tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35421400Tue, 09 Feb 2010 06:56:54 +0000This blog began life for everyone taking the CELTA course at International House Barcelona, but is also intended to be of interest to anyone wanting to use technology in English Language Teachinghttp://www.ihes.com/bcn/tt/eltblog/blog/noreply@blogger.com (Tom)Blogger321125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35421400.post-4333560651670165717Sun, 07 Feb 2010 09:25:00 +00002010-02-07T10:42:41.776+01:00YouTubeListeningTeaching Young LearnersI very much liked one of the many suggestions Usoa Sol made in her talk, Listen up! Getting teens to listen in English, given at the IH Barcelona ELT Conference -- getting kids to write emails from the protagonists of the song. Usoa suggested Dido's Thank You, though I wonder if it's got a strong enough storyline and whether or not it tells us enough that we can interpret about the characters. http://www.ihes.com/bcn/tt/eltblog/blog/2010/02/getting-teens-to-listen-and-write-in.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35421400.post-5852182072520107790Sun, 07 Feb 2010 08:54:00 +00002010-02-07T10:22:53.885+01:00Using technologyInteractive whiteboardsLet me, first, rephrase the title of this post, and call it not "How to make your Interactive Whiteboard interactive" but "How to make your students interactive".In my talk at the annual IH Barcelona ELT Conference, I suggested that we should do the following if we're using an interactive whiteboard (IWB):Stop calling it an interactive whiteboard: it isn't interactive!Start the class with only http://www.ihes.com/bcn/tt/eltblog/blog/2010/02/how-to-make-your-interactive-whiteboard.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35421400.post-752636840288337642Thu, 21 Jan 2010 14:05:00 +00002010-01-21T15:23:14.964+01:00Using technologyInteractive whiteboardsWe're in Week 2 now of the EVO sessions, in which I'm participating in the Smart Teaching with Interactive Whiteboards event and we're currently doing some background reading from some of the very interesting links provided.Here's a fairly typical example of what an enthusiastic user of an IWBs says:Our school has IWBs in every classroom. However, how it is used varies. Some use it as a glorifiedhttp://www.ihes.com/bcn/tt/eltblog/blog/2010/01/how-not-to-see-or-use-your-iwb.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35421400.post-8135248368219714570Thu, 31 Dec 2009 12:07:00 +00002009-12-31T19:35:37.951+01:00Google-is-EvilThis came from a recent TechLearning newsletter [post], which is well worth subscribing to (free).Google Squared is still under development and I'm not quite sure if I can see an actual worthwhile classroom application of it but it's at least a different way to search and does allow you to add and take away results.Disappointing that "Google Squared couldn't automatically build a Square about http://www.ihes.com/bcn/tt/eltblog/blog/2009/12/google-squared.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35421400.post-8646128277250378065Wed, 23 Dec 2009 10:51:00 +00002009-12-23T12:15:38.705+01:00YouTubeWebquestsHere's a YouTube video my son sent me that might be interesting to watch in class with language learners -- apart from anything else as Music Idol and its equivalents are still popular shows and will thus lead to discussion.Our first reaction is perhaps to laugh, but as language teachers I don't think we should laugh at people having difficulty pronouncing English correctly. But I think you'll http://www.ihes.com/bcn/tt/eltblog/blog/2009/12/ken-lee-on-bulgarian-music-idol.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35421400.post-4813920148080041673Sat, 05 Dec 2009 11:18:00 +00002009-12-07T13:15:44.351+01:00Second LifeVirtual worldsInteractive whiteboardsConferences courses and workshopsThe 2010 edition of the excellent TESOL EVO sessions has just been announced.Session topics include video, online games, teaching with interactive whiteboards and teaching languages in virtual worlds (including Second Life).The six-week sessions start January 11th, are free and open to all and do not require TESOL membership. They tend to be a little over-subscribed, but are run by volunteers andhttp://www.ihes.com/bcn/tt/eltblog/blog/2009/12/evo-sessions-2010.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35421400.post-3204086022568064028Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:33:00 +00002009-11-20T13:04:42.163+01:00Interactive whiteboardsSome of the links that I provided on the handout in the workshop I gave today on using the interactive whiteboard (IWB)...ELT publishers are starting to produce digital versions of their coursebooks (for use with or without an IWB). Two examples:Macmillan's New Inside Out DigitalPearson's Total EnglishThere are numerous sites where you download things for use on the IWB:Promethean http://www.ihes.com/bcn/tt/eltblog/blog/2009/11/interactive-whiteboard-links.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35421400.post-6880856393661561661Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:20:00 +00002009-11-20T13:02:08.175+01:00YouTubeInteractive whiteboardsIf you are coming to my workshop on using the interactive whiteboard (IWB) this morning, you'll be seeing these two YouTube videos...With the first (above), I suggest not telling anyone that is an ad and just watching the first 35 seconds before pausing. You will also need to warn anyone already familiar with the video from blurting out what it is (and/or what it's an ad for).I've no doubt your http://www.ihes.com/bcn/tt/eltblog/blog/2009/11/youtube-and-iwb.