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Here we will show you our portfolio regarding DIRES, and how throughout the whole semester we learned about how to use multiple digital resources to enhance our abilities as teachers.

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We started the subject by talking about bases curriculares and general official documents relevant for an English teacher here in Chile. Also we made connections and tried to understand what role played technology inside the classroom and the regulations from MINEDUC.

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Our group presented Estandares Pedagogicos,

Los estándares pedagógicos son criterios y expectativas que definen las habilidades, conocimientos y actitudes que un profesor debe poseer y demostrar para asegurar una enseñanza de calidad. There are 5 standards:

-A: Competencia comunicativa y enseñanza de la lengua.

-B: Fundamentos para la enseñanza y aprendizaje del Inglés.

-C: Desarrollo de habilidades comunicativas.

-D: Recursos para el aprendizaje.

-and E: Cultura y competencia intercultural.

In these first presentations we also saw "Estándares Disciplinares", which taught us about how technology could and should be used by an English teacher according to MINEDUC.

We were also educated by multiples groups about what Bases Curriculares said about the use of technology in the classroom, going from NT1 to 4to Medio. Bases curriculares explained that technology has to be used to provide students with authentic material, helping with the comprehension of the four skills and with promoting the independence of the students. Whilst the level of difficulty and the cognitive challenge is clearly different in each grade, the use of technology is proved to be beneficial for each and every student.

We also saw what the MBE said about technology in the classroom. And we saw how for a few years now, the MBE has been updating its dominios to include technology and make sure that we can teach our students at the best of our abilities, and adapting our classes to make sure we are able to reach each and every one of our students.

This presentations helped contextualize the subject, and made us understand the importance of being taught about it. Our personal favorite presentation of this first round was the group of Paula and Felipe, since we liked the approach they took, saying that technology didn't replace the teacher, it just helped us enhance learning.

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During this class, we were able to explore some official documents from the University. To begin with, we saw the course objectives and the importance, as pre- service teachers to get to know the valuable information that DIRES provides. For instance, this knowledge will definitely help us build the right pedadogical tools to create digital resources, to implement interactive techniques, in order to improve our educational practice.

Then, we also analyzed our "perfil de egreso",which helped us developa vision of the professionals we aspire to become. I believe this allowed us to evaluate our progress so far and take responsability for our future as teachers.

We were also able to present about this theme.

We also witnessed the presentations of "Estandares Pedagógicos" of Fernanda, Simon and Valeria, referring that: "son guías para el perfil profesional que ayudan al desarrollo del docente de Inglés".

- A: Comunicarse en Inglés C1 y modelar el idioma. (Dominio de las 4 habilidades (listening, speaking, writing, reading))

-B: Aplicar teorías de aprendizaje y planificación contextualizada.(Comprender influencia de la lengua materna.)

-C: interacciones pedagógicas mediadas por una comunicación clara entre el/la docente y sus estudiantes, a través de las cuales el/la profesor/a demuestra altas expectativas y promueve oportunidades de aprendizaje desafiantes para que todos/as sus estudiantes progresen y logren los objetivos propuestos.

-D: se promueve que los/as docentes sean modelos del uso ético de las tecnologías digitales, ajustándose a la normativa legal respecto de su uso en contextos educativos.Se destaca la normativa vigente respecto de la obligación para los funcionarios de establecimientos educacionales de denunciar oportunamente hechos que afecten la salud física y psicológica de niños, niñas y adolescentes.

Then, we learned "Estándares Disciplinares"(buscan unificar criterios y establecer un marco común de la enseñanza del inglés, asegurando el aprendizaje del idioma de manera equivalente y pertinente).

A: Busca que los estudiantes desarrollen la capacidad de usar la lengua para interactuar con otros.

B: Resalta la importancia de la planeación en la secuancia didáctica en base a los objetivos, contenidos, actividades y evaluación.

C: Exige que los docentes
transformen el conocimiento disciplinar en experiencias de aprendizaje significativas. Un profesor que cumple con este estándar no solo conoce profundamente su asignatura, sino que domina estrategias didácticas para hacerla comprensible, utilizando ejemplos pertinentes.

D: La excelencia docente se manifiesta en la capacidad de diseñar procesos de enseñanza articulados y coherentes. Un educador que domina este estándar crea secuencias de aprendizaje intencionadas, alineadas con el currículum nacional.

E: Comprende que el aprendizaje del inglés como lengua extranjera en Chile tiene como propósito fomentar la
integración de los estudiantes a un mundo multicultural, y promueve el uso de la lengua como un vehículo de
intercambio y representación cultural.

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Technology and English Language Learning

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Technology and English Language Learning

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This was a more theoretical class, where we read an article from the British Council called "Artificial Intelligence and English language teaching: Preparing for the future".

This was one of the classes I really enjoyed personally, since it made us reflect about the use of AI inside of the classrooms but it portrayed it in a very positive light, which is not that common to find in my opinion.

The article presented ways in which AI was already being used by students and teachers alike inside and outside the classrooms, and it also gave some tips to use it in the more menial activities of a teacher so that we could spend more time focusing on the relevant aspects of teaching.

