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Lastly we have my version of how I dused Pear Deck presentations. It is a fun and interactive lead-in about classic movies.

Remember to check the presentation down below and go to https://app.peardeck.com/home/ to start creating your own Pear Decks.

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This summer course was one of my favorites. I had the opportunity to discover new apps and practice on them.

Something we have to keep in mind is that education is not the same than was 10 years ago. Technology plays an important role in it.
As future teachers, we need to work on our skills and update our knowledge in resources and tools to apply them in the classroom.
Matt Miller's proposal was one was the topic that most called my attention. It was very interesting to discover apps to use in classes and will help students to be active learners.

Without a doubt, Kahoot was my favorite. In my case, it was the easier to use and the one I got less trouble to project.

I also had the opportunity to work with new people and I think we did a good job together.

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It's my turn to show you how I used this app to create material to use in class. Hope you enjoy it! Give it a chance, I know you will have a lot of fun with your students!
Click below and discover new ways to encourage students during your class.

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Starting with this presentation about "Writing a formal email", this PDF shows off some of the great features Pear Deck offers you... All you need to do is click on the document and enjoy it!...

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Do you wanna see how amazing Pear Deck is???

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Do you wanna see how amazing Pear Deck is???

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We share our Pear Deck presentations, just to give you a little taste of how is the experience like when using this incredible tool!

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During this summer course I learnt two important things: engaging active learning and using technology effectively to do so. This course really fulfilled my expectations as it really provided me with useful, interactive and fun software to implement in an English class.

I liked the way the course was built; it gathers all necessary and must-know features from the internet that new generations of teachers should take into consideration for teaching. However, while I was trying to think about how would I implement all that I learnt through the course into the professional field, I realized that  schools in Mérida need to upgrade their systems in order to let technology be an effective tool. There is when I noticed that not all schools have the facilities to have access to the technology needed to run these amazing tools effectively.

Finally, I think that every software, app and feature seen, opened my mind to have more ideas to address content creatively whether technology is available or not. Fortunately, as language professors we are ready to face whatever the situation is with or without new-generation technological devices. This course provides with not only tools, but a new way to spot the use of tools and how to adapt them in specific contexts.

I am thankful for this course and the opportunity to share along through this blog all we have learnt; our work and this useful information.

Russell Díaz.

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How WE use videos in the ELT classroom - Part 2

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How WE use videos in the ELT classroom - Part 2

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In today's post we will continue with our original and creative use of videos in the classroom.

Here we have Denisse's material. It is a full 60 min lesson plan for Pre-Intermediate learners. It focuses on quantifiers and it is avaliable if you need some inspiration for your class.

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How WE use videos in the ELT classroom - Part 3

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How WE use videos in the ELT classroom - Part 3

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To finish this series off we have Russell's instructional material.
He shows us how we can use popular cartoon clips (like the hilarious Mr.Bean) for your class and focus on communicative skills.

Check out his lesson plan here for more ideas and ways on how we use videos in the classroom.

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As far from my personal experience, this course has been such a great help for my future teaching practice. It helped me to understand the concept of Active Learning and all of its aspects.

Rather than just an approach, it is a student-centered methodology in which learners are expected to put that extra effort into the classroom.

I also learned about a particular characteristic that is of greater relevance in this new digital era: the generation gap.

New generations will be digital natives and soon our teaching approach  will have to lean towards innovative and technological instructional material.

Another thing I liked was the use of videos in the classroom. I have used these type of resources before but I found so many other ways on how and when to use them. One activity I really liked was the Voiceover. I would have never thought of doing such thing, it was an amazing idea that certainly has a lot of potential if done properly.

I learned a lot of new softwares and programs to be used in the Active Approach. My personal favorite were Picktochart, Kahoot!, and Pear Deck.

Overall, this summer course was a great one. I learned a lot, I worked with new people and had a good time in the classroom.

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Yes, you read that correctly.
This post will be dedicated on how we can engage our students using their smartphones for academic purposes.

Sounds impossible to believe that ths can be actually done,  but nowdays thecnology has developed so much to the point that we no longer have to adapt programms for educational purposes. In fact, all these 3 apps are classroom friendly and appropriaste for most schools.
Therefore, we will talk about  3 websites (along with their apps) student AND teacher friendly.

We will begin discussing about Kahoot!

If you have never heard of Kahoot! before, you either live under a rock or your teaching methods are too old fashioned.
Kahoot! is an app where you can create and play interactive quizzes, discussions, surveys, and its newest feature, jumble.

We love immplementing Kahoots in our classes. Students love playing with Kahoots because they are visually attractive, have engaging sound effects and overall they are easy to use.

Make sure you check out Kahoot! here: https://create.kahoot.it/

Our second page is called Socrative. It is a webpage where students  log in into a room and interact through the use of electronic devices. They can share their anwers in different formats such as multiple choice, short answers or true/false. .
Socrative also has the feature of Quizzes, where you can also make them fun by creating Space Races.

This one is a little more complicated than Kahoot!, but do not be intimidated. When used effectily,  it can create an increadible classroom enviroment.

Create your Socrative rooms and quizzes here: https://b.socrative.com/login/teacher/

Our last app we want to share is Pear Deck.Different from the last two apps, this one works using slide show presentations.

Students also need to access using a code given by the teacher, and simmilarly to Socrative, the teacher controls the class around the app.

The interface is super easy to use. You can even vinculate your Google Drive account and import PPT presentations you have previously made, which is a great help of you want to update your materials.

Students will definely enjoy using this app, since now they can participate during the slide show instead of just listening to a lecutre. They can answer your questions by giving thumbs up or thumbs down, making a drawing, rating from 1 to 10 and so on.