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35421400.post-3125866618489351465Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:01:00 +00002009-11-05T19:22:22.661+01:00ImagesTwitterInteractive whiteboardsAmong my Twitter litter...I'm not a big fan of Twitter (I actually have never yet cluttered up cyberspace with a message of my own) but I check it every day, largely because I'm "following" LIFE.com, which sends me links to fabulous pictures for use in class every day.As we've got PCs and projectors and interactive whiteboards in many of our classrooms there's no need to print them out -- you canhttp://www.ihes.com/bcn/tt/eltblog/blog/2009/11/life-photos-something-actually-useful.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom)7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35421400.post-4511262458258485781Wed, 21 Oct 2009 09:54:00 +00002009-10-21T12:27:20.280+02:00Days of the YearImagesUseful linksHalloween lessons and lots more on TEFLClips.comAmong the YouTube videos and lessons on Jamie Keddie's award-winning teflclips.com blog you've got a Halloween Horror Story that's fun (and topical!).If you prefer a more student-centred approach to listening, you could alternatively, and as a lead-in, get your learners to brain-storm the vocabulary they think will come up in a "Halloween Horror http://www.ihes.com/bcn/tt/eltblog/blog/2009/10/halloween-videos-and-lessons.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35421400.post-7901165765850828969Sun, 18 Oct 2009 14:23:00 +00002009-10-19T11:22:49.396+02:00YouTubeUseful linksTechnology 101Everyone knows YouTube, don't they?But there are other great video sites, too, which are particularly useful for learning how to use technology:www.teachers.tvwww.teachertube.comwww.videojug.comYou can read about how to do something in a manual, or find a text-based tutorial online somewhere, but sometimes actually seeing how something is done is so much more helpful!http://www.ihes.com/bcn/tt/eltblog/blog/2009/09/video-sites-for-learning-to-use.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35421400.post-5695979513131900125Mon, 05 Oct 2009 09:05:00 +00002009-10-05T11:17:59.943+02:00BloggingIf you are using a class blog, you might be interested in embedding a dictionary in it. Macmillan's is real easy to embed (ie, install, if you don't want to get technical). Here's how to install the dictionary, the appearance of which you can to some extent customise.It will look something like this:I've included it here in a post. You might want to install it somewhere where it will be http://www.ihes.com/bcn/tt/eltblog/blog/2009/10/macmillan-dictionary-for-your-blog.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35421400.post-5958325493241871859Fri, 02 Oct 2009 06:40:00 +00002009-10-02T09:03:41.672+02:00Creating multimedia materialUseful linksInteractive whiteboardsWordMagnets: color them, size them, add more, drag and drop them...One that comes from Nik Peachey's excellent Learning Technology Blog...Nik suggests that you could use WordMagnets as a tool for Revising Short Texts and Syntax, on a computer and/or on an interactive whiteboard.WordMagnets is free, doesn't require installation and enables you to copy and paste (or type in your own) short texts --http://www.ihes.com/bcn/tt/eltblog/blog/2009/10/fun-with-wordmagnets.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35421400.post-4027274388895902357Thu, 01 Oct 2009 07:23:00 +00002009-10-01T10:32:58.595+02:00BibliographyUseful linksUsing technologyDogme ELT is a "materials-light" methodology and also a very active discussion group.The discussion group has got a bit hijacked of late in futile debates between the advocates of technology and its detractors but Graham Stanley now suggests a way forward in his Dogme 2.0 for ELT wiki, with a call for "vows" that would outline technology's place in Dogme ELT... Can you (and how...?) use http://www.ihes.com/bcn/tt/eltblog/blog/2009/10/dogme-and-technology.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35421400.post-2193308155503602688Fri, 25 Sep 2009 08:40:00 +00002009-09-25T10:54:39.852+02:00Useful linksCLILConferences courses and workshopsOnestopclil: The Resource Bank for CLIL TeachersYou're probably already familiar with OneStopEnglish.com, the Macmillan resources site (lesson plans, worksheets, flashcards, etc...), which modestly claims to be "the world's number one resource site for English language teachers" (though you'll need to subscribe for full access, which costs €52 pa for individual membership).OneStopEnglish has a http://www.ihes.com/bcn/tt/eltblog/blog/2009/09/onestopclil-resources-and-courses-for.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35421400.post-2482373386965574329Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:10:00 +00002009-09-23T09:05:41.121+02:00Teaching Young LearnersUseful linksHi and welcome if you came to Monday's technology session on our teaching very young learners course...The following, in alphabetical order, were some of the links I suggested to sites with either lots of resources for teachers of young learners and/or -- and perhaps more importantly -- ideas and the resources for professional development.British Council "Kids" siteDLTK's Crafts for http://www.ihes.com/bcn/tt/eltblog/blog/2009/09/sites-for-teachers-of-very-young.