SOCRATIVE, EBIBLIO AND OTHER RESOURCES

Socrative is an interesting tool that you use to

Ebiblio is a tool

Here you have other websites full of fantastic resources to use with our students:

• LearnEnglish Teens - British council
• Great big story

See you soon!

EDPUZZLE

As we saw earlier on this blog, EDpuzzle is an innovative video site that lets you take any video you like off the web and edit it so that you can use it for educational purposes. You can cut it down into different parts and add audio notes and questions for the students to answer. Moreover, you can create virtual classrooms where teachers can monitor individual student work.

We can use it in class to practise the listening and check the students' comprehension.

Here you have an example of a video activity taken from the library:

Finally, here's another activity created by me:

CINEMA PER A ESTUDIANTS

Cinema per a estudiants is a website where you can find plenty of resources to work with films. There are lots of films and lots of activities about those films that can be very useful and engaging for students. There are also courses and workshops that you can attend.

AN ACTIVITY WITH VIRTUAL REALITY

We are going to show Manresa to the world presenting the most representative monuments in the city.

1. Brainstorming: let's find out the most representative monuments students want to present through writing a list on the board.
2. We divide the class into groups of 3-4 students. Each group choses a monument. 
3. Each group surfs the net to get information about the chosen monument and a picture. Then they write a brief description of it.
4. Each group sets off to videorecord the monument using Cardboard Camera app. They take a 360º picture while describing the monument using the text they prepared before. 
5. The students create a Wix website and they upload all the materials there (text, picture and video). 
6. Each group creates a multiple choice question about their monument.
7. We put all the questions together to create a Google Forms and share it on the website. 
8. All the students watch all the videos created to get information about the different monuments and be able to answer the questionnaire. 

EXAMPLE

Brainstorming:

1. La Seu de Manresa.
2. El Pont Vell.
3. El Pont Nou.
4. La Cova.
5. Hospital de Sant Andreu.
6. Torre de Sobrerroca.
7. La Muralla de Manresa.

Group creation:

1. Mònica Carrasco
2. Isabel Vila
3. Núria Samsó

Monuments chosen:

1. La Seu de Manresa
2. El Pont Vell

Written text about the monuments:

1. The Santa Maria Basilica Collegiate of Manresa is one of the most representative examples of the Catalan Gothic and it is also a symbol and an icon of the Bages district capital.
2. The Old Bridge is one of the characteristic elements of the monumental appearance of the town. It was built between the 12th and 13th centuries. The central part was destroyed during the Spanish Civil War, and was rebuilt between 1960 and 1962. 

Videorecording:

(You need to download the Camera Cardboard app and watch the video through a pair of virtual reality goggles)

Questionnaire in Google Forms:

VIRTUAL REALITY

Virtual reality is a three-dimensional, computer generated environment which can be explored and interacted with by a person. It is something very motivating for students and it can allow teachers to do many different activities in the classroom and out of it at the same time.

There are different tools that we can use to experience virtual reality:

• Expediciones. The teacher is the guide and the students are the explorers. The teacher controls the expedition and decides what the students see with their goggles and mobile phones. The teacher can also read some explanations of the different places that the students visit virtually. Then the teacher can ask the students to do a task about that: write a story,  describe a place, play a guessing game, do a reading comprehension exercise, etc. 
• A journey into your brain (CLIL)
• Titans of space (CLIL)
• Sites in VR (CLIL)
• War of words
• Youtube 360º videos
• New York Times Virtual Reality APP

If you are thinking of working with virtual reality with your students, I recommend you the article 10 simple ways to use google cardboard in the classroom. 

PLICKERS

Plickers is a tool that, like Kahoot, we can use to play games with our students. The difference is that with Kahoot all the students need a mobile phone, but not with Plickers. To use Plickers, only the teacher needs a mobile phone. The students have a card that they have to move according to the answer they want to give. The questions appear on the screen. They have to decide which answer is the correct one (A, B, C or D) and show the card. The teacher scans the cards and gets the answers.

