9 - Activity with Slides

Post-reading an article

e.g.: Project about a famous person

After having read an article about a famous person, students will be asked to choose a famous person whom they admire the most. 

They will have to search for information and pictures using the following questions as a guide:

1. What is his/her name? His/her name is…
2. Why do you admire this person? (4 REASONS) I admire him/her because he/she is …
3. When was he/she born? He/She was born on …
4. How was his/her childhood? When he/she was a child, he/she …
5. Where did he/she live as a child? As a child, he/she lived in …
6. Where does he/she live nowadays? Nowadays, he/she lives in …
7. What does he/she like? He/She likes …
8. If you met him/her in person (face to face), what would you say? If I met him/her in person, I would say “…”

Then, the students will create a presentation using what they have researched.

Finally, they will deliver their presentation to their classmates.

The teacher will assess:

• Oral presentation

• Grammar & Lexis

• Different parts in a presentation (e.g. index, references) 

Check this sample:

References

• Slides – Create and share presentations online. (n.d.). Retrieved October 20, 2016, from https://slides.com/

8 - Tutorial #4: Slides

What is Slides?

Slides is a place for creating, presenting and sharing slide decks. The Slides editor is available online. Unlike traditional presentation software there is no need to download anything. Everything you create is stored securely on the website’s servers, accessible wherever you are.

How can this tool be applied in the classroom?

This tool can be applied as the basis for a research project on any topic of the lesson. Students may start working at school, and then access to their work at home, without needing to download anything. Also, this online tool can be used to create a story and students can add images, set the transition, and add their own voices to the presentation.

Why should teachers choose this online tool?

According to Younie and Leask (2013), Web 2.0 technologies provide opportunities for collaborative knowledge building and peer challenge which previously simply did not exist. By using this tool, teachers can be assured that students will work collaboratively since they can add collaborators (even the teacher can be included). Moreover, slides decks are freely viewable anywhere on desktop, tablets and phones. They can be embedded inside of a site or blog and downloaded for full offline access; they can be exported as a PDF, shared or printed for the class to see the presentation.

How do we use this tool?

Check this tutorial on how to use Slides! : )

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Click on Activity with Slides to see an example of how to apply this tool in your lessons.

References

• Blehm, A. (Producer). (2016, October 30). Tutorial #4: Slides [Video file]. In YouTube. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/dJLDNzjgmNw

• Slides – Create and share presentations online. (n.d.). Retrieved October 20, 2016, from https://slides.com/

• Younie, S., & Leask, M. (2013). Teaching with technologies: The essential guide. Maidenhead, England: Open University Press. 

7 - Activity with Canva

Post-reading activity/project

e.g.: A Canterville Ghost Advertisement

After having read “The Canterville Ghost”, students will be divided into groups of four. 

They will be asked to create an advertisement related to one of the products used in the story (the products may be repeated).

Also, students will have to create a catchy song for their oral presentation to the class.

Then, students will present their advertisement to the class.

Students will choose: 

• the most interesting advertisement/s 

• "the catchiest song"

The teacher will assess: 

• Oral presentation.

• Grammar & Lexis.

• The use of the tool.

Check this sample:

References

• Canva. (n.d.). Retrieved October 20, 2016, from https://www.canva.com/

• Escott, J., Durantz, S., & Wilde, O. (2008). The Canterville ghost. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

6 - Tutorial #3: Canva

What is Canva?

Canva is an online tool to design presentations, social media graphics and more with thousands of layouts. What makes this tool so appealing are the drag-and-drop feature and professional layouts to design consistently stunning graphics. Users can design with millions of stock photographs, vectors, illustrations and even upload their own photos. 

How can this tool be applied in the classroom?

This tool can be applied as an after reading activity or to revise vocabulary items. For example, students can create advertisements related to the unit they have been working on or design photo collages from a recent school trip. 

Why should teachers choose this online tool?

Teachers should choose this tool because it is user friendly and is not time-consuming. According to Warschauer and Grimes (2007) Web 2.0 allows more interactive forms of publishing, participation, and networking. This tool can not only be downloaded but also shared with other users from the world.

How do we use this tool?

Check this tutorial on how to use Canva : )

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Click on Activity with Canva to see an example of how to apply this tool in your lessons.

References

• Blehm, A. (Producer). (2016, October 30). Tutorial #3: Canva [Video file]. In YouTube. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/F6po4F8uMHI

• Canva. (n.d.). Retrieved October 20, 2016, from https://www.canva.com/

• Thomas, M. (Ed.). (2009). Handbook of research on Web 2.0 and second language learning.

5 - Activity with PosterMyWall

Post-reading activity for a reader

E.g. The Canterville Ghost: Post-reading activity

After having read “The Canterville Ghost”, students will be divided into groups of four.

They will be asked to create a poster related to the story. 

They may choose:

• a specific scene (e.g. the day the family moved to the Canterville Chase)

• a post-story scene (e.g. the wedding of Virginia)

• an invented scene from the story (e.g. a Halloween party or a garage sale)

Then, they will do a draft on a Word document. 

After the teacher checks the first draft, the students will access the website and create their own posters. 

Finally, they will present their posters to the class.

Each group will have to choose:

• Which was the funniest poster?

• Which was the most interesting poster?

• Which poster was better presented?

The teacher will assess:

• Oral presentation

• Grammar & Lexis

• The use of the tool and collaborative work. 

