This is what I am looking for, Podcasts!

Podcast is a great tool that can be used in the language calssroom. I have chosen ESL Podcast 180. This can be quite useful for students who want to learn authentic English. It provides students with a lot of different situations where people can experience real-life conversation.

I tried listening "Airportlayover". First of all, when I listened to it, the speech speed was a little slow so that I did not miss a single word. The transcript of the conversation was given. One advantage of it is that users can be offered definition of words, additional sentences, and cultural notes. Especially cultural notes can be very helpful for students to experience different culture. After I listened to it, the speaker explained about important expressions in detail. Since many people may experience airportlayover, certain terms such as book, roller bag, or carry on will be effective to learn. For example, when the speaker said lug, he introduced 'schlep', which is a Jewish word. It will be a good chance for students to know new words. Lastly, I could listen to the same conversation, but the speed was faster. I could catch the expressions I learned very well. 

How can I utilize this podcast? Most of all, this kind of conversation can be a prefect listening and speaking material. Students can listen to the conversation without a transcript. They can also have a discussion cultural topics before or after listening the conversation. During the lesson, vocabulary can be taught so that students can do a writing activity, using the words or phrases they learned. When students practise speaking, a role-play can be done in a pair or in a group. Since there is not a visual image or video clip, if teachers find or create some images or videos, it would be a perfect lesson.

Are you ready to start the adventure in learning?

When I was young, I had a friend who lived in the U.S. I wrote a letter before I went to bed and sent it to her. She answered my letter a few days later. Even though we had never met before, we communicated through letters. I remember asking the expressions that I want to know to my teacher. My friend liked them. She was my pen pal.

Now, I can make a thousands of friends online. It is ePaLs that I am going to talk about. ePaLs is a web-based tool that K-12 students can use both in the classroom and at home. Not only that, children can read stories and play games on the web.One thing that I really like about it is that not only teachers and students but also parents can use this tool.

For teachers, Toolsforschool can be very useful. A lot of teaching resources are given so that teachers can choose what they want to employ in the classroom.Teachers can select grade, price, and language. Global Community is also beneficial for both teachers and students. It is a free community that enables teachers and students to experience collaborative, project-based learning. Users can choose region, the number of students, and a type of collaboration. I really want to use this tool because students can experience authentic collaborative learning. If students work together with friends who use a target language, it will be motivating them.

Cobblestone & Cricket are tools that students use for reading. Users can read printed books or have digital ones. The tools encourage students to read literature, which leads to learning.

ePaLs is really worth trying and I want to experience with my studetns. I love the espression on the first page of the site. "Your passport to learning adventures!"  I am ready to start!

Your textbook today is a comic strip!

Students love comic strips. What if the textbook of lessons is comic strips students made? It will be easy for teachers to draw students' attention and the lessons will go well.  GoAnimate is one of the greatest tools that both teachers and students can create.

One thing that I really like about using these tools is that grammar and vocabulary lessons which students might feel bored can be turned into more exciting ones. In order to make a story, students can choose characters, voice, and actions or emotions.They can record their own vioce,too. The most important thing is that they have to think about what they are going to do. The story should be not only grammatically correct but also coherent. When they are done, they will feel a sense of achievement, which helps them keep learning. 

Students will be studying L2 with the material they make by themselves. It is really cool, isn't it? There is no reason not to use the tools. 

Engaging students? This is the answer!

Teachers sometimes have difficulty in making students engage in lessons. The main reason is that students feel bored. However, teachers do not have to be concerned anymore. The photo story tools will help teachers make lessons more exciting.

                     

There are a few ways of using the tools for teaching. Especially the tools can be employed in vocabulary and grammar lessons. Since the tools allow users to combine images, texts, and music, students can remember the words and phrases they learn in the class more easily. Grammar section is one thing that teachers care about because students readily get bored.Traditional grammar material is a piece of paper where a lot of questions with a few pictures are presented. However, if the material is created with visual images, texts, and music, lessons would be far more interesting. This will encourage students to keep learning. 

Students can also use the tools effectively. They make thier own story about themselves or summarize what they read or listen during lessons. By doing so, their writing skills can be improved. Since there are many options students can choose, they feel a sense of responsibility and try to make quality work. 

