The future is already here

This year I decided that I wasn't going to work anymore in language schools (or frontisterio as they are called in Greek). It wasn't just the low wages or lack of job security that prompted the decision but also the fact that nothing seems to change.

Actually, that is a lie there has been lots of change but none of it forward. Responding to the growth in choice in exams students can take most schools have a curriculum that amounts to little more than doing old test papers for years on end. I just couldn't face doing that for another year as it would amount to undergoing a voluntary lobotomy.

Instead I decided that I would do just private lessons not simply because the pay is better and people treat you with more respect but also I can teach in a manner that recognises that we are in fact living in the 21st century and not recycling the 19th.

Today I will be teaching the difference between how much and how many in English and the various grammatical rules that these words represents. If I was doing that in a school this would probably mean wading through a chapter of turgid explanations that are dull and difficult for many to understand.

Afterwards, there would be the obligatory pages full of exercise designed to supposedly reinforce the alleged learning that had taken place. Of course, there are students that thrive on such an approach but they are a minority. The majority either find such explanations incomprehensible or mind numbingly boring.

The beauty of computer technology and especially the internet is that it allows us to vary our teaching approach and find alternatives that fit in with how they learn. A case in point would be teaching how much/how many.

One way would be to find a picture of a street, room, fridge etc and then use Flickr notes (click here to see a explanation) to label the image with the correct term. e.g How many apples are there in the fridge? and then get their partners to answer. The picture could then be used to teach the others in the class each person taking turns to use it to teach the rule to the rest of their group or class. Also it could be added to a class/personal blog as part of an electronic portfolio.


Alternatively, you could get students to video (using their cell phones) a classroom, road, home etc and them use Windows Movie Maker (which comes as standard with every copy of Windows) to make a presentation in which the students ask questions such as, how much snow can you see? etc.

See video below on how to use the programme.



As you can see there are just a few of the ways we can use computers and the internet as something more than a glorified course book and allow our students to learn in other ways which fit in with own style.

I've found that when students have access to the internet during a lesson teaching possibilities expand exponentially. Occasionally, this is not possible and I feel that I've gone back, something akin to being forced to use chalk and a slate.

The power of lists

Top 10 list, originally uploaded by jennifer*clare.

This is something I've been doing recently with my private students as a way of getting them to use their blogs. Basically, I ask them to write a down a list of their favourite cars/songs/film/musicals etc with a picture/video to illustrate them. The idea is that they write a paragraph for each of their choices and add an appropriate link. However, to make things more interesting I then ask them to use this material as the basis of a short video in which they discuss their lists.

With either Windows Movie Maker or Photostory 3 they use photos and/or video to narrate a short clip explaining their choices complete with music and titles.

"The Seattle of the Balkans"

Photo by Puja

I promised Theodora that I would come up with a lesson for the New York Times article on Thessaloniki (click here). So here it is. Basically, it's for upper-intermediate and advanced EFL, ESL students.

Lesson plans

1 Ask you students where Seattle is. Ideally you should have access to a map of the States or the world.

2 Ask them what they know about the place. There's a god chance that they nothing, in which case ask them to write down some facts about the place based on the information in the map.

e.g. "It's near the sea"

or

"It must be quite cold in winter as it near Canada."


Alternatively, if you have access to the internet ask them to look at the place in Google Earth and ask them to comment on the layout, size and homes there.

3 Now ask students to quickly read the main part of the article and guess what Seattle must be like. What reminded them of Seattle?

e.g "Well, they talk about all the cafes and bars in Thessaloniki, so Seattle must have something simiar."

4 For homework ask the students to so some research on the internet to five five similarities and differences between the two cities.

Ideas for follow - up activities

1 Students create their own Thessaloniki tourist poster complete with slogan.

2 They create a magazine cover using either their own photos or ones from Flickr and this Flick Toys application.

3 They create their own 30 second ad for the city using either Windows Movie Maker or Photo Story 3. This can be done with photos (either their own or taken off the internet) or video recorded by digital camera or even mobile phones.

All of these suggestions can then be posted on the class or student's blog.

A Moment in Time

Photo by Mike Grenville

Apparently, yesterday was World Storytelling Day and so BBC Five Live asked listeners to send in emails, text messages etc describing what they were doing at midday on Tuesday 20th March. If you click here you can what kind of responses they got.

This sounds like a great idea for a lesson, i.e. ask your students what they were doing/thinking about at a particular time on the day of the lesson. Their answers can be posted on their blog(s) as text or in the form of a YouTube video.

Alternatively, you could ask them to take a picture at say 3.00 pm Thursday 22nd March and post it on their Flickr page along with a suitable title and description. See here for Five Live's photo set.

My Top 10 of 2006

Photo by Teacher Dude

In keeping with the spirit of this time of year I’ve decided to compile my own top ten sites on the internet for 2007. They are in no particular order and represent no more than my own personal preference. They are all ones I’ve visited or used regularly over the last 12 months.

1 - YouTube. Whether it’s looking for an obscure music video or finding a forum to display your latest mini - epic then this is the place. For me the site has given my two great opportunities; as a teacher it allows me to show students a way to share their own videos and so gives them an incentive to get to grips with the often complicated technology involved. As a budding film maker (hey, stop giggling there at the back!) it has meant that I can try out ideas that I’ve had floating around for years and see what people think.

