Pecha Kucha's time.

We (Agostina, Belén, Priscila and I) are in the process of designing and recording our Pecha Kucha for Eco II. Our first approach to Pecha Kucha was in diction this year and we really enjoyed it. Yes, you may say that it is difficult because you have to summarize in twenty slides all the work that we did through this year, but we find it rewarding. What I like the most is finding an especial image that represents what you are saying and, of course, playing with humour.

What do you think? Are you enjoying the task too?

5th course yearbook - the final project

For the ones that have asked me about the final result of my project here it is!
As you can see, this digital yearbook was made in a PowerPoint presentation. The thing that I like most about this project is that each student had the possibility to choose what to do with his/her profile and this shows in the information and the images that they included. The profiles really reflect their personalities.

It was a fantastic experience and I really enjoyed it! Hope you enjoy it too!

(Click here) ===>  Digital Yearbook 

Why using web 2.0 tools in our lessons?

I think that the main reason why we should use web 2.0 tools is because they are motivating for our students. Moreover, they can help teachers to escape from the traditional ways of teaching.

However, I am not saying that we should use them all the time, I am not personally a computer fan, but I must say that incorporating them in our lessons from time to time could be useful and innovative. 

Here, I will like you to show you the ones that I would like to incorporate in my lessons:

WIKIS: Wikis serve many different purposes, such as notetaking. They can be community websites, for example. In most of them, you are able to change, add or remove material. Others may permit access without enforcing access control. Other rules may also be imposed for organizing content. Wikis can provide our student excellent opportunities to work collaboratively.

BLOGS: A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, Web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability of readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Blogging can be seen as a form of social networking. Indeed, bloggers do not only produce content to post on their blogs but also build social relations with their readers and other bloggers. In education blogs can be used as instructional resources. In my opinion having a blog is an excellent opportunity to share with my classmates our experience as regards working with technology and it would be great that my future students could work in the same way as we do. 

Criteria for judging blogs

Have a look at this criteria that I found in bloglist.com. It might be very helpful when it comes to assessing your own blogs. It was really useful for me :)

Blogs have become very popular in the past couple of years because they gave individuals a voice on the Internet. You no longer have to be a hotshot publisher, an ace reporter or a sought-after columnist to get your thoughts read. You can have a free account with a blog host and post your thoughts online anytime you want.

However, having a great blog is not easy pickings. There are a few things that separate a great blog from a good blog, and also a good blog from one that's downright rubbish. There are tens of millions of blogs out there, so it's great to have an excellent blog that stands out!

It takes a good combination of content and design to make a good blog. Add to that a dash of personality and a good sprinkling of passion, and you might just have what it takes to have a great blog. And here, we reward well-written, well-designed blogs that are created and maintained with passion and personality.

Visual Aesthetics

Content is king. But design is queen. You could write the most gripping articles on your blog, but if your site is too disorganized or simply too drab, then people might find you uninteresting. But if your blog design is too loud and too jampacked, then you would just end up giving your readers a headache.

We judge visual aesthetics by the ability of a blog's design elements to blend in harmony with one another, from the site layout to the color scheme, to the fonts used. You can go for a minimalist look, or prefer colorful artistic renditions, but what's important is that your blog is pleasing to the eye. Also, we give a plus for originality in design!

User Friendliness

You can have the most beautiful-looking blog with the most outstanding writings, but if your site is difficult to use and navigate, no one would bother to return and read up on what you have to say. User friendliness and usability are important design considerations in determining a great blog.

First, your site should be readable. The font size should be large enough and the contrast level high enough so your readers would not have to go looking for magnifying glasses or to squint in order to read your copy. Then, your blog should be navigable. Readers should not have a hard time going around your blog, it would be great to have the convenience of one-click links to your homepage, archives, links, and profile. And for the love of blogging, please refrain from incorporating those snazzy animations and multimedia files, because they only slow up loading of your blog, and not everyone can load them up. You would only end up frustrating your readers.

We judge user friendliness by a blog's being readable, navigable, usable, and by how easily your site loads up on the web browser. Help us explore your blog better!

Reading Enjoyment

Content is king. One primary motivation for reading a blog is great content. A good blog should have interesting information that comes in a well-written package. Whether you're talking about your life story or news on business matters, or any topic at all, your blog should be gripping enough to keep your readers coming back.

Another important aspect of blogs is feedback. Eliciting a lively conversation is as important as writing the original blog posting itself. Blogs have commenting features for a reason, and that's to give readers a venue to voice out their own thoughts in response to what you write.

Also important are the voice and tone of your blog. Writings on a blog should not sound stiff and cold, because it should primarily be written with a personal touch, or it wouldn't be a blog at all!

