NEW TECHNOLOGIES IN THE CLASSROOM: USING EDPUZZLE

It seems all seminars and workshops being organised these days talk about the use of technology in the EFL classroom. Teachers seem to be eager to use new technologies and they demand more and more training on this topic.

KEEPING A CLASSROOM BLOG

cdistudentscorner.blogspot.com

This is a project that I've had in mind since last year and finally it has seen the light of day. I have started a classroom blog with my students. Why? well, first of all because it helps me keep a record of everything we do in class, I make myself post after every lesson with what we've done that day.

Secondly, thanks to google calendars I can keep all the students informed about the homework in the event they haven't come to class that day. It's much easier than sending out emails to all of them and, of course, they have no excuse for not doing it.

Thirdly, I can share with them any activities I've prepared myself for extra practice of reading, listening and writing. Embedding listening activities or grammar and vocabulary quizzes allows them to practise at home and get immediate feedback.

And finally, and most importantly, this is a place where students can share their written work with their peers. Sometimes we pay more attention to what our classmates are doing, just out of interest, than to the teachers explanations. Therefore, all students are contributors as well and they help to create content for the blog.

Anyone who wants to check it out please visit cdistudentscorner.blogspot.com

SEMINAR WITH BRIAN ENGQUIST

This post follows on the one I wrote last week about the Pearson event for teachers held in Valencia a few weeks ago. Brian Engquist, head of the teacher training department at Pearson Spain was responsible for this second seminar. The focus of the talk was how to integrate exam preparation into our day-to-day teaching. The title of the talk, Stay calm and teach: making exam skills invisible, already suggests that our main focus as teachers should actually be that: teaching, and that exam skills should be implied in the teaching process.

AN INFOGRAPHIC IS WORTH A 1000 WORDS

I have recently discovered how infographics have become a very useful tool in education and how learners seem to like them a lot. The old saying "An image is worth a thousand words", which was first coined more than one hundred years ago, is still valid today and can be used in the English classroom.