Teacher Trails

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...

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

Everybody likes listening to a good story.  Have you ever wondered why?  What do you think about this statement? Do you agree?  A story can put your whole brain to work.   This article may give you a few ideas on the power of storytelling.    The Science of Storytelling .   Which are, in your opinion, the main concepts? What do you think about the suggestions for telling stories? Do you have any of your own? There are a million ways in which we can tell a story. An interesting game to develop a number of skills is the following: "This quasi-experimental web site is designed to foster visual thinking and build stories. It  draws upon collections of photos specified by a tag in  Flickr . You are dealt five random photos for each draw, and your task is to select one each time to add to a selection of images, that taken together as a final set of 5 images- tell a story in pictures." F ive Card Stor...

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?

Some time ago I heard someone say we are living in "interesting times for teachers." Definitely! Never before have I seen educational issues discussed and debated in such a way. Of course we have a tool we did not have before: technology. This allows us to connect with colleagues, working and learning together, sharing what we are doing, how we do it and the results we are getting. But technology is not just a means of communication, it is present in everybody's daily life and schools cannot ignore this. It now stands at the classroom's door trying to enter and become a powerful partner. Technology is not just an incredible collection of relevant information updated to the minute. It allows us to connect what happens in school with the real world, contributing to the significance and purpose of what happens in the classroom. A common mistake is to think that ...

Hace unas horas volvimos de un nuevo encuentro con docentes donde buscamos  compartir nuestra experiencia en la integración de la tecnología a las prácticas en el aula. Y es tan visible el proceso por el que pasan mientras se acercan, abren sus maquinas y se preparan para empezar. Con un poco de intriga y hasta reparo, un poco de curiosidad pero también convencimiento  de que tenemos que cambiar, entregan desinteresadamente su tiempo y se disponen a dar estos primeros pasos. Y aunque ya van varios grupos con los que hemos compartido, no deja de conmovernos la disposición, la  voluntad y ganas para entregarse, para intentar rediseñar lo que hasta ahora venimos haciendo frente a nuestros alumnos, a probar otro lugar. Porque sabemos que en estos primeros pasos lo presencial y el acompañamiento definen la relación, es que planteamos estos espacios. Claro que lo virtual es el mejor medio por todas las ventajas que habilita, pero sólo después de establecida esta "empatía" ent...

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 ...

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...