We judge reading enjoyment according to the quality of a blog author's writings, and whether his/her articles are interesting enough to merit a good discussion by readers.

Useful Info

There are tens of millions of blogs out there, and most of them just echo each other. Many bloggers are fond of quoting (and mis-quoting) other news sources and even other blogs. What makes one a good blogger is the ability to present or link to useful information on one's blog. What makes someone a great blogger is the ability to put up information that is both useful and original.

We judge usefulness of information based on how a blogger can point out great stuff elsewhere (i.e. through links) and how a blogger can synthesize these bits of information gathered from other sources. Originality is definitely a plus. And don't skimp on introducing yourself,if we find a blogger's life story or profile interesting enough, then this is definitely a big plus!

Overall Experience

Synergy means that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. The same goes for blogs. Based on the above factors - reading enjoyment, visual aesthetics, user friendliness, and useful info - we can now determine whether a blog is great, good, or just another blog out of millions, with no impressive quality at all.

We judge overall experience by how enjoyable, interesting, and read-worthy we think a blog is. And we list blogs with great content, design, usability and interesting info that we think are deserving of being bookmarked and oft revisited.

http://www.bestbloglist.com/criteria.php

Blogs in Plain English :)

This is Blogs in Plain English.

To make sense of blogs, you have to think about the news and who makes it. We'll look at news in the 20th vs. the 21st century to make our point.

In the 20th century, the news was produced professionally.  When news happened, reporters wrote the stories and a tiny group of people decided what appeared in a newspaper or broadcast. Professional news was mainstream: general and limited.

The 21st century marked the point where news became both professional and personal.   A new kind of web site called a weblog or blog came onto the scene that let anyone be a reporter and publisher - often for free.

As blogs became popular, they created millions of news sources and gave everyone an audience for their own version of news. Of course, we're using the word "news" loosely.  But really - isn't everything news to someone? 

With a blog...A business owner can share news about his business
A mother can share news about her family
Or a sport star can share news with fans
These people are all "bloggers".

How did this happen? Well, blogs made sharing news on the web easy.  Anyone with an idea can start a new blog with the click of a button and share news minutes later. Here's how blogs work.

Blogs are websites that are organized by blog posts - these are individual news stories, like articles in the paper. Bloggers simply fill out a form like this one to post a new story. With the click of a button, the blog post appears at the top of the web page, just above yesterday's news.  Over time, the blog becomes a collection of these posts, all archived for easy reference.

Also, Each blog post can become a discussion through comments left by readers. Blogs make the news a two way street.

But really, the fuss is not about how blogs work - it's about what people like you do with them that matters.

Let's say you have a blog about green living and outdoor photography.  It reflects your unique perspective.  This helps you build relationships with your readers and other bloggers with similar interests.

Speaking of relationships, bloggers often work together. In addition to comments,You'll read each other's posts, quote each other and link your blogs together. This creates communities of bloggers that inspire and motivate each other.

Whether it's their ease of use or the opportunities they offer, blogs have been adopted in a very big way. Since 2003, there have been over 70 million blogs created, each with it's own version of news.  So, the big deal about blogs is that they gave people like you the power of the media and created a personal kind of news that appeals to a high number of small audiences.

So, it's up to you - what will you do with this new power?  There is likely a group of people out there who want to hear what you have to say.

I'm Lee LeFever and this has been Blogs in Plain English.

http://www.commoncraft.com/video/blogs#comments

I believe that the author of this article explains in a very simple way what blogs are and how they work. I completely agree with him that your blog reflects your personality or your style. Each of us give our blogs a personal touch.

Technology in the classroom

Do you agree with this assertion?

"Technology is a central component in a modern learning environment. Technology can also be a great tool for reaching various audiences and making lesson plans exciting and surprising for students. Technology needs to be wisely integrated and controlled in the classroom to create the most effective lesson plans. The teacher must remain the central focus with technology used only as an aid and supplement to the larger goals of the classroom."

Sarah Vbra

www.ehow.com

In my opinion, the most important part of this extract is that we should never forget that technology is a tool and it should be well implemented in our lessons with a clear learning purpose  

and in a fun or exciting way. What do you think?

I have been reading my classmates' blogs... really interesting and informative. I think we are learning a lot! :)
In a way, this is a change of perspective for me. In the past, I used to say that we have to stick to traditional ways of teaching because I thought they were better and more effective.
My experience in my teaching practise at secondary school and all the presentations that my classmates' made for ECO and other subjects proved me wrong.
Technology IS useful, innovative and effective when it comes to teaching English.