Here we have the cards that we have to print to play games with our students:

https://www.plickers.com/PlickersCards_2up.pdf

The teacher can prepare the game, but also the students. It's a good tool to revise grammar, to test if they understood a book or chapter they had to read, etc.

DIGITAL TOOLS TO ENGAGE WEB 2.0 TEENS

Here we have a good collection of basic digital tools to engage web 2.0 teens. Thank you, Abel!

DIGITAL TOOLS TO ENGAGE WEB 2.0 TEENS

STORYBIRD

Storybird is a free tool that allows users to make visual stories. It's a fantastic combination of art and words. The many different illustrations that Storybird provides inspire writers of all ages, who can turn those images into fresh stories. When we want to ask our students to write stories, we have to keep in mind that starting with pictures is powerful and effective, and that it helps the students a lot.

Apart from creating stories, in Storybird you can also read and discover new stories. So, as a teacher, you can use Storybird to manage students, create assignments and build beautiful libraries. A fantastic tool to try!

TIKI-TOKI

Tiki-Toki is a tool that can be used to create beautiful interactive timelines easily and share them.

As the image shows, this tool allows you to write texts, link pictures, videos, etc., and give the timeline a very attractive format.

This tool can be used in history lessons, where timelines are a frequent resource, but also in other subjects and for other purposes. For example, we can use it to distribute tasks over time when doing a project or as a reading summary activity in the English class. Enjoy it!

TWITTER

There are many different ways in which we can use Twitter with our students:

• We can create polls for them.
• We can give them a visual and ask them to reply. 
• We can recommend them hashtags or people. 

INFOGRAPHICS

Infographics are graphic visual representations of information, data or knowledge intended to present information quickly and clearly. They are a very good tool to use with students, because it helps them to understand and remember things better. Here you have an example that can be used to teach relative clauses:

There are some programs and apps that we can use to make infographics:

• Piktochart

Here you have a Youtube tutorial that you can use to learn how to create an infographic with Piktochart:

• Easel.ly

I have created my own infographic using Piktochart. Here you have it:

AUGMENTED REALITY

Augmented reality is another very good way to motivate and engage learners. Here you have an article and a video about it:

http://www.deltapublishing.co.uk/uncategorized/augmented-reality-and-web-3-0

As the video says, you just need three things to work with augmented reality in the classroom:

• A smart phone with a camera.
• Internet connection.
• The right software. 

What you need to do to start is download the software. Then you print the worksheets, scan them with the camera of your smart phone and enjoy an incredible interactive 4D experience.

There are different tools that you can use to work with augmented reality:

• Elements 4D

• Anatomy 4D

• Blippar

If you are brave enough to create your own augmented reality, you can try Aurasma.

BLOOM'S DIGITAL TAXONOMY VERBS

Do we make our students create things? It's a good idea to have this infographic in mind when planning our lessons.

BIT.LY AND GOO.GL

Bit.ly and Goo.gl are two different tools that we can use to simplify or shorten links. They are very useful resources for English teachers, because we often share links with students which are very long, and students sometimes have difficulties to copy them. If we make URLs shorter, it will be easier for students to copy them.

BITMOJI

Bitmoji is a funny tool that allows you to create an expressive cartoon avatar choosing from a huge library of stickers. As a teacher, you can use it, for example, to give feedback to your students or to motivate them.

Here you have my avatar:

10 ESSENTIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF A 21st CENTURY EDUCATOR

Good afternoon,

Here I am again, willing to continue sharing useful resources with you!

To start, I'd like to invite you to think a little bit about our job as teachers having a look at "10 essential characteristics of a 21st century educator", a very interesting article by George Couros.

For me, it is important to remember that "we do not have to change everything, but we need to continuously evaluate our practices and the impact on students to grow and get better. New resources and initiatives will always be part of education, and we need to critically think about them, and ask questions to move forward".

"If we create a culture where every teacher believes they need to improve, not because they are not good enough but because they can be even better, there is no limit to what we can achieve." -Dylan Wiliam.