Start creating you first Pear Deck at: https://www.peardeck.com/

That is all for today's post. Hope you liked these ideas and apps for you to use in your class.

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How WE use videos in the ELT classroom - Part 1

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How WE use videos in the ELT classroom - Part 1

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On the previous post we discussed how videos are used in the ELT classroom and their pros and cons. This time around we will share with you some ideas for you to implement the Active Learning Approach with the use of videos.

This will be divided into  sections, where each of member of our team will share instructional material for you to use or adapt in your class. All of our lesson plans are 60 min long, quite detailed and include the student handouts for further reference.

First we have Elsy's lesson plan: Confessions of and Idiom.

You can watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=124cvNuieSA and check the full lesson plan below.

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Why do we think this is necessary for our teaching strategies?

Miller’s work proposal can be described as an altruistic act for professors willing to evolve in implementing technology in the class. Working over two years on this project, allows us to understand how committed he is with nowadays education; opening a big window for improvement and open-mindedness regarding using technological aids into the class.

Our team consider his strategies useful either to follow what he suggests, or going for further information. Every concept and technique he mentions promotes acquiring a vast number of materials to use either for presenting information, improving students’ attention, assessing content, giving feedback or reinforcing students’ work positively.

Finally, one thought to have in mind, which Matt addresses extensively is: “Why do we always have to rely on a text book when we can be creative and use our skills through technology?”

For further information, you can check Matt Miller’s blog “Ditch that Textbook” here: http://ditchthattextbook.com/
And you can get his two newest e-books FOR FREE here: http://ditchthattextbook.com/2014/11/06/tech-and-pirate-teaching-meet-in-free-the-digital-pirate-ebook/

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We have a new infographic for you. This time we bring a top 5 about apps you can use in the classroom! Are you ready to rock them all?

ENJOY IT!

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Today we are introducing Matt Miller: high school Spanish teacher, blogger of Ditch that Textbook  and most recently, author of “101 Practical Ways to Ditch that Textbook” and “The Digital Pirate”.

His work focuses on innovative ways to integrate technology in and outside the classroom. In his newest book, “101 Practical Ways to Ditch that Textbook”, he gives us slightly over a hundred new ideas on how to use online resources to your advantage.

In “The Digital Pirate”, he shares 20 different activities using 20 new apps/webpages for you to use in your classroom. He also makes an interesting analogy of why teachers should teach like a pirate.

"Pirates are daring and adventurous. They sail into uncharted territories with no guarantee of success. They reject the status quo and refuse to conform to any society that stifles creativity and independence. And besides, everybody loves a pirate."

This is something that we as teachers can relate to and find inspiring for our teaching practice.

Therefore, our team has gathered  all of these useful tips for you to enhance your classroom and motivate your students.

To begin with, we show you our top 5 ideas for you to rock that class!

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How to use videos in the English Language Classroom

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How to use videos in the English Language Classroom

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Videos are a great resource to use in the language classroom. They can be fun and entertaining to watch, but we must be aware of how to use them appropriately.

In this post we will share some of our tips to use videos as an instructional material:

1) Set a purpose for using a video. Is it included in students' needs?

2)Videos cannot be too long. They need to catch the attention of students.

3) Make sure you have the necessary equipment. Projector, speakers, screen.

4)Videos should be appropriate in language, content and level.

What  are  the  pros and cons of videos?

PROS:

Students are exposed to authentic English in a real context

Visual elements stimulates students senses

Pausing and rewinding allows flexible learning

Videos are portable

CONS:

Technical problems

Inappropriate language and content

They tend to be heavy files

Videos are hard to edit

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This is a collaborative presentation about The net generation and digital natives: implications for higher education.

Here you can find the full article: http://oro.open.ac.uk/30014/1/Jones_and_Shao-Final.pdf

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The Net Generation and Digital Natives.pptx

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We discussed with our colleagues about three different approaches:

1) Zone of Proximal Development

2) Collaborative/Cooperative learning

3) Student-centered learning/education

Here we have a Venn Diagram to explain and relate these terms.

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It is time for a new "Infographic series". This post is all about Instructional Materials In ELT.

Instructional materials are tools used in educational lessons, which includes active learning and assessment.

Basically, any resource a teacher uses to help him teach his students is an instructional material.

This was created yet again using https://piktochart.com/

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Our newest series will be the "Infographic Series" where we present different visuals to explore the various topics of ELT.

This time, for our first post in the series we have the Active Approach In ELT, presented in an Infogram.

We summarized the research from The Journal Of Current Research In Science called:  Active Approach in Teaching Grammar to Bilingual EFL Learners. Make sure you read the to find further information about this research here: http://www.jcrs010.com/Data/Default/2016/Issue%201/16.pdf

This infogram was created using https://piktochart.com/

Hope you enjoy it!

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Today we will look at our first topic: Active Learning.

Active learning is an approach to instruction in which students engage the material they study through reading, writing, talking, listening, and reflecting.

In here we share with you this graphic organizer of an article by Cambrige International Examinations Teaching and Learning Team. In here it explains the Importance and Challenges of Active Learning.

Check out the diagram in better resolution with Popplet: http://popplet.com/app/#/4112757
And, you can find the full article here: http://www.cambridge-community.org.uk/professional-development/gswal/index.html

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We are glad you can check our blog, where you can find plenty of stuff like the latest trends in English Language Teaching, various graphic organizers and many materials and resources for your class.

We hope these posts are useful to you and remember to share your thoughts with us and give a like!

Kind regards, Elsy, Denisse and Russell.