Using the IWB has Changed how I approach my Lessons

Now that teaching has been part of my life for almost two decades, I have been part of two huge changes in my classroom board work: from black chalkboard, to whiteboard & pens, now thankfully, IWB and all the joy it brings to both my students and myself. There are literally thousands of blogs out there, as you are all perfectly aware, and probably a part of, stating this magnificent news that classrooms have become more interactive and electronically alive.

It is the most exciting time in my teaching career for sure, and I would love to share some of the functions of the free and brilliant web 2.0 desktop software that we use on the IWB for in our classes at my preparation-for-high school grade. In particular, TRIPTICO, which is software that sits on your desktop waiting for you to share with your students. It is basically TOO COOL for SCHOOL.

Although there are more than a dozen different applications within the software, I would like to share with you a couple at this juncture: CLASS GROUP MAKER which is a way to get , your students to get into groups without the usual teenage desire to ask why?, or, really? It removes the slowness and unwillingness to make choices and decisions from their, generally, confused minds. This application was welcomed by all the students and I am so pleased that it is now something we simply announce, and the students gleefully accept without hesitation. Here you can see that in a class of eleven we can break the class down into FOUR groups, and each group is also colourcoded, so as to avoid any confusion.

The second incredibly useful application within the TRIPTICO suite, and one to which I am so pleased that David (its creator and quite simply, UK’s altruism-Web 2.0-meister) has gone out of his way, at no expense to us, the users, to create, is a marvellous assist for the classroom. It is the CARDBOARD, and basically the teacher/trainer makes flashcards for the students to choose from. Here you can see the front page of the app. There are three choices: “Load” / “Create” a card set, or watch a demo (which really isn’t necessary, as it is as simple as teaching. (with this app, REALLY!)

So, once you have made your cards, you then load the set from your desktop. In this case I have used the cards as the platform for students to be reminded of their WEEKLY ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS. Apart from having the EQs posted on the all and on the class EDMODO page, I feel it is necessary to use the last fifteen minutes on a Friday afternoon, just before the students have left for the weekend, to remind them of what they have garnered and learned from the week. Ok, after the cards have been made, load them and the cards are shuffled into a group for students to pick a number. As you can see, I have made seven cards to correspond with the EQs of the week. Although there are more than seven students in the class, this doesn’t matter, since it is hoped that all of the EQs are important for ALL of the students, so no matter which one they choose, they should be able to answer it with confidence and knowledge. So, the students pick, and the cards are shown by the computer in a beautifully crafted font that I really like. This application works on many levels for the students. It, of course, reminds them of the EQs and allows them the chance to choose which one they will answer in their PENZU JOURNAL on the weekend. Moreover, it is quirky and interesting to see the EQs off paper and into the cyberworld we geeky folk simply love. I really believe that David over at Triptico has done us all a great service, and he needs to be rewarded with every innovative and altruistic plaudit out their in Web 2 world. Thanks again David, you are AWESOME!!.

Working during a holiday, it’s really fruitful

A teacher’s work is never done! It is, therefore, a fallacy for people who are not teachers to continually flout the idea that teachers have it easy with all their holidays. The truth is we do take our work home with us at all times, and a holiday is never one in the conventional sense of the word.

The current trend for our school ministry is to give school wide  communities the chance to be free of teaching contact-hours every two months or so. This means we are in a really good position to give even more effort throughout the whole year, as we can recharge our motivational batteries, and relocate our intrinsically driven inspiration.

That is what makes us teachers. We believe in our career as the backbone of any society. It is the career that has the chance to shape children for a successful future, or at least open up opportunities for them to make those independent learning choices.

This, however, does need time away from school. We need to have the luxury of choosing what we do in the time off, so that the best preparation work can be done. Take me, for example, and this current three-day holiday. I have prepared the templates for the new class Newsletter, the UbD curriculum and transposed the latest Pixar short, “Toys in Hawaii” and worked out how to use “subtitle workshop,” so that I can do an extension activity with my students on translation, listening, writing and open group discussions.

Do I feel burned out, tired, bored, fed up, angry, or any other emotional palaver with the work-in-the-holiday paradigm? The answer: unequivocally is, NO!  The past four days have been so productive in terms of my class preparation, that it has made me want to delve into more digital form filling, and blog about it. This new blog has been opened via my iPad 2, and it is designed to rattle off rants on ideas and teaching suggestions from my own experiences, and class room productivity. I hope to build an active teachers forum and community where we can share and build on what we learn and do in the classroom.

So, as an independent blogger, there is no reference to my place of work as I do not want any affiliation to that space on this blog, other than the activities done in the class and prepared for the classes therein. So, if any teachers want to be a part of my new blogging experience, please add your comments and ideas to it. We might end up with something to share with the larger ELT/ESL teaching community around the world.