Welcome to my Blog !!

Introduction:

The purpose of this blog began with the idea of uploading my work during the semester. However, now that this finished I realize that it is much more than that. You may wonder why? It is because, today I can realize that every single work that I did means a learning that was very important to me, due to I was able to do things that I never thought that I could do and I must say that this gratifies me so much. Of course, this process does not end here, although, we have received enough tools to continue this road, we should carry on our learning and update ourselves to be a contribution in this area, especially for our students. 

Contents:

In this blog, you will see any ideas about how technology can be used and how important it is. And... I have to say that my favorite tool is edmodo.

As a conclusion, in this subject I learnt that the technology is a good tool to use in our classes. Definitely, I will consider it when I have to design my lesson plans and I will continue improving and learning to be able to apply all my knowledge in the classroom with my students.

I hope you enjoy it !

https://lvaldiviao.blogspot.cl/ 

Identifying Our Approaches to Language Learning Technologies: Improving Professional Development

According to an article that I read, I am an "instrumental user" because I think when the teachers plan very well their lesson plan using technology, they should be able to control the effects that the technology causes on learning of the students. 

However, I think I can be a critical user as well because I am aware of the impact of the technology on students in terms of behavior and how they communicate with others.

On the other hand, the article gives the opportunity to understand the educational use of the technology encouraging to the readers to identify the best approaches to improve their practice. And also, you can find a mini lesson plans to develop with the students.

As I have said in my blog, the technology is a very good tool to use in classes with the students, but it is very important we as teachers learn day after day about new applications and programs that appear in this area.

Link of the article: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ962384.pdf 

Shotcut video and Audacity Projects

These tools are very useful when you want to encourage the students to use the imagination because both programs have a variety of applications for improving your work. However, it is important to mention that editing is not easy but I think we can improve if we want it.

Here an example of Shotcut:

Storyboard and Comic...

I think that learn how to make a storyboard and comic gave us the possibility of beginning to awaken our creative side. So...

This is my first Storyboard

This is my first Comic

Edmodo as a pedagogical tool...

The use of this educational platform is a tool that as teachers to be will be very beneficial in our teaching in the classroom. Because Edmodo is an application whose main objective is to allow communication between teachers and students. Therefore, I think is very convenient not only to work with the students in a private and closed virtual environment where they can create tasks. And also, for teachers, it is very useful tool to evaluate the students tasks.  

As a student of pedagogy, I can say that I was very pleased to work with this tool. I learned a lot and I realised how useful it is. Because we could share messages, files, links, and We as students, received instructions given by the teacher in every class. For example, I was able to share all of the works that I did during the semester like this:

 Storyboard about a fable:

Wikispaces...

Memes to learn ! 

I think this activity was very fun. I did not know how to create a meme, now I am sure will be a great tool for gaining attention of the students.

Lesson Plan: "Funny Activity using Authentic Material"

Topic: “Tourism in Iquique”.

Class: 12th Grade.

Objective: At the end of the class, the students will be able to create a flyer, promoting their city using the information that was read at first.

Introduction:

To introduce the topic, the teacher will show a picture about some traditional event here in Iquique, that is celebrated in Chile's Independence Day, military parade. Then, She will ask the students about this picture and what they think about it.

Development:

Pre-Reading:For this activity the teacher will deliver the students a handout that is authentic material about the topic, that is, “Tourism in Iquique” (https://www.welcomechile.com/iquique/index_i.html).  After that, the teacher will present some vocabulary that will help the students to understand better the reading.

Next, the teacher will ask some students to read the handout aloud.

While-Reading:The teacher will encourage the students to give some opinions about the text.

Post-Reading:The teacher will divide the class in two groups. Then, according to information that they read previously about Tourism in Iquique; she will ask the students to create a big flyer, that will be stick on the board, to advertise the city. For this, she will show them some examples of flyers. Finally, each group will give an explanation of the proposal in front of the whole class.

This is the text that will be used:

Iquique (https://www.welcomechile.com/iquique/index_i.html)

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Iquique - Photos: Jorge González

The city of Iquique, which means "where the birds and the wolves sleep" in the primitive language, is the capital of the I Region.

It used to be part of Peru before the War of the Pacific. In November 23, 1879, the Chilean army managed to conquer it. Ever since, the city has been embellished by the success of saltpeter exploitation and commercial fishing and it has never stopped growing.

At present, not only is this the largest and most important city in Northern Chile, but it is also one of the most beautiful in the country. It lies 1,760 kilometers from Santiago de Chile and 2,776 from the city of Puerto Montt.