Check this sample:

References

• Escott, J., Durantz, S., & Wilde, O. (2008). The Canterville ghost. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• 250Mils LLC (n.d.). Free Online Poster and Flyer Maker. Retrieved October 20, 2016, from http://www.postermywall.com/ 

4 - Tutorial #2: PosterMyWall

What is PosterMyWall?

PosterMyWall is an online tool to create posters and flyers. It is very well known for its easy-to-create, high quality, affordable custom graphics. This tool allows users to create posters and collages from the users’ photos, and from albums on Facebook (even your friends' albums). It also provides background art and easy to use tools to make professional looking posters fast and easy.

How can this tool be applied in the classroom?

This tool can be applied as a project after reading a book or to revise vocabulary items. Students can choose from the many ready-made templates available on the website and make some changes so that the poster fits the students’ needs. If they do not find anything suitable, they can start from scratch and create a whole new poster.

Why should teachers choose this online tool?

Teachers should choose this tool because it makes the creation of professional looking posters and flyers fast and effortless. As Nik Peachey (2010) mentions in his manual, many new tools were not originally intended for education, but can be put to good use by students and teachers alike to extent opportunities, enhance learning potential and develop the level of digital literacy.

How do we use this tool?

Check this tutorial on how to use PosterMyWall : )

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Click on Activity with PosterMyWall to see an example of how to use this tool in your lessons.

References

• 250Mils LLC (n.d.). Free Online Poster and Flyer Maker. Retrieved October 20, 2016, from http://www.postermywall.com/ 
• Blehm, A. (Producer). (2016, October 30). Tutorial #2: PosterMyWall [Video file]. In YouTube. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/OSw43y_bV3M
• Peachey, N. (2010). Web 2.0 Tools for Teachers. Retrieved from http://tinyurl.com/gwuhmqc

3 - Activity with Pixton

Review of a unit of work

e.g.: Supermarket review

After having finished working with vocabulary related to the supermarket, you may ask your students to create a comic.

Students will be divided into groups of four. 

They will be assigned roles to play and certain products that they will need to buy in their comics. 

For example, two students will play the role of customers, one will play the role of cashier and the other will play the role of stocker. 

The customers will have to buy “a bottle of milk, some meat, some bread and a can of peas”. 

Some of those products aren’t in the supermarket. 

The stocker should help the customers find a similar product and the cashier should do the sums right or wrong. 

The students may change some things in order for the story to be more interesting.

All the comics will be printed and pasted on the classroom walls.

Students will choose:

• The comic with most vocabulary items from the unit. 
• The comic with the most interesting story/characters.

The teacher will assess:

• Grammar & Lexis.

• Coherence & Cohesion.

• The use of the tool and collaborative work.

Check this sample:

2 - Tutorial #1: Pixton

What is Pixton?

Pixton is an online comic-maker which enables people to create dynamic stories. From fully posable characters to dynamic panels, props, and speech bubbles, every aspect of a comic can be controlled in an intuitive click-n-drag motion.

How can this tool be applied in the classroom?

This tool can be useful to revise situational contexts, including vocabulary items and grammatical structures or to recreate a scene from a story. Since this comic-maker offers a wide variety of backgrounds, settings and characters, we can apply it to numerous contexts and subjects, not only to language teaching.  

Why should teachers choose this online tool?

According to Thomas (2009), Web 2.0 technologies signal the need to move toward a greater emphasis on digital literacy skills. Therefore, an online comic-maker such as Pixton can make the writing process much more exciting and interesting. By creating comics, students can demonstrate their understanding of a topic. Also, the structure of this genre requires students to master clear and concise communication. 

How do we use this tool?

Check this tutorial on how to use Pixton :) 

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Click on Activity with Pixton to check an example of how to use this tool in your lessons.

References

• Blehm, A. (Producer). (2016, October 30). Tutorial #1: Pixton [Video file]. In YouTube. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/RNZYbUEohHk

• Inc., P. C. (n.d.). Pixton Comic Maker. Retrieved October 20, 2016, from https://www.pixton.com/

• Thomas, M. (Ed.). (2009). Handbook of research on Web 2.0 and second language learning. 

1 - Theory

This blog was created as an assigment for the subject ICT, which is part of a teacher training course at UTN-INSPT in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The purpose of this blog is to present four different Web 2.0 tools in the English Language Teaching (ELT) environment. The target audience is teachers of English who want to apply new technological tools in their lessons but do not know how to do it or want to know more about these tools.

According to Dudeney and Hockly (2007), teachers seem to be afraid of using technology or do not feel fully prepared to use it in class. That is why, teachers should start by searching for ready-made materials as well as attending training programs.

According to Nik Peachey (2010), there are many characteristics of Web 2.0 tools, which you may find in this blog, such as:

• Socialisation: Through socialisation our students can use the language and skills they are learning to build networks and develop relationships with real people.

• Collaboration: They can work together with others to construct and share real knowledge.

• Creativity: They can create genuine products, in a wide range and combination of media to high standards, that will have a real audience.

• Authenticity: The tasks and activities they do and the people they communicate with to do them are real and motivating.

• Sharing: They can share what they create and learn from each other.

In this blog, teachers will find tutorials of some websites with following activities. The idea is for teachers to be confident about using technology in their lessons as followup activities after a project or a reader or as a supplement for studying before a test. 

Hope you find this both useful and entertaining!




References:

• Dudeney, G., & Hockly, N. (2007). How to teach English with technology. Harlow: Pearson/Longman.

• Peachey, N. (2010). Web 2.0 Tools for Teachers. Retrieved from http://tinyurl.com/gwuhmqc