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...

We´ll read the following article and the video and take down notes.    33 Digital Skills Every 21st Century Teacher Should Have A Vision of 21st Century Teachers Activity:  Have a look at the list of web tools included in the article. Choose one and prepare a presentation to share with your peers next class. 

Fill in the questionnaire and discover what type of teacher you are. What kind of teacher are you? So, how did it go? Do you think your results describe your teaching style?  This may prompt some further thoughts on how you might improve some things in the classroom and in your teaching.  Be ready to share your results with your peers. What about teaching today? Has your teaching changed in the last years? Read the article and prepare a word cloud with the main concepts.  33 Digital Skills Every 21st Century Teacher Should Have I made mine with  Tagxedo

Building Excellence in Student Work Through Critique and Revision What do you know about peer feedback? Have you ever tried it in any of your classes? Now let´s watch the following video. "This six-minute video gives a clear picture of how student work can improve through focused critique. It shows the evolution of a scientific illustration of a butterfly through multiple drafts toward a high-quality final product." Austin's Butterfly: Building Excellence in Student Work from EL Education on Vimeo . So far so good, but....  is  there anything we (teachers) can learn in relation to our own learning? State 3 ideas you can pick from the video which  describe  the aspects  you´d  highlight.  The following article provides some ideas particularly suitable for young learners. Have a look at the four ideas described and share your ideas with the group.  Strategies to enhance peer feedback Two stars and a wish Plus, minus and what...

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?

Weathering e-motions (when Integrating Technology) on Prezi There’s a lot going on regarding Technology Integration to educational settings. In my view, there’s still a participant in this whole story who’s not receiving the necessary attention which will provoke the changes we expect: Teachers . If we don’t pay attention to what teachers feel and go through, technology will fill in classrooms but we won’t be able to make the most of them and all the possibilities they can offer. It is the teaching not the technology we need to focus on. Even more, positive teacher attitudes towards computing are critical if computers are to be effectively integrated into classroom settings (1). Technology integration is a complex phenomenon that involves understanding teacher’s motivations, perceptions and beliefs about learning and technology (2). It has all to do with pedagogy and little with technology in itself.  It has very little to do with teaching basic computer skills a...

En la ruta, atravesando kilómetros entre campos sembrados y agricultores para los que no figura el domingo en sus calendarios, volvemos a Buenos Aires. Después de asistir al 50 aniversario de la 1era Escuela Normal Provincial de la ciudad de El Colorado provincia de Formosa, donde como testigo en primera fila, presencié infinidad de abrazos de reencuentro y anécdotas del proceso de fundación que entre risas y lagrimas se compartían. Y es difícil no conmoverse también ante tanta historia de entrega desinteresada, tanta energía del primer cargo puesta en pelearle al analfabetismo, apostando a un futuro mejor también para los que no viven en las grandes ciudades. Y conocí cantidad de maestros, educadores con mayúsculas que describían imágenes que, desde la experiencia personal, se ven como heroicos aunque los pintan como actos mínimos y cotidianos, lo que agiganta a sus autores. Historias que permitían representar al chacarero inmigrante, llevando a sus hijos a la escuela apostando a...

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 qu...