The political decision to turn Iquique into a tax-free area (where the so-called "Zofri"operates today) led to economical growth and encouraged the creation of industries according to the new needs of the city. The only way out was the sea.

In the city, the beautiful beaches stand out: Cavancha Beach is the most famous due to its warm waters and palm trees, and Brava Beach is one of the most popular.

There is no better starting point for this city tour than Arturo Pratt Square, right in the center of the city. With its Clock Tower, an icon in Iquique, and along with the municipal theater and Baquedano Street, this beautiful public square displays the most ancient and precious architecture in the city. Walking along this street, we come across the Anker Nielsen Regional Museum, which takes visitors on a tour across the history of saltpeter in the entire region.

Going down towards the shore, the historical neighborhood –which lies in the surroundings of the port- stands out for its roofed pier and the tourist promenades that lead to the very place where the Chilean corvette called Esmeralda sank during the War of the Pacific (1879-1890). The Naval Museum, the former Customs building and the cathedral, as well as the port market where visitors may taste fresh fish and seafood, are located a few meters away.

Mount Dragon, a sand dune of several kilometers of length, watches the beauty of the city from the heights. Paragliders and Hang-gliders from all over the world jump from this hill into a flight across these majestic skies.

Nightlife is also present on the waterfront. The casino offers both games of chance and shows that are also performed at the pubs, restaurants and discos in this beautiful and booming city that has it all.

Vocabulary: 

1. Lead /liːd/ : to act as a guide; to influence. 
For eg. : Subsequent events led him to reconsider his position.

2. Lie: /laɪ/: (of a town, natural feature, etc.) to be located in a particular place.
 For eg.: The town lies on the coast.

3. Stand out /stænd aʊt/: be remarkable, noticeable. 
For eg.: She's the sort of person who stands out in a crowd.

4. Come cross /kʌm əˈkrɒs/: encounter [sb/sth] by chance. 
For eg.: We come across some old photographs in a drawer.

5. Promenade /ˌprɒməˈnɑːd/: a public place for walking, usually beside the sea. 
For eg.: We walked along the promenade at sunset.


6. Booming /ˈbuːmɪŋ/: flourishing, prosperous,  successful. 
For eg.: Suzanne has turned her love of food into a booming catering business.

Some examples of flyers:

What do the images tell us? 

Nowadays, teachers need more tools that can help them to catch the attention of the students, because anything is a distraction for them, specially the technologies such as: tablets, cellphones, computers among others. However, we as teachers can take this opportunity to work in the class. Part of the technologies have to do with images and these images can be very useful if they are used in a good way, because it is important to adjust the images to the context with the purpose that students feel more connected with their own learning process.

"Every picture tells a story" and "A picture can speak a thousand words"

Lesson Plan 1: using images in the class.

Unidad 2: Countries, cultures and customs.

Class: 8th Grade.
Age group: 12-13

Learning Outcomes:

1. The students will be able to create a collage with four images that represent to a country.

2. The students will be able to apply vocabulary of the unit in four sentences based on characteristics      of each image of the collage.

This activity corresponds to the development of the class:

Procedure: 

First, the teacher will explain the activity and then, she will give an example using images of Chile.
The teacher will ask the students to work in a group, then she will raffle the countries for each group randomly. After that, students will have to find in their computers four images that represent the most important facts about the country. Next, students will make a collage, pasting the images on the posterboard. Each group will write a complete sentence about information from the country under each image. In addition, Sentences must be included: name of the country, location, typical food, important landmarks or attractions, name of the president. Finally, students will present their collages to the teacher in front of the class.

Images that teacher will use to give students an example.

Four images about Chile.

Hello Everyone!

I want to tell you that I have been searching for teacher's blogs and I found several quite interesting.

 So I have chosen some of them for you.

First one is a blog that belongs to The Guardian Newspaper. You will  find many interesting articles in it.

Here link: https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/teacher-blog 

Second one is a  blog written by Wesley Fryer. He is a keynote speaker and author who owns this blog. He explores topics like digital storytelling, creativity and technology integration in education. Many of his presentations, handouts, and other materials are available to read and download.

Here link: http://www.speedofcreativity.org/ 

Third one is a blog of thirty year old English teacher from Scotland. According to the author, this blog was inspired by reading the beautiful collection of essays by Oliver Sacks, ‘Gratitude’.  Sacks wrote the essays in his eighties, in the final two years of his life having been diagnosed with terminal cancer. 

Here link:http://www.teachergratitude.co.uk/ 

I hope you enjoy it !