ePals

When I was in school, my classmates and I are always arguing about emails. In the Business Writing class, our teacher ask us to use e-mail to contact with each others. However, because everyone uses different email account, like gmail, yahoo, hotmail...ect. Therefore, missing emails often happen.

Now, there's new thing for us to try!!! ePals, which could help students on their communication.
By using ePals, students and peers could send mail and messages to each others. They don't have to worry about missing emails again. Moreover, they could send messages immediately, practicing using emails to work with others and engaged parents into the class. This would be very helpful for the kids in high school.

In my future class, I would ask my students to set up an account in classroom. Then, they will have to hand in their assignments by ePals, communicate with their classmates by ePals and learn workplace skills. It would be especially useful if I am teaching a class like Business Writing. Students could use ePals to be familiar with the environment of offices. Also, I could talk to the parents about how their kids are doing in the class. Moreover, parents could engaged with their children by doing assignments and school works together.

Now, let's ePals!!!

Story time!!

Tell story with only pictures??
It's already old fashioned!!


Try our slideshow maker at Animoto.

Nowadays, people tell stories in a cool and fashion way.
Animoto, which is a place to make short digital video. This is a very easy place for novice to learn even if they don't have any experiences on making digital story book. It is actually very good for teacher to teach students on using digital to make story book and tell story or to introduce something.

This kind of digital story telling is actually good for the classroom. What teacher could do is assign a topic like festival, unforgettable experience, introduce your family or friends. Then, students could make their own digital story and share with their classmates. Moreover, they could keep the video for a very long time. By doing so, students could learn how to make video, tell the story, and cooperate (if teacher assign students work in a group). The best thing is, this kind of story telling could use in a very wide range of students. They would all make it if they are over 3 grade in elementary school. What they have to have is only know how to use computer.

For myself, I would definitely use this tool to teach my students. Digital thing could always attract students' attention. Also, they could learn a new topic by making a video. Moreover, they would have a very good chance to practice their oral skills. 

Ready?
Let, tell a story!!!

Let's tell story by digital.

Digital story telling could be fun!!!
This is the digital story book of mine!!

In the classroom, teacher could set up a topic like "Travel" and show students about what she has done. Like the example above. Digital storytelling would be a lot of fun if teacher use it in ESL classroom. With students from all of the world, they definitely would have different culture and adventure to share.

Bookr, where I and my students could create our own story book in a very convenient and easy way. Students could have a lot of fun during making their own story book. Also, they would be very eager to show others their own country or cultures. Students could learn not only culture but also how to express. They will have to introduce their story to others, therefore, they will have a chance to learn how to do a presentation and how to make it fun!!

All in all, combining digital story book in the classroom especially like ESL classroom. Assign for a topic. Then we could see students amazing creativity!!!

New way to tell stories- Digital storytelling.

We could tell the story by ourselves, why use digital one??

Photo by Profusions

Digital telling is actually a new way to use video or picture to tell the story. Why do we need it?


The definition of "Digital storytelling" is the practice of using computer-based tool to tell stories. Most digital storytelling focus more on specific topic and contained a particular point of view.

Actually, in this new technology century, people are eager to use technology to combine with many things.One of the thing people do is combine story telling with digital. By using pictures or images to tell story, it would actually attract people's attention. Moreover, recognize how sharing and bearing witness to stories can lead to learning, action, and positive change. (Center from Digital Story Telling).

For my class in the future, I would definitely use digital story telling to teach and to interact with students. By using digital story telling, teacher could express their ideas more clear. Also, for those students who are visual learners, it would help them learn more efficiently. On the other hand, students could learn and have fun while they are searching videos or youtube on the web (The Educational Uses of Story Telling.) Moreover, teacher and students could create their own time machine. While teacher and students work together, the could learn from not only the topic but from each others.

                  

Teach by Micrioblog- Twitter

This is a century that almost everyone use internet to cope with all the things. They find information from the internet, social with others on blogs and share their feelings and actions on social groups like facebook and Twitter.

To make the class even more interesting than before, what teachers could do is connect the class with what students are using in their daily life, Twitter, for example. For me, personally, I like to use microblogs to communicate with others. How to make it connected to my own teaching? Let me tell you what I am going to do.

1. Sending information.
Twitter is a place for posting instant information. What I will do is post any info. which is related to my teaching on the Twitter. Students could immediately see what I am posting. For example, I could post a message like: Watch this video which is about phonics. Then students could watch it right away. Also, I could use Twitter to send homework to them.  More importantly, I could review what I taught on the Twitter. I could create a questions which are related to my teaching and ask students to reply the answer. I think they would rather answer it online instead of writing it out and hand in to me. (

Teach with Twitter? Read This!)