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35421400.post-4411785050982249612Tue, 22 Sep 2009 10:39:00 +00002009-09-22T13:09:54.679+02:00Teaching Young LearnersUseful linksUsing technologyCustomisable Mr Men stickers from the TES site...One of the resources sites I suggested in the technology session on our very young learners course this week was the Times Educational Supplement (TES) site, which has over 30,000 free resources, for all subjects (not principally ELT).From TES, I took two examples (registration required to view them): a PowerPoint Jeopardy template, and some http://www.ihes.com/bcn/tt/eltblog/blog/2009/09/stickers-for-your-kids-print-them-or.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35421400.post-8229482717470654737Tue, 22 Sep 2009 07:17:00 +00002009-09-22T09:43:25.882+02:00BibliographyTeaching Young LearnersSome of the excellent titles in the OUP resource book seriesIn the technology session we had on our teaching very young learners course this week, I mentioned the books in the superb OUP resouce book series for teachers of young learners.Among the titles we have in the library (not quite the complete series) are the following, with the age groups they are intended for given in parenthesis:Art andhttp://www.ihes.com/bcn/tt/eltblog/blog/2009/09/resource-books-for-teaching-young.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35421400.post-2872619914881079053Tue, 15 Sep 2009 08:40:00 +00002009-09-15T10:44:32.826+02:00Conferences courses and workshopsNovember 5-8, we have the Social Networking 2009 Conference. It's free, completely online and its objective is "elluminating ELT practitioners to grow in the use of social networks as learning development tools". The event is run by AVEALMEC and ARCALL, two Latin-American associations interested in promoting the use of ICT in the language classroom.If you're interested in social networking and http://www.ihes.com/bcn/tt/eltblog/blog/2009/09/social-networking-conference.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35421400.post-8413658689475654763Thu, 03 Sep 2009 08:27:00 +00002009-09-03T11:15:56.229+02:00Teaching Young LearnersBloggingBlogging: it's so easy and is not just "the usual stuff..."You've got a private class with a 13-year-old girl, who's getting on fine in English at school, but whose Mum wants her to be really good at English, and can afford to pay for it. What do you do with her for three hours a week...?The question came from Liza on our post-CELTA course support forum and Liza was looking for "another book we http://www.ihes.com/bcn/tt/eltblog/blog/2009/09/what-should-you-do-in-private-class.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35421400.post-3092223411731312287Tue, 11 Aug 2009 07:54:00 +00002009-08-11T10:04:49.210+02:00PodcastingCELTA sessionsTo provide an example of what podcasting involves, in the session on our CELTA course last week, you had to finish the phrase "A good teacher is someone who..."In order to put (or "embed") the mp3 file here, I've first uploaded the file on to Divshare.com, which has then provided me with the code which I've pasted into a new post here on the blog. It gives me 5GB of (free) storage space for mediahttp://www.ihes.com/bcn/tt/eltblog/blog/2009/08/good-teacher-someone-who.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35421400.post-6797816792853820540Tue, 04 Aug 2009 11:11:00 +00002009-08-04T13:27:43.735+02:00Project workBloggingWebquestsHere's an interesting use of a blog that a colleague, Maribel Husillos, has been writing [some content in Spanish].I'd always suggest that, to my mind, the best possible use of a blog would be to have the learners write it (which Maribel's learners have in fact done to a considerable extent).However, as Maribel has been the group leader on a trip to Belfast, staying at Rockport School with IH http://www.ihes.com/bcn/tt/eltblog/blog/2009/08/blogging-trip-abroad.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35421400.post-6565085757220463487Wed, 29 Jul 2009 06:24:00 +00002009-07-29T09:34:23.475+02:00TwitterPrivacyOther technologiesLargely because I've come across a number of links suggesting how Twitter could be used in education (see below), I've been having another play with it -- and frankly I'm not impressed.Unless I've missed something, there seems to be a major privacy issue. Either spammers are forcing me to "follow" them or else Twitter itself has decided that I've got to follow a certain number of people, whether http://www.ihes.com/bcn/tt/eltblog/blog/2009/07/twitter-no-privacy-choked-with-spam.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35421400.post-6604381946865118197Tue, 21 Jul 2009 11:24:00 +00002009-08-04T13:48:10.763+02:00BloggingUsing technologyWhat's the worst thing that could happen to a blog -- or anything else that you were doing with learners and technology?The worst that I can think of is for the work done all to be lost, perhaps through some failure of the (often free) Web 2.0 service you might be using.On the Blogs and Blogging course I was teaching in July, I thought that had happened as (right in the middle of the course!) http://www.ihes.com/bcn/tt/eltblog/blog/2009/07/worst-thing-that-could-happen-to-blog.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35421400.post-2555239318595596925Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:39:00 +00002009-06-23T13:52:46.480+02:00Conferences courses and workshopsNow there's a digital native...!Welcome to those of you who are coming to take a course with us in July, particularly those of you who are taking a Departament d'Ensenyament technology course.Both the technology courses, Technologies for Project Work in the English Classroom and the Blogs and Blogging for Language Teachers, will in fact have their own blogs, but pre-course I've suggested you http://www.ihes.com/bcn/tt/eltblog/blog/2009/06/welcome-to-our-july-courses.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tom)0