Teacher Trails

These days, when globalization reigns and boundaries between countries are dissipating, a virus is calling us to do our best and share what we can. In our case, we feel that going back to social networks is fundamental to be with others and add our little grain of sand. In these circumstances, we are encouraged to contribute our experience and share what it was like to move into the virtual world on a previous opportunity ( influenza A (H1N1) in a K-12 school in Buenos Aires (June 2009). Once again this has become a necessity in order to shorten distances and continue with our work. With this in mind, we want to share what we learned and "harvested" from the mistakes and successes during that time. It is not our intention to "determine" how or what to do but, to open an invitation to think together what it means to teach in times of physical isolation.  We will try to present some ideas, even the most obvious ones; sharing our doubts, mistakes, concern...

At the end of the year, teachers have tons of dates and assignments we need to comply with, that is the case here and in almost every educational setting I can think of.  Last weekend I wanted to send a reminder of the dates we needed to take into account in the following weeks but I wanted something that could make it memorable, I didn´t want to send an ordinary reminder.  Something different...  a   card ? a short video?  a  presentation?  Bearing in mind one of my main objectives is to show teachers different tools and how they can be used for educational purposes I wanted something new...  that´s  when I remembered QR codes. Just what I was looking for, and I could show how they could be used!  What are QR codes?  Mashable  explains:  QR Code (abbreviated from Quick Response Code) is the trademark for a type of matrix barcode (or two-dimensional code) first designed for the automotive industry. More recently, the sys...

Jonathan Acuña is an ELT Instructor & Trainer. He was hired to train a group of teachers in Costa Rica. He starts by addressing an interesting question,  Why were/are they so reluctant to using technology? Read his blog post and go over some of the highlighted concepts:  comfort zone  develop technological competences  self-training Exploring ELT Teachers' Reluctance Towards Technology 1. What do you understand by "comfort zone"? 2. What type of "technological competencies" do you think teachers need to develop? 3. Do you think it is possible to self-train in order to develop these competencies? If not, how do you think this could be done? 4 Have a look at this image. What message do you think it is trying to convey? Do you agree? 5. What about you? How many hours of computer training did you receive? What do you think about technology integration to classroom settings?

I opened this space to think and share what I find, what I do but also to think in a loud voice so that hopefully, others might read and share their thoughts as well. Some may agree, others won't. I know I can think a lot better when I'm thinking WITH others.  Many times my posts have to do with what I find or read from other colleagues, seldom can I remember how I got there, organisation is not one of my assets although I work hard to improve this. A few days ago, my colleagues and I finished a 4 meeting Professional Development course we prepared for a group of secondary school teachers on integrating technology to their daily practice, it all ended on such a high note!  In my experience, teachers are always thankful when you share information, experiences and tips.  They look so enthusiastic and are ready to share what works for them in their groups.  All the same, sometimes I stop and wonder how many are willing to take the plunge, leave "common groun...

Another great post by Dean Shareski “ How To Make Better Teachers “. His idea is clear and simple: use a blog, to connect with others, to tell them about what you are doing, to learn with and from others, and also to show your students you are ready to go through the experience yourself. It is also an excellent way so as to leave a trail of your daily activities, efforts, achievements, reflections, and more. There is a whole community of teachers ready to learn and share with you, so take the plunge and get a blog  How to Make Better Teachers If you still have doubts, here’s a great example of two teachers 565 miles apart who share their class experiences in this blog. So, if you think you are not ready to go alone, grab a friend and jump in hand in hand! Two Writing Teachers In my case, my blog is the place where I record my ideas, think with others, keep track of interesting material I come across. The closest thing to a box or folder where I keep my material, nowadays ...

Hace unos meses, después de una reunión muy "particular", me senté a escribir este post quizás como una forma de plasmar la experiencia. Hoy, con la distancia que otorga el tiempo, me decido a publicarlo. Las maquinas de impedir tienen varias formas, tamaños y colores, algunas hasta pueden venir con diseños florales. Se las puede encontrar en los lugares más insospechados aunque es muy común descubrirlas en importantes oficinas. Algunas no son tan fáciles de identificar, a veces se esconden detrás una pantalla de eficiencia e influencia. No te dejes engañar si comienzan haciendo preguntas pertinentes o toman nota como si estuvieran prestando atención; en realidad si te fijás bien, vas a ver un detalle que las delata: la boca fruncida, signo evidente que solo escriben para ganar tiempo y pensar de qué forma rechazan tu propuesta. Las maquinas de impedir tienen cientos de maneras de contestar cuanta propuesta de HACER le lleves, las más desarrolladas proponen pruebas para au...

En los últimos tiempo mucho se habla de la integración de la tecnología al ámbito escolar. Es evidente la gran resistencia que desde siempre presentó la escuela a varios intentos de “modernización”; sino cómo explicar que en los últimos 50 años no se hayan observado cambios significativos en su estructura. ¿Qué debe hacer la escuela frente al dilema de la inclusión de las nuevas tecnologías? ¿Qué desafíos pedagógicos generan? ¿Cuál es el rol de la escuela? Y el de los docentes? Las nuevas tecnologías desbaratan las prácticas pedagógicas tradicionales, el modo discursivo, el docente como poseedor de todas las respuestas correctas. Derrumban su estructura, su organización, su planteo áulico y discrepan con las habilidades y el valor de los contenidos que transmite. Algunos docentes por vocación se sienten inseguros, de hecho no fueron capacitados para integrar la tecnología a sus prácticas diarias cuando transitaron el Profesorado; les inquieta ingresar a un aula en la que se s...

Uno de los blogs que sigo es el de Seth Godin siempre tiene temáticas interesantes y que invitan a pensar como esta: "Ideas that spread, win". Creo que ese es el punto de partida y gran cambio, sobretodo para los que crecimos en un mundo donde la idea general era que compartir devaluaba el conocimiento que se poseía.