Photo story tools have many advantages in learning as well as teaching. Am I going to use the tools in the classroom? Definitely, yes!

Twitter is a MUST for teachers.

I was not very tech-savvy before, so I did not use Twitter. However, I totally changed my thought. I have to use Twitter not only for my own professional development but also for teaching.Why? To make a long story short, it has too many advantages to be ignored. Then, how can I use Twitter?

For my professional development, the most beneficial thing is to exchange and share different ideas from different teachers in real time. As mentioned in Using Twitter for Teachers' Professional Development, Hashtags are a great way for engaging in professional conversaions. For example, I can sometimes face unexpected circumstances in the classroom. In these cases, I can get a lot of valuable advice from more experienced teachers. Of course, I can help other teachers, too. Also, I can grip teaching trends by communicationg with others, which allows me to get rid of old methods or materials or to try new activities in the classroom. I am convinced that the interaction will absolutely make me a better teacher!

As a teacher, I can use Twitter in many different ways. I could find some in A Must Have Guide on Using Twitter in your Classroom. I can use it as a bulletin board so that students know latest news and announcement. Also I can give or take instant feedback in the classroom as well as communicate with parents. Using Twitter helps teaching and learning more convenient in comparison to the condition of classroom in the past.


Using Twitter in the classroom will be another opportunity for me to interact with students. I cannot wait to use it. I believe that it will be useful to both me and students. 

Tweet? Tweet!

Today, I followed #Edtechchat from 8:00 to 9:00 PM. It was NEW WORLD because I was really connected to the Twitterchat  and talking with other people from different areas as if I am with them. Reading what they mentioned was very helpful. Since it was the first time for me, I sometimes forgot to add #edtechchat when I tweeted. Time was flying. Even though I made some mistake, it was really fun and I really enjoyed it. It was a great opportunity for me to share experience with more experienced teachers. There were several questions about education in teaching and everyone answered. For example, one of the questions was ," How should a school district support professional learning to promote the conversion to a digital classroom?" Many people think different way from me and their creative ideas made me excited. Also some introduced useful websites. Attending a Twitterchat is absolutely useful to teachers because exchanging ideas helps teachers broaden their perspectives, which allows them to be a better teacher. By taking part in Twiitterchat, I can not only stay current but also be an expert!

I am practicing "Connectivism" through Social Networking!

I have joined the social networking site, The Educator's PLN. The site is explained  "the personal learning network for educators". By joining the group, I am allowed to access a lot of education blogs as well as twitter hashtags. What is a hashtag? It is the # symbol and used to mark keyword or topic in a tweet. (Quote from http://www.edudemic.com/twitter-hashtag-dictionary/) What I like most is the "video" section because I can watch various kinds of videos about both teaching and learning. I am convinced that I will be able to not only broaden my perspectives as a teacher with sharing a lot of ideas with other educators but also experience connectivism.

Use ICT "Smartly" ! Better learning!

What is "ICT"? In the past, when I was a student, I always sit on the chair  and the only thing I had to do is taking notes on what teachers said. However, now in the 21st century, it doesn't work anymore! As a teacher, I need to think of different approaches from those in the past. It is ICT that I can use in the classroom. ICT refers to Information and Communication Technology. Then, how can I use it?

Technology has been developing from day to day and we can have a myriad of innovative gadgets such as  mobile phones, laptops, and ipads. Many people use them in their daily life, but what about students in school? Teachers, including me, have considered the gadgets as an obstacle to learning. Yet, I realized and have no choice but to admit that they have a positive impact on learning and must be used in the classroom. The Future Starts Now inspired me to try using them in my future teaching. We will be living off "knowledge" in the future as we can see in the Norwegians' story, which means that education will be the most important part. Motivation is one of the most essential factors in edication and ICT can encourage students to learn. I can not only show students 3D images and pictures of the subject but also let them research and discuss the topic online. ICT will definitely play a major role in teaching and learning. I need to know the way I use ICT accurately, which leads me to use it "smartly".

Is that all? Absolutely no. In A Vision of 21st Century Teachers, it is said that students can gain from face-to-face and online learning activities. Both need to be balanced. I am a learner who is taught how to use ICT smartly as well as a 21st century teacher. Let me digitally empower, and I can give students much more knowledge using ICT!