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On the 29th of August, the class was divided in 8 groups. Each group was assigned to do a little research about their category and prepare a presentation. For Gamification, two groups talked about Blooket and Gimkit.

I believe that my favorite presentation was about Blooket, created by Paula, Franco and Javiera. Blooket is an engaging tool that helps teachers to present vocabulary and grammar practice in an interactive way. Also, we can recieve instant feedback, which helps to improve motivation, engagement and participation among the students. It can also be adapted to different learning styles such as visual, auditory, social and independent learners.

This is an excellent tool to identify which topic needs reinforcement and to adapt the lessons to students needs.

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Multimodality, Multicodality and Interactivity in Digital Language Learning

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Multimodality, Multicodality and Interactivity in Digital Language Learning

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On the 5th of September we were introduced to the concepts of multimodality (which refers to the use of multiple modes, such as linguistic, visual, spatial and so on, to convey meaning). Multicodality (which refers to the use of multiple semiotic codes, such as text, image or sound within a single communicative act). And Interactivity (that refers to the learners engagement with digital content through responsive and participatory features)

The presentation following this theoretical class were specially useful and fun for us, because our classmates were really innovative with what they presented and it showed us multiple ways we could improve our own classes.

Our classmates presented about how we could use visuals, audios and videos to improve the four skills of the language in a fun manner. We got to know more about platforms that could help us with the more grammatical side of learning a language, such as Educaplay. Carla and I presented about the importance of gestures and body language, and we hope we transmitted its importance. And we also saw how interactivity could make a class much more meaningful and fun for our students.

We thought the presentation of Maxi's group was the best in this case, since it taught us how to use an actual game that our students play in a fun but educational way. Carla and I didn't have much experience with this game, since neither of us plays it, but it opened our eyes to the multiple possibilities we had with it, and we haven't had the chance to implement it in our practicum, but we have no doubt it would be a complete success.

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Technology mediated learning: Collaboration and Individualization 

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Technology mediated learning: Collaboration and Individualization 

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Not only is technology a great asset for learning English, but we also learned that it could be done either in collaboration or on your own, up to preference.

There are many platforms to choose, whatever your preference may be.

This is not something that came out of nothing, actually, it is backed up with actual theoretical arguments that have presented the advantages and challenges of this way of learning.

Individualized learning refers to a personalized style of learning, answering to the learners specific needs and wants. This style can be adapted to the pace, style, and actual needs of a learner. Constructivism is the theory that supports it, since it refers to learning and constructing knowledge actively taking part in the process, not just consuming the content.

Collaborative learning takes a different approach and it involves the learner not just actively taking part in their learning process, but it makes them adapt to other learners and work together to make the learning process meaningful, and achieve shared learning goals. This style is supported by Vygotsky, and his theory that states that learning is a social process.

Now, how does technology play its role in this situation? Thanks to technology, the role of teachers and learners kind of shifts, making the teacher a facilitator and guide, and letting the learners take a more active role in their own learning process.

Now, for this subject we got to know many different platforms that support both of this styles of learning.

For individualized learning we have: Gimkit, Seesaw, Miro, and many others.

And for collaborative learning we have: platforms such as zoom, moodle, padlet and many others.

Our personal favorite in this presentations was the group of Cata, Eimy and Anto, since they presented the information in a beautiful and easy to comprehend format and they very clearly presented the benefit and challenges of the collaborative learning style.

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Open Educational Resources (OER) and Creative Commons

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Open Educational Resources (OER) and Creative Commons

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Involves learning,teaching and research materials in any format that reside in the public domain or are under copyright that have been released under an open license, which refers to the intellectual property rights of the copyright owner and provides permissions granting the public the rights to access and redistribute educational materials.

This information followed by a video created by UNESCO, allowed us understand that Open educational resources support quality education that is equitable, inclusive, open and participatory.

After this, our classmates prepared brief presentations, creating an activity focusing on a specific educational level. For instance, we presented an activity that we really enjoyed for Preschool, which is divided in two parts, first they must trace the words following the dotted line letters on the handout, and
then they must use play-doh to go over
what they wrote. We believe this is a very effective activity because its very dynamic and fun for the students.

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Digital Tools for English Language in Secondary Education

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Digital Tools for English Language in Secondary Education

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On October 7th, We explored the five key digital teaching topics. To begin with, we learned about "Free Online Teaching Digital Resources" (free platforms such as Memrise, Socrative, Educreations and so on). Then, we have "Digital Websites and Apps for Learners" (to create stories and videos such as Book Creator and Comic Master). Later, we have "From Textbooks to Multimedia
Learning Environments" (videos and podcast to enhace engagement, supporting inclusive education). Then, we have "Enhancing Content and Language
Learning through Technology" (Technology-enhace language learning, including flipped classrooms, improving motivation and autonomy. Finally, we have "Effective Gamification in Secondary Education" (tools to increase motivation and engagement , supporting vocabulary retention and collaborative learning such as Duolingo and Quizlet.