2 - Flickr - Since I got broadband my use of Flickr has really taken off. It has reawakened my love of photography that has lain dormant for nearly 20 years. I’m now starting to use the site in my teaching practice, both as a means of getting student reaction and a way for them to reach out to the outside world by sharing their photos. See here and here to see some examples.

3 -In Our Time - This BBC podcast, hosted by Melvyn Bragg has been a source of joy for me over the last year. Every week Bragg hosts a discussion on different topics, which range from the role Indian mathematics to the fall of Constantinople. Philosophy, science, art, history and politics are all discussed in way that neither excludes the non - expert nor patronises them.

4 -Ted Talks - I can’t remember where exactly I came across the link to this site, but I do remember the blog saying if you listen to two or three of these ( you can either see them as video or listen to them as a podcast) in a row then it will change the way you see the world. A big claim but one I feel is true. Every year TED holds a conference and ask people with new and innovative ideas to talk for just 20 minutes. The results are amazing. What to recommend first? Check out Bono’s acceptance speech (he won a Ted award in 2006) or Negroponte on the 100 dollar laptop. Do yourself a favour and set aside time to see two or three talks - you won’t regret it.

5 - Cool Cat Teacher’s Blog - Whenever I want to know what I would like to do in the future as far as the web and teaching goes then all I have to do is go to this wonderful blog full of inspiring and practical ideas. It shows what “ordinary” teachers can do if they have drive, enthusiasm and imagination. If anyone is pushing the envelope in education then it is Vicki Davis. I wonder if her students realise how lucky they are?

6 - Mabryonline.org. This school site, or to be more accurate collection of blogs cobbled together to look like a unified site is another inspiring story. Originally set up by the headmaster of the Georgia middle school it gets more than 1,5 million visits per month. It is a great example of how a few dedicated people using limited resources can produce a fabulous place for their students to express themselves. It has really opened my eyes to what I could do with blogs.

7 - Sitemeter - This addictive site is everything a narcassistic blogger could want for. Find out everything about people visiting your site from what screen resolution they’re using to how they found you on Google.

8 - Skype video - I still find this technology as amazing as if they’d brought out a tractor beam or matter transporter.Chatting with my family In England on their video service is an awesome experience, epecially when you consider that it costs nothing!!!!!!!!! Also try out Skypecasting as a way of getting in touch with other people across the globe.

9 - Dekita.org is a site dedicated to allowing student bloggers to get in touch with one another wherever they are in the world. I have just started to exploit the possibilities this offers with my students. Next year is going to see some really exciting possibilities as far as my own student bloggers are concerned as they start to get feedback on their class and individual blogs.

10 Technorati is to blogging what Google is to search engines and so has been one of my favourite destinations on the web. It’s a wonderful way to see into thousands of disparate lives, to flit across the face of the planet in a matter of minutes or truly discover what it is to be a different person for hours.

What about you? What's your top ten for 2006?

Vlogging and EFL/ESL

For those of you unaware of the term a vlog is an amalgamation of the words video and blog. Basically, instead of writing a post, you record it on video. I thought that this might be a good way to spark more student interest in their blogs. I've only just started doing this as I only recently got broadband at home. On a standard 56kps dial - up it's not really feasible to upload large files.

Here is a lesson I did yesterday.

Lesson Plan

I Write on the board or hand out a photocopy with the following situation;

Imagine a situation:

You're the head of a refugee camp somewhere in a poor, developing country. The annual crops have failed once again and thousand of people arrive at the camp seeking food and medical help. The problem is that you have supplies enough for, at most 5000 refugees, however another 15,000 have come. As the days pass the death rates, especially amongst the very young and the very old rise dramatically. Despite repeated calls to the international community the aid promised by western governments fails to appear.

At this point a local drugs baron/warlord appears on the scene and makes a proposal; in return for supplying food and medical supplies for the camp you must agree to let him use the place as a cover for his cocaine/heroin/etc production facilities.

Do you agree?

2 Go through any possible problems with vocabulary.

3 Divide the class into groups of three or four students and ask each one to make a decision. Give them five to ten minutes for this.

4 Go round the class and elicit their decision. Alternatively, set up a debate in which those who agree have to discuss their choice with those that disagree.

5 Explain that now a spokesperson from each group is going to justify their opinion in a statement of between 30 and 60 seconds and that you will record it on video and put it on their class blog. The other members of the group will help the speaker with the wording of the statement.

6 Each group chooses a spokesperson (they will probably need some conjoling for this).

7 Go to a quiet place in the class or better still outside and video the student.

8 Post the videos via, say YouTube on their blog. The other students have to write their opinions on the blog.


See here for yesterday's lesson

Updating class blogs

This year I decided that I would post all the homework I set on the class blog. One reason behind this (beyond the obvious ones) is that I hope through this to encourage students to view and participate in the blog more often. My problem up till now has been that because students don't really have access to the internet at school I have to rely on them figuring out problems at home. Also since blogging is my own personal initiative, and not really part of the curriculum I'm having a hard time persuading students to contribute.