"

Webquests

• Student-generated webquests
  


• Webquests: useful links
  

>> All posts labelled "Webquests"

Working with other schools

>> All posts labelled "Working with other schools"

Writing projects

>> All posts labelled "Writing projects"

Spammers please note

Spammers: All spam comments are removed from this blog immediately. Thank you for not defacing the Internet.

Index of pages

An index of pages (more properly "posts") on this blog, roughly categorised:

Basic things you should know how to do

• 10 things you shouldn't do online
• I don't know the first thing about technology
• Understanding the technical terms
• Finding information on the Internet
• Change the default start page on your browser
• Firefox, not Internet Explorer
• Keyboard shortcuts
• New Year's Resolutions for Your PC
  
• "Paste special" to copy content from the Internet
• Phonemic script
• View thumbnails
• Windows Explorer

Other things from our CELTA course session

• Basic tools (Task #1)
• Don't waste your time on the Internet (Task #2)
• Finding texts for use in class
• Finding images for use in class
  
• Are texts more important than images?

Ideas I liked

• Designing prepositions
• Hard bargaining (speaking activity)
• How to date a hopelessly romantic person
  
• Lateral thinking puzzles
• Learn these 84 irregular verbs for Monday
• Mini-sagas and 100-word stories
• Preposition basketball
• Today is... | Christmas | April Fool's Day | Valentines
  
• What makes a good task?
• Where do you sit or stand in the classroom?
  

Useful links

• A-Z of ELT methodology
• Business English, links and books
• Interactive grammar exercises
  
• Learning strategies
  
• Lesson plans in your mailbox
• Listening material on the Internet
  

Blogs and blogging

• What is a blog? (some examples)
• Why blog?
• What can you do with a blog?
• Dealing with spam comments on your blog
• Halloween movie project
  
• How do you set up a blog (with Blogger.com)
• Blogger Beta
  
• How do you set up a blog (with Zoomblog.com)
• Zoomblog vs Blogger
  
• The difference between a blog and a discussion board
• The difference between a website and a blog
• What can you do with a blog?
  
• Is a blog open to anyone?
• Editing the links on a blog
  
• What is a permalink?
  
• Why is blogging (not) so cool and innovative?
  

More ideas for (blogging?) projects

• 100 greatest albums
• A room with a view
• Class reader blogging project
• List of faux pas, by country
• Mini-sagas and 100-word stories
  
• National icons: a webquest, blogging project?
• Nice poster, couldn’t we have put it on a blog?
• Word Collages

All that tech

• I hate Second Life
• Is your Yahoo (etc) account safe?
  
• Podcasting
• Making animations with young(-ish) learners
• Mobile phones
• RSS: Don't search, have things come to you
• Strip cartoons with stripgenerator.com
  
• Video storytelling
  
• Webquests | World's weirdest creatures
  

Using technology

• Classroom management in the computer room
• Good practice in hi-tech classrooms
  
• Is technology going to lead to more, better learning?
• Is a particular website suitable for use with a class?
• Not exactly Age of Empires
• Portraits of Learning - superb use of technology
• Projects using technology for language learning
• What (doesn't) make a good task in the computer room?
• Why bother with technology?

How to...

• Digitalise your cassettes
  
• Download movies from YouTube (etc)

Not using technology

• 1000+ Pictures for Teachers to Copy
• Don't waste time looking for pictures on Google
• Good teaching
• Having fun learning to type, or learning a language...
• Really stupid technology
  
• What should teachers know?
  

Muddiest points

• CATS and muddiest points
• Why is Google evil?
  

Others

• About this blog
• Bibliography
• What's the purpose of this blog?
  

About this blog

This blog began to accompany a session on technology on the CELTA course at International House Barcelona [website].

It is intended to be used by trainees both on and after the course -- and will hopefully also be of interest to anyone thinking of using technology in a language classroom.

Posts are by me, Tom Walton, webmaster at International House Barcelona, who also gives the face-to-face session.

The views expressed are my own, and are not necessarily shared by anyone else at the institution that employs me.

Do feel free add comments on anything you read here. Alternatively, you can also contact me by mail.

Enjoy your teaching...!

What's the purpose of this blog?

"What's the purpose of this blog?" someone noted as their "muddiest point" after the March 17 session.

It has a number of different purposes, including the following:

• It allows me to share things with you -- notably the useful websites in the "links section".
• It gives you an example of a blog
• It is a blog that you can actually use in a number of ways

Favourites and other things
The links on the right are ones that come from my "Favourites" -- websites that I have bookmarked as being interesting and useful. One of the lessons that long experience with the Internet has taught me is "Don't search!": bookmark useful sites, and you won't have to waste time on Google. Bookmark this blog, and you've got a series of useful websites two clicks away.

Most of the links on the right are in fact on the handout from the session; but a blog is more practical for two reasons: (1) you can just come here and click, and not have to labouriously copy the address out and (2) before each session (ie once a month) I check that all the links actually still work.

The blog also allows me to share other things with you -- such as other useful sites that I come across after your session.

An example of a blog
Of the various possible ways in which you can use technology in language teaching (see handout from the session), to my mind a blog is one of the most exciting.

You can use a blog in many ways but, whichever way you use it, a blog fulfills two important criteria:

1. Blogs are not that time-consuming: they have minimum set-up time, take no longer than e-mail to post to, and -- assuming that you are doing a collaborative blog, either with your students or with other teachers -- needn't take up hours of your time writing
2. The return on investment is high: if -- for example -- your blog is a "learner diary", of your experiences in the classroom, and your reflection makes you think and your thinking makes you learn (about teaching, that is)... or if -- to take another example -- it's a class blog which gives a purpose to your learners' writing, motivates them and leads to a sense of belonging to a community... then in those, and many other ways, your time has been well spent

Personally I feel that a lot of technology doesn't fulfill those two criteria for (poorly paid, pressed-for-time) language teachers.

Use this blog
There are various ways in which you can use this blog, one of which is merely coming back to it to find those useful links.

Apart from that, you can participate in it, by commenting on any of the posts. There are a number that I think are interesting which our 90-minute introductory session doesn't allow time for -- for example in the "intro session" category. You comment, I'll reply -- and then we have dialogue, and that can only be good in any classroom.

You can also subscribe to this blog by RSS. "Don't search, have things come to you" is one of the primary lessons 12 hours a day on the Internet has taught me!

CATs and muddiest points

The "muddiest point" (one which you will find a number of posts on this blog) is one of many classroom assessment techniques (CATs) which are popular in US colleges.

The muddiest point basically involves giving your learners a slip of paper on which they record the one thing they are left most puzzled about at the end of the lesson, which they have understood least clearly. You then collect these in, and respond to them.

It could be that you respond at the beginning of the next class; if you have a blog, however, you can respond there...

Some CATs at least you could apply to language teaching...