Our classmates made brief presentations on these topics. We were able to explore mutiple tools to use in a classroom in order to increase student motivation and participation. We particularly liked Monserrat's presentation on the platform "LyricsTraining", which is a free website that allows students to learn English through songs. We believe this is a fantastic tool to motivate students while reinforcing spelling, listening and vocabulary.

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Now, we are onto the presentations that constituted one of our Solemnes, and that is material creation.

In this presentations we were supposed to present to the class a real life situation of an actual use of Digital resources and reflect on how the experience was and we could do to make it better if we were to do it a second time.

We believe this is one of the best ideas of this subject, since it is an opportunity to take the knowledge we acquired and put it into practice, also allowing us to reflect on the process we had to follow during the lesson planning and how these situations developed in real time and with real people.

Our personal favorite from this presentations was the group of Maxi and Eimily, we believe that they presented a very creative plan lesson, and that their objective had been achieved in class. Not only were they creative, but also they presented a proposal with good arguments that took into account the real needs of their students.

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During this class, we were able to explore free digital tools for teaching English to young learners. First, we have "Task-Based Language Teaching" (TBLT), (Promotes meaningful use of language through tasks, encouraging collaboration and creativity).Then, we have "Digital Pedagogy for Young Learners" (Encourages playful learning and engagement). Finally, we have "Chilean Standards and Curriculum", here we can find "Estándares para Profesores de Inglés" (Emphasize designing contextualized, inclusive, and digitally supported learning experiences)and "Currículum Nacional" (Focuses on communicative competence, cultural awareness, and integration of digital resources for 1° to 6°).

All of these points, allow us to expand our methodological approaches, integrating technology meaningfully in our lessons as future teachers.

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Now, as a side note, there were two instances in which a representative from our library came to give us two workshops regarding tips and information about how to look for respectable resources, how to use APA to cite the resources, the many different ways we can cite and relevant information that is going to be useful for us, specially for our fourth year, but throughout our whole career as well.

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On November 7th and 14th, We witnessed two beautiful presentations from our two classmates of 5th grade, soon to be graduaded teachers of English. For instace, the first student simulated a class for elementary students about family, she used multiple digital tools such as songs (using TPR), a Canva presentation, a closing game using "Educaplay" and so on. We also made an activity where we needed to draw and label our family members.

During the class of November 14th, the pre service teacher gave a class for kindergarden students about places in the city, she also used digital tools such as canva presentation, spin the wheel, a video, a song and a final game using the website "Educaplay".

We really loved both interventions because they were very interactive, educative and fun for younger students. It can definitely help us see different perspectives and ideas using digital tools in order to create and promote meaningful lesson for students.

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What new insights or knowledge did you gain from the DIRES course?

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What new insights or knowledge did you gain from the DIRES course?

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Throughout Dires course, we were able to understand the importance of designing dynamic lessons for our students by using technology to our favor. For instance, we got to know multiple online tools that allowed us to create fun and meaningful activities. As a result, we managed to put these discoveries into practice with real students during our practicum, and the results were excellent: there was higher participation and motivation, and learners showed greater interest in using technology wisely inside the classroom.

Overall, I learned the importance of constant reflection on the model that is being used, by doing self-assessment and adaptation based on the students' interests. However, it is important to keep in mind that we should not rely too much on technology, otherwise, we may lose the focus of learning, as students might see it only as an opportunity to play. Instead, we can use technology as a tool to promote feedback, supporting better understending by showing them a video of the content and creating a more dynamic class by using a fun presentation to show the learning material.

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How did the flipped classroom methodology impact your learning experience?

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How did the flipped classroom methodology impact your learning experience?

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The flipped classroom methodology was a new learning experience that helped us take a more active role as students in each class. We were able to engage more deeply with the subject by searching for new information to present, such as videos, exploring websites to find the best activity to apply inside a classroom. This methodology encouraged us to take responsibility for our own learning and really engage with the contents and our classmates. As a result, we were able to share coherent and valuable information to help them make well informed pedadogical decisions.

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What are the advantages and challenges of working in a flipped classroom?

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What are the advantages and challenges of working in a flipped classroom?

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The most notorious advantage for us, was that this dynamic really forces you to think and learn, as well as investigates the subjects one is working on. The flipped classroom gives the power to the students, therefore they must make sure they are learning correctly to be able to teach others the right information.

However, the challenges we faced were the following: being expert in one subject did not mean that we were experts in all of the subjects worked on, sometimes, due to not paying attention we would miss really important information, and then have to study it on our own. Also, sometimes the workload would be too much (in general) and thus we would not have the time we wanted to dedicate to investigating as deep as we would've liked.

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How has this course influenced your perspective on using digital resources in teaching?

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How has this course influenced your perspective on using digital resources in teaching?

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It has definitely helped me lose the fear I had towards using digital tools. There are a lot of misconception around them, and I hadn't really investigated what tools were out there, so in previous practicums I wouldn't use them. However, this course definitely opened my eyes about the digital tools and about the many advantages the have.