2. Stay connected with students.
With the Twitter. I could clearly know how students are doing on their school work. Moreover, I could know more about my own students. By reading their posts, I could understand my students more. What is more, if the student have problems or facing some difficulties, I could immediately provide helps. Sometime, some students are afraid to tell teachers what is going on with them if they have some difficulties. At this time, Twitter really will help!!

3. Play games.
Class will be funnier if it is connected with games. I could set up a  game on Twitter and all of my students could get involved. For example, I could set up a games call create a cool sentence. The one who create the coolest sentence will win the game. By posting their answers on the Twitter, not only me but students could see other's answer. They could learn from their peers. With the competition, students would get more aggressive on their learning.

(28 Creative Ways Teachers Are Using Twitter)

All in all, Microblogs really could help teachers on teaching a lot. Using it well could not only improve the quality of teacher's teaching but also could improve the relationship between teachers and students. For me, I would really want to give it a try on teaching my students.

Social Network Group

Social Network group is very famous these years. Facebook, for example has been used all over the world. The benefits from social network groups is that information could be spread easily. This means that if there are new information or news, people could get immediately. 

Using social networking group is good for teacher because we could get new info. fast. If there are new teaching methods, teachers could learn and use it as soon as they know it. I, personally have been using Facebook for a very long time. From, using it, I realize two things. First of all, if there are news or information, I could know in a very short time, even it is a news from the opposite side of the world. Secondly, if I have questions, I could get the answer very fast. People could provide different views of it. 

Therefore, when I look through the social networking groups like, Ning, Classroom 2.0, EVOline2002...etc. I found out that EFL Classroom 2.0 is most useful for me. EFL Classroom 2.0 is a social networking group that has many people who are interested in EFL/ TEFL in it. They provides their ideas about teaching and post some new content. 

The reason that I choose EFL Classroom 2.0 is because that they have all kinds of tools and information that I could get from it. For example, in the section called EFL 2.0, I could find the classroom featured which is Teaching Young Learners. In this section, there are articles like "10 ideas for teaching YLs" and all kinds of blogs. Also, there are sections like "Teach", "Learn", "Play", "Read" to help teachers with teaching.

It is a very useful social networking group for me. As a fresh teacher who do not have enough experiences, I believe by using EFL 2.0, I could learn a lot from it. Also, if I have questions, I could get the answer from other experienced teachers. Teaching, after all, is about learning experiences. Others' experiences really could help new teachers to improve fast.

EFL 2.0:http://community.eflclassroom.com/group/teachingyounglearners

A teacher is like...

Teacher has been seen as an irrigator who keep teaching and providing information for learners. Learners on the other hand is like a planet. What they only need to do is absorb the knowledge that teacher provides. However, thanks to the invention of computer and new technologies, things has changed.

For me, I think teachers nowadays is like a tour guide.

They lead learners to the area that they are going to learn, provide them the basic information and knowledge. Teachers recently changed they way they teach as before. They do not need to teach everything but to let students experience by their own. Information learning is a significant aspect of our knowledge. Therefore, formal education no longer comprise the majority of our learning.  According to Karen Stephenson, " Experience has long been considered the best teacher of knowledge. Since we cannot experience everything, other people's experiences, and hence other people become the surrogate for knowledge. ' I store my knowledge in my friends' is an axiom for collecting knowledge through collecting people.'"  As the result, teachers as a tour guide could not only teach knowledge from books but could also share their own experiences of it.

Learners now also learn from the Networks. Teachers, who have more experiences help learners to form the connection between people, groups, and also computer. They help students on the Network learning, From "The Changing Nature Of Knowledge" by Siemens elaborates on Connectivism, he states that "The learners themselves, they connection they form with each other. The connection they form with data bases and other sources of knowledge is really the primary point of learning."  So, learners have to learn how to use all the information they get and put them together as their own knowledge. At this time, teachers play a very important role which is to guide. 

The learning environment is changing. Teacher teach knowledge from context and students learn is no longer exist. What learning environment that learners have is all connected with computer and network. Teachers is like a tour guide who lead learners to where they are, tell them what that is and help them to understand more. More importantly is to teach them how self- organized which is the capacity to form connections between sources of information, and thereby create useful information patterns.

Article:http://www.itdl.org/Journal/Jan_05/article01.htm